Football fans once again took to social media to suggest that the National Football League (NFL) games are being rigged, and this time it doesn’t involve the Kansas City Chiefs.
Social media erupted over a sequence at the end of Sunday’s game between the Denver Broncos and longtime division rival the Las Vegas Raiders when a bizarre call by one of the officials allowed the Raiders to kick a field goal as the clock ran out, a “meaningless” score in a game that was already lost on the field but a critical three points when it came to the spread.
ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL FOR BRONCOS -7.5 AND UNDER 40.5 BETTORS
The clock was going to run out but the Broncos commit a delay of game penalty and the Raiders kick a field goal and lose 24-17.
Raiders +7.5 and the over 40.5 both cash.pic.twitter.com/3xzhnamGhw
— Pikkit (@pikkitsports) December 8, 2025
Trailing 24-14 with a mere 16 seconds left in the contest, Las Vegas moved the ball to its own 40 yard line when backup quarterback Kenny Pickett evaded a sack and connected with wide receiver Tyler Lockett for a 26-yard-gain as time was ticking down to double zero which it would have done were it not for the timely throwing of a yellow flag, stopping the clock on a dubious delay of game penalty on a Denver player.
With the big gain and a free time out courtesy of the refs, Raiders coach Pete Carroll sent in the field goal unit for the score that would provide the deciding points in covering the spread for bookmakers, a result that launched Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy into orbit.
THIS FLAG NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED. THAT IS THE MOST RANDOM BOGUS PHANTOM FLAG OF ALL TIME. THAT REF NEEDS HIS FINANCIAL RECORDS AND HIS CELL PHONE SEIZED. HE HAD TO BE ON THE TAKE. IVE NEVER SEE. ANYTHING LIKE IT. #nflrigged pic.twitter.com/MLxXKPlKvB
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) December 8, 2025
“THIS FLAG NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED. THAT IS THE MOST RANDOM BOGUS PHANTOM FLAG OF ALL TIME. THAT REF NEEDS HIS FINANCIAL RECORDS AND HIS CELL PHONE SEIZED. HE HAD TO BE ON THE TAKE. IVE NEVER SEE.ANYTHING LIKE IT,” wrote Portnoy in a post to X, sharing the controversial sequence.
The popular sports influencer also went off on the Raiders coach, demanding an investigation and calling for Carroll to be jailed before suggesting that he should also be killed.
“I gotta rewind this. That’s the worst f***ing beat of all time. This is the worst beat of all time. Pete Carroll should be in f***ing prison. Prison for Pete Carroll!” Portnoy ranted in a video posted to X, adding, “The spread’s eight-and-a-half. They spiked the ball, by the way. They ran up and spiked it as a temp- prison Pete Carroll! Murder Pete Carroll! I want Pete Carroll Murdered!”
On Monday, Carroll explained his decision to send kicker Daniel Carlson out for the “meaningless” field goal.
“I knew it was going to look stupid, like you couldn’t figure out why we were doing it,” the Raiders coach said, according to ESPN. “… But there was a clear thought of what we were trying to get down there, just to take it down to the very last click. That might not be good enough for you, I understand that, but I think you can see what we were trying to do, but it just didn’t work out.”
The Barstool Sports founder and pizza connoisseur would later apologize for his outburst about Carroll, but he was far from the only one who was outraged over the last-second field goal and the coaching decision.
“Broncos-Raiders feels like something more than just a ‘bad beat.’ Maybe it’s just a pride thing to kick the meaningless field goal that just happened to cover the 7.5 or a ref wanted to make a point regarding the delay call. But that was some series of events to get the Raiders the cover,” wrote former “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd.
Broncos-Raiders feels like something more than just a “bad beat.” Maybe it’s just a pride thing to kick the meaningless field goal that just happened to cover the 7.5 or a ref wanted to make a point regarding the delay call. But that was some series of events to get the Raiders…
— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) December 8, 2025
More reactions.
Just saw the end of the Broncos-Raiders game. There should be an FBI investigation AND a 30-for-30 on how Vegas covered +7.5.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) December 8, 2025
Was Broncos/Raiders a Rigged Game? Meaningless Field Goal to Rig the Cover for the Raiders! pic.twitter.com/aJXgwkh3xR
— Vic Monte (@TheVicMonte) December 7, 2025
This is why no one trusts that there is any integrity in sports anymore. You can’t watch this sequence and say that there isn’t some rigging going on. Kicking a FG down 10 to beat the spread? Shady as hell! https://t.co/wH5kogHo6Z
— Chris Fisher (@cFishFL) December 8, 2025
You don’t kick this unless you know and care about the spread number.. disgusting by Pete Carroll.. raiders clearly owned and influenced by casinos that needed that game to go a certain way https://t.co/VqBihD3XNW
— Brody Andersen (@brody_andersen) December 8, 2025
The NFL is rigged. Las Vegas kicking a last second junk FG to cover the +7.5 line.
Bullshit. No other reason to kick that than to cover a bet.
— Maynard (@ItIsMaynard) December 7, 2025
That Broncos vs Raiders ending just proved to me that sports betting is officially rigged.
Broncos -8.5 to cover. Up 10 with a minute left.
Suddenly, some dipshit on the Broncos purposely gets a delay of game to allow the Raiders to get a FG while down 10 with 5 secs left.
— chri (@chri_hin) December 8, 2025
It didn’t get as much attention, but Denver coach Sean Payton’s decision to pass up a chip-shot field goal of his own prior to the final sequence also seemed a bit hinky.
The wild ending comes amid increasing questions about the impact of legalized gambling in professional sports and the October arrests of an NBA coach and player as part of an FBI investigation into bet rigging, a major scandal that may be only the tip of the iceberg.
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Chris Donaldson is an ordinary American who is concerned about rampant corruption as well as the ongoing attacks on our way of life by those who have contempt for our hard-earned freedoms. A Navy veteran, he has been a frequent contributor to conservative websites and resides in Florida.
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