Monday’s six-pack
Six most popular picks in Week 15 of the Westgate SuperContest:
6) Patriots (430) -3.5- W
5) Lions (433) +4- L
4) Ravens (456) -5.5- L
3) Raiders (501) -3- T
2) Buccaneers (593) +6.5- W
1) Steelers (603) -3- W
Monday’s List of 13: Wrapping up an NFL Sunday
Giants 17, Lions 6— Seattle jumps Detroit into #2 seed in NFC after an inept offensive performance by Lions in their 3rd (and last) outdoor game of year. Giants are 8-1 in last nine games, now head on road to Philly/Washington to end season. Last eight Detroit games stayed under the total, as have last six Giant games.
Steelers 24, Bengals 20— Bengals led 20-6 wth 2:51 left in first half, but Steelers kicked FG’s on five consecutive drives, then finally scored TD and won/covered fifth game in row, with four of those wins on road- they’ve now won seven of last eight games with Cincinnati. Favorites are 8-1 vs spread in AFC North divisional games this season.
Ravens 27, Eagles 26— Eagles scored TD with 0:04 left, went for two points and the win, a play I just disagree with, especially on road with a rookie QB who had just run for a TD. Tennessee did it, failed but wound up winning anyway. Philly has now lost nine of last ten games after a 3-0 start; they’re 1-7 on road. Ravens won its last five home games (4-1 vs spread).
Every TV announcer “loves the aggressive nature of going for two” in that spot. Without fail, they cover the coach’s butt by saying that, but I disagree. Let your entire team decide the game.
Packers 30, Bears 27— Green Bay blew a 27-10 4th quarter lead, but Rodgers hit Jordy Nelson with a 60-yard bomb to set up the GW field goal with 0:03 left. Packers have now won last seven games in Chicago, but Bears have to like what they see out of 3rd-string QB Barkley.
if Dallas wins Sunday night, Packers are tied with Tampa Bay for last Wild Card slot.
Colts 34, Vikings 6— Stunning no-show by Minnesota that basically ends their season; game was 27-nil at the half. I spent 50 Sunday afternoons watching Sam Bradford play for the Rams, so I’m not totally surprised by all this, and the Norv Turner resignation should’ve raised the red flag about as high as it can go, that there were big problems with this team.
Bills 33, Browns 13— Worst thing for the Browns is that they still have zero idea who their QB is as they move towards 2017. Cleveland is 2-12 vs spread; ’08 Lions went 0-16, but were 7-9 against spread. In its last four games, Cleveland was outscored 65-9 in first half. Buffalo is 7-1 if they allow 21 or less points, 0-6 if they allow more. Over is 11-2 in Buffalo’s last 13 games.
Titans 19, Chiefs 17— Chiefs led 14-0 after 10:31 of play but lost. Kansas City had the ball with 3:12 left up 17-16 and Tennessee had no timeouts left (other than 2:00 warning), but Chiefs couldn’t get a first down and lost 19-17 at home for the second time in five weeks (Bucs were other loss). Tennessee has now won four of last five games; they went for two-point conversion and the lead with 3:12 left, down 17-16 and won despite not getting it.
Texans 21, Jaguars 20— Houston benched Brock Osweiler after his second INT; he has $37M in guaranteed money coming his way. Bill O’Brien coached this game like he was getting fired if Houston misses the playoffs— Tom Savage may have saved O’Brien’s butt by leading this comeback that makes the Texans 6-1 at home this season. Jaguars lost their ninth game in a row; they fired coach Gus Bradley after the game- at least he’ll get to spend Christmas with his family.
Saints 48, Cardinals 41— 20 possessions in this game; 11 TD’s, three FG’s tried, not a lot of defense played. Cardinals have now allowed 30.9 pts/game their last seven games, giving up 22 TD’s on opponents’ last 72 drives. NFC South non-divisional road underdogs are 10-2 vs spread this season. Except for Seattle, NFC West has been a dumpster fire in 2016.
Falcons 41, 49ers 13— First three times they had the ball, Atlanta ran 22 plays for 157 yards and a quick 21-nil lead— Falcons coasted the rest of the way, running ball for 248 yards, throwing for 302. 49ers haven’t won since Week 1; they allowed 12.6 yards/pass attempt in this game. In their last three games, Niners have been outscored 52-0 in second half. I’m going to spend Christmas Eve in a sportsbook watching Rams-49ers; Feliz Navidad. Over is 12-2 in Falcon games this season.
Patriots 16, Broncos 3— In their last three games, Denver has two offensive TDs on 35 drives; we’re going to find out this winter how patient John Elway is. Will he go after Tony Romo and try to jumpstart his offense for 2017? Patriots won for just second time in last eight visits here. Under is 8-3 in last 11 Denver games, 4-1 in last five Patriot games.
Raiders 19, Chargers 16— Two years ago, Oakland went 3-13 with rookie Derek Carr at QB; things have improved for him. Oakland is 6-1 in true road games this year; they’re 8-1 in games decided by 7 or less points, thanks in large part to a +15 turnover ratio. San Diego is 1-7 in games decided by 7 or less points; their TO ratio is -6. There is a very fine line between winning and losing in the NFL.
Cowboys 26, Buccaneers 20— Prescott went 32-36/280 in this highly entertaining game; putting to rest any potential QB controversy. Jameis Winston is going to be really good; this was his first game in the brightest of NFL spotlights. Bucs’ 5-game win streak is snapped. Packer fans were rooting like hell for Dallas, Giant fans were rooting for Tampa Bay
