Last week, things went back to normal after a bonkers Week 9. Still, some weird betting trends emerged and we need to take a deep look into what happened.
Sometimes a bet goes wrong and there was nothing anyone could have done to stop it. That’s what happened in the Saint-Falcons matchup. Atlanta had absolutely nothing to play for, they lost their top running back and Julio Jones was being shut down. Then they won by 17.
That’s the scary thing about betting. Especially when betting on a parlay with a “sure thing”. In sports, there are no sure things. The best we can do is give you all the data that shows whether a matchup will end one way or another.
That wasn’t all that happened last week. The Cleveland Browns broke records for how bad they were within the five yard line, yet still won AND covered. The New York Giants showed they were the more inept of the franchises that call MetLife Stadium home. Then there’s the Miami Dolphins, who won two games in a row after looking like one of the worst franchises of this century five weeks ago.
We go back to a normal amount of bye weeks this week. We will have 14 games to put our money on, and we will go over the trends and make picks on each and every one.
Last Week: 8-5
Season Record: 68-80-1
All odds taken from The Action Network.
Thursday Night Football
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns (-2.5)
These are two teams that both won in Week 10, but the sports world couldn’t feel more differently about them. The Pittsburgh Steelers were dead and buried after a season-ending injury to Ben Roethlisberger. They eventually traded a 1st-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for Minkah Fitzpatrick, and we all thought they were nuts. Now, it looks like a bigger in-season trade than the one by the Rams to get Jalen Ramsey. They are right back in the playoff hunt, and could be one of the favorites to take a Wild Card spot.
Meanwhile, the Browns came into the season with all the hype in the world, with some even calling them Super Bowl contenders. They responded to said hype by literally being terrible most weeks. Except the one week they destroyed the Baltimore Ravens, which shows how unpredictable betting is week to week. Either way, they won last week, but somehow we trust head coach Freddie Kitchens even less. Just one season ago, Kitchens was a running backs coach, and now he’s running the most hyped team in the league.
Now, we have to look at this matchup. The Steelers and Browns will play two times in the next three weeks of football. This one is on national television with short rest. The Browns are in such disarray, that giving them less time to think about it might be a good thing. However, the Steelers defense is firing on all cylinders right now. Their offense is trash, and that’s worrisome. Still, we feel like Baker Mayfield is going to make a couple of mistakes where the defense will take advantage. Pick: Pittsburgh (+2.5)