GAMBLING RECAP

Week 14: Eagles fans, Wentz in pain

Week 14: Eagles fans, Wentz in pain
Carson Wentz will no longer be on the field for the Eagles. Philadelphiaeagles.com

Wince verb- To flinch as if in pain or distress. To make a face indicating disgust or dislike.

First and goal, just inside four minutes left in the third quarter, the Eagles illusion of a Super Bowl title quickly descended.  On a play that will never show up on the box score due to a penalty, it inevitably showed up in Vegas. Immediately after the confirmation of the season-ending injury, Philadelphia plummeted from a 4-1 Super Bowl favorite to  10-1 at most places. But just how significant is the drop off from Carson Wentz to the new play-caller Nick Foles?

In 2013, Foles was spectacular. By now, we all have heard about the 27-2 touchdown to interception season. The question is how did he achieve such phenomenal numbers? Was it a product of the overly fast-paced offensive schemes of Chip Kelly that the NFL had yet to adjust to? Foles would go on to finish the season with an astounding 119.2 passer rating while averaging a career-high 9.1 yards per pass attempt. So how did others fair in Chip Kelley's high octane offense? Let's just use Mark Sanchez for example. Following his record-breaking 2013 campaign, Foles went down to an injury and was replaced by Sanchez. The backup quarterback would go on to throw 14 touchdowns in 8 starts while averaging a career-high 7.1 yards per attempt. That pace would have given him 28 touchdowns on the year, also a career high. So, were the numbers from the QB position inflated by the system in which they worked within?

The ability to improvise when the pocket breaks down and extend plays is what separates Wentz from the field. The problem that comes with Foles having to do the same is he has had numerous injuries in his career causing him to miss time.

 


Can Nick Foles stay healthy enough to lead this team to a playoff run?

Week 14 was pretty leveled out regarding wagering. Favorites and home teams both went 9-7 ATS. Again, as we have seen all season, of the seven underdogs that covered the number, five won outright.

The number that does stick out is Unders went 10-5-1 in week 14. High scoring affairs is what Vegas and bettors anticipated last week. Instead, we saw many contests start slow making it impossible to catch up to the number; take the Raiders vs. Chiefs, for example: they only put up 3 points combined in the first quarter but ended with 41.

Biggest Underdog to Cover

Dolphins +11.5 (Moneyline +450)

The Patriots have been on the road four of the last five weeks with a trip to Mexico in their itinerary. With one eye on this week's showdown with the Steelers, the Patriots struggled to find energy all night. Throw in the fact that Brady owns a 7-9 record at Miami while throwing 15 interceptions.

Biggest Favorite to cover

Chargers-6

A wire to wire winner, the Bolts defense dominated once again. In the last three contests, they have allowed opponents to score a scarce 9.7 points per game. After starting the season 0-4 straight up and 1-3 ATS, the Chargers have reeled off four wins in a row while going 7-2 ATS since the pitiful start. With the defense playing lights out, the under is 7-1 in their last eight contests.

Most Bet Teams

1) Packers 76%

2) Seahawks 74%

3) Cowboys 73%

4) Steelers 74%

5) Bills 70%

Play action or Pass went 3-4-1 bringing us to 33-27-1 in 2017

Eagles +2.5 WIN

Giants +4.5 LOSS

Cardinals +4 WIN

Jaguars-2.5 WIN

Chiefs vs. Raiders over 48 LOSS

Teasers 7 point

Eagles+9.5/ Oak-KC over 41 PUSH

Teaser 10 point

Patriots-1/Eagles+12.5/Steelers+5 LOSS

Patriots-1/Eagles+12.5/Oak-KC over 38 LOSS

Super Bowl  Current Odds

New England Patriots    9-4

Pittsburgh Steelers         3-1

Minnesota Vikings         8-1

Philadelphia Eagles       10-1

Atlanta Falcons              12-1

New Orleans Saints       12-1

Jacksonville Jaguars     12-1

Los Angeles Rams         14-1

ESPN Power Rankings

Steelers

Patriots

Eagles

Rams

Vikings

Saints

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

 

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Stefon Diggs is out for the season. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Houston Texans receiver Stefon Diggs will miss the rest of the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee Sunday.

Coach DeMeco Ryans made the announcement Tuesday, calling Diggs being out a huge loss.

“It hurts our team to hear that news,” Ryans said. “He’s been such an important part to our team and just everything that he brought, not only on the field, but off the field. The energy, the leader, the way he worked every single day. He brought a lot to our team and we have to pick up the slack — a lot of guys have to pick up the slack.”

Diggs suffered the non-contact injury in the third quarter of Houston’s win over the Colts on Sunday. He was running a route and pulled up and grabbed at his right knee before falling to the ground.

The 30-year-old Diggs had 47 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns in eight games in his first season in Houston after a blockbuster trade from the Bills.

“It's not easy," quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “It's not something that I have a whole bunch of words for. I'm just ... trying to just wrap my mind around what happened but it's tough. You try to think positively about it but there's not a bunch of positive thoughts and I just really feel bad for him.”

Diggs is a four-time Pro Bowler who has had at least 1,000 yards receiving in each of the past six seasons, highlighted by his 2020 season where he led the NFL with a career-high 1,535 yards.

The injury is another blow to a team that is already without leading receiver Nico Collins, who is out at least one more game after being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

With Diggs out, the Texans will need Tank Dell to take on a bigger role in the offense Thursday night when they visit the New York Jets. Dell’s production has dropped off this season after a standout rookie year where he had 709 yards receiving with seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg.

He has 229 yards receiving this season and scored his second touchdown in Sunday’s win which improved the AFC South-leading Texans to 6-2.

“Once you lose one of the star players, everybody has got to step up,” Dell said. “Even if you are one of the star players, you still have to step up and do more and produce more. I know all of us are more than capable of doing that. So we are going to try to go out there and make plays.”

The Texans also have receivers Robert Woods, Xavier Hutchinson and John Metchie, but none of those players has contributed much this season. The three players have combined for just 146 yards receiving.

“Other leaders have got to step up,” Stroud said. “We need a leader in that room to step up now since (Diggs) and Nico are both out.”

Stroud added that he has full confidence in his remaining receivers and knows they'll take advantage of their opportunities.

“That means a lot,” Metchie said. “It shows that my teammates have a lot of faith and belief in me based off the work that they’ve seen me do. And for me, it just means that when I get out there, I’m just going to ride as hard for them as they do for me.”

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Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Find out more about it here.

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