NFL Week 18 Bad Beats: Bad Teams Doing Bad Things
Many Games and Totals Decided by Narrow Margins
The final week of the NFL regular season is always a bit unpredictable. Teams that are eliminated from the NFL games, which will be examined a bit more closely in NFL Week 18 bad beats.
Carolina +4.5
The NFL season. That would again be the case Sunday.
The game’s first five possessions ended in punts. The Panthers third possession saw a 43-yard touchdown to DJ Chark. But the officials reviewed the play and Chark was ruled to have fumbled before breaking the plane. The points came off the scoreboard and the Bucs took possession.
The Buccaneers kicked a field goal to make it 3-0 with 4:13 left in the first half. Tampa Bay made it 6-0 with a field goal as time ran out in the first half.
The Panthers marched downfield on their second possession of the second half. But Bryce Young took a sack on third down from Tampa Bay’s 25-yard line. That turned a 43-yard field goal attempt into a 52-yard attempt, which Matthew Wright pushed to the left. The score remained 6-0.
Taking over on their 42, the Buccaneers drove for another field goal and a 9-0 lead with 10:18 remaining in the game. But the Panthers weren’t going away without a fight. Young drove the team down the field and Carolina appeared to make it a one-score game when Raheem Blackshear raced into the end zone from 28 yards out.
But the Panthers were flagged for an illegal formation to take the touchdown off the NFL scoreboard. Young was sacked and fumbled on the next play. Tampa Bay was able to run out the clock and hand Carolina backers one of the NFL Week 18 bad beats.
Arizona +130 (moneyline)
The return of Kyler Murray energized the Cardinals. Arizona was 3-4 entering the game since he returned and was coming off an upset over the Eagles. But Seattle needed a win and a Green Bay loss to make the playoffs. Both NFL teams figured to give a good effort. But it was also a key game for Murray.
The Cardinals have to figure out whether to move forward with him or not. His NFL QB stats are decent. But Arizona is still quite a few players away from contending. Murray would return a decent haul if the Cardinals decide to rebuild.
Seattle, fighting to keep its Super Bowl odds intact, jumped out in front first and led 13-6 at halftime. But the Cardinals tied the score in the third quarter. James Conner ran into the end zone from 29 yards out to make it 13-13. But the Cardinals weren’t done and took a 20-13 lead in the fourth quarter on a Murray touchdown .
Seattle punted on their next possession. Arizona drove down to Seattle’s 25. But Matt Prater pushed a 43-yard field goal attempt to the right to keep it 20-13. Prater was 28 of 31 in field goals before the kick and 19 of 20 on attempts less than 50 yards.
The Seahawks drove down the field and scored on a 34-yard to Tyler Lockett. Geno Smith then hit Lockett with the 2-point conversion to give Seattle a 21-20 lead. Arizona drove to Seattle’s 30, but Prater was again wide right on a 51-yard field goal on the final play of the game.
The Cardinals outgained Seattle 466-327. But the NFL scores and odds weren’t in their favor. Arizona should have won, but instead just gave their backers another one of the NFL Week 18 bad beats.
For Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
