Week 13 in the NFL has
two games that have people debating particularly heavily, and both involve home
underdogs of close to a field goal. It’s a classic betting situation, always
involving a road team significantly better than the home team, by definition,
but not one, necessarily, with value.
The SBRtv Experts’ Panel
takes a look at the particular factors involved with two such games coming up
in Week 13.
St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals
Arizona and QB Derek
Anderson put on a widely-seen pathetic performance last Monday night, which has
led the public to bet St. Louis Rams heavily as a road favorite. The Rams are 8-3
ATS on the year, but have only been a favorite once this year, and they’re new
to this year’s winning and covering ways. Still, the line has not yet moved in
Arizona’s direction, indicating that so far, the sharp money has not seen value
with the Cards as a home underdog.
Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay has played
competitively this year, but they still have yet to beat a team with a winning
record. The Atlanta Falcons has impressed lately, which has led them to be
hyped by fans and mainstream football media alike.
This sets up for an
interesting betting scenario, where some see the Falcons as outclassing the
Bucs, and as such, having value as a small favorite, while others see a classic
trap situation where the books will get loaded with bets on Atlanta which are
more likely to lose than to win.
Further Picks and Leans From Week 13
The two games host Peter
Loshak presented to the panel were admittedly ones with tough NFL betting odds to
get a read on. But to end the Week 13 NFL preview, Scott Kellen and John Ryan
identify lines they see as having value from the rest of the card.