As the schedule heads into the final month of the regular season, NFL wagering gets tougher and tougher. After a few weeks dominated by underdogs, Week 12 of the schedule found balance at The Greek Sportsbook. Heading into Monday Night Football, seven of the week's 15 games saw the underdog take the cash.
The most impressive showing by an underdog came in the late game on Thanksgiving Day, when the Denver Broncos rose from the dead and defeated the New York Giants 26-6 as 4.5-point pups. Heading into the week Denver had lost four straight games since its bye week, failing to cover in all four contests.
The Broncos got quarterback Kyle Orton back from injury, sparking the passing attack for 245 yards and one score. The Denver defense played the biggest part in the victory, forcing three fumbles (two of which were recovered), sacking Eli Manning three times, and picking off one pass. Broncos kicker Matt Prater went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts.
The Niners ground out a hard-nosed battle, relying on their resurgent defense to turn the tables. San Francisco registered six sacks, forcing Jaguars quarterback David Gerrard to fumble twice. The 49ers’ run defense limited Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-Drew to 75 yards and kept the stocky rusher out of the end zone - just the third game this season Jones-Drew has gone scoreless.
Perhaps the toughest game to cap in Week 12 was the Pittsburgh Steelers' visit to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was coming off a concussion suffered in Week 11's upset to Kansas City.
However, his status for most of the week sounded positive according to coaching updates. Books remained wary of the injury and held off posting a line until Sunday, when the team announced that Roethlisberger would not play. That forced Pittsburgh to put the ball in the hands of third-stringer Dennis Dixon, due to a hand injury to backup QB Charlie Batch.
Oddsmakers tagged the Steelers as 9-point road underdogs at BetUS.com before kickoff. Dixon was solid under center, passing for 145 yards and a touchdown, forcing overtime, and handing backers an instant cover regardless of the outcome. In overtime, Dixon threw a costly interception that set up an easy field goal for the Ravens – which forced the final score over the 35-point total.
On the other side of the total, the Arizona Cardinals continue to defy books and picked up their seventh under payday of the season. The Cardinals’ defense ranks 13th in points allowed, giving up just over 17 points per game. They fell 20-17 to the Tennessee Titans, who have played under the total in back-to-back games.
