The National Football League is often segmented in its schedule. I’ve written about the “first quarter” of the year or the “approach to halftime,” but there are also times when pairs of weeks work together. Such is the case for Weeks 8 and 9.
When taking my first pass at this week’s games and reflecting back on what worked and failed a few days ago, I kept drawing the same conclusion: the spreads are incredibly accurate right now. Look at last week’s game between the Lions and Dolphins for an example. Detroit was getting 3.5 points for us, and I highlighted them as a “confidence pick.” They were winning by ten points at halftime and lost by exactly four points. The most amazing part? Right before the game, that spread moved to four points.
We’re simply in the middle of excellent handicapping. There’s nothing more to it than that. The good news is that we always try to be on the side of those who make the spreads which is exactly why we can approach some of this week’s games so aggressively.
Below are predictions for each game against the spread. Spreads have been taken from various websites and are subject to change. The spread in parenthesis denotes the selected team. Spread is listed as advertised number and odds at either DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, or PointsBet. All efforts were made to provide picks at -110 or better, with some stretching to a -125 if no reasonable advertised spread was found.
*Confidence Picks – 2022 Season: 20-24-2 (Last Week: 2-4)
(2021 Season: 55-50) (2020 Season: 53-42-3) (2019 Season: 57-43-3) (2018 Season: 63-48-4) (2017 Season: 53-48-4) (2016 Season: 53-67-3) (2015 Season: 69-45-2) (2014 Season: 61-46-2) (8-Year Total: 464-389-21)
All Picks Against Spread – 2022 Season: 64-55-4 (Last Week: 8-7)
(2021 Season: 158-126-2) (2020 Season: 132-128-7) (2019 Season: 142-118-7) (2018 Season: 137-118-12) (2017 Season: 137-119-11) (2016 Season: 123-136-8) (2015 Season: 143-117-7) (2014 Season: 149-114-4) (8-Year Total: 1121-976-58)
Philadelphia Eagles at Houston Texans
Wow. Wow wow wow.
This is bad. This is a massacre in the making. This is the only remaining undefeated team in the National Football League catching a nice break in scheduling where they will face arguably the worst team in the league.
I always write about large spreads on the road. This one is no exception. In fact, I saw the matchup of teams before I saw the number and I had to prepare myself in advance for what was sure to shock me.
It did. I get it. I fully understand