NFL Top 3 "Over/Under" Picks for Week 13

A last second field goal not only put a major dent in the Giants' playoff hopes in last Sunday's 24-21 loss to Dallas, it was just enough to take the total OVER on a closing line of 44.5. This fortunate turn of events raised my record to 2-1 for my Week 12 total line picks.

The Cowboy's win over New York coupled with their Thanksgiving Day victory over Oakland has dialed-up the pressure on Philadelphia to come away with a win this Sunday over Arizona to keep pace in the NFC East title race. The Eagles come into that game as three-point home favorites with the "over/under" set at 48.5. While I stayed away from a pick on a side in Sunday's game, I do like the UNDER on the total line. So much so that I made it one of my top three plays of the week.

Below is a link to this week's top picks as part of my ongoing series for Doc's Sports.

NFL Totals Betting: Week 13 Over and Under Predictions

NFC East Week 13 Preview and "Pick of the Week"

There finally appears to be some separation in the NFC East with the Eagles and the Cowboys both at 6-5 and two games ahead of New York, which fell to 4-7 after last Sunday's loss to Dallas. The Redskins sunk to 3-8 after getting pummeled by San Francisco 27-6 this past Monday night. My bold prediction for Washington is that it will not win another game this year as this team has already quit on its coach and its quarterback.

As is the case every season, the Cowboys will host an annual Thanksgiving Day game. This year they welcome the 4-7 Raiders to Big D which I would have to pencil-in as a win for the home team. That means the Eagles will have to get past the surging 7-4 Arizona Cardinals this upcoming Sunday at the Linc to keep pace in the title race. Dallas currently holds the tie-breaker on an earlier head-to-head win and it also has a better division record at 4-0.

The good news is that Philadelphia's home losing streak was snapped with the win over Washington in Week 11. The bad news is that even when the Cardinals were lousy back in the days when they were still in the NFC East, they had a way of beating Philly on the road. This will actually be a true test to see if the Birds are a legitimate playoff team. This is the kind of game they should win at home, especially coming off a bye. Much was made about Andy Reid's 13-1 record after a bye week (last season the Eagles lost to Atlanta to snap that winning streak). It is now Chip Kelly's turn to start his own winning streak with a victory this Sunday.

I stayed away from picking the Eagles this week as I still have one leg dragging on the ground off of this bandwagon, but I do like this game's chances to stay UNDER the 48.5-point total line. Arizona has been playing great on defense all season long and Philly's defense has not allowed more than 21 points in its last seven games. This Sunday's matchup has the feel of a grinder as the cold winds of December start whipping around the Linc.

To read my complete NFC East Week 13 preview and "pick of the week" as part of my ongoing series for Doc's Sports just click the link below.

NFC East Weekly NFL Betting Picks: Week 13

NFC East Week 12 Preview and "Pick of the Week"

The first 11 weeks of the Eagles' season are in the books and while it has been a bumpy ride at times, the road is starting look pretty smooth for the stretch run. Heading into this week's bye, the Birds are riding a three-game winning streak that has them in first place in the NFC East. I know it is a half game lead with a record of 6-5 but it is still a major improvement from last season's 3-8 mark at this point.

The two most encouraging things about the prospect for a successful stretch run is that Nick Foles has firmly established himself as the team's starting quarterback and the defense continues to get better each week. This unit tried to make things a bit too interesting last Sunday against the Redskins, but it has now gone seven games without giving-up more than 21 points and it has actually held teams to 17 points or less in four of its last five games.

Looking ahead to this Sunday's games in the NFC East, I like the Giants' chances to keep their winning streak alive and the 49ers should pretty much close the door on Washington's chances to repeat as division champs. To read my complete preview for this Sunday's games check out the link below to this week's article as part of my ongoing series for Doc's Sports.

NFC East Weekly NFL Betting Picks: Week 12

NFL Top 3 "Over/Under" Picks for Week 12

I got back in the black last week with a 2-1 record on my top three NFL total line picks after getting blanked in Week 10 so my overall winning percentage for the year is almost back to 60 percent. They say that the top handicappers in the country come in around 70 percent, but I can guarantee that no one ever referred to me as a handicapper. The best thing I like about plays on the total line is that more often than not, if you dig deep enough into the numbers for any NFL matchup they will almost paint a picture of a high or low scoring game. To me, this is much easier than trying to pick winners against the spread in a league where parity is very much alive and well.

Other than Seattle in the NFC and Denver in the AFC, it remains a wide open race for the other 14 playoff spots as even teams such as the Redskins at 3-7 are still in the hunt. Before this season began I predicted that New York would win the NFC East at 9-7 on a tie-breaker over Dallas, with both Philadelphia and Washington a game back at 8-8. Now that we are 11 weeks into the new season, I would amend that scenario with the Eagles coming out on top at 9-7, but it will take a season-ending victory over Dallas to pull off this feat. Washington is the only team that should fade out of the picture over the next few weeks and I still see the Giants losing at least two more games to finish 8-8.

Obviously this has nothing to do with my "Over/Under" picks for this week, so check out the link below to this week's article as part of my part of my ongoing series for Doc's Sports.

NFL Totals Betting: Week 12 Over and Under Predictions

NFC East Week 11 Preview and "Pick of the Week"

When it comes to breaking down a matchup for any sporting event past results can sometimes indicate future outcomes as history does tend to repeat itself. A perfect example of this would be the Eagles' performance at Lincoln Financial Field over this season and last. If you would have bet $100 against the Birds in their last 10 home games you would be up a cool grand. Last season's six-game losing streak at the Linc is somewhat understandable given that the team only won four games all year long. This year has been a whole other story so far with an impressive 5-1 record on the road complementing a dismal 0-4 start at home. What makes this scenario even more troubling is that with the exception of last-second loss to San Diego, the Eagles were completely outplayed in the other three games.

History does repeat itself, but I also believe that all good (in this case bad) things must come to an end. Philly has finally gained some traction over the past two weeks with Nick Foles at the helm and its defense has not allowed more than 21 points in the last six outings. Washington is just a game and half back in the division at 3-6 but its season took a turn for the worse last Sunday in a 34-27 loss to Minnesota. The Redskins completely dominated the first half of that game to build a 24-14 lead, but things quickly came unglued over the final two quarters especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Below is a link to my complete preview of this Sunday's games in the NFC East as part of my ongoing series for Doc's Sports.

NFC East Weekly NFL Betting Picks: Week 11

NFL Top 3 "Over/Under" Picks for Week 11

I head into Week 11 of the NFL season in search of a fresh start after crashing and burning on all three of my total line picks last Sunday. For the first time this season I was completely off the mark on my analysis on how I had each of these games playing out. I took the OVER on a 10-9 score in the Carolina vs. San Francisco game and I went with the UNDER in New Orleans' 49-17 romp over Dallas. The only game that was remotely close was Jacksonville's 29-27 victory against Tennessee with a closing line of 41 if you consider missing the mark by 15 points remotely close.

I had my nose to the grindstone this past week in an effort to get back on track so be sure to check out all three of this week's picks which I personally guarantee will be better than last week. The following is a link to this week's NFL total line picks as part of my ongoing series for Doc's Sports.

NFL Totals Betting: Week 11 Over and Under Predictions

NFL Top 3 "Over/Under" Picks for Week 10

The NFL heads into Week 10 of the regular season and despite my 1-1-1 record last week on my total line picks I am still riding a 63 percent winning percentage into this Sunday's games. I was going to use the UNDER on the Philadelphia vs. Oakland game as one of my picks last week but decided to pass. Earlier in the season I took the UNDER on the first Eagles vs. Giants game this season and the final score was 36-21. I quickly learned that the Birds were going to be one of those unpredictable teams.

Before the Raider' game, they had scored a grand total of 10 points in back-to-back losses to Dallas and New York. In what I thought was going to be another low-scoring battle, Nick Foles decides to go out and throw seven touchdowns to tie an NFL mark that suddenly puts him in some very elite company. As far as this week's game I have Philly stealing a win in Green Bay in the absence of Aaron Rodgers picking its secondary apart. With a predicted final score of 27-23 the game would also go OVER the current 47-point line. However, if you go on to read the article for this week's picks you will not see that game on my list.

The link for that article is copied below. It is part of my ongoing series for Doc's Sports in which I provide a brief betting report for my Top 3 NFL picks of the week on the total line

NFL Totals Betting: Week 10 Over and Under Predictions

NFL East Week 10 Preview and "Pick of the Week"

The Washington Redskins will help kickoff Week 10 of the NFL season with a Thursday night matchup against Minnesota. The Redskins escaped with a 30-24 overtime victory over San Diego last Sunday to improve to 3-5 on the year. That leaves them just a game and a half behind Dallas for first place in the NFC East.

The Eagles stayed just a game behind the Cowboys with a lopsided 49-20 victory over Oakland in their most complete effort this season. Nick Foles tied a long standing NFL record with seven touchdown passes and for the third week in a row the defense kept the opposing team's offense in check for the entire four quarters. This week the Birds visit fabled Lambeau Field to face a Green Bay Packers' team that has to forge on without Aaron Rodgers running the show on offense. The impact of his loss took the Eagles from being 10-point road underdogs in this matchup to the game being a PICK on 5Dimes latest board. It is now up to Philly to take full advantage of the situation by getting a W in a game that just about everyone (including myself) had penciled-in as a loss. I like their chances to get it done so much that I made the Birds my NFC East 'Pick of the Week'. Last week I took the UNDER on the Eagles game, which was basically a loser by halftime, but I am still 7-2 on the year with my picks.

The following is a link to my complete preview of Week 10 in the NFC East as part of an ongoing series for Doc's Sports.

NFC East Weekly NFL Betting Picks: Week 10

NFC East Week 9 Preview and "Pick of the Week"

The 4-4 Cowboys' lead over Philadelphia in the NFC East is just one game, but you cannot help but get the feeling that this Sunday's Eagles' game against Oakland is a 'must win' situation if they want to stay in the division title race. If they fall to 3-6 with a third-straight loss this week, the Birds would have to win six of their final seven games to get to 9-7 which is what it will probably take to win the East this season.

I am probably getting way ahead of myself even thinking about a division title as right now I would be happy with an offensive touchdown. I am impressed with a solid performance from the defense in the last two games, but unfortunately it was a wasted effort in light of a complete power failure by Chip Kelly's high octane offense. To me, the fate of the Eagles' season lies in the hands and throwing arm of Nick Foles. I am going to give him a pass on that Dallas game and trust that he can return to the form that earned him 'NFC Player of the Week' in the victory over Tampa Bay. The Raiders are by no means a pushover and this Sunday's game is bound to be a nail biter to the final gun, but I do like the Birds' chances to get out Oakland with a win. That being said, I am still going with the UNDER 45 in this contest as my official pick of the week.

The following is a link to my complete preview of Week 9 in the NFC East as part of my ongoing series for Doc's Sports.

NFC East Weekly NFL Betting Picks: Week 9