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Arizona Cardinals (-3.5) at Carolina Panthers
This line has moved well off the lookahead of Cardinals -5 based on the surprising results of last week, when the Cards lost as favorites and the Panthers won as underdogs. But the Cards were also -3 in turnover margin in their close loss, while the Panthers were +4 in the same stat in their close win. Don't overreact! The Cardinals offense is consistently good (and should remain so even if DeAndre Hopkins sits), and the defense has played great situational football, ranking first in third-down percentage and second in red-zone percentage. I love the Cardinals to roll unless we have another wild turnover swing, which would surprise me.
Las Vegas Raiders (+3) vs Buffalo Bills
I know the scoreboard didn't look great in the Raiders' loss to New England, but I thought they played pretty well for most of that game considering their offensive injuries, and I chalk a big part of the loss up to fumble luck going against them. The Bills are 3-0 but have been shaky in their last two games, including on the road in Miami against a far worse team than this Las Vegas squad. The Bills struggled to stop the run against the Rams, and that's not good news with Josh Jacobs coming to town. With Darren Waller likely to be in better health this week, I think the Raiders have a much better chance of winning this game than the line suggests.
Jacksonville Jaguars (+3) at Cincinnati Bengals
The Jaguars are coming off a Thursday night dud, but they'll roll into this one with extra rest against a team that just played 70 minutes of football with a quarterback who has thrown 105 passes over the last two weeks. Joe Burrow is obviously a young player at peak health, but at some point doesn't his arm have to start feeling a little bit of fatigue? Either way, I think the Jags are clearly the better team right now. Cincy is bottom two in both yards per pass attempt and yards per rush on offense, so the Jags defense actually has a chance of looking decent. If we get the Gardner Minshew from the first two weeks, we'll wonder why the Jags weren't favored.
Chicago Bears (+2.5) vs. Indianapolis Colts
I don't think this is getting to three, so let's just take it here. Nick Foles takes what was an eight-win team on the market in the preseason to a nine- or 10-win team, and when you're at that level, you shouldn't be getting nearly a field goal at home to anyone but Chiefs-level teams. The Colts aren't that just because they beat up on a pair of awful teams over the last two weeks. They benefited from six picks in those games, but Foles is a lot better at protecting the ball. He may not win games with his arm, but Philip Rivers won't either at this point. I think we're getting the better defense in this matchup, and maybe even the better offense.
Dallas Cowboys (-4.5) vs. Cleveland Browns
The Cowboys can score any number of points in this matchup, because the Browns defense hasn't been impressive. (And throw out that performance against Dwayne Haskins, who was telegraphing his throws in a way Dak Prescott won't.) The Browns were actually in a tight game last week until Washington imploded offensively; that won't happen to Dallas, which is expected to have Tyron Smith back. The Browns have to win with the run, but Kareem Hunt is banged up and the Cowboys are 10th in yards per rush allowed. The Cleveland defense can't get stops (25th in points per drive allowed), and I don't have confidence in Kevin Stefanski keeping up in a shootout against this talented Cowboys offense.
ARIZONA -3
ARIZONA @ CAROLINA | 10/04 | 1:00 PM EDT
YESTERDAY 11:22 PM
It took three Kyler Murray interceptions to end the Cardinals' winning streak, but Murray should bounce back against the NFL's 30th ranked defense by DVOA. It looks like DeAndre Hopkins will play (at least that's what his tweet Saturday implied). The worry is that Arizona's a very public side laying points on the road, but the line dipping to Cards minus-3 is a bargain price ... it's about the same as Raiders at Panthers in Week 1, when Carolina still had a healthy Christian McCaffrey. Lay the points.
9-2 IN LAST 11 NFL PICKS | +685
2-1 IN LAST 3 CAR ATS PICKS | +85
2-1 IN LAST 3 ARI ATS PICKS | +82
LAS VEGAS +3
BUFFALO @ LAS VEGAS | 10/04 | 4:25 PM EDT
YESTERDAY 12:56 PM
The Bills are 3-0 behind Josh Allen, but aside from stomping the Jets, they haven't won by more than three points. Will they be able to in Vegas? We've only got a one-game sample size, but signs point to a big home-field advantage for the Raiders, even without fans. Buffalo's defense has been surprisingly bad so far (24th in DVOA) and despite the Raiders D also being full of holes, Vegas can keep this one close. Grab the points.
9-2 IN LAST 11 NFL PICKS | +685
4-1 IN LAST 5 LV ATS PICKS | +291
NEW ORLEANS -3
NEW ORLEANS @ DETROIT | 10/04 | 1:00 PM EDT
11:21 AM
Forget buying into the idea that there's something significantly wrong with the Saints, which have lost two good teams over the last couple of weeks and are still one of my favorites to win the NFC. The Lions surprised with an upset of the Cardinals last week, but it took three truly awful interceptions by Kyler Murray to make that happen. This is still the team that got steam rolled by the Packers a couple weeks ago. Michael Thomas being out is no good for New Orleans, but Drew Brees still has plenty of weapons, namely Alvin Kamara. Saints roll.
15-10-1 IN LAST 26 NFL ATS PICKS | +430
19-10 IN LAST 29 NO ATS PICKS | +798
3-2 IN LAST 5 DET ATS PICKS | +81
ARIZONA -3
ARIZONA @ CAROLINA | 10/04 | 1:00 PM EDT
11:18 AM
Kyler Murray was horrendous last week to the point that it almost looked as if he was purposely throwing a couple of those interceptions. As such, the Cardinals are getting about three points of value on this line. With DeAndre Hopkins expected to play, a Murray gets a significant, game-changing weapon back in his arsenal. The Panthers have played respectably well all season, and I like Teddy Bridgewater. But over four quarters, Arizona should come out of this with a comfortable win.
15-10-1 IN LAST 26 NFL ATS PICKS | +430
3-1-1 IN LAST 5 CAR ATS PICKS | +190
2-1 IN LAST 3 ARI ATS PICKS | +90
DALLAS -3.5
CLEVELAND @ DALLAS | 10/04 | 1:00 PM EDT
11:12 AM
The Cowboys defense is what concerns me most, largely because it puts the Dallas in difficult spots and keeps it off the field for extended periods of time, giving it fewer opportunities to work. But it's not like the Browns have been anything decent on that end this season. This sets up as a get-right game for the Cowboys and Dak Prescott, and though we're suffering the hook, it's still a point down from open. Dallas should find success against Cleveland, as so many others do, and cover the number by a couple points at least.
15-10-1 IN LAST 26 NFL ATS PICKS | +430
12-3 IN LAST 15 CLE ATS PICKS | +865
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