December 20, 2019 • 34 mins
Ben wraps up another year with his matchup against the penny and he's trying to do so with a bang. Ben stays away from Week 17 tanking so jump on the train and go for one last ride!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome players, You're welcome. Are It's time now penny versus
the penny. Now many people thought I wouldn't do this
after what happened in Week fifteen, but we are back
for Week sixteen to the NFL regular season. It is
Benny versus the penny. Amateur podcasting, amateur podcasting, picking NFL games,
(00:26):
handicapping all of that. Oh, it's professional handicap with professional podcasting,
amateur handicapping. I guess n last week was the I
think the masterpiece. It was my my hope diamond. Uh
it was perfection, is what it was. And I have
one of these every NFL season where the ship hits
the fan, and it happened last weekend. For me, the
(00:49):
ship hit the fan. It was a disaster. Well can
you can you describe it? For us? Then from start
to finish, everything that should have happened didn't not happen,
all right, literally everything, and uh, half the teams I
picked didn't show up. They weren't motivated. I guess they
were doing their hop their holiday shopping and his chowder
(01:13):
heads all over the place. They just decided. You know,
it's hard to bet on a team when they have
no effort and no energy, you know, not that I'm bitter,
not that I have resentment to teams that choose not
to show up. There's no animosity there at all. It's
just the way that it works. So that's the hardest
part of gambling, is to figure out who's actually motivated
to try to win the game. Yeah, and that was
the best part of watching Monday night football at the
(01:34):
Saints and the Colts, because that was the exclamation point
on your weekend. And just a a lifeless dog that
needs to be shot in the middle of the road.
That was. Yeah, the Colts should have wasted They should
have not wasted the money on traveling to the Bayou,
or they should have been forced to take a Greyhound
(01:54):
bus on the way back, you know, because it was
the zombie apocalypse, is what it was. The night of
Living Dead, watching Victoby Brissette play quarterback there and uh,
the coach Frank Reich should have performed in exorcism to
get rid of the demons at halftime that was possessing
his team. Of course, by then the game was over.
So yeah, but we're gonna try not to do a
(02:15):
dance with the dead this week. Let's let's get right
into it. Yes, Guescot, we have no obviously Thursday game
this week, so all the games will be right here
on the podcast. Three Saturday games. It's just good or bad.
The three Saturday games. I think it's good because you
can never get enough football. So if you can cover
her and go on Saturday to Sunday to Monday, I
think we're in a good spot. So let's do this.
(02:36):
We're we're pressed for time because you're all right. Be
sure to catch live editions of The Ben Meller Show
weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio. A Saturday, Houston,
you were an hour late. That's why we're pressed for time. Saturday, Houston,
nine and nine and five at Tampa Bay seven and seven,
and this is on the NFL Network with Rich Eyes
(02:58):
and Nate Burlson and Joe Thomas. The Texans opened up
a one point favorite. They are favored by three. It'll
be cloudy seventy three agrees at kickoff at Raymond James Stadium.
I'm gonna take the Buccaneers in this game. This is
the kind of situation that screams to bet against the Texans.
They're coming off an emotional win against the Titans last week.
(03:19):
Now they play a non conference opponent on the road,
against a team that nobody gets all up for in
Tampa Bay. And this game is essentially meaningless, meaning that
Houston can lose this game and still win the division
next week against the Tennessee Titans. I also believe the
line is inflated a little bit here. Even though it's
(03:40):
three points. The Texans shouldn't be favored by that. And
Bill O'Brien has coached a healter skilter team Houston. I'll
give you an example. They've scored thirty points in the
first quarter all season. That is tied with the Redskins
for the worst first quarter offense in the NFL. But
yet in the other three quarters they have the sixth
best offense in the NFL. So during games they don't
(04:05):
show up at times. I bet against the Buccaneers last week.
I'm gonna hoppity hop on the pirate ship this week.
Boomer bus Jamis Winston. The guy's been crazy. He put
up the points. I like Tampa Bay. I like him
to win the game outright. Buccaneers thirty, Texans twenty eight.
You need a little bit more energy from you. Penny
(04:27):
is going with the Houston, Texas. Be sure to catch
live editions of The Ben Meller Show weekdays at two
am Eastern eleven pm Pacific. Al Right, Next up, Buffalo
at New England. The Bills are ten and four, Patriots
are eleven and three. It's on the NFL Network with
Mike Rico and Kurt Warner. The Patriots open to touchdown favorite.
(04:47):
They are favored by six and a half. It'll be
partly cloudy thirty one degrees that kick off at Jillette
Stadium in Foxboro on a Saturday, And I'm gonna take
the Bills here to call or do not win the game.
It has been depressing to follow the trial and tribulations
of the Patriots offense. Tom Brady is doing what he
(05:08):
can do, but he's got a bunch of water guns.
He doesn't have any guns, real guns. Uh. And he's
trying these games with very limited weaponry. And is this
the week where Bill Belichick and the Josh McDaniels and
Brady figure it out the light bulb goes off. Probably not.
Buffalo has got a good defense, uh. And I have
(05:29):
a love hate thing with the Bills. I love the
Bills defense, I hate the offense. Josh Allen has been
horrible against good teams. He's he's got some decent numbers
this year against bad teams, but against the three top
defenses he's played Patriots, Ravens, and Steelers, He's completed fifty
one of his passes three yards per attempt, two touchdowns,
(05:50):
one interception in three of those you know the games combined,
and had a passer rating of sixty. So both these
teams will struggle to score. Patriot sixteen, LS thirteen Tenny
go with the Buffalo Bills. Fox Sports Radio has the
best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of
(06:10):
our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com and within
the I Heart Radio app search f s R to
listen live. Al Right, Next up the l A Rams
at eight and six at Santa Clara eleven and three.
It's on the NFL Network with Kevin Burkhardt and Charles
Davis the forty Niners. This game open to pick him,
believe it or not, but the forty Niners a six
(06:31):
and a half point favorite. The the before the game
line was to pick him. Mostly cloudy fifty five degrees
in Santa Clara at Levi's Stadium. I'm gonna take the
Niners here. The Rams collapse last week in Dallas. Jared
Golf is dealing with a bruise on his right thumb.
Although he is going to play, I don't know how
(06:52):
effective he's gonna be against that Niners defense. And the
Rams are all but dead to make the playoffs. I'm
I don't know how much motivation they're gonna have in
this game. The injuries are starting to pile up. It's
not only Golf tight end Jared Gerald. Everett has heard
cornerback Troy Hill, who's been playing pretty well. He's also
hurt Greg's urline. The kicker is hurt as well, and
(07:16):
and in the fort If the forty Niners had had
one against Atlanta last week, I would consider going the
other way. But the fact that they lost, and if
they lose this game, that that really opens up Pandora's
box for Kyle Shanahan. Uh. The Niners need to win
this game, really because it sets up the Mallard Man
(07:36):
March in Seattle next week. I believe they will forty
Niners thirty four Rams, twenty penny go at the l
A Rams, all right, we get to the games on
Sunday and the early television window. Jacksonville five and nine
(07:57):
at Atlanta five and nine, it's on Fox. Is this
the Joe? Is this the wrong name? The Joe Rogan game? Though?
Is this the uh? Is it the Dick Stockton game? No,
it's not, Yeah, it is not. This is Joe Davis
and Brady Quinn, our Fox Sports radio colleague, Brady Quinn,
(08:17):
who we're gonna call this game. Falcons opened a touchdown favorite.
They are favorite by seven and a half, rainy and
forty five in Atlanta, but perfect inside the Mercedes Benz Stadium.
They're the dome. Boy. This is a hard game to handicap,
and we shouldn't spend too much time on it's two
dog food games. But I'm gonna take Jacksonville. I'm gonna
take the Jacks here. They seemingly are coming apart of
(08:39):
the seams right they've they've already imploded. Tom Coughlin the
overload or overlord, rather overload, the overlord is out. Doug Morone.
His new nickname is Lame Duck. I think he'll be
updating his LinkedIn page during the game. But despite that,
Jacksonville showed a little bit of moxie coming back to
beat the Raiders last week, and I'm going with minshue
(09:02):
Mania to have another gutty effort here to my linger
in this game. Now, if Jacksonville gives an honest effort,
I believe this game will be a one score close
game within a within the marginal era here uh And
the Jaguars have not turned the ball over in their
last two games, unfortunately having forced to turn over. And
I also think this is a classical letdown spot for
(09:23):
the Falcons coming off a big win. You know they're
they're super Bowl, their Bowl game win against the forty
Niners last week, and now they come back and play
a team in Jacksonville that you know you're not gonna
get up for Jacksonville. So the Falcons will win, but
they won't cover. I expect the lethargic effort from Mattie
Ice and friends, and that'll be enough for the Jacks
(09:45):
to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle wiggle into a cover. Falcons thirty,
Jags four, depending on the opposite way with the A
t L all right, next up New Orleans eleven and
three at NNESC eight and six. It's on Fox. Is
this the Stockton game? It is not the Dick Stockton game,
(10:07):
of course, because this is two teams that have a
good record. Uh. Kenny Albert and Ronde Barber have the call.
Kenny Albert, friend of the show. Shout out Kenny. Not
a friend of yours, friend of mine. Uh. The Saints
opened a one and alf point favorite. They are favored
by three gas gon, cloudy and fifty one degrees at
kick off. You'll get cooler than that throughout the day
(10:28):
at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. I'm gonna take the Titans here.
The Saints are mere mortals when they leave the dome.
This game is going to be playing the great outdoors.
It's gonna be chili. Not horrifically cold, but chili. And
I don't know that the Saints have been done with
(10:48):
the bubble bath they gave for Drew Brees, and they
you know, slabber, slabber lick lick. Uh. He's got the
cleanest ass in the Bayou Drew Brees. After what happened
last week, but since week tend the tight they're scoring
thirty four points per games, second highest average in the NFL.
The Saints are right there This game is gonna be
a shootout, and Derrick Henry should do his thing. Derrick
(11:10):
Henry's got thirty five scrimmage yards uh fifteen scrimmage touchdowns
this season. That is very impressive. And Ryan Tannhill had
a terrible first half last week. He played better in
the second half. I think Tennessee matches up very well
with the Saints secondary. There's some holes there. That's why
the Saints got generous Jenkins. I love my home dogs
(11:32):
with good teams. Titans thirty four, Saints thirty one. Penny
also going with Tennessee al right. Next up the New
York Giants three and eleven Washington Redskins three eleven. It's
on Fox, not the Dick Stockton game. Tom Brennanman and
(11:53):
Chris Spielman are being forced to broadcast this dog with
fleas and the Redskins opened a three point They're favored
by two and a half. It will be mostly cloudy
forty three degrees that kick off at FedEx Field. Now,
we shouldn't spend too much time in this game. Because
Gascons showed up an hour late. We don't have as
much time. But I'm gonna take the Redskins. And this
is a man your battle station situation in terms of
(12:16):
jockeying for position. I'm talking about the draft right now.
These teams have the same record. The Giants currently have
the number two pick in the draft based on strength
of schedule. If they lose this game and the Dolphins
also lose, the Giants could still slip down the number three.
But if they win this game, they're guaranteed to drop
(12:39):
likely all the way down to the number five pick
in the draft. So you talk about a pressure situation
where it's better off if you lose if you're the
front office. UM, I can give you all kinds of
other numbers here that I don't trust the Giants offense.
I know they won last week and all that Redskins
twenty Giants six team oh Man, Petty's going with the
(13:02):
red Washington Redskins, all right. Next up Pittsburgh eight and
six and the New York Jets five and nine. It's
on CBS. I An Eagle, the dad of the Clipper broadcaster,
and Dan Fouts have the call. Now. The Steelers opened
up a three point favorite. They are currently favored by three.
(13:23):
The weather sunny forty four degrees at kickoff at MetLife
Stadium in Jersey. The pick is in. I'm gonna take
the j e t s Suck. Suck, suck is what
I'm gonna take. And this is mainly a bet against
Duck Hodges. Duck Hodges was so terrible against Buffalo and
he's back again. Now will he rebound or continue the
(13:46):
vomit comment? Express Hodges is through? You know, he threw
into triple coverage multiple times against the Bills defense last week.
Now I realized the Jets defense it's not as good,
but the Jets. That is the strength of the Jets.
The Jets defense and the Steelers offense is riding the
short bus again this season. In fact, did you know
(14:06):
that Pittsburgh the only team in the NFL this year
that has yet to score twenty eight or more points
in a game. They've yet to go four hundred plus
yards of total offense in a game. In a league
with the ben Gals and the Redskins and the Giants.
The Steelers, who have a winning record, haven't hit any
of those benchmarks. There's no way that Duck Hodges, the
(14:29):
way he's been playing, deserves to be a field goal
favorite on the road against anyone, even the Sisters of
the Blind, unless Mike Tomlin has some kind of Warlock
potion that we don't know about. I will take the
Jets to bounce back at home as a home dog
and compete, assuming the Jets given honest effort. Here the
(14:51):
music stops for Pittsburgh. Chaos ensues for that final a
f C playoff berth Jets twenty three, Steelers seventeen penny
going at the New York Jets. All right, next up,
Cincinnati one in thirteen, Miami three and eleven. It's on CBS.
(15:14):
It's on CBS. Andrew Catalan and James lofton Dolphins a
one point favorite. I'm gonna take the Miami Dolphins here.
The Bengals can wrap up the number one pick in
if they lose this game, they can choose between Joe
Burrow and to a tongue of by Lower or some
other schmuck um. But these teams are pretty even. It's
(15:34):
kind of like splitting hairs. I like the Dolphins at home.
Ryan Fitzpatrick has been very good lately at home. Last
three home games. He's averaged eleven yards per attempt completed
seventy percent of his passes, so I'm going with some
Fitz magic, and I hope the Bengals all go out
and hang out with weed Man Hippie in South Beach
(15:55):
before the game. Dolphins twenty seven, Bengals twenty penny go
with the Miami Dolphins. Al right. Next up Carolina at
Indianapolis five and nine, Carolina six and eight Indianapolis. It's
on Fox. Is this the Dick Stockton game. I guess
it's got to be in right, Yeah, it is the
(16:16):
Dick Stockton game. Dick Stockton and Mark Labor have the
call in the Fox box that rocks. You've got the
Colts a seven point favorite, Colts open to six and
a point favorite. Sonny and forty one degrees that kick
off outside in the dome. It will be fun boy.
This is a hard game to handicap because I think
both these teams have given up. I think both these
(16:36):
teams have just decided they don't want to compete. Right.
They're they're like playing on Xanex or something like that.
The way they're running around there. It's let sleeping corpses lie,
as they say, But you gotta pick somebody. I'm gonna
take the Panthers here. Even before Ron Rivera was impeached
as coach. In Carolina, the Panthers have been essentially bouncing
(16:57):
down a never ending staircase, lower and lower and lower.
How can you go? They have no motivation, They appear
to be sleepwalking, but they did at least change quarterbacks.
Will Greer is gonna start over the benched Kyle Allen,
So we'll see what this this guy, this, this a
rookie can do. He's being thrown out to the Colts
(17:18):
or the Wolves and all that stuff some on the
job training, so expect a remedial game plan. Carolina may
have met its match though this week. This December, the
Indianapolis Colts have allowed an NFL high thirty four points
per game, while the Panthers have allowed thirty three points
per game. That's the third worst in December. Only the
(17:39):
Raiders have been there. There, there in the middle, there
the cream filling in the Oriole Oakland there, but Indianapolis
is in denial. If they think Jacobe bro said is
the answer, this guy is a high end backup who's
at the masquerade ball pretending to be a starting quarterback
in the NFL. I'm gonna ride or die with real
Greer for some beginner's luck. Panthers thirty three, Colts twenty
(18:04):
three penny go on the Indianapolis Colts. All right, Next
up Baltimore twelve and two at Cleveland six and eight.
It's on CBS with Jim Nance and Tony Romo. The
Ravens opened a touchdown favorite. They're favorite by ten sunny
and forty five degrees. That kick off at First Energy
(18:25):
Stadium in Cleveland. I'm gonna take the Browns, is what
I'm gonna do here. Now, the Ravens keep plugging along,
they can wrap up the number one seed, home field advantage,
trying to get revenge and all that stuff if they
beat the Browns. Blah blah blah blah blah. The ravens
last loss came at the hands of the Browns. They
give up forty points to Cleveland. Now, the argument is
(18:47):
the Ravens are better now, the Browns are worse, and
they don't have Miles Garrett because he donked a gain,
donked the guy's head there with his helmet. But I
just double digit lines I don't like. And John Harbaugh
has a four and eight record against the spread in
same season revenge games. So it's not like that Ravens
(19:09):
have always done well in these revenge games. And the
Ravens are nine and eighteen against the spread when favored
by over a touchdown and a half in recent years
under John Harball. So there's a lot of value with
the Browns. Again, it depends on the Browns effort. They
can run the ball with Nick Chubb, they can throw
(19:30):
the ball. Baker Mayfield should have some confidence here. I'm
gonna take the Ravens to win, but the Browns to cover.
This will be a one score game. You're getting double
digit points in a divisional game. Ravens thirty, Browns penny
at the Cleveland Browns. I'd like to pat myself on
the back. I feel like we're making very good time.
(19:52):
Next up Dallas seven and seven at Philadelphia seven and seven.
It's on Fox. This is the game of the weekend.
Old Buck and Troy Aikman have the call the game
open to pick them. The Cowboys are a two and
a half point road favorite. It will be nasty, partly cloudy,
(20:12):
thirty nine degrees that kick off a wintry blast. That
Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly, that Sports complex. I'm
gonna take the Eagles fly Eagles fly on the road
to victory. I like the Eagles. The Cowboys have mostly
been swimming against the current. That was until last week
(20:35):
the blowout win against an injured Jared Golf and the Rams.
Neither one of these teams has earned my trust Now
I like the home team here. Philadelphia has had a
slightly more impressive resume head to head. And you've also
got Dak Prescott, who who the Cowboys, says both his
hands are injured. They're all messed up. If true, that
(20:56):
would seemingly be a huge advantage to the Birds. The
week this on Philadelphia is They've got to be the
dumbest team in America. A bunch of idiots are there.
They get burned by trick plays, and they've got a
parts galore. That said, the last three weeks, the Eagles
and Cowboys are both allowing the same amount of yards
(21:18):
per game, three and forty two yards per game. They're dead.
Even the Eagles are lacking playmakers, but they found one.
This guy Greg Ward, who you're last week if you
saw the Eagles game, uh, save their bacon came out
of nowhere. I want to see him again. Zach Ertz,
Miles Sanders the Cowboys have weaknesses in the middle of
their defense. We'll see if the Eagles can exploit that.
(21:41):
I believe they will. Keep in mind, though, Dallas is
seven and all when they scored twenty five points or more.
Uh this season, they're owing seven when they score less
than than twenty five points. Twenty four points or fewer.
Eagles twenty six the Dallas Cowboys. Penny and Gill at
(22:05):
the Philadelphia Eagles. Al Right, Next next up Arizona four
nine and one at Seattle eleven and three. It's on
Fox with Chris Myers, Darryl Moose, Johnston in the Fox Box.
That rocks. Now. This is the last Seahawks home game
before the Mallard Man March, so they better not fuck
it up. The Seahawks opened a nine and a half
(22:25):
point favorite. They're still favored by nine and a half
mostly cloudy forties seven degrees at kickoff at Century lincoln Field.
I'm so excited to check out the stadium. Uh. Not
this weekend, obviously, but next weekend. I'm gonna take the
Cardinals here. I don't love the pick, but that's the
right side. Seattle's ten wins are in a ten of
(22:45):
the eleven wins are in one possession games. That is
tied with the nineteen seventy eight Love Me Blue Houston
Oilers for the most wins in one possession games in
a single NFL season games decided by eight points since
or uh and seven points before. To give you the metrics,
but the reason I was gonna originally take the Seahawks
(23:07):
in this game, and then I looked at the injury chart.
I said, wait a minute, je Devon Clowney might not play,
Ziggy Ansa might not play. The two pass rushers that
could get all over Kyler Murray alligator arms Murray. Stop
the Opa Loopa, Theopa Loopa cannot handle pressure. Uh, he's
the worst quarterback in the NFL. He's clueless, he melts
down under pressure. And remember he's the most sacked quarterback
(23:30):
in the NFL. A lot of sacks are on not
on the on the offensive line, They're on the quarterback
for not making proper decision, not getting rid of the ball,
not throwing it away. Uh whatnot? Now I'm gonna take Arizona.
I I'm a little worried about their defense. Also their
thirty second rank, but the injuries Bobby Wagner has heard
Quadre Diggs likely will not play in this game. At
(23:53):
the time of recording the podcast, Cardinals will hang around.
They're not gonna win the game. Seahawks Cardinals twenty one.
Penny is going Arizona, al right. Next up, we've got
Detroit three ten and one against David Gascon's loser, Broncos
(24:14):
Denver five and nine. It's on CBS. We're wasting the
talents of Kevin Harland this week on this game with
rich Gannon. The game opened to pick him. The Broncos
are a six and a half point favorite. That's wild.
It's gonna be mostly cloudy and fifty six degrees that
kick off at Empower Field at Mile High. I'm gonna
(24:37):
take your Broncos. These both these teams are the walking
wound of the injury report will likely decide who's gonna
win this game. And since we're recording this podcast now
and we don't know who's actually in and who's out,
we don't have that intel. I'm gonna take the Broncos.
Denver was absolutely hornswoggled last week against the Chiefs. Uh.
They are not in Kansas anymore, thank God. The degree
(24:59):
of difficulty goes down the Broncos trying to avoid ten
plus losses for the third straight season. They should be
able to do it this this week and then they
got the Raiders next week, so those are two winnable games.
The Lions defense is ranked thirty one. They're they're like antibiotics.
They cure whatever is wrong with you on your offense
(25:19):
when you play them in a hurry. Uh. Denver and
their rookie quarterback Drew Lock, he had the masterpiece against
the Texans. He was like a finger painting child in
kindergarten against Kansas City. This is a matchup of rookie quarterbacks.
David Blow I like to call him David Blow Uh
is the other quarterback for the Lions. And Uh, it's
(25:41):
very even Detroit though. They they're just horrible right now.
They started the year three three and one. Since then
they have lost seventh straight and make that eight in
a row. Broncos twenty six, Lions Seventeam Penny also go
with the home ten of Denver Broncos. We have a
little let's it to let's get trivial real quick. Raiders
(26:02):
quarterback Derek Carr three thousand three D seventy two passing yards.
You know what's unique about his year. He does not
have a three yard passing game this season, but he's
at over three thousand yards passing. The NFL record for
the most passing yards in a season without a three
hundred yard game is held by Blank. I think this
(26:23):
is a fun trivia question, and you think about all
the quarterbacks in the history NFL. Who's had the biggest
year without going to three hundred yards? No? Not, no,
I'll give you the answer in a second. Yeah, i
gotta get the people think about it all right. Next
up Oakland six and eight at the l A Chargers
five and nine. It's on CBS, Greg Gummel and Trent Green.
(26:45):
Another game that is just atrocious, Right, I'd rather watch
a bunch of clowns and tramps, artists and costume dogs,
uh than this game. Bringing on right Demolition Derby would
be more entertaining. Chargers are a seven point favorite. They
opened six and a half mostly cloudy, sixty four degrees
(27:06):
at Dignity Health Sports Parks. Supposed to be some rain
later in the day in l A, but not during
the game. I'm gonna take the Raiders here. We've got
a couple of lightweights playing out the string. This is
the hottest ticket on the secondary market. I think it's
like the second or third hottest ticket. There are so
many Raider fans in the l A Area gag on
(27:28):
that they're gonna form a second black hole in the
stadium here at Dignity Health Sports Park. Raider fans are
scum anyway. So now that said, we heard of a
private tiff this week we talked about on the radio
show between Derek Carr and John Gruden. Now is that
real or contract? I believe it's really. I believe it's
real too. Yeah. I don't think they like each other.
(27:48):
And John Gruden, this guy has really done nothing this
you're coaching the Raiders. When you look at the halftime adjustments,
nothing has changed more in my lifetime than half my
halftime adjustments. The Raiders must be watch cartoons at halftime.
They have been outscored by eighty one points in the
third quarter this season. That would be the worst third
quarter point differential for any team since when the Raiders
(28:13):
franchise did it back then. Now, listen, the Chargers are
more talented. Uh we know that, but they're a walking,
talking turnover and they didn't play well last week when
they still had a chance. Uh you know, I against
the Vikings that kind of save some of their their
respect this year. The Raiders of course fell apart at home.
(28:34):
Now that the carrot has been eaten by bugs, bunny,
there's no more care and on the stick for these teams.
So it's tough to figure out who's gonna play. But I,
you know, over seven points too many Chargers twenty four Raiders,
Raiders cover penny also going with the silver and bleak.
All right, let's get trivial the answer and the quarterback
(28:55):
that had the most yards passing without hitting a three
hundred yard game was blank? Is it Brad Johnson? No,
believe it or not. It is the goat, the original goat,
Joe Montana one. Montana had three thousand, five hundred sixty
(29:15):
five yards. He did not have a three hundred yard
passing game. That's interesting, right that records held up? All right?
Next up Sunday Night football Cansah City ten and four
at Chicago seven and seven. It's on n b C.
Did I say that right? Yeah, just like pig vomit
(29:37):
wanted me to say, Uh, al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth
have the call the line on this game. The Chiefs
opened a four point favorite. They're favored by six. This
is another one of those games that you should wait
to bet on. I'll tell you why. It's gonna be
forty degrees at kickoff that Soldier Field Sunday night. Now,
for now, I'm picking Kansas City, but listen closely. Now
(29:59):
I know the storyline is, this is the teacher versus
the pupil. Andy Reid goes against the disciple, Matt Naggy,
his former one of his former assistants. But the subplot
here is better than that. You've got Patrick Mahomes going
against the team that passed on him to draft Mitch Drabinsky,
and Mahomes can continue to haunt Mitchell Rabinsky, the quarterback
(30:22):
in Chicago. And remember Trabisky had that big game against
the Cowboys and people said he turned the corner. He
then vomited last week against the Green Bay Package. I
don't trust him the I'm picking Kansas City, but you
gotta wait till Saturday night. I'll tell you why only
if the game matters, right, it depends what happens on Saturday.
(30:45):
If the Patriots beat the Bills and the Texans lose
to the Buccaneers, the Chiefs will have absolutely nothing to
gain from this game. They will be completely locked in
as the number three seed in the a f C,
which will make this an exhibit game for Kansas City,
which means Andy Reid will likely not play some of
the starters. In that scenario, I will take the Chicago Bears.
(31:09):
Are you making a note of this gas guard? But
assuming that that does not happen and the Chiefs have
something to play for, I'm gonna take Kansas City thirty one,
Chicago twenty. Penny likes you on this one. Go with
Kansas City last one. Hear the hell? All right? Next
up Monday Night football, Green Bay eleven and three at
Minnesota Tenant Forts on ESPN with Joe Tessa Tore and
(31:32):
the Booger Booger McFarland. These guys what a cool man?
I mean, that was embarrassing. I needed to take a
shower after that game with U with the Saints. Man,
that was some ball washing like we have rarely seen. Uh,
that's a as we said, it was a manny and
a petty situation. That was a rump swab, was what
(31:53):
that was man. I think that was the full Swedish
massage that uh that they gave anyway, Uh, enough of that.
Vikings of five and a half point favorite. They opened
at four and a half. It's in the dome, thirty
two degrees and mostly cloudy outside in the Twin Cities.
I'm taking the Vikings, all right, taking the Vikings in
(32:13):
this game under Mike Zimmer. The Vikings are the number
one team in the NFL against the spread at home
there four and one against green Bay as well, the
league best against the spread as a home favorite. In
that span of games. Minnesota is the only remaining undefeated
team at home. There's six and oh. So I believe
(32:35):
they will win this game. The question is will they
cover the spread. The one Red Flag is also being
a night game. Teams quarterbacked by Kirk Cousins have not
won a game on Monday Night there oh and eight.
The Vikings are oh and two with Cousins on Monday
Night football. That said, Cousins has actually been better than
(32:56):
Aaron Rodgers. He's at home and is the friendly on
finds of US Bank Stadium. And to me, Green Bay
is the worst team. I know they have a better record,
but I believe the Vikings are the better team. The
Packers schedules sucks. They have an inflated record against mostly
inferior competition. And even though Aaron Rodgers made the Pro Bowl,
(33:18):
he has been, in my opinion, a Hammond Egger. His
numbers are misleading. He has not been great. He doesn't
pass the eyeball test or the smell test. And I
like the Vikings to beat the cheese Kurds and get
revenge for that loss at Lambeau. Vikings seven Packers seventeen
(33:40):
penny closing this thing out with a Minnesota Vikings. Well,
there you go. We made it through another NFL regular season.
We do not handicapped weeks seventeen because no one's trying
to win Week seventeen. There's like one game, the Seattle
forty Niners game that will matter. It's been fun, it's
been real, but I gotta run. Uh And so thank
(34:01):
you guys all. No podcast at least Benny versus the
Penny next week. Maybe we'll do a different podcast. I
don't know, check and find out. But have a great Christmas,
a wonderful New year, honokah, And as we say, if
you don't celebrate anything, just have a really good day
and you know, treat yourself well and all that, and uh,
(34:23):
thank you Gascon for rushing me through this podcast and
spend all all week preparing to not go through of
my notes, which I always like, always like that. But
that's uh, that's you, So that's you in a nutshell.
So have a great weekend and join next week. Be
safe over the holidays, and thank you for being loyal,
and good luck win some money this weekend.
Welcome players, You're welcome. Are It's time now penny versus
the penny. Now many people thought I wouldn't do this
after what happened in Week fifteen, but we are back
for Week sixteen to the NFL regular season. It is
Benny versus the penny. Amateur podcasting, amateur podcasting, picking NFL games,
(00:26):
handicapping all of that. Oh, it's professional handicap with professional podcasting,
amateur handicapping. I guess n last week was the I
think the masterpiece. It was my my hope diamond. Uh
it was perfection, is what it was. And I have
one of these every NFL season where the ship hits
the fan, and it happened last weekend. For me, the
(00:49):
ship hit the fan. It was a disaster. Well can
you can you describe it? For us? Then from start
to finish, everything that should have happened didn't not happen,
all right, literally everything, and uh, half the teams I
picked didn't show up. They weren't motivated. I guess they
were doing their hop their holiday shopping and his chowder
(01:13):
heads all over the place. They just decided. You know,
it's hard to bet on a team when they have
no effort and no energy, you know, not that I'm bitter,
not that I have resentment to teams that choose not
to show up. There's no animosity there at all. It's
just the way that it works. So that's the hardest
part of gambling, is to figure out who's actually motivated
to try to win the game. Yeah, and that was
the best part of watching Monday night football at the
(01:34):
Saints and the Colts, because that was the exclamation point
on your weekend. And just a a lifeless dog that
needs to be shot in the middle of the road.
That was. Yeah, the Colts should have wasted They should
have not wasted the money on traveling to the Bayou,
or they should have been forced to take a Greyhound
(01:54):
bus on the way back, you know, because it was
the zombie apocalypse, is what it was. The night of
Living Dead, watching Victoby Brissette play quarterback there and uh,
the coach Frank Reich should have performed in exorcism to
get rid of the demons at halftime that was possessing
his team. Of course, by then the game was over.
So yeah, but we're gonna try not to do a
(02:15):
dance with the dead this week. Let's let's get right
into it. Yes, Guescot, we have no obviously Thursday game
this week, so all the games will be right here
on the podcast. Three Saturday games. It's just good or bad.
The three Saturday games. I think it's good because you
can never get enough football. So if you can cover
her and go on Saturday to Sunday to Monday, I
think we're in a good spot. So let's do this.
(02:36):
We're we're pressed for time because you're all right. Be
sure to catch live editions of The Ben Meller Show
weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio. A Saturday, Houston,
you were an hour late. That's why we're pressed for time. Saturday, Houston,
nine and nine and five at Tampa Bay seven and seven,
and this is on the NFL Network with Rich Eyes
(02:58):
and Nate Burlson and Joe Thomas. The Texans opened up
a one point favorite. They are favored by three. It'll
be cloudy seventy three agrees at kickoff at Raymond James Stadium.
I'm gonna take the Buccaneers in this game. This is
the kind of situation that screams to bet against the Texans.
They're coming off an emotional win against the Titans last week.
(03:19):
Now they play a non conference opponent on the road,
against a team that nobody gets all up for in
Tampa Bay. And this game is essentially meaningless, meaning that
Houston can lose this game and still win the division
next week against the Tennessee Titans. I also believe the
line is inflated a little bit here. Even though it's
(03:40):
three points. The Texans shouldn't be favored by that. And
Bill O'Brien has coached a healter skilter team Houston. I'll
give you an example. They've scored thirty points in the
first quarter all season. That is tied with the Redskins
for the worst first quarter offense in the NFL. But
yet in the other three quarters they have the sixth
best offense in the NFL. So during games they don't
(04:05):
show up at times. I bet against the Buccaneers last week.
I'm gonna hoppity hop on the pirate ship this week.
Boomer bus Jamis Winston. The guy's been crazy. He put
up the points. I like Tampa Bay. I like him
to win the game outright. Buccaneers thirty, Texans twenty eight.
You need a little bit more energy from you. Penny
(04:27):
is going with the Houston, Texas. Be sure to catch
live editions of The Ben Meller Show weekdays at two
am Eastern eleven pm Pacific. Al Right, Next up, Buffalo
at New England. The Bills are ten and four, Patriots
are eleven and three. It's on the NFL Network with
Mike Rico and Kurt Warner. The Patriots open to touchdown favorite.
(04:47):
They are favored by six and a half. It'll be
partly cloudy thirty one degrees that kick off at Jillette
Stadium in Foxboro on a Saturday, And I'm gonna take
the Bills here to call or do not win the game.
It has been depressing to follow the trial and tribulations
of the Patriots offense. Tom Brady is doing what he
(05:08):
can do, but he's got a bunch of water guns.
He doesn't have any guns, real guns. Uh. And he's
trying these games with very limited weaponry. And is this
the week where Bill Belichick and the Josh McDaniels and
Brady figure it out the light bulb goes off. Probably not.
Buffalo has got a good defense, uh. And I have
(05:29):
a love hate thing with the Bills. I love the
Bills defense, I hate the offense. Josh Allen has been
horrible against good teams. He's he's got some decent numbers
this year against bad teams, but against the three top
defenses he's played Patriots, Ravens, and Steelers, He's completed fifty
one of his passes three yards per attempt, two touchdowns,
(05:50):
one interception in three of those you know the games combined,
and had a passer rating of sixty. So both these
teams will struggle to score. Patriot sixteen, LS thirteen Tenny
go with the Buffalo Bills. Fox Sports Radio has the
best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of
(06:10):
our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com and within
the I Heart Radio app search f s R to
listen live. Al Right, Next up the l A Rams
at eight and six at Santa Clara eleven and three.
It's on the NFL Network with Kevin Burkhardt and Charles
Davis the forty Niners. This game open to pick him,
believe it or not, but the forty Niners a six
(06:31):
and a half point favorite. The the before the game
line was to pick him. Mostly cloudy fifty five degrees
in Santa Clara at Levi's Stadium. I'm gonna take the
Niners here. The Rams collapse last week in Dallas. Jared
Golf is dealing with a bruise on his right thumb.
Although he is going to play, I don't know how
(06:52):
effective he's gonna be against that Niners defense. And the
Rams are all but dead to make the playoffs. I'm
I don't know how much motivation they're gonna have in
this game. The injuries are starting to pile up. It's
not only Golf tight end Jared Gerald. Everett has heard
cornerback Troy Hill, who's been playing pretty well. He's also
hurt Greg's urline. The kicker is hurt as well, and
(07:16):
and in the fort If the forty Niners had had
one against Atlanta last week, I would consider going the
other way. But the fact that they lost, and if
they lose this game, that that really opens up Pandora's
box for Kyle Shanahan. Uh. The Niners need to win
this game, really because it sets up the Mallard Man
(07:36):
March in Seattle next week. I believe they will forty
Niners thirty four Rams, twenty penny go at the l
A Rams, all right, we get to the games on
Sunday and the early television window. Jacksonville five and nine
(07:57):
at Atlanta five and nine, it's on Fox. Is this
the Joe? Is this the wrong name? The Joe Rogan game? Though?
Is this the uh? Is it the Dick Stockton game? No,
it's not, Yeah, it is not. This is Joe Davis
and Brady Quinn, our Fox Sports radio colleague, Brady Quinn,
(08:17):
who we're gonna call this game. Falcons opened a touchdown favorite.
They are favorite by seven and a half, rainy and
forty five in Atlanta, but perfect inside the Mercedes Benz Stadium.
They're the dome. Boy. This is a hard game to handicap,
and we shouldn't spend too much time on it's two
dog food games. But I'm gonna take Jacksonville. I'm gonna
take the Jacks here. They seemingly are coming apart of
(08:39):
the seams right they've they've already imploded. Tom Coughlin the
overload or overlord, rather overload, the overlord is out. Doug Morone.
His new nickname is Lame Duck. I think he'll be
updating his LinkedIn page during the game. But despite that,
Jacksonville showed a little bit of moxie coming back to
beat the Raiders last week, and I'm going with minshue
(09:02):
Mania to have another gutty effort here to my linger
in this game. Now, if Jacksonville gives an honest effort,
I believe this game will be a one score close
game within a within the marginal era here uh And
the Jaguars have not turned the ball over in their
last two games, unfortunately having forced to turn over. And
I also think this is a classical letdown spot for
(09:23):
the Falcons coming off a big win. You know they're
they're super Bowl, their Bowl game win against the forty
Niners last week, and now they come back and play
a team in Jacksonville that you know you're not gonna
get up for Jacksonville. So the Falcons will win, but
they won't cover. I expect the lethargic effort from Mattie
Ice and friends, and that'll be enough for the Jacks
(09:45):
to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle wiggle into a cover. Falcons thirty,
Jags four, depending on the opposite way with the A
t L all right, next up New Orleans eleven and
three at NNESC eight and six. It's on Fox. Is
this the Stockton game? It is not the Dick Stockton game,
(10:07):
of course, because this is two teams that have a
good record. Uh. Kenny Albert and Ronde Barber have the call.
Kenny Albert, friend of the show. Shout out Kenny. Not
a friend of yours, friend of mine. Uh. The Saints
opened a one and alf point favorite. They are favored
by three gas gon, cloudy and fifty one degrees at
kick off. You'll get cooler than that throughout the day
(10:28):
at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. I'm gonna take the Titans here.
The Saints are mere mortals when they leave the dome.
This game is going to be playing the great outdoors.
It's gonna be chili. Not horrifically cold, but chili. And
I don't know that the Saints have been done with
(10:48):
the bubble bath they gave for Drew Brees, and they
you know, slabber, slabber lick lick. Uh. He's got the
cleanest ass in the Bayou Drew Brees. After what happened
last week, but since week tend the tight they're scoring
thirty four points per games, second highest average in the NFL.
The Saints are right there This game is gonna be
a shootout, and Derrick Henry should do his thing. Derrick
(11:10):
Henry's got thirty five scrimmage yards uh fifteen scrimmage touchdowns
this season. That is very impressive. And Ryan Tannhill had
a terrible first half last week. He played better in
the second half. I think Tennessee matches up very well
with the Saints secondary. There's some holes there. That's why
the Saints got generous Jenkins. I love my home dogs
(11:32):
with good teams. Titans thirty four, Saints thirty one. Penny
also going with Tennessee al right. Next up the New
York Giants three and eleven Washington Redskins three eleven. It's
on Fox, not the Dick Stockton game. Tom Brennanman and
(11:53):
Chris Spielman are being forced to broadcast this dog with
fleas and the Redskins opened a three point They're favored
by two and a half. It will be mostly cloudy
forty three degrees that kick off at FedEx Field. Now,
we shouldn't spend too much time in this game. Because
Gascons showed up an hour late. We don't have as
much time. But I'm gonna take the Redskins. And this
is a man your battle station situation in terms of
(12:16):
jockeying for position. I'm talking about the draft right now.
These teams have the same record. The Giants currently have
the number two pick in the draft based on strength
of schedule. If they lose this game and the Dolphins
also lose, the Giants could still slip down the number three.
But if they win this game, they're guaranteed to drop
(12:39):
likely all the way down to the number five pick
in the draft. So you talk about a pressure situation
where it's better off if you lose if you're the
front office. UM, I can give you all kinds of
other numbers here that I don't trust the Giants offense.
I know they won last week and all that Redskins
twenty Giants six team oh Man, Petty's going with the
(13:02):
red Washington Redskins, all right. Next up Pittsburgh eight and
six and the New York Jets five and nine. It's
on CBS. I An Eagle, the dad of the Clipper broadcaster,
and Dan Fouts have the call. Now. The Steelers opened
up a three point favorite. They are currently favored by three.
(13:23):
The weather sunny forty four degrees at kickoff at MetLife
Stadium in Jersey. The pick is in. I'm gonna take
the j e t s Suck. Suck, suck is what
I'm gonna take. And this is mainly a bet against
Duck Hodges. Duck Hodges was so terrible against Buffalo and
he's back again. Now will he rebound or continue the
(13:46):
vomit comment? Express Hodges is through? You know, he threw
into triple coverage multiple times against the Bills defense last week.
Now I realized the Jets defense it's not as good,
but the Jets. That is the strength of the Jets.
The Jets defense and the Steelers offense is riding the
short bus again this season. In fact, did you know
(14:06):
that Pittsburgh the only team in the NFL this year
that has yet to score twenty eight or more points
in a game. They've yet to go four hundred plus
yards of total offense in a game. In a league
with the ben Gals and the Redskins and the Giants.
The Steelers, who have a winning record, haven't hit any
of those benchmarks. There's no way that Duck Hodges, the
(14:29):
way he's been playing, deserves to be a field goal
favorite on the road against anyone, even the Sisters of
the Blind, unless Mike Tomlin has some kind of Warlock
potion that we don't know about. I will take the
Jets to bounce back at home as a home dog
and compete, assuming the Jets given honest effort. Here the
(14:51):
music stops for Pittsburgh. Chaos ensues for that final a
f C playoff berth Jets twenty three, Steelers seventeen penny
going at the New York Jets. All right, next up,
Cincinnati one in thirteen, Miami three and eleven. It's on CBS.
(15:14):
It's on CBS. Andrew Catalan and James lofton Dolphins a
one point favorite. I'm gonna take the Miami Dolphins here.
The Bengals can wrap up the number one pick in
if they lose this game, they can choose between Joe
Burrow and to a tongue of by Lower or some
other schmuck um. But these teams are pretty even. It's
(15:34):
kind of like splitting hairs. I like the Dolphins at home.
Ryan Fitzpatrick has been very good lately at home. Last
three home games. He's averaged eleven yards per attempt completed
seventy percent of his passes, so I'm going with some
Fitz magic, and I hope the Bengals all go out
and hang out with weed Man Hippie in South Beach
(15:55):
before the game. Dolphins twenty seven, Bengals twenty penny go
with the Miami Dolphins. Al right. Next up Carolina at
Indianapolis five and nine, Carolina six and eight Indianapolis. It's
on Fox. Is this the Dick Stockton game. I guess
it's got to be in right, Yeah, it is the
(16:16):
Dick Stockton game. Dick Stockton and Mark Labor have the
call in the Fox box that rocks. You've got the
Colts a seven point favorite, Colts open to six and
a point favorite. Sonny and forty one degrees that kick
off outside in the dome. It will be fun boy.
This is a hard game to handicap because I think
both these teams have given up. I think both these
(16:36):
teams have just decided they don't want to compete. Right.
They're they're like playing on Xanex or something like that.
The way they're running around there. It's let sleeping corpses lie,
as they say, But you gotta pick somebody. I'm gonna
take the Panthers here. Even before Ron Rivera was impeached
as coach. In Carolina, the Panthers have been essentially bouncing
(16:57):
down a never ending staircase, lower and lower and lower.
How can you go? They have no motivation, They appear
to be sleepwalking, but they did at least change quarterbacks.
Will Greer is gonna start over the benched Kyle Allen,
So we'll see what this this guy, this, this a
rookie can do. He's being thrown out to the Colts
(17:18):
or the Wolves and all that stuff some on the
job training, so expect a remedial game plan. Carolina may
have met its match though this week. This December, the
Indianapolis Colts have allowed an NFL high thirty four points
per game, while the Panthers have allowed thirty three points
per game. That's the third worst in December. Only the
(17:39):
Raiders have been there. There, there in the middle, there
the cream filling in the Oriole Oakland there, but Indianapolis
is in denial. If they think Jacobe bro said is
the answer, this guy is a high end backup who's
at the masquerade ball pretending to be a starting quarterback
in the NFL. I'm gonna ride or die with real
Greer for some beginner's luck. Panthers thirty three, Colts twenty
(18:04):
three penny go on the Indianapolis Colts. All right, Next
up Baltimore twelve and two at Cleveland six and eight.
It's on CBS with Jim Nance and Tony Romo. The
Ravens opened a touchdown favorite. They're favorite by ten sunny
and forty five degrees. That kick off at First Energy
(18:25):
Stadium in Cleveland. I'm gonna take the Browns, is what
I'm gonna do here. Now, the Ravens keep plugging along,
they can wrap up the number one seed, home field advantage,
trying to get revenge and all that stuff if they
beat the Browns. Blah blah blah blah blah. The ravens
last loss came at the hands of the Browns. They
give up forty points to Cleveland. Now, the argument is
(18:47):
the Ravens are better now, the Browns are worse, and
they don't have Miles Garrett because he donked a gain,
donked the guy's head there with his helmet. But I
just double digit lines I don't like. And John Harbaugh
has a four and eight record against the spread in
same season revenge games. So it's not like that Ravens
(19:09):
have always done well in these revenge games. And the
Ravens are nine and eighteen against the spread when favored
by over a touchdown and a half in recent years
under John Harball. So there's a lot of value with
the Browns. Again, it depends on the Browns effort. They
can run the ball with Nick Chubb, they can throw
(19:30):
the ball. Baker Mayfield should have some confidence here. I'm
gonna take the Ravens to win, but the Browns to cover.
This will be a one score game. You're getting double
digit points in a divisional game. Ravens thirty, Browns penny
at the Cleveland Browns. I'd like to pat myself on
the back. I feel like we're making very good time.
(19:52):
Next up Dallas seven and seven at Philadelphia seven and seven.
It's on Fox. This is the game of the weekend.
Old Buck and Troy Aikman have the call the game
open to pick them. The Cowboys are a two and
a half point road favorite. It will be nasty, partly cloudy,
(20:12):
thirty nine degrees that kick off a wintry blast. That
Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly, that Sports complex. I'm
gonna take the Eagles fly Eagles fly on the road
to victory. I like the Eagles. The Cowboys have mostly
been swimming against the current. That was until last week
(20:35):
the blowout win against an injured Jared Golf and the Rams.
Neither one of these teams has earned my trust Now
I like the home team here. Philadelphia has had a
slightly more impressive resume head to head. And you've also
got Dak Prescott, who who the Cowboys, says both his
hands are injured. They're all messed up. If true, that
(20:56):
would seemingly be a huge advantage to the Birds. The
week this on Philadelphia is They've got to be the
dumbest team in America. A bunch of idiots are there.
They get burned by trick plays, and they've got a
parts galore. That said, the last three weeks, the Eagles
and Cowboys are both allowing the same amount of yards
(21:18):
per game, three and forty two yards per game. They're dead.
Even the Eagles are lacking playmakers, but they found one.
This guy Greg Ward, who you're last week if you
saw the Eagles game, uh, save their bacon came out
of nowhere. I want to see him again. Zach Ertz,
Miles Sanders the Cowboys have weaknesses in the middle of
their defense. We'll see if the Eagles can exploit that.
(21:41):
I believe they will. Keep in mind, though, Dallas is
seven and all when they scored twenty five points or more.
Uh this season, they're owing seven when they score less
than than twenty five points. Twenty four points or fewer.
Eagles twenty six the Dallas Cowboys. Penny and Gill at
(22:05):
the Philadelphia Eagles. Al Right, Next next up Arizona four
nine and one at Seattle eleven and three. It's on
Fox with Chris Myers, Darryl Moose, Johnston in the Fox Box.
That rocks. Now. This is the last Seahawks home game
before the Mallard Man March, so they better not fuck
it up. The Seahawks opened a nine and a half
(22:25):
point favorite. They're still favored by nine and a half
mostly cloudy forties seven degrees at kickoff at Century lincoln Field.
I'm so excited to check out the stadium. Uh. Not
this weekend, obviously, but next weekend. I'm gonna take the
Cardinals here. I don't love the pick, but that's the
right side. Seattle's ten wins are in a ten of
(22:45):
the eleven wins are in one possession games. That is
tied with the nineteen seventy eight Love Me Blue Houston
Oilers for the most wins in one possession games in
a single NFL season games decided by eight points since
or uh and seven points before. To give you the metrics,
but the reason I was gonna originally take the Seahawks
(23:07):
in this game, and then I looked at the injury chart.
I said, wait a minute, je Devon Clowney might not play,
Ziggy Ansa might not play. The two pass rushers that
could get all over Kyler Murray alligator arms Murray. Stop
the Opa Loopa, Theopa Loopa cannot handle pressure. Uh, he's
the worst quarterback in the NFL. He's clueless, he melts
down under pressure. And remember he's the most sacked quarterback
(23:30):
in the NFL. A lot of sacks are on not
on the on the offensive line, They're on the quarterback
for not making proper decision, not getting rid of the ball,
not throwing it away. Uh whatnot? Now I'm gonna take Arizona.
I I'm a little worried about their defense. Also their
thirty second rank, but the injuries Bobby Wagner has heard
Quadre Diggs likely will not play in this game. At
(23:53):
the time of recording the podcast, Cardinals will hang around.
They're not gonna win the game. Seahawks Cardinals twenty one.
Penny is going Arizona, al right. Next up, we've got
Detroit three ten and one against David Gascon's loser, Broncos
(24:14):
Denver five and nine. It's on CBS. We're wasting the
talents of Kevin Harland this week on this game with
rich Gannon. The game opened to pick him. The Broncos
are a six and a half point favorite. That's wild.
It's gonna be mostly cloudy and fifty six degrees that
kick off at Empower Field at Mile High. I'm gonna
(24:37):
take your Broncos. These both these teams are the walking
wound of the injury report will likely decide who's gonna
win this game. And since we're recording this podcast now
and we don't know who's actually in and who's out,
we don't have that intel. I'm gonna take the Broncos.
Denver was absolutely hornswoggled last week against the Chiefs. Uh.
They are not in Kansas anymore, thank God. The degree
(24:59):
of difficulty goes down the Broncos trying to avoid ten
plus losses for the third straight season. They should be
able to do it this this week and then they
got the Raiders next week, so those are two winnable games.
The Lions defense is ranked thirty one. They're they're like antibiotics.
They cure whatever is wrong with you on your offense
(25:19):
when you play them in a hurry. Uh. Denver and
their rookie quarterback Drew Lock, he had the masterpiece against
the Texans. He was like a finger painting child in
kindergarten against Kansas City. This is a matchup of rookie quarterbacks.
David Blow I like to call him David Blow Uh
is the other quarterback for the Lions. And Uh, it's
(25:41):
very even Detroit though. They they're just horrible right now.
They started the year three three and one. Since then
they have lost seventh straight and make that eight in
a row. Broncos twenty six, Lions Seventeam Penny also go
with the home ten of Denver Broncos. We have a
little let's it to let's get trivial real quick. Raiders
(26:02):
quarterback Derek Carr three thousand three D seventy two passing yards.
You know what's unique about his year. He does not
have a three yard passing game this season, but he's
at over three thousand yards passing. The NFL record for
the most passing yards in a season without a three
hundred yard game is held by Blank. I think this
(26:23):
is a fun trivia question, and you think about all
the quarterbacks in the history NFL. Who's had the biggest
year without going to three hundred yards? No? Not, no,
I'll give you the answer in a second. Yeah, i
gotta get the people think about it all right. Next
up Oakland six and eight at the l A Chargers
five and nine. It's on CBS, Greg Gummel and Trent Green.
(26:45):
Another game that is just atrocious, Right, I'd rather watch
a bunch of clowns and tramps, artists and costume dogs,
uh than this game. Bringing on right Demolition Derby would
be more entertaining. Chargers are a seven point favorite. They
opened six and a half mostly cloudy, sixty four degrees
(27:06):
at Dignity Health Sports Parks. Supposed to be some rain
later in the day in l A, but not during
the game. I'm gonna take the Raiders here. We've got
a couple of lightweights playing out the string. This is
the hottest ticket on the secondary market. I think it's
like the second or third hottest ticket. There are so
many Raider fans in the l A Area gag on
(27:28):
that they're gonna form a second black hole in the
stadium here at Dignity Health Sports Park. Raider fans are
scum anyway. So now that said, we heard of a
private tiff this week we talked about on the radio
show between Derek Carr and John Gruden. Now is that
real or contract? I believe it's really. I believe it's
real too. Yeah. I don't think they like each other.
(27:48):
And John Gruden, this guy has really done nothing this
you're coaching the Raiders. When you look at the halftime adjustments,
nothing has changed more in my lifetime than half my
halftime adjustments. The Raiders must be watch cartoons at halftime.
They have been outscored by eighty one points in the
third quarter this season. That would be the worst third
quarter point differential for any team since when the Raiders
(28:13):
franchise did it back then. Now, listen, the Chargers are
more talented. Uh we know that, but they're a walking,
talking turnover and they didn't play well last week when
they still had a chance. Uh you know, I against
the Vikings that kind of save some of their their
respect this year. The Raiders of course fell apart at home.
(28:34):
Now that the carrot has been eaten by bugs, bunny,
there's no more care and on the stick for these teams.
So it's tough to figure out who's gonna play. But I,
you know, over seven points too many Chargers twenty four Raiders,
Raiders cover penny also going with the silver and bleak.
All right, let's get trivial the answer and the quarterback
(28:55):
that had the most yards passing without hitting a three
hundred yard game was blank? Is it Brad Johnson? No,
believe it or not. It is the goat, the original goat,
Joe Montana one. Montana had three thousand, five hundred sixty
(29:15):
five yards. He did not have a three hundred yard
passing game. That's interesting, right that records held up? All right?
Next up Sunday Night football Cansah City ten and four
at Chicago seven and seven. It's on n b C.
Did I say that right? Yeah, just like pig vomit
(29:37):
wanted me to say, Uh, al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth
have the call the line on this game. The Chiefs
opened a four point favorite. They're favored by six. This
is another one of those games that you should wait
to bet on. I'll tell you why. It's gonna be
forty degrees at kickoff that Soldier Field Sunday night. Now,
for now, I'm picking Kansas City, but listen closely. Now
(29:59):
I know the storyline is, this is the teacher versus
the pupil. Andy Reid goes against the disciple, Matt Naggy,
his former one of his former assistants. But the subplot
here is better than that. You've got Patrick Mahomes going
against the team that passed on him to draft Mitch Drabinsky,
and Mahomes can continue to haunt Mitchell Rabinsky, the quarterback
(30:22):
in Chicago. And remember Trabisky had that big game against
the Cowboys and people said he turned the corner. He
then vomited last week against the Green Bay Package. I
don't trust him the I'm picking Kansas City, but you
gotta wait till Saturday night. I'll tell you why only
if the game matters, right, it depends what happens on Saturday.
(30:45):
If the Patriots beat the Bills and the Texans lose
to the Buccaneers, the Chiefs will have absolutely nothing to
gain from this game. They will be completely locked in
as the number three seed in the a f C,
which will make this an exhibit game for Kansas City,
which means Andy Reid will likely not play some of
the starters. In that scenario, I will take the Chicago Bears.
(31:09):
Are you making a note of this gas guard? But
assuming that that does not happen and the Chiefs have
something to play for, I'm gonna take Kansas City thirty one,
Chicago twenty. Penny likes you on this one. Go with
Kansas City last one. Hear the hell? All right? Next
up Monday Night football, Green Bay eleven and three at
Minnesota Tenant Forts on ESPN with Joe Tessa Tore and
(31:32):
the Booger Booger McFarland. These guys what a cool man?
I mean, that was embarrassing. I needed to take a
shower after that game with U with the Saints. Man,
that was some ball washing like we have rarely seen. Uh,
that's a as we said, it was a manny and
a petty situation. That was a rump swab, was what
(31:53):
that was man. I think that was the full Swedish
massage that uh that they gave anyway, Uh, enough of that.
Vikings of five and a half point favorite. They opened
at four and a half. It's in the dome, thirty
two degrees and mostly cloudy outside in the Twin Cities.
I'm taking the Vikings, all right, taking the Vikings in
(32:13):
this game under Mike Zimmer. The Vikings are the number
one team in the NFL against the spread at home
there four and one against green Bay as well, the
league best against the spread as a home favorite. In
that span of games. Minnesota is the only remaining undefeated
team at home. There's six and oh. So I believe
(32:35):
they will win this game. The question is will they
cover the spread. The one Red Flag is also being
a night game. Teams quarterbacked by Kirk Cousins have not
won a game on Monday Night there oh and eight.
The Vikings are oh and two with Cousins on Monday
Night football. That said, Cousins has actually been better than
(32:56):
Aaron Rodgers. He's at home and is the friendly on
finds of US Bank Stadium. And to me, Green Bay
is the worst team. I know they have a better record,
but I believe the Vikings are the better team. The
Packers schedules sucks. They have an inflated record against mostly
inferior competition. And even though Aaron Rodgers made the Pro Bowl,
(33:18):
he has been, in my opinion, a Hammond Egger. His
numbers are misleading. He has not been great. He doesn't
pass the eyeball test or the smell test. And I
like the Vikings to beat the cheese Kurds and get
revenge for that loss at Lambeau. Vikings seven Packers seventeen
(33:40):
penny closing this thing out with a Minnesota Vikings. Well,
there you go. We made it through another NFL regular season.
We do not handicapped weeks seventeen because no one's trying
to win Week seventeen. There's like one game, the Seattle
forty Niners game that will matter. It's been fun, it's
been real, but I gotta run. Uh And so thank
(34:01):
you guys all. No podcast at least Benny versus the
Penny next week. Maybe we'll do a different podcast. I
don't know, check and find out. But have a great Christmas,
a wonderful New year, honokah, And as we say, if
you don't celebrate anything, just have a really good day
and you know, treat yourself well and all that, and uh,
(34:23):
thank you Gascon for rushing me through this podcast and
spend all all week preparing to not go through of
my notes, which I always like, always like that. But
that's uh, that's you, So that's you in a nutshell.
So have a great weekend and join next week. Be
safe over the holidays, and thank you for being loyal,
and good luck win some money this weekend.
Host
Ben Maller
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