THE 10 BEST GAMES TO BET
SAINTS at GIANTS
1 p.m., Saints by 4 ½, 40 ½
HANK’S HONEYS: The Giants have lost seven straight both SU and ATS but if there is ever a week to pick them the rest of this miserable season, it’s here. The Saints are a dome team playing in the Northeast in December, giving more than a FG with their best offensive player, Taysom Hill, sidelined. You’ve got to think that Drew Lock will have had enough time to get comfortable on 10 days rest after being thrown into the mix on short notice. Maybe he’ll actually be able to find Malik Nabers and maybe Nabers will actually hold onto it. Hold your nose (and bet the under as well).
IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Giants and the under.
JETS at DOLPHINS
1 p.m., Dolphins by 6 ½, 46
HANK’S HONEYS: It’s difficult to back either of these teams. However, while the Jets are playing out the string, the Dolphins are playing for their lives. A loss here and it’s over. The Dolphins were starting to figure things out before that abysmal performance on the Tundra, having scored 34 points in both of their two previous home games. The Jets have dropped nine straight SU in Miami and in many, they haven’t been competitive. Tua Tagovailoa should have no trouble picking apart this defense as Aaron Rodgers slips further into irrelevance.
IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Dolphins and the over.
BROWNS at STEELERS
1 p.m., Steelers by 6 ½, 44
HANK’S HONEYS: Jameis Winston is doing Jameis Winston things and they both lead to a lot of points for or against. That alone makes this a dead nuts over pick, and when you add in what the Steelers have been doing on offense, it becomes one of most secure locks of the year. It’s a revenge game for the Steelers after losing the snow game in Cleveland but the line is a tad too high. While most of the pieces have fit quite nicely for Mike Tomlin’s club, pass defense has been an issue.
IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Browns and the over.
RAIDERS at BUCS
1 p.m., Bucs by 7, 45
HANK’S HONEYS: Not a good spot for the Raiders. They pretty much emptied the emotional tank last week against the Chiefs and will have to drag themselves to Florida for the second time this year after being drubbed in Miami, 34-19, in Week 11. Tampa Bay is coming off a close call against the Panthers and that should grab their attention and serve them well against another non-playoff opponent. Aidan O’Connell has played eight road games in his career and has won only one of them, throwing six INTs.
IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Bucs and the over.
FALCONS at VIKINGS
1 p.m., Vikings by 4 ½, 45 ½
HANK’S HONEYS: Kirk Cousins returns to the Great White North, hoping to bounce back from his INT-fest against the Chargers. Unfortunately, while the vibes might be in Cousins’ favor, the matchups are not. The blitz-happy Vikings get after the QB practically as well as any defense in the league and the immobile Cousins, who has thrown 13 picks so far and no TDs in three games, is terrible against pressure. The Atlanta secondary is banged up and if CB Mike Hughes misses a third straight game, Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson will run wild through it. Younghoe Koo’s hip continues to be a concern for the Falcs. He’s been as reliable as Justin Tucker lately.
IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Vikings and the under.
SEAHAWKS at CARDINALS
4:05 p.m., Cards by 2 ½, 44 ½
HANK’S HONEYS: This a rematch of the game from two weeks ago when the Seahawks D shut down the Cards in Seattle. It will be different in Glendale, where the Cardinals are scoring at over a 24-point clip. They outgained the Vikings by 133 yards in Minnesota last week but were done in by red zone issues. The Seahawks had to work hard in their comeback win over the Jets and this is their third road game in four weeks. Even though they’ve won three straight, their run game hasn’t produced and their special teams have struggled. It’s hard to beat an evenly matched opponent twice in three weeks.
IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Cardinals and the under.
BEARS at 49ERS
4:25 p.m., Niners by 3 ½, 44
HANK’S HONEYS: Let’s start with the dead cat bounce with the firing of Matt Eberflus. It’s always wise to take a team playing its first game under the new guy, and in the case of the Bears, they have to be thinking that the old coach was part of the problem for losing so many games they should have won. They’ve also had 10 days to think about it since that Thanksgiving flop while the Niners played Sunday night, followed by a dismal plane ride across the country. The Niners are a dead team walking. Injuries have beaten them down all year and now Christian McCaffrey is down again. Brock Purdy can’t carry a team by his arm alone and this Bears defense is pretty good.
IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Bears and the under
BILLS at RAMS
4:25 p.m., Bills by 4 ½, 49 ½
HANK’S HONEYS: Don’t overthink it. The Bills are the far better team and would have covered this spread in five of their seven straight up wins. The Rams have been no better than a middle of the pack team and have weaknesses the Bills can exploit. All six of the Rams’ losses have come by five points or more and they have beaten only two over .500 contending teams (Vikings and Seahawks). L.A.’s defense is still young and learning and will be no match for MVP candidate Josh Allen and a capable running game. The Bills would have to experience a letdown not to cover but while they might be caught looking ahead to next week against the Lions, the Rams have a Thursday nighter against the Niners next.
IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Bills and the over.
PANTHERS at EAGLES
4:25 p.m., Eagles by 12 ½, 46
HANK’S HONEYS: The Eagles are caught in a sandwich spot after winning their showdown against the Ravens with the Steelers on deck. Philly’s last four games include two NFC East matchups, a prime-time game in Los Angeles and last week’s prove-it game. Certainly, they’ll win this breather of a game but this is an inflated line against a team that has been playing its best football of the season as of late, thanks to an improving Bryce Young and a healthier D. We can easily see the Eagles taking their foot off the gas.
IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Panthers and the under.
BENGALS at COWBOYS
Monday, 8:15 p.m., Bengals by 6 ½, 49
HANK’S HONEYS: The over is the obvious bet here given the pathetic state of both defenses. The Bengals can’t stop anybody and the Cowboys certainly aren’t going to stop Joe Burrow, who is playing at an elite level on a bad team. That said, after scoring 38 points twice and losing, Cincy shouldn’t be spotting anyone this many points. The Cowboys are somehow playing their best football of the season having scored 27 and 34 points in two straight wins and their pass rush, the only decent facet of their defense, has the ability to get through the Bengals’ swiss cheese line to get to Burrow. The Boys will also have the rest advantage with the Bengals coming off a crushing loss to the Steelers that ended their postseason hopes for good.
IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Cowboys and the over.
LOOK BUT DON’T TOUCH
CHARGERS at CHIEFS
8:20 p.m., Chiefs by 3 ½, 46
HANK’S HONEYS: We can see this going either way. The Chiefs continue to win but not cover as if they have the car on cruise control into the playoffs. The case can also be made that the Chargers are playing better football than the Chiefs, although, if not for Kirk Cousins, they could have been caught looking ahead to this game last week. That said, this is the Chiefs’ chance to bury the Chargers in the division and, for once, the line is a reasonable one, hook and all. Perhaps this is the week they look serious. Short of a coin flip, we’re giving the ever-so-slight lean to the Bolts. K.C.’s defense has slipped lately and Justin Herbert should get some things done against it.
CAN’T HELP YOURSELF?: Chargers and the under.
BEST OF THE REST
JAGUARS at TITANS
1 p.m., Titans by 3 ½, 40
IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Titans and the over.
* * *
WEEK’S BEST BET: Bears. Everything’s in their favor.
LAST WEEK: 11-5, 8-7-1 over/under
OVERALL: 93-98-4, 99-94-2 over/under
BEST BETS: 7-6
