Carolina finds missing piece to puzzle The Panthers will look for their third straight 100 yard rushing game this week against divisional foe, Tampa Bay. For the second straight week, Panthers rushed for over 100 yards. Carolina smothered Atlanta 24-6 and outrushed the Falcons 142-120. The back to back rushing feats is noteworthy because CAR entered Sunday with the NFLs 26th ranked rushing attack. This has in turn put a lot of pressure on Delhomme, who also entered Sunday with the third most interceptions. But the past two weeks, John Fox committed to DeShaun Foster over Stephen Davis as the featured back and the results have followed. In other words, the Panthers are filling their only weakness (their defense ranks 4th in the NFL), which spells bad news for their remaining foes, including the Bucs this week.

Red-Skins poised to deliver green Joe Gibbs improved to a remarkable 53-18 SU in games in December and January after a 24-9 road win over St. Louis. The victory snapped a three game losing streak and improved the Skins to 5-1 ATS in December games since Gibbs took over last season. This might serve the Hogs well this week at Arizona (+3.5), who are a horrific 1-7 ATS as an underdog this year and 1-4 ATS at home.

AFC East of the Least So much for parity. The Patriots could practically sleep walk the rest of the year and be almost assured of AFC East Divisional crown and No.4 seed in the playoffs. Perhaps, Buffalo (+3) can take advantage of a complacent New England bunch coming off a less than impressive 16-3 victory over the Green Airplanes. NE needed a field goal at the end of the second quarter just to go into halftime with a 6-3 lead. But that FG was harmless compared to the one Vinatieri kicked with less than a minute remaining in the final period that gave the Pats a 16-3 lead. While the three points were pretty much meaningless to the outcome on the field, it cost New York backers who were grabbing 10.5 points. Even with the front door cover, New England is just 2-5 ATS their last seven and seems more far more interested in getting healthy for the playoffs than covering spreads. They travel to Buffalo, which is coming off a crushing 24-23 loss to Miami where they blew a 20-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. The good news is that they still covered as a 5.5-point road dog to improve to 5-2-1 ATS their last eight. In fact, Bills are an in the money 15-6 ATS their last twenty one games after September going back to last season.

Steelers limping down the stretch Steelers have dropped three in a row both straight up and against the number after a 38-31 home loss to Cincinnati. Puzzlingly, though, Pittsburgh (-6) is more than a early field goal favorite this week against the Bears, who are headed in the opposite direction at 8-0 SU and 6-1-1 ATS their past eight games. After their latest setback, Pitts playoff hopes look about as bleak as a cold, dreary winter day in the Steel City. Cincinnati now has a 2.5 game lead over the Steelers in the division. Jacksonville meanwhile has a stranglehold on one of the wild card spots. For Pittsburgh to sneak in, San Diego and Kansas City would have to collapse down the stretch since both own better records than the Steelers for the final wild card slot.

Texans Quietly Raking In Cash Yes, Houston took one step closer to winning the Reggie Bush sweepstakes after a 16-15 road loss to Baltimore. But they easily covered as a 7.5-point underdog. In fact, the Texans are 4-2 ATS their last six and would be 5-1 ATS if not for the gigantic debacle the week before against the Rams. For those that missed it, HOU led by as many as twenty-one points against STL and blew a 10-point lead with less than a minute remaining in regulation to force the game into OT where they fell 33-27 as a 3-point dog. Now they are receiving a generous 6.5-points to a Tennessee team that is 3-9 SU on the season.

Bledsoe just so-so Kansas City improved to 3-0 both SU and ATS after an impressive 31-27 home win over Denver. Chiefs stand a good chance to continue their winning streak against the struggling Cowboys. Dallas has dropped their last two both SU and ATS and we hate to point fingers (not really) but Drew Bledsoe is probably reason no. 1 for the losing streak. The slow footed Bledsoe completed just 15-of-39 passes for 146 yards on one touchdown and two interceptions in his teams latest loss to the Giants. For those keeping score that translates to a measly 36.9 passer rating. His passer rating the prior two games amounted to 75.2 and 65.5. These remind us our grades back in high school but we expect more from a NFL QB. Facing a hot Chiefs bunch doesnt seem like much of a turnaround recipe either.

Falcons endangered species Atlanta dropped to 1-3 both SU and ATS their last four and nearly out of playoff contention after falling to Carolina 24-6 on the road. Reason for concern? Evidently not, as oddsmakers have burdened the Falcons (-10) with a double digit impost this week against the Saints at home. Atlanta hasnt been a favorite of this magnitude all year and even the hellacious Saints havent received this many generous points this season either. Despite their struggles, Saints seem to play better the more unlikely it is for them to win as they are 3-1 ATS as a dog of +4 or more