NFL Handicapping Articles

Free NFL Picks: Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs Odds & Expert Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 12/6/2016

I don't hear anyone complaining about the NFL's Thursday night schedule now! The last two TNF games have gone down to the wire, and this week's game is arguably the prime-time matchup of the regular season as 10-2 Oakland visits 9-3 Kansas City. The winner, in my opinion, will be the AFC West champion and could be the top seed in the AFC playoffs.

NFL Betting Predictions: Week 14 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 12/5/2016

We have our first member of the 12-team NFL playoff field as the Dallas Cowboys clinched at worst a wild-card spot with their comeback win in Minnesota on Thursday night and then Washington's loss in Arizona on Sunday. In fact, the mega-popular Cowboys helped that Vikings game become the highest-rated "Thursday Night Football" telecast ever.

NFL Betting Advice: Will Cleveland Browns Win a Game This Season?
by Trevor Whenham - 12/5/2016

When it comes to sucking, the Detroit Lions stand alone of the summit of the great mountain. Their 0-16 season in 2008 set the mark for ineptitude. Many teams have tried since, and some have been even worse than that Detroit squad, but none have been able to show the consistency and general commitment to losing that setting this kind of record takes. The 49ers this year have a lot of what you need, but they didn't even have the discipline to lose their first game. They don't belong in the temple of the losing greats.

NFL Odds: Week 13 Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 12/2/2016

The AFC race just got a lot more interesting -- perhaps not interesting to you if holding a New England Patriots ticket to win the conference title. Can there be any argument that the second-most important player on the New England Patriots is tight end Rob Gronkowski? He's quite possibly the best receiving tight end ever and probably shatters every record for that position if he stays healthy. Alas, Gronk is a physical dude, which is what makes him so great but also take a toll on his body.

NFL Betting and Handicapping: are Dallas Cowboys a Legit Super Bowl Contender?
by Trevor Whenham - 12/2/2016

The Dallas Cowboys are rolling. On Thursday night they won their 11th straight game, and though the Giants are feisty they have a stranglehold on the NFC East and have all but clinched a first round bye and home-field advantage. Everything has come up roses for the Cowboys so far. The big question is obvious - is this team legitimately a top Super Bowl contender or are they vulnerable and less than they seem? Here are five factors to ponder when considering that question:

Basic Strategy Teasers: Best Week 13 NFL Betting Options
by Chris Vasile - 12/2/2016

Last week fans and bettors alike were treated to some great Thanksgiving football. As the clock struck 0:00 in the final game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts, I couldn't help but turn my attention immediately to Sunday and wish for games just as enthralling as what I spent my entire Thursday watching. Despite the fact that only three underdogs won straight up (Tampa Bay over Seattle, Kansas City over Denver and Green Bay over Philadelphia) Sunday delivered and I was left satisfied.

Free NFL Picks: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at San Diego Chargers Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 11/30/2016

Is Bucs-Bolts the most intriguing matchup on Sunday in Week 13 of the NFL season? I suppose an argument can be made for Chiefs-Falcons or Lions-Saints or Texans-Packers or Bills-Raiders or even a playoff rematch between Carolina and Seattle in the prime-time matchup. But we've done plenty on many of those clubs already this year and still might with several in the playoff chase. And Tampa Bay has become one of the most interesting teams in the NFL.

Free NFL Picks: Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings Odds & Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 11/29/2016

We finally have an interesting Thursday night matchup this week between good teams on full rest, and now come reports that the NFL is thinking about dumping or altering the Thursday night package? Have most of the TNF games this season, and really all seasons, been lousy football? I think that's fair to say. The league ensures every team plays on Thursday once a season (Thanksgiving also counts).

NFL Betting Predictions: Week 13 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 11/28/2016

I don't consider that many records in sports to be truly unbreakable, but there are some. Nobody is obviously going to match Cy Young's Major League Baseball record of 511 wins. Shoot, we may not see any more 300-win pitchers with how starters are used these days. Cal Ripken's record of 2,632 straight games played also won't be broken or even remotely approached. No player in the NBA is going to score 100 points in a game like Wilt Chamberlain did. And no NHL guy is coming within a mile of Wayne Gretzky's 2,857 points.

NFL Odds: Week 12 Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 11/25/2016

You ever have one of those NFL weeks where you feel like everything is going to go chalk and you back all the favorites from a betting perspective or perhaps in a Confidence Pool? This feels like one of those weeks to me, which naturally means there will be a ton of upsets.

Basic Strategy Teasers: Best Week 12 NFL Betting Options
by Chris Vasile - 11/25/2016

First and foremost, Happy belated Thanksgiving to my American friends and colleagues. Being from Canada, I benefitted from a full day of football without having to juggle massive family gatherings and nine different foods at the same time. I hope everyone got through the day unscathed.

Free NFL Picks: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 11/23/2016

Unlike ESPN with Monday Night Football, NBC has the right to flex some games into the prime-time Sunday night slot in the second half of the season. And smartly, the network moved this week's AFC West showdown between the Chiefs and Broncos in Denver to that spot. While this game deserves the national spotlight, I was a bit surprised that Patriots-Jets was moved out simply because New England is one of the most popular teams in the NFL and the Jets bring the massive New York market.

NFL Handicapping: AFC West could Send Three to Playoffs
by Trevor Whenham - 11/23/2016

The AFC West seemed like it could be a particularly competitive division, and on that front it certainly hasn't disappointed. San Diego continues to be a bit of a mess and continues their concerning long run of irrelevance. For the other three teams in the division, though, the divisional crown is there for the taking. With that divisional title will likely go a first-round bye, and home-field advantage through the playoffs is currently in play, too - the Raiders are tied with the Patriots atop the AFC, and the Broncos and Chiefs are just a game back.

Free NFL Picks: Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts Odds & Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 11/22/2016

While I'm sure the players themselves don't like playing on the Thanksgiving holiday, many owners around the NFL weren't happy that Detroit and Dallas got the national spotlight to themselves for a Turkey Day home game over the years. Well, the Lions and Cowboys were never about to give those up, and you don't want to rile up Dallas owner Jerry Jones. So the NFL a decade ago added a third game on the holiday, a prime-time matchup that will rotate around the league.

NFL Betting Predictions: Week 12 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 11/21/2016

Urban Meyer as the next coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. No, I'm not breaking news here, but it's a theory I have. Bear with me a minute. The Bengals were probably the biggest losers of Week 11. I actually didn't like them as 2.5-point home favorites against Buffalo because the Bills were coming off their bye and Cincinnati was on a short week after losing at the Giants last Monday night. It also didn't look like Bengals star receiver A.J. Green was all that healthy against New York.

Where Tony Romo will Play Next Season: Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Raphael Esparza - 11/21/2016

It seems like just yesterday the Dallas Cowboys were Tony Romo's team, but that was yesterday and today is a new day in Dallas. The Cowboys come into their Thanksgiving game riding a nine-game winning streak and unbelievable 9-1 ATS run, and it's all because of their offense. With the Cowboys being one of the hottest teams in the league right now, it seems weird that they announced that Tony Romo will now be the backup to Dak Prescott for the rest of the season.

NFL Betting for Thanksgiving Games: Advice and Handicapping
by Trevor Whenham - 11/21/2016

The best Thursday of the NFL season is here. In fact, it's really the only Thursday of the season that is worth anything at all. With three consecutive games we really have no choice but to settle down on the couch and get ready for the long haul, breaking only to stuff ourselves silly with turkey and all. It's an endurance test for viewers - but the kind of test that we love to take.

NFL Handicapping: Contenders or Pretenders November 2016
by Trevor Whenham - 11/21/2016

We know that the season is over for teams like the Browns, 49ers, Bears and Jaguars. They have no hope left - and in at least the first three cases shouldn't have had any in the first place. It's also easy to identify the top teams in the league and the teams that are right in the center of the wild-card hunt. But then there is the middle tier. Teams that aren't bad enough to have ended their chances of a postseason berth yet but which aren't good enough to control their own destiny.

NFL Odds: Week 11 Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 11/18/2016

It's weeks like this why my editor at Doc's added this Friday NFL news update story on top of the Opening Line Report I write on Mondays. Not sure if you have heard, but the NFL is a contact sport and there tend to be injuries. Sometimes we don't hear about major ones until Tuesday because players have Mondays off. And obviously injuries can occur in practice.

NFL Handicapping: Can Green Bay Packers Turn Season Around?
by Trevor Whenham - 11/18/2016

This is not how things were supposed to turn out in Green Bay. Entering the season the Packers were +750 to win the Super Bowl, which put them narrowly second behind only New England. They were seen as the clear class of the NFC and a very strong threat to win it all. Well, 10 weeks later they are at 4-5 and just don't look very good at all. It's a bit of a mess and one of the bigger mysteries of the season so far. What's going on up there in Lambeau Field?