The NFL turned sportsbooks into a block party Sunday, when four blocked field goals, including two returned for touchdowns, impacted the outcomes of three early games.

Crowds erupted with the loadest roar of the season so far at the end of the Eagles-Rams matchup as Philadelphia bettors got a miracle cover and Los Angeles bettors were dealt a bad beat for the ages.

“The Rams’ beat is as brutal as you can get,” Boomer’s Sportsbook director of trading Nick Bogdanovich said. “Absolutely beyond brutal. We actually needed the Rams so that one did us no favors.”

The Rams trailed 27-26 after blowing a 26-7 fourth-quarter lead but were still covering as 3½-point underdogs and had a chance to win on a last-second 44-yard field goal try by Joshua Karty. But Philadelphia’s 6-foot-6-inch, 336-pound defensive tackle Jordan Davis blocked the kick on the final play of the game, scooped the ball and returned it 61 yards for a score to give the Eagles a 33-26 win and L.A. bettors a loss they won’t soon forget.

“I try not to overreact in the moment, but that could be the worst NFL beat that I’ve ever seen,” Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray said.

Karty also had a 33-yard try blocked by Jalen Carter early in the fourth quarter.

“Significant, crazy endings 99 times out of 100 usually benefit the customers,” Caesars Sportsbook head of football Joey Feazel said in an email. “You could hear the hearts pounding of Eagles spread ticket holders while they cheered a mountain of a man carrying their millions move like lightning for (61) yards, a thrilling way to cash a winning ticket.”

Not long after Philadelphia’s unlikely cover, the Jets’ Will McDonald blocked a 43-yard field goal try by Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin and returned it for a score to give New York a 27-26 lead with 1:49 left.

The Jets, 6½-point underdogs who trailed 23-6 early in the fourth quarter, suddenly had 2,033 Circa Survivor entrants sweating. But quarterback Baker Mayfield bailed out Tampa Bay for the third straight week with a clutch game-winning drive culminating with McLaughlin’s 36-yard field goal for a 29-27 victory.

Browns ‘made our day’

The Browns pulled off the biggest upset of the season in a 13-10 comeback win over the Packers as 7½-point underdogs. Cleveland erased a 10-0 deficit in the final 3:38. Shelby Harris blocked a 43-yard field-goal attempt by Green Bay’s Brandon McManus that would’ve given the Packers the lead with 21 seconds left. Instead, Andre Szmyt kicked a 55-yarder as time expired to snap the Browns’ eight-game losing streak dating to last season.

“What drew the biggest shock after years of being their biggest fans each week was that we fully expected the Browns to miss the game-winning field goal,” Feazel said. “Instead, there were cheers on the trading floor, as we were stunned that this was not the Browns we were used to cheering for over the years.”

Cleveland’s upset, which eliminated 1,817 Survivor entries, was the worst game of the day for bettors.

“We had a handful of winners and a handful of losers but what it really comes down to is Green Bay losing outright and all the parlays that that knocked out,” Murray said. “That’s really what made our day.”

Besides the Browns and Jets, the best games for the books were the Panthers (+4½), who shut out the Falcons 30-0 and knocked out 1,179 Survivor entries; and the Bears (+1), who beat the Cowboys 31-14.

Over bettors were dealt a bad beat when the Chicago-Dallas game stayed under 50 after the teams combined for 38 points in the first half.

“It was a miracle that that game stayed under with multiple interceptions in the end zone in the fourth quarter. That was huge,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “It was, by far, the best Sunday for our side of the counter to date this season.”

Favorite things

Favorites went 11-3 straight up Sunday and 9-5 against the spread. Unders went 8-6. Besides the Eagles, the best games for bettors were the Colts (-6, beat Titans 41-20), Chargers (-2½, beat Broncos 23-20), Vikings (-3, beat Bengals 48-10), Steelers (-1, beat Patriots 21-14) and Chiefs (-6, beat Giants 22-9).

The Commanders cruised to a 41-24 victory and cover over the Raiders as 3-point favorites with Marcus Mariota starting at quarterback in place of the injured Jayden Daniels.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.

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