Will the New York Giants win the game against the Baltimore Ravens in week 16?

Tied for 1st place in the NFC East the New York Giants are another NFC team that although they are mathematically still in the hunt, they have seen their playoffs hopes become a more difficult battle these past few weeks.

Not only would the Giants have to win this week, but losses would also have to be suffered by Washington, Minnesota, Chicago, and Dallas. It is not very likely that each of the above losses will take place this week so the chances of NY going to the playoffs have all but vanished at this point.

Last year’s Superbowl Champions NY Giants had showed quite a bit of promise heading in the back stretch of the regular season but 2 key losses in the last 4 weeks with NFC Conference rivals Atlanta and Washington was enough to bump them out of the seed spots they had been holding for the wild card spots.

The Giants have the 10th ranked offense and they are ranked 9th for their air game and 15th on the ground so they have proven that they can play championship football, but they just have too many times found themselves with their backs up against the wall.

Traditionally during the first part of the season they managed to pull it together and get the win but mistakes here and there made ended up costing them a few key games. Although not the absolute worst in the league, the 15 interceptions Eli Manning threw this year hasn’t exactly helped their cause.

Even though their post season play may not materialize this year, there is no reason why they shouldn’t end the regular season with win in the last 2 weeks.

Who are the bookies favorites and what is the point spread for the Ravens and Giants game?

Since the line on this game was different at a few of the books I watch frequently I checked the odds again late Friday night when I wrote this article.

Bet Online as well as Sportsbetting each had the Giants picked to win by 1 point. Both Bet Fred as well as William Hill had the Giants winning by 2.5 points. I wonder if they are just being conservative or if the hammering that NY took last week from Atlanta made the bookies a little gun shy.

In fact I expected NY to win and certainly did not expect to see a 34 to 0 loss. I don’t think many saw the shutout coming.

A few of the analysts I have read the past few days are calling for the Ravens to win this game. Whether they are expecting to see the same kinds of mistakes this week that led to their loss to the Falcons last week, or if they feel the Baltimore is just playing better, I have to disagree.

I am picking the NY Giants to win the game against the Baltimore Ravens by 4 points. I am not however confident that even if they do manage to win this game as well as next week against Philadelphia that they will make it to the playoffs since the odds are really stacked against them at this point since they would have to see at least 3 of their conference rivals loose at least one if not both of their final games.

To see all the latest odds on the games for football or any other sport, just look for the matchup tool in the odds section on the left navigation of our website or visit the Bet Online website.

 

Will the Denver Broncos win the game against the Cleveland Browns in week 16?

Leading the AFC West, having won the division and coming in to this game on a 9 game winning streak the Denver Broncos host the Cleveland Browns at home in Denver. Bet Online as well as most of the other top sportsbooks have picked Denver to win this game with a 13.5 point spread.

The Browns come in to this game after winning 3 of their last 4 games after having a pretty rough start at 2 wins and 8 losses. They have suffered various player injuries throughout the early parts of the season. Between that and the line changes at times and the Browns were just never able to find the right combination to put together the wins they needed in the early part of the year.

The Cleveland offense is ranked 26th and their defense is ranked 22nd and they really have not been able to cultivate any kind of consistency on either side of the football. With the Bronco defense ranked at number 4 it wouldn’t surprise me if we see a very high percentage of 3 and outs for the Browns offense.

The spread is high can the Broncos cover against the Browns?

In previous Broncos games, we have seen time and again that as the game progresses, the play calling and audibles Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning calls from the line of scrimmage seem to improve with each passing quarter. The more time Manning has to analyze his opponent’s defense, the more effective his drives become.

I have seen nothing from the Cleveland defense so far this year that will keep this from happening in this game. I look for Denver to dominate the majority of this football game.

As far as covering the points in this game I do not see that being a problem at all. Denver has already clinched their division title and with a win this week and a New England loss or tie they would also clinch the first round bye week.

Even with the line on this game at 13.5 points in favor of the Broncos, I personally think this is one of the safest football bets of the week. And for anyone looking for a safe sportsbook to place that bet, I strongly urge you to check out the betting at Bet Online.

 

Will the Dallas Cowboys cover the spread in the game against the New Orleans Saints in week 16?

This game is another NFC Conference showdown. With an 8 and 6 record Dallas is tied with Washington and the NY Giants for the lead in the NFC East, and New Orleans at 6 and 8 is tied with Tampa Bay for second in the NFC South.

Many would look at that record and might be quick to choose the Cowboys over the Saints, but let’s look closer at this. These two currently have the 3rd and 8th ranked offense in the league. The Saints ranked 3rd overall and 2nd in passing. Dallas ranked 8th overall and 4th in passing.

One would automatically see that we have a few teams here that certainly like to throw the football. Looking at the quarterback’s stats for each team, we see that they each have over 4000 yards and are completing in the low to mid 60% range.

In each of the last 3 games Dallas quarterback Tony Romo threw for 268 to 341 yards in each game. In the last 3 Saints games, Drew Brees quarterback for New Orleans has thrown for 307 to 354 yards in each game.

Dallas is coming into this game after winning the last 4 games straight, and also note they have won 5 of the last 6 games, losing only to the Redskins. New Orleans has only won 1 of their last 3 games, and only 3 of their last 6.

When we look at the defenses of each team we see the underlying reason. The New Orleans Saints have the worst ranked defense in the league this year. They have allowed more yards per game than any other team, and are 31st against the pass.

I do not see the Dallas offensive line having a lot of trouble giving Romo the kind of time he needs to possibly take control and set the pace of their offensive drives. The Saints also have the worst record for first downs allowed and kind of adds to their overall rank.

The Cowboy defense has a ranking of 14th and is 14th against the pass, but Drew Brees is why the Saints are 2nd in the league in passing so it will certainly be an interesting game with a lot of play action.

What is the point spread on the game between the Cowboys and the Saints?

As of Friday evening the bookies had the odds on this with Dallas winning with the spread at 1 point. I think that is a somewhat fair assessment. Both teams have shown they can make some of the big plays needed to win games, and Dallas has shown that more the last few weeks, so they have earned that edge.

I think I could easily justify a bet on either team as long as the spread was at only 1 point. I can see cases where I could argue for either side, which is what a friend of mine over at OddsOnBetting and I do each week with our “Offsides” articles.

But in the case of the odds on the Saints Cowboys game, I say take the Cowboys and give up the point. I would like to feel otherwise, but after the game 3 weeks ago where Brees threw 5 interceptions, and 2 last week against the Giants, it’s hard to have confidence in the Saints.

I say even if the line was higher I would probably take Dallas, but who knows, the Saints may eaven come out and kick the Cowboys butts, but I don’t think I would bet on that happening.

If you are looking for a sportsbook that has a great welcome bonus offer, I suggest you visit Bet Online.

 

Will the Cincinnati Bengals win the football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 16?

This is one of the most important AFC Matchups this week, and the single biggest game for either team in the final two weeks of the regular season. The playoff hopes for both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh ride on the outcome of this football game.

The Bengals only need 1 win either this week or next to secure their playoff spot. In order to keep the 6th seed spot, the Bengals must win this game. If Cincinnati wins, and the Colts or Ravens lose, they will move up 1 or 2 seed spots.

For Pittsburgh to have any playoff hopes at all they must beat the Bengals or their hopes of post season play are gone. As you can see there is plenty of incentive driving each of them toward the win.

These two teams met in week 7 back on October 21st. Pittsburgh won that game 24 to 17. Cincinnati has won 5 of their last 6 games. The loss they suffered in the last 6 weeks was to Dallas and that was a close one losing by only one point 2 weeks ago. Pittsburgh has lost 4 of their last 6 games.

On the surface these two teams are closely matched in terms of time of possession against their opponents with the Steelers doing a little better with 1st downs. The Cincinnati offense is ranked 18th overall with Pittsburgh sliding in at 19th. Their defenses are actually somewhat close as well with the Steelers holding the #1 overall best ranked defenses and the Bengals at 6th.

I think a lot of this game will be determined by how well either of them can force turnovers and stopping their opponents from getting the first downs needed to keep drives alive. Can the Bengals keep Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in check and reduce his effectiveness and can the Bengals force, and then capitalize on turnovers against the Steelers like they did last week against the Eagles?

In fact Philadelphia had hopes of reaching the playoffs also until the loss dealt them last week by Cincinnati so the Bengals could be the acting spoilers again this week.

What are the odds on the football game and will the spread be covered?

As of Friday afternoon most of the major sports books had the Pittsburgh Steelers as favorites to win over the Cincinnati Bengals by 3.5 points. If you go strictly by the numbers then I say yes, bet the Steelers.

I personally will not bet the Steelers this week though. For my own personal picks, I am going with the Bengals. Pittsburgh has made a number of mistakes in some crucial games the past few weeks and I think those mistakes, although they could be minor will continue again this week.

The Bengals have a good bit of momentum coming in to this game, and they will not only be watching for those mistakes, but they will also be trying to do what they can to encourage and create them.

Cincinnati’s biggest obstacles to overcome will be the fact that Pittsburgh is ranked 4th against the run and 1st against the pass, so the first half momentum will be one of the keys to winning the game. Quarterback Andy Dalton will have to throw the ball some and add to the overall mix since the Steelers will be keeping a close eye on running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis who has averaged approximately 100 yards per game the last few weeks.

I think this will be one of the upsets this week and we will see the Bengals win this game over the Steelers by 3 points. Whether you agree with my picks for which football team to bet on or not, be sure to bet safely and do not risk more than you can afford to lose.

Also be sure to bet with a trusted sportsbook. I recommend you check out the betting at Bet Online.

 

Will the Washington Redskins cover the spread against the Philadelphia Eagles in week 16?

In an amazing come from behind wrapping up of the regular season, the Washington Redskins have been putting on an impressive show for football fan. They started the season with a 3 and 6 and have won the last 5 games.

This has earned them the 4th seed spot in the wild card round for the NFC. They are tied for first place in the NFC East Division with the Cowboys and the Giants. They would currently win a tiebreaker in their division at this point. A win against their division rivals Eagles and a loss by Dallas and New York and they would clinch the Division Title.

The Eagles and Redskins met during week 11 and the Redskins won that game 31 to 6. That was their first game after a bye week and Washington has not lost a game since then. It is still not known whether quarterback Robert Griffin III will play in the football game on Sunday, since he had recently had a knee injury.

After last week’s game in which quarterback Kirk Cousins gave an impressive display and had a great game I think the Washington Redskins are building a team that will be playoff caliber for years to come. In the game against the Browns Cousins completed 70% and threw for 329 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Washington is in an interesting situation by having two very talented rookie quarterbacks. RG3 has clearly shown his worth this season and if Cousins can turn in another game like he did against the Eagles I see no reason why the Skins can’t win the game against the Eagles.

What is the line and are the Redskins a slam dunk over the Eagles?

I don’t think that Washington should treat the game as a slam dunk. Yes I do think they will win, but a slam dunk it is not. The sports books have this game with Washington winning by 4.5 points. I think the line partially comes from the fact the Eagles quarterback Nick Foles can be explosive and he has had games recently over 250 yards.

To be honest though, even if RG3 does not play and Washington depends solely on Cousins this week, I would set the line a little higher. I will pick the Redskins to win this game by 6 points. And I would be tempted to go even higher if Griffin plays.

One of the places where the Eagles are venerable is their offensive line. As an example in the game against Tampa Bay 2 weeks ago the Buccaneers defense managed to sack Foles 6 times for over 40 yards.

And don’t forget about the running game that Washington has going for them. Although it has been directly affected with the yards that RG3 has gotten this year, rookie running back Alfred Morris is also having a fantastic year and will be looking to add many more yards and carries to his stats this week.

The Washington Redskins truly are preparing the way for a playoff run and will be there in the first round. Whether you want to bet on regular season games, or if you are ready to bet on the playoffs or even make your superbowl picks,m you need a good sportsbook to place your bets safely. Bet Online is that sports bookie just for that.

 

Will the Indianapolis Colts cover the spread against the Kansas City Chiefs in week 16?

In one of the very important football games taking place this week, the Indianapolis Colts take on the Kansas City Chiefs. Coming in to this game the Colts have earned the 5th seed playoff spot in the AFC and they are looking for a win this week to solidify their spot.

Kansas City has had a season filled with mistakes and poor performances in the vast majority of their games. With a record of 2 wins and 12 losses they are currently tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the worst record in the league.

This is obviously not a record they are happy with nor is one they want to let get worse, but the reality of the situation is that they are already looking at building and working for improving for the season next year.

Although they do not have a lot of strengths on the field, Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles in his 5th year is having a decent year despite the inability for Kansas City to win games. He is over 1200 yards and is averaging just less than 5 yards per carry; the rest of the offense has just not been able to put things together to support when he does make a big play.

Although Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is not having a record breaking year, he has turned in a number of decent games and is just less than 4000 yards this year. Between his passing and running backs like Vick Ballard and Donald Brown the Chiefs will not win this game.

Should I bet the Colts to cover the spread?

Monday evening when I wrote this article the odds makers had the Colts to win this game by 6 points. I think this is a safe bet. This early the line could move on this game and I say even if it does move a little, take the bet and give the points.

I would be comfortable taking the Colts over the Chiefs as long as the spread is no more than 8 points. But with the line at 6, it is a definite yes, bet on Indianapolis to win over Kansas City and cover the points.

For a trusted sports book to place your bets, even for US residents, be sure to visit Bet Online.

 

Will the Atlanta Falcons cover the spread against the Detroit Lions football game in week 16?

The NFC South Division Champions Atlanta Falcons have clinched their playoff spot. This week they meet the Detroit Lions in what some have said is an unimportant game.

Actually this game is important to the Falcons for a number of reasons. They would like nothing more than to finish out the season with wins and in fact a win this week will guarantee them the top seed spot and home field advantage. They are also fighting for the first round bye but that may not be determined until the last week.

In recent weeks there have been a number of stories or blog postings stating that the Falcons and their record was not earned with hard work like the records of some others in the NFC had been. That myth is fairly easy to debunk, just look at this past week’s game with the NY Giants.

The Giants had been picked by sports books to win that game by 2 points. Atlanta totally and completely dominated the game and shut out the Giants and won the football game 34 to 0. They earned that win and showed that not only do they have a championship caliber offense, but a defense that knows how to do what it takes to stop their opponent’s offensive drives.

But what about the Lions, will the Falcons win and what is the spread?

As of Monday afternoon the books have the Falcons winning this game by 3.5 points. I actually think this number is way too low and the spread should be more like 6 or 8 points.

I have said this before and will mention it again here. There are no gimmies. But the likelihood of Detroit coming in to this game and dominating the Falcons is not very high.

The Lions do have a really good quarterback on their roster and ion fact in overall numbers they are ranked #2 in offense and #1 in passing. That is due mostly to the numbers of Matthew Stafford. He has been completing just fewer than 60% of his passes and could hit 5000 yards for his second consecutive year. In order for him to accomplish this he would have to have back to back 400 yard games in the last 2 weeks and I just do not see that happening, although he may end the season close and should get proper kudos for that.

Because of the potential threat of Detroit’s talented quarterback, the Falcons will have to play the kind of defense on Saturday that they played against the Giants, or Stafford could throw up some big numbers and gain an early edge. I have quite a bit of confidence they can in fact do this.

I think they will in fact be very effective and stop the Lions from getting the big yards in the air and by so doing will gain a large edge over the Lions. I look for the Falcons to win this game by 7 points.

I have included a link to a good safe sportsbook to place your football bets. Just visit Bet Online. All new account holders qualify for a nice welcome bonus.

 

What games did I pick for week 15 and what were the results?

This past week, #15 of the regular NFL Season, I made a total of 10 picks for the football games and posted an article for each one. In each case I listed what the odds were on that game at the time the article was posted, and my thoughts on whether I thought the team picked by the sportsbooks would win and whether they would cover the spread.

In a few cases I totally disagreed with the bookies, and in a few cases I thought the books were being too conservative. Today I post the results of each of those picks. I didn’t do too bad, although in a few cases I was off on the points, and in one case where I disagreed with the book’s picks on who would win I was correct.

I have linked to each article in case you are interested in reading my thoughts on the game. Each article was posted up to a day before the games, except for the last one which was posted on Sunday morning a few hours before the kickoff of the one o’clock games.

My picks for week 15 and the results are as follows:

#1
Cincinnati Bengals against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The bookies had the Bengals winning this game by 3 points. I thought that it was a smart bet to take the Bengals on this game and they did in fact win over the Eagles with a score of 34 to 13.

#2
Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This was my article for this week’s Offsides article. Some of the bookies had this game as even although I did find that Bet Fred and a few other books had the game with the Steelers winning by 1.5 points. I argued on the side of the Cowboys to win.

Watching the game this afternoon shows the Steelers putting on a great performance. After being down early in the game, the Steelers turn it on and come back to tie the score. Then they go back and forth throughout the second half and the score is tied again late in the 4th quarter.

The clock winds down and the game goes into overtime. Dallas wins this game in overtime 27 to 24.

#3
Green Bay Packers against the Chicago Bears.

I wrote this game up on Wednesday and at the time the books had the Packers winning this game by 3 points. My own pick on this had them winning by 5 points. Green Bay won this game by 8 with a score of 21 to 13.

#4
Denver Broncos over the Baltimore Ravens.

On Wednesday evening the line on this game had the Broncos winning this game by 2 points. I extended that in my pick that my boy Manning would get the job done and took the Broncos to win at a very conservative 4 points. The Broncos won that game at a score of 34 to 17.

#5
Washington Redskins against the Cleveland Browns.

The Books had the Skins winning this by a point. I suggested that was too low and picked them by 3 points.

I also suggested that as long as Cousins could have a good game and Alfred Morris could do well they would do quite well against the Browns and that is exactly what happened. The Redskins won that game 38 to 21.

#6
New York Giants against the Atlanta Falcons.

The books picked the Giants and the Falcons at even and there was no spread on the game Friday afternoon. At that time I picked the Giants by 2 points. I was certainly off on this game and the Falcons turned in an impressive game and they shut out the Giants to win 34 to 0.

#7
New England Patriots against San Francisco 49ers

Coming in to this game the Broncos had the #1 ranked offense and was #1 in points scored. The sportsbooks had the Patriots winning this game by 5 points. I agreed that they would win and actually mentioned that I thought they might win by up to a touchdown but in order to bet safe stay with the spread.

The 49ers held them off and dominated the first part of the game. Down by 28 points, Tom Brady showed why he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league right now and brings the Broncos back into the game in the 2nd half.

Score is tied in the 4th quarter at 31 before the 49ers score again. The San Francisco 49ers won this game over the New England Patriots with a final score of 41 to 34. This football game ends up being one of the biggest upsets of the week.

#8
Houston Texans against the Indianapolis Colts.

The books picked the Texans to win by 9.5. I suggested they would win but I only gave 6 points. Houston won that game 29 to 17.

#9
Seattle Seahawks against the Buffalo Bills

The books picked Seattle by 5.5 points and I agreed, and picked Seattle to win and cover the points. Seattle goes on to win this game 50 to 17.

#10
Minnesota Vikings against the St Louis Rams

Many of the books had that game as the Rams winning by 2.5 points. I disagreed with that and suggested taking the Vikings would win and giving 2 points. The Vikings won that game with a score of 36 to 22.

 

Who will win the Minnesota Vikings against the St Louis Rams football game in week 15?

Most of the sportsbooks have the line on this game with the St Louis Rams winning by 2.5 points. Let’s take a closer look at why they picked the Rams.

Overall the Vikings offense is ranked 24th and the Rams are 25th. The Vikings have struggled getting much going on with their passing game, but it is more about them not going to the air very often more then them not being able to.

Quarterback Christian Ponder is completing over 62%, and looking at the numbers he is having a better year then he is being given credit for since they mostly concentrate on their running game. They will likely run the ball a lot in this game too, since that is their strength.

The Rams have not been very dominating either on the ground or in the air, until their last few games. They have won their last 3 games and have been playing better in the latter part of the season; I am just not sure it is enough to win against the Vikings.

Can the St Louis Rams cover the point spread in the game against the Minnesota Vikings?

No I really don’t think they can. In fact I am picking the Minnesota Vikings to win over the St Louis Rams. I am sure a lot will not agree with me here, especially the sports books.

I could be wrong on this but I am sticking with my picks. I think the Vikings have the edge in this game. Some will say that running back Adrian Peterson is not up to it since he has had limited practice this week but I think he will have another big game.

He just keeps turning in big numbers and is averaging 6 yards per carry and has 10 touchdowns. He currently has 1600 yards and is looking at cracking the single season record of 2105 set my Eric Dickerson in 1984. He could actually break that record by averaging 170 yards per game.
St Louis will be looking to try and stop him from doing that, but I do not think they can.

If the Rams can play today like they did against San Francisco 2 weeks ago, they have a good shot at giving the Vikings a hard time, but in the end I think the Vikings will win. I am picking the Minnesota Vikings over the St Louis Rams by 2 points.