Vikings Fail to Cover 5.5 Spread by Kneeling on XP After Miracle Stefon Diggs TD

The Minnesota Vikings beat the New Orleans Saints 29-24 on a dramatic 61-yard touchdown pass from Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs, but for many people, the game didn't end there.

NFL rules state a team has to attempt an extra point even if time expires, but instead of kicking, the Vikings elected to take a knee and accept the five-point win.

As Dave Tuley of VSiN.com noted, the final margin was huge for a lot of bettors:

OddsShark added that money line bettors are "absolutely sick," although they can join all Saints fans in that disgust with the way the game ended.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post provided a video of gamblers watching and celebrating during the final untimed down:

The Saints had actually already exited into the locker room, with reporters and other personnel swarming the field before the officials cleared everyone and the team returned for the last play. Considering it didn't matter for the game itself, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer had no problem sacrificing the one point for an extra bit of celebration for his team.

While some gamblers lost out on the cover, those who escaped with a push should be celebrating because of the unlikeliness of this game-winner:

Interestingly, the Pittsburgh Steelers also won or lost people money earlier in the day with a meaningless touchdown. As Darren Rovell of ESPN noted, the team covered the second-half line of minus-7.5 with their score with one second left.

The lesson seems to be that every point matters when spreads are involved, even when they don't affect the outcome of the game.