So wait, is it Super Duper Duper Wild card weekend, or are there more dupers in there? Asking for a friend. Actually, the dupers in this case may be the Pittsburgh “How the hell are we in the playoffs?” Steelers. They’re the NFL equivalent of John Daly “dressing up” for Champions Dinner of either the Open Championship or PGA, take your pick.
But more on that later. It’s the return of the best Animal Sports Prognostication on the Planet. Our current reigning king is none other than my own cat, Torrey Pines, La Jolla Flemma, Prince of Cats. (Torrey to his friends.) And he’s been batting a sterling 59% during his multi-year tenure at the top, following in a ling and unbroken line of winning columnists, dating all the way back to 2005 with Ernesto the Predictio0n Iguana. A string of cats has successfully filled his shoes, Torrey being the latest. so without any further ado:
1) remember we use lines from www.vegasinsider.com;
2) we do teasers, so we get to move the line six points in our favor in either direction; and
3) we have to hit both to win. Any ties are a push, unless, of course, we lose the other side of the pick.
GREEN LIGHT!
BILLS -4 vs. steelers
BILLS-steelers OVER 28.5
The Steelers benefited from an easy schedule. The3y also blew some trap games at home, something truly great Steeler teams didn’t do. Meranwhile, as we predicted, the Bills week off came at just the right time. They were skidding, but rest and prep time vaulted the into December, outlasting more talented, but also more tired teams. What a benefit – possibly up to three home games in the playoffs, with Baltimore alone a possible road game. Injuries are hitting the Steelers at the wrong time as well. The mercurial Mason Rudolph is at the helm instead of the more steady Pickett. And the defense lost its eart and sole when T.J. Watt went down with a knee injury in the finale. Look for Buffalo to possibly cover this remarkably miniscule 28.5 OVER/UNDER figure on their own at home. Anything anemic Pittsburgh can muster is a bonus.
COWBOYS -1 vs. packers
CHIEFS-dolphins OVER 38
Like the Steelers in the AFC, the Packers are the runt of the litter, sliming into these expanded, but not better playoffs with a milquetoast 9-8 record. They may give the Pokes a tussle, but they’ll also make one mistake too many and fail to keep up at the end. Meanwhile the Chiefs and Dolphins enjoy potent offenses, but questionable defenses. Could Miami pull of the upset? Yes, and that’s why the OVER is the right call.
