COVID is hitting the NFL hard and we are losing games by the minute. We will attempt to bring you some winners on some marquee matchups although one of those has been drastically affected. With the news of Cam Newton testing positive, that game has been pulled off the books as of writing this. That leaves us with only two other matchups of teams with winning records. If you read last week, I went 2-1 against the spread. Let’s see if we can get a clean sweep this week.
Seattle Seahawks vs Miami Dolphins
Before you say ‘I thought you were going to look at marquee matchups?’ I will, and this game was just too juicy to stay away from. The Seahawks are only giving Miami 5 pts in a spot where I am not necessarily sure about the home field advantage these days. That being said, this Seattle defense has been abysmal and as bad as their defense has been, the Dolphins defense has been worse, ranking 32nd in the league in DVOA https://www.footballoutsiders.com. The Seattle offense has been rolling, however, and Russell Wilson has been on top of his game. The Seahawks have to travel across the country in this one, but 5 points just does not seem like enough in this spot. The Dolphins offense should be able to move the ball and score some points as well. Just don’t believe it will be enough this week.
My Pick:
Seahawks -5 Total OVER 54.5
Cleveland Browns vs Dallas Cowboys
Both teams come into this one as unfinished products. The Cowboys have faced a difficult passing offense schedule and their defense has paid the price for it. Despite the number of points they have given up, they are still middle of the pack in DVOA. The Browns, on the other side of things, have a top 10 defense in DVOA and a really bad offense. Baker Mayfield has not looked great so far this year and it will be interesting how Stephanski will try and attack this Cowboy defense. As for the Cowboys offense, it has been an up and down year so far. They have moved the ball and looked good at times. The Cowboys are one of the quickest teams in the NFL and will look to keep the foot on the gas in this one as well and tire out that Cleveland pass rush that is so formidable. I find it difficult to see how the Browns cover unless they do one of two things. One, run the ball so effectively it keeps Dallas off the field and the Cowboys up-tempo offense gets them into trouble. Two, Dallas offense clicks and Baker comes out slinging it and gets this offense out of the rut they are in. The Cowboys badly need this one and I just can’t envision a game where the Browns snatch defeat from this Cowboys team.
My Pick:
Cowboys -3.5
Indianapolis Colts vs Chicago Bears
Alright, finally a game between winning teams. This is an interesting matchup because no one other than Chicago fans had the Bears as 3-0 to start the season. Especially with Trubisky starting in all three of those matchups and then getting benched. Has a 3-0 quarterback ever been benched before? That was the case and now the Bears turn to Foles for as long as he can stay healthy. This game features two of the best defenses in the NFL according to DVOA as the Colts are #1 in the league and Chicago is currently 6th. That being said, I think the 18th ranked offense could do some things in this game to frustrate Chicago. I would like to see what this Colts offense would look like with both Doyle and Mo Allie Cox, the pride of VCU, on the field together. I think this alignment could trouble the Bears along with the strong running performance from the rookie Taylor and the Bears could be in for a long day. With the Bears, I am just not sure which Foles we are getting and this being his first real test, I like the Colts in this one to cover the spread.
My Pick:
Colts -3
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