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Saturday night’s AFC wildcard game opened a new chapter in the long and unfortunate history of “Chargering.” After forcing five turnovers in the first half to take a 27-0 lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Los Angeles Chargers shattered that lead with dire consequences – including for a bettor who was in the lead.
According to Action Network’s Darren Rovell, a bettor placed a $1.4 million bet on a moneyline in the game through DraftKings Sportsbook after the Chargers took a 27-0 lead. It was apparently a low risk, low reward bet as the payout at -12500 would only have yielded a profit of $11,200.
Unfortunately for this bettor, the Chargers only scored three points for the rest of the game while the Jaguars came alive in the second half, with a 36-yard field goal by Riley Patterson completing Jacksonville’s comeback and leading the Chargers to a 31-30 – Defeat doomed .
Not only did the Chargers’ collapse add to the franchise’s long history of playoff disappointments, but it was also a historically bad way to lose a playoff game. It was the second-biggest wasted lead in NFL playoff history, ranking second to “The Comeback,” the Buffalo Bills’ storied return from a 33-point deficit against the Houston Oilers to win the 1992 wild card round .
After a Cameron Dicker field goal gave the Chargers a 30-14 lead late in the third quarter, the Chargers gave up 17 unanswered points, including 11 in the third quarter after a touchdown by Christian Kirk, a two-point conversion by Trevor Lawrence and to win Patterson’s field goal.