The lines are from Vegas and the home teams are in CAPs.
TAMPA BAY +5.5 over New England
Brady and Belichick finally got their first win in Tampa. It wasn’t a great game by any stretch, but that’s what happens on Thursday nights. I prey for the Jets, who will have to host the Pats on 10 days rest next week.
PHILADELPHIA -6.5 over Arizona
To put this lightly, the Cardinals just aren’t that good. Their game against San Fran proved it last week and now they fly across the country to face an Eagles team that looks pretty good.
Buffalo +3 over CINCINNATI
The Bills are getting some well-deserved recognition for playing hard this season under new coach Sean McDermott. The Bengals are coming off a blowout win over Cleveland, but that doesn’t mean much. This one should be close to the end, so we’ll take the points.
MIAMI (NL) over Tennessee
The Dolphins finally get to play a home game and they should be itching to prove they’re not the flops that everyone thinks they are. The Titans will start Matt Cassel, which tells you all you really need to know about their chances.
DETROIT -2.5 over Carolina
The Panthers offence should return to its stuttering self facing decent opposition. And with Cam Newton now dealing with fallout from his pig-headed comment, that could be distraction enough to derail the Cats after last week’s upset in New England.
Jacksonville +8.5 over PITTSBURGH
The Jags defence is for real, especially with Jalen Ramsey shutting down opposing WRs. Antonio Brown was frustrated last week and could be again in this one.
CLEVELAND -1 over New York Jets
We’re not sure anybody is going to want to watch this one. The Jets are somehow on a two-game winning streak, but we don’t see that continuing.
San Francisco +1.5 over INDIANAPOLIS
Jacoby Brissett and the Colts looked like a team that could maybe upset the Seahawks last week, but showed they were just a 30-minute team. The Niners have had some extra days off to prepare for this one and looked impressive against the Rams last Thursday. One of these teams will pick up their first win and the Niners look like less of a tire fire.
Los Angeles Chargers +3.5 over NEW YORK GIANTS
Another battle of the winless.
Baltimore +2.5 over OAKLAND
As bad as the Ravens have been the past few weeks, it’s too hard to lay points with E.J. Manuel starting at QB for the Raiders. Oakland’s offence was struggling at time with Derek Carr and this only makes matters worse.
Seattle +1.5 over LOS ANGELES RAMS
In our eyes, this will be the first real test for Jared Goff. Seattle started to step it up with a big second half against Indy last week and will look to continue that. With L.A. fans remaining lukewarm about the team, there won’t be much of an advantage here, either.
Green Bay +2 over DALLAS
I’m a Cowboys fan and even I’m not a believer in this team. While the Boys aren’t giving the full three points for home-field advantage to the Packers – making Green Bay a pseudo-favourite – it’s hard to think how they’ll stop Aaron Rodgers and Co. Green Bay has its flaws, but the Cowboys are lacking in several departments this season.
HOUSTON +1 over Kansas City
The Chiefs came back to win prime time last week, but they also lost some starters and could be in tough against the Texans. Deshaun Watson has gotten better by the week and will get the chance to really showcase himself as the top rookie QB by a mile in this tough test.
Minnesota (NL) over CHICAGO
Bradford, Keenum, Glennon and Trubisky. That’s four QBs that aren’t going far this season.
Last week: 9-6
This season: 34-25-2