NFL Power Rankings: Affected By Gambling Outcome In Pittsburgh

Normally the Tennessee Titans and New York Giants would remain on top of our weekly NFL power rankings, but thanks to the outcome in Pittsburgh on Sunday, those two teams will not even appear in the top ten. Nope, this week the power rankings will reflect the anger that gamblers felt who bet on the Steelers against San Diego.

Our number one team in the rankings this week is the Cleveland Browns. They have had two games stolen away from them in a similar manner as bettors were robbed by NFL officials Sunday.

Cleveland let double digit home leads slip away to both the Ravens and Broncos on consecutive weeks, easily making them the team that should have been two games better in the standings. So they get to be number one this week in the power rankings.

Dallas rebounded nicely with quarterback Tony Romo back in the line up. The victory over the Redskins on the road proves that if not for the bad luck that sidelined Romo, the Cowboys would have a better record. That makes them number two.

The San Francisco 49ers have been playing better since Mike Singletary took over as interim head coach. Had they made the move earlier in the year, they could have won more games and found themselves in the playoff hunt. The Niners get the number three spot in this weeks rankings.

Cincinnati becomes the number four team this week. Had their kicker not missed a filed goal in overtime, they would have paid gamblers big money on the money line. When gamblers come that close to big money and still lose, it keeps Cincy in the top five.

The final team in our top five this week is Minnesota. They were coached by the king of gambling bad beats, Dennis Green for many seasons. Green could always snatch a betting defeat from the jaws of victory. In honor of Green the Vikings are number five this week.

Many gamblers have been complaining and writers all across the nation have taken the Steelers game and used it as motivation to prove the NFL cares about gambling. The truth is, they don't.

The NFL being powered by gambling is as big of a surprise as Rocky winning the fight in the end. The true surprise is how many people overlooked the fact that these gambling bad beats take place on a regular weekly basis.

Hopefully fans of the Titans, Giants, Panthers, Jets, and Cardinals now see how it feels to be gamblers for a day. In a perfect world they would have been the top five teams in our power rankings this week, but this is not a perfect world, and gambling is not an exact science.

November 19, 2008
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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