Tag: Against the Spread

NFL Week 10: Sunday Games Picks, Predictions & Colin Cowherd’s Blazin’ 5 Picks

Arizona Cardinals @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Raymond James Stadium, 1:00 PM (Buccs -4.5, O/U: 52.5)

Take the Cardinals to cover in the win, in the under, Cardinals 24-20.

Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, 1:00 PM (Saints -14, O/U: 51.5)

Take the Saints to cover in the over, Saints 31-16.

Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals, Paul Brown Stadium, 1:00 PM (Bengals +10, O/U: 44.5)

Take the Ravens to cover in the over, Ravens 35-17.

Buffalo Bills @ Cleveland Browns, FirstEnergy Stadium, 1:00 PM (Browns -3, O/U: 40.5)

Take the Bills to cover in the over, Bills 21-17.

Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears, Soldier Field, 1:00 PM (Bears -4, O/U: 40.5)

Take the Bears to cover in the over, Bears 24-13.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Tennessee Titans, Nissan Stadium, 1:00 PM (Titans +6, O/U: 50.5)

Take the Chiefs to cover in the under, Chiefs 28-20.

New York Giants @ New York Jets, MetLife Stadium, 1:00 PM (Jets +3, O/U: 44.5)

Take the Jets to cover but the Giants to win, in the under, Giants 21-20.

Carolina Panthers @ Green Bay Packers, Lambeau Field, 1:00 PM (Packers -4.5, O/U: 47.5)

Take the Panthers to cover but the Packers to win, in the over, Packers 27-24.

Miami Dolphins @ Indianapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium, 4:05 PM (Colts -10, O/U: 43.5)

Take the Dolphins to cover but the Colts to win, in the under, Colts 17-10.

Los Angeles Rams @ Pittsburgh Steelers, Heinz Field, 4:25 PM (Steelers +4.5, O/U: 43.5)

Take the Rams to cover in the over, Rams 28-17.

Minnesota Vikings @ Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium, 8:20 PM, NBC (Cowboys -3.5, O/U: 49.5)

Take the Cowboys to cover in the over, Cowboys 28-24.

Colin Cowherd’s Blazin’ 5:

  • Carolina at Green Bay – Carolina (+4.5)
  • NY Giants at NY Jets – NY Jets (+3)
  • Arizona at Tampa Bay – Arizona (+5)
  • LA Rams at Pittsburgh – LA Rams (-4)
  • Seattle at San Francisco – San Francisco (-6.5)

NFL Week 9: Thursday Night Football Pick & Prediction

San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals, University of Phoenix Stadium. 8:20 PM, FOX/NFLN (Cardinals +10, O/U: 43.5)

Jimmy G and Nicky B are taking a red hot 8-0 show on the road to Arizona. The Cardinals are ripe for the picking as Vegas gave a super juicy line to a banged up Cardinals offense. Kyler has wheels but can they help him avoid a surging Bosa? It’s a similar line (given the 3 point swap for being home) to the Saints line last week and we saw how that went with a less dangerous defense. Take the 49ers to cover in the over, 49ers 31-17.

NFL Week 9: Thursday Night Football Pick & Prediction

San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals, University of Phoenix Stadium. 8:20 PM, FOX/NFLN (Cardinals +10, O/U: 43.5)

Jimmy G and Nicky B are taking a red hot 8-0 show on the road to Arizona. The Cardinals are ripe for the picking as Vegas gave a super juicy line to a banged up Cardinals offense. Kyler has wheels but can they help him avoid a surging Bosa? It’s a similar line (given the 3 point swap for being home) to the Saints line last week and we saw how that went with a less dangerous defense. Take the 49ers to cover in the over, 49ers 31-17.

NFL Week 8: Monday Night Football Pick & Prediction

Miami Dolphins @ Pittsburgh Steelers, Heinz Field, 8:15 PM, ESPN (Steelers -14, O/U: 43.5)

The Dolphins traded away another key piece of their team this morning as they traded away Kenyon Drake for a 6th round pick that can turn into a 5th round pick if conditions are met. Ballage and Walton will be the backs behind the lines tonight. Fitzpatrick has been fiery for the Fins and has kept them in games with the equally ugly Redskins and within 10 of the Bills. Some guys play hard for primetime games especially if they are unsure of their roster status for the next season.

The Steelers get impressive young QB, Mason Rudolph back from his concussion suffered a few weeks ago. He’ll be licking his chops as he doesn’t have to face Minkah Fitzpatrick as they had pulled him away from the Dolphins in a trade. The Dolphins give up an average of 35.2 points per game which could give a moral boost for a team who only scores 20.5 points on average per game. James Conner still has yet to pick up steam and JuJu Smith-Schuster has had a very slow start to his first year as the guy on the outside. The Steelers defense is starting to pick up the pace as they have come up with 15 takeaways, 8 of them picks. Look for them to turn up the pressure on a weak Dolphins offense.

Take the Steelers to cover in the over, Steelers 31-13.

NFL Week 8: Thursday Night Football Pick & Prediction

Washington Redskins @ Minnesota Vikings, U.S. Bank Stadium, 8:20 PM, FOX/NFLN (Vikings -16.5, O/U: 41.5)

The Redskins have been a mess with the only bright spot being a win against the lowly Dolphins. Former Vikings quarterback Case Keenum gets the nod in a welcoming back to Minnesota to a place where he nearly took the Vikes to a super bowl birth just a few short years ago when he led them to an 11-3 record. Peterson and Thompson are both dealing with injuries so the Redskins will be relying heavily on Keenum. Kirk Cousins has seen a resurgence after his last prime time appearance. After being called out and apologizing to Adam Thielen, Cousins has thrown for at least 300 yards and have at least a 135 passer rating or better in three straight games, which makes him the first NFL quarterback to do so in history. The offense is firing on all cylinders these days as Cook has 5 games over 100 rushing yards and is right behind CMC in many statistical categories and Diggs has enjoyed 3 straight 100+ yard games after a slow start due to Cousins. This one is bound to get ugly. Take the Vikings to cover in the under, Vikings 31-10.

NFL Week 7: Monday Night Football Pick & Prediction

New England Patriots @ New York Jets, MetLife Stadium, 8:15 PM, ESPN (Jets +10, O/U: 43.5)

The Patriots are flying high with an unblemished record, the leagues top scoring offense and the leagues best defense (although not far ahead of the 49ers). The Patriots defense has only been backed up against their own endzone 4 times and have allowed just 1 TD. That conversion percentage equals that of the 49ers for the best in the league (25%). Brady is 6th in yards and is completing 65% of his passes. Edelman leads the receiving corps with nearly 450 yards and Michel is leading the ground works with nearly 350 yards to balance out the offense. Their defense will be key as they lead the league as the only team in double digits in picks with 14, which will be a tough test against Darnold who looked as if he hadn’t been out for a month.

The Jets had a pleasant surprise when Darnold came back and single handedly beat the Cowboys by throwing and throwing often. Darnold snapped back by completing 72% of his throws for 338 yards, 2 TD’s and a pick in a shocking win against the Cowboys last week. Robby Anderson was happy to see Sam back as he hauled in 5 of his 8 targets for 125 yards, one being a long 92 yard TD. The defense, which all season has been suspect, held Prescott to less than 300 yards, didn’t allow him to throw a TD which helped them try to focus on Elliott. The Jets have their hands full tonight however as they have to take a below average receiving corps up against the best performing secondary in the league. Adam Gase will have to try and out coach the best coach the game has ever seen. Yeah, good luck.

Take the Jets to cover but the Patriots to win in the over, Patriots 28-20.

NFL Week 7: Thursday Night Football

Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos, Broncos Stadium at Mile High, 8:20 PM, FOX/NFLN (Broncos +3, O/U: 49.5)

The Chiefs are reeling after a second straight loss after opening up the season 4-0. Mahomes had been dealing with a banged up ankle the last few weeks as well as having top receivers out with injuries. It was evident that he missed Tyreek Hill as he hit hill on a massive 46 yard TD early in the game, throwing short into double coverage as Tyreek leaped over the underneath defender to catch the ball and twist into the endzone. Hill would go on to lead the team in targets with 10, hauling in 5 for 80 yards and 2 TD’s. The Chiefs deficiencies on defense would lead to their demise however, when leading in the 2nd quarter 17-3, they allowed the Texans to score 20 unanswered points on 3 straight drives which totaled 204 yards. The Chiefs allowed nearly 500 yards of offense and allowed nearly 40 minutes of possession time keeping the high powered offense off the field and limited once they got on to the field. Regardless, the offense ranks 5th in points scored and 3rd in yardage when they are on the field.

The Broncos are coming off back to back wins after starting off 0-4. The convincing win against the roller coaster Titans was exactly what the team needed for a confidence boost heading into this matchup especially given that this offense has struggled even with the veteran Flacco and the young stud Phillip Lindsay. Flacco has been unimpressive in his 6 starts as he averages under 250 yards per game while also throwing only 6 TD’s but 5 picks. Lindsay has done what he can with his 397 yards and 4 TD’s but a poor 3rd down conversion percentage (33%) stalls drives early and puts the defense on the field for longer than they should be out there. Luckily even with all of that time spent on the field, they rank in the top 10 in points allowed (7th) and top 5 in yards allowed (4th). Still, beating a banged up Chargers team in their home isn’t special since the Chargers home games seem like road games to them and the Titans went ahead and benched Mariota even though he hadn’t thrown a pick all year coming into the game.

The Chiefs will have a tough time against the Broncos defensive front but with Hill back, don’t expect Mahomes to be under pressure all night once they start airing the ball out. Take the Chiefs to cover in the under, Chiefs 31-17.

NFL Week 6: Monday Night Football Pick & Prediction

Detroit Lions @ Green Bay Packers, Lambeau Field, 8:15 PM, ESPN (Packers -3.5, O/U: 46.5)

The Lions are coming off an early bye week in time to head to Green Bay with 2 weeks to prepare for the new look Packers offense. The Lions have been slow out of the gate as they’ve had some tough matchups early on and faired pretty well, especially in the Chiefs game. Even so, they’re middle of the road in most team statistical categories. The Lions defense however has stepped up to the plate this year ranking 10th in points allowed and in the top half of the league in turnovers caused and stingy in the redzone only allowing 8 TD’s in 16 trips (50%). Stafford has protected the ball well early and has looked fairly sharp (62.4% completions, 1,122 yards, 9TD’s and only 2 picks. Stafford’s line has done well protecting him as well, better than in years past as he’s only been sacked 7 times and has been able to conduct 2 4th quarter comebacks with 1 game winning drive in his 4 games. They need to get Kerryon Johnson going however as he’s only rushed for 264 yards, averaging 3.4 yards per carry and only 1 rushing TD.

The Packers are coming off another emotional win in Dallas as they move back home for a divisional rival game against an always tough Lions team who have had the better of the Pack in recent years. The Packers have quietly kept in the top half of the league on offense and only recently picked up the rushing game with the explosive performance given by Aaron Jones last week that culminated in 4 TD’s. The one aspect that the Packers have been killing teams is their redzone conversions. They rank 6th with 13 TD’s on 19 trips (68.4%). Rodgers is shockingly outside of the top 10 in passing due to a slow start and having an actual rushing game to utilize more. He’s protective as always with the ball with a 6TD to 1 pick ratio. Aaron Jones may only be averaging 60 yards a game but he’s making the most of his carries averaging 4 yards per carry and more than a 4th of them gaining key first downs but the shocking stat is his league leading 8 TD’s. Davante Adams is supposedly out a few weeks with a turf toe injury so that means more opportunities coming to the rest of the receiver depth like Valdes-Scantling, Allison, Graham, Lewis. The defense bounced back after a disappointing loss to the Eagles who took Green Bay’s rush defense to the woodshed in front of their own fans. It hasn’t negated the fact that they are still a top 10 defense. They are tied for 3rd in the league with 11 turnovers (7 off picks), and top 10 in sacks with 15.

Packers home field advantage is unlike 99% of the league where Vegas gives them a 4 point advantage instead of the traditional 3. Take the Packers to cover in the over, Packers 27-23.

NFL Week 6: Thursday Night Football Pick & Prediction

New York Giants @ New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium, 8:20 PM, FOX/NFLN (Patriots -17, O/U: 41.5)

The Giants have been hanging in this season despite their absolutely horrendous defense. Their defense ranks 34rd to last in yards allowed with 2,047 yards however their offense are tops in the league with the highest percentage of drives that end in a turnover (20.4%).  That puts tired defenses back on the field to get torched.  Their defense still has output (5 picks, 6 fumbles recovered and 13 sacks) but when you’re on the field all the time, you’re bound to make plays but give up a ton of yards.  The Giants are also down to their 3rd string running back (Jon Hillman) with Saquon Barkley being out with a severe ankle sprain and Wayne Gallman has a concussion and is ruled out.  Daniel Jones is completing 64% of his passes but only averaging 248 yards in his 3 starts.  Barkley surely has made defenses solely focus on Jones as his yards have steadily declined with each game he’s started, 336 yards against the Buccs with Barkley, 225 against the Redskins & 182 yards against the Vikings, both games without Barkley.  Expect more of the same as he’s thrown his 3 picks in games without Barkley.

The Patriots absolutely destroy teams with bad defenses and they don’t ever let up against division rivals or teams that they have a grudge against. If you think the Pats forgot about the 2 super bowls that Eli stole from them, you’re sadly mistaken.  Eli has always played them tough and this will be the first meeting since before 2007 where the Giants will face the Patriots without Eli.  The Pats against Eli were 2-3 with the average game being decided by a mere 3 points!  The Patriots are the leagues top defense, which is rare for them at this point of the season and have only allowed 34 points in 5 weeks which is nearly half of the 49ers who are 2nd.  They’ve allowed the 2nd least amount of yards but tops in average yards allowed per play and are tied with the Steelers for the most turnovers created with 11 picks, 1 fumble recovered and an amazing 24 sacks (leading the NFL).  Brady hasn’t needed to be relied upon as much as the Pats usually do early in the season.  He still has top 10 stats in most categories and protecting the ball as he does with 10 TD’s against 2 picks.  Now, granted, they’ve probably had the softest schedule of any NFL team, outside of playing the Steelers and Bills, they’ve played 3 of the leagues worst and you might as well add the Giants to that since they are bottom half of the league in most categories.  Lastly, Brady passed Brett Favre on the all-time yards list last week, it’s Favre’s 50th birthday today and tonight Brady only needs 18 more yards to pass Peyton Manning for 2nd all-time (how ironic).

Take the Patriots to cover in the under, Patriots 31-10.

NFL Week 5: Monday Night Football Pick & Prediction

Cleveland Browns @ San Francisco 49ers, Levi’s Stadium, 8:15 PM, ESPN (49ers -4.5, O/U: 48.5)

The Browns are hit or miss.  There’s a lot of characters involved with that roster, the big ego’s on the offense (Baker & OBJ) are exhausting and smothering the news on this team.  Baker has his moments but still makes poor “gunslinger” throws that get picked because he’s no Favre.  He’s completed just 59% of his passes and has 4 TD’s to 6 picks.  He can make plays, he can be fluid in the pocket, albeit better to the right than left.  Decision making is his big fault.  He does thrive on hyped up games where his talent is called into question which is what I feel his performance last week was based on adrenaline due to the comparison to Lamar Jackson and the story being pushed, who was a better draft pick?  OBJ was kept silent while the other big threat, Landry went off for season high 8 catches and career best 167 yards before sustaining a concussion to which he was released from concussion protocol late last week so expect to see him on the field.  The Browns defense are middle of the road for points and yards allowed however they are doing very well for themselves on the turnover side of things with 4 picks, 3 forced fumbles, 4 recovered fumbles and then 14 sacks to top all of that.  

Jimmy Garappolo is having a good start to the season as he’s completed 69% but his yardage is light with just 739 yards in 3 games and 5 TD’s to 4 picks but you have to remember, he was out all last year basically so the rust is expected.  Kyle Shanahan will have him up to speed starting with this game as he’s going to need to be extra sharp with the Browns defense even minus Ward in their secondary.  The team is surprisingly near the top in points scored, 2nd in the league with 96 in just 3 weeks as well as being 4th in team yards.  The defense has also been surprisingly strong, near the tops in the league in most team defensive stats including 3 picks, 3 forced fumbles, 5 recovered fumbles and 9 sacks.  Breida and Mostert will need to continue their tag team style who have combined for 428 yards on 75 carries, averaging 5.7 yards per carry.  Expect to see a strong outing for a fresh 49ers team at home.

Take the 49ers to cover in the over, 49ers 28-21.