I feel like I am writing the same opening paragraphs at the same time of year one season after another. It’s amazing how the script is followed so closely.
We are the point of the season where favorites and teams that are perceived to be ‘better’ are making their moves.
As always, that’s fine with us. Our job is to recognize these trends and work around them. That wasn’t necessarily a problem last week, and we can look for more of the same this time around with every single team back in action.
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 Fanatics Sportsbook (formerly 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 – 2024 Season: 22-24 (Last Week: 4-3)
(2023 Season: 63-61-4) (2022 Season: 54-54-5) (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) (10-Year Total: 581-504-30)
All Picks Against Spread – 2024 Season: 55-51-1 (Last Week: 7-8)
(2023 Season: 142-135-8) (2022 Season: 143-132-9) (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) (10-Year Total: 1406-1243-75)
Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams
In a league that is always filled with narratives, we have two immediately in the game between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams.
The first is how the Vikings will handle their undefeated season coming to an end. Will they rebound and immediately get back into the win column or was last week a precursor of what’s to come?
The second is the Rams and their recent history surrounding what they have done after a bye week. That was the catalyst for last year’s late-season run that pushed them into the playoffs, and a victory after a week away from the sport is as good a start as it gets in repeating 2023 here.
But underneath those narratives lies the understanding that