NFL – the Colts finally lost their unbeaten record last week, but they’re
still the team to beat. Check out the latest Super Bowl betting, and
Nigel’s hot picks for the live Christmas games. Also, win more for hitting
your parlays this weekend with
bet365’s Parlay Bonus!
INDY OUT TO EVENS FOR SUPER BOWL GLORY…
The Colts have been eased to Evens for the Super Bowl after their loss to
San Diego last Sunday. The win for San Diego wasn’t totally unexpected - in
fact the Chargers were our main bet last week at +7.5 – as the Colts had
already secured homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, while the
Chargers had to win to keep their postseason dreams alive. Of course, the
Colts are still the team to beat, but the Chargers have at least shown
other teams that they can be beaten – and how to do it – and our outright
betting certainly has a more ‘open’ look about it now.
Seattle claimed their eleventh straight win with a hard-fought success over
the Titans, and continue to get shorter for the title at 6/1 (from 15/2).
That price will contract more should they beat Indy this weekend, which
seems likely (more of that later). In our ‘Winning Conference’ betting, the
AFC are now favoured by only eight points in the Super Bowl, compared to a
high of 13 only a couple of weeks ago. It was also a good week for New
England, who are looking strong again after shutting out the Buccaneers
28-0, and Carolina (our pre-season picks), who moved back into first place
in the NFC South with a 27-10 victory over the Saints.
bet365 latest Super Bowl prices…Indianapolis Evens, Seattle 6/1, New
England 6/1, Denver, Cincinnati 12/1, NY Giants 14/1, Chicago, Carolina
16/1, others on
bet365 website.
CHARGERS STILL DESPERATE TO WIN…
Despite their win over the Colts, the San Diego Chargers (for many the
NFL’s second-best team) may not even make it into the playoffs. With the
Divisional winners now decided, the Chargers are in a real dog fight with
Jacksonville, Pittsburgh and Kansas for the final two wild-card spots, and
their game against the Chiefs on Saturday is a must-win one for them. Of
course, Kansas still have a chance of playing postseason themselves, and
have an awesome record in December over the past few seasons, which will
make them hard to beat this week (Pick).
The nightmare scenario for Pittsburgh would be if San Diego and
Jacksonville both win this weekend. The Steelers might look good for the
No.6 seed right now, but should all three teams finish 11-5 then, according
to the new NFL rules, San Diego would take the No.5 spot ahead of
Jacksonville. As it stands, San Diego are a standout 50/1 shot for the
title with
bet365.
bet365 AFC Championship Wild Card Race prices…Jaguars 1/16, Steelers 1/4, Chargers 13/8, Chiefs 3/1 (to qualify for post-season via the NFL’s wild
card selection)
INDIANAPOLIS @ SEATTLE – SURGING SEAHAWKS CAN BEAT RESTING COLTS…
Sat Dec 24 – 4:15pm EST/21:15 GMT – LIVE BETTING AVAILABLE
There’s no doubt where the matchup of the week is taking place as Seattle
host Indy, in what is seen by many as a Super Bowl preview. The pair have
lost only three games all season, and if this was a straight fight, then
Seattle would be marginal favourites. However, the Colts are no longer
chasing a 16-0 record and, with only a psychological edge to gain from
winning here, they’re a massive 9.5 point underdog this week (backed from
6.5). That’s more than understandable, as HC Tony Dungy is almost certain
to give his big guns a breather, including QB Peyton Manning who took a
pounding from the Chargers defence last week, while Seattle will not want
to relent until their own No.1 seeding is in the bag.
Pick: Seattle (-9.5) @ 10/11 CHICAGO @ GREEN BAY - GROSS’ IS THE MAN FOR BEARS…
Sun Dec 25 – 5:00pm EST/22:00 GMT – LIVE BETTING AVAILABLE
The NFL does not stop for Christmas Day, and being able to watch the games
live will be a welcome relief from the usual predictable TV fare. You can’t
beat the adrenaline rush of the live game, and that’s where our ‘In-Play
Console’ comes in with all the odds and markets on one convenient page.
One of the live games sees Chicago take on struggling Green Bay, and the
Bears are strongly fancied to beat the 6.5 point line and, at the same
time, wrap up the NFC North. The Packers used to be a force to be reckoned
with at Lambeau Field, but they’ve lost four of their six home games this
season, including a 48-3 thrashing from Baltimore last Monday. They
certainly won’t beat Chicago for defence. The Bears have given up more than
ten points only once in their last six games, and might even be better on
offense too, now that Rex Grossman has been given the nod to start at QB.
Live Game Pick: Chicago (-6.5) @ 10/11 GET MORE BACK FOR HITTING YOUR PARLAYS…
It’s hard to resist a speculative parlay wager each weekend, especially as
you’re assured of getting an extra value here at
bet365 with our Parlay Bonus. Each week, we pay out up to 50% more on successful NFL & NCAAF parlays on the following 6 markets:-
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This weekend’s suggested parlay is on the following teams:
Chicago (-6.5); Seattle (-9.5); Carolina (-5.0); Houston (+6.0) and
Cincinnati (-14.5) - all teams are currently priced at 10/11, and a $50
parlay pays out $730.59 - which includes a bet365 bonus of 15%
This weekend’s live bet365 games are:
Navy vs Colorado State
Thu Dec 22 – 10:30 pm EST/03:30 GMT (Fri)
DAL Cowboys @ CAR Panthers
Sat Dec 24 – 1:00 pm EST/18:00 GMT
IND Colts @ SEA Seahawks
Sat Dec 24 – 4:15 pm EST/21:15 GMT
Nevada vs Central Florida
Sat Dec 24 – 8:30 pm EST/01:30 GMT (Sun)
CHI Bears @ GB Packers
Sun Dec 25 – 5:00 pm EST/22:00 GMT
MIN Vikings @ BAL Ravens
Sun Dec 25 – 8:30 pm EST/01:30 GMT (Mon)
NE Patriots @ NY Jets
Mon Dec 26 – 9:00 pm EST/02:05 GMT (Tue)
Good luck in Week 16
Hope you have a prosperous Christmas and New Year!
Nigel
NIGEL RIDGWAY, an experienced punter and betting shop owner of many years, believes that “The key to successful gambling is getting value for money.” Nigel was once forced by local bookmakers, to stop writing a tipping column in a UK newspaper, because he was costing them a fortune. Find out what offers and lines are hot at
bet365.com