January 6, 2023 • 39 mins
Ben Maller and Danny G. have a special broadcast for you, as the popular BENNY VS. THE PENNY takes over the Friday podcast for yet another week! Is the Penny making a comeback trend the regular season? Who'll get more football picks right in NFL Week 18... Ben, after hours of research, or an inanimate object? Every game is picked against the spread, with Maller-style analysis!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ka boom. If you thought four hours a day, minutes
a week was enough, think again. He's the last remnants
of the old republic, a sole fashion of fairness. He
treats crackheads in the ghetto gutter the same as the
rich pill poppers in the penthouse to clearinghouse of hot takes,
break free for something special. The Fifth Hour with Ben
(00:24):
Maller starts right now in the air everywhere, and it
is a brain spanking new year. The first full weekend
of the Fifth Hour with Ben Maller and Danny G
as we officially kick off. I know we had the
(00:47):
mailbag last week, Dandy, but this is the full Monty
for the brand new year, as we kick things off
and we do it the right way. The final full
mission of Betty versus the Penny. Let's strike up the band.
Welcome players, You're welcome. It's time now Betty versus the
(01:14):
Penny and the crowd goes wild and all that, and
Danny G we have reached the end of the regular
season in the NFL. It's always odd because doing what
we do for a living in sports radio, we pretty
much make our entire lives. We mold our lives around
(01:36):
the NFL. And so it's a weird thing because it's
it's exciting the playoffs starting, but at the same time,
you're like, now like most of the team's half the
teams are being eliminated, um and more than half of
the team. So it's a weird time of the year.
First of all, I can't believe that we've already gone
through an entire season. Secondly, does this mean I'm gonna
(01:59):
now spend off of my life again chasing around Brian Billick. Yes, yes,
I did get some email from people saying I can't
wait till the interviews come back, and I'm like, well, yeah,
I don't know. On this side, it might not be
the same. Well no, I mean we we can rotate through.
We have we have friends at Fox Sports three. We'll
figure it out. Brian bill Brian Billick. He used the whale,
(02:23):
though it used to be Michael Jordan's. The whale is
Brian Billick. I think what we should do is just
just let's just funk around and we'll just put on
a bunch of like old school NFL coaches, Like we'll
track down Jerry Glanville, we'll put him on right well,
you know, you know these guys that are they dead,
are alive. You know the guys that we were we
were younger. We'll track them down, we'll put them on.
(02:45):
Just we had Jim, Jim Moron, who's God bless Jim.
He's close to ninety, but we knew him. I knew
him from his days at Fox Pus Radio. Baby, like
these old school coaches. Man, that's the way to go.
I think we'll do a bunch of those guys And
if anybody wants to recommend. Now, we still have Benny
Versus I want to clarify we will have a hybrid
version of Benny Versus the Penny coming up because we've
(03:07):
got the wild Card weekend next week, so that'll do it.
And we can pretty much do this all the way
up to the Super Bowl, with the exception in the
week before depending on what's going on. So we will
have a lot of a lot of Benny Versus the Penny. Still,
we're gonna be broadcasting live from the Pro Bowl, right, Yes, yes,
(03:27):
unless we don't. I'm sure. I'm sure that's in the budget,
unless it's not. So before we get to the games
on hand, let's look back and see what happened back
in Week seventeen. Before you look ahead, you gotta look back,
learned from me mistakes, and never make them again. So
Week seventeen, I've been saying all year, at some point,
the ship's gonna hit the fan. I've been winning way
(03:48):
too many bets here, and it happened in Week seventeen.
It was a debacle for yours, truly here. Everything I
thought was going to happen didn't happen. Guys that I
expected to play or play well didn't play well or
got hurt. It was a total crap fest. I lost
a couple of games on bad beats, and that's what happens.
(04:10):
And so five there were fifteen games. They're supposed to
be sixteen games. Obviously the story in Buffalo and Cincinnati
that game was not played. But the fifteen games, I
want five and ten Danny five and ten against the spread.
That's any like performance. God, that blows man. I suck
(04:30):
five and ten, three thirty three winning percentage half the
Sign of the Devil. The Penny beat Me had eight wins,
but only one game above five. Eight and seven for
the Penny. That is now back to back winning weeks
for the Penny, and three out of the last four
weeks the Pennies had a winning record, and this is
my first losing week I believe all actually since Week two,
(04:54):
so I've had two losing weekends overall, Week two and
Week seventeen, and so overall overall my record a hundred
forty five wins, hundred four losses to five eighty two
winning percent so I'm still within the margin of making
money the penny hundred wins, hundred and thirty losses and
(05:14):
four ties, that's a four eighty two winning percentage. Just
to recap a couple of things. In Week seventeen, I
mentioned I had some bad beats. The Patriots gave up
a touchdown with a minute four left in the in
the in the g D game on the clock, they
lost the bet by a half point on the spread,
and just brutal Carolina was up fourteen nothing early in Tampa.
(05:40):
They had a lead fourth quarter, end up losing by
six and they were three point underdogs, which seems hard
to do, but Sam Donald puked it up the Bears.
That was not a close game, but they led after
the first quarter, and then Justin Fields got dinged up
and from that point from the time Justin Fields got hurt.
(06:01):
To the end of the game, Chicago was outscored thirty
four nothing by the Lions. I had some some investment
in the Colts. Nick Foles got hurt on the snow
Angel Sack uh covon Thip Thibodeau, and that did in
the the Colts. Mike White stunk for the Jets, he
(06:22):
got hurt. Carson Wentz garbage for the Commanders. I go
on and on um anyway, so it was it not
a great weekend for We made a good call on
stid Um though. Remember how I told you really spinning
the ball in McDaniel's system. Yeah, he looked great. That
was That was one I didn't have to sweat. Even
though the Raiders lost the game, they were right there
neck and neck, and they were they were leading the game,
(06:45):
playing very well. And I guess the number one defense
in the NFL. All right, let's get to it. Here
we go, final full weekend for twenty two slash three.
We'll have to wait till next year for the full Monty,
but here is week A team Remember sports handicapping for
the regular guy Wench The Numbers spent a lot of
time looking over these games. Home team is heads. Road
team is tales. The penny does not speak, so representing
(07:07):
the penny, that would be Danny G. Radio, Daddy or
Daddy G Radio as we're calling him. Now. All right,
here we go Kansas City thirteen and three at Las
Vegas six and ten, This game kicking off Saturday afternoon,
the final game for Danny G's Raiders this season. Yeah,
(07:27):
I got got flexed. The Chiefs opened up a ten
point favorite. The line on this is nine and a
half Chiefs favored by the public, almost se of the
handle in favor of Kansas City at Allegian Stadium, the
house Danny G visited a couple of weeks ago. The
Chiefs one in ten against the spread, their last ten
(07:48):
against the a f C. They've been miserable owen seven
on the road their last seven against conference rivals, and
the Raiders have been very good as an underdog, although
most of that with different players who are not currently
playing for the Silver and Black. But I'm gonna take
the Raiders in this game. I was a little concerned,
Danny I saw Jared stidn't miss some time and practice
(08:09):
this week. We believe he's going to play. He better play.
He got off to a blazing start against the Niners
last week. Just mentioned that three sixty five yards, three
touchdowns against the supposed number one defense in the NFL.
He did have the two interceptions. This is it the Stidhum.
You realize what's on the line in this game. If
he goes out there and has three more touchdowns and
(08:30):
passes for three yards and looks great against the Chiefs,
all of a sudden, the Raiders have to say, wait
a minute, what do we do next year? Do we
allow this guy to have a legitimate chance to win
the starting job? I mean that that's that's what's on
the line here for this audition for Stidham. So it's
a big f and deal for him and the Raiders
(08:51):
looking to end on a positive note for whatever that's worth.
The Chiefs have shown a tendency here to not blow
the doors off opponents that yet think they're gonna blow
the doors off here. I'm I might be crazy on this, Danny,
but I actually like the Raiders a lot. Getting that
many points, almost double digits, So I'm gonna take the
Raiders with the points, Chiefs will win the game. Raiders
(09:14):
win the bet, Chiefs seven, and the Raiders twenty four
the final and the Penny lands on Heads agrees with you,
going with Las Vegas. All right, Now, keep in mind
this is the hardest week in the NFL. The handicapped
Danny because you don't know the motivation. Now this next game,
(09:35):
you do know the motivation. Tennessee seven and nine, you're
the only ten I see at Jacksonville eight and eight,
and this game being played in Jacksonville, and the Jaguars
opened up a six and a half point favorite. They're
favored by six. What kind of bizarro world is this
(09:56):
where Jacksonville's favored by six points in a key game
to make the playoffs. But that's the story. At t
I a a bank field as temperatures in the sixties
that kick off her Titans and won eleven of the
last fourteen meetings. Mike Rabel has been so good as
an underdog. We give the stat all the time. Great
record one and nine as an underdog with three or
(10:17):
more points. And I'm gonna take the Titans in this game.
Joshua Dobbs making his second start. I learned a little
bit about him this week. He played against the Cowboys
and it was okay. He wasn't great. He's okay in
that game. Uh, the Cowboys ended up covering the spread.
But Dobbs isn't He's got an aerospace degree. He was
an intern at NASA. So that's all kind of interesting crap.
(10:39):
And it's the a f C championship game. These teams
played back in Week fourteen. Jacksonville won that game thirty two,
but that game misleading. Jacksonville scored twenty of their thirty
six points directly off turnovers from Tennessee. The Titans very
generous in that game. They were in the holiday spirit.
They gave They gave the ball away four times. Derrick
(11:01):
Henry had two fumbles, and certainly expect a cleaner game here.
Despite Dobbs not having much experience, Tennessee will be able
to move the ball. Henry average seven yards per carry
against Jacksonville the last time out. I know some new
players in the lineup. Things are a little different than
they were back then, but the choke factor is very big.
(11:23):
I don't completely trust Jacksonville. They've looked great lately. I'm
not sold that's legit. This should be a nip and
tuck game. Even with the backup backup quarterback third stringer
plan for the Titans. Remember the Titans in this game Tennessee.
They win the game Jacksonville the final and the Penny
(11:50):
says that it looks like Trevor Lawrence is going to
be the one who looks like an astronaut going with
the Jags. Well, the NFL would like that because I
was talking to I was actually texting. I don't talk
to anybody's you know, Danny, but I was texting somebody,
and they were like, oh yeah. The NFL, they they're
ready to hype up Lawrence next year that Jacksonville is
gonna be one of those teams that gets those extra
(12:12):
prime time games. You know how they've been doing it
with the Chargers where they're trying to hype up Justin
Herbert and building up the mythology of Herbert. Will keep
an eye on Jacksonville next year, especially if they win
this game. Watch out. All right, Let's get to the
Sunday card. The New York Jets wicked bad in the year.
At seven and nine. They are at Miami eight and eight.
(12:34):
It's on Fox. Joe Davis and Darryl Johnson have a
call on Fox and the Jets. This game opened up
Dolphins by four. Jets are actually favored in this game
by one. Hello at hard Rock Stadium, temperatures in the
high seventies at kickoff, and the reason the Jets are
(12:54):
favorite because of the injury situation with the Dolphins. But
the Jets two and five against the spread their last seven,
they've been a miserable team going back several years when
they've had to travel more than a thousand yards, more
than a thousand miles. Thousand yards, I think they'll be
all right. Thousand miles probably not so much. But anyway,
I'm gonna take the Dolphins in this game. There's two
main reasons here. Let me tell you my my logic
(13:16):
behind this is how I came up with this as
I dissected this game. So the Dolphins, there's two reasons.
Like Miami, they still have a shot at the playoffs
even with their backup Skyler Thompson. I'm not sitting here
saying Skylar Thompson is good. I don't think he is
nors Mike Glenn in the draft, who they just signed
with that long neck as the the emergency quarterback. But
(13:38):
this is a vote of no confidence for Gang Green
the Jets. Mike White poop the bed in Seattle. He
had no control over his passes. I don't think that
changes much here. This has Debacco written all over it.
We would not be shocked if this Jets team just
goes through the motions and and plays safe and not
(13:58):
to get hurt. You know, I hear that a lot.
We've worked with a lot of NFL guys over the years,
and they always, they often have said, in week eighteen
or it used to be week seventeen, just be week sixteen.
But the main goal when you're not making the playoffs
is to not get hurt because you want to go
on vacation. You don't want to have to rehab when
you're when you're in the off season, and if you
get hurt in week seventeen or week eighteen, you gotta rehab. Anyway,
(14:21):
it's gonna be an ugly game. Dolphins will end up
winning it nineteen ten, Miami in the win column, l
end up nine and eight in the regular season, and
the penny goes again in the other direction, going with
the J T J E T S suck sucks suck,
(14:43):
all right. See, it would have been better if you
misspelled it. Then we could have used that as a
drop Dandy almost gonna j U c K sucks b
B L O W blow. All right, uh, all right,
next up Cleveland. Hello, seven and nine at Pittsburgh. And
(15:03):
they come into this game with a miserable record themselves.
They are a game better than Cleveland. The Steelers opened
up a one and a half point favorite. They're favored
by two and a half in this game. And uh
the slight lean on the money to the Browns at
(15:24):
the stadium formerly known as Heinz Field, temperatures in the
thirties and cloudy at kickoff in the Berg. And I'm
gonna take the Steelers in this game now when you
boil things down. Kenny Pickett has been captain come back,
Captain clutch every want to say it, but he's also
been crummy for seventy of these recent Steeler games. And
(15:44):
then he's been, you know, been amazing late in the game,
these these drives against Baltimore and your Raiders. Sorry Danny
the week before, but living on a wing and a prayer,
and I expect much of the same in this game.
There's gonna be a close game, and then the Steelers
should be able to actually have more success on the
ground with Nag Harris against a very suspect Cleveland run defense.
(16:06):
In the passing game, Deshaun Watson had a had a
big game the creepy quarterback last week against Washington. However,
that was more of a byproduct of the secondary for
the Commanders being dinged up. I don't I don't think
we'll see the similar result here. T J. Watt will
be in the face of Watson early and often, but
(16:30):
this will be another nail biter. And the fact that
you're getting over you're getting two and a half. So
if the number was three, I would likely go the other.
I think that's how close this game is. I think
it comes down to the field. I think Pittsburgh. I
believe Pittsburgh the better team here, and you will have
a mix of Cleveland guys that are not gonna be
(16:51):
playing with pride. They'll be like worried about going on vacation.
So Steelers sixteen and the Browns thirteen. The final penny
fittingly lands on tails where the poop color Brown's helmet
comes from. Going with Cleveland alright, Cleveland is the team
(17:14):
next up Houston to and one boy. This is a
game designed for the penny to and one Houston at
Indianapolis four eleven and one. It's on CBS Game of
the Week. Ye oh yeah, who's gonna be watching this?
And it with Spirodidas and Jay Feel you have the
call over there on CBS. The Colts opened at two
(17:34):
and a half point favorite, and they are favored by
two and a half. Still, the money's pretty even on
this game. Both teams would be better off long term
by losing at Lucas Oil Stadium a dome. And I'm
not going to give you any kind of numbers on
this because across the board the numbers are irrelevant. I'm
gonna take the Texans in this game. This is a game,
(17:55):
as we said, design for the penny, not for me.
Both these teams as will be better off higher draft picks.
Houston can wrap up the number one pick. They'll screw
themselves over though they will end up blowing the number
one pick. The Bears will get the number one pick,
and then Lovey Smith will end up losing his job.
The main reason I like the Texans is because Sam
Ellinger is going to start for the Colts and I've
(18:16):
seen this guy and he stinks. And Davis Mills should
be able to use the play action. The Colts can't
stop the run. The play actions should open things up,
but who are we kidding? This game is gonna be
unly the capital you Texans. It's twenty and the Colts ten.
(18:38):
The final. There goes the number one pick. Congratulations Chicago. Yea,
the penny lands on heads going with the Colts. Alright, Colts,
it is next up Tampa Bay at Atlanta. It's on
Fox with Adam Amine and Mark Slabor. They have the
(18:59):
call All and Bucks come in eight and eight, Atlanta
six and ten. Falcons favored by four. This game open
to pick him. Everyone's like, why is Atlanta favored by four?
I'll tell you because the gambling market they understand that
Tampa Bay is not going to play their starters. Todd
Bowles said He's going to play as starters, but the
the insiders say that's not the case. Falcons. My I'm
(19:23):
taking the Falcons because I would rather have my money
on the starters for Atlanta then the backups Blaine Gabbard
and Kyle Trask and those guys for the Tampa Buccaneers.
But Brady'll like the start this game. You'll play a
couple of series and then that's it. And even when
he's in there, you'll talk about a very conservative vanilla offense.
(19:44):
Falcons twenty seven bucks seventeen. I must be I must
be high. Yeah, an he going the other way again,
taking the bucks. All right? Next up Carolina at Orlans.
It's on Fox with Jason Bennetti and Fox Sports Radios
(20:08):
Brady Quinn. They will have the call there. Yeah, well
on the Fox box that rocks. The Saints open a
three point favorite at the Superdome. They are favored by
three and a half. And I actually like Carolina. Both
these teams not going to the place, but I'm gonna
take Caroline. Actually have a strong opinion on this game,
which makes no sense, but uh, styles make fights. Carolina
(20:30):
matches up very well with the Orleans and the Panthers
should be able to box up Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill,
forcing Andy Dalton to throw and that is a recipe
for despair. Also, the Panthers offense, they are able to
move the ball on the ground here. The Saints have
shown some weak spots on that run defense, so Deonte
(20:52):
Foreman and Cuba Hubbard. Uh, those two guys should be
able to move the ball, it's gonna be closed. But
the Saints should not be favored by more than a
field goal. So I'll take the Panthers and the Saints
twenty three as Carolina ends the year on a winning
note and the Penny go in the other direction again.
(21:16):
What a battle so far this week, taking the as
a lot of disagreement, A lot of disagreement, all right.
So this next game is up in the air. It's
New England eight and eight at Buffalo twelve and three.
It's on CBS with Jim Nance and Tony Romo. The
Bill's favored in this game. They opened up a tenant
(21:37):
a point favorite. They're favored by six and a half.
At the time we are recording Venni versus the Penny,
it is green light go. This game will be played.
That is obviously something that could change, but at this moment,
as we're talking right now, this game will be played
at High March Stadium in Buffalo, temperatures in the twenties
that kick off. It is a must win game for
the Patriots, and the Patriots have not done well against
(21:59):
running quarterback acts. And obviously this story here is what
happens with Buffalo and the game Monday night postponed because
Damar Hamlin was injured in Cincinnati hospital and all that
just a horrible, horrible situation. And this is a a
mind bendor to handicap. I'm gonna take the Patriots. Now,
(22:19):
this is gonna go one of two ways here, uh
this game. Either Buffalo comes out flat, emotionally spent, just
not wanting to play the game, and they come out
like zombies, and the Patriots win this game either comfortably
or that they end up winning the game outright, does
Josh Allen rally trips? The other scenario is that the
(22:40):
Bills rally around their falling teammate Damar Hamlin, and they
stampede the Buffalo Rome past the Patriots. And if if
all things were equal, you would take Buffalo and they
would win this game by a wide margin. But all
things are not equal here. Uh and and so I'm
gonna take the page. I don't think Buffalo they play
(23:01):
this game. I don't think Buffalo's got much in it.
So I'll take the Patriots twenty and the Bills seventeen.
And the penny says the Bills are gonna storm out
like the Sabers and win it for Hamlin. All right,
let's get back to it here and the next game up.
(23:22):
Next game up for US Baltimore ten and six at
Cincinnati eleven and four. The Bengals another one of these
teams affected by obviously what happened in Monday Night Monday
Night Football, and the Bengals game postponed against Buffalo on
Monday Night. The Bengals opened up a six and ap
point favorite. They're favored by seven in this game at
(23:45):
ay Core Stadium in the Natty, mostly cloudy temperatures in
the thirties that kick off. I'm gonna take the Ravens
in this game. And here's why Joe Burrow has been
playing grade. He's been painting the Mona Lisa on a
weekly basis. The Ravens off will not be able to
keep up in a shootout situation. Lamar Jackson still not playing,
(24:05):
malingering with that knee injury, not practicing, not gonna play here.
Tyler Huntley the backup quarterback who's not particularly good. He's
got a messed up risk. So this could be Anthony Brown,
the third string guy for Baltimore. But the Ravens the
style of way play, the ground out games they run
the ball. I mean considering that Cincinnati is also in
(24:29):
this weird twilight zone situation because they were on the
other side in the game against Buffalo, and Tee Higgins
is the guy that was tackled by Tamar Hamlin when
the fluke a situation happened with the cardiac arrest and
all that, so I'm not sure how they're going to
respond either. I do expect the distraction due to play
(24:50):
into this with the Bengals, and it should be enough.
This is gonna be a close game. These teams played
earlier this season and Baltimore one nineteen to set and team,
and I'm not convinced, even with the backup quarterback and
all that, I'm not convinced that there's that much separation
between the Bengals and Ravens. So I will take the
(25:13):
Bengals to win, but the Ravens to cover that seven
point number. Bengals twenty four, Ravens twenty the final and
the Penny lands on heads for the third straight time,
taking the Bengals out right, all right, so we uh
we disagree on that. Next up, Minnesota at Chicago Vikings
(25:39):
twelve and four, Bears three and thirteen. It's on Fox
with Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma. The Vikings opened up
a one point road favorite at Soldier Field. They're favorite
by seven and a half in this game. Holy Canoli
and most everyone betting on Minnesota, and I am too.
I'm going with the mob here. I'm taking the Vikings.
(25:59):
The main reason is justin Fields. The only player that
makes any kind of plays for the Bears is out.
So Nathan Peterman. It's a Peterman special, the point dexter quarterbacks.
He will be under center for Chicago. Huge advantage obviously
for the Vikings. Now, the thing that scares you a
little bit, Kirk Cousin is not a great cold weather quarterback,
not a great quarterback when you're expecting him to dominate.
(26:22):
It is a Sunday afternoon game. Uh. And here's the
deal in this, right, Minnesota, they've got something to play
for if the forty Niners lose. But the Niners are
playing Arizona, and Arizona's playing a bunch of backups, so
that's very unlikely. So there is a possibility that we
take Minnesota and they play a bunch of backups. But
(26:42):
even the Viking backups are better than Nathan Peterman and
I'll take the Vikings all day and twice on Sunday,
Minnesota seven and the Bears ten. The final penny lands
on tail says, I ain't no dummy going with you
(27:05):
taking the Vikings. Let's get to the late game. So
that that Cincinnati game, I believe it is an early game.
There were there was a flip flop situation already talked
about that game. So the late games will start with
the Giants nine six and one at Philadelphia, and they
come in here thirteen and three, but a couple of
(27:27):
losses in a row for the Eagles. It's on CBS.
I an Eagle and Charles Davis have the call. Eagles
opened up a two point favorite that has gone up
up by the way, fourteen point favorite now Philadelphia, the
Giants getting slightly more of the money at Lincoln Financial Field,
Cloudy in thirties seven degrees at kickoff in the Delaware Valley.
(27:50):
And this is one of those games I I went
back and forth. I wanted to pick the Giants. I
wanted to take the Giants because of the points, but
then I realized this week eighteen and you got the
Giants who are gonna have a bunch of guys lollygagging around.
They were there in the playoffs, are gonna be resting
a number of starters, and Philadelphia has got to wrap
(28:11):
up that number one seeds. So there's direct motivation here.
And you always want to go with the team that's
more motivated than the team that's not motivated. That's just
common sense one oh one when you bet on these games.
So I'm taking I can't believe I'm doing I'm taking
the Eagles minus fourteen minus fourteen, and the Eagles have
been very sloppy of late. They did not show up
(28:35):
the first half against the Saints last week. Gardner Minshoe
has been in a giving mood. He maybe starting again.
He'll likely play. Jalen Hurts is a possibility at the
time we are doing Benny versus the Penny to play,
but even if he plays, how much is he gonna play?
Lane Johnson, the tackle for the Eagles, is still out.
The Giants have nothing to gain here and supposedly everything
(28:59):
to lose, and the whis spers indicate that Brian Dable
will be showcasing the backup, which means the Giants will
be going with Matt Brita. The running back instead of
Sequan Barkley and Tyrod Taylor the quarterback. I load betting
big favorites, but this is the exception of the rules.
We said Eagles thirty four, Giants seventeen the final, and
(29:23):
Philly covers that big number. And the penny has been
a big fan of the Eagles this season also taken Philly. Here.
Next up Dallas twelve and four at Washington seven, eight
and one on Fox with Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen.
(29:43):
The Cowboys opened up a road uh road fit four
and a half, their favorite by seven now as seven
point favorite for Dallas. Most people betting on the Cowboys
in this game. Rain light rain throughout the early part
of the day there in the Greater DC era and
landover Maryland at FedEx Field, and I want to take
(30:07):
the Commanders in this game. There's a shocker that Commanders
and the Cowboys in recent years have been a dreadful
team in January. It's like flogging a dead pony. The
Cowboy three and twelve. They've been lifeless against the spread
their last fifteen January games. Dak Prescotts played very well
against the Commanders. I don't know how much Dax's gonna
(30:27):
play in this game. The Commanders. I understand the argument.
They're playing out the string. They have little motivations. Could
be Ron Rivera's last game, but I expect Mike McCarthy
to pull the starters at least midway through. So you're
betting on Cowboy backups. Taylor Heineke was supposed to start
this game for Washington. He tapped out, so the gig
(30:47):
goes to the Greenhorns. Sam Howell. I don't know what
you're gonna get from samhow All I know is he
can't be much worse than Heineke, and I guarantee he's
gonna be better than Carson Wentz who pooped the bed
last week. It is possibly get a black effort from Washington,
but I say they'll they'll duke it out here and
they will play with some pride. And you're getting this
(31:09):
many points and Dallas playing their backups. Cowboys will not
cover the number. Dallas the Commanders smelling the roses and
the penny. He is going with Dallas, alright, So we
disagree on that one. Next up, Arizona at San Francisco.
(31:32):
Arizona four and twelve, San Francisco twelve and four. It's
on Fox FSR Alumni Association Active Dudes paying member Chris
Myers and Robert Smith have the call. The forty Niners
opened up a ten and a half point favorite in
(31:53):
this game. They're favorite by fourteen at Levi's Stadium in
the Bay in Santa Clara, mostly cloudy. It appears the
bomb cyclone will stop raining for this game on Sunday.
And the Arizona Cardinals have been a miserable team of late,
and they've also been a bad team against good teams.
(32:15):
Are four and eleven against the spread their last fifteen
against teams with a winning record. Forty Niners lost last
week against the number, but there's six and one against
the spread. And this is the second time this is
a Week eighteen special. Here I'm again gonna bet on
a fourteen point favorite. The of my pick. I'm I
(32:35):
I'm going crazy here dating. I'm losing my mind here.
I just I can't bet on the Cardinals. They're gonna
start David Blah who blows at quarterback. He's the third
string quarterback. Trace mcsorley's the backup. He could play. Colt
McCoy's out. DeAndre Hopkins is out. Several other starters are
(32:56):
not playing for Arizona. I don't know how the Cardinals
are gonna score more than ten points in this game,
and they're gonna need a brock Purty turnover to get
to that ten points. This has a monster mash written
all over it. And uh, the forty Niners can pretty
much right their score. Arizona is so bad at this
(33:17):
point this will be Cliff Kingsbury's last game as Cardinals coach.
Forty Niners seven and the Cardinals as the bell rings,
the Cardinals twenty Cardinals seven, So seven to seven, the
forty Niners with the win, and the penny is living
(33:38):
on the edge, going with the weak Cardinals. That's a dumb,
dumb pick, alright, even though it's fourteen points. Come on.
Next up, the l A r i Am is at
five and eleven. In Seattle comes in at eight and eight.
It's on Fox. Kevin Coogler and Mark Sanchez have the call.
Is it a trick or treat for Seattle? They can
punch their ticket to the playoffs with a win in
(33:58):
this game. Seahawks opened up a three point favorite. They're
certainly not out of harm's way, but they are favored
by six and a half in this game and Loomans
Stadium in Seattle Cloudy in fifty degrees that kick off
the Rams one four and two against the spread on
the road with Seawan McVeigh this season, I don't take
(34:19):
l a in this game. There's a lot of pressure
on the line for Seattle. Their defense el stinko, he
you what stinks, and the Rams will be able to
metrick it the ball up and down the field with
Baker Mayfield. These teams played earlier this year and Seattle
won by four points and John Wolford started that game.
Baker Mayfield is a tangibly better quarterback than John Wolford,
(34:43):
although he didn't play like that last week against a
good Charger defense, Seattle does not present much of a
challenge the Rams. Last time they played, Seattle ran for
a hundred and seventy one yards as a team. I'm
telling you getting six and a half an honest effort
from the Rams staring Seattle in the face, and the
Rams thirty they upset Seattle, meaning that Detroit can make
(35:06):
the playoffs. In that Sunday night game, it's almost like
it's all rigged. Rams thirty Seahawks seven. Oh my god,
what a choke job for Seattle. And the penny says,
Homer pick from you guarding the Rams. Yeah wrong, going
(35:27):
with the Seahawks al right. Next up a last game
in the late television window, the l A Chargers ten
and six at Denver four and twelve. It's on CBS
with Andrew Catalan and James Lofton. Chargers opened up a
small underdog. Actually, Broncos were favorite by two, Charges favored
by three in this game, and I'm gonna I'm gonna
(35:51):
take the I'm gonna take the Broncos in this game.
Is one of those games I went back and fourth
on and then I realized, what are you doing here?
If the Chargers were playing their guys, you take Joey
Bosa and Khalil Mack to destroy Russell Wilson. But that's
not what's going on here. If Austin Eckler was gonna
play the entire game, he'd slice up the Broncos defense.
(36:12):
But he's not gonna play the entire game. The Chargers
are pretty much announced. The starters are gonna sit the
bulk of this game, and the wise guys, the sharp
gamblers are loading up on the Broncos, So I'll take
the Denverse starters over the Charger backups. Sorry, Chase, Daniel
and easton stick Broncos three Chargers twenty Mr unlimated into
(36:37):
the wind call and I guess the Penny likes the
depth of the Chargers going with the former San Diego team.
A lot of disagreement on Benny versus the Penny here,
all right? Next up Detroit Detroit Football eight and eight
(36:58):
at green Bay also eight and eate Holy grilled Cheese
Sandwich Batman. The Lions and Packers have the same record.
It's on NBC with Mike Rico and Chris Colin's Worthy
Flex Sunday night game. Packers opened a three and a
point favorite, their favorite by four and a half. Most
people betting on the Packers partly cloudy temperatures in the
(37:22):
twenties at lambeau Field. And I am going to take
the Green Bay Packers in this game. There's no I
like the Lions, and I hope I'm wrong on this.
I would love for me to be wrong in the
Lions to sneak into the playoffs. Some now Seattle loses,
but I am not betting on Jared golf who still
got a lot of tinsel town. Enemy's not a cold
(37:42):
weather greedy guy. Uh. We saw this against Carolina a
couple of weeks ago, cold weather game. He went out
there and was like Frosty the Snowman. This is a
recipe for disaster for the Lions. He's like pipes that
freeze up. The Packers playing with a little bit of
razmatazz these days. They will benefit from multiple turnovers by Detroit.
(38:07):
And I hate to say it, but the Packers in
a blowout as they study the ship. Here again, Packers
thirty and the Lions thirteen. The final Finally an agreement
as the Penny is also going with the pack Gonna
(38:27):
smoke out with Aaron Rodgers after the win Ayahuasca side
by side. All right, Well, that is it for Benny
Versus the Penny. We will have wild Card Round edition
of the Benny Versus the Penny Podcast and a full
weekend of podcast. We'll spit our guts out talking about
all kinds of random nonsense on the Saturday podcast, The
Life of Mallard and Danny g and then the mail
(38:50):
Bag on Sunday. So have a great rest of your Friday.
If you're listening to us on Friday. If you're listening
to us on Saturday, a great Saturday, whatever it is,
just have a great day and we will catch you
next time. Later. Skater gotta murder, Gotta go.
Ka boom. If you thought four hours a day, minutes
a week was enough, think again. He's the last remnants
of the old republic, a sole fashion of fairness. He
treats crackheads in the ghetto gutter the same as the
rich pill poppers in the penthouse to clearinghouse of hot takes,
break free for something special. The Fifth Hour with Ben
(00:24):
Maller starts right now in the air everywhere, and it
is a brain spanking new year. The first full weekend
of the Fifth Hour with Ben Maller and Danny G
as we officially kick off. I know we had the
(00:47):
mailbag last week, Dandy, but this is the full Monty
for the brand new year, as we kick things off
and we do it the right way. The final full
mission of Betty versus the Penny. Let's strike up the band.
Welcome players, You're welcome. It's time now Betty versus the
(01:14):
Penny and the crowd goes wild and all that, and
Danny G we have reached the end of the regular
season in the NFL. It's always odd because doing what
we do for a living in sports radio, we pretty
much make our entire lives. We mold our lives around
(01:36):
the NFL. And so it's a weird thing because it's
it's exciting the playoffs starting, but at the same time,
you're like, now like most of the team's half the
teams are being eliminated, um and more than half of
the team. So it's a weird time of the year.
First of all, I can't believe that we've already gone
through an entire season. Secondly, does this mean I'm gonna
(01:59):
now spend off of my life again chasing around Brian Billick. Yes, yes,
I did get some email from people saying I can't
wait till the interviews come back, and I'm like, well, yeah,
I don't know. On this side, it might not be
the same. Well no, I mean we we can rotate through.
We have we have friends at Fox Sports three. We'll
figure it out. Brian bill Brian Billick. He used the whale,
(02:23):
though it used to be Michael Jordan's. The whale is
Brian Billick. I think what we should do is just
just let's just funk around and we'll just put on
a bunch of like old school NFL coaches, Like we'll
track down Jerry Glanville, we'll put him on right well,
you know, you know these guys that are they dead,
are alive. You know the guys that we were we
were younger. We'll track them down, we'll put them on.
(02:45):
Just we had Jim, Jim Moron, who's God bless Jim.
He's close to ninety, but we knew him. I knew
him from his days at Fox Pus Radio. Baby, like
these old school coaches. Man, that's the way to go.
I think we'll do a bunch of those guys And
if anybody wants to recommend. Now, we still have Benny
Versus I want to clarify we will have a hybrid
version of Benny Versus the Penny coming up because we've
(03:07):
got the wild Card weekend next week, so that'll do it.
And we can pretty much do this all the way
up to the Super Bowl, with the exception in the
week before depending on what's going on. So we will
have a lot of a lot of Benny Versus the Penny. Still,
we're gonna be broadcasting live from the Pro Bowl, right, Yes, yes,
(03:27):
unless we don't. I'm sure. I'm sure that's in the budget,
unless it's not. So before we get to the games
on hand, let's look back and see what happened back
in Week seventeen. Before you look ahead, you gotta look back,
learned from me mistakes, and never make them again. So
Week seventeen, I've been saying all year, at some point,
the ship's gonna hit the fan. I've been winning way
(03:48):
too many bets here, and it happened in Week seventeen.
It was a debacle for yours, truly here. Everything I
thought was going to happen didn't happen. Guys that I
expected to play or play well didn't play well or
got hurt. It was a total crap fest. I lost
a couple of games on bad beats, and that's what happens.
(04:10):
And so five there were fifteen games. They're supposed to
be sixteen games. Obviously the story in Buffalo and Cincinnati
that game was not played. But the fifteen games, I
want five and ten Danny five and ten against the spread.
That's any like performance. God, that blows man. I suck
(04:30):
five and ten, three thirty three winning percentage half the
Sign of the Devil. The Penny beat Me had eight wins,
but only one game above five. Eight and seven for
the Penny. That is now back to back winning weeks
for the Penny, and three out of the last four
weeks the Pennies had a winning record, and this is
my first losing week I believe all actually since Week two,
(04:54):
so I've had two losing weekends overall, Week two and
Week seventeen, and so overall overall my record a hundred
forty five wins, hundred four losses to five eighty two
winning percent so I'm still within the margin of making
money the penny hundred wins, hundred and thirty losses and
(05:14):
four ties, that's a four eighty two winning percentage. Just
to recap a couple of things. In Week seventeen, I
mentioned I had some bad beats. The Patriots gave up
a touchdown with a minute four left in the in
the in the g D game on the clock, they
lost the bet by a half point on the spread,
and just brutal Carolina was up fourteen nothing early in Tampa.
(05:40):
They had a lead fourth quarter, end up losing by
six and they were three point underdogs, which seems hard
to do, but Sam Donald puked it up the Bears.
That was not a close game, but they led after
the first quarter, and then Justin Fields got dinged up
and from that point from the time Justin Fields got hurt.
(06:01):
To the end of the game, Chicago was outscored thirty
four nothing by the Lions. I had some some investment
in the Colts. Nick Foles got hurt on the snow
Angel Sack uh covon Thip Thibodeau, and that did in
the the Colts. Mike White stunk for the Jets, he
(06:22):
got hurt. Carson Wentz garbage for the Commanders. I go
on and on um anyway, so it was it not
a great weekend for We made a good call on
stid Um though. Remember how I told you really spinning
the ball in McDaniel's system. Yeah, he looked great. That
was That was one I didn't have to sweat. Even
though the Raiders lost the game, they were right there
neck and neck, and they were they were leading the game,
(06:45):
playing very well. And I guess the number one defense
in the NFL. All right, let's get to it. Here
we go, final full weekend for twenty two slash three.
We'll have to wait till next year for the full Monty,
but here is week A team Remember sports handicapping for
the regular guy Wench The Numbers spent a lot of
time looking over these games. Home team is heads. Road
team is tales. The penny does not speak, so representing
(07:07):
the penny, that would be Danny G. Radio, Daddy or
Daddy G Radio as we're calling him. Now. All right,
here we go Kansas City thirteen and three at Las
Vegas six and ten, This game kicking off Saturday afternoon,
the final game for Danny G's Raiders this season. Yeah,
(07:27):
I got got flexed. The Chiefs opened up a ten
point favorite. The line on this is nine and a
half Chiefs favored by the public, almost se of the
handle in favor of Kansas City at Allegian Stadium, the
house Danny G visited a couple of weeks ago. The
Chiefs one in ten against the spread, their last ten
(07:48):
against the a f C. They've been miserable owen seven
on the road their last seven against conference rivals, and
the Raiders have been very good as an underdog, although
most of that with different players who are not currently
playing for the Silver and Black. But I'm gonna take
the Raiders in this game. I was a little concerned,
Danny I saw Jared stidn't miss some time and practice
(08:09):
this week. We believe he's going to play. He better play.
He got off to a blazing start against the Niners
last week. Just mentioned that three sixty five yards, three
touchdowns against the supposed number one defense in the NFL.
He did have the two interceptions. This is it the Stidhum.
You realize what's on the line in this game. If
he goes out there and has three more touchdowns and
(08:30):
passes for three yards and looks great against the Chiefs,
all of a sudden, the Raiders have to say, wait
a minute, what do we do next year? Do we
allow this guy to have a legitimate chance to win
the starting job? I mean that that's that's what's on
the line here for this audition for Stidham. So it's
a big f and deal for him and the Raiders
(08:51):
looking to end on a positive note for whatever that's worth.
The Chiefs have shown a tendency here to not blow
the doors off opponents that yet think they're gonna blow
the doors off here. I'm I might be crazy on this, Danny,
but I actually like the Raiders a lot. Getting that
many points, almost double digits, So I'm gonna take the
Raiders with the points, Chiefs will win the game. Raiders
(09:14):
win the bet, Chiefs seven, and the Raiders twenty four
the final and the Penny lands on Heads agrees with you,
going with Las Vegas. All right, Now, keep in mind
this is the hardest week in the NFL. The handicapped
Danny because you don't know the motivation. Now this next game,
(09:35):
you do know the motivation. Tennessee seven and nine, you're
the only ten I see at Jacksonville eight and eight,
and this game being played in Jacksonville, and the Jaguars
opened up a six and a half point favorite. They're
favored by six. What kind of bizarro world is this
(09:56):
where Jacksonville's favored by six points in a key game
to make the playoffs. But that's the story. At t
I a a bank field as temperatures in the sixties
that kick off her Titans and won eleven of the
last fourteen meetings. Mike Rabel has been so good as
an underdog. We give the stat all the time. Great
record one and nine as an underdog with three or
(10:17):
more points. And I'm gonna take the Titans in this game.
Joshua Dobbs making his second start. I learned a little
bit about him this week. He played against the Cowboys
and it was okay. He wasn't great. He's okay in
that game. Uh, the Cowboys ended up covering the spread.
But Dobbs isn't He's got an aerospace degree. He was
an intern at NASA. So that's all kind of interesting crap.
(10:39):
And it's the a f C championship game. These teams
played back in Week fourteen. Jacksonville won that game thirty two,
but that game misleading. Jacksonville scored twenty of their thirty
six points directly off turnovers from Tennessee. The Titans very
generous in that game. They were in the holiday spirit.
They gave They gave the ball away four times. Derrick
(11:01):
Henry had two fumbles, and certainly expect a cleaner game here.
Despite Dobbs not having much experience, Tennessee will be able
to move the ball. Henry average seven yards per carry
against Jacksonville the last time out. I know some new
players in the lineup. Things are a little different than
they were back then, but the choke factor is very big.
(11:23):
I don't completely trust Jacksonville. They've looked great lately. I'm
not sold that's legit. This should be a nip and
tuck game. Even with the backup backup quarterback third stringer
plan for the Titans. Remember the Titans in this game Tennessee.
They win the game Jacksonville the final and the Penny
(11:50):
says that it looks like Trevor Lawrence is going to
be the one who looks like an astronaut going with
the Jags. Well, the NFL would like that because I
was talking to I was actually texting. I don't talk
to anybody's you know, Danny, but I was texting somebody,
and they were like, oh yeah. The NFL, they they're
ready to hype up Lawrence next year that Jacksonville is
gonna be one of those teams that gets those extra
(12:12):
prime time games. You know how they've been doing it
with the Chargers where they're trying to hype up Justin
Herbert and building up the mythology of Herbert. Will keep
an eye on Jacksonville next year, especially if they win
this game. Watch out. All right, Let's get to the
Sunday card. The New York Jets wicked bad in the year.
At seven and nine. They are at Miami eight and eight.
(12:34):
It's on Fox. Joe Davis and Darryl Johnson have a
call on Fox and the Jets. This game opened up
Dolphins by four. Jets are actually favored in this game
by one. Hello at hard Rock Stadium, temperatures in the
high seventies at kickoff, and the reason the Jets are
(12:54):
favorite because of the injury situation with the Dolphins. But
the Jets two and five against the spread their last seven,
they've been a miserable team going back several years when
they've had to travel more than a thousand yards, more
than a thousand miles. Thousand yards, I think they'll be
all right. Thousand miles probably not so much. But anyway,
I'm gonna take the Dolphins in this game. There's two
main reasons here. Let me tell you my my logic
(13:16):
behind this is how I came up with this as
I dissected this game. So the Dolphins, there's two reasons.
Like Miami, they still have a shot at the playoffs
even with their backup Skyler Thompson. I'm not sitting here
saying Skylar Thompson is good. I don't think he is
nors Mike Glenn in the draft, who they just signed
with that long neck as the the emergency quarterback. But
(13:38):
this is a vote of no confidence for Gang Green
the Jets. Mike White poop the bed in Seattle. He
had no control over his passes. I don't think that
changes much here. This has Debacco written all over it.
We would not be shocked if this Jets team just
goes through the motions and and plays safe and not
(13:58):
to get hurt. You know, I hear that a lot.
We've worked with a lot of NFL guys over the years,
and they always, they often have said, in week eighteen
or it used to be week seventeen, just be week sixteen.
But the main goal when you're not making the playoffs
is to not get hurt because you want to go
on vacation. You don't want to have to rehab when
you're when you're in the off season, and if you
get hurt in week seventeen or week eighteen, you gotta rehab. Anyway,
(14:21):
it's gonna be an ugly game. Dolphins will end up
winning it nineteen ten, Miami in the win column, l
end up nine and eight in the regular season, and
the penny goes again in the other direction, going with
the J T J E T S suck sucks suck,
(14:43):
all right. See, it would have been better if you
misspelled it. Then we could have used that as a
drop Dandy almost gonna j U c K sucks b
B L O W blow. All right, uh, all right,
next up Cleveland. Hello, seven and nine at Pittsburgh. And
(15:03):
they come into this game with a miserable record themselves.
They are a game better than Cleveland. The Steelers opened
up a one and a half point favorite. They're favored
by two and a half in this game. And uh
the slight lean on the money to the Browns at
(15:24):
the stadium formerly known as Heinz Field, temperatures in the
thirties and cloudy at kickoff in the Berg. And I'm
gonna take the Steelers in this game now when you
boil things down. Kenny Pickett has been captain come back,
Captain clutch every want to say it, but he's also
been crummy for seventy of these recent Steeler games. And
(15:44):
then he's been, you know, been amazing late in the game,
these these drives against Baltimore and your Raiders. Sorry Danny
the week before, but living on a wing and a prayer,
and I expect much of the same in this game.
There's gonna be a close game, and then the Steelers
should be able to actually have more success on the
ground with Nag Harris against a very suspect Cleveland run defense.
(16:06):
In the passing game, Deshaun Watson had a had a
big game the creepy quarterback last week against Washington. However,
that was more of a byproduct of the secondary for
the Commanders being dinged up. I don't I don't think
we'll see the similar result here. T J. Watt will
be in the face of Watson early and often, but
(16:30):
this will be another nail biter. And the fact that
you're getting over you're getting two and a half. So
if the number was three, I would likely go the other.
I think that's how close this game is. I think
it comes down to the field. I think Pittsburgh. I
believe Pittsburgh the better team here, and you will have
a mix of Cleveland guys that are not gonna be
(16:51):
playing with pride. They'll be like worried about going on vacation.
So Steelers sixteen and the Browns thirteen. The final penny
fittingly lands on tails where the poop color Brown's helmet
comes from. Going with Cleveland alright, Cleveland is the team
(17:14):
next up Houston to and one boy. This is a
game designed for the penny to and one Houston at
Indianapolis four eleven and one. It's on CBS Game of
the Week. Ye oh yeah, who's gonna be watching this?
And it with Spirodidas and Jay Feel you have the
call over there on CBS. The Colts opened at two
(17:34):
and a half point favorite, and they are favored by
two and a half. Still, the money's pretty even on
this game. Both teams would be better off long term
by losing at Lucas Oil Stadium a dome. And I'm
not going to give you any kind of numbers on
this because across the board the numbers are irrelevant. I'm
gonna take the Texans in this game. This is a game,
(17:55):
as we said, design for the penny, not for me.
Both these teams as will be better off higher draft picks.
Houston can wrap up the number one pick. They'll screw
themselves over though they will end up blowing the number
one pick. The Bears will get the number one pick,
and then Lovey Smith will end up losing his job.
The main reason I like the Texans is because Sam
Ellinger is going to start for the Colts and I've
(18:16):
seen this guy and he stinks. And Davis Mills should
be able to use the play action. The Colts can't
stop the run. The play actions should open things up,
but who are we kidding? This game is gonna be
unly the capital you Texans. It's twenty and the Colts ten.
(18:38):
The final. There goes the number one pick. Congratulations Chicago. Yea,
the penny lands on heads going with the Colts. Alright, Colts,
it is next up Tampa Bay at Atlanta. It's on
Fox with Adam Amine and Mark Slabor. They have the
(18:59):
call All and Bucks come in eight and eight, Atlanta
six and ten. Falcons favored by four. This game open
to pick him. Everyone's like, why is Atlanta favored by four?
I'll tell you because the gambling market they understand that
Tampa Bay is not going to play their starters. Todd
Bowles said He's going to play as starters, but the
the insiders say that's not the case. Falcons. My I'm
(19:23):
taking the Falcons because I would rather have my money
on the starters for Atlanta then the backups Blaine Gabbard
and Kyle Trask and those guys for the Tampa Buccaneers.
But Brady'll like the start this game. You'll play a
couple of series and then that's it. And even when
he's in there, you'll talk about a very conservative vanilla offense.
(19:44):
Falcons twenty seven bucks seventeen. I must be I must
be high. Yeah, an he going the other way again,
taking the bucks. All right? Next up Carolina at Orlans.
It's on Fox with Jason Bennetti and Fox Sports Radios
(20:08):
Brady Quinn. They will have the call there. Yeah, well
on the Fox box that rocks. The Saints open a
three point favorite at the Superdome. They are favored by
three and a half. And I actually like Carolina. Both
these teams not going to the place, but I'm gonna
take Caroline. Actually have a strong opinion on this game,
which makes no sense, but uh, styles make fights. Carolina
(20:30):
matches up very well with the Orleans and the Panthers
should be able to box up Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill,
forcing Andy Dalton to throw and that is a recipe
for despair. Also, the Panthers offense, they are able to
move the ball on the ground here. The Saints have
shown some weak spots on that run defense, so Deonte
(20:52):
Foreman and Cuba Hubbard. Uh, those two guys should be
able to move the ball, it's gonna be closed. But
the Saints should not be favored by more than a
field goal. So I'll take the Panthers and the Saints
twenty three as Carolina ends the year on a winning
note and the Penny go in the other direction again.
(21:16):
What a battle so far this week, taking the as
a lot of disagreement, A lot of disagreement, all right.
So this next game is up in the air. It's
New England eight and eight at Buffalo twelve and three.
It's on CBS with Jim Nance and Tony Romo. The
Bill's favored in this game. They opened up a tenant
(21:37):
a point favorite. They're favored by six and a half.
At the time we are recording Venni versus the Penny,
it is green light go. This game will be played.
That is obviously something that could change, but at this moment,
as we're talking right now, this game will be played
at High March Stadium in Buffalo, temperatures in the twenties
that kick off. It is a must win game for
the Patriots, and the Patriots have not done well against
(21:59):
running quarterback acts. And obviously this story here is what
happens with Buffalo and the game Monday night postponed because
Damar Hamlin was injured in Cincinnati hospital and all that
just a horrible, horrible situation. And this is a a
mind bendor to handicap. I'm gonna take the Patriots. Now,
(22:19):
this is gonna go one of two ways here, uh
this game. Either Buffalo comes out flat, emotionally spent, just
not wanting to play the game, and they come out
like zombies, and the Patriots win this game either comfortably
or that they end up winning the game outright, does
Josh Allen rally trips? The other scenario is that the
(22:40):
Bills rally around their falling teammate Damar Hamlin, and they
stampede the Buffalo Rome past the Patriots. And if if
all things were equal, you would take Buffalo and they
would win this game by a wide margin. But all
things are not equal here. Uh and and so I'm
gonna take the page. I don't think Buffalo they play
(23:01):
this game. I don't think Buffalo's got much in it.
So I'll take the Patriots twenty and the Bills seventeen.
And the penny says the Bills are gonna storm out
like the Sabers and win it for Hamlin. All right,
let's get back to it here and the next game up.
(23:22):
Next game up for US Baltimore ten and six at
Cincinnati eleven and four. The Bengals another one of these
teams affected by obviously what happened in Monday Night Monday
Night Football, and the Bengals game postponed against Buffalo on
Monday Night. The Bengals opened up a six and ap
point favorite. They're favored by seven in this game at
(23:45):
ay Core Stadium in the Natty, mostly cloudy temperatures in
the thirties that kick off. I'm gonna take the Ravens
in this game. And here's why Joe Burrow has been
playing grade. He's been painting the Mona Lisa on a
weekly basis. The Ravens off will not be able to
keep up in a shootout situation. Lamar Jackson still not playing,
(24:05):
malingering with that knee injury, not practicing, not gonna play here.
Tyler Huntley the backup quarterback who's not particularly good. He's
got a messed up risk. So this could be Anthony Brown,
the third string guy for Baltimore. But the Ravens the
style of way play, the ground out games they run
the ball. I mean considering that Cincinnati is also in
(24:29):
this weird twilight zone situation because they were on the
other side in the game against Buffalo, and Tee Higgins
is the guy that was tackled by Tamar Hamlin when
the fluke a situation happened with the cardiac arrest and
all that, so I'm not sure how they're going to
respond either. I do expect the distraction due to play
(24:50):
into this with the Bengals, and it should be enough.
This is gonna be a close game. These teams played
earlier this season and Baltimore one nineteen to set and team,
and I'm not convinced, even with the backup quarterback and
all that, I'm not convinced that there's that much separation
between the Bengals and Ravens. So I will take the
(25:13):
Bengals to win, but the Ravens to cover that seven
point number. Bengals twenty four, Ravens twenty the final and
the Penny lands on heads for the third straight time,
taking the Bengals out right, all right, so we uh
we disagree on that. Next up, Minnesota at Chicago Vikings
(25:39):
twelve and four, Bears three and thirteen. It's on Fox
with Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma. The Vikings opened up
a one point road favorite at Soldier Field. They're favorite
by seven and a half in this game. Holy Canoli
and most everyone betting on Minnesota, and I am too.
I'm going with the mob here. I'm taking the Vikings.
(25:59):
The main reason is justin Fields. The only player that
makes any kind of plays for the Bears is out.
So Nathan Peterman. It's a Peterman special, the point dexter quarterbacks.
He will be under center for Chicago. Huge advantage obviously
for the Vikings. Now, the thing that scares you a
little bit, Kirk Cousin is not a great cold weather quarterback,
not a great quarterback when you're expecting him to dominate.
(26:22):
It is a Sunday afternoon game. Uh. And here's the
deal in this, right, Minnesota, they've got something to play
for if the forty Niners lose. But the Niners are
playing Arizona, and Arizona's playing a bunch of backups, so
that's very unlikely. So there is a possibility that we
take Minnesota and they play a bunch of backups. But
(26:42):
even the Viking backups are better than Nathan Peterman and
I'll take the Vikings all day and twice on Sunday,
Minnesota seven and the Bears ten. The final penny lands
on tail says, I ain't no dummy going with you
(27:05):
taking the Vikings. Let's get to the late game. So
that that Cincinnati game, I believe it is an early game.
There were there was a flip flop situation already talked
about that game. So the late games will start with
the Giants nine six and one at Philadelphia, and they
come in here thirteen and three, but a couple of
(27:27):
losses in a row for the Eagles. It's on CBS.
I an Eagle and Charles Davis have the call. Eagles
opened up a two point favorite that has gone up
up by the way, fourteen point favorite now Philadelphia, the
Giants getting slightly more of the money at Lincoln Financial Field,
Cloudy in thirties seven degrees at kickoff in the Delaware Valley.
(27:50):
And this is one of those games I I went
back and forth. I wanted to pick the Giants. I
wanted to take the Giants because of the points, but
then I realized this week eighteen and you got the
Giants who are gonna have a bunch of guys lollygagging around.
They were there in the playoffs, are gonna be resting
a number of starters, and Philadelphia has got to wrap
(28:11):
up that number one seeds. So there's direct motivation here.
And you always want to go with the team that's
more motivated than the team that's not motivated. That's just
common sense one oh one when you bet on these games.
So I'm taking I can't believe I'm doing I'm taking
the Eagles minus fourteen minus fourteen, and the Eagles have
been very sloppy of late. They did not show up
(28:35):
the first half against the Saints last week. Gardner Minshoe
has been in a giving mood. He maybe starting again.
He'll likely play. Jalen Hurts is a possibility at the
time we are doing Benny versus the Penny to play,
but even if he plays, how much is he gonna play?
Lane Johnson, the tackle for the Eagles, is still out.
The Giants have nothing to gain here and supposedly everything
(28:59):
to lose, and the whis spers indicate that Brian Dable
will be showcasing the backup, which means the Giants will
be going with Matt Brita. The running back instead of
Sequan Barkley and Tyrod Taylor the quarterback. I load betting
big favorites, but this is the exception of the rules.
We said Eagles thirty four, Giants seventeen the final, and
(29:23):
Philly covers that big number. And the penny has been
a big fan of the Eagles this season also taken Philly. Here.
Next up Dallas twelve and four at Washington seven, eight
and one on Fox with Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen.
(29:43):
The Cowboys opened up a road uh road fit four
and a half, their favorite by seven now as seven
point favorite for Dallas. Most people betting on the Cowboys
in this game. Rain light rain throughout the early part
of the day there in the Greater DC era and
landover Maryland at FedEx Field, and I want to take
(30:07):
the Commanders in this game. There's a shocker that Commanders
and the Cowboys in recent years have been a dreadful
team in January. It's like flogging a dead pony. The
Cowboy three and twelve. They've been lifeless against the spread
their last fifteen January games. Dak Prescotts played very well
against the Commanders. I don't know how much Dax's gonna
(30:27):
play in this game. The Commanders. I understand the argument.
They're playing out the string. They have little motivations. Could
be Ron Rivera's last game, but I expect Mike McCarthy
to pull the starters at least midway through. So you're
betting on Cowboy backups. Taylor Heineke was supposed to start
this game for Washington. He tapped out, so the gig
(30:47):
goes to the Greenhorns. Sam Howell. I don't know what
you're gonna get from samhow All I know is he
can't be much worse than Heineke, and I guarantee he's
gonna be better than Carson Wentz who pooped the bed
last week. It is possibly get a black effort from Washington,
but I say they'll they'll duke it out here and
they will play with some pride. And you're getting this
(31:09):
many points and Dallas playing their backups. Cowboys will not
cover the number. Dallas the Commanders smelling the roses and
the penny. He is going with Dallas, alright, So we
disagree on that one. Next up, Arizona at San Francisco.
(31:32):
Arizona four and twelve, San Francisco twelve and four. It's
on Fox FSR Alumni Association Active Dudes paying member Chris
Myers and Robert Smith have the call. The forty Niners
opened up a ten and a half point favorite in
(31:53):
this game. They're favorite by fourteen at Levi's Stadium in
the Bay in Santa Clara, mostly cloudy. It appears the
bomb cyclone will stop raining for this game on Sunday.
And the Arizona Cardinals have been a miserable team of late,
and they've also been a bad team against good teams.
(32:15):
Are four and eleven against the spread their last fifteen
against teams with a winning record. Forty Niners lost last
week against the number, but there's six and one against
the spread. And this is the second time this is
a Week eighteen special. Here I'm again gonna bet on
a fourteen point favorite. The of my pick. I'm I
(32:35):
I'm going crazy here dating. I'm losing my mind here.
I just I can't bet on the Cardinals. They're gonna
start David Blah who blows at quarterback. He's the third
string quarterback. Trace mcsorley's the backup. He could play. Colt
McCoy's out. DeAndre Hopkins is out. Several other starters are
(32:56):
not playing for Arizona. I don't know how the Cardinals
are gonna score more than ten points in this game,
and they're gonna need a brock Purty turnover to get
to that ten points. This has a monster mash written
all over it. And uh, the forty Niners can pretty
much right their score. Arizona is so bad at this
(33:17):
point this will be Cliff Kingsbury's last game as Cardinals coach.
Forty Niners seven and the Cardinals as the bell rings,
the Cardinals twenty Cardinals seven, So seven to seven, the
forty Niners with the win, and the penny is living
(33:38):
on the edge, going with the weak Cardinals. That's a dumb,
dumb pick, alright, even though it's fourteen points. Come on.
Next up, the l A r i Am is at
five and eleven. In Seattle comes in at eight and eight.
It's on Fox. Kevin Coogler and Mark Sanchez have the call.
Is it a trick or treat for Seattle? They can
punch their ticket to the playoffs with a win in
(33:58):
this game. Seahawks opened up a three point favorite. They're
certainly not out of harm's way, but they are favored
by six and a half in this game and Loomans
Stadium in Seattle Cloudy in fifty degrees that kick off
the Rams one four and two against the spread on
the road with Seawan McVeigh this season, I don't take
(34:19):
l a in this game. There's a lot of pressure
on the line for Seattle. Their defense el stinko, he
you what stinks, and the Rams will be able to
metrick it the ball up and down the field with
Baker Mayfield. These teams played earlier this year and Seattle
won by four points and John Wolford started that game.
Baker Mayfield is a tangibly better quarterback than John Wolford,
(34:43):
although he didn't play like that last week against a
good Charger defense, Seattle does not present much of a
challenge the Rams. Last time they played, Seattle ran for
a hundred and seventy one yards as a team. I'm
telling you getting six and a half an honest effort
from the Rams staring Seattle in the face, and the
Rams thirty they upset Seattle, meaning that Detroit can make
(35:06):
the playoffs. In that Sunday night game, it's almost like
it's all rigged. Rams thirty Seahawks seven. Oh my god,
what a choke job for Seattle. And the penny says,
Homer pick from you guarding the Rams. Yeah wrong, going
(35:27):
with the Seahawks al right. Next up a last game
in the late television window, the l A Chargers ten
and six at Denver four and twelve. It's on CBS
with Andrew Catalan and James Lofton. Chargers opened up a
small underdog. Actually, Broncos were favorite by two, Charges favored
by three in this game, and I'm gonna I'm gonna
(35:51):
take the I'm gonna take the Broncos in this game.
Is one of those games I went back and fourth
on and then I realized, what are you doing here?
If the Chargers were playing their guys, you take Joey
Bosa and Khalil Mack to destroy Russell Wilson. But that's
not what's going on here. If Austin Eckler was gonna
play the entire game, he'd slice up the Broncos defense.
(36:12):
But he's not gonna play the entire game. The Chargers
are pretty much announced. The starters are gonna sit the
bulk of this game, and the wise guys, the sharp
gamblers are loading up on the Broncos, So I'll take
the Denverse starters over the Charger backups. Sorry, Chase, Daniel
and easton stick Broncos three Chargers twenty Mr unlimated into
(36:37):
the wind call and I guess the Penny likes the
depth of the Chargers going with the former San Diego team.
A lot of disagreement on Benny versus the Penny here,
all right? Next up Detroit Detroit Football eight and eight
(36:58):
at green Bay also eight and eate Holy grilled Cheese
Sandwich Batman. The Lions and Packers have the same record.
It's on NBC with Mike Rico and Chris Colin's Worthy
Flex Sunday night game. Packers opened a three and a
point favorite, their favorite by four and a half. Most
people betting on the Packers partly cloudy temperatures in the
(37:22):
twenties at lambeau Field. And I am going to take
the Green Bay Packers in this game. There's no I
like the Lions, and I hope I'm wrong on this.
I would love for me to be wrong in the
Lions to sneak into the playoffs. Some now Seattle loses,
but I am not betting on Jared golf who still
got a lot of tinsel town. Enemy's not a cold
(37:42):
weather greedy guy. Uh. We saw this against Carolina a
couple of weeks ago, cold weather game. He went out
there and was like Frosty the Snowman. This is a
recipe for disaster for the Lions. He's like pipes that
freeze up. The Packers playing with a little bit of
razmatazz these days. They will benefit from multiple turnovers by Detroit.
(38:07):
And I hate to say it, but the Packers in
a blowout as they study the ship. Here again, Packers
thirty and the Lions thirteen. The final Finally an agreement
as the Penny is also going with the pack Gonna
(38:27):
smoke out with Aaron Rodgers after the win Ayahuasca side
by side. All right, Well, that is it for Benny
Versus the Penny. We will have wild Card Round edition
of the Benny Versus the Penny Podcast and a full
weekend of podcast. We'll spit our guts out talking about
all kinds of random nonsense on the Saturday podcast, The
Life of Mallard and Danny g and then the mail
(38:50):
Bag on Sunday. So have a great rest of your Friday.
If you're listening to us on Friday. If you're listening
to us on Saturday, a great Saturday, whatever it is,
just have a great day and we will catch you
next time. Later. Skater gotta murder, Gotta go.
Host
Ben Maller
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