Welcome to SLICED SPREAD, the place on Inside Pulse Sports for weekly NFL picks against the spread, head to head survivor picks, and score prognostications.
All I have to say this week is that I hope everyone has a happy, safe, healthy, and winning holiday!
Onto the breakdown!
SLICED SPREAD: NFL WEEK 15 BREAKDOWN
WEEK 15 ATS: 7-9
WEEK 15 LOCKS ATS: 1-2
WEEK 15 H2H SURVIVOR PICK: WIN (Bears over Vikings)
THIS SEASON ATS: 116-108
THIS SEASON LOCKS ATS: 22-23
H2H SURVIVOR TEAMS USED:
Tennessee (Week 1, Win)
Green Bay (Week 2, Win)
New England (Week 3, Win)
New Orleans (Week 4, Win)
Indianapolis (Week 5, Win)
Pittsburgh (Week 6, Win)
Baltimore (Week 7, Win)
Kansas City (Week 8, Win)
NY Jets (Week 9, Win)
NY Giants (Week 10, Loss)
Dallas (Week 11, Win)
Cleveland (Week 12, Win)
San Diego (Week 13, Loss)
Atlanta (Week 14, Win)
Chicago (Week 15, Win)
SLICED SPREAD: NFL WEEK 16 PICKS
Home teams are shown in CAPS
Point spreads shown in ().
THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
*LOCK IT UP: PITTSBURGH (-14.5) over Carolina – Coming off of a tough home loss to the Jets, I expect the Steelers to take out all of their frustration out on the Panthers. Steelers win 31-13
SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
*LOCK IT UP: Dallas (-6.5) over ARIZONA – Dallas fans will get a nice Christmas gift on the national stage when the Cowboys simply pound Arizona. The Cowboys spent much of the first half of this season as laughing stocks, and this will be their last chance to get that bad taste out of their mouths when people are paying attention. Cowboys win 29-14
SUNDAY:
NY Jets (+1.5) over CHICAGO – The rollercoaster Jets are riding high after beating Pittsburgh in a statement victory that resuscitated their Playoff hopes, and I have a feeling New York will continue to play up to the competition this week and one-up the Bears at Soldier Field. It will be a very close game, but the newly stabilized Jets will do enough to win on the road again in this spot. Jets win 27-24
Detroit (+3.5) over MIAMI – I knew the Dolphins were going to lose to the Bills last week, and so at least I got something right. I sense another Miami letdown here against a feisty Lions team that will simply want it more now that the Dolphins are virtually playoff afterthoughts at this point. Lions win 28-21
JACKSONVILLE (-7.5) over Washington – The Jaguars will rebound at home and Washington will simply quit on the road after getting punched in the mouth early. Jaguars win 24-10
*LOCK IT UP/H2H SURVIVOR PICK: PHILADELPHIA (-13.5) over Minnesota – I am firmly behind the Eagles after last week’s New Meadowlands Miracle. At this point, let’s chalk it up to destiny. Well, destiny and Michael Vick. Eagles win 34-17
TAMPA BAY (-6.5) over Seattle – I have no idea which Tampa or Seattle teams will show up to this particular dance, so I am simply going with the home team that will hopefully have some pride left after seeing their Playoff chances dwindle. Bucs win 20-12
New England (-8.5) over BUFFALO – The Bills are certainly going to try and play spoiler against the Pats and Jets over the next two weeks, but in both cases, I don’t think they will have enough firepower to pull it off like they did in Miami last week. Patriots win 33-20
San Francisco (+1.5) over ST. LOUIS – I really can’t believe that records of 6-10 or 7-9 are likely going to be good enough to win the NFC West and give one of these teams a home game against the likely-to-be 5th-seeded Saints. Good luck with that. I like SF in an upset here since the Rams have really tailed off over the past two weeks and the Niners will be more rested for this “epic” showdown. Niners win 23-21
Baltimore (-3.5) over CLEVELAND – The Ravens really stepped up to the plate and hit a home run by out-pacing the Saints last week, while the Browns struck out against the Bengals. Needless to say, I think the Ravens will slug the Browns as Baltimore gets Playoff-ready. Ravens win 27-13
KANSAS CITY (-5.5) over Tennessee – With Matt Cassel healthy and the Chiefs hoping to stay ahead of the surging Chargers, I think KC will bring their A game at home against a Titans team that has nothing left to play for. Chiefs win 31-20
DENVER (+2.5) over Houston – I don’t know why, but I sense an upset. Broncos win 24-21
Indianapolis (-2.5) over OAKLAND – The Colts have worked extremely hard to get back into the Playoff picture, and I don’t think Peyton Manning will squander that second chance here. Colts win 28-20
NY Giants (+2.5) over GREEN BAY – The Giants have to feel absolutely crushed after last week’s humiliating loss to the Eagles. With that said, there’s no reason they can’t come back this week and beat Green Bay, especially since the Giants have a very tenacious defense most of the time. I think the Giants show some resilience and give themselves new life at the expense of an increasingly banged up Packers team that no longer scares me. Giants win 23-21
SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:
San Diego (-7.5) over CINCINNATI – Simply enough, don’t bet against Philip Rivers in December, especially with the Chargers playing red-hot football at the moment. Chargers win 41-17
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:
ATLANTA (-2.5) over New Orleans – In what is the marquee match of the week and a possible NFC Playoff preview, I think both teams will give it everything they have with so much at stake. The Falcons have the clear edge at home with Matt Ryan at the helm, and that will be just enough to fend off the defending Super Bowl Champions at least for this week. Falcons win 31-27
That’s it for this week’s edition of SLICED SPREAD.
See you next week and HAPPY HOLIDAYS – CB.
