Steelers Send Vikings To First Defeat Of Season

Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings are undefeated no more. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ used a couple of big plays from their defense in the fourth quarter to break open a close game and defeat the Vikings by a final score of 27-17. Favre put up decent yardage in the loss, throwing for 334 yards but had no touchdowns and an interception. The defending Superbowl Champion Steelers improved to 5-2, while the Vikings are now 6-1.

NFL pointspread players who backed the Steelers as -6 home favorites were rewarded with the cover. Pittsburgh had only covered one of their first six games heading into the contest, and the win improved their record against the number to 2-5. Minnesota dropped to 4-3 against the spread with the setback. The 44 points scored went UNDER the posted total of 46′. It was only the Vikings’ second UNDER of the season against five OVERS, while the Steelers have gone OVER in four of their seven games.

The Steelers largely shut down Minnesota’s rushing game, holding Adrian Peterson to 69 yards. Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark underscored his team’s dominance against the run:

“That’s the biggest point of the game. You have the best running back in the world and you don’t give it to him. They’re saying they can’t beat us running, and that’s a major statement when you have the guy they have back there.”

Favre gave a mealy mouthed justification for the loss in his postgame interview:

“There were a lot of what ifs, a lot of reasons we didn’t win. The red zone was one of them. They’re physical, and they were as good as we thought they’d be. … When I came here and looked at our schedule and saw the Steelers game, I went, ‘Oh-h-h.’ ”

Favre has only thrown three interceptions in a Vikings’ uniform, but #3 was a costly one as it was returned by Steelers’ Keyaron Fox for a touchdown to put the game out of reach as Minnesota was driving for a potential game tying field goal. Afterwards, Fox recalled the play:

“Brett tried to force it in there and the running back bobbled it and slipped out of his hands and it fell into my lap. I had just run across the field after Peterson and I was winded, so it felt like it was 100-plus yards.”

The Vikings now face another big game next week as they head to Favre’s old stomping grounds in Green Bay for a battle with the Packers. It’ll be Favre’s first appearance at his old home in an enemy uniform. The Vikings are a +3 road underdog with the total set at 48. The Vikings will then have a bye weekend before hosting the lowly Detroit Lions on November 15. Pittsburgh will enjoy a bye week this week before returning to action on Monday, November 9th facing the Denver Broncos on the road.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer specializing in casino gambling, entertainment and sports betting. He has appeared on a number of TV and radio programs offering strategies for successful NFL football betting. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a pet llama. He is currently writing a biography of former NFL quarterback Jim Plunkett.

Green Bay Trounces Detroit

The Green Bay Packers didn’t do a good job protecting their quarterback last Sunday, but against the lowly Detroit Lions it didn’t really matter. Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers was sacked five times, but Green Bay used a big first half offensive outburst to coast to a 26-0 NFL victory over the Detroit Lions. Rodgers threw two first half touchdown passes which was complimented by four Mason Crosby field goals as Green Bay improved to 3-2 on the season. The Lions slumped to 1-5 with the loss.

NFL football betting enthusiasts who backed the Packers as -14 home dogs easily cashed their tickets with Green Bay’s third pointspread cover in five games. Detroit slipped to 2-4 against the spread.

In the victory, Packers’ receiver Donald Driver passed Sterling Sharpe for first place on the franchise reception list. Sharpe finished his career with 596 receptions, Driver now has 602. After the game, he talked about the accomplishment:

“It couldn’t it come in a better place — at home in front of the fans I’ve played in front of for so many years. It feels good. Now I just have to wait on Sterling to call me and congratulate me.”

Despite the convincing victory, cornerback Tramon Williams wasn’t happy with the relatively narrow margin:

“It feels like a 50 to zero game, but we didn’t quite get there. I felt we should’ve put more points on the board.”

For the Lions, their quarterback woes continued. Matthew Stafford is already out indefinitely with an injured knee, and against Green Bay backup Daunte Cullpepper injured his hamstring in the third quarter and was replaced by the Lions’ third string quarterback Drew Stanton. Cullpepper is now listed as ‘questionable’ on the official NFL injury report. After the game, he talked about Detroit’s lack of offense:

“It’s very disappointing, very frustrating. It’s embarrassing to me not to be able to move it on the field and get points on the board. We’ve got to figure out a way to do that, simple as that.”

The Packers will play on the road this Sunday, heading to Cleveland to face the Browns. The game is currently off the board as linemakers try to get a handle on the personnel impact of the Browns’ struggle with a flu bug making its way through the locker room. Green Bay will host the Minnesota Vikings the following Sunday followed by a trip to Tampa Bay on November 8. Detroit has a bye this weekend and will return to action as they host the St. Louis Rams on November 1.

Ross Everett is a staff handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook as well as a freelance writer specializing in MMA, boxing and how to bet on NFL football. He is a respected authority on Internet sports betting, cigars and fencing. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a pet wallaby.

Packers Pop Strugging Browns

The Green Bay Packers used 21 second quarter points and three Aaron Rodgers touchdown passes to easily dispatch the punchless Cleveland Browns 31-3 on Sunday. Rodgers threw two of his three touchdowns during the second quarter onslaught, adding a fourth quarter tally for good measure. Ryan Grant added 148 yards of rushing and a touchdown in the victory, in which the Packers dominated the statistical battle. Green Bay improved their 2009 NFL record to 4-2, while Cleveland slumped to 1-6.

NFL football betting enthusiasts who laid the -8′ with Green Bay as road favorites cashed their tickets with the lopsided victory. Green Bay improved to 4-2 against the NFL pointspread while the Browns dropped to 3-4 against the number.

The Packers upped their intensity early in the game, after quarterback Aaron Rodgers was punched in the face during a scrum. He recounts what happened next:

“One of the linemen came over and said, ‘Who was it? We got your back. That means a lot to me and that means a lot to our team.”

David Bowens was the perpetrator, though he insisted he was simply playing hard:

“I was just trying to grab anything I had. It wasn’t malicious, I was just trying to get a stop. I apologized to him for it. He can call it what he wants to call it, but the refs didn’t call it. I’d treat him different if he was passing the ball, that’s different. But if he’s running the ball, he’s a running back. It’s called football.”

Browns’ quarterback Derek Anderson lamented his team’s struggles in postgame comments:

“We aren’t good right now. That’s it. Period. We haven’t executed. We haven’t done the right things to win ballgames. We haven’t run the ball effectively, thrown it where we needed to. We haven’t protected up front like we need to and caught it when we need to.”

Head coach Eric Mangini sounded a similar tone:

“It’s a very disappointing performance across the board. I don’t think we played very well. I don’t think we coached very well. I thought we were making progress in a lot of areas. I don’t think we showed that today — at all.”

The Packers now face a big game next Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings which will feature Brett Favre’s first return to Green Bay in a visiting uniform. The Packers are a -3 home favorite with the total set at 48. They’ll face the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following week before hosting the Dallas Cowboys on November 15. Cleveland will travel to Chicago for a game against the Bears next week, with the Browns installed as a +13′ road underdog and the total set at 40′.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and respected authority onsports betting. He is also a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook and is in charge of setting NFL lines. He has written extensively on sports betting theory along with a wide range of other topics including fencing, boxing and falconry.

« Previous Page