What I mess this season has become. After a 2-4 finish last weekend my record is now sitting at 20-27-1. It’s going to take a little bit of luck and some good research to pull myself out of this hole I find myself in. I feel like this year has been one of the toughest to predict since I began seven years ago. Each week is either all underdogs or all favourites outright. Last week marked back-to-back weeks for me below .500, reminding me that one-point can make all the difference. New Orleans and Los Angeles both chalked up losses for me but the Saints failed to cover by only 1-point and the Chargers by half a point. Lets hope that luck decides to fall on my side this weekend, because we all know that I’m in desperate need of it.
SILVER PREDICTIONS
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS VS NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (-6.5)
New Orleans are the hottest team in the NFL right now and I’m expecting that streak to continue into week ten. After dropping their first two games they’ve gone 5-0 and knocked off some very good football teams along the way. Tampa Bay has struggled defensively for majority of the season, while their offense has not been near to the pre-season expectations. This game comes down to one simply statistic – New Orleans offense is averaging a league best 70.56% passing completion percentage, while the Buccaneers defense ranks 29th giving up a 67.72% completion percentage. If you can’t stop the pass from New Orleans then their newly found run game is going to beat you down, we have seen that in every game during their current win streak.
FINAL SCORE – BUCCANEERS 17 – SAINTS 30
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (+6.5) VS HOUSTON TEXANS
DeShaun Watson is done for the season after a torn ACL in practise this week and that is soul crushing to the Texans. He was having arguably the best rookie season ever seen by an NFL quarterback. With him going down for the year, the Houston offense is officially back to being a dump fire. Tom Savage is back at the helm and that is concerning for Hopkins and Fuller. I’m expecting this divisional matchup to be much closer than some expect. The Texans are beat up defensively and they have not been great at covering opposing wide receivers this season. TY Hilton has been quiet for much of the season and I’m looking for him to have a breakout game this weekend. Texans pull out the victory but the Colts keep this one close.
FINAL SCORE – COLTS 21 – TEXANS 23
GOLD PREDICTIONS
ARIZONA CARDINALS VS SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (+2.5)
San Francisco is far too good of a football team to go without a win this year. I think this is the matchup that finally gets them into the win column. Drew Stanton gets the nod behind center for Arizona and that is concerning. In the last three seasons Stanton has thrown only two touchdowns compared to six interceptions. The 49ers defense should be able to clean up the Cardinals offensive line and force Stanton to make a couple mistakes in this game. As for San Francisco, don’t expect to see Jimmy Garroppolo under center just yet, but for their offense to do just enough in this game to earn their first victory.
FINAL SCORE – CARDINALS 13 – 49ERS 17
CINCINNATI BENGALS VS JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (-6)
If the Jaguars don’t make the playoffs this season they never will. They have a legit defense this season and the numbers speak for themselves. Entering week nine they have 33 quarterback sacks, six more than the next best team in the league. While their passing defense is #1 in the league giving up only 4.8 yards per pass and 161 total passing yards per game. If they can’t contain this Bengals offense at home then I’ll be shocked. The game plan is simple on offense, hand the ball off the Fournette. He missed the last game with an ankle injury but has had two weeks of rest and should make his return felt immediately. In six games this season Fournette has at least one touchdown in every game. He has been a absolute beast for this offense and he should have another big performance this weekend on route to a convincing Jaguars victory.
FINAL SCORE – BENGALS 16 – JAGUARS 28
PLATINUM PREDICITONS
ATLANTA FALCONS VS CAROLINA PANTHERS (+2.5)
I was surprised to see Carolina as underdogs in this spot. Their offense has been poor for much of this season, but they still field an elite defensive team. Last week they kept Tampa Bay out of the red-zone for the entire game. That is very impressive considering the Buccaneers offense. What isn’t impressive, the Falcons offense this year. Atlanta went from possibly the greatest offensive team in the history of the NFL to middle of the pack after losing their offensive coordinator. I’m learned from the past that a great defensive team almost always holds the edge against a good offense, and this is the case that weekend. The loss of Kelvin Benjamin hurts the Panthers offense but I think that Christian Mccaffrey has a breakout game for this offense. Panthers win outright.
FINAL SCORE – FALCONS 20 – PANTHERS 26
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS VS DALLAS COWBOYS (-2.5)
The NFL could not be trying harder to suspend Ezekiel Elliot but it doesn’t look like it will happen this season. He is set to lace them up again this week and that is concerning for Chiefs fans. The Cowboys offense are ball hogs, they grind the clock like few other teams in the league and that should be the case again this weekend with Elliot in the lineup. The Chiefs are amongst the best teams in the league but they rely heavily on their offense to put up numbers. Their secondary is in shambles which tells me Dez Bryant and Dak Prescott should both have big games this weekend. Kansas City goes only as far as Alex Smith can carry them, and they have not faced much adversity all season long. I’m expecting this one turns into a shootout but the Cowboys control the outcome with their incredible offensive line.