With seven weeks left in the season, the race between myself and Jess Root for the coveted H-Bomb trophy, which will be awarded at the end of the year, remains tight.
We were tied at the start of week ten, and while we both won, I was able to get one game closer in the head-to-head tiebreaker, where the underdog wins the game outright. To be H-Bomb eligible, the point spread must be 6.5 points or more.
Jess picked the Broncos as cover against the Chiefs and my choice was the Panthers as cover against the Giants. Germany was good for me as Carolina won the game as H-Bomb underdogs for the second year in a row.
Overall, it was another good week for the underdogs. After three consecutive losing weeks, the record was 3-2 in Week 9 and 5-2 last week.
In addition to the Panthers and Broncos, the other winners were the Patriots, who covered the Bears and won, the Buccaneers over the 49ers and the Jaguars over the Vikings. The only favorites were the Chargers over the Titans and the Eagles over the Cowboys.
The five underdog wins brought the total in the first ten weeks of the season to 30, with just 14 losses (68.2 percent). Of the 30 covers, 16 won the game outright.
Here are this week's four eligible games:
- Miami Dolphins -7.5 vs. Las Vegas Raiders
- Detroit Lions -14 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
- San Francisco 49ers -6.5 vs. Seattle Seahawks
- Houston Texans -7.5 at Dallas Cowboys
Jess makes a bold decision for the biggest spread game this season, taking the Jaguars into coverage against the Lions, even with Mac Jones at quarterback. Conversely, I will choose the game with the smallest margin and assume the Seahawks will stay close after their bye against the division rival 49ers.
STAND AFTER 10 WEEKS
Jess: 7-3 (3 direct hits)
Howard: 7-3 (2 direct hits)
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and more by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe to , or .
Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for referring viewers to betting services. Sports betting providers have no influence on the newsrooms or reporting and are in no way dependent on these revenues. General terms and conditions apply. The general terms and conditions can be found on the operator's website. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24 hours a day at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800- 9- on. WITH-IT (IN). You must be at least 21 years old to play. Sports betting and gambling are not legal everywhere. Make sure you comply with the laws where you live.