If you aren’t taking every Monday off work at the moment, you really should be! The NFL season has gone to another level over the past fortnight and we were treated to some absolutely outstanding games in Week 10. It is scary to think that the schedule for Week 11 actually looks even better and some of the best teams in the competition are set to do battle. If ESPN could get their act together and bring back NFL RedZone, this would be right up there with the best NFL seasons ever.
They may have won last weekend, but the Cleveland Browns are still no good. The Buffalo Bills virtually handed them that game on a platter and it took an eternity for Baker Mayfield and his awful mustache to pick it up. Betting against the Browns has been a profitable betting play all season long and there is no reason to move away from that this weekend. The Steelers come into this clash on the back of four straight wins and Mason Rudolph continues to be competent, which is more than you can say for the majority of the quarterbacks in this league.
You wouldn’t make your worst enemy watch this game. Both these teams are putrid and a perfect advertisement for those that argue the NFL has too many teams. The Redskins have lost their past seven matches at home, while the Jets have won only one of their past seven on the road. It is impossible to back either of these teams, so I won’t. The $15 available for the draw actually does appeal!
This is a key game in the AFC South, which remains the most boring division in the NFL. I don’t know why, but I’ve always disliked the Jacksonville Jaguars and I don’t enjoy backing them. So I generally don’t. The home side has won eight of the past nine matches played between these two sides and the Colts desperately need a win following their embarrassing loss to the Miami Dolphins last week. That loss should immediately remove them from NFL Playoffs discussion, but a win over the Jaguars would still have them in the mix.
The AFC East. What a division. Credit where it is due, the Miami Dolphins have actually won two matches in a row and showed some toughness in doing so. They have surely cost themselves draft picks in doing so, but you have to admire their efforts. They go into this clash with every possible chance as well. The Bills may be the worst 6-3 team that I have ever seen and the fact they were unable to beat the Cleveland Browns last weekend suggests that they are one of the biggest pretenders in the league. Josh Allen is due another stinker and the rest of the season could get ugly for the Bills.
Market is currently unavailable due to the uncertainty over the status of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Lamar Jackson vs DeShaun Watson. This is going to be loose. I have put my hand up. I thought that neither Jackson nor Watson would have a successful career in the NFL, but they have already proven me wrong this season. In saying that, the Jackson hype may have gone a little bit too far. He has been nothing short of incredible over the past month, but he simply can’t keep these types of performances up. The Texans defence is a good one and Jackson have have the potential to crumble when he is put under true pressure. The Texans just keep on getting the job done and there is nowhere near as much between these two teams as the current market suggests.
How did that happen? The Atlanta Falcons, who have been dreadful all season long, somehow came out and beat the New Orleans Saints. I don’t think that we will see a repeat. That win should actually make Falcons supporters mad. They have the talent on their roster to be a contender, but their coaching is the worst in the NFL. Worse than Ricky Stuart at his worst in the NRL. The Panthers lost to the Packers, but Kyle Allen was impressive again and he might actually be better than Cam Newton at this stage of his career.
Of all the rivalries in the NFC South, this is one of them. The Buccaneers might not be the best team in the NFL, but they are one of the most exciting. Bruce Arians insistence that his teams never play defence is always a good one for the neutrals, but it probably won’t work against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. The Saints will be smarting following their shock loss to the Atlanta Falcons and it is scary to thing about how many points they could put on this Buccaneers defence. The Saints will win and there could be over 100 points scored in this one!
Kirk Cousins vs Brandon Allen. I doubt that this will be a shootout. Cousins looked decent against the Dallas Cowboys and Brandon Allen was able to lead the Broncos to a win over the Cleveland Browns, but in all likelihood this will not be the most exciting game of football this week. There should be plenty of turnovers in this one and it is a game that punting enthusiasts will really be able to get around. You really have to be on the Under.
The San Francisco 49ers hopes of an unbeaten season are now over and they are another side that I am happy to label pretenders. They had a number of chances to put away the Seattle Seahawks during Monday Night Football, but they were unable to get the job done. I blame the overrated Jimmy Garoppolo, but their rookie kicker (whose name I refuse to learn) played his part as well. The Arizona Cardinals were a touch unlucky not to get the job done against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and I think they are a better side than their record suggests. The 11.5 points start currently available is ridiculous and they can give the 49ers a genuine scare.
This is a rematch of Super Bowl 52 and we can only hope that this game is as good as that one. There really is no reason to talk about the New England Patriots. Tom Brady is still awesome, their defence is unreal and Bill Belichick is still an evil genius. In saying that, the Eagles won the past two games played between these two sides and this is the type of game that Carson Wentz typically gets up for. It is rare to see the Patriots lose back-to-back games, but it is always something that I am very happy to see.
Could John Gruden actually lead the Oakland Raiders to the NFL Playoffs? No, but they might end up going close. The Raiders are now 5-4 and are finding ways to win, but they still haven’t looked overly impressive. I’m not saying that they will lose to the Bengals, even Bengals’ fans don’t want to see that, but I would definitely not be surprised if this match is much closer than the current betting market suggests.
Aaron Donald vs Mitch Trubisky and Khalil Mack vs Jared Goff. I’m with the defences. Neither Goff nor Trubisky handle defensive pressure well and that is exactly what they will both face in this clash. If both of them don’t throw at least one interception and have at least one fumble each, I will be truly stunned. Backing the Under has been a highly profitable play in games involved either of these teams over the past 12 months and there is no reason to move away from that for this clash.
The NFL game at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City last season was such a success that the NFL had no choice but to go back! There is still some chance that this game could be moved back to the United States due to poor field conditions, which is what happened 12 months ago. Putting aside the conditions, this should actually be an excellent game. Phillip Rivers played like Blake Bortles against the Oakland Raiders last weekend, but he generally doesn’t string together poor performances and his record against the Chiefs is good. Patrick Mahomes wasn’t enough to get the Chiefs home against the Tennessee Titans and the pressure will be on Andy Reid if they fail to win this clash. I think that is every possible chance of happening and the Chargers to cover the line is an excellent betting play.