It was another good week for the underdogs, especially against the spread with teams getting points covering in nine of the 15 games ahead of the Week 14 Monday Night Football tilt. Favored teams went 8-7 straight up, but a few major upsets made the week seem worse than it actually it was. Two AFC heavyweights were knocked off with the Patriots losing, 34-33, on a last-second double-lateral pass that somehow resulted in a Miami touchdown. The Pats closed as a 9-point favorite over the Fins but lost for the fifth time in their last six visits to South Beach. Pittsburgh was a 10-point chalk for its road tilt in Oakland and lost 24-21.
And it was another strong week for playing the under on the total with eight of the 15 games through the weekend cashing the under. It’s the third straight week a majority of games played below the closing total. The highest total on the board was 54.5 for the Saints-Bucs games and the team failed to provide the fireworks they handed us in their first meeting, falling well below the total in the Saints 28-14 win.
NFL Week 14 Betting Summary
| WAGER | Favorite/Underdog |
| Straight Up | 8 – 7 |
| ATS | 6 – 9 |
| WAGER | Total (O/U) |
| Over/Under | 7 – 8 |
Biggest Week 14 Upsets
Both the Steelers and Patriots came up with innovative ways to lose on Sunday, falling in the biggest upsets of the week. Football fans are so used to seeing the Pats do things the right way that they wouldn’t expect them to lose in the manner they did. Leading by five in the final seconds with the Dolphins at their own 31, all they Pats had to do was make a tackle. And they failed to do that. So we have a play with a catchy name that will be remembered for its fantastic finish.
Miami proved the end-of-game lateral sequence can still work, using it to perfection to pull off the upset as a 9-point dog. And the internet blew up with chatter about Rob Gronkowski trying to make a game-saving tackle. There’s no way a tight end should have even been in the game and put in that position. I guess even the Patriots’ coaching staff can make a mistake. You have to hand it to the Fins, though, with their flawless execution. The only thing missing was the band on the field.
That may have been the biggest upset in how it ended, but it wasn’t the biggest in terms of the spread. That distinction belonged to the Steelers, who dropped their third straight game, losing in Oakland as a 10-point favorite. The lateral play got Pitt in position for a game-tying kick, only to have Chris Boswell slip while planting for the boot. The ball never had a chance and the Steelers dropped another one. So, guess who plays in Week 15. You got it, the Steelers and Patriots.
The other upsets around the league weren’t nearly as embarrassing. The Texans had their nine-game win streak come to an end as a 4-point favorite over the Indianapolis Colts. Denver’s playoff hopes took a body blow in a loss to the Niners as a 3-point chalk. We also saw the Bears throw a blanket on the Rams high-powered offense, holding them without a touchdown to get the 15-6 upset win as a 3-point dog.
Biggest Week 14 Spreads
It wasn’t all bad news for the favorites this week. The Chargers closed as the biggest favorite on the board, laying 16.5-points to the Bengals. The game turned out to be much closer with the Bolts stopping a game-tying 2-point conversion late and adding a field goal for the 26-21 win. It was the fourth time the Bolts closed as a double-digit favorite and they fell to 2-2 against the spread.
The Saints bounced back after a disappointing effort the previous game in Dallas and paid off their backers with a 28-14 win over Tampa, covering the 9.5-point line. The Saints covered for the 10th time in their last 11 games improving to an NFL-best 10-3 ATS. We didn’t see the offensive explosion the oddsmakers anticipated as the clubs fell below the closing total of 54.5, which was the highest on the Week 14 board.
NFL Betting Odds
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