Kansas City Chiefs punter Matt Araiza intentionally tiptoed out of the end zone Saturday to surrender a safety, which added meaningless points to the scoreboard but shook the gambling world.

The Chiefs led by 11 points and faced a fourth-down play on their own 18-yard line. Araiza was in punt formation when he took the snap and ran out of the end zone for a safety. This was a rush of negative-18 yards. The Chiefs take a safety and changes their lead from 11 to 9 23-14 pic.twitter.com/q8ZaHPknwO

They’ve joined a team that’s already won two Super Bowls while aiming for a three-peat. Yet they haven’t been on the field for that previous success, looking instead to get their first experience of winning an NFL title. The noteworthy group includes veterans like receivers Hollywood Brown and DeAndre Hopkins and running back Kareem Hunt.

The final minutes of the divisional-round game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans featured no lead changes, but they were a whirlwind for bettors.

The Kansas City Chiefs fans who bet on their team's spread for Saturday's AFC Divisional Round matchup against the Houston Texans could not have suffered

Bettors who backed the Chiefs as 9½-point favorites Saturday over the Texans suffered an excruciating loss when Kansas City took an intentional safety.

Once the NFL playoffs start, the Kansas City Chiefs always find a way to win, and once again, that was the case on Saturday during their 23-14 divisional round playoff win over the Houston Texans. The Chiefs didn't force a single turnover and they got outgained by 124 yards (336-212),

While it felt like the Chiefs were in a reasonably comfortable spot late in the game, with Houston needing a near-miracle to overcome an 11-point deficit as the clock wound down below two minutes, there was some considerable spread drama at play for those who bet on the game.

Chaos erupted at Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s final press conference Thursday after an announced Israel-Hamas cease-fire and hostage deal, with State Department employees forcibly removing reporters who accused the cabinet official of allowing a “genocide” in Gaza.

The deadline for the start of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip passed as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had not lived up to its commitment to provide the names of the three hostages it was set to release later on Sunday in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.

With the Houston Texans trying to mount a late (unlikely) rally, Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn had his kick blocked by the Chiefs’ special teams unit. This was music to the ears of Chiefs bettors sweating the spread with an almost impossible late cover.