Norm Hall/Getty Images. Pictured: Andy Isabella
So you’ve bet the Detroit Lions at +6 in Green Bay against the Packers, and Detroit is down 30-20.
Jared Goff gets the ball back with two minutes left to play.
Obviously, you’re not covering at the moment (down 10 with a spread of +6), but you could still find your way to a win …
… with the help of a backdoor cover.
_BookPromo=76
What Is a Backdoor Cover in Sports Betting?
A backdoor cover occurs when an underdog is trailing by more than the point spread, and scores meaningless points late in the game to cover the spread.
In the case above, the backdoor cover would come by way of Goff leading the Lions into the end zone to get the score within +6 (30-27).
The touchdown may wind up being meaningless to the outcome of the game, but it’ll certainly hold meaning to anyone holding a spread ticket.
Because of this, backdoor covers provide some of the worst beats.
A Backdoor Cover Only Applies to Underdogs …
The very nature of the phrase — backdoor — implies that the team is the underdog and is sneaking in a cover.
A frontdoor cover is when the favorite does the same thing — scores a meaningless late touchdown to cover the spread without really changing the outcome of the game.
Next in Betting Education 101: Hook
