The Kansas City Chiefs win — but some of their fans in Las Vegas lost a heartthrob

On By Littum

Kansas City Chiefs punter Matt Araiza intentionally tipped out of the end zone Saturday to surrender a safety that added meaningless points to the scoreboard but rocked the gambling world.

Araiza’s end zone surrender — which capped Kansas City’s 23-14 playoff victory over the Houston Texans — settled bets from Las Vegas to cyberspace in a game of gamblers call a “backdoor cover”.

Gamblers who smelled a possible upset could have bet on underdog Houston for 9.5 points on Saturday, in the closing spread that had started in Kansas City -8. But when the Las Vegas money at the beginning of the week went on Kansas City, the line changed and forced the late Chiefs backers to have to surrender 9.5 points before Saturday.

So in other words, betting on Houston would be a winning investment as long as the Texans won the game outright or lost by no more than 9 points. And conversely, KC bettors needed the Chiefs to win by 10 or more.

The drive-clinching play was certainly unusual as Kansas City, leading 23-12, faced fourth-and-15 from their own 18-yard line with 15 seconds left. Chiefs coach Andy Reid could have easily punted the ball with virtually no chance of Houston scoring twice in the final seconds, possibly with the help of a blocked kick.

AFC Divisional Playoffs: Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid reacts against the Houston Texans in the third quarter of the AFC Divisional Playoff at GEHA Field on Saturday.David Eulitt/Getty Images

But to absolutely lock the game away, Reid opted to have Araiza sprint toward his own goal, dance on the edge of the end zone to kill precious seconds, then step off the field with nine seconds to play.

Those two points meant everything to players who received or gave up 9.5 points as the final margin dropped from 11 to 9. The ESPN team calling the game immediately took note of what those points meant.

“And there’s a lot of people who are aware of that,” play-by-play man Joe Buck said. “That makes it a 9-point game.”

Buck and analyst Troy Aikman noted how longtime NFL broadcaster Al Michaels would gently interject gambling issues into calls, in an earlier era when sports betting wasn’t as open as it is now.

“All Michaels is smiling right now,” Aikman laughed.

“Al Michaels is giddy,” Buck added. “Wow.”

Despite the heartbreaking loss for Chiefs bettors at -9.5, a large portion of Kansas City backs bet early at -8 or -8.5, surviving Araiza’s end zone dash, according to Caesars Sportsbook.

The early Kansas City action and late support for Houston at +9.5 worked well for a majority of sports bettors.

“So … big win for the public,” said Craig Mucklow, vice president of trading at Caesars Sportsbook.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Council for Gambling Problems for help 1-800-522-4700or go online at ncpgambling.org/chat.