The last three weeks have been a roller coaster. I went 5-1 in week nine, 2-4 in week ten, and 4-1-1 last week. Putting me at 11-6-1 in the last three weeks. My record on the year is still average at best, but there is still plenty of football left to be played. At 31-32-2 I’m the closest to being .500 in weeks. Lets see if this train keeps on rolling and if I can crush week twelve.
SILVER PREDICTIONS
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (-5) VS ARIZONA CARDINALS
Jalen Ramsey is dealing with a hand injury sustained in practise and will not play for Jacksonville on Sunday. That is concerning for Jacksonville but I’ll still have my money on “Sacksonville” this weekend. Blaine Gabbert will start at quarterback for the Cardinals on Sunday and face a Jaguars team that gave up on him as a quarterback. Really, you can’t blame them when you look at his numbers as their quarterback – In two and a half seasons Gabbert posted a 5-23 record. While I by no means think that Blake Bortles is the saving messiah, the Jaguars have the far superior defense in this situation. Jacksonville has six more sacks than any other team in the league and have multiple playmakers on the defense. Covering the 5-points should be simple so long as Bortles doesn’t forget how to hand the ball off to Leonard Fournette.
FINAL SCORE – JAGUARS 26 – CARDINALS 13
MIAMI DOLPHINS (+16) VS NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
If there is one thing I’ve learned in past seasons betting, it is that you should almost never bet against the Patriots. Well, this is a situation where I think the value lies with Miami. New England is coming off a long two week road trip that saw them travel all the way across the country then down to Mexico. Bill Belichick came out and said it himself after last weeks game, they are exhausted. I think that Miami could catch the Super Bowl champs on their heels in this game. Their defense has vastly underperformed this season and Matt Moore has clearly been the better quarterback for the Dolphins this year. Lay the points and cross your fingers.
FINAL SCORE – DOLPHINS 20 – PATRIOTS 29
GOLD PREDICTIONS
CAROLINA PANTHERS (-5.5) VS NEW YORK JETS
Carolina is on a roll and the Jets are next in line. New York has been a big surprise this season but that Panthers have figured out their offensive struggles in the past few weeks. They have won three straight games and have had two weeks of rest and preparation for this game. Luke Kuechly is quietly making a case for defensive player of the year and is the heart and sole of this team. For the Jets to keep this game close they’ll need to put up some numbers on offense and I don’t trust Josh McCown despite his strong play this season. I’m looking for a big defensive performance from the Panthers in this spot and for Cam Newton to have another strong outing. Lay the points in this game.
FINAL SCORE – PANTHERS 27 – JETS 16
BUFFALO BILLS (+10) VS KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
To see the Bills as 10-point underdogs in this game was shocking. They got pummelled against the Chargers last weekend but that was at the helm of Nathan Peterman’s 5 interceptions. Needless to say Peterman won’t be appearing this weekend and Tyrod Taylor will be back under center. With the Chiefs losing four of their last five games and their offense turning in a pumpkin, I think Buffalo should have no problem keeping this game within ten points. The holes in the secondary for Kansas City and gaping and they are attempting to fill that deficiency with the signing of Derrel Revis this past week. I don’t see how he is going to help, Revis island sunk a long time ago. Bills should have more than enough to hang in this game, take the points.
FINAL SCORE – BILLS 24 – CHIEFS 29
PLATINUM PREDICTIONS
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS VS ATLANTA FALCONS (-10)
Both of these two teams come in riding a two game winning streak. This is matchup is critically import for the NFC South division and both teams playoff chances. With that, I’ll be taking Atlanta and their high powered offense to easily silence the Buccaneers on Sunday. Tampa Bay has gaping holes in their secondary and Matt Ryan should have no problems finding those. Entering this game the Bucs are worst in the league on third down conversions allowing teams to convert 46.04% of the time. While their average of 276.3 passing yards allowed per game is second most in the entire league. Atlanta is riding high and has their home crowd behind them this weekend. Lay the points and watch the Falcons take flight.
FINAL SCORE – BUCCANEERS 17 – FALCONS 30
GREEN BAY PACKERS VS PITTSBURGH STEELERS (-13.4)
Yet another large line this weekend. Pittsburgh has been very hot or cold this season, but two things are certain in this game – the Packers still are without Aaron Rodgers, and the Steelers play their best football when at home. Brett Hundley clearly isn’t the solution for Green Bay and Mike McCarthy is being exposed as the terrible head coach he is every time Hundley takes the field. Combine that with the fact Pittsburgh has lost only one home game all season, and in three victories have been winning by an average of 18 points, you have a recipe for another big Steelers win. Expect another embarrassing outing by the Packers for back-to-back losses versus AFC North teams.