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How to play:
Here is the way this game works. I will supply the Sunday and Monday matchups. With each matchup will be the line as of the last 24 hours. What you need to do is:
Step 1. Pick 3 teams who are NOT the favorites that you think will cover the spread
Step 2. Well…that’s it.
What you are trying to do, is select the three teams most likely to beat the spread. You will get the points POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE that each team earns vs. the Spread. Have I lost you yet? See the example below
Week 4 notable stats
- 8 games netted positive amounts (vs. 7 in Week 3)
- 6 games netted negative amounts (vs. 7 in Week 3)
- Biggest variances: Tampa Bay with a -35; Miami with a -24
Beat the Spread Week 4
| Week 4 | Favorite | Underdog | Fav | Under | Outcome | Feslen | Pete | Mark | Salti | Paddi | Sixtus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 4 | Favorite | Underdog | Fav | Under | Outcome | Feslen | Pete | Mark | Salti | Paddi | Sixtus |
| NE -7 | New England Patriots | Miami Dolphins | 38 | 7 | -24 | -24 | |||||
| ATL -5.5 | Atlanta Falcons | Cincinnati Bengals | 36 | 37 | 6.5 | 6.5 | |||||
| CHI -3 | Chicago Bears | Tampa Bay Bucaneers | 48 | 10 | -35 | -35 | |||||
| DAL-3 | Dallas Cowboys | Detroit Lions | 26 | 24 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| GB -9.5 | Green Bay Packers | Buffalo Bills | 22 | 0 | -12.5 | ||||||
| PHI -4 | Philadelphia Eagles | Tennessee Titans | 23 | 26 | 7 | ||||||
| IND -1 | Indianapolis Colts | Houston Texans | 34 | 37 | 4 | 4 | |||||
| JAX -7.5 | Jacksonville Jaguars | New York Jets | 31 | 12 | -11.5 | -11.5 | |||||
| Oak -2.5 | Oakland Raiders | Cleveland Browns | 45 | 42 | -0.5 | -0.5 | -0.5 | ||||
| SEA -3 | Seattle Seahawks | Arizona Cardinals | 20 | 17 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| NO -3.5 | New Orleans Saints | New York Giants | 33 | 18 | -11.5 | -11.5 | |||||
| LAC -10 | Los Angeles Chargers | San Francisco 49ers | 29 | 27 | 8 | 8 | |||||
| PIT -3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Baltimore Ravens | 14 | 26 | 15 | ||||||
| KC -4.5 | Kansas City Chiefs | Denver Broncos | 27 | 23 | 0.5 | 0.5 | |||||
| Total Week 4 | -26.5 | -5.5 | -7.5 | 0 | 0 | -23.5 |
Current Totals
- Paddi: 21 (omitted picks in Week 3 & 4 – reeeally continuing to wonder if there should be a 5 point penalty for missing a week. Make everyone walk the plank even during tough weeks)
- Feslen: 6.5 (His three weeks: -20.5pts, +53.5pts, -26.5pts)
- Salti: 1 (No picks in week four where all of us fell negative)
- Pete: -0.5 (just dangling in that plus minus territory)
- Mark: -13.5 (I really can’t seem to get this right
- Sixtus: -19 (The Dolphins -24 pick buried Sixtus in week 4)
Week 5
Beat the Spread Week 5
| Week 5 | Favorite | Underdog |
|---|---|---|
| Week 5 | Favorite | Underdog |
| TEN -5 | Tennessee Titans | Buffalo Bills |
| CIN -5.5 | Cincinnati Bengals | Miami Dolphins |
| DET -1 | Detroit Lions | Green Bay Packers |
| BAL -3 | Baltimore Ravens | Cleveland Browns |
| KC -3 | Kansas City Chiefs | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| NYJ -1 | New York Jets | Denver Broncos |
| PIT -3.5 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Atlanta Falcons |
| CAR -6 | Carolina Panthers | New York Giants |
| LAC -5 | Los Angeles Chargers | Oakland Raiders |
| PHI -3 | Philadelphia Eagles | Minnesota Vikings |
| SF -4 | San Francisco 49ers | Arizona Cardinals |
| LAR -7 | Los Angeles Rams | Seattle Seahawks |
| HOU -3.5 | Houston Texans | Dallas Cowboys |
| NO -6.5 | New Orleans Saints | Washington Redskins |
| Total Week 5 |
Recap
Since we have completed three weeks of this challenge, I’ll disclose three things I’ve learned:
- This is really hard..or maybe I just really suck at it
- Every week has shown a 20+ points swing somewhere and I would not have guessed where it came from on a given week. Because you know we all saw Mitchell Trubisky throwing 6 TDs.
- There is a minimal denominator. Among the teams who have had a 20+ point variance only the Patriots have repeated: LAR and Arizona in Week 2, New England Patriots and Detroit Lions; Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills in Week 3. New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins as well as Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4.
Idiom of the week
cash on the barrelhead – Immediate payment of service
History: money would have to be placed on the heads of the barrels (used as tables) when drinks were provided at a local tavern or bar to ensure payment could be made
Ex: I can’t use cash on the barrelhead until I can visit the ATM for the weekend’s festivities.