NFC West: Could Have Three Teams in Playoffs
The NFC West is the toughest division in all off football. If the St. Louis Rams can knock off the Seattle Seahawks today, then nobody in the division will finish the season below .500. If the Arizona Cardinals can beat the San Francisco 49ers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can upset the New Orleans Saints, then three of the four teams will be in the playoffs. Of course, the odds that the Bucs will win in New Orleans are not very good so there is a pretty good chance the cards will miss the post season with an 11-5 record. That just does not seem fair. Perhaps the NFL needs to institute some sort of “Bump Rule” where a team with 10 or more wins can bump a team with 8 or fewer wins and take that team’s spot?
The Niners will not be rolling over for the Cards either. They still have a shot at winning the division and getting a bye next week if the Rams can also win. This also means the Seahawks won’t be afforded the luxury of resting their starters either. They are coming off a rare home loss a week ago to the Cardinals so they do not want to go into the playoffs on a two game losing streak.
The 49ers are coming into today’s game following an emotional win last Monday as they closed down Candlestick Park in dramatic fashion with a win over the Atlanta Falcons. Can they get up for this game? They had better because the Cards will be up for it. They were the losers when the Niners got a lucky bounce in the last seconds that resulted in a pick six for the Niners from 89 yards. The Cards will be coming into this game in a bad mood.
Some genius in the NFL decided to bump back the start of the Bucs Saints game to after 4:00 so this way the Cards will still be in the race at kickoff. That was a smart move. Had they been eliminated by kickoff, it may have affected their effort which would not have been fair to the Seahawks.
Wagerweb has the odds on these games:
Tampa Bay at New Orleans– The Bucs are +10.5 -110 and the Saints are -10.5 -110 ATS. Moneyline is New Orleans -530 and the Tampa Bay +410. Over/Under is 47 with both over and under -110. It doesn’t look good for the Cards to get in with these odds. We like the Bucs to beat the spread however and keep it interesting. We like the Saints -530 and the Bucs +10.5 -110 and the under -110.
St. Louis at Seattle- The Rams are +13 -110 and the Seahawks are -13 -110 ATS. Moneyline is St. Louis +480 and the Seahawks -670. O/U is 42. We like the Seahawks to win, but not by 13. take the Seahawks -670 and the Rams +13 -110. And also take the over -110.
San Francisco at Arizona– The 49ers are +2.5 even and the Cards are -2.5 -120. O/U is 41. We like the Cards -2.5 -120 and the over -110. Hopefully the Cards will get some help from the Bucs.
