Gambling recap

NFL Week 16: They are who we thought they were

Seth Livingston
Jerry Bo
Dec 26, 2017, 11:09 pm
The Chiefs have turned it on since changing play call duties. Peter Aiken/Getty Images

Week 16 handles the duties of pointing teams in their respective direction of fate. This week a few teams showed us precisely what we thought they were.

Biggest favorites to Cover

Chiefs-11
Who did we think the Chiefs were to begin the season? A team capable of knocking off the defending Super Bowl Champion Patriots, scoring 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull off a stunning upset, that's what we learned opening night. Also, a unit that would carry that momentum starting the year 5-0 straight up and ATS. After a few injuries and the offense becoming stagnant, the Chiefs regressed drastically going 1-6 ATS in the following seven games. Don't look now, but the Chiefs are rolling and are perfect vs. the spread in the last three contest. The offense seems to have found their rhythm again, and much has to do with Andy Reid giving up the play-calling duties to Matt Nagy. Since making the change, the Chiefs have scored 38,26,30,29.

Patriots -11


After defeating the Steelers the previous week, the destiny was in the Patriots hands going into a divisional clash vs. the Bills.  A tale of two halves, the game was tied at the intermission, but the doors were blown wide open in the closing half. Tom Brady threw a pick-six in the first half to give the Bills a 10-3 lead. This makes it five consecutive games that Brady has turned the ball over, something he hasn't done in 15 years. Just when you consider maybe his age is catching up, he proceeded to score on the next six possessions. In the closing half, Brady was a perfect 9-for-9 with a touchdown leading New England to a blowout win. Who did we think the Patriots were? They are exactly who we thought they were. The team that was always going to get the number one seed in the AFC, therefore, directing the road to the Super Bowl through Foxborough. With Tom Brady under center, New England is 14-3 in the playoffs; Is there an opponent this year worthy of knocking out the Patriots at home in the postseason?

Vikings-9

The Vikings defense was scary last week, exactly what we thought they had been all year. The Vikings have now held opponents to single digits in four of the last six contests and have given up and an average of 11 points a game in the last month. This is nothing new for a squad who ranks 1st overall in weighted defensive DVOA and 11th in turnover +/- differential. Minnesota has now won 10 of their last 11 and is 8-1 ATS in the last nine contests. With a win this week (or a few scenarios),  would put them in a position to not have to travel for over three weeks. Furthermore, if the Eagles were to be upset in the playoffs, they wouldn't have to leave home at all as the Superbowl is being held at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota this year.

From the Cashiers window

Most Bet Teams:
Panthers 85%
Rams 81%
Chiefs 77%
Jags 77%
Chargers 74%

Favorites were 13-3 straight up but only managed to go 8-7-1 ATS. The number sits at 123-103-9 for 2017.
The dominating figure this week went to the under, where wagering on low totals went 13-3.

Play Action Pass went 4-5-1 in week 16 bringing us to 45-33-2 on the year winning at a rate of 57.7%.

Eagles-9 PUSH
Texans+10 LOSS
49ers+4  WIN
Seahawks +3  WIN
Seahawks/Cowboys over 47  LOSS
Browns+7  LOSS
Rams/Titans under 49 LOSS

Teaser 7- point
Chargers+.5/Vikings-2 WIN

10-point teaser
Chiefs PK/ Eagles+1/Patriots -1.5  WIN
Eagles+1/Seahawks-Cowboys over 37/Chiefs PK LOSS

For any questions or comments reach me at @JerryBoKnowz on twitter.

 

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Houston's magic number stays at 2

Astros drop series finale to Mariners after rough start by Greinke

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

With their magic number at 2 to secure their spot in the 2020 MLB postseason, the Astros returned to T-Mobile Park in Seattle for this three-game series' finale and rubber game. Here are the highlights from the game:

Final Score: Mariners 3, Astros 2.

Record: 28-28, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Nick Margevicius (2-3, 4.57 ERA)

Losing pitcher: Zack Greinke (3-3, 4.03 ERA).

Greinke unable to complete five innings

While the Astros were being held scoreless, the Mariners were putting up runs on Zack Greinke. They took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with back-to-back singles followed by an RBI-double with one out. Greinke would stop the damage there, then looked to settle in over the next few frames.

He allowed just one baserunner in the second through fourth innings, a one-out single in the bottom of the fourth. Then, in the fifth, the Mariners would knock him out of the game by getting a one-out single that would come around to score on a two-out RBI-double, followed by an RBI-single to extend the lead to 3-0. Greinke faced one more batter, allowing a single before Dusty Baker would take the ball and move to the bullpen. His final line: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR, 92 P.

Astros try a late rally, come up short

On the other end, the Astros were unable to break through against Nick Margevicius, getting just one hit and two walks through the first four innings. They had a chance to get on the board in the top of the fifth, starting the inning with back-to-back singles before a walk loaded the bases with one out to turn the lineup over. They'd come up empty, though, with George Springer striking out before a long flyball to center by Jose Altuve to end the inning.

After finishing the fifth for Greinke, Andre Scrubb returned for a scoreless sixth, working around a one-out walk. Still 3-0, Blake Taylor took over on the mound in the bottom of the seventh, erasing a leadoff single and two-out walk to keep Seattle from extending their lead. Houston had another chance to score in the top of the eighth, getting two runners in scoring position, but again would strand them.

Cy Sneed was the next reliever out for the Astros, working around a two-out walk to send the game on to the ninth. The Astros would avoid the shutout, getting a two-RBI single by pinch-hitting Josh Reddick in the top of the ninth to make it a one-run game at 3-2. That's as close as they'd come, though, as the Mariners would eventually get the final out to take the series and keep the Astros' magic number stagnant at 2.


Up Next: There is one series left in the regular season for Houston, and it awaits them in Arlington with a four-game series against the Rangers, who are well eliminated from playoff contention. The first of the four games will start at 7:05 PM Central on Thursday with a pitching matchup of Lance Lynn (6-2, 2.53 ERA) for Texas and Cristian Javier (4-2, 3.33 ERA) for the Astros.

astros recap astros vs mariners astros score mariners score mariners recap mlb mlb recap zack greinke astros

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