Week 8 of the NFL season saw the return of the underdogs as a significant player in your weekly betting experience. Underdogs were 6-7 last week with the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints a pick-em.
The match ups this week aren’t friendly to the underdogs, but I’ve still scoured the schedule to select three possible upsets for your entertainment and wagering pleasure. Here are this week’s best NFL underdog picks:
Oakland Raiders at San Francisco 49ers (-2.5, O/U: 45.5)
We’re back to complete garbage on Thursday Night Football and a line that makes absolutely no sense. Since Tuesday night, it’s already moved half a point into Oakland’s direction. As much of a tank job as Jon Gruden and the Raiders (1-6) are pulling this season, they should still have a significant talent advantage over the 49ers. I mean, the trade deadline has passed. All Gruden can do now to mess that up is start cutting people.
.@Raiders offense showed up on Sunday and did some good things. I liked the young left side, both Feliciano and Miller and how they competed. They moved the LOS. Need to take it to the Bay City Classic. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/mtE41UO9QC
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) October 30, 2018
While this is technically a home game for San Francisco (1-7), it’s just a trip across the bridge from Oakland. The real problem isn’t potential Raiders fans filling up the stadium in Santa Clara, but that no one shows up at all. Maybe Troy Aikman can help fill space with his own Booger Mobile.
Related: NFL Betting Guide | Week 9 Odds
The 49ers have turned the ball over 18 times and have a -13 turnover ratio. That’s with C.J. Beathard at quarterback and he’s officially a game time decision. Nick Mullens could get the start for San Fran, so bet accordingly.
Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints (-1.5, O/U: 59.5)
Two weeks ago, I looked at this game as the Rams’ first and maybe only loss of the season. The books obviously agree as this might be the only game in which Los Angeles (8-0) isn’t favored for the remainder of the regular season. There’s plenty of reasons to like New Orleans (6-1) here. Drew Brees is a future Hall of Famer and playing at MVP level. When Brees isn’t on point, the Saints running game has picked up the slack and since some spotty (at best) performances to open the season, the defense is much-improved.
Rams – Saints will be the first game in @NFL history in Week 9 or later featuring between two teams averaging 33+ points per game.@NFLResearch
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) October 31, 2018
Here’s why I like the Rams and it has nothing to do with metrics or Next Gen stats or anything you can Google. It’s all about what this game now means for both teams and what happened last week. My only miss in my straight up picks Sunday was the Minnesota Vikings over the New Orleans Saints. L.A. escaped a possible loss against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers when Ty Montgomery fumbled the ball on a kick return at the end of the game. We could all see what was likely to happen if Rodgers got the ball at the 25 with two minutes to go. But it didn’t.
Meanwhile, the Saints beat the Vikings on the road in a game they dominated from kick off, setting up what amounts to a playoff game against the Rams with home-field advantage in the playoffs at stake. If New Orleans lost Sunday, I’d pick them to win no problem. But because they won, that tosses this pick the Rams’ way. Los Angeles had its “bad” game and still won it. They’ll be on point for this one.
Atlanta Falcons at Washington Redskins (-1.5, O/U: 46.5)
The Redskins (5-2) have outperformed their roster and certainly their head coach. With the mess the NFC East is in, they could end up with a division title and cursed with at least one more year of Jay Gruden. That still doesn’t mean they match up with the Falcons at all.
The Redskins need quarterback Alex Smith to play a lot better in the second half. He completed seven-of-15 passes for 87 yards in the first half, despite having solid protection for much of the half. It doesn't help having rotating targets, but he still… https://t.co/5TBnF1MXi2
— John Keim (@john_keim) October 21, 2018
Atlanta (3-4) is coming into this game off the bye. They should be healthy, rested and prepared. If Dan Quinn can’t out-coach Gruden with a two-week advantage, the Falcons should fire him on the spot.
