NFL Conference Championship Recap

In the end both the NFC and AFC Championship games turned out to be terrific online football betting games for most sportsbook betting fans. One underdog beat the spread, that would be the Arizona Cardinals, and one favorite covered the BetOnline online betting spread, that would be the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Before getting into each game, it’s important to note that the Cardinals, one of the biggest long shot on the boards when the playoffs started at +2800 to win the Super Bowl, will send five players to the NFL Pro Bowl this season. The Steelers will send only three.

If that is an indication of which team will win the Super Bowl, then the Cardinals have a shot to make some believing NFL betting fans a lot of mullah!

In any case, those BetOnline online sportsbook betting fans who were brave enough to throw money behind the Arizona Cardinals at either the beginning of the season or at the beginning of the playoffs, I have only one thing to say to you – - good job! Just having a +2800 shot in a single game is an amazing feat.

Let’s get to the re-caps!

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Arizona Cardinals – - In the BetOnline online sportsbook the Philadelphia Eagles ended up at +3 ½ to beat the Cardinals on the road. Arizona showed the Eagles early on that they were going to be tough in this game by building a 24 to 6 lead at half-time. One of the touchdowns the Cardinals cored in the first half was a brilliant 62 yard pass to Larry Fitzgerald. The play showcased what I had been saying last week about how Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner was a master at reading the blitz.

But the Eagles weren’t going to just go away. The scored 19 straight points in the second half of this game and ended up leading the Cardinals 25 to 24 with over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. That’s when Kurt Warner proved what a capable quarterback he rally is. He led the Cardinals on a masterful 8 minute drive that culminated in a Tim Hightower screen pass and score that put the Cardinals up by 5 points. Then, Warner found tight-end Ben Patrick in the end zone for the two point conversion. The score was 32 to 25 with a little over 2 minutes left in this game. The Eagles tried to move the ball but ‘Zona’s defense finally came up big in the second half and the Cardinals won the game.

Now, naysayers will point to how usually perfect kicker David Akers missed the extra point after the Eagles’ final touchdown, but it turned to not matter at all. An extra point isn’t going to swing momentum one way or another against a team that boasts Kurt Warner, Tim Hightower and Larry Fitzgerald.

The Cardinals were just the better team all around. The Cardinals beat the spread by 10 ½ points in this game. The BetOnline Total easily went over the listed 47. The Cardinals earned this victory.

Final Against the Spread: Cardinals +3 ½ (won by 7), BetOnline Total over 47 (total 57)

Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers – - The Steel Men were fighting to do something that seemed impossible, beat an arch-rival for the third time in a single season. Even though they went into the AFC Championship as solid -5 ½ point favorites in the BetOnline online sportsbook, more than one sports betting fan had their doubts as the Steelers looked great at times during the season, but then awful during other times. The Ravens had been playing at a big-time level going into this game and there were a few NFL betting fans, me included, that felt Baltimore had a huge shot. They sort of did, for a while, but Joe Flacco failed as a rookie in the end, throwing a pick while the Ravens were in position to take the lead in this game, and the Steelers won easily 23 to 14. How did Pittsburgh end up covering the +5 ½ points in this game?

Because the pick that Flacco threw, that occurred with roughly 4:24 left in the fourth quarter, went directly to Steelers’ safety Troy Polamalu who ran it in for a touchdown. At that point in the game, the Ravens were only down by 2 points, Flacco’s legend was in the making, and the Ravens had the momentum on both offense and defense.

Oh, well, rook, that’s what happens! As far as the BetOnline Total is concerned, the ridiculously low score of 23 to 14 was actually enough for this game to go over. The BetOnline Total was set at 35 points.

One play, one terrible pass, one brilliant run back on an interception, and suddenly what might have been a Ravens’ victory straight-up on the money-line at nice online odds of +210 turned into a Pittsburgh victory against the spread and a victory on the over in the BetOnline online sportsbook.

Final Against the Spread: Steelers -5 ½ (won by 9), BetOnline Total over 35 (total 37)