| Week 14 of the NFL season boasts a plethora of inter-divisional showdowns, beginning with the Thursday Night Football match up between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans. It will be for your betting pleasure, as it certainly won’t be for your viewing pleasure, if these two teams continue on their early-season trajectory.
Back in May, the Titans were a one-point favorite. As bad as both these teams have been, that line might hold up by kickoff. More interesting, from an NFL odds and entertainment standpoint, will be Monday Night Football’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks could very well be vying for a Wild Card spot at this point. It’s likely their only hope of making the playoffs as the Los Angles Rams have run away with the NFC West in the first two months of the season. The Vikings could be anywhere from in Wild Card contention themselves or in command of the volatile NFC North. Minnesota got the early nod as a two-point favorite. This game could be a pick-em by the opening whistle. Sunday Night Football has a scheduled game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders, but there’s little doubt that NBC and the NFL will flex out of that one. The Steelers opened as a -3.5 favorite as a road team and that will probably stand. I just don’t see this game happening under the lights. Thursday Night Football, Dec. 6Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans Kickoff: 8:20 p.m. Broadcast: FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime Opening Line: Titans -4.5 The Jaguars opened the season 2-0 and looked every bit like a team that could contend for a Super Bowl, especially after a huge victory over the New England Patriots. We should have known that was all an illusion after the Titans knocked them off in Week three with a baseball score, 9-6. By the time October wrapped up, the Jaguars were already vying for a Top 10 pick, had benched Blake Bortles once, and, most telling, shut Jalen Ramsey’s mouth completely. Tennessee wasn’t any better through the first two months of the season. The breakout year for Marcus Mariota never materialized and they too limped into November with a losing record. While the NFL Odds might still favor the Titans when this game rolls around on the schedule, the NFL ratings probably won’t. Sunday Football, Dec. 9New York Jets at Buffalo Bills Kickoff: 1 p.m. EST Broadcast: CBS Opening Line: Bills -3.5 New York Giants at Washington Redskins Kickoff: 1 p.m. EST Broadcast: FOX Opening Line: Redskins -1.5 New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Kickoff: 1 p.m. EST Broadcast: FOX Opening Line: Saints -8.5 New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins Kickoff: 1 p.m. EST Broadcast: CBS Opening Line: Patriots -8 Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs Kickoff: 1 p.m. EST Broadcast: CBS Opening Line: Chiefs -7 Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans Kickoff: 1 p.m. EST Broadcast: CBSpacke Opening Line: Texans -4.5 Los Angeles Rams at Chicago Bears Kickoff: 1 p.m. EST Broadcast: FOX Opening Line: Rams -4 If you’re looking for a game that could be flexed to prime time, this one is it. If the Bears are still hanging around the top of the NFC North at this point in the season, this will easily be the best Sunday match up. Los Angeles ended October as the NFL’s final unbeaten team, finishing the first two months of the season 8-0. It’s their best start since 1969. Todd Gurley is squarely in the MVP race, along with his quarterback Jared Goff. As November opened, Aaron Donald led the NFL in sacks with 10 For the Bears, Matt Nagy has opened up the playbook for second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and the offense has consistently put up points. Through October, Chicago has beaten the teams it should have, and lost to the teams it should have. L.A. will likely be a -7.5 favorite by the time this one kicks off. Carolina Panthers at Cleveland Browns Kickoff: 1 p.m. EST Broadcast: FOX Opening Line: Panthers -1 Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers Kickoff: 1 p.m. EST Broadcast: FOX Opening Line: Packers -6 Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers Kickoff: 4:05 p.m. EST Broadcast: CBS Opening Line: Broncos -5.5 Cincinnati Bengals at Los Angeles Chargers Kickoff: 4:05 p.m. EST Broadcast: CBS Opening Line: Chargers -14.5 Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys Kickoff: 4:25 p.m. EST Broadcast: FOX Opening Line: Cowboys -4 Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals Kickoff: 4:25 p.m. EST Broadcast: FOX Opening Line: Lions -2.5
Sunday Night Football, Dec. 9Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders Kickoff: 8:20 p.m. EST Broadcast: NBC Opening Line: Steelers -11.5 As I said earlier, don’t expect to watch this game in the dark. The Pittsburgh Steelers have righted the ship after a September stumble and once again look like real Super Bowl contenders. The emergence cof running back James Conner has made Le’Veon Bell’s presence on the team irrelevant, regardless of whether Pittsburgh trades him or not. Things aren’t as rosy in Oakland as Jon Gruden had a fire sale of talent right before the NFL’s trade deadline and has obviously decided to tank the season for a Top Pick. Considering the team got two first rounders for Khalil Mack and one for Amari Cooper, they could have two in the Top 10 and three in the Top 20. Regardless, this game will be moving to 4:05 p.m. Monday Night Football, Dec. 10Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. EST Broadcast: ESPN Opening Line: Seahawks -3 It’s been an odd season for Monday Night Football. In year’s past, they’ve not gotten the best match ups by a longshot, but this year the NFL accidentally scheduled some solid games. In this one, the Vikings and Seahawks could be previewing Wild Card weekend. The truth is, these two teams should approach this one as a potential playoff game. The Vikings should be in a three-way battle with the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers not only for the NFC North, but for a five or six seed in the playoffs. Seattle likely has no divisional chance in the NFC West, but could still slide in as a five or six seed with Russell Wilson continually defying the NFL odds and getting his team victories in spite of their own talent sale-off in the offseason. |