Jim Harbaugh's decision causes big swing for bettors

A bizarre final sequence in the San Francisco 49ers 13-6 win over the Seattle Seahawks Thursday night likely made Niners coach Jim Harbaugh both a very popular and very despised man among NFL gamblers.

With San Francisco favored by 7 1/2 points prior to the game, the 49ers held the 13-6 lead when Seattle got the ball back on their own 11 yard line with 1:36 left in the game. After getting pushed back to a 4th and 17 on their own 4, the Seahawks' Russell Wilson completed a 16 yard pass to receiver Ben Obomanu, falling just short of the first down marker.

Here's where the decision came in. A questionable chop block call was assessed on Seahawks lineman Paul McQuistan, resulting in an automatic safety. The added two points would have allowed gamblers who picked the 49ers to cover the spread, but also would have given Seattle an opportunity to attempt to recover the ensuing kickoff, even though there likely wouldn't have been enough time for the Seahawks to score on two possessions.

Had the Seahawks advanced the extra yard for a first down on the catch, Harbaugh likely accepts the safety and the 49ers cover. Since they didn't, he opts for the safe move and declines the penalty and extra two points, screwing over anyone who bet on his team in the process.

"You may watch football the rest of your entire adult life and never see something like that again. Who declines a safety? Harbaugh took +7.5," tweeted Todd Fuhrman, the former oddsmaker at Caesars Palace.

According to RJ Bell of Pregame.com, the decision swung an estimated $75 million worth of bets worldwide.

Somehow I'm guessing that the only number Harbaugh was paying attention to tonight was 5-2, which is now the 49ers record. Although he may want to hire a bodyguard for the next week or so.