What’s a “Bad Beat?” The term originates from poker, when you have what absolutely should be a winning hand, bet it correctly, and still lose because your opponent got lucky on the flop or draw. As with all betting terms, it’s worked its way into sportsbetting and, in the NFL, a “Bad Beat” is tough to define, but we know them when we see them.
These are professional players and teams, all drafted and built from the same talent pool. The cliche synonymous with the NFL is “on any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team.” It holds up every year, but it doesn’t make it any easier for the teams, fans and bettors on the losing end to accept it.
Here are your two baddest “Bad Beats” for Week 2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27, Philadelphia Eagles 21
Odds: Eagles -3
If you want a “Bad Beat” poster child, look no further than Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Buccaneers opened the season as dogs in both their games and, considering what they were bringing to the table, there was no reason to argue with the books. All they’ve done is come out and beat the New Orleans Saints, 48-40, in Week 1 and then following that up with a win over the defending Super Bowl Champion Eagles in Week 2.
Harvard Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. The Ryan Fitzpatrick She Told You Not To Worry About pic.twitter.com/d6GkapuBUI
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) September 16, 2018
What’s happening?
This is what Fitzpatrick does. Of all the deals with made the devil in human history, Fitzy has the absolute weirdest. He comes into a team as the back up, whether it be the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, Houston Texans or, now, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and just sits on the bench coiled like a cobra, waiting for the starter to either go down or get suspended. He then strikes, putting up monster numbers and messing up everyone’s fantasy teams, parlays and betting boards until the wheels finally come off. They always do.
Over at NFL Pick Watch, 90 percent of my fellow NFL handicappers went for the Eagles in this match-up and I don’t know what the other 10 percent were smoking. Yet they were right and, really, the Bucs had this game won early. Philly was playing catch-up the whole way and with Nick Foles running that offense, there was little chance of that.
Ryan Fitzpatrick lookin at NFL defenses right now pic.twitter.com/pmNI3rQiei
— T-Bob Hebert (@TBob53) September 16, 2018
Not only have the Bucs killed every board, survivor pool and bet slip for the last two weeks, they’ve probably ruined some NFL futures bets. Dirk Koetter should have easily been the first head coach fired. Not only is he completely safe, as of today, he’s in the driver’s seat in the NFC South.
Kansas City Chiefs 42, Pittsburgh Steelers 37
Odds: Steelers -5
To understand exactly how shocking this result is, you must know the history between the two teams. It doesn’t matter how good Kansas City is or how bad Pittsburgh is, the Steelers historically dominate the Chiefs. Since 2011, Pittsburgh is 6-2 over Kansas City and that’s counting Sunday’s game.
Stat of the day: Since 1940, NFL teams scoring 37+ points at home with 0 turnovers were 386-0.
The Steelers lost doing that today.
— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) September 17, 2018
The Steelers came in favored, were at home, and needed a bounce-back game after an opening week tie with the Cleveland Browns. This was supposed to be a statement game for Pittsburgh, but no one could hear it over how loudly Patrick Mahomes was screaming through his bullhorn.
Mahomes set a new NFL record with 10 touchdowns in his first three starts. And here’s the thing, in his first start in the Chiefs’ season finale last season, he didn’t throw a touchdown. That means he’s set this record with a mulligan in his first game. Mahomes was 23-of-28 for 326 yards and six touchdowns with no picks against Pittsburgh. That’s an insane stat line. He threw more touchdowns than incompletions.
TFW when you left @PatrickMahomes5 on your bench…
What mistakes did you make in your lineup this week? Reply below using #WouldaCouldaShoulda pic.twitter.com/7ZMKwdTxOz
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) September 16, 2018
A full 70 percent of NFL punditry picked the Steelers in this game. Now Pittsburgh is 0-1-1 with the suddenly frightening Buccaneers coming up on the schedule.
Oh boy.
