Week 9 NFL picks against the spread for the Sun’s handicapping contest

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, Nov. 2, 2012 | 2 a.m.

Only one of the last five Super Bowls featured neither the New York Giants nor the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The two NFL blue bloods join the New England Patriots as the only franchises to win more than one championship since the turn of the century. It’s no wonder that the teams’ first meeting in four years will draw one of the largest single-game handles of the weekend for Las Vegas sports books.

Steelers vs. Giants was one of the two most popular games in the Las Vegas Sun’s handicapping competition, as all three participants used one of their six plays on the contest.

Two of them selected the Giants -3 in defiance of the betting trends seen at sports books so far this week. The Steelers have attracted more action, as the line has decreased a half-point from the opener of Giants -3.5.

Behind two nearly perfect performances from Ben Roethlisberger and two 100-plus yard rushing days from Jonathan Dwyer, the Steelers have stomped their last two opponents. They won and covered against both the Washington Redskins and Cincinnati Bengals.

The Giants also won their last two games, but in a much less fulfilling manner. The Redskins and Dallas Cowboys both out-gained the defending champions but fell victim to heartbreaking losses at the end of the game.

New York covered and won against Dallas by virtue of Dez Bryant’s hand barely touching the out-of-bounds line in the back of the end zone with seconds remaining. A 77-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz with 1:13 to go was enough to beat the Redskins 24-22 but not enough to cover the 5.5-point spread.

In addition to the Steelers' recent hot streak, bettors also like to go against the Giants at home. Although New York has gone a losing 18-21-1 against the spread at home in the past five years, that’s better than Pittsburgh’s 17-22-1 mark on the road.

Look below for all of the picks in the Sun’s handicapping contest this week. The games are listed in order of kickoff time.

 

Case Keefer

Record: 25-22-1 (3-3 last week)

Colts +2.5 vs. Dolphins

Bills +10 at Texans

Bengals +3.5 vs. Broncos

Ravens -3.5 at Browns

Jaguars +3.5 vs. Lions

Giants -3 vs. Steelers

 

Ray Brewer

Record: 22-25-1 (3-3 last week)

Redskins -3 vs. Panthers

Titans +3.5 vs. Bears

Colts +2.5 vs. Dolphins

Bills vs. Texans over 47.5

Steelers vs. Giants under 47.5

Cowboys vs. Falcons over 47.5

 

Taylor Bern

Record: 19-27-2 (2-4 last week)

Texans -10 vs. Bills

Lions -4 at Jaguars

Broncos -3.5 at Bengals

Buccaneers +1.5 at Raiders

Giants -3 vs. Steelers

Eagles +3 at Saints

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.