It’s not often that an NFL kicker ends up as the main character of a playoff game, especially if that team wins. It’s even less common that he ends up being a villain who’s recognizable by first and last name by fans and bettors.
But Brett Maher of the Dallas Cowboys changed that Monday night.
The Cowboys kicker missed a record four extra points in Dallas’ 31-14 win over Tampa Bay.
Let’s dive into how the missed kicks crushed Over bettors on Monday Night Football.
To set the stage, the Over/ Under of the game closed at 45.5 at FOX Bet. Which means if Maher had just hit even one more of those extra points, Over bettors would’ve cashed their tickets.
Instead, the game ended with 45 total points, despite seven total touchdowns being scored. So, yes, he cost a good chunk of people some money.
Per FOX Bet trading operations senior manager Dylan Brossman, 77% of all bets were on the Over.
“If Maher had made his extra points, FOX Bet would have been a loser on the Total Points market,” Brossman stated.
The point total wasn’t the only spot impacted from a betting perspective. Per Ewing, there was also a large majority of bets (95%!) at BetMGM on the Cowboys’ kicker to make over 2.5 extra points. He finished under that number, going 1-for-5 on the night.
Considering the fifth-year kicker from Nebraska had only missed three field goals all season before the Cowboys-Bucs showdown, it made sense that backers had faith in Maher’s leg.
The kicker’s misfortunes also went viral on social media, with even the likes of former Cowboys great WR Dez Bryant chipping in.
Jerry Jones said after the game that Dallas won’t look into replacing the kicker this week.
Cowboys eliminate Tom Brady, Bucs for first road playoff win since 1992
Dak Prescott had his best playoff game of his career last night in the 31-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the Dallas Cowboys easily covered as road favorites.
Can Maher get it together for when the Boys and the Niners face off in this weekend’s divisional-round matchup?
The total is currently at 46.5 at FOX Bet for the big Dallas-San Francisco game on FOX Sports.
Head over to FOX Bet to get in on the action now!
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