We have arrived at Week 8 of the NFL season, the midway point for most sports betting leagues at Wannamakeabet.com. The commish cooled off last week (2-3) after two hot weeks going 8-2. That brings the season total to 16/29 (55.17%). Here’s who we have our eye on this morning. All lines are from Wannamakeabet.com at the time of this post.
Carolina +4.5 over Atlanta
The commish has become enamored with the Carolina Panthers. Two weeks ago, they almost took out the Rams after losing their coach and Baker Mayfield. Then last week, after losing Christian McCaffrey, they took down the Bucs as 13 point dogs. New coach Steve Wilks has some folks believing they have a real football team. So today Atlanta, owners of the NFL’s worst defense gets to host them in a division battle in a wide open NFC south. Not only does Atlanta have no pass rush and a horrible secondary but their leading rusher Cordarrelle Patterson is on IR and so is backup Damien Williams. It’s going to be a long day for Mariotta against this mean front 4 of Carolina.
New England -2.5 over NY Jets
As my partner Cello pointed out on the podcast this week, Breece Hall is a special running back and was a critical piece to the Jets early season success on the ground. Not only is he ranked 5th of all RBs in the league, he gave Zach Wilson (Ranked 26th among QBs) a viable run option and checkdown when he struggled to execute. But now Hall goes to the IR and that leaves Zach without any solid options in the backfield. In comes Bellichick off of a loss on national TV to the lowly Bears and this team will be very focused today and ready to maul an inexperienced QB who, unlike Justin Fields, is not going to beat them with this legs. We’ve all seen what the Pats have done to the Jets over the years, and there’s no real reason to think that won’t happen again today.
Seattle -3 over New York Giants
It’s well documented how much the commish has been riding the Seahawks this season and I’m not jumping off now. The only thing that gives me pause this week is that both DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are listed as questionable on the injury report this morning so my fingers crossed that both or at least one of them gets to go. But this handicap is primarily driven by the Giants travel schedule and their lack of interest in this game. At 6-1 they hold one of the league’s best records so it’s a great sell-high opportunity for a team that has over-performed against pre-season expectations. London/Jacksonville/Seattle will take its toll on any team. And now they face one of the leagues best offenses, hottest quarterbacks, great rookie RB in Kenneth Walker, as well as one of the crazies fan bases in the league. Seattle rolls.
SF 49ers (-1) over LA Rams
Debo Samuel is out so it’s time for CMC’s coming out party today. I was expecting it last week in the game against the Chiefs but today Shanny really has no choice. The 49ers historically have owned the Rams and today will be no different. The Rams continue to struggle against real pressure and have the 10th highest pressure rate against a front 4 rush. Everything is quick release and short for Stafford because he has no time. And that has been against pass rushes that are not as good as SFs. The Rams continue to lack a credible running threat with Akers out and Henderson was sick earlier this week and already not performing well. This will be another long day for the Rams.
Cleveland Browns +3.0 over Cincinnati Bengals
We have arrived at the most important game of the Browns season. The battle of Ohio takes place on Halloween night in a must win game for the Browns and their 8th best offense. And since Jamar Chase is now out and Denzel Ward returns from concussion, this is the Browns best opportunity to draw a line and say they’ve had enough. Cleveland’s defense is not good, but they may join a chorus of teams that understand how to play the Bengals with some version of a cover 2 and a good run defense. The script is there, the Browns just have to execute and have some pride or their season will slip into nothing more than waiting for Desahun to come back in week 12.
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