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The Pittsburgh Steelers have been playing the Cleveland Browns for longer than any other team in the National Football League, dating back to’50. And while it hasn’t been quite that long since the Cleveland Browns won a game against the Steelers it may be starting to feel like it. On Sunday, Pittsburgh won for the twelfth straight time dating back to 2003 as they topped Cleveland by a final score of 27-13.

The good news for NFL betting enthusiasts who took the +13′ with the Browns as a road underdog is that they managed to cover the pointspread by the slimmest of possible margins. Betting against the defending Superbowl champion is a long standing handicapping concept, and this season at least its worked like a charm-the Steelers have only covered one of their first six games. Cleveland, meanwhile, evened their NFL pointspread record at 3-3 on the season. The Browns have covered three straight after dropping their first three both straight up and against the spread. The 40 combined points went OVER the posted total of 37′.

Pittsburgh dominated the game in virtually every statistical category. They amassed 28 first downs to 12 for Cleveland, held a 543 to’7 total yardage advantage and a 36:46 to 23:14 time of possession advantage. Both teams turned the ball over four times, and the Steelers led only 17-14 in the third quarter. Most of the post game talk from both sides was about a controversial spot in the first half where the Steelers were given a first down on a short yardage play when it appeared that they didn’t make the required yardage.

After the contest, Derek Anderson spoke of the frustration of continually coming up short against the Steelers. The Browns have only one once in ten games since Pittsburgh moved into their new home at Heinz Field:

“We’re not trying to lose every time we go out here. We put tons of hours in and … it’s frustrating. Every single week, it’s frustrating.”

Steelers’ tight end Heath Miller said the team is happy to be where they are at this point despite not playing up to their standards:

“I think we haven’t played our best ball yet and that’s pretty comforting. We’ve gotten a few wins here without playing our best.”

The Steelers will host Brett Favre and the 6-0 Minnesota Vikings next Sunday. The Steelers are a -4 home favorite with the total set at 45. After a bye week, the Steelers will hit the road to play another undefeated team as they take on the Denver Broncos on Monday, November 9. Cleveland will host the Green Bay Packers this Sunday, with the Browns a +7 home underdog and the total set at 42′. They’ll head to ‘The Windy City’ to face the Chicago Bears the following Sunday and then have a bye week.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Undrafted Brian Hover played the entire game for the Patriots and may have earned himself a position as Tom Brady’s backup with a solid all around performance as New England topped the New York Giants 38-27 in the NFL preseason finale for both clubs. Hover passed for 242 yards and no interceptions on 18 of 25 passing. Most impressively, he didnt get rattled as the Giants broke from the gate quickly to post a 21-0 first quarter lead. The Patriots finished their NFL preseason slate at 3-1, while the Giants slumped to a 1-3 mark in exhibition play.

NFL football betting enthusiasts who took New England as +3 road underdogs cashed their tickets with the outright win. The Patriots evened their preseason ATS mark at 2-2, while the Giants dropped to 1-3 against the number. New York won and covered their first game of the preseason before dropping the next three straight up and against the spread.

A free agent pickup out of Michigan State, Hover threw for one touchdown and led three more long drives that culminated in paydirt. BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed for three touchdowns and after the game gave his endorsement of Hover’s play:

“Brian did a good job of controlling our offense. We mixed it up.”

Green-Ellis had an impressive game himself, with 125 yards on 29 carries. Afterwards, Patriots coach Bill Belichick had terse but positive comments about his play:

“Ben does a lot of things for us going back to last year.

As well as the performance of QB Hover:

“Not bad. He handled the ball fairly well, threw it accurately.”

The Giants biggest personnel decision at the moment is their third string QB, where Andre Woodson has the inside track despite a less than stellar performance. Woodson went 6 for 19 for 98 yards with one interception. Afterwards, he gave his take on the game:

“It took me a while to get into my rhythm and it was the worst possible game to have that happen. Last year I knew I was going to be cut. … This year is different. It’s going to be tense.”

Starting QB Eli Manning played one series and after the game summed up his teams mindset:

“I think everyone is ready for the season to get going and start playing for real.

The Giants will start playing for real next Sunday as they host the Washington Redskins in a NFC East battle. Theyll head to Dallas in week two for another divisional tilt against the Cowboys. The Patriots will start their regular season next Monday night as they host the Buffalo Bills. Theyll hit the road in week two for a game at the Meadowlands against the New York Jets.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

The New Orleans Saints used a 14 point fourth quarter to defeat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 on Sunday to win their first Superbowl in franchise history. Drew Brees broke open a tight game midway through the final quarter with his touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey, and Tracy Porter scored on a 74 yard interception return as the Colts were driving on the next series to secure the victory. Brees completed 32 passes in the game, tying New England’s Tom Brady for the all time record in that category.

After enthusiasts had come in early on the favored Colts, a good deal of buyback on the Saints had pushed the line to -4′ and the New Orleans backers were enriched by their team’s outright victory. The underdog has now covered three straight Superbowls and taken the money in five of the last seven games. The 48 points scored stayed well under the posted total of 57, which was the highest over/under number in Superbowl history. Five of the last six Superbowls have now played UNDER the total.

In his postgame comments, a fabulously elated Brees gave much of the credit to the city of New Orleans:

“We play for so much more than ourselves. We played for our city. We played for the entire Gulf Coast region. We played for the entire Who Dat nation that has been behind us every step of the way. It means everything. We’re here because of their strength and everything they fought through here the last few years. They’ve given us so much support, so we owe it all to our fans.”

“Just to think of the road we’ve all traveled, the adversity we’ve all faced. It’s unbelievable. I mean, are you kidding me? Four years ago, whoever thought this would be happening? Eighty-five percent of the city was under water. Most people left not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back, or if the organization would ever come back. We just all looked at one another and said, ‘We’re going to rebuild together. We are going to lean on each other.’ That’s what we’ve done the last four years and this is the culmination in all that belief.”

Peyton Manning had little to say after the game particularly about the interception return that sealed the victory for New Orleans:

“Made a great play. Made a great play. Corner made a heck of a play. Certainly disappointing, very disappointing. Disappointing.”

Saints’ coach Sean Payton made a bold call at the beginning of the second half when he called for an onside kick. Saints linebacker Jonathan Casalis suggested it was a game changing play:

“We were really excited when he made the call. That changed everything.”

Payton explained the unorthodox decision:

“We’re going to be aggressive. We’d seen the onside kick all week and guys executed it well. It turned out to be a big change of possession.”

The city of New Orleans will celebrate their team’s victory with a parade. With Mardi Gras celebrations already scheduled to begin shortly thereafter, it could be quite some time before New Orleans returns to business as usual.

Ross Everett is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is in charge of providing daily free sports picks to Internet websites and broadcast media outlets. He is a widely published freelance writer specializing in sports handicapping, harness racing, wombat breeding and fencing. He lives in Southern Nevada with three dogs and a wombat.

Every generation of football sees the emergence and prevalence of a few elite quarterbacks. In the 80s and 90s, we saw the likes of Montana, Elway, Marino, and Aikman dominating the sport. Currently, quarterbacks like Manning, Favre, Brady, and Brees are clearly the best in the game.

Very rarely do we see two of the best quarterbacks in the sport facing off against one another in the Super Bowl. This year, the football world will be privileged enough to enjoy such an opportunity. Not only is this the case, but many believed that both teams were tops in the league through the course of the season.

Both the Saints and Colts won their first 14 games, leading many to speculate as to whether these teams would go undefeated through the course of the entire season.

Neither the Colts nor the Saints finished out the season without a loss. In fact, each team lost two games, each for their own reasons. Still, this was enough to secure home field advantage, which clearly helped to secure a Super Bowl berth for each team.

When Indianapolis and New Orleans meet up with one another, fans will all agree about the fact that the winner will probably come down to the team with the more effective quarterback.

This is different from the last few Super Bowl meetings we’ve seen. If you look at the previous two winners in the Steelers and Giants, both teams won the game on the heels of a strong defense.

Recent champions have all resulted from highly proficient defenses and while both the Colts and Saints are efficient defensively, their defensive performances won’t matter much since each quarterback seems to be effective no matter what.

What happens from here is anyone’s guess, but one thing remains true no matter what. The world will have the opportunity to enjoy to of the best quarterbacks in the world, both of them in their primes.

In addition to sports, the author additionally frequently pens articles regarding solar pool panels and solar panels cost.

Now that the Detroit Lions have ended their losing streak, the St. Louis Rams are officially the worst team in the NFL. The Rams extended their losing streak”now the NFLs longest”to 13 games on Sunday with a 36-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers on their home field at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. The Packers Aaron Rodgers threw for 269 and two touchdowns and rushed for a third as Green Bay pulled away in the second half. The victory snapped a five game road losing streak for Green Bay.

Green Bay easily covered as a 6 road favorite, in the process earning their second pointspread cover in three NFL regular season games this year. The Rams dropped to 1-2 against the spread. The 53 combined points scored went OVER the posted total of 42. It was the Rams first OVER in three games this season, while Green Bay went OVER for the second time. The Rams have only covered 12 of their last 36 lined games.

Rogers had been sacked a league high ten times in his first two games, but only went down twice in the victory over the Rams. Afterwards, he praised his offensive line for giving him the time he needed to complete big plays:

“They really gave me some time. I was able to move in the pocket.”

Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo blamed the loss on the ‘big plays given up by his defense:

“It’s the big plays on defense that kill you and the turnovers — we didn’t get any takeaways.”

Packers coach Mike McCarthy, meanwhile, praised the big play ability of his offense in earning the victory:

“Big plays equal points in this league. We say it every week. It was evident today. We have the ability to play that way.”

Green Bay quarterback Rodgers continued to explain the teams big play ability, suggesting that much of it stemmed from the Rams single coverage of Greg Jennings and Donald Driver:

“If they are in press coverage on Driver and Jennings, we’re going to take our shots. I was able to put the ball in the spot.”

The Rams will look to end their ending streak next weekend, but wont receive any help from the schedule maker as they travel cross country to play the improving San Francisco 49ers. Theyll return home the following Sunday to play the Minnesota Vikings before taking to the road again, traveling to Florida to play the Jacksonville Jaguars. Green Bay will head to Minnesota for a Monday Night game against the Vikings next week. Theyll then enjoy a bye week before hosting the Detroit Lions on October 18th.

Ross Everett is a well known freelance writer experienced in travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and scuba diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.