Close Calls - Week 1
By Joe Nelson
VegasInsider.com
Glancing at the scoreboard won’t tell you the whole story in most games.
Here are some of the games that went down to the wire relative to the spread in the fourth quarter last week in the first weekend of the NFL regular season, a wild first week with several tight games down the wire.
Denver Broncos (+3) 21, Carolina Panthers 20 (40½): Carolina appeared to be in complete control in the Super Bowl rematch to open the season, leading 17-7 at the half. Both teams failed in 3rd quarter opportunities but the Broncos struck early in the fourth quarter to get within three and then after a turnover the Broncos took the lead with fewer than 10 minutes to go in the game. Denver backers were in a good position at +3 and leading by four but Carolina had a new set of downs at the Denver 23-yard line with just over five minutes to go in the game. The Panthers opted to kick the field goal to climb within one-point and the defense held for a 3-and-out to get the ball back with still three minutes to go but just one timeout. Cam Newton took some big hits that mostly went ignored by the officials and eventually had the Panthers in field goal range but a 50-yard attempt with nine seconds on the clock missed left, following up a made attempt that was negated just in time by a Denver timeout. While a successful kick would not have helped those on the Panthers, most on the ‘over’ fell just short with the missed final kick as the common total was 41½ before a late slide before kickoff.
Minnesota Vikings (-2½) 25, Tennessee Titans 16 (40): The Titans took a 10-0 lead over Minnesota at the half but by the end of the third quarter the Vikings were in front 12-10 with a pair of field goals and a 77-yard interception return touchdown, though the extra-point was missed. The Minnesota defense continued to dominate in the fourth quarter allowing the Vikings two more field goals and scoring another defensive touchdown with a 24-yard fumble return as Minnesota took command 25-10. A late Tennessee touchdown helped some on the ‘over’ though many wound up with a push at 41 as the Titans went for two on the score with 26 seconds to go and failed.
Cincinnati Bengals (-1) 23, New York Jets 22 (42½): The Jets had the early lead in this AFC clash with a 16-10 edge before the Bengals settled for a short field goal as the first half expired. Cincinnati took the lead in the third quarter completing a 92-yard drive with a touchdown to go up 20-16, just past a road favorite spread that sat at -2½ most of the week. The Jets settled for a 20-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to sit down one but after a Cincinnati drive ended with a missed field goal the Jets converted for another three points and a 22-20 advantage. Getting the ball back with just over three minutes to go the Bengals moved down the field with relative ease with the help of a facemask penalty and Mike Nugent got redemption with a successful 47-yard field goal in the final minute. A final drive for the Jets ended the game with an interception though many on the underdog walked away with winning tickets or at worst a push. The late field goal for the Bengals also put the game just ‘over’ the total as well.
Oakland Raiders (+3) 35, New Orleans Saints 34 (50½): Despite the very high scoring final the ‘over’ didn’t look that promising with a 24-13 lead for the Saints heading into the fourth quarter. It wound up being a wild final frame however as the Raiders would tie the game on a 75-yard run with about eight minutes to go, getting a successful two-point conversion to knot the score at 27-27. New Orleans only needed three plays to get back on top but six minutes remained on the clock. The Saints defense had few stops in the second half but on 4th-and-5 it looked like New Orleans sealed the win just after the two-minute warning as a rushed throw from Derek Carr flew out of bounds. The Saints were flagged for pass interference in a highly questionable call however to hand the Raiders a new set of downs. Two plays later the Raiders found the end zone and boldly went for two, successfully hitting a pass to take a 35-34 lead. This game was a ‘pick’ part of the week and the Saints were widely available at just -1 until Sunday as Drew Brees led the offense down the field in the final seconds looking for a late field goal. New Orleans didn’t get quite far enough however as a 61-yard attempt from Wil Lutz just barely fell left as the Raiders left the Superdome with an improbable win.
Kansas City Chiefs (-6½) 33, San Diego Chargers 27 (46): Those that grabbed the Chargers at +7 early in the week had to be smiling with the Chargers up 21-3 at the half in Kansas City. After nearly nine minutes of scoreless ball in the third quarter a field goal extended that lead to 24-3. The Chiefs finally got a touchdown late in the third quarter but the Chargers added another three points early in the fourth quarter to still lead by 17. The Chargers stopped the next drive for the Chiefs with an interception but then missed on a 54-yard field goal to give Kansas City good field position. Just two minutes later the Chiefs were within 10 with a touchdown strike while San Diego then punted the ball right back. The Chargers held Kansas City to a field goal with a big stop after a 12-play drive but the offense had a 3-and-out and a terrible punt gave the Chiefs the ball back in San Diego territory down seven. Four plays later the game was tied and the Chargers didn’t put up much of a threat in to score in the final minute, eventually punting to run out the clock and head to overtime. The Chiefs won the toss and went 70-yards on 10 plays to win though most on the Chargers still held on with the six-point final margin.
Baltimore Ravens (-3) 13, Buffalo Bills 7 (44½): Down 10-7 at the half the Bills missed a field goal on the opening drive of the second half. After several punts the Bills got some momentum back getting a 4th-and-1 stop near midfield but more punting followed as both defenses held up well. With just fewer than six minutes to go in the game the Ravens got past the home favorite spread with a 13-play drive resulting in a field goal, in what was the second kick on that drive for Justin Tucker as the Ravens took three points off the board with a Buffalo penalty on the first kick. Buffalo went backwards on its final possession eventually punting with four minutes to go and the Ravens did enough to run out the clock and hold on for the low-scoring win and cover.
Houston Texans (-6) 23, Chicago Bears 14: The Bears struck first in Houston leading 7-0 at the end of the first quarter and still holding a 14-13 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Brock Osweiler hit Will Fuller for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give Houston its first lead of the game at 20-14, right even with the closing spread though the number fluctuated between -4½ and -6½ throughout the week. It wound up not coming into play as Houston added a field goal with six minutes to go and the defense held the Bears off the scoreboard in the entire second half with a 24-yard drive in the final minutes to just the Chicago 45-yard line being the best threat.
Green Bay Packers (-3½) 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 23 (47): The closing line was the low point for this spread that was at 4½ to 5½ most of the week and Green Bay was past that number early in the fourth quarter with a 27-20 edge after a Mason Crosby field goal. Settling for that short 20-yard kick kept ‘under’ players alive with a total that fell from 48 to 47 before kickoff. Jacksonville wound send the game ‘over’ with a 50-yard kick to trail by four which was enough to take the underdog cover as well for most. The Packers didn’t threaten to add points on their final possession but Jacksonville did threaten to pull off the upset, getting 1st-and-10 from the Green Bay 23-yard line in the final minute but eventually failing on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1 pass plays from the 14-yard line.
New York Giants (+1) 20, Dallas Cowboys 19 (48): The Giants were +1 most of the week and at the closing line but for a few hours on Sunday the number flipped to -1 and very briefly -1½ as results wound up a bit varied on this NFC East clash. Dallas hit three first half field goals with productive drives but no touchdowns under rookie Dak Prescott as the Giants scored a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to lead 13-9 as an extra-point try was blocked. Dallas took a 16-13 lead in the third quarter as Ezekiel Elliott scored his first touchdown and that lead was extended early in the fourth quarter with a field goal. With about six minutes to go the Giants had a 54-yard touchdown drive to take a one-point lead. After forcing a punt the Giants looked like a threat to add points to make it a clear cover but the drive stalled and on 4th-and-1 the Giants opted to punt in a conservative move that looked like it might come back to haunt the team. On the punt a bad snap forced punter Brad Wing to just get the ball out for a touchback and a net of just 17 yards. Dallas picked up a pair of first downs to approach midfield and with 12 seconds left Prescott hit Terrance Williams for a solid gain but he opted to cut up field rather than get out of bounds. Dallas would have had a reasonable long field goal attempt but it was 4th down so spiking the clock wasn’t possible and there was not enough time to get another play off anyway.
New England Patriots (+9) 23, Arizona Cardinals 21 (44½): The Patriots made it clear that a heavy underdog cover was likely with a 10-0 lead early and New England went up 20-14 early in the fourth quarter with a field goal. The Cardinals would take a 21-20 lead however and those on the ‘under’ now had very little margin for error with the number sliding from an opener of 48½ down to 44½ by kickoff. New England took the lead with a field goal with under four minutes to go to put the total at 44. Arizona drove into field goal range with a great chance to steal the win facing 1st-and-10 from the 34-yard line at the two-minute warning but a holding penalty would push the Cardinals back, eventually facing 3rd-and-23. The Cardinals got enough yardage for a favorable field goal attempt but the 47-yard kick was missed as the Patriots cashed some attractive moneyline tickets and the ‘under’ held on.