NCAA Basketball Hot and Cold – 12/15
December 15, 2021
NFL Sunday Night Football
December 15, 2021
The NFL season is closing in on its final stretch. There’s been a shakeup at the top with previous top seed Arizona losing its NFC bye week for the playoffs. The Cardinals dropped a Monday night matchup to the division rival Rams.
With Arizona falling, Green Bay has quietly moved into the top spot. Tom Brady and Tampa Bay aren’t far behind.
On the other side of the league, New England is the top dog but defending AFC champ Kansas City is closing in. Those two teams, along with the Tennessee Titans, see themselves in a three-way tie atop the leaderboards. The Patriots currently own the tie-breakers.
It’s always good to look at who’s trending and who’s fading before placing your NFL wagers. With the playoff race heating up, take a look at this week’s edition of Hot and Cold at BetMaker.
All odds courtesy of SugarHouse online sportsbook.
Who’s Hot?
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins are surprising folks in the AFC East. They’ve reeled off five straight wins to move to 6-7 on the season. Believe it or not, after a 1-7 start, Miami now finds itself on the fringe of playoff contention. Tua Tagovailoa has been a steadying presence under center and the defense is playing absolutely lights out.
That defensive unit has allowed 10 points or less in four of their last five outings. That’s forced the under to cash in four of five times. An NFL best bet over the last month, the Dolphins are a perfect 5-0 against the spread since the first week of November.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs were 3-4 not too long ago with talks of missing the playoffs. Fast forward six games and they now lead the AFC West standings. Kansas City is fresh off a 48-9 shellacking of Las Vegas, its second blowout against the Raiders this season.
While the offense boomed for that 48-point output, it’s the defense that’s been key in this current six-game win streak. The Chiefs have allowed 17 points or less in those six outings, with four of those opponents failing to reach the 10-point mark. They’ve covered in four straight contests but have a tough meeting with the Chargers on Thursday. Kansas City enters as a three-point favorite at SugarHouse.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay pulled off an exciting overtime win against Buffalo last weekend to retain its stronghold on the NFC South. The Bucs are currently the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl at SugarHouse, boasting +475 odds. Much of that is due to the play of QB Tom Brady, who’s the leader in the MVP race.
The Bucs’ offense is on fire, posting four straight 30-point games. Not surprisingly, they’re 4-0 in that time with a perfect mark against the spread. Up next is a revenge matchup with New Orleans, a team they lost to earlier in the year. Tampa Bay enters as 11-point favorites.
Who’s Cold?
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens jumped out to a hot start in 2021, winning five of their first six contests. Since, they’re just 3-4 with back-to-back losses over the last two weeks. When looking at the results, it’s a miracle that Baltimore still holds the top spot in the AFC North with an 8-5 record.
The Ravens survived early season scares, overcoming double-digit deficits on a number of occasions. They nearly pulled it off again last week after falling behind 24-6 but the Browns held on for a 24-22 victory. The offense has been the issue as the Ravens have averaged just 16.6 points over their last five matchups. The under is 4-1 during that span.
New York Jets
The Jets are just 3-10 this season and have lost five of their last six matchups. They were officially eliminated from playoff contention with this week’s loss to the Saints.
New York has been awful against the spread, going 1-5 over the last six weeks. That includes double-digit losses in four of those outings. Stay away from the Jets moving forward.
Las Vegas Raiders
It’s official. Las Vegas was a pretender during the first half of the season. After jumping out to a 5-2 start, the Raiders are just 1-5 in their last six contests. Now at 6-7, they’re the only AFC West team with a losing record.
The defense has been downright awful over this recent stretch, allowing more than 30 points to four of the last six opponents. The offense hasn’t been much better, failing to reach the 17-point mark in five of those outings. The poor play on both sides of the ball has led to a 1-5 mark against the spread since the start of November. They enter as three-point underdogs against the Browns.
