Category: NFL

Patriots and Broncos to resume rivalry in crunch game

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The last two Super Bowl champions face each other on Sunday in a crunch game that both teams will be desperate to win. The Denver Broncos, who won the Super Bowl last season after beating the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, are in danger of failing to make the playoffs this season. They are third in their division but neck and neck with Miami for the final wildcard spot, so it is imperative they win this. But a win for the Patriots would clinch their division for a record eighth straight season and see them secure home advantage for the playoffs, so this really is the biggest and most exciting game of week 15.

New England Patriots at Denver Broncos

The Pats went into last season’s AFC Championship Game as reigning NFL champions, having won the Deflategate Super Bowl the previous year, but were stunned by the Broncos, who went on to win the Super Bowl themselves. The Broncos are a real bogey team for the Patriots. They are the only team star Pats quarterback Tom Brady has a losing record against as he is 6-9 against them in his career, and they have regularly been a thorn in the all-conquering Patriots’ side.

However, New England comes into this game on a four-game winning streak and the best record in the league, vying with the Cowboys for top spot in the NFL power rankings. Brady is in sensational form, as usual, and made a mockery of the Ravens’s status as the NFL’s best defence by leading his team to a 30-23 victory over them last weekend. The Pats will be keen to avenge last season’s defeat here with a win that will leave the Broncos’ chances of reaching the playoffs hanging by a thread. The Broncos lost last time out to the Titans, and their chances of securing a wildcard spot are really in jeopardy. The Broncos’ defence is also very strong, but Brady is on a roll right now and can lead the Pats to victory here, with Sky Bet offering 8/13 on this.

Carolina Panthers at Washington Redskins

The Panthers, defeated by the Broncos in last season’s Super Bowl, are struggling badly this season and already out of contention. Teams usually suffer a Super Bowl hangover, as shown by Denver, but the Panthers have taken this to new heights as they are bottom of their division at 5-8. None of the five victories has come against a winning team, and they face an in-form Washington team that is still battling for the playoffs.

The Redskins are still in the hunt for a wildcard spot as only the Giants and the Buccaneers currently have a better record than them out of all the second placed teams in the NFC. They got the better of the Eagles in their last game and can continue the winning run against another team with nothing left to play for. They are just half a game behind the Buccaneers and need a win here to boost their chances, and Kirk Cousins will be leading the charge as he has enjoyed a fantastic season so far. The 10/11 Betfred has on the Redskins to cover a -5 spread looks a great bet.

Detroit Lions at New York Giants

Another massive game as the Lions are top of their division, on a five-game winning streak and can qualify for the playoffs with a win here, while the Giants are trying to keep pressure on the Pats and cling onto their wildcard spot. It should be a tight game and the 20/21 on offer at Paddy Power on the Lions +4 against the spread looks interesting.

Seattle Seahawks Set for Crunch Game Against the Rams

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Seattle Seahawks will lock down their division and qualify for the playoffs if they beat the Rams in the first NFL game of week 15. The Seahawks are second favourites for the NFC, behind the Dallas Cowboys, who missed the chance to clinch the NFC East when they lost to the Cowboys last weekend. The Cowboys have already made the playoffs but need to rack up a couple more wins to secure home advantage, and can take a great stride towards that goal by beating Tampa Bay.

LA Rams at Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks were crushed by the Packers as a snowstorm engulfed Green Bay last weekend, leaving them 8-4-1 at the top of the NFC West. But if they beat the Rams in front of their home fans in the early game they will wrap up the division, and they are overwhelming favourites to do so. The best odds you can get are just 1/10 with Sky Bet, but all the action is still going on them. The Rams are on a four-game losing streak and, unlike the Packers, cannot hope to qualify for the playoffs. You get the impression they will now try to keep their record down to secure a better draft pick and the Seahawks, who have everything to play for and are 6-0 at home, will destroy them. Different bookmakers are offering a range of spreads, and the 4/6 Bet365 has on the Seahawks -13 looks good.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys

Dallas’ remarkable 11-game winning run came to an end as they fell to a 10-7 defeat against the Giants. They are already in the playoffs so perhaps they took a foot off the pedal, but that opens the door for the Giants to usurp them in the division. Dallas are now at 11-2 and the Giants are 9-4, so with three games to go, the Cowboys still need more wins on the board if they are to win the division and secure a better deal for themselves heading into the playoffs. Tampa Bay are neck and neck with the Falcons in the NFC South and have it all to play for, so it should make for a cracking game. But the Cowboys are still the best team in the NFC and are second favourites to win the Super Bowl, and they should be able to end Tampa Bay’s five-game winning streak. A lot depends on rookie quarterback Dak Prescott, who has Tony Romo breathing down his neck, and he will be determined to put a quiet game against the Giants – where he threw two interceptions and just 165 yards from 37 attempts – behind him and respond emphatically. The Cowboys are 20/23 with William Hill, Ladbrokes and Bet365 to cover a -7 spread and that also looks good.

Miami Dolphins at New York Jets

Another early game sees Miami travel to New York for a clash between AFC East rivals. The Patriots are running away with the division, but the Dolphins are very much still in the wildcard hunt. At 8-5 they are currently level with the Denver Broncos for the final AFC wildcard playoff spot, so they need a win badly. The Broncos lost their last game, while Miami won, so they will want to keep the momentum going. The Jets are dead and buried and already thinking of next season, so back the Dolphins at 4/5 with Coral to win this.

Cowboys and Patriots on Course for Super Bowl Battle

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The two favourites for the Super Bowl are in action in the days ahead as the Dallas Cowboys travel to New York while the New England Patriots host fierce rivals the Baltimore Ravens. A couple of weeks ago New England was odds-on in the NFL betting markets to win the Super Bowl, but everything has changed thanks to the superb form of the Cowboys, who now have the best record in the league at 11-1 and have already made it through to the playoffs in style. Injuries to key players like Rob Gronkowski have rocked the Patriots and their odds have gone out to 11/4, while the Cowboys are right behind them at 4/1 now.

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots

The Pats beat the Rams last weekend to go 10-2, giving them the joint best record in the AFC. The Raiders are also on 10-2 but have a more difficult fixture list in the last four games of the season, so the Patriots are looking good to secure home advantage throughout the playoffs if they extend their three-game winning streak against the Ravens. You would fancy them to beat the Ravens as they should have a psychological advantage, having beaten them in a thrilling 35-31 encounter in last season’s playoffs. The odds are low on this, however: just 3/10 at Coral and 5/16 at Ladbrokes, so you might consider betting on the spread and it will be tough for the Patriots to cover it. You can get evens on the Ravens +7 and that looks a good bet considering Baltimore are on a two-game winning streak and ran New England very close in their last meeting.

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants

The Cowboys are the form team in the league right now. After losing the season opener, they have won a remarkable 11 games in a row and have already qualified for the playoffs. They may take a foot off the pedal a bit now, but they still want to keep the confidence surging through the team with more wins, and be assured of home advantage in the playoffs, so they are likely to make life very difficult for the Giants. The Cowboys have a great young roster, full of talented stars like Dez Bryant and Tyron Smith. The Giants, led by veteran quarterback Eli Manning and exciting wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr, are no slouches, but the Cowboys are on a roll right now and should have too much offensive power for them. The Cowboys are 3/5 to win this with 888 Sport and that looks tempting given their incredible form, but you could push it a bit further and back them to cover a -3 spread at 20/23 with Coral.

Futures betting

The Cowboys have such fantastic momentum that it is hard to look past them for the NFC right now. The Seahawks look to be their toughest opponent in the conference, but the Cowboys have proved they can win in style and win ugly and look a good shout at 13/8 with Bet365 to win the NFC Conference and go to the Super Bowl, where their most likely opponent will be New England. The Pats are 21/20 with William Hill to win the AFC, but face ferocious competition from the three teams in the exceptionally strong AFC West – the Raiders, the Chiefs and the Broncos – so that might be best avoided for now, and the 4/1 on the Cowboys winning the Super Bowl looks a good option as their odds keep dwindling.

Raiders v Chiefs set to be a nailbiter

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

We are entering the business end of the NFL season and a handful of teams have already ensured qualification for the playoffs, but it is crunch time for many teams battling for the final berths. There are some crucial games scheduled in the week ahead, and none more so than the Friday game between Oakland and Kansas City. Here we preview that game and round up a few other important fixtures:

Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs

There are 64 regular season games left in the AFC and this is arguably the most important. The Raiders and the New England Patriots are both 10-2 and battling it out to earn home advantage should they reach the AFC Championship Game. It could go right to the wire between the Raiders and the Patriots, but Oakland also faces a gruelling battle to win their division, as the Chiefs are close to toppling them. It’s a nightmare for the Raiders to have to travel 1,500 miles on a short week for such a crucial game, but they will have known about this all season and should be suitably prepared.

The AFC West is surely the best division in the NFL by a long stretch, with the Raiders 10-2, the Chiefs 9-3 and the Denver Broncos, last season’s Super Bowl winners, 8-4. No other division in either conference has three teams that are so good, or have such good records. It is unfortunate for them that they are all lumped together. In the division tiebreakers, Kansas City is king, having beaten the Raiders, the Broncos and the Chargers already. They won 26-10 in Oakland earlier this season, and if they can beat the Raiders again in front of their home fans they will go 4-0 in the tiebreakers and move up to 10-3, putting them ahead of the Raiders.

They come into the match having won their last two games and will be full of confidence, but the Raiders are on a six-game winning streak, the best in the conference, so it will be a fascinating battle. As they have home advantage and have already beaten the Raiders this year, the Chiefs are odds-on favourites, best priced at 4/7 with Sky Bet, while the Raiders are 6/4 with Sun Bets and Coral. It is tempting to go for the Chiefs given their dominance in the division head-to-heads, and if you fancy that, you would be advised to take the 15/8 currently available at Betfair on the Chiefs winning the division as that would send them top with three games to go. To get more value, you could go for the Chiefs to cover the -3 spread at 4/5 with Sun Bets, putting an end to the Raiders’ winning run in style.

Other highlights

Over in the NFC the Seahawks travel to the Packers knowing they need a win to keep their hopes of qualifying as the second-best division winner behind the Cowboys. They are 8-3-1 and have the Giants and the Lions, both 8-4 breathing down their necks, so they need to put an end to the Packers’ two-game winning streak. They should get the job done, and the 8/11 available looks a good bet, as does the 5/6 William Hill is offering on them covering the -2.5 spread. The Lions host the Bears and should win it, but the Bears look good to cover the +8 spread at 19/20 with Coral. A fierce battle is taking place between the Falcons and the Buccaneers in their division, and the Falcons should cover a -6 spread at Los Angeles (10/11 with William Hill), while the Buccaneers can also cover a -2.5 spread when they host the Saints, keeping the battle alive for another week.

Superbowl XLIX Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots clash in Superbowl XLIX in Phoenix on Sunday with most pundits forecasting a very tight match.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks closed out the regular season with four straight victories but had to produce a remarkable late rally to overcome Green Bay Packers. The Seahawks’ passing game was exposed for almost an hour by the Packers and that will not have gone unnoticed by New England. Their late fight-back to stun Green Bay was sealed with Jermaine Kearse scoring a thrilling overtime touchdown strike.

Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson rescued Seattle. The Patriots will focus on stopping Wilson from making the big plays and stop the marauding runs of Lynch. No quarterback has a higher percentage under pressure than Wilson and how New England deal with him is likely to be the key to the match.

Seahawks’ Pete Carroll will become only the seventh coach in history to lead his side to back-to-back Superbowl victories if they are successful on Sunday. His rival Belichick already has three Superbowl wins as head coach and two as an assistant, his most recent being in 2004. His tactical genius is certain to come into play in such a tight match as this.

New England Patriots

New England quarterback Tom Brady will be making his sixth appearance in a Super Bowl and is seeking record-equalling fourth victory. That would put him alongside Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw.

The Patriots have one of the most efficient offenses in the league with Tom Brady running the show. They are always prepared to adapt to whatever the opposition throws at them. The stats for the past three years reveal that only the 49ers have allowed fewer yards after initial contact on a per-carry basis.

The total points market was trading at 48 earlier in the week and it is very tempting to go short with two such evenly-matched teams. The touchdown market could hold some value in supporting James Develin at 12/1. He is as short as 5-1 elsewhere so that 12-1 may not last long.

New England were the last team to successfully defend the Superbowl in 2005 and are aiming to prevent the Seahawks from replicating that achievement. They could just have the experience to withstand another late surge from the Seahawks and cling on for a nail-biting victory.

Tips

Patriots to win by 1-6 @7-2 Bet365

James Develin touchdown at any time @12-1 BetVictor

Total points under 47.5 @10-11 William Hill