A weekend of surprising and exciting results in the NFL was headlined by action involving the AFC North. The Pittsburgh Steelers were outgained for the ninth time this season and yet somehow earned their sixth win. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens blew another late lead as the Cleveland Browns pulled to within a game of division-leading Baltimore. Joe Burrow and the Bengals could have done the same, but C.J. Stroud had other ideas as the Texans’ rookie continued his outstanding season leading Houston to a three-point win over Cincinnati.
The boys from Bet the EDGE, like the rest of us, were left shaking their heads.
Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) began with a nod to the Texans’ rookie signal-caller.
“CJ Stroud (-1600 OROY) continues his pretty amazing campaign and I guess, combine that with the result in Jacksonville and maybe we have to kind of revisit the idea that the AFC South is a done deal which doesn’t make me feel great…The Jags are 6-3 (-225 to win the AFC South). The Texans are 5-4 (+275 to win the AFC South). That is not a done deal because the Texans have the win head-to-head. We can circle the second meeting between these two teams as it will be one of the more impactful and important matchups in the AFC playoff fabric.”
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Jay Croucher believes the results from the AFC North tilts had a large impact on the MVP race.
“Burrow’s done. I can’t hear anymore about Burrow (+900) for MVP. He’s 5-4. Not his fault he’s been injured…but you can almost put a line through him unless he runs the slate…Basically, Lamar (+350) always had kind of a fake case that was relying on all these subjective factors that weren’t really real but people just like Lamar and they like that his team was dominant, but Lamar has a worse EPA per play this year than Baker Mayfield.”
The ramifications of those weekend results put an even greater spotlight on the upcoming rematch of last year’s Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs and specifically, between Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes.
“It is going to be a very high leverage Monday Night Football game next week between the Chiefs and the Eagles because I think the winner of that game is your likely MVP. If Hurts (+350) wins, I don’t think he’s favored against the field, but I do think he’ll be the favorite. He’ll have the Bills, Niners, and Cowboys as his three games after the Chiefs. He goes 1-2 in those, and he’s screwed again, but he’ll be in a pretty good position (with a win over KC). If Mahomes (+300) wins that game, then his schedule gets very soft after that. It’s like Raiders, Packers…He’s got a Patriots’ game. He’s got another Raiders’ game…Mahomes will be in very good position to win MVP.”
Predicting outcomes in the NFL is a high-wire act whether you are handicapping specific games or Futures markets. No two in the space are better at assessing a market and deciphering where the smart money belongs. It does not mean their plays always bear fruit, but the case is always well-founded. Stay tuned to Bet the EDGE to learn where smart money sits.
*Odds courtesy of DraftKings
