Inside the Lines: Who to Take and Not Take This Weekend in College and Pro Football Action

NFL:

ARI vs. STL
ARI -7
Cincinnati is the team that reminds me the most of Arizona. Both have a great defense and have been lighting it up passing this year and have a committee of backs if they need to go to the ground for whatever reason. The Rams just played Cincinnati last week and lost 31-7. The Rams are struggling also getting blown out by Chicago recently. Most of this is probably due to the offense struggling and even with going back to Foles at QB they still threw three interceptions this week.

ATL vs. TB
ATL Even
Atlanta has now dropped five of their last six after starting off 5-0. The biggest reason for that has been the poor play from Matt Ryan recently and costly turnovers. Luckily, Tampa is still a young team on offense and struggles on defense. This should hopefully be the game that gets Atlanta back on track if they still want a shot at a wildcard game.

HOU vs. BUF
Over 41.5
Going into the season, you thought this would be a low scoring game with those defenses. Instead they average giving up a combined 45 points a game. Both teams seem like they are starting to settle in and find their roles on offense too. Sammy Watkins when he gets the ball has been big which correlates to the other side with DeAndre Hopkins. Both of these defenses can give up some big pass plays because both are stronger against the run with both teams hurting a little at RB this year.

KC vs. OAK
KC -2.5
The Chiefs are among the hottest teams in the NFL right now winning five straight and most of them haven’t even been close. Meanwhile Oakland has gone back and forth between the good and the bad. The Chiefs defense is the x-factor in this one. They may be without Houston, but they have been playing great of late and the Raiders offense has been a little sluggish the last few weeks. Kansas City has gotten production from whatever RB they have put out there so it could be a huge day on the ground for KC on their way to a playoff push.

DEN vs. SD
DEN -3.5
This is a matchup that fares well for Denver. The Chargers are strictly a passing team. Nobody seems to throw the ball more than them, and the Broncos have the best pass defense in the NFL. The Broncos behind Osweiler actually ran the ball 32 times when compared to 42 passes against the second highest scoring team in the league. If you can run that many times on the Patriots, you can do the same to the Chargers who rank among the basement of the NFL in terms of the ability to stop the run. The formula for this one says the Broncos will control and win because of the favorable matchup.

CIN vs. CLE
CIN -10.5
The Browns are just a disaster. They lost terribly the last time they played the Bengals and I would expect something similar. I don’t expect Austin Davis to be the problem but I think they will try and dumb the plays down for him and without a run game means more three and outs. The reason for taking the Bengals is the Browns defense. They probably can’t stop a paper bag.

NCAAF Last Week: 6-0
NFL Last Week: 3-2
NCAAF Season: 38-21
NFL Season: 31-23

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