Sunday 12-9-18 Free Plays / Trends / Betting Info / Etc

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Preview and Predictions

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Toronto Raptors

The Milwaukee Bucks are running into a tough spot in the schedule with a game against the defending champions followed by a date against the team with the best record in the NBA. The Bucks will try to ensure only one of those contests turns into a loss when they visit the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.


Milwaukee could not find a way around the Golden State Warriors at home on Friday and suffered a 105-95 loss while shooting 39.1 percent from the floor and 17.9 percent from beyond the arc. "Obviously, the season is not over based on this one game," Milwaukee center Brook Lopez told ESPN. "If we won the game, we wouldn't have necessarily won the championship. We lost. It's not the end of our season, but it's definitely a good learning experience." The Raptors are coming off a poor performance of their own after shooting 39.3 percent in a 106-105 overtime loss at the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. Toronto dropped two of its last three games following an eight-game winning streak and suffered its first loss of the season 124-109 at Milwaukee on Oct. 29.


TV: 6 p.m. ET, NBATV, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), TSN (Toronto)


ABOUT THE BUCKS (16-8): Milwaukee's 95 points on Friday marked a season low and the first time it failed to reach the century mark this season. "Offensively, I think we can be better," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters. "We didn't move very well or play with very much force. Just we weren't very good tonight offensively. But I think you have to give their defense credit. They make things difficult on you. I think we'll learn from both ends of the court." Small forward Khris Middleton went 4-of-14 from the floor in the loss and is 7-of-25 over his last two contests.


ABOUT THE RAPTORS (21-6): All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry went 1-of-8 from the floor in Friday's setback and is 8-of-37 over his last four games. "I don't have any excuses to make, I'm just not playing well," Lowry told reporters. "It's as simple as that. I'm a player that - I have to play better. I hold myself to a high standard and the organization holds me to a high standard, and I have to play better. As a leader of the team, I have to figure out how to play a lot better offensively." Lowry is 5-of-27 from beyond the arc over his last four contests but totaled 38 assists in that span.


BUZZER BEATERS


1. The Bucks completed a three-team trade on Friday that brought in veteran PG George Hill from Cleveland while sending away PG Matthew Dellavedova and C John Henson.


2. Raptors C Jonas Valanciunas is averaging 25 points on 19-of-28 shooting over the last two games.


3. Milwaukee pulled off a 122-119 overtime victory in its last trip to Toronto on Feb. 23.


PREDICTION: Raptors 115, Bucks 113

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Preview and Predictions

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are dealing with some key injuries and are slumping with losses in three straight games. The Pistons will try to tighten things up and overcome the injuries when they host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.


Detroit was missing key role players Ish Smith (groin), Reggie Bullock (ankle) and Stanley Johnson (knee) on Friday and did not have enough in reserve to overcome a second-half onslaught as turnovers and ineffectiveness helped a 15-point lead turn into a 117-111 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at home. "Turnovers - that's the bottom line," Pistons coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "That's what shot ourselves in the heel. (Eighteen) turnovers - it's hard to beat anybody when you do that. Philadelphia's a very good defensive team, but a lot of our turnovers were self-inflicted." The Pelicans know what it's like to break down late in a game and suffered a 107-103 loss at home to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday despite holding an eight-point lead with just over five minutes remaining. "Well, you've got to finish games," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry told reporters. "You know, I mean that's just the bottom line. It's not really complicated. It's (a) simple thing. You know, you get to the point where you're eight up at home with 5:12 to go, you've got to finish the game. We didn't do that."


TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, FS New Orleans, FS Detroit


ABOUT THE PELICANS (13-14): New Orleans went 7-of-29 from the 3-point line in Friday's setback as Anthony Davis (0-of-5), Jrue Holiday (0-of-2) and Darius Miller (1-of-5) struggled. "I think we shot close to 30 threes tonight and I think we only made seven," Holiday told reporters, "If you make some of those at certain times in the game, we open up the game and I think it'd be a different story. Maybe we make a couple more threes, it's a different game." Davis still finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks - the third time in the last five games that he recorded at least four blocked shots.


ABOUT THE PISTONS (13-10): Blake Griffin attempted a career-high 24 free throws on Friday (making 17) en route to 31 points but scuffled with Philadelphia swingman Jimmy Butler and was not happy with his team's effort. "Our disposition during those (critical) moments, our lack of focus, concentration coming out of timeouts, was really bad tonight," Griffin told reporters. "That's not winning basketball. That's how you get beat and our record for the last three games has shown that." The Pistons were outscored by a total of 47 points in the second half over the last three games.


BUZZER BEATERS


1. Bullock and Johnson are both questionable for Sunday while Smith is expected to be out until next month.


2. Pelicans PF Julius Randle is averaging 30 points and 13 rebounds over the last three contests.


3. New Orleans took the last three in the series, including a 118-103 victory in its last trip to Detroit on Feb. 12.


PREDICTION: Pelicans 116, Pistons 108

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Preview and Predictions

Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers

The Calgary Flames face the near-impossible task of keeping Connor McDavid in check when they visit the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday for the latest installment of the Battle of Alberta. McDavid is riding a four-game point streak and has been kept off the scoresheet only four times in 28 contests this season.


The two-time reigning Art Ross Trophy winner, McDavid is coming off his second four-point performance of the season - a one-goal, three-assist effort in Friday's 7-2 home triumph over Minnesota. The 21-year-old captain also is closing in on a pair of career milestones, as he needs six assists to reach 200 and four points to get to 300. Calgary will be putting a pair of streaks on the line after producing three unanswered goals in the third period en route to a 5-2 triumph over Nashville on Saturday. Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm and defenseman Oliver Kylington each recorded a goal and an assist for the Flames, who have won five in a row and earned points in seven straight (6-0-1).


TV: 9 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, Sportsnet One


ABOUT THE FLAMES (19-9-2): Monahan has registered multi-point performances in three of his last four games, notching four goals and as many assists in that span. Lindholm has been even better of late, recording five straight two-point efforts during a six-game point streak during which he has collected five goals and six assists. Mike Smith likely will receive the night off against Edmonton after winning his sixth consecutive decision on Saturday.


ABOUT THE OILERS (15-12-2): Leon Draisaitl scored a pair of goals against the Wild to pull even with McDavid for the team lead with 15. The 23-year-old German had gone seven contests without a tally and is 10 goals away from the century mark for his career. Alex Chiasson is one goal shy of matching the career high of 13 he set with Dallas on 2013-14 after tallying on Saturday.


OVERTIME


1. Oilers LW Jujhar Khaira is riding a four-game point streak during which he has collected a goal and four assists.


2. Kylington's points on Saturday were his first in seven career NHL contests.


3. Edmonton LW Milan Lucic has registered only four points - all assists - in his last 28 games after scoring a goal and setting up another in the season opener.


PREDICTION: Oilers 5, Flames 3

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Preview and Predictions

New Jersey Devils vs. Anaheim Ducks

The New Jersey Devils began changing the script to their season on a California trip and look to make it two straight victories to start it off when they visit the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. The Devils, who wrap up the trek Monday in San Jose, won the first four games of the season before losing 17 of their next 22 (5-12-5), but put their best foot forward with a 6-3 win at Los Angeles on Thursday.


"It's a fresh start," New Jersey's Kyle Palmieri told reporters after scoring twice in Thursday's triumph. "You can't worry about our road record (3-10-1), and you can't worry about what happened in October and November. It's about what we're doing now, and it's something to build off of, for sure." The Devils had dropped six straight (0-3-3) before recording their highest total of goals since beating Washington 6-0 in the second game of the season on Oct. 11, while the Ducks saw their five-game winning streak come to an end Friday with a 4-1 setback against Carolina. Anaheim registered just 19 shots without second-leading scorer Rickard Rakell (lower body) after scoring 10 times in its previous two contests. "It was one of those games where nothing we seemed to try to do had any effect on it, any positive effect," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle told reporters. "It was all frustration and lack of ability to execute."


TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New Jersey), Prime Ticket (Anaheim)


ABOUT THE DEVILS (10-12-5): Palmieri's two goals pushed his team-high total to 14 and matched the amount he produced in his previous 13 contests while leading scorer Taylor Hall (30 points) set up three tallies on Thursday. Nico Hischier may be breaking out of his slump as he has recorded two goals and as many assists in his last four games, while Travis Zajac has scored twice in the same span. New Jersey hopes its power play is beginning to perk up, as it has converted twice in the last three games after managing just one goal in the previous 12 contests.


ABOUT THE DUCKS (15-11-5): Rakell is questionable for Sunday's contest and captain Ryan Getzlaf (team-best 22 points) hopes to get rolling again after being kept off the scoresheet in each of the last two games. Adam Henrique (six goals, 11 assists) saw his six-game point streak end on Friday, but Jakob Silfverberg scored for the second straight contest to reach the 100-goal mark for his career. Hampus Lindholm leads the team's defensemen in points (14) while blue-liner Jake Dotchin notched his first point with the team on Friday.


OVERTIME


1. The Ducks have won seven of the last nine meetings with the Devils but has split each of the last two season series.


2. Hall, who is one goal shy of 200 for his career, has notched 11 points in his last eight contests.


3. Anaheim signed GM Bob Murray on Saturday to a two-year contract extension through the 2021-22 season.


PREDICTION: Devils 3, Ducks 2

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Preview and Predictions

Montreal Canadiens vs. Chicago Blackhawks

The Montreal Canadiens have answered their longest losing streak of the season with three wins in four contests and look to continue moving forward when they visit the slumping Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. The Canadiens ended last month with five straight defeats before knocking off the New York Rangers to start December and responded to a loss to San Jose by sweeping a home-and-home set with Ottawa.


"For the most part, we had a pretty complete game, and it's nice when everyone contributes," Montreal right wing Brendan Gallagher told reporters after Thursday's 5-2 win at Ottawa. "We're trying to get on a bit of a win streak and pick up some points. We knew we had some time off after this one, so we put a lot of emphasis on these two games and we got it done." The Canadiens snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series in their last meeting with Chicago, which has dropped six straight contests overall - allowing 30 goals in that span. The Blackhawks netted three consecutive tallies to take a lead at Vegas on Thursday but gave up two in a 12-second span to cough it up and suffered a 4-3 setback. "Anytime you're in a slump, whether it's as a player or as a team, it's hard to get out of it," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews told reporters. "It's a mental thing. You've just got to find a way to relax and stay with your process when things are going well and when you're in control of the game."


TV: 6 p.m. ET, NHL Network, Sportsnet, Sportsnet One, RDS (Montreal), NBCS Chicago


ABOUT THE CANADIENS (14-10-5): Jonathan Drouin has recorded one goal, five assists and a plus-5 rating during his four-game point streak and has collected 26 points overall - four fewer than linemate Max Domi for the team lead. Gallagher has scored in back-to-back games to tie Domi for first on the club with 13 goals while Paul Byron has notched four points in as many contests since returning from injured reserve. Jeff Petry has scored two of his four goals in the last three games and fellow defenseman Shea Weber has recorded four points in his first five contests of the season following knee surgery.


ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (9-16-5): Not much has been going right for Chicago over the past few weeks, but Dylan Strome has recorded three goals and an assist in six games since being acquired from Arizona. Toews has scored two goals in his last three games to tie for the team lead of 13 with Patrick Kane, who has managed just one in his last 14 contests but tops the Blackhawks with 32 points - including seven in his last seven matches. Connor Murphy (back) has been activated and could make his season debut Sunday while fellow defenseman Gustav Forsling (shoulder) was placed on IR.


OVERTIME


1. Toews needs two points to reach 700 for his career and Chicago D Brent Seabrook is two goals away from 100.


2. Montreal G Carey Price has won three of his last four games overall but is 3-5-0 lifetime against the Blackhawks.


3. Chicago C Artem Anisimov has recorded three of his six goals on the season in his last five contests.


PREDICTION: Canadiens 4, Blackhawks 3

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Preview and Predictions

Boston Bruins vs. Ottawa Senators

The Boston Bruins ended their three-game slide with authority last time out and look to make it back-to-back wins on Sunday, when they visit the Ottawa Senators. Boston began the month with three straight losses before registering a 6-3 home victory over Toronto on Saturday.


Defenseman Torey Krug scored his first goal of the season and set up two others for the Bruins, who netted a total of four tallies during their losing streak. Boston received offensive contributions from unlikely sources as all six of its goal scorers have fewer than five thus far this campaign. Ottawa avoided a third straight setback on Saturday as it edged Pittsburgh 2-1 in overtime for its fifth win in seven home contests. Mark Stone set up both goals for the Senators, including Ryan Dzingel's power-play tally at 1:20 of the extra session, to forge a tie with Matt Duchene for the team lead with 34 points.


TV: 5 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), TSN5, RDS2 (Ottawa)


ABOUT THE BRUINS (15-10-4): Gemel Smith made his team debut on Saturday, registering two shots and a minus-1 rating in 11 minutes, 40 seconds of ice time. The 24-year-old forward was claimed off waivers from Dallas on Thursday after recording two goals and one assist in 14 contests. David Pastrnak, who leads the team with 34 points, has posted back-to-back two-point performances and collected three goals and six assists over his last eight games.


ABOUT THE SENATORS (13-14-3): Ottawa figures to be without two of its better goal scorers for a while as Duchene (groin) and Bobby Ryan (concussion) were placed on injured reserve prior to Saturday's win. Duchene, who is tied with Dzingel for second on the team with 12 goals, is expected to miss several weeks while no timetable has been announced for Ryan. Defenseman Thomas Chabot, who already has set career highs in assists (25) and points (33), is one goal shy of matching the personal best of nine he recorded as a rookie last season.


OVERTIME


1. Bruins LW Brad Marchand collected three assists on Saturday but has scored just one goal in his last 12 games.


2. Ottawa recalled rugged LW Nick Paul, who received less than 4 1/2 minutes of ice time on Saturday, from Belleville of the American Hockey League.


3. Boston LW Jake DeBrusk (undisclosed) is expected to miss his second straight game Sunday and is day-to-day.


PREDICTION: Bruins 3, Senators 1

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Preview and Predictions

Dallas Stars vs. Vegas Golden Knights

The Dallas Stars are riding their longest winning streak of the season and hope to extend it when they begin a four-game road trip Sunday against the Vegas Golden Knights. Dallas has registered four consecutive victories after skating past San Jose 3-2 at home on Friday.


The Stars trailed after one period but forged a tie in the second before defenseman Miro Heiskanen and Brett Ritchie scored less than two minutes apart early in third, and the club went on to improve to 4-0-1 in its last five contests. Vegas also is looking to extend a streak as it has won four in a row at home, where it has lost just once in eight contests since Oct. 26. The Golden Knights will be attempting to avoid their first set of back-to-back losses since Nov. 10 and 11 after suffering a 5-1 setback at Los Angeles on Saturday. Oscar Lindberg scored the lone goal in defeat for Vegas, which had recorded at least four tallies in five of its previous six games.


TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Dallas), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Vegas)


ABOUT THE STARS (16-10-3): Dallas received a boost on Friday as Martin Hanzal made his season debut, joining the lineup for the first time since Feb. 21 due to a back injury. The 31-year-old Czech registered one shot and blocked another while going 7-1 on faceoffs over 12 minutes, 22 seconds of ice time. Ritchie is making the most of his latest opportunity as he has scored in back-to-back games - his first two goals of the season - after being healthy scratch for the previous five contests.


ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (16-14-1): Jonathan Marchessault has been kept off the scoresheet in three of his last four games but still tops the club with 23 points and shares the team lead in goals with 11. The 27-year-old forward will be hard-pressed to match his success from last season, when he registered career highs of 48 assists and 75 points. Ryan Carpenter, who notched an assist on Saturday, has yet to tally in 29 games this season after scoring a career-high nine goals in 36 contests last campaign.


OVERTIME


1. Stars captain F Jamie Benn leads the team with 12 tallies despite having his three-game goal-scoring streak snapped on Friday.


2. Vegas LW Max Pacioretty has registered five two-point performances in his last eight contests.


3. Dallas C Tyler Seguin tops the club with 18 assists and is six away from 300 for his career.


PREDICTION: Golden Knights 3, Stars 2

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Preview and Predictions

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Winnipeg Jets


The Philadelphia Flyers rallied from a two-goal, first-period deficit to record a 6-2 victory over Buffalo in the opener of their five-game road trip and face a quick turnaround as they begin a stretch of four contests in Western Canada on Sunday afternoon against the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets saw their season-high four-game winning streak come to an end with Friday's 1-0 home loss to St. Louis in which their third-ranked power play went 0-for-6.


"We're going to throw a goose egg up every once in a while," Jets captain Blake Wheeler told reporters. "It's our job, especially in a close game, to come through there, (but we) weren't able to do it." Wheeler, who had his six-game point streak (one goal, nine assists) snapped by the Blues, ranks among the league leaders with 32 assists. Captain Claude Giroux moved ahead of Sean Couturier for the team lead in goals when he scored his 11th of the season on Saturday, and he added three assists as the Flyers netted six unanswered tallies against the Sabres. "He did a (heck) of a job," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol told reporters. "He's our captain and stepped up and led the way in a lot of different fashions."


TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia Plus, TSN3, TVA (Winnipeg)


ABOUT THE FLYERS (12-12-3): Giroux is riding a four-game point streak during which he has recorded three goals and five assists. James van Riemsdyk played his first game alongside Giroux on the top line Saturday, and Hakstol's decision paid immediate dividends as the left wing registered a goal and an assist - his first points since Nov. 17. Defenseman Ivan Provorov scored his third goal of the season - and first in 14 games - on Saturday after recording 17 last campaign.


ABOUT THE JETS (17-9-2): Patrick Laine, who is tied for second in the NHL with 21 goals, has been kept off the scoresheet in his last four games after collecting 13 tallies and one assist in his previous seven. The only puck to get past Connor Hellebuyck on Friday deflected off teammate Bryan Little as the goaltender surrendered just one goal for a second straight game after giving up 12 in his previous three starts. Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien (concussion) was activated from injured reserve prior to Friday's game and received a team-high 28 minutes, 56 seconds of ice time.


OVERTIME


1. Philadelphia is just two points ahead of last-place New Jersey in the crowded Eastern Conference and six out of the second wild-card spot.


2. Winnipeg D Josh Morrissey (lower body) is expected to return to the lineup Sunday after a two-game absence.


3. Flyers G Michal Neuvirth (lower body) is expected to get the start on Sunday after surrendering six goals on 22 shots against the New York Islanders in his only other appearance this season.


PREDICTION: Jets 4, Flyers 2

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Preview and Predictions

Vancouver Canucks vs. St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues look to follow up one of their best defensive efforts of the season and win back-to-back games for the first time in a month when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday afternoon. The Blues gave up eight goals to Winnipeg on Nov. 24 and turned the tables Friday with a 1-0 victory over the Jets as Jake Allen stopped all 26 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season.


"Something we want to take pride in is being a good defensive group, and we weren't happy with what happened at home last game (against the Jets)," St. Louis defenseman Robert Bortuzzo told reporters. "Guys stepped up and made hard plays in hard areas." The Blues have climbed out of last place in the Central Division by going 3-3-1 in their last seven contests, and Allen told reporters "every game is a playoff game," while Vancouver is 2-10-2 after a promising 10-6-1 start to the campaign. However, the Canucks may have created a spark Thursday by knocking off Nashville 5-3, with five different players scoring as the team ended its four-game losing streak. "I think we played good some games that we lost," Vancouver rookie Elias Pettersson told reporters. "It's good to finally be rewarded, get some bounces with us. We played really good (Thursday). This is what it's going to take from us to be successful. Hopefully, we can build on this."


TV: 3 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), FS Midwest (St. Louis)


ABOUT THE CANUCKS (12-16-3): Pettersson scored his team-leading 14th goal on a penalty shot Thursday and has recorded four points in his last four games to give him 25 in his first 25 NHL contests. Bo Horvat tops the team with 27 points after registering a pair of goals and three assists over his last four games while defenseman Alex Edler has netted his first two tallies of the season in the same span. If Vancouver is going to make a run, it will have to improve on the power play as it is just 2-for-20 over its last seven contests.


ABOUT THE BLUES (10-13-4): Colton Parayko scored the only goal in Friday's win and has recorded two in his last four games while captain and fellow defenseman Alex Pietrangelo may need surgery on his hand after missing the past three contests. Ryan O'Reilly leads the team in goals (12) and points (28) while Vladimir Tarasenko is next with 20 but has been kept off the scoresheet in three consecutive games. Allen has allowed four goals in his last three starts and has helped by a penalty-killing unit that is 11-for-11 in the team's last two contests.


OVERTIME


1. The Blues have won five in a row and eight of their last nine meetings with the Canucks.


2. Vancouver LW Loui Eriksson snapped his 10-game point drought with a goal on Thursday.


3. St. Louis C Tyler Bozak has gone 16 contests without a goal and 10 without a point.


PREDICTION: Blues 4, Canucks 3

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Ray Chadwick

Comp play winner for Sunday goes out on the surging Baltimore Ravens to keep things close at Arrowhead Stadium when they face the 10-2 Kansas City Chiefs.

KC was able to get past hapless Oakland last week, but once again the impost was a bit too much for Andy Reid's team to handle. After covering their first 7 games of the season, the Chiefs are on a 1-3-1 point spread slide as they get set to host this game and they likely have one eye on their division-rivals, the L.A. Chargers who will make a Thursday night visit this upcoming week.

Oh yeah, and then there is the fact that there is a rather large void in their offense with the absence of Kareem Hunt that is bound to start to take its toll the later we go in this season.

As for Baltimore, they have found a little something-something with Lamar Jackson starting for the injured Joe Flacco, as the former Heisman Trophy Winner has gone 3-0 since the Ravens bye-week, defeating Cincinnati, Oakland and last week at Atlanta. OK, none of those 3 will be confused with today's 10-2 team, but we don't need the Ravens to win this game, we just need them to cover it, and getting near a full score looks good to me.

Don't look now, but with the Pittsburgh Steelers in a bit of a late-season tailspin, Baltimore is now within a half-game of first place, and they come into Arrowhead averaging 24.8 points per game, while allowing a NFL best, 17.8 points per game to be scored against them.

Baltimore went 3-1-1 last season as the road underdog, and they are 2-0 in that role this season, winning outright last weekend in Atlanta, and winning outright at Pittsburgh back in Week Four.

Kansas City dodges the bullet and wins this game, but I am taking the points as I see this one being closer than expected.

Baltimore plus the points today.

2* BALTIMORE

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Tommy Brunson

In a game that looked tantalizing back when the schedule was released, let's back disappointing Atlanta plus the points to cover against disappointing Green Bay.

It's hard to decide which team has been more of a letdown, as the Falcons looked like they were turning the season around when they reached 4-4 back on November 4th, but 4 straight up and against the spread losses have sunk their season. On the other hand, Green Bay may be worse, as last week's outright loss at home to an Arizona team they were favored by two touchdowns in helped sent Mike McCarthy home early for the holidays. The Packers have dropped 3 straight, and 5 of their last 6 now overall. Green Bay is also just 2-5 this season when installed as the favorite.

It is now former Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin's team for the remainder of the season, and I just don't want any parts of laying anything over a field goal with the disinterested Pack.

True, Atlanta was held to their worst offensive output since way back in 1999, when they amassed just 131 yards in their loss to Baltimore, but that will only serve to motivate Matt Ryan to be better this Sunday against a team that he has had recent success against.

The Falcons have won the last 3 series meetings straight up, and they are also 4-1 against the spread the last 5 times the teams have played one another.

In a battle of 2 demoralized teams, taking over a field goal is the wise move.

Play the Falcons.

3* ATLANTA

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Gus Augustine

When they met the first time this season, New England walloped the then 3-0 Miami Dolphins, 38-7 in Foxborough to end the month of September. That is par for the course when these division-rivals in Massachusetts, but when the Patriots go on the road and have to play in the Sunshine State, things have been decidedly different, as Hard Rock Stadium has become a bit of a "house of horrors" for Bill Belichick's team.

New England has lost outright in 4 of their last 5 visits to Miami, and with a chance to wrap up the overall # 1 seed in the AFC 3 years ago, the Pats laid a 10-20 egg as the -10 point road favorites! The line today is a little smaller, and an outright win by Miami would be a bit of a stunner, but do keep in mind that all 3 of the Patriots losses this season have come on the road, as they have been shutdown in losses at Jacksonville, Detroit and Tennessee already this season.

Ryan Tannehill is back, and Miami was able to end their 2 game slide with a home win and cover over Buffalo just last Sunday. The Dolphins have won and covered 2 of 3 this year as the home underdog, and they are now 7-4-1 against the spread when listed as the home dog their last 12 in that role.

New England has a big game on-deck for next week at Pittsburgh, so perhaps they are just a little less focused than normal today and leave some room inside of the back-door for Miami to slip in and steal the ATS today as the home dog.

'Fins plus the points the call.

1* MIAMI

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Jack Brayman

My free play for Sunday is on the Chicago Bears plus the money against the Los Angeles Rams in the late game. And as I will always do with underdogs catching anywhere between +2.5 and +4, I want you buying the half point up.

Los Angeles makes a tough trip into Chicago, where the weather will be frigid at night, and where the Bears will be hungry to bounce back after a wild overtime loss at the New York Giants last week. Prior to that, the Bears had won five in a row, so it's not as if this team has lost its luster.

The Rams, on the other hand, are in after clinching their second straight division championship and becoming the first team to secure a playoff spot with last week's 30-16 victory at Detroit. If there is any team that is ripe for a letdown, it's the Rams, who do need a win to clinch a first-round playoff bye, but have several weeks to do so.

Chicago, which has covered five of six and 16 of its last 21 at home, is the team in a must-win situation. And with Mitchell Trubisky expected to return after missing the past two games because of a right shoulder injury, the Bears' offense will get back on track.

And countering the Rams' second-ranked offense will be the league's fourth-ranked defense that is second in the league at stopping the run and 11th at thwarting the pass. Linebacker Khalil Mack has nine sacks in 10 games, and I expect him to apply endless pressure on quarterback Jared Goff, who ranks fourth in the NFL with 3,754 yards passing, and sixth with 27 touchdowns.

The Bears cover this one as they aim for the outright win.

5* CHICAGO

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Scott Delaney

COMPLIMENTARY WINNER

For my free winner in the NFL on Sunday, I'm laying the double digits with the Los Angeles Chargers at home against the Cincinnati Bengals.

It would be real easy to assume the Bolts look past this game and on to next week's AFC West showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs, but after what I saw last week, I don't think they're looking past anybody.

The Chargers roll into this home battle after engineering a 16-point comeback victory at Pittsburgh. And don't forget about when a Denver team that had lost five of six rallied from a 12-point deficit on Nov. 18 to defeat these Chargers, 23-22.

Los Angeles will be focused every single week leading into the playoffs. The Chargers are on the brink of clinching, and catch the Bengals in a vulnerable state at this point. Cincinnati has been dreadful after winning four of its first five this season, and is almost certain to sit this postseason out.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has thrown two or more touchdown passes in every game this season and might have his best game against... His main target will be Keenan Allen, who has hauled in a touchdown pass in four straight games.

With Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson shouldering the burden while Melvin Gordon is shelved, they take a crack at Cincinnati's defense, which has allowed more than 200 yards in three of the past four games, and is ranked last against the run.

The Chargers can take advantage of a Bengals team that has failed to cover six of seven after being ravaged by injuries on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Andy Dalton, wide receiver A.J. Green, tight end Tyler Eifert, defensive end Carl Lawson and linebacker Preston Brown are a sampling of 14 players on the injured reserve list.

In For Dalton, it wasn't the best first-start for Jeff Driskel. He was sacked four times, threw an interception and lost a fumble in a 24-10 loss to the Broncos. He's likely improved and will be a bit more confident, but the Chargers have the resources to make life hard on him.

This won't be close, as San Diego rolls to the easy win and cover.

1* CHARGERS

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