Written by Webmaster | Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Before getting to your Week 15 betting review, BetPhoenix.com would like to remind online NFL wagering fans Week 16 provides Thursday and Saturday games to kickoff the week featuring many games with playoff implications. Those two games are followed by Sunday's 13-game slate, and of course, Monday Night Football.
Week 15 featured numerous scenarios potentially favoring the online NFL betting community that capitalized on each team's playoff status for leverage. Let's look back at Week 15 and team's in the playoff race.
Tennessee (12-2 SU, 11-3 ATS) clinched the AFC South two weeks ago for the first time since 2002, and a first-round bye. Their 13-12 road loss to Houston on Sunday prevented Tennessee from claiming home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. The Titans are now 16-6 ATS in their last 22 versus AFC South foes. It was the first time they failed to score a touchdown since a 17-6 loss to the Chargers in last year's AFC wild card playoff game. Suddenly, next week's game against the Steelers becomes much more meaningful.
In Week 14, the Giants (11-3 SU, 10-4 ATS) claimed the NFC East title when Pittsburgh beat Dallas. Looking to bounce back at Dallas on Sunday evening and earn a first-round bye, the Giants were downed 20-8 for their first consecutive loss since starting 0-2 last season. The Giants are now 22-7 ATS in their last 29 road games. But all can be forgiven if the G-Men can beat Carolina at home Sunday night in a game that will decide the top seed in the NFC playoffs. Dallas' win over the Giants makes things simple for NFL wagering fans in Big D. Finish the season with back-to-back wins and postseason is theirs. But it won't be easy with Baltimore coming to Texas Stadium on Saturday night, then the Cowboys (9-5 SU, 7-7 ATS) end the regular season in Philadelphia. The Cowboys are currently 1-7 ATS in their last eight games played in December.
Arizona (8-6 SU, 8-6 ATS) won its division two weeks ago, as the Cardinals claimed the NFC West. The last time they won a divisional crown was 33 years ago when they
claimed the NFC East in 1975, and they earned its first playoff berth since 1998. As NFC West champions, Arizona will host a playoff game for the first time since they were the Chicago Cardinals in 1947. The Cardinals, looking to improve their playoff seeding at home, was thrashed by Minnesota 35-14 in a missed opportunity to move up to No. 3 in the postseason seedings. Arizona drops to 5-3 ATS in their last eight home games. It was only the second lost at home for Arizona, who must win one of its last two to avoid a second straight 8-8 season. Minnesota's (6-8 SU, 9-5 ATS) win over Arizona was its fourth straight win, as they improve to 6-11 ATS in their last 17 games overall. The Vikings remain one game ahead of Chicago (8-6 SU, 6-6-2 ATS), who earned a big 27-24 OT victory at home over New Orleans on Thursday, in the NFC North. The Vikings can clinch the division title with a Week 16 victory over Atlanta, which also is fighting for a playoff spot.
The Steelers (11-3 SU, 8-6 ATS) snapped a five-game skid in Baltimore (9-5 SU, 10-4 ATS) with a 13-9 victory. As expected, the NFL's top two defenses dominated the game throughout. Pittsburgh claimed back-to-back AFC North titles by virtue of a head-to-head sweep and a first-round bye in the playoffs with the win. The Steelers are now 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games in December. Pittsburgh held the Ravens to a season-low 202 yards. The Steelers have gone 14 straight games without yielding 300 yards, tying the 1973 Los Angeles Rams for the longest streak to start a season since the NFL merger in 1970. If you believe 'D' wins championships, Pittsburgh is well on its way. Baltimore still owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over New England and Miami for the final wild-card spot. The Ravens are 6-1 ATS in their last seven versus AFC North opponents.
A 31-21 win over Detroit, combined with the Raven's loss, gives Indianapolis (10-4 SU, 6-7-1 ATS) a firm hold on one of the AFC's wild card spots. It was Indy's seven straight win, earning them double-digit victories for a seventh consecutive season. The Colts' non-cover win drops them to 2-7 ATS in their last nine home games. The Colts can clinch a seventh straight playoff spot with a win Thursday evening at Jacksonville.
Carolina's 30-10 win over Denver (8-6 SU, 4-9-1 ATS) clinches at least a tie for the NFC South title, as the Panthers improve to 8-0 at home. The Panthers improve to 8-2-1 ATS in their last eleven home games. Carolina (11-3 SU, 8-5-1 ATS) can clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs if they defeat the Giants in Week 16. Denver failed to clinch their first AFC West title since 2005 in its loss to Carolina, and a come from behind 22-21 San Diego win over lowly Kansas City. Despite the Broncos' defeat, they only need one more win or one San Diego loss to clinch its divisions. The Broncos fall to 10-27-1 ATS in their last 38 games overall. Their next two games figure to produce at least one victory, as both matchups are against teams with losing records—at home versus Buffalo and in San Diego.
Philadelphia (9-5 SU, 8-5-1 ATS) beat struggling Cleveland 30-10 on Monday night for their third straight victory, as they continue their strong playoff push. The Eagles improve to 5-1 ATS in their last six MNF games. With the home win, they remain a half-game behind three teams in the race for the two NFC wild-card spots. The Eagles have to win their final two games—at Washington and home against Dallas—and need Atlanta or Tampa Bay to lose once to secure a playoff berth.
Atlanta's 13-10 home OT win over Tampa Bay (9-5 SU, 8-6 ATS) made for back-to-back losses for the Bucs for the first time this season. Atlanta (9-5 SU, 8-6 ATS) cost the Bucs the possibility to clinch a playoff berth. The push moves the Falcons to 6-1-1 ATS in their last eight home games. Both teams are tied for second in the NFC South at 9-5 and need to win out to claim a wild-card spot. The Bucs are 2-5-1 ATS in their last eight games overall.
The AFC East is up for grabs, literally. New England's 49-26 road victory over Oakland keeps them in a three-way tie for first place in the division with Miami and the Jets. The Pats win also improves them to 7-13 ATS in their last 20 games overall. The Pats (9-5 SU, 7-7 ATS) are tied with Baltimore for the second wild-card spot. The Jets (9-5 SU, 7-7 ATS) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 31-27 home victory over the collapsed Bills to remain tied atop the division, while the Jets fall to 5-2 ATS versus AFC East rivals, and Miami (9-5 SU, 6-8 ATS) did its part by beating San Francisco 14-9 at home. The Dolphins drop to 12-33-1 ATS in their last 46 home games in the non-cover win. The Jets own the tiebreaker in the AFC East over New England and Miami because of a better head-to-head record between the three teams.
Good luck in Week 16 and be sure checkout all the BetPhoenix NFL odds, including our Props wagers for every game. If you bet on NFL action, we invite you to find out why Props have become so popular among sports wagering fans because of its strong money-making potentials and excitement. So if you wager on NFL games and like winning money in exciting fashion, BetPhoenix Props are for you!
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