Despite our heavy drinking and our lack of opposable thumbs, the Cold, Hard Football Facts do have a couple of useful skills:

 

We can name the variety of hops found in any beer in the world, right down to the name of the valley in which they were grown and the names of the children of the guy who ran the combine that cut down the vines.

 

We can also identify road underdogs who are going to pull off the upset outright victory with equally amazing accuracy.

 

It's a gift we first displayed in our early years back in 2004 and 2005. But the 2009 season is shaping up real sweet, even by our standards. So far this year, we have publicly identified five road dogs who were going to pull out victories.

 

These road dogs are 5-0 ATS and 4-1 straight up.

 

Only a miraculous BrettFavre TD pass at the end of the 49ers-Vikings game this week prevents us from being a perfect 5-0 straight up, as well. The Vikings won, 27-24, but the rising-power 49ers easily covered the ridiculous 6.5-point spread.

 

We picked one road dog winner in Week 1. We picked another road dog winner in Week 2. And we picked a shocking three road dog winners in Week 3. All five have delivered.

 

If you're one of those guys who likes to put a little friendly wager on NFL games with your buddies, maybe you should be looking at our road pups.

 

Here’s a summary of our five road dog victors:

 

Week 1: Denver at Cincinnati (-4.5)

We were shocked to see the Bengals giving so many points – even at home – and predicted the Broncos would eke out a 3-point win in what we promised would be a snoozer. The Broncos delivered a 5-point win, 12-7, in what was truly a snoozer for 59 minutes. But a touchdown by each team in the final minutes led to Denver’s dramatic win.

Result: CHFF wins straight up and wins ATS

 

Week 2: Baltimore at San Diego (-3.5) 

We stated that the Ravens “are the superior team right now, whether they play along the Chesapeake or along the Pacific” and predicted a 3-point victory for Baltimore (24-21). The Ravens earned a 5-point victory, 31-26.

 

Result: CHFF wins straight up and wins ATS

 

We picked the 49ers to win, 23-20. We had the score nailed almost perfectly in the final seconds of the game (it was 24-20), but then BrettFavre came up with his gorgeous TD toss for a 27-24 Minnesota victory.

 

Result: CHFF loses straight up but wins ATS

 

This line was indicative of a pigskin public that still has no respect for the Broncos or the Horseshoe, Kyle Orton. But Denver was easily the better team to any analytical observer. We predicted an easy 23-13 win. It was an even easier 23-3 win.

 

Result: CHFF wins straight up and wins ATS

 

We were a little shocked to see the Cardinals favored against the Indy juggernaut. We picked the Colts to win, 28-24, easily covering the 2.5 points they were getting. It wasn’t even that close, as Indy romped in primetime, 31-10.

Result: CHFF wins straight up and wins ATS