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11/23/2008 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Campbell threw for 206 yards and a touchdown, and Shaun Suisham's 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter proved to be the deciding points, as the Washington Redskins escaped Qwest Field with a 20-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Campbell completed 20-of-33 pass attempts, including an eight-yard TD pass to Antwaan Randle El for Washington (7-4), which began the season 4-1 but had since lost three of five and two straight entering Sunday.
Clinton Portis ran for 143 yards on 29 carries despite being a game-time decision for the second straight week due to a sprained MCL in his left knee. Ladell Betts added a rushing touchdown.
Washington is tied with Dallas for second in the division, with both teams trailing the NFC East-leading New York Giants, which stands at 10-1 after its victory over the Cardinals on Sunday. The Redskins host the Giants next weekend.
Matt Hasselbeck was 12-of-24 passing for 103 yards with a pair of TD passes but also two costly interceptions for the Seahawks (2-9), who have lost four straight and seven of their last eight, continuing a disastrous season for a team that has claimed the NFC West title in each of the past four seasons.
Maurice Morris totaled 113 yards of offense, with 103 yards rushing and a receiving touchdown, while John Carlson caught a 10-yard score for Seattle, which is now 1-5 at home this season, tied with St. Louis for last place in the NFC West.
Seattle answered a Washington score with a 62-yard drive covering 10 plays and Hasselbeck hit Carlson for a 10-yard TD that tied the score at 17-17 a little less than two minutes into the final quarter.
Washington, though, came right back with its own 10-play drive and Suisham split the uprights with a 22-yard field goal leaving 9:19 on the clock holding a 20-17 lead.
The Seahawks were forced to punt after just four plays and Washington embarked on an epic drive that threatened to kill the entire seven minutes remaining in the game. Starting from their own four-yard-line, a healthy dose of Portis and Betts moved the Skins just shy of midfield and Campbell moved the chains with a 13-yard pass to Santana Moss on 3rd-and-6. Washington was faced with a 3rd- and-1 immediately following the two-minute warning but Portis gained six to keep things going.
Seattle used both its remaining timeouts and got one more chance when Betts lost a fumble at the 22. Hasselbeck had 1:28 in which to work but on the first play was intercepted by Shawn Springs and Washington ran the clock out from there.
Seattle opened the scoring with a 45-yard Olindo Mare field goal on its second series. Morris broke off a 44-yard run to the 'Skins 16, but the drive stalled.
Washington's offense finally moved into Seattle territory on its third try but Suisham's 43-yard field goal attempt struck the crossbar and bounced back to keep the Skins' scoreless.
Campbell continued to struggle under center in the first half but Portis got things going with a 20-yard jaunt to start the Skins' fifth series. A 21-yard pass interference call on 3rd-and-20 from the Seattle 35 buoyed the drive and Betts capped it with a one-yard score with 4 1/2 minutes until halftime.
The Seahawks, though, came back with an efficient series that netted them a 10-7 lead entering the second half. Hasselbeck hit Koren Robinson for 14 yards and Julius Jones went off right tackle for 19 yards just before the two-minute warning. Seattle gained the Washington four-yard-line with short passes to Leonard Weaver and Carlson before Hasselbeck dumped it off to Morris for a four-yard TD.
Mare pushed a 53-yard attempt wide right on the Hawks first possession of the third, giving Washington good field position, and Suisham was true from 26 yards to tie the game 10-10.
An errant Hasselbeck pass was picked off by LaRon Landry on the ensuing possession and Campbell needed just three plays to find the end zone. Randle El hauled in a short crossing rout and dove across the goal-line for an eight- yard TD and a 17-10 lead with nearly 3 1/2 minutes left in the third.
Game Notes
The Redskins hold a 10-4 edge in their all-time regular season series with Seattle, and have won five straight in the series dating back to 2001. The last two meetings between the teams both occurred in postseason games played in Seattle, with the Hawks taking a 20-10 decision in a 2005 Divisional Playoff, and a 35-14 triumph in a 2007 NFC First-Round tilt...Sunday marked a homecoming for both Washington head coach Jim Zorn and backup running back Shaun Alexander. Zorn was Seattle' first-ever starting quarterback, playing under center in the Seahawks' inaugural season in 1976, and was inducted into the club's Ring of Honor in 1991. The 2005 NFL MVP, Alexander spent his last eight seasons with the Seahawks and is the club's all-time leading rusher with 9,429 yards...Moss had four catches for 72 yards...Randle El had one other catch for 10 yards...Carlson also had only one other reception for four yards.
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The Cr
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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