Patrick Mahomes is the hero we've been waiting for

Every NFL Sunday there are players who capture and break hearts across America. BetAmerica’s weekly Heroes and Villains feature highlights the players who made and lost money for NFL bettors.

Villain: Aaron Rodgers

The Green Bay Packers quarterback could have been a hero. Instead he ruined the day for not just one, but two kinds of bettors in the NFC Championship Game.

The Green Bay (+8) offense got off to a sluggish start against a 49ers defense that finished the season ranked first in total yards allowed per game. In the first three drives the Packers never ran more than five plays. When the Packers got rolling, Rodgers was stripped. That fumble turned into a San Francisco field goal that made the game 20-0.

There was still enough time to get within one score of the spread before half, but Rodgers threw an interception with less than a minute left in the half to give the 49ers a chance for another easy touchdown.

With San Francisco up 27-0 at the half, plenty of underdog bettors trashed their tickets. The Under (47) was still alive until Rodgers ruined that too.

The Packers scored touchdowns on their first three possessions of the second half. The final touchdown, with eight minutes to play, cut the San Francisco lead to 14 points and hit the Over. The Pack never got any closer. Rodgers wasn’t good enough to return to the Super Bowl, but he was just good enough to ruin the day for bettors across America.

Hero: Patrick Mahomes

The Tennessee Titans (+7) led at halftime against the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens. Ahead 17-14 with less than two minutes to play, it felt like the worst possible scenario for the Titans was a Kansas City field goal to tie it before the break. Then Patrick Mahomes happened.

Starting a drive on the Kansas City 14-yard line, the reigning NFL MVP converted two third downs to march into enemy territory. With only 23 seconds on the clock, the Titans called the perfect defense. The quarterback spy still couldn’t stop Mahomes.

Even though his touchdown run only gave the Chiefs a four-point advantage, it crippled the Titans in frigid Kansas City. Mike Vrabel could not lean on NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry to carry them to the promised land in Miami.

In the second half Damien Williams rushed for a touchdown and Mahomes dialed-up a 60-yard bomb to Sammy Watkins. The score that clinched the victory outright also just put the spread out of reach and hit the over by a point.

Mahomes finished the day with 294 passing yards and three touchdowns, along with a team-high 53 rushing yards and the incredible score before half. That kind of production is going to be awfully hard to bet against in Super Bowl LIV.

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