It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Online betting season…
Oh man, 40-some odd bowl games, NFL Playoffs, and betting ourselves through the holidays. What better way is there to ignore family responsibilities and disappear into your man cave, favorite bar, or occupy yourself at work with betting? There’s basically nothing to do there anyway. Online betting season is always glorious and we better enjoy it, because the Super Bowl is only a short seven weeks away. Holy hell this season has flown by.
Week 15 cleared a few things up in the NFL
Speaking of flying by, the Eagles are absolutely horrendous. I know they have dealt with injuries, but they have weapons, a ton of talent, and a frustrating tendency to play down to their competition. I guess what I am saying is that they are just not that good. Fading them against Washington seemed like a great idea until Dwayne Haskins decided to gift wrap them a touchdown.
Every time Dallas does something like blow out a quality opponent like the Rams – by the way, this is the first time they creamed what I would call a quality opponent – you hear their fans scream “where has this team been all year?” It’s been hidden behind a terrible coaching staff. I’ve been a broken record about these guys since week four, but it’s true and everyone knows it. If the Cowboys beat Philly (more on that later) then somehow make a deep playoff run, then Jason Garrett’s job could be saved, which will spare us the possibility of Dallas being a Super Bowl contender every year.
The NFC West is loaded with talent, but Seattle has a problem: They are an injured Russell Wilson away from being a five-win team and the defense isn’t all that great. If you’re relying on your quarterback avoiding big hits and bailing you out or building a big lead and then hanging on down the stretch like they did against Carolina. They’re vulnerable. Bet accordingly.
Anyways, let’s bet some football games. But first, Go to ThePropsNetwork.com and get loaded up with legal online sportsbook bonuses. It’s crazy what the books are giving away in new legalized betting states like PA, NJ, IN and WV.
Sean’s Top 5 NFL Picks For This Week
(All lines are from Unibet) Browse your favorite US sportsbook.
Ravens at Browns
Spread: Ravens -10
O/U 49.5
The Browns are pathetic and they have to face the Ravens after beating them in Baltimore oh so many weeks ago. I know, it’s double-digits on the road and the line is implying Baltimore is 13-points better and I don’t really care. Baltimore will want to hit Cleveland in the mouth and rub it in. Baltimore’s doing what a lot of people thought the Browns would do but it’s hard to win when your game plans and schemes seem to be made up on the fly. I’m not really trusting laying this many point, but I just have a hunch that Baltimore goes in and creams them. It also doesn’t hurt that Cleveland is 1-3 ATS as a home dog. Cleveland will be motivated not to be embarrassed, but when you’re just plain bad that angle doesn’t hold much water. Baltimore is on course to cap their season and put an exclamation point on their being a Super Bowl favorite.
THE PICK: Baltimore -10
Raiders at Chargers
Spread: Raiders +7
O/U: 46
Yes, the Chargers are coming off a truly awful performance. You’d not be wrong to want to take them in a bounce back spot, but consider the fact that Rivers has been turning the ball over all season and that the Chargers defense is just plain undisciplined and bad. Rivalry games are tough ones to handicap, but the Chargers have lost three of four and have been on opposite sides of consecutive blowouts. Sure, they could come back and win this week, but covering seven is a tall order against Oakland.
THE PICK: Raiders +7
Cowboys at Eagles
Spread: Dallas -2.5
O/U 47.5
Dallas coming off a dominant performance stomping the Rams and Philly barely gets by the Redskins. The last times these two teams met in Dallas the Cowboys quickly got a couple turnovers and got out to a lead and Philly never seriously threatened. It’ll be 44-degrees on Sunday, so the weather won’t be a factor, but Philly’s 5-8 ATS while Dallas 8-6 thanks to their three big covers to start the year. Philly is 2-5 ATS at home and 0-2 as a home dog. Dallas is feeling it, has way more weapons, and Garrett is doing his annual late season push to prevent himself from being fired. The Cowboys are too stacked and the spread is short enough to feel better about yourself on your trip to the window.
THE PICK: Cowboys -2.5
Texans at Buccaneers
Spread: Houston -3.5
O/U: 49.5
I should have seen it coming with the Texans. It was their week to shine and Tannehill’s pick six flipped the game by 14 points. That was frustrating, though not completely surprising. But asking Houston to win two straight on the road and against one of the league’s best run defenses seems a little daunting to me. A friend of mine says that Jameis Winston throws a pick to start every game like LeBron does his chalk thing and he’s not wrong. Winston is in danger of not getting his fifth year picked up, but he can still light up a scoreboard. If it’s Bruce Arians matching wits against Bill O’Brien and Romeo Crennel then I’m gonna side with Arians every time.
Yeah, Houston is 4-2 as a road favorite and Tampa’s lost their only game in this spot. I mean, no matter how you slice it you’re looking at a passing on both sides. That leads me to the over. Tampa is 11-3 on the over, but Houston hasn’t been hitting as many overs because they get to play teams like Indy who inexplicably run the ball when down two scores. The total opened at 53 and is dropping. I like that a lot. I see a lot of offense in this one.
THE PICK: Over 49.5
Chiefs at Bears
Spread: Chiefs -6
O/U: 43
Ninety-three percent of the picks are on the Chiefs as of Wednesday night. I suspect that number could climb. Forty seven percent of the money is on Chicago meaning the sharps are rolling with the Bears penchant for coming up big as home dogs. The Bears are not an atrocious team, so getting almost a touchdown with them isn’t bad. Their defense can be ferocious and sure, Trubisky sucks, but in spite of what you’re hearing about the Chiefs defense coming together suddenly, so do they.
Look, I know the conventional wisdom here is to take the team that has it together and something to play for and is demonstrably better, but ask yourself what would have happened to the Chiefs if Brady had serviceable wide receivers or if Bill’s checks to the refs hadn’t bounced. The Bears are bad, but they are not laying almost a touchdown bad at home, are they? Fuck that noise, don’t get suckered in. This smells like a trap and looks like a trap. Take the Bears or stay away.
THE PICK: Bears +6
Stay tuned to The Props Network for the best bonuses and legal online betting picks this NFL season.
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