WEEK 15 RESULTS & RECAPS
Week fifteen was a major success for teaser bettors across the NFL. Nearly every favourite between 7-10 points teased down to a field goal or fewer cashed. It indefinitely a weekend for the public bettors well, myself included. Finishing 3-0 on my teaser picks, brings my official record of 17-4 on the year. Here is a short recap of last weeks results.
WIN – CAROLINA PANTHERS VS GREEN BAY PACKERS (-2)
Aaron Rodgers came out slinging, taking a 21-3 lead into halftime. This game looked chalk, then the Packers offense disappeared like a fart in the wind. Green Bay mustered only 3 points in the entire second half, while the Panthers and Teddy Bridgewater stormed back to within 8-points and a chance to tie late in the 4th quarter. The Packers did hold on, but it wasn’t comfortable trekking down the stretch.
WIN – HOUSTON TEXANS VS INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (-1.5)
The Houston Texans did not lay down for this game, I was completely wrong. DeSean Watson brought his best finishing 33-41 with 373 yards and 2 touchdowns. But it was Philip Rivers that got the final laugh, completing 41-yard pass to TY Hilton on 2nd & 20 from the Houston 44-yard line. Up until this play it looked like the Texans could very well pull the upset. A couple plays later Indianapolis went up 7-points, and held Houston off on their ensuing drive to win and cash.
WIN – TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (-0.5) VS ATLANTA FALCONS
This game was ultimate sweaty bum time. Atlanta held a 17-0 lead at half-time and Tom Brady looked extremely uncomfortable in the pocket. Little did we know it was reminiscent of Super Bowl LI where Atlanta held a 28-3 lead then blew it. Tampa Bay came out in the second half and hung 21 on the scoreboard in the 3rd quarter alone, making it a 3-point game. Then Brady sealed it in the 4th quarter with a 46-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown with less than 7 minutes remaining to take their first lead of the entire game. Another heartbreaking loss for Falcons fans.
WEEK 15 TEASER PLAYS
MINNESOTA VIKINGS VS NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (-7)
6 POINT TEASE – NEW ORLEANS (-1)
You wouldn’t know I’m a Vikings fan if you’ve been following my picks this season. In just about every situation I am fading the purple and gold. Entering this game Minnesota has lost two straight, formally destroying their opportunity at making the playoffs. While the Saints are also reeling after losing back-to-back for the first time this season. New Orleans however are still 10-4 on the season, and clearly the superior team in this game. Teasing down New Orleans in this spot to simply win the game seems like a layup to me.
Look, being a Vikings fan I remember all the highs and lows. In the last few seasons where Minnesota has played New Orleans it has been mostly highs. How can anyone forget the “Minneapolis Miracle” of 2018? or the Vikings overtime victory 26-20 versus the Saints in the Wildcard round only last season. I am not the only one who remembers these games, and you can bet every nickel in that piggy bank that Sean Payton and Drew Brees are stoking the fire with these memories. On the surface this might look like just another game, but I think New Orleans is going to be out for blood. Which will make for a long afternoon for us Vikings fans.
Contain the run versus New Orleans and make Drew Brees throw the football. That should be the game plan for Minnesota, I just don’t know how they pull it off. Their defense has been downright disgusting the last couple weeks. In the last three games they are allowing an average of 143 rushing yards per game, 25th in the league. Last weekend they allowed Chicago to run for nearly 200 yards. It frightens me just thinking about this Saints offense and what Alvin Kamara will do in this game. Taking New Orleans to simply win at home in a position where Minnesota has nothing left to play for seems like a no-brainer to me.
FINAL SCORE – VIKINGS 20 – SAINTS 31
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CHICAGO BEARS (-7.5) VS JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
6-POINT TEASE – CHICAGO (-1.5)
The Bears (7-7) travel to Jacksonville this weekend to take on the Jaguars (1-13). Chicago has won back to back games for the first time since October, while the Jags haven’t won a game since week one.
Following the New York Jets first win of the season last weekend, Jacksonville is now in the driver seat for the #1 overall pick, and Trevor Lawerence. I have four simple words for the Jaguars – don’t fuck this up. Sports talk radio hosts are calling Lawerence a generational talent, much like Andrew Luck coming out of college. It feels like the Jaguars franchise has been through more quarterbacks in the last fifteen years than the Kardashian sisters have been through boyfriends. All Jacksonville has to do is lose the final two games of the season, this game included. There should be absolutely zero motivation for this team to win on Sunday, for that reason amongst others I see teasing the Bears down to 1.5-point favourites as being an advantageous position this weekend.
During the Bears six game losing streak their offense was terrible. I mean, they couldn’t hit water if they fell out of the boat bad. However, since Trubisky climbed back under centre they have had one of the most potent offensive teams in the league. In the last three weeks the Bears are averaging 34.3 points per game, 5th most in the league. The only team to average more points in that span are Baltimore, Cleveland, Buffalo and Tennessee. With two more wins it is likely the Bears find themselves in the playoffs. Couple that with the Jaguars incentive to lose in this spot, Chicago might be my favourite play on Sunday.
FINAL SCORE – BEARS 29 – JAGUARS 14
LOS ANGELES RAMS VS SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (-1.5)
6-POINT TEASE – LA RAMS (+7.5)
Seattle (10-4) returns home this weekend to host division rivals Los Angeles (9-5) in a matchup that will very much decide who wins the NFC West division this season, and who will host a playoff game this season.
After an embarrassing loss against the Jets last weekend, I think this is a situation where Los Angeles bounces back. Their performance against New York was unmotivated and all around abysmal. They sat back and thought it would be a layup win, and they allowed New York to earn their first win all year. You can bet the bank that Sean McVay will have this entire team prepared for this divisional matchup. Since taking over as head coach in 2017 McVay is 4-2 against the Seahawks, and hasn’t lost by more than 6-points in any contest. Making the choice to tease the Rams up to +7.5 road dogs seems almost too easy.
These two teams always play each other hard, but a few things point toward the Rams in this spot. First, their pass rush. Nobody can stop Aaron Donald, the guy is the best defensive player in the league, is constantly double or triple teamed and still finds a way to disrupt football games. Entering this weekend only Pittsburgh has more sacks than the Rams this season, and I think if they successfully pressure Russ this weekend they could easily win outright. Wilson has had difficulties in the pocket with pressure all year, and when we gets uncomfortable he makes poor decisions, and in-turn this entire offense sputters. Just look at last weekend, Washington was able to pressure Wilson and hold him to 121 yards passing, 1 touchdown, and force 1 interception. While the Rams don’t have the all-around talent on their defensive line that Washington does, they have enough to disrupt this game and keep this game close.
Any given week it can be difficult to know which Jarred Goff to expect. Could it be the guy who can’t complete a 5-yard pass? Or the one who throws for 400 yards and 2 touchdowns over 50 yards? It is a coin flip, and all based upon how McVay draws up the game-plan. Goff to me is a system quarterback, and I think that McVay will have some trickery up his sleeve for this game on Sunday. As I already mentioned, it is incredibly important for playoff positioning, so I think this game comes down to the wire with neither one wanting to make a big mistake costing the game.