The Steelers notched a huge win in Baltimore to move back into first in the AFC North, thanks to a ruling that a touchdown wasn’t actually a touchdown. The Saints upset the Bucs which allowed the Panthers to tie Tampa Bay for the lead in the NFC South. Buffalo used a 4th-quarter comeback to beat Cincy, which put a severe damper on the playoff hopes of the Bengals. Detroit won a shootout over the Boys, and Miami stayed alive with a win over the Jets. The Jags took over first place in the AFC South by spanking the Colts, who face a tough last month without their top two quarterbacks. The Pack moved into first in the NFC North with a late interception against the Bears, while the Rams and Seahawks stayed tied atop the NFC West. The Texans won in KC, which means the Chiefs are officially on life support. The Chargers beat the Eagles in a turnover-filled OT game on Monday night, and 4 more teams have been eliminated.
Tampa Bay will try to get back in the winning column when they host Atlanta on Thursday, while, on Sunday, the Ravens need a win in Cincinnati. The Chargers visit Arrowhead with a chance to end the playoff hopes for the Chiefs, and the Bills face the Patriots in Foxborough to try to stay in the race for the AFC East. The Pack travel to Denver in a battle of top-tier teams, and the Seahawks look to keep rolling when they host the Colts. The Lions visit the Rams, Minnesota visits Dallas on Sunday night, and the Steelers host the Dolphins on Monday night.
Here are this week’s lines. All spreads taken from ESPNBet on Tuesday the 9th at 8:40 am CT.
You didn’t mention that the Browns maybe possibly lost to the Titans on purpose which is pretty rare and notable. They pulled Sanders out after he’d just lead a couple of comeback drives to do a wildcard play on a 2 point conversion that looked like a clusterfuck. A lot of people immediately assumed the Browns lost on purpose to tank.
I’m actually not sure – we were so inept at quarterback that we’d been trying wildcard type plays in short yardage for a couple of games and I think maybe the Browns coaches thought they were setting something up by running a bunch of wildcards and then using a similar play design and then using misdirection to exploit the defenses keying on their previous plays.
Either way, it was a complete clusterfuck and I don’t really mind the extra loss.
It’s rare and notable in the fact that it occurred in Week 14. Teams losing on purpose (or not playing their starters) is relatively common in the last couple of weeks of the season. (See: Chiefs vs Broncos in the last regular-season game last year.)
But it certainly was a strange play call with a strange lineup.
Stefanski and several of the players are looking at losing their jobs. Unless they have some kind of ironclad guarantee they have jobs next season, they don’t want to look completely inept to other teams. Maybe a head coach in their first season does that if they inherited a bad team. But not a 6th year coach whose seat has to be toasty.
You see the reverse way too often - coaches risking player health to salvage whatever they can. Like Daboll and Dart. Or Dan Quinn with Daniels
WOW, Four double digit underdogs and another at -9.5. Colts going from a playoff team to spoiled meat. Got to have a QB in this league. The only thing holding up my Brownies from being a wet mop is a top shelf defense.
That one’s an indictment of the Broncos, as some feel their winning streak and record aren’t representative of the actual team. I disagree, especially with Green Bay coming off a big win against Chicago and going back to play them again next week.
If that’s how it shakes out, though, I’ll take it. This Packers team is closer and closer to being a complete team, and it makes my little Cheesehead heart happy.
Someone has to come up with the first point spread, right? Oddsmakers at market-making sportsbooks are some of the best in the world.
Nowadays, they use a heavily-statistical approach. All oddsmakers have “power ratings” that project what each team would be against another on a neutral field or court. They then make adjustments based on home-court advantage, injuries, rest, travel situations, current form, and more.
I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen the Seahawks favored by almost two touchdowns. Holy crap.
Seattle was only a 9.5 point favorite when the Vikings came in, and ended up winning 26-0.
I do like the fact that Seattle controls its own destiny. If it wins out (which is absolutely not impossible) they would have the #1 seed. The biggest clincher is the rematch with the Rams.
My wife and I watched the Hawks “Game in 40” on our streaming service last night. It’s the first game of theirs I’ve seen this season. They look really impressive, just an extremely well balanced team.
Rivers turned 44 years old yesterday; because he finished his career as quarterback of these same Indianapolis Colts, and presumably still has friendly contacts within the organization, you probably cannot rule out that this is some sort of birthday-related stunt, or prank.
The 2025 Superbowl teams - who together account for the last 3 Lombardi trophies, and 5 of the last 6 Superbowl entries - seem to have lost their way.
The Chiefs are 1-4 in their past 5 games, and now need a minor miracle to qualify for the postseason.
The Eagles are 2-3 in their past 5 games, still leading the NFC East but seemingly unable to put forward even a convincing impression of a team that can make it to Levi’s Stadium in February (without buying 53 expensive tickets).
It would have been the story of the year if instead of Rivers, they lured Andrew Luck out of retirement. He’s only 36 and the vibes would have been off the charts if he saved their season.
