texans ml +143 (1x) +3 (1x) .. i dont exactly love hou as a playoff team but i dont exactly get this line either. on a neutral field i have kc as a very short 1 to 2 point fav, while i dont always give 3 for home field these days i think it worth 3 here where the crowd should be juiced up getting to see a rare home playoff game. that crowd noise is gonna be a real problem for what i think is already the most lopsided matchup in this game in the kc oline (who allows one of the worst sack rates in the league) against a texans dline that is 3rd in sack percentage and best in the league getting off the field on 3rd downs. that the biggest advantage i see in this game between teams that incredibly similar that i have rated very closely. when i can get more plus money/points on the home team than what i made the number on a neutral field it pretty much a must play for me.
bungals ml +130 (2x).. this one was not easy for me to pull the trigger on for several reasons, if you know me you know i have been saying for several years i think cincy roster top to bottom one of the most talented in the league with the bad fortune of having a choking ginger qb and a mediocre head coach (ive been on more than one of their playoff failures needless to say!), their was also a stretch this year where i was starting to think the steelers could very well represent the afc in this years sb. to make this play i had to let go of my bungal playoff grudge and also go back on how i thought the season was shaping up a month or so ago..
bottom line is with AJ mccarron behind center i like the bungals to finally get a playoff W, if dalton was playing there no way in hell i would be backing cincy.. i have no clue why anyone thinks dalton gives them a better chance in this game? he is a proven loser who shrivels up at the sight of a primetime game let alone a freaking playoff game, and lets be real he a solid nfl qb but nothing more. i dont believe he possesses any more arm talent than McCarron, the only experience he brings is that of a loser who has his teammates scared to death he could freeze up at any moment.
enter mccarron who unlike dalton is a proven winner who has played in and won far bigger games in college than a rinky dink wild card game! all he has done since taking over as starter is played clean game after clean game only losing at den in ot. the pit game he had to come in and replace dalton sure he throw a couple bad picks early on but he did tune up the steeler secondary for almost 300 yards fresh off the bench with no starter reps.
that steelers secondary is reason 1b behind this play, we can talk about the young AJ making his first playoff start all day but he doing so with weapons that this secondary is incapable of covering which will make his life a lot easier. while cincy offense is working on that swiss cheese d big ben and co will be facing a unit that always plays them tough and limits big plays forcing them to really work for their points. a tough task made tougher now missing deangelo williams and at a time the passing offense hasnt been clicking on all cylinders.
this game was cincy-1 when they faced off a month ago, maybe im dead wrong about AJ being better for this game but that is what i believe. so i now get a winner at qb and a 4 point move in the spread at a time i dont believe steelers are playing at as high a level? sign me up, the blundering bungals finally get a playoff win 26-21, then being the loser franchise they are their half wit coach will put the ginger water pistol back into the lineup for the divisional round and guess what happens