Biggest NFL Betting Stories from Week 3: Special Teams Led to Several Bad Beats

• Special teams had a real impact on a few games, with field goals getting blocked and one returned for a touchdown.

• Defense ruled the day in some games, but not all, with the OVER going 8-8 on the week.

• The Cleveland Browns proved that you don’t need to play good football for most of the game to win.

If you’ve ever wondered why special teams are so essential or just why you hear people say, "it isn’t over until it’s over," well, we got a master class during Week 3 of the NFL season on that concept, resulting in some epic bad beats. Games like these are just what bet insurance is for.

Only six teams remain undefeated through; another six have yet to win a game, and only one team is a perfect 3-0 against the spread (ATS). We’ll go over some of them and more in our NFL Week 3 betting report.

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So Many Bad Beats

Let’s go over two of the worst.

Los Angeles Rams vs. Philadelphia Eagles (-3.5)

This was expected to be a good game, but the Eagles were expected to come out on top and were 3.5-point favorites at kickoff. For most of the game, it looked like fans who took the Rams moneyline (+170) were going to enjoy a nice payday. But that changed in the fourth quarter.

 Here’s a timeline of the game played out in the fourth quarter:

• 8:46 left: Rams lead 26-21 but are lined up to attempt a 36-yard field goal, but it was blocked.

• 1:48 left: On the 17^th play of the ensuing drive, the Eagles scored a touchdown to go ahead by one. The two-point conversion attempt failed, opening the door for the Rams to come back and win with a field goal.

• 00:03 left: The Rams line up to attempt a 44-yard field goal for the win, only to have it blocked again.

Green Bay Packers (-7.5) vs. Cleveland Browns

The Packers were not having a good day when they punted the ball back to the Browns at the 9:34 mark of the fourth quarter, up 10-0. At least the spread (-7.5) had been covered. But then this happened:

• 3:38 left: Browns finish off a 12-play, 63-yard drive with a field goal.

• 3:18 left: Jordan Love throws an interception that is returned to the four-yard line.

• 3:08: Browns tie the game up at 10-10 with a touchdown.

• 00:27 left: Packers line up for a game-winning 43-yard field goal, but it’s blocked.

• 00:00: As time expired, the Browns kicked a 55-yard game-winning field goal.

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NFL Week 3: What Do The Stats Say?

It was another good week for betting on favorites to win outright, with 12 of 16 taking home a W, including the Thursday and Monday night games. But with all the crazy comebacks and wild finishes, favorites ended up going 9-7 ATS. On Sunday, favorites went 11-3 SU and 7-7 ATS.

Road favorites were not as fortunate as they were last week, going 2-3 SU and ATS. The OVER was just 8-8.

So, through Week 3, it has been a good season overall for betting on the favorites (13-3, 11-5, and 12-4). It’s not been as good, but you still won more than you lost if you bet on them to cover (10-6, 10-6, 9-7). 

However, it has been a little more chaotic for those who like to bet on the TOTAL, with the OVER going 4-12, 10-6, and 8-8.

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