Sports Betting

Don't bother looking at the divisional standings before Sunday's games because there's a good chance they will look much differently on Monday morning, with 12 intra-divisional matchups on this week's schedule. With only four weeks left in the regular season the races are tightening up, and the contenders are separating themselves from the pretenders. As well, the Wild Card races are getting increasingly complicated to call each week. Here's a closer look at four of this week's best matchups: Atlanta (7-4) at Carolina (8-3) - 1:00 pm ESTThe Atlanta Falcons take on the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon in a decisive NFC South battle. The Falcons head into this game trailing the Panthers by a game for the lead in the NFC South, and are tied with Tampa Bay for second place at 7-4. Atlanta dropped Detroit 27-7 in the Thanksgiving Day game last week to snap a two-game losing streak. With Michael Vick behind center and Warrick Dunn and T.J. Duckett sharing the backfield duties, the Falcons boast the No. 1 rushing attack, averaging 183.1 yards per game. That running game will get one of its biggest tests of the season so far against a Panthers rush defense that has held opponents to 82.4 rushing yards per game. Even if the Panthers' defense can continue to stuff the run, their offense still needs to get back into gear to secure a win. The Panthers' defense has only allowed 22 points in their last two games, but their offense has only been able to muster 16 points. That was against Chicago and Buffalo, two of the better defenses on the league, but with weapons like Jake Delhomme, Stephen Davis, and NFL receiving leader Steve Smith the Panthers should be able to put more points on the board. The Panthers opened as a small 3-point favorite in this game. Dallas (7-4) at New York Giants (7-4) - 1:00 pm ESTWhen the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants clash on Sunday afternoon, the winner will get sole possession of the NFC East. These two teams met back in Week 6, when Dallas edged New York 16-13 in overtime as a 3-point home favorite. Both teams played sloppy football in that contest as each turned the ball over four times. Dallas looked like they had that game in hand before Eli Manning marched the Giants downfield and scored the game-tying touchdown with less than a minute on the clock. Both teams are coming off losses heading into this rematch, as Dallas lost to Denver 24-21 in overtime and New York fell 24-21 to Seattle also in overtime. Drew Bledsoe tossed a pair of touchdown passes and a pair of interceptions in the Cowboys' loss, while Manning also threw two touchdowns, but limited his picks to one. The key to this contest could be the running game, which has been a problem for Dallas in their last few outings versus teams that weren't Detroit, while the Giants continue to get strong games out of Tiki Barber (who rushed for 151 yards on 26 carries last week). Barber was a non-factor and was held to only 64 yards on 14 carries when New York played Dallas earlier this season. The oddsmakers expect this to be a pretty close affair and set the Giants as a 3-point favorite. Cincinnati (8-3) at Pittsburgh (7-4) - 1:00 pm ESTIn Pittsburgh this week the Steelers need a win to keep the Cincinnati Bengals from all but locking up the division. The Bengals currently hold a one-game lead on the Steelers in the AFC North and can take a two-game lead with only four games left with a win Sunday. The Steelers should be feeling somewhat confident about this game as they defeated the Bengals 27-13 as a 1.5-point road favorite in Week 7. The Steelers have dropped their last two games though, and need a win this week to not only keep pace in the division, but to avoid falling behind in the Wild Card race. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returned last week, but couldn't lead Pittsburgh past the Colts on Monday night. Big Ben still isn't 100 percent, but he will have Willie Parker, who rushed for 131 yards on 18 carries versus Cincinnati last time out, to lean on in this game. The Bengals' offense is one of the most potent in the league, and they've scored 79 points in their last two games. Quarterback Carson Palmer leads the NFL with 23 touchdown passes and has two prime receivers in Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. That duo has combined to catch 27 passes for 471 yards and three touchdowns in their last two games. Despite the powerhouse Cincinnati offense the oddsmakers have gone with the Steelers in this game, setting them as a 3.5-point favorite. Denver (9-2) at Kansas City (7-4) - 4:15 pm ESTThe Kansas City Chiefs need a win versus the Denver Broncos Sunday to keep pace in the AFC West. Luckily for the Chiefs they have owned the Broncos at home in recent years, compiling a 7-3 record versus Denver in their last 10 meetings at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs will try to win their third in a row for the first time this season after defeating New England and Houston in their last two games. The Chiefs pummeled the Texans 45-17 and confounded Tom Brady to get past the Patriots 26-16. Kansas City picked off Brady four times, including three by Greg Wesley, as Larry Johnson continued to impress in Priest Holmes' absence, rushing for 119 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries. The Broncos have a four game winning streak of their own going after they knocked off Dallas 24-21 in overtime last week. Ron Dayne was the hero as he rushed for 98 yards on seven carries, including a 55-yard scamper that set up the game-winning field goal. Dayne may get another chance to prove his worth alongside Mike Anderson this week as Broncos running back Tatum Bell is listed as questionable with the same chest injury that kept him out last week. The oddsmakers expect this game to go down to the wire after setting the Broncos as a slim 1-point favorite.
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