Gambling was the only reason to stick around for the second half of Patriots-Chargers

Team total bet for the win!

The New England Patriots pummeled the Los Angeles Chargers in Sunday’s AFC Divisional Round matchup of the 2019 NFL playoffs. The two teams exchanged touchdowns to open the game, and then the Patriots went on a 31-0 run to effectively end the game.

If you were a neutral observer, you probably changed the channel or took care of some errands during the second half of the game. Even Chargers fans might have turned this one off given how painful it got. But one group of people had plenty of reason to keep watching.

Gamblers.

The Chargers were far enough behind that a comeback on the four point cover was out of the picture by halftime. And the Patriots almost got over the pre-game point total of 48 on their own. But there was one bet that kept non-Patriots fans interested: the Chargers team total.

People know how to bet the point spread and point total, and might even understand first and second half spreads and point totals. But one thing that is growing in popularity is team point totals. Prior to this game, you could bet on whether or not the Chargers would score more or less than 20.5 points. I thought the Chargers had a chance to spring the upset, and if it did happen I figured they would get into the 20s, at least.

The Chargers were out of this game in the first half, but garbage time was my friend! Melvin Gordon punched in a touchdown with 1:16 to go in the third quarter to cut the lead to 38-14. The Chargers added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but I had to sweat it out at one point. Philip Rivers connected with Virgil Green to cut the lead to 41-20. The extra point would put me over the top and I’d be good to go. Instead, the Chargers went for two, thinking that if they were successful they’d be down two touchdowns with two-point conversions and a field goal. They ended up clearing the team total with ease, but they made it interesting for a second.

And that’s why gambling is going to be a boon for the NFL, and professional sports as a whole. People are likely to pay attention to games longer, and pay attention to games they might not otherwise care about. This is not about hard core fans that will watch regardless of the score. This is about attracting more casual viewers, and the evolution of gambling is going to have a huge impact in the coming years.