The NFL made it through 11 weeks of football with only minor problems from COVID-19. The Tennessee Titans suffered an outbreak earlier in the season that forced a few changes to the schedule, but everything was relatively smooth since then – until last week. The Baltimore Ravens have seen a major outbreak that led to their Thanksgiving game against the Pittsburgh Steelers to be postponed until tomorrow, but that is now in jeopardy, as well. While this important game will have to sit on the back burner, the rest of the Week 12 action found a few surprise outcomes that are making sports fans, and gamblers, question their predictions on who will land where in the newly-expanded playoffs.
It looked like the New England Patriots were going to go down once again. They got off to a very slow start against the Arizona Cardinals, with quarterback Cam Newton held to less than 40 yards passing in the first half. He didn’t get much better in the second half and ended the day with no touchdowns and two interceptions, connecting with receivers for only 84 yards. The Cardinals had the better stats throughout the game, but the Pats still managed to pull off the win. It took a 50-yard field goal by Nick Folk with four seconds on the clock to break the 17-17 tie, but it was enough to keep the Pats alive for the postseason. Gamblers who backed the Pats scored, as well, as the +100 moneyline at BetRivers.com gave them some extra holiday spending money.
The Carolina Panthers were able to get QB Teddy Bridgewater back in the game following an injury that kept him out for a couple of weeks and he gave everything he had to try to beat the Minnesota Vikings. He had a lot of help, too, as safety Jeremy Chinn picked up two fumbles on two consecutive series, running them both back for touchdowns. It wasn’t enough, though, and the Panthers lost 28-27 after the Vikings came from behind with less than a minute on the clock to move ahead. For Vikings backers, they did well, with their team sitting on a moneyline of -157 ahead of the game.
Someone forgot to tell the Las Vegas Raiders they had a football game yesterday. That’s about the only explanation for the horrible performance they gave against what, by all accounts, is a massively inferior team. However, the Atlanta Falcons found their stride and dominated in almost every stat. The Raiders recorded four lost fumbles and one interception and allowed their QB to be sacked five times as the Falcons walked away with a 43-6 win. The Raiders were getting -175 ahead of the game and most of the money was put on them to win, but the few diehard Falcons fans who took their team at +150 picked up a nice payday.