NFL News and Views

It was another great weekend of football with another few surprizes:

Bengals 17 Panthers 14

Carolina shot out of the gate and just plain ran out of steam. Cincinnati was in bad shape early on, looking very pathetic on offense and very beatable on defense. But Marvin Lewis made better halftime adjustments than John Fox and Cincy got back on track. Most bettors got this one as a push and the under prevailed.

Jets 31 Lions 24

New York's Leon Washington ran the ball very well and the Detroit defense continued to allow too many yards on the ground. Kevin Jones was ok, but he needs to play hard for 60 minutes to make a difference. Jets backers were victorious, as were those who took the over.

Packers 34 Dolphins 24

Brett Favre didn’t turn the ball over and the result was a road win. Green Bay picked Joey Harrington three times and failed to get a good game from Ronnie Brown yet again. Meanwhile, Ahman Green returned and had a great day. A win here for the road dog and for over backers.

Texans 27 Jaguars 7

Huh? How did this happen? Byron Leftwich failed to stretch the field against a poor Houston secondary, that’s how. Throwing for only 125 yards is an embarrassment. When two of your top three receivers on the day are RBs, there’s a problem. A huge underdog play here and several Houston money line bettors cleaned up.

Patriots 28 Bills 6

It appears as though the Bills have mailed in their season. A pity, they were playing so hard the first four weeks of the season. Tom Brady is loving this two-headed running game he’s got going. He can consistently throw under 200 yards a game and they can still win big. An easy money line and spread cover for New England bettors.

Bucs 23 Eagles 21

Too many turnovers cost Philadelphia the game. McNabb made some poor decisions, while Tampa’s defense got back to making big play after big play. Ronde Barber covered the spread single handedly for Bucs backers. A nice home dog win.

Falcons 41 Steelers 38 (OT)

It was one of the most exciting games of the week and it was only fitting that overtime was required. Michael Vick showed up the critics with several big throws, including four touchdown passes. Pittsburgh’s pass defense was bad in the clutch and Willie Parker was stymied time after time. The unpredictable Falcons were a nice home dog and the over was accomplished in the first half!

Chiefs 30 Chargers 27

It’s hard to figure out these Chiefs, but the home dog prevailed in a wacky affair. They blew a big lead before getting a last second field goal for the win. San Diego’s running game never got on track, while Larry Johnson was the weapon of choice for Herm Edwards. We’re definitely not sold on KC as a road bet just yet.

Broncos 17 Browns 7

Jake Plummer haters got more fuel for the fire with his latest performance. However, that Denver defense is just out of this world right now. It was a road favorite covering here, simply because of the impenetrable nature of the Broncos stoppers.

Raiders 22 Cardinals 9

Wow, did Matt Leinart ever suck us in with his performance against the Bears, or what? Arizona layed an egg here, as their offensive line could be even worse than that of the Raiders. Despite having talented offensive players, I doubt they will get a 100-yard rushing performance the entire season! Randy Moss had a breakout game and Andrew Walter is getting better. You may want to watch the over in Oakland’s next game.

Vikings 31 Seahawks 13

This was an upset few people saw coming, as evidenced by the touchdown spread. The road dog covered by running the ball effectively and by knocking out Hasselbeck. Hmm, maybe the Super Bowl runner-up jinx is slowly taking effect in Seattle.

Colts 36 Redskins 22

A slow start by the Colts turned into a nice win by game’s end. The ground attack once again took a backseat to Peyton the magician, who had over 340 yards passing and four TDs. Brunell was good, but not nearly good enough. Indy needed a fairly easy win.