NFL Tuesday Takeaways & Picks update
What a wild week and slate of games we had this past weekend. We had upsets galore, led by the Titans domination of the Rams in LA on SNF. The Titans have been extremely underrated as they have 4 straight wins against the Rams, Chiefs, Bills and Colts. They were underdogs in each game and have somehow manifested a pass rush and good defense from overlooked players like Jeffrey Simmons and Harold Landry. They have to be seen as the top team in the AFC at the midpoint of the season.
The other AFC team that has impressed is the Ravens. Lamar Jackson is the frontrunner for MVP as he leads them to the best record in the AFC at the midpoint. He rushed for 120 yards as a QB and threw for 266 last game, how is a defense supposed to stop that? They are also a very resilient team as they’ve played 3 OT games and won 2 of them. I have them right behind the Titans as the best 2 teams in the AFC.
In one of the most important games of Baker Mayfield’s career after the Odell Beckham Jr experiment, did he deliver. The Browns and Baker dominated the division rival Bengals to the tune of a 41-16 thumping. Baker looked so much more comfortable without OBJ in the lineup, free to pass to whoever was open, instead of forcing it to him. OBJ gets his wish and should be able to land on a team where he is a better fit as well. Be careful Cleveland, up next are the Patriots and rookie Mac Jones.
Moving to the other conference, the Cardinals won a huge divisional game on the road in San Francisco, without their 2 best offensive players in Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins. Kliff Kingsbury put together a game plan that let backup QB Colt McCoy dissect the Niners for a decisive 31-17 victory. Winning a game on the road without your starting MVP-type QB is very impressive. I may have to eat my words on doubting Kliff Kingsbury’s coaching ability.
Staying in the NFC, I don't know what happened to the Cowboys. They must have been reading the press clippings about themselves, because most thought with Dak returning they’d defeat the Broncos (10 point favorites). Anything but that happened, as the game was a blowout, with the Broncos leading 30-0 until a couple of late garbage time TDs got it to 30-16. They missed 14 tackles on defense, Dak was awful missing wide open receivers and looked like a QB that hadn’t practiced in 2 weeks. Hopefully, they can bounce back and look better next week against Atlanta.
NFL Week 9 Picks Update (Spread)
Thursday, Nov. 4:
Jets @ Colts — NFL, 8:20 p.m. ET - Colts - 10.5 - ✅ - +$7.63
Sunday, Nov. 7:
Bills @ Jags — CBS, 1 p.m. ET - Jags +14.5 - ✅ - +$7.63
Falcons @ Saints — FOX, 1 p.m. ET - Falcons +7 - ✅ - +$7.47
Browns @ Bengals — CBS, 1 p.m. ET - Browns +2 - ✅ - +$7.63
Broncos @ Cowboys — FOX, 1 p.m. ET - Cowboys -10 - ❌ - lost $4
Texans @ Dolphins — FOX, 1 p.m. ET - Texans +4 - ❌ - lost $4
Raiders @ Giants — CBS, 1 p.m. ET - Raiders -3 - ❌ - lost $4
Vikings @ Ravens — FOX, 1 p.m. ET - Vikings +6 - ✅ - +7.63
Patriots @ Panthers — CBS, 1 p.m. ET - Patriots -3 - ✅ - +$7.20
Chargers @ Eagles — CBS, 4:05 p.m. ET - Eagles +1 - ❌ - lost $4
Cardinals @ Niners — FOX, 4:25 p.m. ET - Niners -3.5 - ❌ - lost $4
Packers @ Chiefs — FOX, 4:25 p.m. ET - Chiefs -6.5 - ❌ - lost $4
Titans @ Rams — NBC, 8:20 p.m. ET - Rams -7.5 - ❌ - lost $4
Monday, Nov. 8:
Bears @ Steelers — ESPN, 8:15 p.m. ET - Bears +6.5 - ✅ - +$7.80
$4 on each game - $56 invested and $53 returned
NFL Week 9 Picks update (Straight)
Thursday, Nov. 4:
Jets @ Colts — NFL, 8:20 p.m. ET - Colts - ✅ - +$4.94
Sunday, Nov. 7:
Bills @ Jags — CBS, 1 p.m. ET - Bills - ❌ - lost $4
Falcons @ Saints — FOX, 1 p.m. ET - Falcons - ✅ - +$13.40
Browns @ Bengals — CBS, 1 p.m. ET - Browns - ✅ - +$8.40
Broncos @ Cowboys — FOX, 1 p.m. ET - Cowboys - ❌ - lost $4
Texans @ Dolphins — FOX, 1 p.m. ET - Texans - ❌ - lost $4
Raiders @ Giants — CBS, 1 p.m. ET - Raiders - ❌ - lost $4
Vikings @ Ravens — FOX, 1 p.m. ET - Ravens - ✅ - +$5.50
Patriots @ Panthers — CBS, 1 p.m. ET - Patriots - ✅ - +$6.10
Chargers @ Eagles — CBS, 4:05 p.m. ET - Eagles - ❌ - lost $4
Cardinals @ Niners — FOX, 4:25 p.m. ET - Niners - ❌ - lost $4
Packers @ Chiefs — FOX, 4:25 p.m. ET - Chiefs - ✅ - +$5.19
Titans @ Rams — NBC, 8:20 p.m. ET - Rams - ❌ - lost $4
Monday, Nov. 8:
Bears @ Steelers — ESPN, 8:15 p.m. ET - Steelers - ✅ - +$5.42
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
$4 on each game - $56 invested - $48.95 returned
