The Kansas City Chiefs advanced to the AFC title game for the seventh straight season on Saturday after defeating the Houston Texans, 23–14.
With time waning in regulation, the outcome was not in doubt, but the final betting line in Las Vegas was.
In several sportsbooks, the Chiefs closed as a 9.5-point favorite on Saturday. As the Chiefs held a 23-12 lead with less than two minutes to go, Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn lined up for a 35-yard field goal to make it a one-possession game. Fairbairn's kick was blocked and recovered by Kansas City, which essentially iced the victory for the Chiefs.
The block also appeared to clinch a victory for bettors who were holding Kansas City -9.5 tickets. As Houston trailed by 11 with time waning, the Chiefs could almost entirely run out the clock.
On first down, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes handed it to running back Kareem Hunt for a four-yard gain up the middle. The Texans burned their final timeout with 1:39 to play. After two Patrick Mahomes kneeldowns, the Chiefs ran the clock all the way down to 15 seconds before using a timeout to figure out what they wanted to do.
On fourth down, instead of punting, Kansas City punter Matt Araiza took the long snap and ran around in the backfield by the goal line as he attempted to run the remaining time off the clock. As Araiza scampered back into the end zone dead to rights, he stepped out of bounds, giving himself up for a safety.
✅ Texans +9.5
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) January 19, 2025
Matt Araiza with a safety to end the game and help Texans bettors cover. Wow.pic.twitter.com/Bc8N6Jh0gm
Out of absolute nowhere, Houston covered the 9.5-point spread, dealing a brutal beat to Chiefs bettors, and an unlikely victory to Texans bettors.
For what it's worth, Araiza did not care one bit following the win, as he joined in on the fun on social media.
We don’t care bout y’all’s parlays.
— Matt Araiza (@ThePuntGod) January 19, 2025
Care about chasing #3PEAT. #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/oLmXPtAj5u
What a wild swing, and what an awful beat.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chiefs’ Unlikely Late Safety Against Texans Led to Brutal Bad Beat for Bettors.
