jeff benton
Jeff Benton Sunday's NFL Playoff Action
50 Dime NFL playoff selection on the RAVENS minus the points at the Chiefs. Baltimore is a 3-point road favorite across the board both here in Vegas and offshore, but the juice is ranging from -120 to -125, meaning this thing is headed toward Baltimore -3½. If this line does move off of 3 and up to 3½ by the time you get this, I want you to buy the half point and drive this number back down to -3. Even though I fully experct a two-touchdown Ravens win, do NOT get beat by the hook in this contest!
10 Dime NFL playoff selection on the RAVENS in the first half at the Chiefs. Baltimore is laying 2 points in the first half, but don’t be surpdised if this number gets to three by kickoff, so get your action in right now.
RAVENS
80-116. You know what that is? That’s the cumulative record of the Kansas City Chiefs’ opponents this season.
One. You know what that is? That’s the number Kansas City’s opponents that made the playoffs. That team was the Colts, who beat the Chiefs 19-9 as an eight-point home favorite (and K.C. was coming off a bye after starting the season 3-0).
One. You know what that is? That’s how many of Kansas City’s 10 victories this season came against opponents that finished with a winning record – and that victory came way back on Monday night in Week 1 when the Chiefs edged the Chargers 21-14 even though they got completely domanated from a yardage perspective but benefited from the turnovers and special-teams miscues that plagued San Diego all season (and as a result paved the way for Kansas City’s first division title since 2003). Oh, and the Chargers ended up just 9-7.
My general point here: The Chiefs should be commended for the turnaround season they enjoyed, but it was as much a result of the week schedule break they got as it was their play on the field. And the fact the oddsmakers installed the Ravens as a road favorite in this game – despite the fact Kansas City was 7-0 at Arrowhead Stadium (one of THE most challenging venues for visitors in the NFL) prior to last week’s 31-10 flameout against the Raiders – confirms my belief that the Chiefs are a fraud.
Breaking down this opinion further, note that the Chiefs closed the season by going just 5-4 SU and 4-5 ATS in their last nine games (in fact, they finished in a 4-6 ATS slump, 2-3 ATS at home). Those five wins came against the Titans, Rams, Broncos, Seahawks and Cardinals. The four losses were against division rivals Oakland (twice), San Diego (31-0) and Denver (49-29 on the road).
Not only did the Chiefs defeat just one team that finished with a winning record, they played just one team that had a winning record at the time the game was played. That was Houston, which was 3-2 on Oct. 17 when it rallied for a 34-31 home win over the Chiefs (and the Texans finished the year 6-10). After that loss, the Chiefs faced the following opponents: Jaguars (3-3), Bills (0-6), Raiders (4-4), Broncos (2-6), Cardinals (3-6), Seahawks (5-5), Broncos (3-8), Chargers (6-6), Rams (6-7), Titans (7-8) and Raiders (7-8).
By comparison, Baltimore not only played six games against opponents that made the playoffs (Jets, Patriots, Falcons, Saints and Steelers twice), they also faced the Buccaneers (who ended the season 10-6). The Ravens did only go 4-3 in those seven contests, but the three losses were by margins of three points (at New England in overtime), five points (at Atlanta, which scored the game-winning touchdown with 20 seconds to play) and three points (vs. Pittsburgh, which sacked Ravens QB Joe Flacco and forced a fumble deep in Baltimore territory, leading to the Steelers’ only TD of the game with 2:51 to play).
The latter defeat is the reason the Ravens (12-4) are the No. 5 seed and Pittsburgh (which also finished 12-4) is off this week. Imagine of Baltimore held on to win those three games. It would’ve finished 15-1. Throw in a 15-10 loss at Cincinnati in Week 2 (when Flacco four of the 10 INTs he had all year), and the Ravens’ four losses were by a grand total of 16 points!
One final point to make: The Chiefs have rebuilt their roster the last couple of years and now have a ton of young talent. But the key word is “young.” None of the main contributors on this squad – from QB Matt Cassel, to RB Jamal Charles, to WR Dwayne Bowe, to rookie safety Eric Berry, to pass-rushing specialist Derrick Johnson, all of whom had phenomenal seasons – has a lick of playoff experience.
Conversely, this is the Ravens’ sixth postseason game since January 2009, and they’ve won three road playoff games each of the last two years, knocking off Miami (27-9) and a 14-2 Tennessee team (13-10) in January 2009, and blasting Tom Brady and the Patriots 33-14 in New England last year. Beyond that, this the 15th playoff game for future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis – the glue to the Baltimore organization – since he was drafted by the Ravens.
Translation: The Chiefs very likely will have a deer-in-headlights look today, while this will be business-as-usual for the Ravens, who have won four of six wild-card playoff games (going 3-0 SU and ATS on the road) since 2000 (the year they won the Super Bowl), with those four wins by a combined 72 points!
Guys, this is an epic mismatch across the board, and if the Ravens (who allowed 94 rushing ypg this season, including just 73 rushing ypg over the last three contests) shut down Kansas City’s top-rated rushing offense (the Chiefs averaged 164.2 yards per game on the ground this year, including 183 yards per game at home), this will be a double-digit blowout along the lines of Baltimore’s 27-9 road rout of overmatched Miami exactly two years ago
Jeff Benton Sunday's NFL Playoff Action
50 Dime NFL playoff selection on the RAVENS minus the points at the Chiefs. Baltimore is a 3-point road favorite across the board both here in Vegas and offshore, but the juice is ranging from -120 to -125, meaning this thing is headed toward Baltimore -3½. If this line does move off of 3 and up to 3½ by the time you get this, I want you to buy the half point and drive this number back down to -3. Even though I fully experct a two-touchdown Ravens win, do NOT get beat by the hook in this contest!
10 Dime NFL playoff selection on the RAVENS in the first half at the Chiefs. Baltimore is laying 2 points in the first half, but don’t be surpdised if this number gets to three by kickoff, so get your action in right now.
RAVENS
80-116. You know what that is? That’s the cumulative record of the Kansas City Chiefs’ opponents this season.
One. You know what that is? That’s the number Kansas City’s opponents that made the playoffs. That team was the Colts, who beat the Chiefs 19-9 as an eight-point home favorite (and K.C. was coming off a bye after starting the season 3-0).
One. You know what that is? That’s how many of Kansas City’s 10 victories this season came against opponents that finished with a winning record – and that victory came way back on Monday night in Week 1 when the Chiefs edged the Chargers 21-14 even though they got completely domanated from a yardage perspective but benefited from the turnovers and special-teams miscues that plagued San Diego all season (and as a result paved the way for Kansas City’s first division title since 2003). Oh, and the Chargers ended up just 9-7.
My general point here: The Chiefs should be commended for the turnaround season they enjoyed, but it was as much a result of the week schedule break they got as it was their play on the field. And the fact the oddsmakers installed the Ravens as a road favorite in this game – despite the fact Kansas City was 7-0 at Arrowhead Stadium (one of THE most challenging venues for visitors in the NFL) prior to last week’s 31-10 flameout against the Raiders – confirms my belief that the Chiefs are a fraud.
Breaking down this opinion further, note that the Chiefs closed the season by going just 5-4 SU and 4-5 ATS in their last nine games (in fact, they finished in a 4-6 ATS slump, 2-3 ATS at home). Those five wins came against the Titans, Rams, Broncos, Seahawks and Cardinals. The four losses were against division rivals Oakland (twice), San Diego (31-0) and Denver (49-29 on the road).
Not only did the Chiefs defeat just one team that finished with a winning record, they played just one team that had a winning record at the time the game was played. That was Houston, which was 3-2 on Oct. 17 when it rallied for a 34-31 home win over the Chiefs (and the Texans finished the year 6-10). After that loss, the Chiefs faced the following opponents: Jaguars (3-3), Bills (0-6), Raiders (4-4), Broncos (2-6), Cardinals (3-6), Seahawks (5-5), Broncos (3-8), Chargers (6-6), Rams (6-7), Titans (7-8) and Raiders (7-8).
By comparison, Baltimore not only played six games against opponents that made the playoffs (Jets, Patriots, Falcons, Saints and Steelers twice), they also faced the Buccaneers (who ended the season 10-6). The Ravens did only go 4-3 in those seven contests, but the three losses were by margins of three points (at New England in overtime), five points (at Atlanta, which scored the game-winning touchdown with 20 seconds to play) and three points (vs. Pittsburgh, which sacked Ravens QB Joe Flacco and forced a fumble deep in Baltimore territory, leading to the Steelers’ only TD of the game with 2:51 to play).
The latter defeat is the reason the Ravens (12-4) are the No. 5 seed and Pittsburgh (which also finished 12-4) is off this week. Imagine of Baltimore held on to win those three games. It would’ve finished 15-1. Throw in a 15-10 loss at Cincinnati in Week 2 (when Flacco four of the 10 INTs he had all year), and the Ravens’ four losses were by a grand total of 16 points!
One final point to make: The Chiefs have rebuilt their roster the last couple of years and now have a ton of young talent. But the key word is “young.” None of the main contributors on this squad – from QB Matt Cassel, to RB Jamal Charles, to WR Dwayne Bowe, to rookie safety Eric Berry, to pass-rushing specialist Derrick Johnson, all of whom had phenomenal seasons – has a lick of playoff experience.
Conversely, this is the Ravens’ sixth postseason game since January 2009, and they’ve won three road playoff games each of the last two years, knocking off Miami (27-9) and a 14-2 Tennessee team (13-10) in January 2009, and blasting Tom Brady and the Patriots 33-14 in New England last year. Beyond that, this the 15th playoff game for future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis – the glue to the Baltimore organization – since he was drafted by the Ravens.
Translation: The Chiefs very likely will have a deer-in-headlights look today, while this will be business-as-usual for the Ravens, who have won four of six wild-card playoff games (going 3-0 SU and ATS on the road) since 2000 (the year they won the Super Bowl), with those four wins by a combined 72 points!
Guys, this is an epic mismatch across the board, and if the Ravens (who allowed 94 rushing ypg this season, including just 73 rushing ypg over the last three contests) shut down Kansas City’s top-rated rushing offense (the Chiefs averaged 164.2 yards per game on the ground this year, including 183 yards per game at home), this will be a double-digit blowout along the lines of Baltimore’s 27-9 road rout of overmatched Miami exactly two years ago
HRC NFL PREMIUM-Sunday, January 9th
Capper: Robcat (Handicappers Paradise)
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2* Action (non-rated)
5* Selection
8* Premium
10* Premium
15* Diamond
*******************************
Selections:
[105] Baltimore |5*|-3|B+0|CBS|@ 1:00 pm EST
[107] Green Bay |5*|+2.5|B+0|FOX|@ 4:30 pm EST
NFL YTD 34-23
NFL PLAYOFFS 1-1
Capper: Robcat (Handicappers Paradise)
========================
2* Action (non-rated)
5* Selection
8* Premium
10* Premium
15* Diamond
*******************************
Selections:
[105] Baltimore |5*|-3|B+0|CBS|@ 1:00 pm EST
[107] Green Bay |5*|+2.5|B+0|FOX|@ 4:30 pm EST
NFL YTD 34-23
NFL PLAYOFFS 1-1
