So, the Bills might be good. Another high scoring win with Josh Allen scoring the first TD at the new Highmark stadium and leading his team to the win over the Lions who made it close at the end but weren’t ever really in it. It was a bet builders dream night and there should have been some big winners out there if you partook! I had actually done a preview that recommended Shakir and Amon-Ra to score, so I’m kinda glad I didn’t post that!
The regular season has never really been an issue for the Bills though, and they shouldn’t have too much problem winning the AFC East again, their division games against the Patriots already look like the only two important games they’ll have until January.
Week 2 is here and the general rule is take the 0-1 team against the 1-0 team. We’ve got several of those matchups this weekend including the first game I’ll look at here, which, to me, is the highlight of the early slate, but, I am Bengals fan so I would say that.
Last weekend pretty much all the players you would expect to find the endzone, did and a host of them had a couple of scores. Should we just back any “certain” scorers at around evens? Well I can’t see much value I like this weekend, so that might be the way to go for me at least. I must admit my new favourite market is Player X to do X on the first drive. Obviously you’re restricted to probably 75 yards available, but the odds on players like Hampton rushing for 10 yards are very tasty, pick one from three game and you’re looking at 30-40/1.
Bengals +2.5 @ Texans: 45.5 (5Action)
Our first 1-0 vs. 0-1 game as the Texans host the Bengals. The Bengals beat the Bucs last weekend while the Texans lost an unexpected shootout against the Bills.
It was a defensive win for the Bengals with the defense scoring a TD, something which matches their output for the whole of last season and providing 4 turnovers in total. It meant the offense didn’t really have to step into second gear and was a nice thing to see for fans of the team. They invested in the defense and it looks like it may be paying off, as long as they’re mid-level at worst then they should make the playoffs.
That defense should have a handy input here as well with the Texans allowing a lot of pressure on Stroud last weekend and with Nico Collins missing for the Texans it’s become an easier task as well. Joe Burrow threw a horrible pick-6 last weekend which kept the Bucs live and he’s apparently dealing with back stiffness but there’s no chance of him missing this game. It would be nice if both sides of the ball played well in one game and they’ll hopefully step up here, but against the best pass rush in the league I’m not sure it’s going to happen.
Chase Brown was great last week with a TD on the ground and 5 receptions. Mike Gesicki got the receiving TD and actuallty led the team in rec yards while Ja’marr and Higgins had smaller roles, although Ja’marr was wide open in the slot for a potential TD and Higgins made a stunning catch to keep the game-sealing drive going. Dohnte Meyers was a camp star and had two essential touches (1 catch, 1 rush) as well, I think he should be getting more WR3 work ahead of Yoshi and that won’t have hurt him at all.
The Texans were hoping their OL would be good this year and I’m sure it will be better than last season, but 3 sacks and 9 QB hits suggests that they allowed a fair bit of pressure. Fair play to them, they moved the ball around the offense well with 11 different players making a catch, but most of that comes off of the main man Nico Collins and he’s out this week with a hamstring strain so it will be interesting to see how they go. Xavier Hutchinson seems like he’ll be the main target along with TE Dalton Schultz. Jaylin Noel and the running backs probably round out the likely pass-catchers.
David Montgomery had a great debut with a hat-trick so I think it’s safe to say that if he’s slowed this week then the Texans will be stopped. Woody Marks was more efficient with the ball and if it was me I’d be leaning on the run game as much as possible and trying to keep CJ Stroud safe. For me, the jury is still out on Stroud. He had a great rookie season but last year was a mess and he still doesn’t really seem comfortable in there.
I think this is an unders play and I’m hoping the Bengals defense turns up like it did last week. Samaje Perine o5.5 rec. yards – 5/6 (365) – He’s the third down back, this seems far too low in my eyes. Xaiver Hutchinson o2.5 receptions – 5/6. Obviously I’m going to say the Bengals win as underdogs
Vikings +4.5 @ Bears: 47.5 (Sky)
Both these teams won last weekend with the Vikings overcoming losing their starting QB early in the game to rally and win by a margin against the Packers and the Bears scoring their 4th highest points in history in a 96 point game against the Panthers.
Carson Wentz gets the start for the Vikes and while they limited what he had to do, he completed 12 of 19 fir 133 and 3 TDs. Fair play to him. I think he’ll be playing next week as well unless it all falls apart here… which it may well do. This is Carson Wentz. The run will be mainly Aaron Jones as Jordan Mason has headed to IR. Jones ran fairly well last weekend and got himself a TD, but he’s past the age where he can carry the entire load by himself. Deejay Dallas will probably mix in and rookie Demond Claiborne might get a chance to show his worth early in the season, or maybe former-Brown Jerome Ford will come in and make an impact straight away.
This Justin Jefferson fella might be quite good. He finished with 92 of Wentz’ 133 yards and 2 of the TDs as he made the Packers pay for some lack defense. The Bears defense used to be ranked quite highly but after conceding 40+ to the Panthers last week, maybe that’s not their way any more. TJ Hockenson had a decent enough game while Addison and Jennings were barely targeted in a weird game. With a week of training knowing that Wentz is starting I’ve got to think the offense will look better here.
The Bears scored 59 points last week with Caleb Williams responsible for 4 TDs, 2 passing and 2 rushing as they showed they’ll be a fun watch with Ben Johnson calling plays. Caleb looks very good, I still think he’s prone to some stupidity but he does things that few can do on the field and that immediately makes the Bears a fun watch. Kaliff Raymond came over from the Lions and looks like he’ll be a good addition under his former Lions OC. Luther Burden had a knock but finished 2nd in yardage and Rome Odunze looked good again as well. The goose egg for Colston Loveland was perhaps more surprising than the 59 points they scored. He’ll surely bounce back in some style this weekend.
The run game was dominant though with D’Andre Swift running in 3 TDs on his 124 yards and Kyle Monangai coming off the sick bed to hit 100 yards as well, mainly from his 61-yard breakaway TD run. Now, I do think this Vikings defense will prove a far harder nut to crack but they should be leaning on the ground game again here.
A tough one to call. The Vikings defense is legit and I don’t think they’ll allow 30 points here, but do I think the Vikings score 25+ to keep it within the spread? They’ve got Carson Wentz at QB… lean to the under, and the Bears covering. I don’t think Kaliff Raymond was a one-off but trying to find the best angle on him is tougher – I’ll go with a 15+ yard reception for him at 5/6, o2.5 recs was 6/5 and o23.5 was a nice line as well.
Steelers +5.5 @ Patriots: 41.5 (Sky)
The Steelers stumbled to a win over the Cooper Rush Falcons while the Patriots have had extra rest after their opening day defeat to the Seahawks.
The Steelers aren’t a good team this year. Aaron Rodgers looks well past it and this week is without new signing Michael Pittman who looked like he had a decent connection with his QB last weekend after leading the team in yardage. TE Pat Friermuth looked back to his best and he and the rest of the TEs may well be up there in yards this weekend. DK Metcalf just doesn’t seem to work in this team, at least not compared to what we saw him to in Seattle. Roman Wilson got 6 targets last weekend… why?
Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle split the carries but none of them really did much, Warren 4.6 yards a carry, Rico a dismal 1.9 from his 8 carries. Both caught passes with Warren looking the better doing it as you would expect.
The Steelers defense is the highest paid in the league and 42m a year gets you TJ Watt who scored a pick-6 last weekend. He’ll have to be playing his best to cause this Pats team some scares this weekend. Joey Porter misses out again becuase he’s an immature prick who wants the cash rather than helping his team. Who’d have thought it…
The Patriots should have won their opener but Drake Maye fell apart at the end of the game and threw an interception instead of keeping it safe and playing for the field goal which would have tied it up. He’ll know he fucked up and you’d hope would be better here. I feel he struggles against good defenses though and he faces a good one here so I’m not expecting huge numbers from him.
TreVeyon Henderson makes it back into the starting team so he’ll eat into Rhamondre Stevensons carries. Steveo had 18 for 51 yards last weekend, again, against a very good Seattle defense, they should be better on the ground here.
AJ Brown heads straight to IR, so they’re back to what they had last year at WR and that’s not ideal for them. Mack Hollins led the team in rec yards, he and Demario Douglas with most of the work from the WR corps. Hunter Henry had fair yardage and they used their other TEs in the red zone with rookie Raridon scoring at big odds. Romeo Doubs was an absolute shit-show and should have had his wages docked last weekend. Will he bounce back here?
My god. Unders? It’s a low total but I don’t think the Steelers put up 20 and their defense will likely restrict Maye and the Patriots. I guess I’d have to lean to the ‘dogs keeping it close as well and take them on the +5.5.
Panthers -2.5 @ Falcons: 43.5
Panthers scored a lot last weekend. Conceded more. Looks like they might be a fun watch. The Falcons are terrible with Cooper Rush at QB, he starts again this week.
Bryce Young is an enigma wrapped in a riddle to me, is he any good?! 361 yards, 3 TDs last week and a rushing TD. I guess I’ve got to say he has flashes? With it being a shootout they didn’t really establish anything on the ground but we saw Chuba would get the bulk of the carries. Brooks had 4 carries and caught a ball down the sideline for 48 yards as they eased him into the season, but hey, at least he didn’t do his ACL again.
The cokeheads were buzzing last week with Jalen Coker finishing with 138 yards and 2 TDs, he left in a walking boot but it was “just a sprain” and he’ll be playing here. Tet McMillan had 8 targets to Cokers 9 and could have had a bigger game than that. Darren Waller came off the street and had a TD taken away from him due to a flag elsewhere on the offense and the other TEs all had inputs as well. Legette is not legit.
There’s only one person worth talking about for the Falcons and it’s Bijan Robinson, he had 173 combined yards last weekend, the Falcons, as a team had 238. 73% of their total yards, from one person. That is absurd. 21 carries for 83 yards and 8 receptions for 90 yards and a TD from his 10 targets. Yes, I will be looking at his receptions again this weekend. He’s 8/13 for o4.5 receptions, I think I’ll ladder him up to 8 again with 8 coming in at 5/1 on Bet365 (6 – 27/20, 7 – 53/20)
Have to think the Panthers can outscore Bijan Robinson? Admittedly their defense isn’t very good so that might be the panacea for the Falcons, but I’m writing them off. Brook o8.5 rec yards
Browns +8.5 @ Bucs: 41.5
So, I said the Browns weren’t the worst team in the league last weekend, they might be if they keep starting Deshaun Watson. The Bucs looked fine other than the turnovers and should make it 1-1 against the AFC North here.
Can Quishon Judkins overcome the terrible QB play and become something this season? With Dylan Sampson heading to IR we know he’s got very little competition in the backfield but are they ever going to be in a close game? Watson is a good scrambler as well.
KC Concepcion had 4 for 43 and fellow rookie Denzel Boston got their garbage time score on his debut as well. The rest of the offense wasn’t really worth talking about. The worries over Fannin’s workload were real with Watson. Give it a few weeks for them to finally give up on him and he might bounce back with Sheduer at QB.
Baker Mayfield coughed the ball up three times last week but his numbers were fine, 23 from 28 is some good efficiency and it should be with most passes going to the line of scrimmage and not much further. Egbuka in yards with Bucky catching a ton of passes and Chris Godwin looking fine in his work as well. The lack of Kenneth Gainwell in the passing game was a little surprising, but good news for Bucky owners in fantasy.
Not much more to say about the Bucs to be honest. They’ll probably win 9 games and scrape a wildcard spot, they have to win this one though.
I’m not taking this spread, nothing on the total either. Baker o1.5 TD passes – 4/5. Bucky o2.5 receptions – 11/10
Packers -3.5 @ Jets: 44.5
The Packers contrived to win a game they were in good control of, and it turned on a converted field goal which they decided to take off the board when a penalty gave them a makeable 4th down. They didn’t make it and they didn’t do much after that. The Jets won against a honking Titans team.
Jordan Love finished completing only half his throws, but with 387 yards and 2 TDs, both to Christian Watson who finished with 147 yards from his 6 receptions. Deep throws work well for this team. Matthew Golden was expected to take a step this year and 12 targets shows they’ll be using him a lot, he had 6 receptions in the end for 95 yards. Tucker Kraft is back from injury and a fresh contract and will work in more as the season goes along. Jayden Reed rounds off the notable pass-catchers for them.
The run game was a mess with Josh Jacobs. Chris Brooks was in on early downs and actually had better efficiency than Marshown Lloyd who had twice the carries but averaged at 2.8 yards a carry. Almost like he was never meant to be good but people hoped he would with the opportunity given to him.
The Jets looked like an actual NFL team with Geno at QB. 19 of 24 for him for 215 yards and no TDs, but he kept it simple and safe and that’s an improvement on the last 3 years for the Jets. Omar Cooper made one catch before his rookie season was jilted was a stay on IR starting this week. Garret Wilson is a very good WR and obviously led them in yardage, but with Cooper done for the month it’s a good chance for Adonai Mitchell to cement his place as the WR2 in the offense.
Breece Hall had 102 yards and a TD on the ground as they used him 22 times to grind the clock and get the job done for them. Braelon Allen had 10 carries as well and rookie TE Kenyon Sadiq ran in an end round to get his first TD for the team, he also had 3 receptions.
I mean, the Packers should win, but they should have won last week and fell apart. This is a 0-1 vs 1-0 and I’ll take the trend in this one! Cheeseheads win and cover. Adonai Mitchell o2.5 recs – 4/6
Saints +8.5 @ Ravens: 46.5
The Saints looked dismal for a half but probably should have won against the Lions while the Ravens looked dominant from the outset against the Colts. The line has dropped a point due to cluster injuries for the Ravens at WR.
Tyler Shough was on minus points at half time last weekend before helping his team to 24 in the second half and a TD in overtime before missing a 2-pt conversion that would have won it for them, so who is he?! Well he’s a late draft pick in a rough offense… he’s going to be up and down all year I think. They’ll be hoping he doesn’t have to throw 56 times too often this year, although he did put up 410 yards and 3 TDs in the end.
Chris Olave led them as expected with 182 yards but had some knocks again and was iffy through the week but will play here despite being questionable with a hamstring. Deshaun Vele came in over the summer from the Broncos and he had 7 for 69 and a TD, one to watch going forward I guess, but the game script definitely helped him. Rookie Bryce Lance was nicely involved on debut and the tight ends came to the fore late on as well with Juwan Johnson and Noah Fant both finding the endzone.
The run game wasn’t great and with them trailing by 21 at one point it didn’t get much of a chance. They have Alvin Kamara back this week so that adds another mouth to feed along with Etienne and Kendre Miller. Not great for bettors.
The Ravens are without Zay Flowers who had 150 yards and a TD by half time last weekend before tweaking his hammy and now missing this game. Rookie Jakobi Lane looked good as well and he misses out with a poorly wrist. So the passing game will go through the tight ends? Mark Andrews looked SLOOOW as hell but can still do a job and they’ve got Hibner and Smythe behind him. I guess Rashod Bateman will be expected to step up but he did nothing last weekend.
Lets be fair. This should be another 23+ carries for Derrick Henry and figure out other stuff beyond him in some way. Henry never gets old and it will be a sad day when he hits the cliff. He finished with 3 TDs and 144 rushing yards last weekend as he showed he’s still unstoppable. Lamar found the endzone on the ground as well.
I don’t think I can take the Ravens with this type of spread, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they covered it. Nothing on the total. Chris Moore anytime – 15/2 (WillHill) – Significantly higher odds than elsewhere, Noah Fant at 19/2 is tempting too, he’s a good playmaker.
Eagles -7 @ Titans: 39.5
The Eagles won a closer game than they’d have liked but took a step in their division by beating the Commanders. The Titans looked dreadful from what we saw on Redzone as they lost without throwing a punch against the Jets.
The passing game was about as poor as I expected it to be without AJB there, 14 completions for Hurts for 203 yards and 3 TDs, two of them to Dallas Goedert who I’m sure they’re glad signed a contract over the summer. It was a deep shot to Dontayvion Wicks who was targeted a few times and finally hauled one in on his debut for the team. Devonta Smith had 3 for 53, but the statline for rookie Makai Lemon is one that catches the eye…4 targets, 3 receptions for -5 yards, with a long of 3. That is impressive.
Saquon had 83 from 15 carries, although a 42 yards was more than half of it. It wasn’t a convincing performance, I’ll just say that.
The Titans though could be just what the Eagles need here, 19 from 32 for a measly 140 yards for Cam Ward who still doesn’t look comfortable. He rushed a bit but they were mainly scrambles. With how poor this offense is why aren’t they designing run plays for their mobile QB? Tony Pollard couldn’t get things going and Tyjae Spears was sorely under-used again.
Carnell Tate at least led them in yardage as you’d hope from someone taken so highly in the draft but I doubt he’ll ever hit the heights on this team. Wan’dale Robinson led them in receptions as expected, the PPR king will carry on doing that I’d imagine. Elic Ayomanor was big odds to score and did that with his one catch. They aren’t a good team.
No idea here. I guess I’ve got to lean to the Eagles covering but this is rightly the lowest total on the week, neither offense screams points.
Jaguars +2.5 @ Broncos: 45.5 (Sky)
Trevor Lawrence carried on where he left off last year leading his team to comfy win over the Browns while the Broncos looked terrible in their loss to the Chiefs. 1-0 vs 0-1.
Lawrence had 3 TDs from 13 completions by halftime last weekend before finishing with 18 completions for 4 TDs. It was an imperious performance, but he’ll do well to continue that well against a far better defense here. Lawrence is good with his legs as well and they might be worth a look in this one.
Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers both found the endzone and Brian Thomas looked nicely involved too before picking up a knock as they enter the second year with Coen calling the offensive plays. Washington finished the year strong and looks like he’ll be the main man this year. Brenton Strange found the endzone and 4 receptions is probably a good average for most of the year for him.
The run game was split fairly evenly early on before Bayshul Tuten ran away with it in the second half. Chris Rodriquez was involved early but not much late on and even Ameer Abdullah appeared with some work.
I’ll admit I’ve only seen the box score for the Broncos but from what I’ve heard they were terrible. Bo Nix hasn’t ever really impressed me but has done well in a well-coached team, he finished with 131 yards, a TD and an INT as the Broncos only had 9 first downs on the night as they fell 1.5 games behind the Chiefs.
It’s hard to judge anything from the boxscore, the Broncos had the ball for such a short time and ran so few plays. So I’ll go with pre-season expectations. JK Dobbins will likely lead them on the ground with RJ Harvey behind him.
The passing game is probably going to be Waddle in the end but it wasn’t a good start for him and Evan Engram led them on Monday night. Pat Bryant being the most targeted player isn’t something I would have expected.
I mean, the Jags looked great, the Broncos terrible… should we just take the Jags winning at Mile High? Everything about this looks trappy. Brian Thomas o2.5 receptions – 4/5
Raiders +6.5 @ Chargers: 43.5
Another 1-0 v 0-1 game and it’s not the way around that most would have expected as the Chargers once again shit the bed completely in a game they should have won. It’s still not Herbo’s fault of course, this time it was Ladd McConkey leaving the game that disrupted them.
The Raiders had a walkover agianst a Dolphins team who probably won’t win a game this year, but Ashton Jeanty looked fantastic for them, finishing over 100 yards rushing and with 2 recieving TDs for another 45 yards. Mike Washington had touches and averaged 6 yards a carry but didn’t find the endzone.
Michael Mayer led the WR/TE grouping with 32 yards but they’ll be hoping Brock Bowers will be back. I think it would be silly for him to come in so early after his operation but we’ll have to wait on that one. Jalen Nailor did a bit as did Tre Tucker but they didn’t have to push it so the numbers aren’t great for anyone other than Jeanty.
The Chargers looked fine for a quarter or so before they stopped being able to do much at all on either side of the ball. Justin Herbert finished 17/29 for 209 yards 1 TD and 1 INT and once it stopped working he couldn’t get it started again, although the cameraman did enjoy the 1 TD he did provide for the team.
Omarion Hampton had 75% of the carries but that only equated to 12, although he did score the opening TD of the night on the first drive. They want to be mainly run heavy so they’ll look to raise that number this week. Keaton Mitchell did a bit as well.
McConkey was the key to the offense and without him they were terrible. He had 82 and a TD before leaving the game. I was expecting Njoku to be the main TE and it looked that way as he had 5 receptions to Gadsdens 2. Quinten Johnston is mainly a TD threat and doesn’t seem to add much other than that and Tre Harris was more involved than I expected with 6 targets.
Obviously I expect the Chargers to bounce back, but after they knocked me out of LMS in week 1 there’s no way I’m taking them again.
Dolphins +13.5 @ 49ers: 45.5 (Sky)
Well, the Dolphins scored 13 points at least, well done them. The 49ers came back from down under with the win and have had a bit of extra time to recover. There’s no way they slip up here.
Malik Willis rushed in for a TD and Devon Achane had 15 touches. That’s about all we can expect for this team. Caleb Douglas caught 5 of his 7 targets for 94 yards and Malik Washington garnered 8 targets as well look for some kind of trend in this shitshow.
The 49ers were arguably the most impressive winners of the week in the way they dispatched the Rams. The early down usage of Christian McCaffrey might be something to watch though as Kaelon Black was more involved than most of us expected, but CMC was in there when plays were needed and unsurpisingly looked better with the ball. CmC 10 carries, Black with 14.
The passing game was varied with Mike Evans making a host of 3rd down plays to keep drives alive and finding the endzone later in the game. Deebo Samuel looked to be in his happy place and I’m sure his role will stay solid through the season and another week of training can’t be bad for George Kittle who doesn’t seem to age. I doubt Demarcus Robinson will continue scoring but he looks to be the deep threat.
49ers win, but I’m not taking any team to cover 14 points. Mike Evans at 29/20 is good for me (365)
Seahawks -4.5 @ Cardinals: 41.0 (Sky)
Both teams got off to winning starts with the ‘Hawks overcoming the loss of their starting QB while the Cardinals looked surprisingly competent in their win over the Chargers.
Drew Lock gets the start in this one, and while he won’t be a good QB for the whole season, he should be able to grind out wins with the calibre of defense they’ve got giving him all the help he could want. It helps that JSN seems to have carried on from last season. Honestly. Stop him and you’ll stop this team but he seems unguardable. Behind him it’s not pretty. I would assume AJ Barner would be the second target as Cooper Kupp has dropped off the cliff.
They can’t rely on the run game this year really either although Jadarian Price looked fine in the work he got. A 5.2 yard average would be very handy if he could keep that up for the season. George Holani was the RB2 although didn’t do a whole lot with the chance against a solid defense.
You’ve got to feel last weekend was a big fuck you to all the nerds who think the Cardinals are terrible, myself included. Jacoby Brissett is a fine QB and obviously runs this team quite well. He used Kendrick Bourne and Trey McBride heavily and Michael Wilson at least hit his reception line with 5 catches, these three had 28 of the 37 targets thrown by Brisket last weekend. I guess I’d expect Wilson to overtake Bourne but it’s wait and see on that front. We can be fairly sure McBride will be the most targeted player though.
They were able to lean on the run game to finish out the game last week and as the game went on they went more to Tyler Allgeier to bash through and get the tough yards, although Jeremiah Love did have a good rookie debut and found the endzone for them as well as having a couple of receptions. I would guess we’re looking at 60/40 towards Love on the ground but again it will be interesting to see how it pans out there.
A lot of respect for the Cardinals with this line. I guess I’d be taking the Seahawks and under. It looks like their defense could be just as good as last year and that will be a problem for everyone. The Seahawks have won the last 9 in a row between these two teams. Trey McBride is a decent price at 11/5 on Bet365.
Commanders +4.5 @ Cowboys: 50.5 (Channel 5)
The Commies looked poor from the bits I saw but managed to get close to the Eagles in the end while the Cowboys were humbled by the Giants as these teams face a divisional opponent for the second week in a row knowing a loss will be incredibly bad for their playoff chances.
I don’t know what to say about the Commanders to be honest. I thought they were awful last week but they nearly forced overtime. JCM, Bill, was the man on the ground as expected and he found the endzone with Rachaad White having about half the carries of the incumbent RB and Daniels rushing 5 times as well from QB.
Daniels looked poor in the air and just 2 receptions for Terry McLaurin won’t be something they want to repeat going forward. Stefon Diggs found the endzone and then ruined it by getting a flag which set them back from a 2pt attempt. Rookie Antonio Williams was mentioned to me on twitter and he led them in rec yards and scored a TD on his debut, keep an eye on him going forward. Chig Okonkwo got injured at TE, it will be John Bates taking the 1 spot in that position here.
The Cowboys… maybe it won’t be their year after all. Javonte Williams scored a couple of times, Ceedee Lamb led them in receptions but it was all a little disjointed. I’ll be honest, I’ve not even watched the highlights or heard anything about their loss last week so I think I’m mute on opinions for them here.
They’ll want more from Pickens and I wouldn’t be shocked if he bounced back well here. I guess their defense was mainly to blame last week?
No idea on their game really. I actually like the Cowboys and think they’ll make the playoffs but this is nearly do-or-die already. John Bates – 12/1 anytime (Ladbrokes) – way higher than the 4/1 or so elsewhere.
Colts +6.5 @ Chiefs: 46.5
The Colts looked awful on both sides of the ball last week in their loss while the Chiefs were quite the opposite.
Daniel Jones is meant to be a mobile QB, he had 1 rush for 4 yards. Is he still worried about or feeling the injury which curtailed last season for him? Definitely something to watch as it was a key to their winning streak to start last season. Jonathan Taylor is fine without anyone else apparently, he had 98 yards and a couple of rushing TDs as well as 3 receptions.
Alec Pierce was on a snap count as he eases back into the lineup after an injury riddled off-season but he still led them in yards. Josh Downs is usually good for 4 or 5 receptions, he had just 2, while Keenan Allen led them in catches with 6. Sophomore TE Tyler Warren had their TD and will hope to be more involved going forward.
I thought the Chiefs would struggle with Mahomes not being fully fit, but he showed me to be a fool by rushing in a TD from his 7 carries last weekend, but it was the debut of Kenneth Walker which showed how the Chiefs want to play this year, he finished with nearly 200 yards and 2 TDs on debut as he destroyed the Broncos almost single-handedly.
Travis Kelce set another record through the air, and despite having the turning circle and acceleration of an artic truck he just keeps going. Emmett Johnson had a good debut as the RB2 with 10 touches and 60odd yards. Rashee Rice managed to keep out of trouble long enough to find the endzone but had only 2 receptions. This week it could be the speed of Worthy that does the damage, although he’s tough to get on a good week due to his way of playing.
Chiefs win and cover. I guess under on the total as I just don’t think the Colts will be putting up many points. I’m willing to have one more go on Cyrus Allen at 18/1 and above before I give up on it.
Giants +7.5 @ Rams: 48 (MNF)
The Giants won. The Rams didn’t. Myles Garrett heads to IR.
By all accounts the Giants looked good in their win, and with everyone healthy could be a trouble-maker in the NFC. Dart ran 11 times for 54 yards and threw 3 TDs and 0 INTs, you can’t ask for much more than that from the first start of his second year. Cam Skattebo had 81 and a TD and managed to avoid injury, which is a big positive for him, and it wasn’t Najee Harris but Devin Singletary as the RB2 there who finished with 10 touches and a TD.
Malik Nabers played and had 6 receptions as he came back from a knee injury, with that under his belt I’d expect him to push on in this one, but it was new signing Isiah Likely from TE who led them in every receiving line with 78 yards from 8 receptions and a couple of TDs. He could be on for a big season. Rookie Malachi Fields is expected to be the WR2, it’s between him and Darnell Mooney by the look of it.
The Rams have listed Puka Nacua as questionable with a groin injury and without him they may struggle to move the ball. He’s most of their passing offense and I don’t think Devante Adams can fill in for him in any way. They will have to rely on their bevy of TEs. I would have expected Higbee to lead that area but he fumbled last week and with other options could drop down the pecking order below Colby Parkinson and maybe Terrance Ferguson who did nothing last week.
The run game will be split between Kyren Williams and Blake Corum and might even start leaning toward Corum as things continue, but for now I’d imagine it’s 55/45 or so in Kyren’s favour. He is the better pass catcher at least.
The picked up some bloke off the street towards the end of the summer and apparently it’s news that he’ll be playing in this one… Aaron Donald returns.
I mean, 7.5 seems harsh on the Giants doesn’t it? I’d have to go with them keeping it to a TD and over on the total. THHHEEEEE GEEEEEEEEEEEEE-MENNNNNNNNNN. Jaxson Dart anytime – 12/5
TouchdownTips 
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