1. Dallas Cowboys (-6.5) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars – The Cowboys are coming off a demoralizing loss which effectively ended all chances of making the Playoffs. But the NFC is so watered down that they still might remain in the Wild Card conversation if they can rattle off a few wins.
This week they’ll win easily, even with QB Jon Kitna at the helm. The Cowboys offense will wear down an overmatched Jags defense and on the other side of the ball, DE/LB DeMarcus Ware and Co. will make life miserable for QB David Garrard. This is the top football bet of the week.
Next In Line
2. Detroit Lions (-2.5) vs. Washington Redskins – The Lions are coming off a bye and had a chance to heal some injuries. The Redskins are coming off a poor road win which only came about due to Jay Cutler’s afternoon of interceptions. Such gifts won’t happen this week. Look for the Lions explosive offense to put the Skins behind early and for Detroit’s opportunistic D to force Washington into turnovers.
3. Oakland Raiders (-2.5) vs. Seattle Seahawks – The Raiders enter this with a ton of confidence after ripping apart the Broncos 59-14. While we’re convinced they’re not as good as they looked, we also don’t think Seattle will continue their winning ways, especially on the road. The Black Hole can be a tough place to play and we expect the Raiders to win by at least a TD on Sunday.
4. Carolina Panthers (+3) vs. St. Louis Rams – See Money Line Bet.
Rounding Out the List
Cincinnati Bengals (-1.5) vs. Miami Dolphins – The Bengals are a desperate team after dropping their third straight in Atlanta. Look for a close, hard fought game, which Carson Palmer and Co. pull out at home.
Pittsburgh Steelers (+1) vs. New Orleans Saints – It’s guaranteed you’ll see a vastly different Saints team on Sunday Night. They were most likely looking ahead to this one when they laid an egg vs. the Browns. That being said, the Steelers are the tougher team of the two and we expect Ben Roethlisberger to be the difference. Look for Pittsburgh to do slightly more defensively and win a close one on the road.
New York Jets (-6) vs. Green Bay Packers – It’s going to be difficult for the Packers to get much going in the New Meadowlands this Sunday. They can’t run the ball for starters, and the aggressive Jets D punishes teams they make one dimensional. New York is coming off its bye and look for them to rely heavily on LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene to wear the Packers down late.
Money Line Bet
Carolina Panthers (+125) vs. St. Louis Rams
The Panthers enter this contest coming off their 1st win of the season, a 23-20 win over San Francisco. The Rams head home after a narrow last second 18-17 defeat to the Bucs in Tampa Bay.
While the Rams have played very well at home, notching 3 of their 4 wins at home, the Panthers are a better team when QB Matt Moore is playing QB. He was sharp a week ago and spread the ball around nicely in the win. Expect that to continue.
Look for the Panthers to rely on RB Jonathan Stewart (RB DeAngelo Williams might sit) and attack a run defense which gives up 4.6 yards per carry. Moore will then use the running game to set up the pass, and WR Steve Smith and Co. will have success against the Rams secondary.
The Rams will continue to follow their plan of attack by feeding the ball to RB Steven Jackson, but he’s nursing a damaged finger and it remains to be seen how effective he will be. If he’s limited, this will place additional pressure on QB Sam Bradford.
When he clock winds down to triple zeros, expect the Panthers to pull out a closely fought game to notch their 2nd win of the season.
