Top 3 NFL Value Bets Of The Week
Ben Lyso
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Vikings fans should be able to breathe right now.
It’s not a happy breath, it’s not a voluntary breath, but the Vikings are looking down the barrel at a 1-6 start— and that means the pressure is off.
The week-to-week anxiety is gone, the excitement of a winning season has turned into dark, impenetrable hopelessness — but there is good news: there is still money to be made.
Glancing at the Week 7 matchups around the league, there is a handful of betting lines that prove to be very intriguing.
I have separated the top 3 from the rest of the pack in an effort to get fellow Vikings fans out of the pit of despair — and into the winner’s circle.
Detroit Lions (+140) vs. Indianapolis Colts
Even though the Lions should have lost this past week against the Falcons without this mental blunder from Todd Gurley:
That shouldn’t discredit their shocking game-winning offensive performance.
Matthew Stafford led a quintessential five-play 75-yard drive and subsequent game-winning extra point to steal victory away from the Falcons.
And, don’t look now, but the Lions are looking somewhat competent.
Three wins in their past four games — including the intriguing addition of familiar face Everson Griffen on the defensive line — has the team looking like they could surprise quite a few people by years’ end.
The Colts, however, may not be as good as their record suggests. They have good players and their system is starting to gel, sure, but their 4-2 record is a bit misleading.
Three of their four wins came against the 1-5-1 Bengals, the 0-7 Jets, and the 1-5 Vikings.
There could be a surprising finish at Ford Field this Sunday.
Kansas City Chiefs (-19.5) vs. New York Jets
A point spread of 19.5 points is absurd; it’s almost creeping into college football territory.
This is the NFL, is it not? These are professionals, are they not?
Well, that’s hard to say when the worst team in the league comes to town to play arguably the best team in the league.
The Jets had a scare this past Sunday — they almost won.
A lackluster and inconsistent performance from Josh Allen kept the Jets in the game until the very end, but they will not have that same luxury with Patrick Mahomes this Sunday.
The Chiefs are coming off a 43-point performance in a cold, snowy game in Denver in which Mahomes only had 23 passing attempts — his lowest of the season.
If the Chiefs can find a way to put up 43 points when Patrick Mahomes only throws the ball 23 times, you will be hard-pressed to find a team that can stop them.
Not only that, but this game features the most intriguing storyline of the week: The Le’Veon revenge game.
Expect Le’Veon Bell to clamor for the ball early and often in an attempt to rack up the score on ex-head coach/enemy Adam Gase and the Jets.
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys (over 43 points)
The NFC East has really outdone itself this year.
Fans can usually expect a certain degree of incompetence from this division — but this season has shown advanced incompetence.
The Eagles are currently sitting at 2-4-1 — and leading the division.
This game could be a bloodbath or an amazing display of ineptitude with Cowboys’ third-string quarterback Ben DiNucci in the starting lineup, but fortunately for us — America will be able to watch all unfold in primetime thanks to Sunday Night Football.
Despite a multitude of injuries to both sides, the Eagles’ defense is sitting at 22nd in points allowed, and the Cowboys are sitting at 32nd — meaning, of course, points may be plentiful.
Expect an ugly, disjointed, irregular game — but a game with quite a few scoring opportunities.