Hot Events: Christmas Weekend Showdowns

Christmas is just around the corner and underneath the tree is a full slate of football heading into the weekend.

Only three more weeks left of the regular season in the NFL as Week 16 will decide the fate for some of these teams that are on the playoff bubble. We also have the first round of College Football Playoffs with a couple favorites to lean on.

Let’s not waste any time as we have a lot to unpack here. There’s 8 matchups in the NFL and CFP with large spreads. We’re going to break down whether we like the favorites to cover or if we think it’s a trap.

NFL Picks

Cleveland Browns vs Cincinnati Bengals

The Pick: Bengals -9.5 (-113) / Bengals Moneyline (-476)

This is an absolute must win for the Bengals as they try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. They happen to get a favorable home matchup against their weakest division rivals in the North. While the Bengals defence has been historically horrendous this season, they're up against the Browns offence that poses no threats. They’ve even elected to bench Jameis Winston and go with Dorian Thompson-Robinson who hasn’t shown much in 12 career appearances. Look for Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase to hang some numbers on Cleveland as this is a much more defeated roster than what they faced back in Week 7. Let’s see a 31-17 Bengals win to stay in the Wild Card conversation.

New York Giants vs Atlanta Falcons

The Pick: Giants +8.5 (-111) / Falcons Moneyline (+330)

What a tricky spread to navigate. On the one hand you have a sputtering Atlanta Falcons offence that just benched Captain Kirk Cousins for their first round pick Michael Penix Jr. Aside from Falcons RB Bijan Robinson carrying the load offensively for Atlanta, we don’t really know what to expect from this squad. On the other hand, you have the league worst New York Giants. It appears Drew Lock will be Week 16’s starting QB according to Head Coach Brian Daboll, who in his two starts, covered the spread against the Cowboys and the Saints. Injuries for both Drew Lock and backup Tommy DeVito may limit both quarterbacks so you may see third stringer Tim Boyle, who’s the healthiest signal caller.

Either way, this game is a mess and 8.5 points seem like too much for this Atlanta offence, which is saying something against this awful Giants squad. The Falcons defence isn’t stout by any means but should be able to get the job done for a win to get back over .500. We’re thinking a final score somewhere around 23-15 with the Giants just covering the spread by a half point.

New England Patriots vs Buffalo Bills

The Pick: Bills -14.5 (-106) / Bills Moneyline (-1250)

It’s always difficult to take a team by two touchdowns. That being said, this is the Buffalo Bills we’re talking about here. Josh Allen begins to pull away as the favorite for MVP as he’d lead the Bills to a combined 90 points over the last two games and tallied over 30 points in their last 8 games, truly incredible. In that same breath, the Bills defence has surrendered 86 points in the last two games as well, to the LA Rams and the Detroit Lions.

The only thing the New England Patriots have going for them is the element of surprise as this is the first look for Drake Maye and company against this Bills squad this season. There’s no question the Bills will take care of business against the Patriots as they haven’t lost a game at home yet this season. The Bills defence might allow a touchdown or two, but not much more. We could see a 32-15 victory for Buffalo at Highmark.

New Orleans Saints vs Green Bay Packers

The Pick: Saints +14 (-106) / Packers Moneyline (-1250)

For the Monday Night Football matchup, we have another two touchdown spread to weigh. This time, we’re going to give the half point to the Saints. While their quarterback position is also disastrous, we can expect Spencer Rattler to generate a little more of a spark rather than Jake Haener. The sole reason we think the Saints can keep this within two touchdowns is their defence, which hasn’t allowed more than 23 points in their last 6 games.

We all know that Green Bay can put points up on the board. Jordan Love and the Packers have won 4 of their last 5 games and have put up over 30 points in 4 straight games. It won’t be pretty, but we can expect Green Bay to take care of business with a final score of 28-14.

NFL SUNDAY LOCKS HOT BET: Bengals, Falcons, Bills, Packers Moneyline (+100)

NCAAF Playoffs Favs

Ubet.io has put together another all-chalk ‘Hot Bet’ for you in NCAAF, including Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas and Ohio State. We like each of the favorites to cover their spread (except for maybe Ohio State) but for this particular ‘Hot Bet’ we’re sticking with the money lines.

The Fighting Irish’s run game ranks 3rd in yards per carry as their offensive line should be able to move Indiana’s defence off the ball, whereas Penn State may air the ball out a bit more over SMU and not completely rely on the run. The Longhorns have a favorable matchup against Clemson, who kind of relies on explosive plays to win games, which Texas defends better than anyone in the country.

The only game we think the underdog may cover the spread would be Tennessee vs Ohio State, but not by much. The playoff path for Ryan Day and the Buckeyes is treacherous but first things first, they’ll have to take care of business against the Volunteers. Hopefully Coach Day has learned his lesson against Michigan and will rely on the pass game a bit more than leaning on the run. The offensive line is a bit of a concern for Ohio State due to injury which may also deter them from running as much as well. Still, we’re rolling with a Buckeyes win to cap off this CFP ‘Hot Bet’.

NCAAF PLAYOFF FAVS HOT BET: Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas, Ohio State Moneyline (+250)

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Josh Elijah

Reporter / Content Creator