This week’s NFL action gets underway with an Indianapolis Colts-Houston Texans appetizer on Thursday before the main course of games on Sunday. Along the way, we’ll have some intriguing NBA, NHL & NCAA matchups… plus some NEWS on Lamar Jackson MVP odds!
So… PointsBet, announced today that they will be issuing early payouts to their bettors who wagered on Lamar Jackson to win MVP.
He accounts for 13 percent of MVP futures tickets. PointsBet took action on Jackson starting at +7000 at the beginning of the season, now he’s the frontrunner at +130.
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Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints
It looks like Kyle Allen’s Cinderella season has come to an end. When he took over under center for the Carolina Panthers, he was a steady arm who didn’t make mistakes and simply did what was necessary to guide the team to wins.
He had seven touchdowns and no interceptions in his first four contests. Over his last four, though, Allen has nine interceptions (and lost a fumble) while throwing for just three touchdowns. Taking a look back, the only team with a winning record that he’s beaten is the Houston Texans, who are 6-4.
With Allen struggling, beating the Panthers has become a fairly easy task. All teams need to do is make sure that running back Christian McCaffrey doesn’t beat them. That means the Saints will be able to load up the box this week and simply force Allen to beat them through the air. Judging how he’s played in the last month or so, the Saints should have an easy time of things.
New Orleans is back at home after beating Tampa Bay and the last time they were at home, they were embarrassed by the Atlanta Falcons. They’ll put together a much better effort this time around.
Pick: Saints -8.5
Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Rams
Date: Monday, November 25th
The Ravens will faceoff with the Rams in a matchup of teams that are heading in opposite directions.
The Ravens have won six in a row on the strength of an electric offense that’s averaging 34.3 points per game during the winning streak. Meanwhile, the Rams offense has become a shadow of what they used to be, scoring a total of 29 points the last two weeks (nine of that was by the defense).
The contrast of the quarterbacks here is quite drastic as Lamar Jackson has looked like an MVP-caliber player. He’s completed 76.6% of his passes in November while averaging 283.0 total yards per game with 14 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
As for Goff, the Rams did their best to hide him this past week. He had a total of 11 completions against the Chicago Bears. That means he averaged just 0.85 completions per drive. Goff now has just 11 touchdown passes on the year with 10 interceptions. His QBR of 39.3 is 27th in the NFL.
Both teams have played well – especially since the Rams acquired Jalen Ramsey and since the Ravens acquired Marcus Peters. However, there will only be one competent offense on the field and that’s what will lead to the Ravens winning and covering.
Pick: Ravens -3
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
Odds: Steelers -6.5 at DraftKings
Date: Sunday, November 24th
The Steelers four-game winning streak came to a grinding halt last Thursday when the Cleveland Browns handed them the loss. While the Myles Garrett helmet-swinging incident stole the spotlight, Mason Rudolph’s horrendous play should not be overlooked.
He had four interceptions and it’s become quite clear that he’s not very good. The Steelers offense has become so bad that they need the defense to get them turnovers and put them in good positions, or they’re not going to score. Not only were they bad and shorthanded before, they now might be without Juju Smith-Schuster on Sunday too.
Of course, the Cincinnati Bengals are terrible. There’s no debating that as they are 0-10. However, I have no faith in the Steelers covering a big number on the road. For the Bengals, it’s quite simple: don’t turn over the ball in this spot and they’ll be in this game.
Pittsburgh is averaging just 260.7 total yards per game over their last three contests. That’s abysmal. As long as the Bengals don’t bungle this, they’ll be in this and they’ll at least cover.
Pick: Bengals +7
Other Things To Watch This Week
No. 9 Penn State vs No. 2 Ohio State – The marquee college football matchup of the week pits the No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions versus the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes have crushed everything in their path as they haven’t won by less than 24. As for Penn State, they’ll have to deliver their best game of the season. They lost at Minnesota just a couple of weeks ago.
New York Islanders at San Jose Sharks – Two of the hottest teams in the NHL will meet on Saturday night when the Islanders visit the Sharks. The Islanders started the season just 1-3-0 but have since won 13 of their last 14 games. Meanwhile, the Sharks started the year just 4-10-1 but have gotten back on track with six straight wins. We’ll find out which of these teams can keep momentum on their side.
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Clippers – The Rockets and Clippers played a testy game just last week and will now have a rematch on Saturday night. The Clippers should be at full strength for this one as Paul George is finally back. The Clippers have struggled as they entered Monday just 3-3 in their last six games.
See you same time next week when we start off the week with our Best Bets Of The Week!
