Patrick Mahomes wisely slid instead of scoring a late touchdown and it crushed Chiefs bettors

The Kansas City Chiefs escaped New York — well, northern New Jersey — with a win. They didn’t leave with a cover.

That’s because Patrick Mahomes knew exactly how much time was on the clock, and exactly how many timeouts the New York Jets had left. His Chiefs led 23-20 at the two-minute warning when Kansas City faced third-and-eight from the Jets’ 11-yard line. Mahomes took the snap, moved from the pocket under mild pressure, and escaped with room to run — just like he had to convert third-and-23 four minutes earlier.

He easily made it past the line to game and had a fairly easy path to the end zone. But rather than give his Chiefs a nine-point lead and keep New York’s slim comeback hopes alive, Mahomes slid down in bounds short of the end zone. The clock kept ticking, and two kneeldowns preserved the win — and the Jets’ +8.5-point cover.

It was the right move, even if it crushed Kansas City bettors and Mahomes’ fantasy owners alike. Keeping the ball out of the Jets hands eliminated even the slim chance of a touchdown, onside kick recovery, then either touchdown or field goal to win or send the game to overtime in the final two minutes. It probably wouldn’t have happened with Zach Wilson commanding the opposing offense, but why take that risk?

Needless to say, bettors left two yards from cashing their Chiefs -8.5 tickets were unamused. Per Darren Rovell, that covered approximately 91 percent of the handle for this game at MGM which, phewwwwww.

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