NFL bettors fume over Jaylen Waddle’s doomed effort to save Miami Dolphins from a loss to the Buffalo Bills
Jaylen Waddle’s doomed attempt to extend the final of Sunday’s defeat of Miami at Orchard Park has led some outraged punters to conclude the competition is set.
“Are we still pretending the NFL isn’t rigged?” wrote one angry fan on .
Trailing by three with five seconds left, the Dolphins had one last chance from their own 30-yard line to clinch a victory.
Meanwhile, a few bettors who bet that Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa would throw for more than 243.5 yards were already counting their winnings. After all, he had already thrown for 254 yards on Sunday, and with time for just one final play, Tagovailoa certainly dropped back for another pass.
But instead of throwing the ball downfield, Tagovailoa instead dumped the ball to De’Von Achane, a yard behind the line of scrimmage. Achane later turned to Waddle, who then became Miami’s last hope for a winning score.
Unfortunately for Waddle, Miami and whoever took the over on Tagovailoa’s passing yardage, Buffalo’s Greg Rousseau ended the game deep in Miami territory.
Waddle scored his first touchdown of the season at Orchard Park on Sunday (right)
Faced with overwhelming odds, not to mention eleven Bills defenders, Waddle had no path forward. Instead, Waddle attempted to use his infamous speed to turn the field and bypass Buffalo’s defense by initially moving backward.
Unfortunately for Waddle, the Dolphins, their fans and anyone else who took over Tagovailoa’s passing yardage, Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau was not fooled. The 6-foot-4, 267-pound former first-round pick chased Waddle all the way to the seven-yard line, where he took down Waddle with a one-armed tackle to end the game.
With that, Tagovailoa finished with 231 passing yards, leaving some of the bettors outraged.
“It’s faked, bro,” one person wrote online.
The post-game focus on
“House wins,” wrote one critic.
“This smells like fish,” another added.
Several respondents concluded that “Jaylen was suffering.”
Although Waddle had a touchdown catch – his first of the season – he finished with just two catches for -4 yards that day. His loss of 23 yards is the most negative yardage on a completed pass this century, according to Fox Sports.
It’s unclear if the NFL will make any adjustments to Tagovailoa’s waiver, and even if they do, the outcome is not expected to be overturned by sportsbooks.