We went 2-1 again last week and were a cowboys missed field goal away from a sexy 3-0 that would have gotten us back to .500. Somewhere Dan Bailey is laughing (well probably not since he’s missing field goals left and right too.) This week has some really tempting bets with a few favorites, so let’s dive right in.
New England Patriots (-14) at Buffalo Bills The Patriots get Gronk back just in time to play the offensive Juggernaut that is the Derek Anderson led Bills. Brady is going to dumpster this team, even if the bills defense is better at Orchard Park. Our only fear is will they cover and the running back injuries will help us on that front. Lesean McCoy is out for the bills forcing them to use clock chewing, short yards gaining, Chris Ivory and the Patriots are without Sony Michel so they will keep throwing all game to James White. Our spread and our wallets should stay nice and fat.
New Orleans Saints (-1.5) at Minnesota Vikings As much as I love Kirk Cousins, the Vikings are overrated and shouldn’t be getting a line this close even at home. Their offense is simple and struggles to show any sort of consistency and their defense isn’t nearly as good as last year. The Saints on the other hand are a special team led by a special coach who comes up with a brilliant offensive scheme every week, beating the Ravens ferocious defense last week. 1 and a half points is a very comfortable line to take.
San Francisco 49ers (-2) at Arizona Cardinals I expect the Cardinals offense to be at least SLIGHTLY better than last week when their offensive coordinator got fired for getting nothing going and likely shattering Rosen’s mental state for years. They will probably manufacture offense to David Johnson and show a little bit of coaching creativity. One coach they won’t come close to matching is Kyle Shanahan who might be the best coach in the league. He has his awful 49ers team close to upsetting contenders every week. When two teams are close and playing each other, go with the better coach. Beathard, please, hold on to the ball and throw it where Kyle tells you.
Indianapolis Colts (-3) at Oakland Raiders The Raiders suck and they’ve been dealing with controversy all week as players feel betrayed by John Gruden after they traded Amari Cooper to the Cowboys. The Colts meanwhile have a great coach and some good young pieces on both sides of the ball. Andrew Luck is gonna ball out and drop a 40 bomb on the Raiders.
Detroit Lions (-3) vs Seattle Seahawks The Lions are a better team than people realize with a ton of weapons on offense. Damon Harrison will help to shore up their abysmal run defense just in time because the run is all the Seahawks have. I expect this to be a close game until Kerryon Johnson takes the game over late and seals what will be a 5-0 week for us. Happy Halloween, drink responsibly and don’t pull a Chad Kelly!