Saquon Barkley’s strategic slide cost plenty of players who had bet on him scoring

With 1:09 left to play on Sunday and the Eagles leading 22-10, running back Saquon Barkley broke free for what would have been a 76-yard touchdown run. Barkley chose to slide on the Philly 41. With another snap, the game was over.

If he had scored, the Eagles would have opened up a three-score lead, with not nearly enough time for the Packers to tie the game or win it.

Still, it was an easy way to ice the game. And it froze out those who bet on Barkley scoring a touchdown during the game.

Via David Purdum of ESPN.com, several bets were placed on Barkley to score a touchdown than on any other player in any of the three Sunday Wild Card games, by multiple sportsbooks. It was also the third most popular part of all parlays placed through ESPN Bet.

Barkley said after the game that he wasn’t tempted to end the game with a long touchdown run, which would also have pushed his rushing total from 119 yards to 178.

“It’s first down that wins you the game, so it’s getting the first down and coming down,” Barkley said, via Purdum. “It doesn’t matter.”

That meant something to a lot of people who had put money on Barkley to score. But that’s the risk you take when you make a bet.

And as my father, the bookie, told me when I was old enough to understand but not old enough to rebel, “You can’t win.”