Howard Balzer and Jess Root make their underdog picks of the week.
It’s a typical Week 18 cast of H-Bomb-eligible big underdog games (6.5-point spread or more), with most having very little at stake, all favorites being home teams and four of the eight matchups having spreads of double digits. But first, we’ll review Week 17 where there were also eight games.
The underdogs covered in four with two direct hits (outright wins) and one push.
The Minnesota Vikings (+7) defeated the Detroit Lions, while the Atlanta Falcons (+8) beat the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football.
The other covers were the Kansas City Chiefs (+13.5) against the Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts (+6.5) against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That was my pick and it covered by a half-point.
The losers were the Arizona Cardinals (+7) against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Carolina Panthers (+7 and Jess Root’s choice) against the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Jets (+13.5) against the New England Patriots.
The push was the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Commanders game (+7).
My victory put me right at .500 for the season (8-8-1), so a win is needed this week to get me over .500 rather than falling under. It’s been a tough year for Jess, just like the Cardinals, and the Week 17 loss left him at 5-12 for the season. He was 3-3 after six weeks, so there have been only two wins in the last 11 weeks.
Week 18 big underdog games
It’s not a very attractive H-Bomb slate this week with all home favorites:
Minnesota Vikings (-7.5) vs. Green Bay PackersHouston Texans (-10.5) vs. Indianapolis ColtsNew England Patriots (-10.5) vs. Miami DolphinsBuffalo Bills (-7) vs. New York JetsCincinnati Bengals (-7.5) vs. Cleveland BrownsLos Angeles Rams (-7.5) vs. Arizona CardinalsDenver Broncos (-12.5) vs. Los Angeles ChargersJacksonville Jaguars (-12.5) vs. Tennessee Titans
Jess and I are both dropping the bomb on the Patriots despite the high temperature expected to be 29 and greet the warm-weather Dolphins. Several of the games feature high numbers because of the presence of backup quarterbacks on the field. Of course, count the Dolphins in that group.
Standings after 17 weeks
Direct hits are in parentheses
Howard: 8-8-1 (5)Jess: 5-12 (3)Overall: 44-44-1 (17)
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