Week 14 Rewind
By Brian Edwards
Here come the Eagles – again. In typical mid-December form, Philadelphia went into the Meadowlands as a one-point road favorite and beat the Giants 45-38 in Sunday’s prime-time NFC East showdown. The ‘over’ hit before halftime when Andy Reid’s team jumped out to a 30-17 lead.
The Eagles, now in sole possession of first place in their division with a one-game lead over Dallas, got a huge performance from DeSean Jackson. After missing last week’s win at Atlanta due to a concussion suffered the previous week in a win over the Redskins, Jackson had six receptions for 178 yards and one touchdown.
Michael Vick ran for a touchdown in a second straight game and also set up another with a 32-yard completion to Jackson. Donovan McNabb threw for 237 yards and a pair of TDs.
For second-half wagers on the Giants at minus 3½ when trailing by 13 (equating to plus 9½ for the game), bettors were rewarded with a winner when Eli Manning found Kevin Boss on a four-yard scoring strike with 1:31 left.
Minnesota quickly shook off last week’s loss at Arizona by trouncing Cincinnati 30-10 as a 6 ½-point home favorite. Adrian Peterson ran for two touchdowns as the Vikings won easily even though Percy Harvin didn’t play.
The Bengals had previously been 6-0 both straight up and against the spread in games as underdogs. The 40 combined points fell ‘under’ the 42-point total.
New Orleans stayed unbeaten despite a game effort from the Falcons at the Georgia Dome. The Saints got a 38-yard field goal from Garrett Hartley with 4:42 remaining to take a 26-23 lead. The defense did the rest to preserve the victory, as Sean Payton’s team improved to 13-0 going into Thursday’s home game against Dallas.
Drew Brees was simply sensational against the Falcons, who fought back from a 23-9 deficit to tie the game in the final stanza. Brees connected on 31-of-40 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns without being intercepted. Reggie Bush had six receptions for 46 yards and two scores, including a 19-yard TD catch on a screen pass on third-and-goal play.
The Cowboys are at it again in typical December fashion. They lost a 20-17 decision to San Diego as 3½-point home favorites. The Bolts cashed money-line tickets for plus-160 payouts (risk $100 to win $600).
Green Bay is still on fire, winning its fifth straight game by going into Soldier Field and collecting a 21-14 win as a four-point road ‘chalk.’ Ryan Grant stole the show for the Packers by rushing for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Jay Cutler threw two more interceptions to bring his total to an NFL-high 22.
Miami made a mess of the AFC wild-card race by winning 14-10 at Jacksonville as a 2½-point underdog. Denver has the inside track on the first wild-card spot with its 8-5 record. Seven teams are one game apart at either 7-6 or 6-7.
The Jets are one of those 7-6 teams following its 26-3 win at Tampa Bay as 3½-point favorites. The 29 combined points stayed ‘under’ 36½. Thomas Jones ran for 99 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead an offense that went without Mark Sanchez. New York’s secondary intercepted Josh Freeman three times.
Another 7-6 contender is the Ravens, who trounced hapless Detroit 48-3 as 14-point home favorites. Ray Rice had 166 yards and one TD on just 13 carries for Baltimore, which will host the Bears as a 10-point home favorite this week.
Tennessee has now won six of its last seven games after spanking St. Louis 47-7 as a 13-point home favorite. Chris Johnson ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns, while Vince Young and Kerry Collins both threw a touchdown pass. Young, who had a 44-yard run and threw for 132 yards on just eight pass attempts, left the game early with a hamstring injury.
The Titans, who are 6-7, will host Miami as three-point home favorites.
Indianapolis clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with its 28-16 win over Denver. The Colts covered the spread with a late touchdown after the Broncos had scored 16 unanswered points. Peyton Manning and Co. had raced out to a 21-0 lead in the first half. Manning threw three interceptions but also had four TD passes.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
I’m a life-long Falcons fan and absolutely LOVE Mike Smith as “our” head coach. He never makes a clock-management mistake – ever. He’s extremely intense on game day and gives the officials hell when they deserve it (like on that horrible pass-interference call against the Saints). Forget the 6-7 record in his second season – Smith is doing helluva job in Atlanta.
Bettors backing the Chargers on the money line who added a small taste of the Cowboys in the second half were hooked up huge Sunday. The Bolts, plus-160 on the money line, had a 10-3 lead at Dallas at halftime. Oddsmakers then listed the ‘Boys as three-point favorites in the second half, equating to a ticket on Dallas at plus four for the game. Trailing 20-10 with seven seconds remaining, Tony Romo hit Patrick Crayton for a nine-yard score to give Dallas the second-half cover.
Denver WR Brandon Marshall set the NFL-record for receptions in a game with 21 in his team’s loss at Indy. Marshall had 200 receiving yards and a pair of TD grabs.
Philadelphia tight end Brent Celek scored the first touchdown of the prime-time game. His odds in a prop bet to score the first TD were plus-600 at most books (risk $100 to win $600).
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