Moss, Patriots host Jags in key Sunday contest
New England can officially wrap up the AFC East with a win. Jacksonville needs a win to stay in the AFC wild card chase. It all adds up to a big game for both the Pats and Jags at Gillette Stadium. Meanwhile in Washington, old rivals meet in the Sunday night matchup when the Redskins host the Cowboys. A Dallas win will keep Wade Phillips' bunch in the driver's seat for the NFC wild card and still in the hunt for the NFC East title.
There’s something about Randy Moss standing behind a podium sporting a pea coat and a vicious beard that makes me laugh. I was already bent over in stitches before Moss mentioned anything about the figurative resilience of his shoulders during his post-game press conference following the Patriots’ 17-10 win over the Bills last week.
To use his words, Moss “bounced back” against Buffalo last Sunday, as he caught five balls for 70 yards with a touchdown in New England’s ATS payday as 6½-point road favorites.
Moss will have to continue to bring his best effort to the field if the Pats are to be at all profitable for the remainder of the season.
New England picked up its first true road win last week, but it’s obvious this isn’t your older brother’s Patriots. The Pats will need a better showing on Sunday afternoon against the Jacksonville Jaguars if they’re to cover once again this week.
Jacksonville at New England (-9, 43½)
Sunday – 1 PM ET, CBS
Speaking of bouncing back, the Patriots (9-5, 6-7-1 ATS) need to do just that to cash against the Jaguars (7-7, 5-9 ATS) at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Yes, New England paid for bettors in its win over Buffalo last week, but the outcome wasn’t representative of what happened on the field in Orchard Park. The Pats’ vaunted offense was held to 224 yards by the Bills last week, with Tom Brady putting up one of his worst games of the season.
Brady finished 11-of-23 for 115 yards with a touchdown and an interception last Sunday, as England snapped a three-game ATS losing skid.
Along with Moss, Laurence Maroney was the other bright spot for the Patriots, rushing for 81 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown last week. Other than that, the only other good news was that New England and Buffalo played 'under' the 41½-point total set by oddsmakers. The Patriots are now 1-6-1 O/U in their last eight games (5-3 SU, 3-4-1 ATS).
New England is undefeated SU at home this season, so I expect them to win this game outright. Cashing against the spread is another story, however, and public bettors appear to be fading the Pats as 8-point chalk. About 61% of wagers on the line had come in on the Jags through Christmas Day.
Jacksonville needs a win to stay in the AFC playoff picture, so expect it to bring everything but the trainer’s table to Foxboro. The Jaguars fell 35-31 to Indianapolis (-3½) in last week’s Thursday nighter, and are now a draining 2-8 ATS (5-5 SU) in their last 10 games.
Like New England, Jacksonville has been profitable for 'under' bettors lately, going 1-4 O/U in its last five contests (2-3 SU, 1-3 ATS).
Dallas at Washington (+7½, 42)
Sunday – 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Bettors are pounding the Cowboys (9-5, 7-7 ATS) for their battle with the Redskins (4-10, 6-7-1 ATS) at FedExField on Sunday Night Football.
Who can blame the public after Dallas spoiled New Orleans’ potential perfect season with its 24-17 win as 7½-point underdogs at the Superdome last Saturday night? Oddsmakers opened the Cowboys as four-point faves earlier in the week, but they’d been bet up to at least seven at most outlets through Friday.
It was hard for books to stick with the original spread after just over 70% of bets on the line had come in on Dallas as of press time.
The Cowboys’ seven-point win over the Saints belied just how well Dallas performed last Saturday. Wade Phillips’ team led New Orleans 24-3 in the third quarter before the Saints made a late run, and even put up more yards through the air than Drew Brees and New Orleans’ world-beating air attack. Tony Romo finished 22-of-34 for 312 yards with a touchdown, while the Cowboys held Brees to 271 yards passing with a pair of fumbles in the upset.
Washington was sailing along with a five-game ATS winning streak (2-3 SU) before getting drilled 45-12 at home to the Giants (-1) in last week’s Monday nighter. Prior to that, I would have touted the Redskins as a sharp underdog wager in this spot, but all bets are off – literally – after Washington looked worse than Amy Winehouse on a bender in its loss to New York last week.
New England can officially wrap up the AFC East with a win. Jacksonville needs a win to stay in the AFC wild card chase. It all adds up to a big game for both the Pats and Jags at Gillette Stadium. Meanwhile in Washington, old rivals meet in the Sunday night matchup when the Redskins host the Cowboys. A Dallas win will keep Wade Phillips' bunch in the driver's seat for the NFC wild card and still in the hunt for the NFC East title.
There’s something about Randy Moss standing behind a podium sporting a pea coat and a vicious beard that makes me laugh. I was already bent over in stitches before Moss mentioned anything about the figurative resilience of his shoulders during his post-game press conference following the Patriots’ 17-10 win over the Bills last week.
To use his words, Moss “bounced back” against Buffalo last Sunday, as he caught five balls for 70 yards with a touchdown in New England’s ATS payday as 6½-point road favorites.
Moss will have to continue to bring his best effort to the field if the Pats are to be at all profitable for the remainder of the season.
New England picked up its first true road win last week, but it’s obvious this isn’t your older brother’s Patriots. The Pats will need a better showing on Sunday afternoon against the Jacksonville Jaguars if they’re to cover once again this week.
Jacksonville at New England (-9, 43½)
Sunday – 1 PM ET, CBS
Speaking of bouncing back, the Patriots (9-5, 6-7-1 ATS) need to do just that to cash against the Jaguars (7-7, 5-9 ATS) at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Yes, New England paid for bettors in its win over Buffalo last week, but the outcome wasn’t representative of what happened on the field in Orchard Park. The Pats’ vaunted offense was held to 224 yards by the Bills last week, with Tom Brady putting up one of his worst games of the season.
Brady finished 11-of-23 for 115 yards with a touchdown and an interception last Sunday, as England snapped a three-game ATS losing skid.
Along with Moss, Laurence Maroney was the other bright spot for the Patriots, rushing for 81 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown last week. Other than that, the only other good news was that New England and Buffalo played 'under' the 41½-point total set by oddsmakers. The Patriots are now 1-6-1 O/U in their last eight games (5-3 SU, 3-4-1 ATS).
New England is undefeated SU at home this season, so I expect them to win this game outright. Cashing against the spread is another story, however, and public bettors appear to be fading the Pats as 8-point chalk. About 61% of wagers on the line had come in on the Jags through Christmas Day.
Jacksonville needs a win to stay in the AFC playoff picture, so expect it to bring everything but the trainer’s table to Foxboro. The Jaguars fell 35-31 to Indianapolis (-3½) in last week’s Thursday nighter, and are now a draining 2-8 ATS (5-5 SU) in their last 10 games.
Like New England, Jacksonville has been profitable for 'under' bettors lately, going 1-4 O/U in its last five contests (2-3 SU, 1-3 ATS).
Dallas at Washington (+7½, 42)
Sunday – 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Bettors are pounding the Cowboys (9-5, 7-7 ATS) for their battle with the Redskins (4-10, 6-7-1 ATS) at FedExField on Sunday Night Football.
Who can blame the public after Dallas spoiled New Orleans’ potential perfect season with its 24-17 win as 7½-point underdogs at the Superdome last Saturday night? Oddsmakers opened the Cowboys as four-point faves earlier in the week, but they’d been bet up to at least seven at most outlets through Friday.
It was hard for books to stick with the original spread after just over 70% of bets on the line had come in on Dallas as of press time.
The Cowboys’ seven-point win over the Saints belied just how well Dallas performed last Saturday. Wade Phillips’ team led New Orleans 24-3 in the third quarter before the Saints made a late run, and even put up more yards through the air than Drew Brees and New Orleans’ world-beating air attack. Tony Romo finished 22-of-34 for 312 yards with a touchdown, while the Cowboys held Brees to 271 yards passing with a pair of fumbles in the upset.
Washington was sailing along with a five-game ATS winning streak (2-3 SU) before getting drilled 45-12 at home to the Giants (-1) in last week’s Monday nighter. Prior to that, I would have touted the Redskins as a sharp underdog wager in this spot, but all bets are off – literally – after Washington looked worse than Amy Winehouse on a bender in its loss to New York last week.
