Eddy P’s Blazing Five: Week 2
By: Eddy Priganica
Coming off of a 6–1 week against the spread, Eddy Priganica offers his thoughts on five of his favorite bets heading into week 2. You can follow Eddy on Twitter here.
Panthers @ Falcons (Spread -6 Atlanta, O/U 44.5):
Both the Panthers and the Falcons season opening games were stinkers to say the least. However, divisional games have been known to bring the best out of the teams and we all have an addiction to football so there’s no reason not to tune in to this one. Julio Jones has owned the Panthers just about his whole career. In 11 games versus the Panthers Julio Jones averages 18.4 yards per reception and has 5 touchdowns. Panthers fans still have nightmares of the 300 yard game Julio put on them in 2016. I would expect nothing less of Julio in this game but will it be enough? The answer is probably not. Even though Julio had a monster game against the Eagles week 1 the rest of the falcons offense still looked incompetent and with Devonta Freeman still not having practiced they could be in for another bad offensive performance.
Carolina won their opener 16–8 against the Cowboys but just like the Falcons they struggled offensively. Carolina however seems to have more of a flow in their offense and their defense looks really tough this year both in the secondary and in the men up front. Deion Jones and Keanu Neal will be huge absences for the Falcons and will open up a potential breakout day for Cam to find Christian McCaffrey all day long.
PICK: Panthers (+6) and probably an underdog winner here.
Vikings @ Packers (Pick ‘Em)
Just going to get this out of the way now so we do not have to address it later; Aaron Rodgers is Jesus. Plain and simple what Aaron was able to do last Sunday was spectacular. However, the Packers should not have won that football game. Kyle Fuller dropped the game winning interception and Nagy’s questionable second half play calling left the door wide open for Rodgers’ comeback. Also notice how I continue to say Rodgers’ comeback instead of the Packers’ comeback. The Packers as a whole did not look good on Sunday Night Football. The offensive line was incompetent, there was no run game, and in the first half at least they could not stop the run.
The Vikings on the other side looked great. Their offense looked in sync and they have the best defense again in the NFL. Expect Dalvin Cook to run all over the field on Sunday and expect the Vikings pass rush to really bother Aaron Rodgers and his knee. The Vikings are also 4–1 straight up and ATS against the Packers in their last five matchups.
PICK: Vikings Pick’em
Patriots @ Jaguars (Even, 45 O/U)
There has been a lot of trash talk this week leading up to the rematch of the AFC Championship game. I absolutely love the edge the Jaguars defense and more specifically Jalen Ramsey brings. However as time has told us many times before, DO NOT GIVE THE PATRIOTS BULLETIN BOARD MATERIAL. Although the Patriots have stayed quiet this week in terms of trash talking that does not mean that they are not going to be motivated for this game.
The Jaguars offense looked very lethargic in their opener while the Patriots moved the ball very well against a very good Houston defense. Expect this to be similar to the AFC Championship game. I believe the Patriots will win this the way they win most big games; With Guys you have barely heard of. Expect big games from James White and Phillip Dorsett.
Pick: Patriots moneyline or -1
Giants @ Cowboys (Dallas -3, 42 O/U)
It would not be football season without a Cowboys Giants Sunday Night Football game and it should be a good one in Jerryworld. This is a tough game to pick because the Giants offense wasn’t too impressive but they played against one of the best defenses in football. However, there were two things that stood out; Saquan is as good as advertised, OBJ is back, and the line isn’t that bad.
Meanwhile, for the Cowboys, their defense looks amazing and their offense looks… the opposite. Dak does not have any playmakers besides Zeke and I do not think it will be enough to beat the Giants. Expect big games out of the Giants stars as well as Evan Engram.
Pick: Giants +3
Seahawks @ Bears (Chicago -3.5, 43 O/U)
I think I am all aboard the Nagy train. Matt Nagy looks like he will have some success with the new look Chicago offense and it should be fun to watch. I believe Nagy’s playcalling cost them in the second half of that game by being too conservative and I think Nagy will learn from that.
The Seahawks o-line is terrible… again, so good luck to them trying to stop the most terrifying player in the NFL. Mack could have a similar performance as All-Pro Von Miller did against the Seahawks last week. Seattle is also battling the injury bug with Baldwin, Wright, Fluker, and Wagner on the IR report this weekend.
Pick: Bears -3.5
