Todd Gurley produces ultimate bad beat after passing up touchdown to run out clock
Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley cost a lot of people money Sunday. During the team’s 29-27 win over the Green Bay Packers, Gurley had an opportunity to walk in a touchdown with just under a minute left. He passed up that chance, opting to slow down and get tackled so the Rams could run out the clock.
With 1:04 left in the contest, Gurley took a toss to the outside, blew past the offensive line and only had cornerback Tramon Williams to beat. Once Gurley accelerated past the first-down mark at the 10-yard line, he slowed to a jog and let Williams tackle him. The Rams took a knee on the next play to end the game.
While wise, Gurley’s decision to slow down had major implications for those who wagered their hard-earned … uh … gummy bears on the game. The over/under for the contest was 57. Gurley’s score would have resulted in the over. Instead, the game went under by just one point. Not only that, but the Rams were favored to win by 7.5 points. Gurley’s score would have led to the Rams covering.
Gurley did not feel bad about any of it either. He did what he had to do for his team to get a win.
Todd Gurley, on stopping short of goal line to secure the win and run out the clock: "Man, forget fantasy and forget Vegas. We got the win, so that’s all that matters."
— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) October 29, 2018
It’s not the first time a player has passed up a touchdown to win a game. Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook did the exact same thing in 2007. Westbrook wasn’t even tackled. He decided to take a knee on the one-yard line.
As you might expect, a number of fantasy matchups were impacted by Gurley failing to score on the play.
Cost me 1st in a daily for a nice chunk. Lost 150-149.94
— Bob (@Bo88yB) October 29, 2018
The fantasy players who had Gurley may have missed out on points, but it’s not like Gurley was useless during the contest. He finished with 114 rushing yards, 81 receiving yards a touchdown and a two-point conversion. Even without that second score, Gurley still turned in an excellent fantasy performance.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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