For the second week in a row the best teams in each conference will not be televised in the late afternoon slot, but will instead receive primary network distribution among the NFL games kicking off early. CBS will televise the 12-2 New England Patriots at the 9-5 New York Jets in all or parts of 29 states, while FOX will air the 14-0 Carolina Panthers at the 7-7 Atlanta Falcons in all or parts of 40 states. The amount of coverage given divisional rivalries in an early time slot is quite rare; usually the early games are somewhat equally divided with regional coverage.
On Thursday, prior to the start of any Week 15 games, the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook published early ‘look ahead’ odds for the following week’s NFL action. The line originator installed the New England Patriots as three-point road favorites over the New York Jets in what will be the 114th meeting of these two bitter rivals from the AFL. Since the finish of Sunday’s NFL games 14 other venues have followed suit and list the Pats as three-point favorites, while four are placing New England at minus 3½ points.
Tennessee just gave up 183 rushing yards (while gaining just 24 yards on the ground themselves), so normally you would think that New England’s game plan would be to just run, run and run some more. Problem for the Patriots is that they are running out of running backs, so that may not be feasible.
So wait, Thursday Night Football will be on Saturday after the season already opened with Sunday Night Football on Thursday?
There are plenty of pivotal games to the NFL playoff picture this week, starting with New England at Houston on Sunday night. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati should not only be a very entertaining game to watch, it will play a critical role in the Bengals’ quest for a first round bye, and whether or not the Steelers make the playoffs. Other important games include Oakland at Denver, Dallas at Green Bay, Buffalo at Philadelphia, Washington at Chicago and Indianapolis at Jacksonville.
For the ninth time this season when the Cowboys play, they are the one and only NFL game on any television station – and that does not include near-exclusive late afternoon broadcast distribution in week five.
Week 13’s best game is between Seattle, who just went over .500 for the first time all season, and Minnesota, who ranks 25th in the league in scoring. The only other game with two winning clubs involves a pair of 6-5 teams: the under achieving Colts with a 40-year old backup QB, and a Pittsburgh defense that has given up 39 and 35 points in recent games. NFL fans deserve better than this.
In NFL Week 14 Early Advanced betting lines, the Westgate in Las Vegas has initially installed the New England Patriots as 3.5 point road favorites over the Houston Texans. Jacksonville is a 1-point favorite over Indy, the Broncos are favored by 6.5 over Oakland, and Carolina is an 8-point favorite over Atlanta.
For those of you living in the southeastern United States that don’t have the Sunday Ticket, it’s another Sunday off to the local sports bar if you want to catch the Pats; for the rest of the country, you will be able to see the Patriots from the comfort of your living room couch.
Unbeaten Carolina is just a 3½ point favorite against a struggling Saints defense in New Orleans; Miami is favored by 6½ (granted, it is against the Ravens); Minnesota is a 1½ point home underdog against Seattle; and Dallas was listed as a three-point road favorite at Washington – though to be fair, this was prior to Tony Romo’s injury on Thanksgiving Day. It is also interesting to note that there are more favorites playing on the road (nine) than home favorites (just six).
While Sunday once again leaves NFL fans with a dearth of games between two quality teams, at least there are several competitive matchups involving a pair of clubs fighting for a playoff berth. Leading up to Sunday night’s highly anticipated game between the Patriots and Broncos, the only afternoon game between a pair of teams with winning records is Minnesota at Atlanta. However, with the exception of ESPN’s odious foistering of Baltimore at Cleveland Monday night, almost all of the of the other games should be competitive and entertaining; the Steelers-Seahawks, Bills-Chiefs and Bucs-Colts are among those that could be compelling games well worth watching.
Jamie Collins will miss his 3rd game in a row with a mystery illness as well as rookie Cb Justin Coleman and WR Julian Edelman who broke a bone in his foot
While Rex Ryan is proving he can dish out but can’t take it in anticipation for Monday night’s game between the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots, Vegas has published their early advanced ‘look ahead’ lines for NFL week 12. On Thursday the Westgate in Las Vegas listed the Pats as 5½ point road favorites for next Sunday night’s game against the Broncos at Mile High in Denver. This week the Broncos are in Chicago to face the 4-5 Bears.
For the second straight week a game involving the Patriots shapes up to be one of, if not the most compelling matchup of the week. This is one of only three week 11 games (Packers-Vikings, Bengals-Cardinals) between two teams with winning records. It will also be a time where New England fans can “welcome” ESPN to Gillette Stadium and let them know how they feel about their integrity and unbiased reporting
As a by-product of the league’s quest for parity, NFL week ten sadly has just one game between two teams with winning records: the New England Patriots at New York Giants in a late afternoon tilt on Sunday. Here is a look at all of the week ten games.