Sports

Pats carve ’em up

LUCK’S THE LOCK: Andrew Luck and the Colts will blast the Bills on Sunday in Indianapolis. (
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Congratulations to Rico for an amazing 13-1 week, missing out on Bettor’s Guide immortality by a mere half-point in the Ravens-Steelers game. Here, it’s a four-week winning run of 8-6, 8-6, 8-6 and 10-4 as we head into Thanksgiving week, when the selections are made early and by gut feeling, unspoiled by injury revelations and over-analysis.

THURSDAY

Patriots (-6 1/2) over JETS: The four pillars of a Jets pick seem to be: 1. They beat the Rams (catching a mediocre team on a bad day). 2. They came close in Foxborough. 3. Rex Ryan didn’t tug on Superman’s cape for once. 4. Rob Gronkowski is out. Of those, only No. 4 will help the Jets a lick here. Even if the Jets play well, we’re looking at something like 34-24 by the time it’s over.

LIONS (+3) over Texans: Spread seems a little low for 9-1 vs. 4-6, but the Texans did have their defense exposed and had to play almost a full fifth quarter to beat the Jaguars. Now they have a short week with travel.

Redskins (+3 1/2) over COWBOYS: Dallas will have a tough time on both sides of the ball — trying to track down Robert Griffin III and trying to protect Tony Romo. If the Cowboys find a way to win this, it should be close and late as usual.

SUNDAY

Packers (+2 1/2) over GIANTS: Eli Manning proclaiming his arm feels great may not be the whole answer to the Giants’ two-game swoon because at most it was only part of the problem.

BEARS (-1) over Vikings: Early indications are Jay Cutler could return for this game. Bears will be angry after suffering a nationally televised butt-kicking in San Francisco.

Raiders (+8 1/2) over BENGALS: Even the biggest Raiders fans around these parts are betting religiously against their team. But the hunch here is Carson Palmer will have success against his old team, and this spread is way higher than what the Bengals are usually asked to cover.

Steelers (-4) over BROWNS: If you take the Steelers you get 37-year-old Charlie Batch behind a suspect offensive line and a patchwork receiving crew. But you also get defensive coordinator Dick Lebeau against a rookie quarterback, and the team that has won 16 of the last 17 in this series, at a reasonable price.

COLTS (-3) over Bills: Now Andrew Luck knows what it feels like to be embarrassed by Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. He and the Colts will have the hammer this Sunday against the Bills.

CHIEFS (+10 1/2) over Broncos: The Chiefs are a lost cause, but we’ll take a shot with the double digits at home with Willis McGahee out for Denver and John Fox not wanting to subject Peyton Manning to any more hits than he has to.

Seahawks (-3) over DOLPHINS: Seattle to Miami is the longest trip in the NFL, but the Seahawks get a break making it after a bye week.

BUCCANEERS (+1) over Falcons: Bucs have won four in a row and scored 27 or more for six straight weeks. Last week’s scare vs. the Cards showed there are some cracks in the Falcons’ armor despite being 9-1.

JAGUARS (+3) over Titans: Covered with the Jags in Houston last week, thanks to an out-of-nowhere 354 yards and four TDs by backup QB Chad Henne. Titans at 4-6 are a shaky road favorite, and who do they have to cover breakout star WR Justin Blackmon?

CHARGERS (+1) over Ravens: Good call reducing Ed Reed’s suspension to a fine — wasn’t much of a hit. Long trip for Ravens after hard-fought Sunday night rivalry win in Pittsburgh. Could see carry-over.

CARDINALS (-2 1/2) over Rams: Cards, who have lost six in a row and start rookie Ryan Lindley at quarterback, did make the Falcons sweat last week with five picks of Matt Ryan. And they get Beanie Wells back to run it at the lackluster Rams.

49ers (-2 1/2) over SAINTS: What happens when a keen personnel eye meets smart, innovative coaching? Colin Kaepernick happens. But the reason the Niners will beat the surging Saints is because of a huge edge on defense.

MONDAY NIGHT

EAGLES (-2 1/2) over Panthers: Cam Newton got a little put off when he was asked where the loss to the Bucs ranked among his most disappointing defeats. Imagine if this lightweight played in a tough media town — like Philly.

BEST BETS: Colts, Patriots, Redskins

LOCK: Colts (Locks 3-8)

LAST WEEK: 10-4 overall, 3-0 Best Bets