Are NFL Kickers Impacting Totals Wagers?

One of the big stories in the second week of the 2018 NFL season was the fact that there were a ton of missed field goals throughout the week. And not just meaningless kicks in the first half of games, but some very important kicks in the fourth quarter and overtime of games. Most notably, the games between the Browns and Saints along with the Packers and Vikings were impacted by missed kicks. But were the totals of these games affected by the issues in the kicking game?

The game between the Browns and Saints was one of the most exciting of the weekend, as the double-digit underdogs from Cleveland nearly defeated the Saints thanks to their suffocating defense. But the Saints were able to put together a great second half comeback, thanks to a home field advantage that definitely helps them even if it doesn’t necessarily equal the team covering the spread consistently.

Late in that game, the Browns had a chance to take the lead with an extra point. Kicker Zane Gonzalez missed that kick, and the Saints were able to quickly drive down the field and kick a field goal of their own to take the lead. Shortly after, Gonzalez got another chance to kick, this time with a field goal attempt to tie the game resting at his foot. He missed that kick as well, sealing the victory for the Saints.

Gonzalez has since been released by the Browns, but bettors can rest easy knowing that Gonzalez did not impact the total of this game. The total heading into the game was set at 51 points, with the Saints winning 21-18. With the teams a combined 12 points short of the 51-point mark, everyone can rest assured that Gonzalez had nothing to do with the total staying under.

In the bonkers game between the Packers and Vikings that ended in a tie, both teams had kicking issues late in the game. Green Bay had a chance to win the game in regulation with a Mason Crosby field goal attempt, but he missed. Then the Vikings had two manageable field goal attempts in overtime to win the game, and kicker Daniel Carlson missed both. In a game that featured so many spectacular plays, neither team could boot the ball through the uprights to seal the deal.

However, the total was not impacted by all of these missed kicks. The game finished as a 29-29 tie, with the 58 combined points easily eclipsing the 45 points set as the total before game time. Just like weather doesn’t have as big an impact as people think, the blunders by the kickers in the week two NFL slate didn’t change the course of totals in the way that many might have thought.

Going forward, it will be interesting to keep an eye on the teams that are replacing kickers to see how their kicking game impacts them against the spread and in terms of totals. But in the cases of these high-profile kicking disasters, the damage to bettors was minimal.