We’re reaching the pointy end of the NFL season and the playoff picture still isn’t any clearer. For the Chargers, they’re making a run at the right time. Meanwhile, Brock Purdy is keeping the 49ers in the hunt for Super Bowl LVII.

Purdy, Purdy, Purdy Good

He was crunched early on, but from there, Brock Purdy looked like an NFL veteran as the San Francisco 49ers thumped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-7 in Week 14.

Mr Irrelevant – the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft – finished up with 185 yards throwing 16-of-21 and three touchdowns. His early roll put the 49ers up 28-0 at the break and they cruised home to keep their Super Bowl LVII hopes alive. It doesn’t seem to matter who plays at quarterback for the 49ers with how Kyle Shanahan is running things. Purdy looks confident. His swim move and throw for a first down was made to look easy.

It’s not all good news, though. While the rushing committee found 209 yards on the ground and the defence made life difficult for Tom Brady, Deebo Samuel couldn’t finish the game as he was carted off with an ankle injury.

Jimmy Garoppolo’s season-ending injury pushed San Francisco out to $13 from $7.50 in the Super Bowl LVII market but their recent win has seen them middle into $10. If they could just go one week without an injury to a key player, we might be talking about them as a favourite.

Baker’s Back

Here we go again…

Baker Mayfield is getting people’s hopes up…

The LA Rams are playing for next season at this point. They will send out their young players to evaluate them over the final few weeks, and while Mayfield isn’t one of those players, he’s auditioning for his future. In his first act, Mayfield completed a 98-yard drive to lead the Rams to victory. It’s the longest go-ahead touchdown drive that began in the final two minutes in the last 45 NFL seasons.

Poor all season, there is finally some interest in the Rams. Can Mayfield build on this performance? Will the Rams look to sign him up long-term? Is he prepared to play as a backup? We will start to learn more in Week 15 when the Rams face the Green Bay Packers as $3.60 underdogs.

NY Teams Improving, But A Class Below

The New York Giants have, to the surprise of many, somehow remained relevant throughout the NFL season. While the eye test tells us they’re decidedly average, the results have gone above and beyond expectations. However, they’ve come back down to earth over the last month. Their last win came over a terrible Houston Texans team a month ago and they’ve just been humbled 48-22 by the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, according to FiveThirtyEight, the Giants are just a 45% chance of reaching the NFL postseason.

Meanwhile, the New York Jets have made a couple of changes and are seeing the benefit. Much like the Giants, the eye test told us Zach Wilson wasn’t their man at quarterback but the encouraging results kept trickling in.

However, as the results dried up, Wilson was shown the door with Mike White now a fan favourite. He couldn’t drag them to a win in Week 14, but his 268 yards across 27 completions and 44 throws has the Jets faithful encouraged at the very least.

Sacked three times, hit seven times, pressured 21 times and forced to leave the field twice throughout this one, White took a battering. Again, the Jets faithful are encouraged.

The surprise improvements of the Giants and Jets have been an interesting narrative throughout the NFL season. However, the Eagles and Super Bowl LVII-favourite Buffalo Bills handed them both a reality check this week.

Charging To The Playoffs

Justin Herbert and the LA Chargers are making their run to the playoffs.

Following their 23-17 win over the Miami Dolphins and currently the winner of their tiebreak over the New York Jets based on best win percentage in conference games, the Chargers are at 59% to feature in the postseason. If they make it, Herbert is why…

The Chargers play with one of the NFL’s worst defences but Herbert’s play with the ball is keeping them in the hunt. His new career-high in completions (39) led to 367 yards this week. He outplayed his opposite and rival Tua Tagovailoa and kept their playoff hopes alive. The Rams face the Tennesse Titans as $1.65 and -2.5 favourites in Week 15.

NFL Super Bowl LVII Odds

We’re checking in on the changes in the Super Bowl LVII Odds from Week 13 to 14.

The 10 teams remain the same on the list of Super Bowl LVII contenders but the prices have moved.

They’re playing with the best record in the NFL so it’s no surprise to see the Philadelphia Eagles creep closer towards favouritism this week. Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers have offered some hope in the wake of Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury to come into $10 from $13 despite playing with their third-choice quarterback.

A loss to the Detroit Lions has seen the Minnesota Vikings drift out to $20. The same goes for the Miami Dolphins who move from $19 to $23. There must be a bit of the Tom Brady’s about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ $23. They’re lucky to still be in the hunt given their recent form.

Top 10 Odds

TEAMWEEK 13 PRICE
WEEK 14 PRICE
Buffalo Bills$4.50$4.50
Kansas City Chiefs$5.50$5.50
Philadelphia Eagles$6$5.50
Dallas Cowboys$7$8.50
San Francisco 49ers$13$10
Cincinnati Bengals$13$11
Baltimore Ravens$21$20
Minnesota Vikings$15$20
Miami Dolphins$19$23
Tampa Bay Buccaneers$21$23

 

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