NFL week nine was a weird week for everyone. Some mortal locks got embarrassed, some teams showed they are better without certain star wide receivers, and some teams are proving to be playoff contenders. The New England Patriots showed up for the third straight week. They are an overtime loss away from winning five straight. The Chargers bounced back from their loss versus against the Patriots in a nail-biting win against the Eagles. The rest of my picks either didn’t show up or didn’t cover, if you ask me what the difference is there is none. The Ravens won but didn’t cover and honestly did not show up until the late third quarter. The Bills got embarrassed by the Jaguars and got their second win of the season. Just like the Bills, the Cowboys got steam rolled at Jerry Worlds against the Broncos.
Overall Record: 20-18-1
5. Carolina Panthers vs Arizona Cardinals (-9.5):
If last week proved anything it’s that the Cardinals are the real deal. They didn’t have Kyler or DHop in the lineup and they still steamrolled the 49ers 31-17. Sam Darnold proved everyone right that he is still the same quarterback from the Jets. He had an atrocious game against the Patriots and his home fans were either booing him off the field or asking the coach to bench him. Both teams are 5-2-1 against the spread but there’s something about this Cardinals team that looks like they are poised for a lengthy playoff run.
My Pick: Arizona Cardinals (-9.5)
4. Minnesota Vikings vs LA Chargers (-2.5):
The Chargers won a big bounce back game last week with a last second field goal to beat the Eagles. The Vikings have lost two games in a row and are looking for some momentum. It seems like many people trust the Vikings to go to SoFi Stadium and win this game outright. Nearly 60% of money line bets are on Vikings +120 but 55% of spread bets are going on the Vikings. The Chargers sit at 4-1-2 ATS and the Vikings are 2-4 ATS. Can you trust Kirk Cousins to win you a game?
My Pick: Minnesota Vikings (-2.5)
3. Kansas City Chiefs (-2.5) vs Las Vegas Raiders:
The Raiders being home dogs is interesting with how poorly the Chiefs have been playing. The Chiefs are 1-7 ATS this season and 5-4 on the season. Las Vegas is 3-1 at home on the season and are tied with the Chargers for first place. Kansas City barely beat a terrible Giants team and only won 13-7 against the Packers without Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. I think the Chiefs are phonies and will get exposed this weekend by their division rivals.
My Pick: Las Vegas Raiders (+120)
2. Philadelphia Eagles vs Denver Broncos (–3):
If you are looking at this game the easy bet is Denver, especially with how well they played last week against the Cowboys. I would agree except only if you are talking about money line. Denver is 2-4-1 ATS whereas the Eagles are 6-2-1 ATS this season. Which Teddy Bridgewater is going to show up on Sunday? I believe this is going to be a shootout on Sunday and I would stay away from the money line and the spread.
My Pick: Over 44
1. New England Patriots (-2) vs Cleveland Browns:
Cleveland dismantled the Bengals last week in what I assume is a revenge game for Baker. After all the talk about OBJ last week Baker wanted to prove that he wasn’t the problem. This week has started off poorly for the Browns. Reports are coming out about covid cases, some players are vaccinated so they need to produce two negative tests within 24 hours in order to come back to play. The Patriots are hot right now between both the defense, who have found their stride, and the offense, who know their role to not turn the ball over, run the ball, and play action a big pass.
My Pick: Patriots (-2) & Over 45.5
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