Week 13 NFL Matchups
Once again this week in the NFL starts with a Thursday night matchup. The Eagles and The Texans will face off in the prime time showdown on the NFL network. The rest of the NFL will pick up their season on the following Sunday and Monday.
Houston Texans @ Philadelphia Eagles (-8)
Thursday, December 2 – 8:20 PM
These two teams may be in different conferences, but both are in equal need of a win. The Eagles are trying to hold on to a division lead over The Giants while the Texans are hoping to boost themselves from a third place spot in their division.
The Eagles had a tough loss in Chicago last week. Michael Vick was pressured constantly throughout the game and was sacked 4 times. Just when it looked like The Eagles were getting something started, a critical mistake would cost them a first down or result in an interception. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that The Eagles were able to gain some true momentum and make a late run – but nevertheless they came up short.
The Philadelphia pass defense was very weak in this game. Jay Cutler looked more like Joe Montana as he shredded the secondary for 247 yards and 4 TD. The defense very ineffective in getting to Cutler which provided him with more than enough time to make precision passes.
In Houston last week, aside from Andre Johnson pummeling Cortland Finnegan in the back of the head, the highlights came mostly from The Texans’ offense. Houston accumulated 346 yards in total for the day and controlled the ball for nearly forty minutes of the game. Matt Schaub threw for 178 yards and 2 TD while Arian Foster rushed for 143 yards.
Betting Trends
Houston is 2-5 ATS in the last 7 games and 1-4 SU in the last 5 games. The total has gone OVER in 4 of the last 6 games and has also gone OVER in 4 of Houston’s last 5 road games. For Philadelphia, the total has gone OVER in 6 of their last 7 games while the team has gone 5-2 SU in its last 7 games and 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
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New Orleans Saints (-7) @ Cincinnati Bengals
Sunday, December 5 – 1:00 PM
The Bengals are a sinking ship this season. There is no doubt that this team had high expectations after the acquisition of wide out Terrell Owens, but as he has proven in the past, T.O. has been more of a detriment than a blessing. Last week The Jets embarrassed Cincinnati as they rolled them 26-10. Carson Palmer had just 135 yards passing and 1 TD while Cedric Benson rushed for only 41 yards and no TD. The Bengals had a loose 7-3 lead going into the half but it fell apart in the next 2 quarters as The Jets put up 20 unanswered points.
The Saints are just the opposite as they have won their last 4 straight games. Drew Brees is on fire right now as he has now thrown for over 3300 yards and 23 TD on the season. The offense seems to be clicking on all levels and they are putting up some major points on their opponents. For as much as the offense has been hailed in New Orleans though, the defense has also been very impressive as they rank 3rd in overall passing yards allowed and 15th in rushing yards allowed.
Betting Trends
New Orleans is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games and 6-13 ATS in the last 19 games. The team has gone 13-2 SU on the road but just 3-6 ATS in its last 9 on the road. The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the 5 games against Cincinnati. Cincinnati is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games and 1-7 ATS in its last 8.
Atlanta Falcons (-3) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sunday, December 5 – 4:15 PM
The Falcons travel to Tampa this weekend in what will be an enormous NFC battle. Atlanta is trying to keep themselves in good standing over The Bears by continuing to win. However, Tampa will be gunning for a much needed win after losing to The Ravens last week. They need this win to keep themselves in playoff contention.
Last week The Falcons squeaked by Green Bay in a 20-17 victory. The team has been somewhat of a surprise this season as most sportsbooks and experts did not peg them as one of the top teams during preseason. Matt Ryan has made a believer of them though as he and RB Michael Turner have now led the team to a 9-2 record which ties them for the best in the league.
The Bucs are aiming high and would like nothing more than to take the top dog in their conference down. If they want to keep playoff hopes alive they will have to contain Matt Ryan and Josh Freeman will have to find a way to generate more offense than he did against The Ravens.
Betting Trends
Atlanta has gone OVER in 5 of its last 6 games. The team is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games but 1-6 ATS when playing Tampa. The Buccaneers are 4-2 SU in the last 6 games and 3-13 ATS in the last 16 games. The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa’s last 6 games when playing at home against at Atlanta.
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