Jayden Daniels's Hail Mary touchdown pass answered the prayers of all Commanders bettors in Week 8. Check out the rest of the crazy bets and bad beats from NFL Sunday in this piece. Let's get to it!
We might as well start with the craziest play of the entire NFL Week 8 slate. Yes, I know that we have Monday Night Football tonight, but I'm betting (pun intended) that there won't be a play that will top this one. Let's first set the stage.
After outplaying and leading the Chicago Bears for most of the afternoon, the Washington Commanders were stunned when Roschon Johnson scored from one yard out to give the Bears a 15-12 lead. This all happened with just 25 seconds left in the game, so Washington's chances of a comeback appeared to be more than a bit bleak!
That's when former Heisman winner Jayden Daniels took matters into his own hands. Daniels said he was simply trying to "buy some time and don't throw the ball out of bounds" before heaving a last-second Hail Mary pass.
Daniels's strategy proved to be a winning formula, as the ball ricocheted off of Zach Ertz's hands and into the arms of Noah Brown. The hometown Commanders crowd went absolutely bonkers, and Daniels didn't even know that Brown had made the catch until moments later!
Want to hear a funny added fact about that final play? Bears corner Tyrique Stevenson was supposed to be the man guarding Brown, but he was too busy bragging to Commanders fans during the play! The smart money says that Stevenson will be fined heavily if 'Da Bears' operate any type of kangaroo court in the locker room.
Obviously, not everyone was thrilled by this unlikely play! One sports bettor at Caesars lost $120K on Daniels's last-second hookup with Brown. Geez, talk about a bad beat!
It had been over two years since Jameis Winston started an NFL game, but that didn't hinder his performance in the least! The former Florida State phenom threw for 334 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead Cleveland to a gigantic upset over Baltimore.
The last of those touchdown passes was a game-winner to Cedric Tillman from 38 yards out with just 59 seconds to go. It's amazing how much different this Browns offense looked under Winston, who asked his Cleveland teammates to simply believe during a fiery speech before the opening kick. Winston added a spark to this team that was sorely lacking under Deshaun Watson.
Just how massive was this upset from a betting perspective? The Browns opened up as a 9.5-point underdog and closed as a 7.5-point underdog against the Ravens. The sharp money that showed for Cleveland all week long turned out to be correct.
Cleveland closed as a +285 underdog on the moneyline. That means that most online sportsbooks gave the Browns only about a 26% chance of beating Baltimore outright! In the NFL, any outcome is more than possible!