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The season to expect the unexpected continues this week in the NFL. It’s week 11 and we still have two teams with unblemished records. People are losing their minds because Super Cam is dabbing too much and/or too long. Peyton Manning inked another entry in the record books before getting sent to the bench. In all fairness to Peyton he is suffering from several injures and benching him is probably the only way to protect him from himself. The Houston Texans are number one in their division, which in itself is a sad state of affairs considering their record is 4-5. If the season ended today they would be the AFC South’s representative.What in the world is the NFL coming to?
Finally, there are the streaks. The Green Bay Packers have lost three in a row and Cheeseheads all over the country are blaming McDonald’s commercials featuring Coach Mike Ditka in a Packers sweater. The Dallas Cowboys have lost seven in a row and Cowboy Nation is blaming everyone. Poor things still think if they are able to beat Miami Sunday they will be right back in the playoff hunt, not likely with a record of 2-7, 3-7 if they manage to pull off a win. The moon must be full this week because there seems to be a lot of madness going on. Don’t believe me see for yourself.
The madness began in Jacksonville Thursday night with the Jaguars pulling out a win over the Titans. Lets see what other unusual happenings are in store this week in the NFL.
Denver Broncos vs. Chicago Bears +3
The Broncos will be without an injured Peyton Manning and the Bears may have Matt Forte back. And that folks is all you’re going to get out me. You know I’m not making any predictions on the Bears’ game.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Miami Dolphins PK
Tony Romo is back in uniform for the Cowboys and not a moment too soon. Personally I think the Cowboys are just wasting their time and subjecting Romo to possible injury for no reason. Romo is probably not fully healed and there is no way the Cowboys will make the playoffs this year. Vegas can’t even decide who should win this game. Romo and the Cowboys may eek out a win but really guys why prolong the agony? Besides if they keep losing despite the “great” leader Greg Hardy maybe just maybe Jerry Jones will pull the plug on the Hardy experiment and let him back out into the wild. Pick: Miami- even
Oakland Raiders vs. Detroit Lions PK
The Lions are coming off a huge win. Vegas couldn’t be bothered with a spread for this one either so in other words no one cares, not even the wise guys. I seriously doubt the Lions can string two wins together. Pick Raiders –even
Indianapolis Colts vs. Atlanta Falcons -4
Mattie Ice is almost always perfect at home. The Colts are well, the opposite of anything reliable. The only this certain about the Colts this season is that they are questionable. Pick Falcons -4
St. Louis Rams vs. Baltimore Ravens PK
How bad must the (4-5) Rams be if they can’t even get Vegas to make them a one point favorite against the (2-7) Ravens? The Ravens have been great at covering this season, and they are at home. It seems the odds may be in their favor which means they’ll probably lose, but hey it’s just for fun right? Pick Ravens –even
Washington Redskins vs. Carolina Panthers -7.5
Super Cam should get a chance to dab all day. The undefeated Panthers should end the day 10-0. Are we headed for a showdown between two unbeaten in Super Bowl 50? Maybe, but there is still a lot of football left to play before we head to the Bay. Pick Panthers -7.5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Philadelphia Eagles -7
Jameis Winston is coming along nicely and showing real potential as an NFL QB. Seven seems like a lot for the schizophrenic Eagles; you never know from week to week which Eagles are showing up to play. For that matter you never know which Winston will show up. If Pick 6 Winston stays in Tampa the Bucs maybe able to keep it close enough to cover the seven, if not win out right. To make matters worse for the Eagles Mark Sanchez is starting at QB. Pick Bucs +7
New York Jets vs. Houston Texans +3.5
The Texans are playing on a short week. They handed the Bengals their first loss on Monday night now they welcome in the Jets. It may come, as a shock but the Jets are a serious playoff contender. The Texans have a little bravado after beating the Bengals and taking over first place in their division. No shade. There is no way I can co-sign with the Texans especially since they just picked up Brandon Weeden. I mean if they’re picking Weeden they aren’t even taking themselves serious. Pick J-E-T-S -3.5
Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Diego Chargers –+3
The Chiefs are headed to San Diego to play the 2-7 Chargers. The Chargers are retiring LaDainian Tomlinson’s jersey at halftime. Usually fanfare of this nature almost guarantees a win for the home team, but the Chargers are not your regular run of the mill NFL team. The Murphy family as in Murphy’s Law must secretly own the Chargers. If there is a way to lose they will find it. Unless they Chargers intend to put Tomilson’s jersey on the field for a few plays this game is probably already over. Pick Chiefs -3
Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings –PK
Apparently it was too much of a hassle for Vegas to be bothered with coming up with spreads for most of the games this week. This is another game where they just couldn’t be bothered. I said last week there was absolutely no way the Pack would lose three in row especially since they were home and playing Detroit. Well they lost and the Vikings are at home and ten times better than Detroit. It’s doubtful but the Pack could lose another close one. This one is going to be a doozy I suspect. Pick: flip a coin.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks -10
The 49ers have more problems than a fish on a hook. Colin Kaepernick was benched for Blaine Gabbert and Kap finds himself on IR for the rest of the season. How far and swift the mighty Niners fallen. The Seahawks are just a shadow of their former selves but they are better than the Niners. Ten points better though? I don’t know about that. They barely escaped Dallas with a one-point win, Dallas the same team that has lost seven in a row. The Seahawks are at home, they lost last week, and they hate the Niners which may be just enough to push them over the edge. I’m confident the Seahawks will win, but that ten points is kind of a shaky thought, but what the heck lets roll the dice and see what happens. Pick Seahawks – 10
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Arizona Cardinals
Fresh off their first loss of the season, the Bengals travel to Arizona to face Carson Palmer and the Cardinals. Everyone wants to look good when they’re facing an ex so I’m sure the Bengals will pull out all the stops. Still it’s a short week and long trip out west from Ohio, but it’s the late game and a lot of that plays in the Bengals favor. The knock against the Bengals is that they can’t win the big ones. They don’t show up when the spotlight shines on them. If they have any hope of silencing their critics it begins in Arizona Sunday night. They have to rebound and take care of business. Pick Bengals -2.5
Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots -7.5
Is there anything better than Rex Ryan going head to head with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady? It doesn’t matter what team Ryan is coaching anytime he gets to go up against Belichick it’s guaranteed to be good. While I would love to pick Ryan’s Bills, you know, I know, and Rex probably knows there is no way they will be able to snatch a win from the Patriots’ clutches in Foxboro on a Monday night when the Patriots are undefeated. In order to get a win in Foxboro the Bills would have to play a perfect game, something they haven’t done all season. It’s not looking good unless you’re a Patriots’ fan, or you are just here to hear what nonsense Ryan will spew next. I think the Bills can cover but they are not beating the Patriots at home in Gillette Stadium in prime time. Pick Patriots straight up
Record ATS 68 – 105
