NFL Power Poll Week 14
by: Alex Smart Sports
1: New York Giants (10-2 ATS, 11-1 SU) (LW: 1) The defending champs are still #1 in the hearts of sports betting fans after blowing out the Skins 23-7 last weekend. They’re now a perfect 4-0 both SU and ATS against the NFC East this season, and look to put a stamp on the division and potentially a first round bye next week against Philadelphia.
Next Up: Home vs. Eagles (-7)
2: Tennessee Titans (10-2 ATS, 11-1 SU) (LW: 2) Slump this! After suffering their first loss of the season, the Titans rebounded on a short week to destroy Detroit 47-10. They have a chance to lock up the AFC South this week with some help, and will face off with a Cleveland team that is searching for a quarterback.
Next Up: Home vs. Browns (-13.5)
3: Baltimore Ravens (9-3 ATS, 8-4 SU) (LW: 3) Baltimore just keeps on rolling. The Ravens covered their sixth game in their L/7 by beating Cincinnati 34-3, easily covering the spread as seven-point favorites. They’re just a game back of Pittsburgh in the AFC North, and could be considered on the inside track to shock the world and win the division. Baltimore is 4-1 SU and ATS at home this year, and play three of its final four at home.
Next Up: Home vs. Redskins (-5)
4: Atlanta Falcons (8-4 ATS, 8-4 SU) (LW: 5) It’s not often that East Coast teams go West and come out victorious, but that’s what the Falcons have done twice this season. After shutting out Oakland 24-0 a month ago, Atlanta beat San Diego 22-16 to move to 8-4 and in prime position for a playoff birth. If there’s one trend going against the black and red, it’s that they are 0-2 SU and ATS on the road in division, and hope to buck that trend this week in New Orleans.
Next Up: Away @ Saints (+3)
5: New Orleans Saints (8-4 ATS, 6-6 SU) (LW: 7) The season may be all but over in New Orleans, but Saints bettors won’t mind. They lost to the Bucs on a late field goal, but it was enough to cover the spread as 3.5-point underdogs. QB Drew Brees should go over 4,000 yards on the season this week and could still break Dan Marino’s all-time passing yardage record.
Next Up: Home vs. Falcons (-3)
6: New York Jets (7-5 ATS, 8-4 SU) (LW: 4) With a chance to put some distance between itself and the Patriots and Dolphins, New York fell flat on its face by losing 34-17 to Denver. The loss snapped a four-game win streak for Jets bettors, and was the first time since October 19th that the Jets failed to score at least 20 points in a game. They are 8-1 in games where they score 20+ points and 0-3 when they don’t.
Next Up: Away @ 49ers (-4)
7: Carolina Panthers (6-5-1 ATS, 9-3 SU) (LW: 6) Carolina took the NFC by storm by marching into Lambeau Field and dropping the Pack 35-31. All of the marbles in the NFC South will be on the table when the Panthers host Tampa Bay, a team they’ve already lost to 27-3 this season at Raymond James Stadium.
Next Up: Home vs. Buccaneers (-3)
8: Philadelphia Eagles (7-5 ATS, 6-5-1 SU) (LW: 13) The Eagles picked up a huge season-saving victory against the Cardinals on Thanksgiving night. They still have slim hopes for the postseason, but they’ll have to do something that no one else has pulled off this season: beating the Giants in the Meadowlands.
Next Up: Away @ Giants (+7)
9: Arizona Cardinals (7-5 ATS, 7-5 SU) (LW: 6) Arizona may have lost 48-20 to Philadelphia, but it is still in a dominant spot for the NFC West crown. Its final three tune-up games should be much easier, beginning with a visit from the Rams to the desert this weekend.
Next Up: Home vs. Rams (-13.5)
10: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5 ATS, 8-4 SU) (LW: 9) It wasn’t a thing of art as usual, but the Bucs took care of business by beating the Saints 23-20 on Sunday, keeping pace with Carolina in the NFC South. The next two games for Tampa Bay are critical, as they visit both the Panthers and Falcons before closing out with two games at Raymond James Stadium.
Next Up: Away @ Panthers (+3)
11: Green Bay Packers (7-5 ATS, 5-7 SU) (LW: 8) The window of opportunity for the Packers is beginning to close. After a 35-31 loss to Carolina over the weekend, the Pack are two games behind Minnesota for the NFC North lead, and face an absolute must-win against a stingy Texans team this weekend.
Next Up: Home vs. Texans (-6)
12: Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6 ATS, 9-3 SU) (LW: 18) Are the Steelers the best team in the AFC? They looked the part on Sunday, beating the defending AFC champs 33-10 for its third straight victory. They’re 0-4 ATS at home against teams over .500 this year, and hope to buck that trend this week against “Big D.”
Next Up: Home vs. Cowboys (-3)
13: Cleveland Browns (6-5-1 ATS, 4-8 SU) (LW: 11) Who’s next at quarterback for the Browns? Derek Anderson was replaced by Brady Quinn, and now both are finished for the season with injuries. Enter Ken Dorsey, who football bettors might remember for… well… nothing in particular. That’s terrible news for a team that has already looked like it’s tanking the season, especially going into Nashville next week.
Next Up: Away @ Titans (+13.5)
14: Dallas Cowboys (6-6 ATS, 8-4 SU) (LW: 17) They may sort of be floating under the radar, but it sure appears like the Cowboys are back in the saddle since Tony Romo returned to the lineup. The Boys have now covered three straight after beating Seattle 34-9 on Thursday. They’ve had a long week of preparation and will need it going into Heinz Field.
Next Up: Away @ Steelers (+3)
15: New England Patriots (6-6 ATS, 7-5 SU) (LW: 10) The “perfect Patriots” of old are on the verge of being left out of the playoffs. The bad news is that three of their final four games are on the road, but the good news is that the next two are in Seattle and Oakland, two teams who are simply awful.
Next Up: Away @ Seahawks (-4.5)
16: Kansas City Chiefs (6-6 ATS, 2-10 SU) (LW: 19) The Chiefs are getting friskier and friskier as the days go on. Though HC Herm Edwards notched his second win in about a million games when KC beat Oakland 20-13 last weekend, there’s no doubt that the win did more harm than good for the franchise, as its draft stock is plummeting.
Next Up: Away @ Broncos (+9.5)
17: Indianapolis Colts (5-6-1 ATS, 8-4 SU) (LW: 20) Indianapolis only salvaged a push for its sports bettors in its 10-6 victory in Cleveland in Week 13, but at 8-4, they appear set to capture one of the two Wild Card spots in the AFC. There’s no reason for the Colts not to run their winning streak to six this week with Cincinnati coming to town.
Next Up: Home vs. Bengals (-13.5)
18: Washington Redskins (5-6-1 ATS, 7-5 SU) (LW: 14) If HC Jim Zorn had visions of a playoff birth in his plans, Washington had better get on a roll in a hurry. After losing 23-7 at home against the G-Men on Sunday, Washington is now a game behind Dallas and Atlanta for the final playoff birth in the NFC. The Skins haven’t won in Baltimore since the Colts played there.
Next Up: Away @ Ravens (+5)
19: Minnesota Vikings (5-7 ATS, 7-5 SU) (LW: 25) Minnesota picked up a huge victory on Sunday Night Football against the Bears by the count of 34-14. They took sole possession of first place in the NFC North with the win and shouldn’t lose any ground to the field this weekend, as the Vikes visit the Lions.
Next Up: Away @ Lions (-9.5)
20: Miami Dolphins (5-7 ATS, 6-6 SU) (LW: 15) Miami has now won six out of seven games after beating the Rams 16-12 in St. Louis last weekend, but has dropped four straight football betting decisions. The loss snapped the Fins’ three game cover-streak on the road this season, but short of a 31-10 loss in Arizona in Week 2, the squad is still undefeated away from Dolphins Stadium.
Next Up: Away @ Bills (+1)
21: Chicago Bears (5-6-1 ATS, 6-6 SU) (LW: 16) The Bears’ playoff hopes are starting to run fairly thin. They’re now a game behind Minnesota after losing 34-14. The good news is that they have the next three games at home, but the bad news is that Minnesota’s schedule isn’t much harder. Losing to Jacksonville this week would be fatal.
Next Up: Home vs. Jaguars (-6.5)
22: San Francisco 49ers (5-7 ATS, 4-8 SU) (LW: 27) The Niners have played four straight pretty good games after beating Buffalo 10-3 last weekend. They aren’t going to make the playoffs, but they can throw a real monkey wrench into the works in the AFC playoffs in these next two weeks against the Jets and Dolphins.
Next Up: Home vs. Jets (+4)
23: Houston Texans (5-7 ATS, 5-7 SU) (LW: 28) Monday night was like the Super Bowl for the Texans, as they knocked off the Jags 30-17 in the highlight of their season. For a team that finished .500 last year, the best Houston will likely do is finish 7-9 this year, but it’s apparent that HC Gary Kubiak is tired of the losing mentality.
Next Up: Away @ Packers (+6)
24: Buffalo Bills (5-7 ATS, 6-6 SU) (LW: 23) If Buffalo wasn’t finished before, it probably is now. After losing 10-3 to San Francisco on Sunday, the Bills are two games behind the Jets in the AFC East and will likely need to win out just to have a chance of qualifying for the playoffs. They are 0-3 SU and ATS in their L/3 home games, but hope that a change of scenery will help this week, as they’ll take on the Fins in Toronto.
Next Up: Home vs. Dolphins (-1)
25: San Diego Chargers (4-7-1 ATS, 4-8 SU) (LW: 21) The perennial playoff contenders are likely finished. The Chargers lost to Atlanta 22-16 last weekend, dropping them three behind Denver with four games to go. They’ll be heavy favorites in their next two games against Oakland and Kansas City, but it’s pretty clear that it’ll be too little, too late.
Next Up: Home vs. Raiders (-10)
26: Oakland Raiders (5-7 ATS, 3-9 SU) (LW: 22) How many weeks has DeAngelo Hall been removed from Oakland? You wouldn’t know that he’s been gone for almost half the season now, as he still leads the team in interceptions with three. That number is key, because it’s also the most touchdowns that anyone has scored on the team, and with the way things are going, will probably be the number of wins the silver and black will end up with this year.
Next Up: Away @ Chargers (+10)
27: Denver Broncos (4-7-1 ATS, 7-5 SU) (LW: 31) Denver made a statement to the Jets and the rest of the AFC over the weekend by winning 34-17 in the Meadowlands. It can make a statement of the opposite kind when it visited Kansas City earlier in the year, and another loss to the Chiefs this weekend would be ridiculously embarrassing.
Next Up: Home vs. Chiefs (-9.5)
28: St. Louis Rams (4-8 ATS, 2-10 SU) (LW: 30) The good news for the Rams is that they only lost the first half of their game against Miami 10-9, which gave them a much better chance to cover than in their L/3 weeks when they got outscored by approximately 968 points in the first half. The bad news is that they’ve lost six straight games.
Next Up: Away @ Cardinals (+13.5)
29: Seattle Seahawks (4-7-1 ATS, 2-10 SU) (LW: 24) Oy vey. Those are the only two words that can be going through the heads of Seahawks bettors at this point. The Seaturkies lost 34-9 in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day, and the only thing left to be thankful for in Seattle is that the season is almost over.
Next Up: Home vs. Patriots (+4.5)
30: Detroit Lions (4-8 ATS, 0-12 SU) (LW: 26) There isn’t a defense worse in the NFL than Detroit’s, and that unit was in prime display on Thanksgiving when the Lions got trumped by Tennessee 47-10. The blue and silver have only held one opponent under 24 points this season, but that opponent is up this week when the Vikings come to the “Motor City.”
Next Up: Home vs. Vikings (+9.5)
31: Cincinnati Bengals (4-8 ATS, 1-10-1 SU) (LW: 29) The Bengals can’t seem to figure out to get out of their own way. On Sunday, they got crushed 34-7 by Baltimore. The best thing for Cincy would be to continue losing, as at least it’ll have a hope for the #1 pick in the draft in the Spring.
Next Up: Away @ Colts (+13.5)
32: Jacksonville Jaguars (3-9 ATS, 4-8 SU) (LW: 32) Even though the Jags aren’t the worst team in the NFL by a long shot, they are sure playing like it of late. They lost in Houston 30-17 on Monday Night Football and have now dropped their L/3 games by a combined score of 84-43. HC Jack Del Rio has to be on the hot seat.