2011 Week 13 NFL Betting Recap
Week 13 of NFL betting action wasn't exactly lucky for a number of teams that are pushing hard to make the playoffs, and the end result is going to be a final quarter of the season that is as exciting as ever before. All odds taken from Bookmaker.eu
The carnage in the NFC was particularly rough. The Dallas Cowboys probably took the worst beating. They had a shot to pull two games up in the NFC East and probably would have coasted to the finish line from there had they just been able to put away the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. As 4.5 point favorites, the Boys had no chance of covering the NFL odds at the death, but K Dan Bailey had a chance for his fifth game-winning field goal of the season with time expiring in regulation of a tie game. Head Coach Jason Garrett burned a timeout and effectively iced his own kicker. Bailey missed, and Arizona scored the game winning touchdown on the first drive of overtime.
The Cowboys were fortunate that the New York Giants couldn't complete and great comeback against the Green Bay Packers. The G-Men fought their hearts out in a game that was there for the taking. Instead, they dropped their fourth straight when QB Aaron Rodgers moved the Pack down the field for a game winning short field goal by K Mason Crosby at the gun. QB Eli Manning had a fantastic game, including throwing the game-tying touchdown pass with less than a minute to go to give New York a chance, but at the end, it ended up succumbing to the Packers and their perfect 12-0 record.
With the win, Green Bay locked up the NFC North title, though there wasn't all that much doubt at any point during this season that it was going to be the top dog in the division.
Entering the day on Sunday, the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Atlanta Falcons were all 7-4 and were hoping to get a leg up on the others. Instead, all three lost, which kept the Giants and the Cowboys alive in the race. Chicago's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at home was rather inexcusable, and it was further proof that this team in a heck of a lot of trouble without QB Jay Cutler under center. To make matters worse, RB Matt Forte was injured as well, and he might miss the rest of the season with an MCL sprain.
Detroit's loss to the New Orleans Saints was expected, as the hosts from the Bayou put on a real offensive clinic once again at the Superdome. New Orleans moved two up in the NFC South, and it also stayed just one back of the San Francisco 49ers, who locked up the NFC West crown with a 26-0 shutout of the St. Louis Rams.
The end result in the NFC is that the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals, both of which were victorious last week, are now just two back with four to play, and in spite of their 5-7 records, they are much so both right back in the thick of the playoff chase.
In the AFC, it was again the cream of the crop that rose. The Pittsburgh Steelers had little trouble with the fading Cincinnati Bengals at home, while the Baltimore Ravens, behind 207 rushing yards for RB Ray Rice, pummeled the Cleveland Browns at the Dawg Pound. The Houston Texans, even with third string QB TJ Yates calling the shots, was able to top the aforementioned Falcons, while the New England Patriots got three TDs from TE Rob Gronkowski to lead to a seven-point win over the Indianapolis Colts. Don't let the relatively close final score fool you, though. The Colts were 20.5 point underdogs for a reason. They had to outscore New England 21-0 in the final stanza just to make the game that close.
For Gronkowski, it gave him 13 receiving TDs on the campaign, tied for the most receiving touchdowns that a tight end has ever had in a season. The win also moved the Pats within just a combination of two wins or New York Jets losses from winning the AFC East.
The Denver Broncos won again on Sunday, beating the Minnesota Vikings with a field goal at the gun to win a wild 38-35 game that easily could have gone either way, and they drew level in the AFC West with the Oakland Raiders, who were pounded on the road by the red hot Miami Dolphins.
The New York Jets were able to put away the Washington Redskins to move into a tie for the final AFC Wild Card spot, and the Tennessee Titans did the same by going on the road and beating the slumping Buffalo Bills.
On Monday Night Football, the San Diego Chargers knocked off the Jacksonville Jaguars to keep their very slim playoff hopes alive. Head Coach Jack Del Rio was fired last week by the Jags, while the Chargers announced that they would be dismissing Head Coach Norv Turner at the end of the year.
In other off the field news, the Vikes cut QB Donovan McNabb, and the team that is probably most likely to sign him, the Bears have announced that they have no interesting in bringing in QB Brett Favre for the rest of the year.
The playoff picture didn't change this week in the NFC, as the pecking order would still go Green Bay, San Fran, New Orleans, Dallas, Chicago, and Detroit, but Seattle and Arizona both drew a game back on the field, while New York remains a game back of both the Cowboys in the NFC East and the Lions and Bears for the two NFC Wild Card slots.
The AFC playoff picture got a bit clearer. Houston, New England, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore are all likely just two wins away from clinching playoff bids. The Bengals now have company for their last playoff spot in the conference. It appears as though there are five teams fighting for two spots. The Bengals, Jets, Titans, Broncos, and Raiders are all at 7-5. One of those playoff spots goes to the winner of the AFC West, while the other four teams will fight it out for that last spot. Both the Chargers and Chiefs are still at least remotely involved, as they are both two back with four to play, as are the Bills.
