# What would happen if during the Super Bowl there was an blantantly corrupt play to allow the other team to win? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-nfl\ **Created:** [November 20, 2021, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-during-the-super-bowl-there-was-an-blantantly-corrupt-play-to-allow-the-other-team-to-win/954659 "2021-11-20T06:17:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-during-the-super-bowl-there-was-an-blantantly-corrupt-play-to-allow-the-other-team-to-win/954659/1 "2021-11-20T06:17:55Z")
Like I’m saying if the Texans and the Cowboys were at the Super Bowl, Texans are up 3 points in the final minute of the game. Cowboys line up for a field goal to tie. However the moment the ball is snapped, the Quarterback just takes the ball and walks it up the field for a touchdown while the Texans just stand there openly doing nothing to even attempt to stop him, and the Cowboys win the game. Would non-NFL bodies get involved in the investigation? Could the Government have a “MLB steroid scandal” style investigation but with the “NFL Game Throwing”? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-during-the-super-bowl-there-was-an-blantantly-corrupt-play-to-allow-the-other-team-to-win/954659/2 "2021-11-20T06:30:38Z")
There have been situations where a team allowed the other team to score late in the game because they expected they would and wanted to let it happen so that they could get the ball back with enough time left to turn it back around. However, those tend to be somewhat less obvious than what you describe. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-during-the-super-bowl-there-was-an-blantantly-corrupt-play-to-allow-the-other-team-to-win/954659/3 "2021-11-20T07:28:12Z")
I imagine there would no doubt be a very serious investigation done by the league, possibly even with the FBI stepping in, and if there were solid proof of game-throwing, then the game outcome would not only be canceled (doesn’t “count”) but the guilty players would be banned from the game for life, maybe even face federal charges. Even if that didn’t happen, the players would be hounded for the rest of their lives by fans and other people demanding answers. They would never have a moment of peaceful existence again. So if the Texans were to really try to throw the game so that they’d lose, they’d no doubt try it a far more subtle way, like ‘missing’ a tackle or a coverage that’s blown enough to let the Cowboys receiver score yet still with plausible deniability for the Texans DB, such as the cornerback trailing the receiver by 5 yards, a reasonable blown coverage. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-during-the-super-bowl-there-was-an-blantantly-corrupt-play-to-allow-the-other-team-to-win/954659/4 "2021-11-20T08:46:06Z")
I imagine in this scenario the game throwing being blatant is the entire point. Maybe it’s the players making a statement about race/concussions, or maybe somebody just wanted to send a message and bribed enough players to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-during-the-super-bowl-there-was-an-blantantly-corrupt-play-to-allow-the-other-team-to-win/954659/5 "2021-11-20T10:29:34Z")
So both QBs are ready for retirement and have laid off big money through proxies in Vegas. Nothing personal, just business. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-during-the-super-bowl-there-was-an-blantantly-corrupt-play-to-allow-the-other-team-to-win/954659/6 "2021-11-20T13:02:46Z")
If it’s blatant cheating then no book is going to pay off. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-during-the-super-bowl-there-was-an-blantantly-corrupt-play-to-allow-the-other-team-to-win/954659/7 "2021-11-20T13:24:55Z")
Oh gee, then I was wrong - not a first ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecc23a/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada_Jr)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-during-the-super-bowl-there-was-an-blantantly-corrupt-play-to-allow-the-other-team-to-win/954659/8 "2021-12-01T21:19:29Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > If it’s blatant cheating then no book is going to pay off. What would the books do with the bets? Return all or keep all? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-during-the-super-bowl-there-was-an-blantantly-corrupt-play-to-allow-the-other-team-to-win/954659/9 "2021-12-20T13:29:18Z")
Probably just like when a horse scratches before post time. Canceled bets get the amount wagered refunded. Always hold on to your tickets. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-during-the-super-bowl-there-was-an-blantantly-corrupt-play-to-allow-the-other-team-to-win/954659/10 "2021-12-20T17:39:52Z")
Non-factual answer: The Texans’ defense is so bad these days that this play could happen with them actually _trying_ to stop him, and they just do such a bad job of defending that it looks like they didn’t make a legitimate attempt.