Howdy there sports fans and bettors! Welcome to RotoGrinders’ weekly sports betting picks article. With online sports betting now live in New Jersey, we figured it was time to start offering up our expert sports betting picks.
From here on out, we’ll give you the rundown on our favorite picks of the day (or week, in the case of the NFL). If you’re looking to place a quick bet, but want to make sure it’s a play backed by an expert opinion and real data, our weekly sports betting picks article is the place for you. We’ll try to give you a mix of NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB picks, but the focus will lean heavily towards NFL and NBA for now.
Without further delay or preamble, we’ll kick things off with three picks for the NFL’s Week 9 schedule on Sunday, November 4, 2018. All lines are from New Jersey’s DraftKings Sportsbook:
Dallas -6 vs. Tennessee
Fresh off a bye, the Cowboys step into a home draw with an anemic Titans offense that can’t move the ball through the air. That’s going to be a big problem given that Dallas’ defensive front is as healthy as it’s been all year – Sean Lee is back, and they are finally working with their full arsenal of edge rushers and defensive tackles, making it a tough test for Tennessee’s ground game to sustain success. The Titans offensive line has not played particularly well this year, allowing the 10th most sacks in the league in an offense that isn’t particularly pass-happy.
With an extra week to prepare for a middling (at best) offense, this should be a dream spot for the Dallas defense to show out in a prime-time game. The offense isn’t in a great on-paper spot against Vrabel’s defense, but this doesn’t set up as a spot where Dak Prescott will be forced to lead the charge and that is typically a good equation for the Cowboys. They did add Amari Cooper during the bye week and he’s at least had some extra time to acclimate himself to the offense. Dallas had been rolling out one of the weakest receiving corps in the league and while it’s not wise to expect him to reach his ceiling in a low-volume passing offense, he at least gives them a legitimate weapon on the outside.
This game opened with the Cowboys as four-point favorites and has jumped to -6 on most books as of this writing, but I’m comfortable with it.
Take the Cowboys -6 on DraftKings Sportsbook!
Over 51 Kansas City @ Cleveland
It’s been a wild week for the Browns as they’ve finally cut bait with Hue Jackson and let Todd Haley walk out the door. The offense is now in the hands of Freddie Kitchens, who was a QB coach (2013-2016) and RB coach (2017) in Arizona under Bruce Arians. I’m not sure it’s possible for Cleveland’s offensive schemes to get much more unfavorable for Baker Mayfield, but this change sets up as a positive one for not only Mayfield but also the rushing attack. The Browns will most likely try to establish their ground game early and this sets up as a spot where they can win that battle with Nick Chubb, and I don’t envision Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense having trouble keeping up.
A ground-heavy attack can obviously be rough on the clock, but this isn’t a spot where they’ll likely be able to rely on it late with Kansas City sitting as an eight and a half to nine-point favorite as of late Thursday night. Kansas City’s offense is obviously a major strength, but their defense has struggled mightily on the road to date, allowing a shade under 33 PPG leading to some of the highest-scoring games of the season.
I don’t mind the idea of taking Cleveland with the points on top of the over, but I can understand the hesitancy to bet on the Cleveland Browns of all teams against the league’s biggest offensive juggernaut. The Chiefs are predictably receiving a ton of interest from the public, but I’m leaning the other way here.
Book OVER 51 points in the Chiefs @ Browns game on DraftKings Sportsbook!
Atlanta +2 @ Washington
The Redskins are riding high off their third straight win and head back home to face a Falcons offense that got some rest in Week 8. Washington’s calling card of late has been preventing the opposing ground game from getting going, but a pass-happy attack from the Falcons may not be something the Redskins are able to deal with. They’ve faced off with a free-falling Giants offense and a one-dimensional Cowboys team over the last two weeks, and will now have to handle Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley and Mohamed Sanu to pose the toughest test since a Week 4 meeting with the Saints. The Falcons best bet at controlling this one is to limit Adrian Peterson’s workload by forcing the Skins into more passing situations with Chris Thompson still banged up.
I’m confidently betting Atlanta +2 and would be content just taking the ATL money line.
Grab the Falcons plus two points on DraftKings Sportsbook!
Thanks for reading RotoGrinders’ Week 9 NFL sports betting picks. Good luck this weekend, and be sure to check this space next week for more online sports betting picks!