Intro by Yank
It is Taylor Swift weekend here in Indianapolis. The final US shows of the Eras Tour have the city in a frenzy. There is nearly as much excitement about our recent picks. The last two weeks results have been pretty close to my wildest dreams. The goal is to keep the good karma going.
Week 9 Picks
The Collaboration:
The Miami Dolphins @ the Buffalo Bills-6.5
The New England Patriots @ the Tennessee Titans-3
Sam: Our Moneyline Parlay of the Week features the AFC East. The Bills always crush the Dolphins, and they are in rough shape as it is. Meanwhile, the Patriots are going up against the Titans in a heavyweight bout between two of the worst teams in football. I think Maye and Mayo have a slight edge despite being underdogs in this one.
Yank: Each one of my picks this week represents a Taylor Swift era. This one is simple, it’s Evermore as in I will be betting against the the Titans forever and evermore this season. The Titans fired an awesome coach to replace him with a first-time head coach who thus far has not paid dividends. Their QB room is a revolving door of misfits and also-rans. Nevertheless, somehow they are favored in this game? The Pats are also terrible and could definitely lose but getting plus value against the Titans feels like stealing.
Yank’s Pick: $10.00 on a Bills/Patriots ML Parlay (+265)
Sam’s Pick: $8.00 on a Bills/Patriots ML Parlay (+227)
The Jacksonville Jaguars @ the Philadelphia Eagles-7
Yank: The Era for this game is easy, it’s Fearless. The Eagles have a lot of problems, but talent is not one of them. They are loaded particularly at the skill positions. The Jaguars on the other hand are decimated by injuries and just traded their left tackle. No issues jumping in head first on this one for me, this could get ugly in a hurry.
Sam: The formula for me this week and the foreseeable future is betting on teams that win straight up and against the spread and betting against teams that lose straight up and against the spread. Enter Jacksonville. They stink. The Eagles seem like they are starting to get things rolling. This one could be rough for Jaguars fans.
Yank’s Pick: $11.50 on the Eagles-7 (-115)
Sam’s Pick: $10.00 on the Eagles-7.5 (+100)
The New Orleans Saints-7 @ the Carolina Panthers
Sam: Like I said above, I will be going against bad teams as often as I can. The Panthers fall into that category. The Saints have shown that they can get up big on teams, and with Carr back, they have the perfect opportunity to get back on the right path.
Yank: Carolina are the Tortured Poets Department, and unfortunately their literary prowess is not going to help them here for yet another week. We already saw this game once, the Saints won by 37. I like their odds to win by 7 or more this time.
Yank’s Pick: $11.00 on the Saints-7 (-110)
Sam’s Pick: $7.00 on the Saints-7.5 (-104)
The Confrontation:
The Las Vegas Raiders @ the Cincinnati Bengals-7
Yank: This game represents Midnights because the Bengals are definitely the anti-heroes. They are really good at losing! So far they have beaten the hapless Giants, the aforementioned Panthers, and the Deshaun Watson Browns. You might say “Well the Raiders are as bad as all those teams” and you’d be right. Having said that, in a must-win last week the Bengals got absolutely blown out. The vibes are bad, the coaching has been bad, and all your dumbest buddies will have them in a tease this week. Sometimes the eye test does matter in my opinion so I’ll put my money where my mouth is.
Sam: Yes, it’s me(hi), going back to the dry well that is the Bengals. This might be the last week I bet on them, but as I said last week, the data behind them suggests that they are a good team masquerading as a bad team. They won’t have any shot at being a good team if they can’t take care of business against this bad bad bad Raiders team.
Yank’s Pick: $5.00 on the Raiders+7
Sam’s Pick: $5.00 on the Bengals-7
The Isolation:
The Denver Broncos @ the Baltimore Ravens-8.5
Sam: This line is just a little too high for me. I like the Ravens, but the Broncos defense has been actually good this year, and I think they’ll do just enough to keep them in this one. Additionally, Nix won’t have too much of a hassle going up against the Ravens defense, although trusting a rookie QB on the road is suspect.
Sam’s Pick: $8.00 on the Broncos+8.5 (-110)
The Washington Commanders-4 @ the New York Giants
Sam: I’m going to try and get on the Commanders train before it’s too late. The Commanders offense has been awesome and the defense hasn’t been a disaster like I thought it would be. They are going up against a struggling Giants team this week, and even though it is a divisional matchup I don’t see how they lose this one.
Sam’s Pick: $7.00 on the Commanders-3.5 (-115)
The Chicago Bears @ the Arizona Cardinals-2
Sam: Caleb Williams absolutely stunk last week, but he’s shown over the last couple of weeks that he can have some highs, especially when he goes up against bad defenses. The Cardinals have a bad defense. The other thing to consider, as I’ve pointed out all season, the Bears defense is legit. They have the pieces to make Kyler’s life hard. Last week was part of the natural progression of a rookie QB and I think this line is an overreaction to that.
Sam’s Pick: $10.00 on the Bears ML (+108)
The Detroit Lions-3 @ the Green Bay Packers
Sam: I mean this is an easy one. Yes, it’s a divisional game, but the Lions are a juggernaut. I’ll likely bet on them the rest of the season and reap my reward.
Sam’s Pick: $8.00 on the Lions-2.5 (-118)
Authors: Sam Mattson and Michael Yanckello
One Last Line 