2008 NFL Week 14 Betting Tips
It’s time for another weekend of football, and just like any other weekend, this Sunday’s schedule promises to be a good one.
Week 14 of the 2008-09 NFL football season begins slowly on a Thursday night when the league features two teams struggling at this point of the year. The Chargers, losers of their last three games, will play hosts to the Raiders, losers of the last three years, when the NFL kicks-off the brand new week exclusively for people who subscribed to the NFL Network.
The San Diego Chargers haven’t had a losing season in five years. It’s been just as long since their last loss to the Oakland Raiders. The Chargers, possibly the most disappointing team of the season, want to make sure neither of those streaks end Thursday night, as they host the Raiders, looking to avoid putting their slim playoff hopes at risk this weekend.
That’s why the San Diego Chargers can’t afford to lose to the Raiders on Thursday. We’re picking them by seven.
With a one-game lead in the NFC North, the Minnesota Vikings need every victory they can get to remain atop the division. Having a pair of Pro Bowl defensive linemen on the field certainly can’t hurt their cause. After a Minnesota judge issued a temporary restraining order this week blocking their league suspensions, Kevin and Pat Williams will likely be available for the Vikings this Sunday against the winless Detroit Lions. The Vikings have won 12 of their past 13 meetings with the Lions overall and if you’re betting on this game, avoid the 0-12 Lions at all cost.
Minnesota Vikings by 14.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is probably getting blamed more than he deserves for the Cheeseheads’ problems lately. Matt Schaub, meanwhile, can’t take any credit for two straight surprising wins for the Houston Texans. Both of these guys will have the chance to outplay each other and while the Texans may have won two straight games, the Packers still have the best secondary in football and THAT is reason enough to put some money on these guys.
Green Bay Packers by three.
Next, we have the Atlanta Falcons who just keep on winning, entering the season’s home stretch in the driver’s seat for a surprising playoff berth in the NFC. They have the disappointing New Orleans Saints next, a team down to their last gasp for a postseason appearance. The last-place Saints will be desperate for a victory at home on Sunday when the Falcons try to complete a season sweep of their NFC South rivals and bolster their positioning in a crowded playoff chase. And while the Saints may be in last place, I’m quite sure Drew Brees won’t let their home crowd down and lose to the young Falcons. After all, Brees, despite the Saints’ problems, still is one of the league’s candidates for MVP to me.
New Orleans Saints by seven.
The best team in the NFL always garners plenty of headlines, just not usually outside the realm of sports media. That is exactly what the New York Giants had. National attention from even the most casual of sports fans has been heaped upon the Giants due to the Plaxico Burress situation, and overcoming that enormous distraction, particularly for Antonio Pierce, is what they face Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. Clinching the NFC East title and a first-round bye in the playoffs, which New York (11-1) will do with a victory, would usually be a celebratory occasion, but might just be more of a relief than anything else to a Giants team in turmoil.
Still, this is the New York Giants, the defending Super Bowl champions, beating the Eagles by at least three points shouldn’t be a problem.
The Tennessee Titans completed a late run to the playoffs last year with a victory in the final game of the regular season. This season, the Titans don’t have to wait until the last minute to make plans for January. Tennessee can wrap up its first division title since 2002 on Sunday when it hosts the Cleveland Browns, the team it beat out for the AFC’s final wild card berth a year ago. And since Cleveland is turning out to be even worse than Oakland the last few weeks, bet on the Titans to get the job done.
Tennessee Titans by seven.
The Brady-less New England Patriots may need to win their final four games to have a chance at a postseason berth, a task coach Bill Belichick’s team hopes to begin when it opens a week-long West Coast trip by visiting the struggling Seattle Seahawks for the first time in 15 years. The Patriots are tied with Miami for second place in the AFC East, trailing the New York Jets by one game in the division and trailing both Indianapolis and Baltimore by a game each in the race for the AFC’s wild card spots. A win this Sunday is a must for the Patriots. Beating the struggling Seahawks shouldn’t be a problem.
New England Patriots by 14.
Some extra time off and facing a division rival may be just what the Arizona Cardinals need to get back on track and clinch their first division title since 1975. They have the St. Louis Rams visiting them at the University of Phoenix Stadium this Sunday and the Cardinals, led by probably the leading candidate for MVP, Kurt Warner, can take advantage of this opportunity of playing a struggling team to get things back on track after dropping their last two games.
Arizona Cardinals by 14.
The Miami Dolphins face the Buffalo Bills next with both teams still in the playoff hunt. The AFC East rivals travel to the Rogers Centre in Toronto on Sunday for the first regular season NFL game in Canada and since both teams are looking for a postseason run, this is a rare treat for Canadian NFL fans. Miami (7-5) hasn’t made the playoffs since it went 11-5 in 2001, and hasn’t been in the race this late in the year since 2003. The Dolphins finished 10-6 that season, but ultimately fell short. But since the Dolphins have won five of their last six games, including a 16-12 victory at St. Louis last Sunday, they will have all kinds of momentum heading to their big game against the Bills and I have a feeling the Dolphins will finally take the Bills out of their misery come gametime.
Miami Dolphins by three.
Next, we have the Denver Broncos looking to move closer to its first playoff berth in three years and avenge its early-season loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. These division rivals meet Sunday at Invesco Field in what should be a lopsided affair in favor of the home team. Jeez… You should know by now that thou shall not bet on Kansas City this season.
Denver Broncos by seven.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will try to bounce back from a loss they suffered to the Minnesota Vikings, 30-12, last week when they visit the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Jack Del Rio was visibly upset as they fumbled twice in the first 20 seconds and fell behind 14-0 in the first two minutes. He called the performance ‘’unacceptable.’’ The problem is, they’ll run into a brick wall this Sunday in Chicago, where letting a struggling team from Jacksonville score over one of the best defenses in the league, is deemed ‘’unacceptable’’ as well.
Chicago Bears by three.
In what could be the one of the most lopsided games of the week, the Indianapolis Colts will try to take advantage of the lowly Cincinnati Bengals when the two teams clash Sunday. After a strong performance from his defense and special teams units, his team posted its fifth straight victory and stands at 8-4 for the season heading into this week’s home game with Cincinnati. Of course, Colts coach Tony Dungy was more than happy about it, although he still claims they’re taking it one game at a time. ‘’I look at every game, how we played,’’ Dungy said. ‘’We played the Browns a 13-6 game (in 2005). I think that was in the middle of our 13-game winning streak. And they probably played us the closest of anybody in that stretch. So it’s not, ‘Hey, you should beat this team by X number of points.’ It’s how you play that particular day.’’
And while Dungy refuses to tell us how much will the Indianapolis Colts beat the Bengals, we will, Colts by 14.
The red-hot New York Jets travel to the Bay area to face the San Francisco 49ers. 49ers interim head coach Mike Singletary unveiled a banner he calls, ‘’49ers formula for success.’’ It’s a five-point plan in which the fifth element is ‘’finish.’’ It took them awhile, but the 49ers finally finished a game Sunday in their 10-3 victory over the Buffalo Bills. But since they have the immortal Brett Favre coming to town, the only team finishing at Candlestick Park is the red-hot team from New York as they look to remain on top of the AFC East.
New York Jets by seven.
The Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers meet in what should be an intriguing game next as both teams look to remain at the top of their game after all the problems they’ve had with the quarterback position last month. With Tony Romo back and Ben Roethlisberger shaking off his injuries, both quarterbacks led their respective teams to three straight victories. One streak will end come gametime and it’s anybody’s game at this point.
We’re picking the Dallas Cowboys by three just because we like Jessica Simpson happy.
Concluding this Sunday’s games as always will be Sunday Night Football and this week, we have two teams looking to keep their playoff hopes alive as we head to the final stretch of the season.
The Baltimore Ravens will go for their seventh win in eight games on Sunday night when they open a challenging stretch by visiting the mercurial Washington Redskins. Despite playing for a rookie coach, employing a first-year quarterback and playing with much the same roster that went 5-11 last season, Baltimore (8-4) is only one game behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North and currently in position to make the postseason as a wild-card team. But Baltimore is just 2-4 against teams with winning records. That includes a 31-3 loss to Indianapolis and a 30-10 defeat against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. And since the Redskins, at 7-5, are still looking to catch the Giants in the NFC East, figuring out which team to bet on for Sunday Night Football should be easy.
Washington Redskins by three.
And finally, we have Monday Night Football. And this week, we have two teams facing off for the second time, only this time, they have the top spot in the NFC South at stake.
Jeff Garcia took full advantage of a chance to get back into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting lineup when he faced the Carolina Panthers back in October. There’s something about playing Carolina that brings out the best in Jeff Garcia, in fact, the veteran rarely fails to impress against the Panthers every time he sees them across the field. And since the Buccaneers have now won four in a row to post a 9-3 mark, we have these guys beating the Panthers in what should be a close encounter.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers by three.
Who will win Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida? Bodog sportsbook has the odds.
New York Giants 17.00
New England Patriots 4.50
Dallas Cowboys 7.00
Indianapolis Colts 8.50
Want more odds? Visit Bodog sportsbook for more football betting odds. Want to watch the NFL live? Get NFL tickets online now.
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