The Green Bay Packers blew up a number of money line tickets last week, including ours, with their upset loss to the Cardinals as a two-touchdown favorite. Figuring the Pack had one last chance to keep their playoff hopes alive, and going against the two-win Cards at home seemed like a good play. In reality it wasn’t, and such is the unpredictable nature of the NFL. One thing we do know is that coaches are hired to be fired, and Green Bay’s Mike McCarthy paid the price for the loss, getting canned not long after the team made it to the locker room after the 20-17 defeat. We also took it in the shorts with our upset pick of Minnesota beating New England. We should know better than to go against Tom Brady at home in a December game.
Two teams hit the board as double-digit favorites in Week 14 with the Steelers -11 against Oakland and the Chargers 14-point chalk for their home tilt with the Bengals. We’ll look at those games and a few others as we line up our top money line parlay card picks for the week in an effort to beat the house. So, let’s analyze games for our Week 14 money line parlay picks.
Money Line Parlay Favorites
To improve your odds of cashing a winning money line parlay card it’s always a smart play to pick a few favorites. Going with all favored teams gives you a better a chance to win, however the payout isn’t nearly as hefty as what it would be if there were a few underdogs on the card. To increase the odds of a winning ticket and a better payout, we’re going to look at a five-team money line parlay with three favored teams and two underdogs.
Just in case you started feeling too comfortable with double-digit favorites on your parlay card, the Cardinals showed us it’s not a guarantee. Through Week 13 there were 21 games with a spread of at least 10 points and the favorites came out on top in 17 of those. However, we didn’t see a double-digit dog win straight up since Week 3 until the Cardinals ended McCarthy’s tenure in Green Bay with a stunning 20-17 upset.
Should that outcome really be a surprise? The Packers hadn’t shown much in the previous five games with four losses and only a victory over Miami tossed in. Aaron Rodgers, while putting up good numbers, had moments where he looked lost or disinterested. Injuries to offensive linemen and key receivers likely played a role, but losing to a Cardinals team that has done little all season was an embarrassment.
The point is, don’t take a team simply because it’s favored by a couple of scores. But we’re going to do that this week with the Chargers, Saints and Steelers as part of our money line parlay card. Gotta like the Bolts after their comeback win Sunday night in Pittsburgh, and doing it without Melvin Gordon. Don’t expect a letdown from them either as they are right on the heels of the Chiefs for first-place in the AFC West and the conference.
And we are expecting a bounce back performance from the Saints after they had their 10-game winning streak stopped by the Cowboys on Thursday night. That loss may have been just what they needed heading into the home stretch. The Saints no longer have the best record in the NFC, but the pressure of the streak has been lifted. And there’s that loss back in Week 1 when the Bucs came into the Big Easy and rolled them. That should be a motivating factor to get the Saints back in the win column.
And speaking of getting back in the win column, we’re expecting the Steelers to do that against the hapless Raiders. After looking like a lock for the AFC North a few weeks ago, the Steelers dropped consecutive games and have just the slimmest of margins over the Ravens in the division. That’s something the Silver and Black should take care of. Oakland put up a fight in losing to the Chiefs last week, so don’t expect the Pittsburgh to take this game lightly.
Underdog Winners
We have to hand it to the Jags for not rolling over and ending a seven-game slide with a dominant defensive showing against the Colts. It’s hard to pitch a shutout in today’s NFL and trying to slow down Andrew Luck was a chore. But the Jags came up with a gem in their 6-0 win. I’m not sure Marcus Mariota can muster up enough offense, and the Jags are looking forward to putting the playoff hopes of their AFC South rival on ice. It won’t be pretty, but I like the Jags to pull off the upset in Nashville.
The Bears defense will be tested against the Rams in what should be an entertaining Sunday night game. Chicago tried to get by with backup Chase Daniel for a second straight game, but the strategy backfired against the Giants last week. That did allow extra time for Mitchell Trubisky to heal and he should be ready to go against the Rams. And that’s the difference as Chicago gets the upset win on our money line parlay card.
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