At 4:30 pm, our selection is on the Cincinnati Bengals minus the points over the New York Jets. The Jets won their last two games of the regular season to get into the playoffs. But both of their opponents -- the Colts in Game 15, and the Bengals last week -- "mailed it in," so to speak. Thus, it's awfully hard to give New York much credit for its victories, since if either, or both of its opponents had put forth a 100% effort, the Jets likely would be sitting at home this weekend. Besides having two teams "lie down" for them, the Jets also had the benefit this season of playing a less-than-impressive schedule. Of New York's 14 other games, only three were against playoff teams (New England (twice) and New Orleans). New York was 1-2 SU/ATS in those games, including an 0-2 SU/ATS record on the road. In contrast, Cincinnati played games against Green Bay, Baltimore (twice), Minnesota, and San Diego. And, in those five games, the Bengals were an impressive 3-2 SU and 4-1 ATS, even though four of them were on the road, and also despite the fact Cincy was an underdog in all five games. Last week, the Jets shut out the Bengals 37-0, but NFL teams have covered just one of 12 (8 percent) in the playoffs over the past 29 seasons, if they i) won their previous game by more than 28 points; ii) and held their previous foe to three points or less; and iii) are not favored by more than seven in their current game. Look for the Bengals to ground the Flyboys. Take Cincinnati minus the points. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.


At 8 pm, on Saturday, our selection is on the Philadelphia Eagles plus the points over Dallas. After winning six straight games, the Eagles certainly laid an egg last Sunday when they were blanked 24-0 by the Cowboys. But perhaps no team has been better over the years than Philadelphia in rebounding off a loss, as the Eagles are a solid 59-33 ATS the past 15 seasons following a defeat (including 3-0 in the Playoffs), and 31-7 ATS off a loss since 1997 if they failed to cover by more than seven points in their previous game. Also, Dallas won 17-0 at Washington the week prior to its 24-0 whitewash of Philly. But NFL teams are terrible against the spread (54-109 ATS) when priced from -11 to +4.5 points, if they held their last two opponents to less than 10 points, and scored at least 17 in their most recent game. Take the Eagles + the points. Good luck, as always....Al McMordie. And don't miss my New York Jets/Cincy winner out of a 92% ATS System.