Week 18
It’s the end of the regular season and, maybe, of The Vigorish, too.
College Football? NFL?
Matt: I was doing pretty well for much of this season. Or did I dream that? No, I’m pretty sure it happened. In any event, the road has been grueling and I have not held up well. I will try to muster up the resolve to finish strong, but I wouldn’t bet on it!
I’m not making a pick in the CFB championship game. Alabama and Georgia? I don’t even want to watch it. I will instead pick from the two NFL games played on Saturday this week.
Each game has seeding implications but nothing beyond that. The Cowboys have locked up their division but can’t work themselves into the #1 seed and the lone bye, which has already been claimed by the Packers. The Eagles have secured a wild card berth and can’t do better than that. I don’t expect either team to put much into this game, so we’ll swerve it.
That leaves us with Chiefs-Broncos. The Chiefs can claim the #1 seed in the AFC with a win and a Titans loss. Tennessee losing is an unlikely scenario given they’re playing Houston on Sunday, but I expect the Chiefs to play hard for the win nonetheless. The Broncos, in contrast, have already been eliminated and are stuck in no-man’s land where they are assured to be picking outside the top 5. We’ll take the team with something to gain, even with the big spread.
Matt’s Saturday pick: Chiefs (-11.5) over BRONCOS
NFL
Matt: The silliest game on the docket is, without question, Chargers at Raiders on Sunday night. Winner makes the playoffs, loser’s out. This should be an exciting proposition, but alas, these two franchises have made a habit of finding ways to disappoint their fan bases. If there were a way for each team to lose this game, that’s where my action would be.
But somebody will probably win—if the Jags upend the Colts earlier in the day, both the Raiders and Chargers would make the playoffs with a tie, but we should be serious and recognize that there is no chance of that scenario happening. Anyway look, the numbers will tell you that the Chargers are the better team, and the stars will tell you that the Raiders’ season has surely been cursed.
That’s more than enough for me to take LA (still very weird to say that) and lay the 3 points. Ah, look at me taking a road favorite in the NFL yet again. It’s worked out so well for me all season.
Matt’s Sunday pick: Chargers (-3) over RAIDERS
Friends, that will do it for The Vigorish. We appear to have lost Andy to real-world responsibilities like a promotion at work and having two small children a home (the nerve) and I’ve just run out of fuel for doing more of these by myself. Anyway, I reserve the right to pop back up during the Super Bowl with some prop bets, but if not, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading.
I appreciate each of you that read along all season (and I know who you are—Substack tells me who opens these and who doesn’t) whether out of sadism, pity, or genuine interest. I can’t say I’ll do this again next season, but I’m sure you’ll hear from me again soon enough.
Until then, I leave you with this from the late Norm Macdonald: They call gambling a disease, but it’s the only disease where you can win a bunch of money.
Keeping score:
Matt: 18-17
Andy: 10-13