Cincinnati Bengals @ Philadelphia Eagles
Here’s what I should be writing: The final Thursday Night Football game of the regular season is expected to see the Cincinnati Bengals overcome the Philadelphia Eagles and boost their chances of making the playoffs.
Here’s what I really want to write: A settled playoff schedule in Week 15 is not good for business.
A few more wrinkles need to be added this weekend to keep the TV companies happy. So bettors be warned.
But don’t worry, it will be a happy coincidence that the teams we know the NFL wants to be in the playoffs will be there.
And it is perhaps worth noting at this point that the top six media markets in the States are: New York, Chicago, Boston, Baltimore/DC, and San Francisco. Bear this in mind.
How fortunate the NFL are that the Giants and/or Jets, Bears, Patriots, Ravens (and former Baltimore franchise Colts) and 49ers are all expected to make the playoffs. As for DC, the Washington Redskins are also very much in the playoff hunt. What an amazing coincidence.
Monday’s prime-time game is between the surging (and we use that term very loosely) New York Jets and the Tennessee Titans. In theory, it is about as watchable as Brian Urlacher combing his hair.
But the Jets have Tim Tebow. The Tebow effect runs the gamut in terms of the quarterback’s financial impact on the National Football League. The Broncos pocketed an extra few million dollars last season in concessions and the Jets are doing the same this term. It is only a matter of time before Mark Sanchez is sacrificed for good. Let’s hope he does not suffer an injury and let’s hope the Jets keep the media frenzy going for another couple of weeks. Publicity is good for business, you see.
But just in case you thought the Jets would be in the playoffs, their December 23 Sunday night clash with the San Diego Chargers has been moved back to 1pm local time, replaced by the Seattle Seahawks’ clash with the San Francisco 49ers, with the New York Giants’ clash with the Baltimore Ravens moving to 4.25pm.
And let’s just have a quick look at teams who are looking for a new NFL stadium? Minnesota, Atlanta, San Francisco. All are doing well this season. A mere coincidence.
Three highly-touted rookie quarterbacks doing well: Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck and Robert Wilson. Again, pure coincidence.
And almost a quarter of NFL games have seen the winning score in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime – the most ever. That’s as coincidental as Joe Flacco not being seen in the same room as the moustachioed one from the Village People.
Enough of the conspiracy theories. The world’s going to end on Friday week anyway, as the Cleveland Browns have won three games on the spin. Even the Mayans could not have predicted that.
Three wins? That’s a Trio. All we can say to that is Da-Da-Da. It means exactly that. Pretty much nothing…
The 7-6 Bengals have a lot to play for, while the Eagles have nothing to play for – or so you might think. Philadelphia’s remarkable comeback in Tampa on Sunday might not be enough to save head coach Andy Reid his job. However, Eagles’ players know this and are now playing for their contracts, trying to impress a new coach who will doubtless watch plenty of game film when he arrives.
It was no great surprise that Philadelphia would cause a shock as seven-point underdogs in Tampa, such was the offensive line’s progression over the previous couple of games.
But it is often the case that after an emotional victory (and the Eagles were snapping a seven-game losing streak) that a let-down occurs. Cincinnati should be too good in any case.
Talking of too good, here’s the latest in our Christmas Belles Cheerleading Calendar. Isn’t she lovely?
The Bengals’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys has helped the Indianapolis Colts surge to the verge of the post-season party: they need just a win in their remaining three games to clinch a spot in the playoffs and they could, theoretically, still win the AFC South, as they face Houston twice.
The Bengals still have to play the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, their two main rivals from the AFC North. With the Ravens in pole position, it looks a straight fight for the final Wild Card sport between the Bengals and the Steelers – and the Bengals have little margin for error. Bengals are 7-6, still tied with the Steelers and still perched as the No. 7 seed due to the team’s loss to Pittsburgh in Week 7.
And both teams are two games behind the Ravens, still with breathing space as the AFC North division leaders at 9-4.
If the Bengals and Steelers enter Week 16 with identical records and Cincinnati beat the Steelers, Pittsburgh can still claim the Wild Card if they beat the Cleveland Browns while the Bengals lose to the Ravens. This would put Cincinnati at 2-4 and the Steelers 3-3 in the crucial ‘record within the division’ tiebreaker. It’s all hypothetical, of course, because the Bengals simply don’t do back-to-back playoff seasons. Ever.
And they are not as marketable a team as, say, the Steelers or the Jets.
With the season going further down the pan than Tinkerbell might have wished, Eagles played with a freedom bordering on reckless abandon in Tampa and came out on the right end of a 21-16 victory, giving quarterback Nick Foles his first NFL victory.
You can’t entirely trust the Bengals. They are mere 3-point BETDAQ handicap favourites – which sets the alarm bells ringing, because they should be nearer 5.5-point jollies – but are just 7-12-3 against the handicap in their last 22 games.
They also had a problem stopping Tony Romo and the Cowboys, allowing them to convert 11 of 19 third-down attempts, despite outgaining the Cowboys 336 yards to 288 behind a rushing attack that compiled 146 yards.
Yet historically – much like the Cowboys in Cincinnati – the Bengals have done well in Philadelphia, covering the handicap on their last five visits.
A Philadelphia win has been about as rare as an offensive holding call on the Falcons or Patriots all season but with all the public money heading Cincinnati’s way, it seems feasible that the Bengals will find a way to lose. Short weeks, road trips, buy into that if you want. But the fact remains that the AFC Playoff race remains more interesting if the Jets keep winning and the Colts, Bengals as Steelers are all in contention for the two AFC Wild Cards in the remaining two weeks of the season.
One thing’s certain: Santa’s in for a rough time if the Bengals get in front early. Snowballs at the ready…
Suggestions:
Philadelphia +3
Over 45.5 points
Don’t forget to check out John Arnette’s views on the game at betdaqnfl.com
Milham’s 2012 record:
Week 14: 6-8-1
Week 13: 7-7-1
Week 12: 8-7-2
Week 11: 8-4
Week 10: 6-8
Week 9: 9-4
Week 8: 7-9
Week 7: 8-6
Week 6: 6-8
Week 5: 4-9
Week 4: 10-3
Week 3: 5-8
Week 2: 7-6-1
Week 1: 7-5
Twitter: @simonmilham
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