Patriots (1-5) @ Jaguars (1-5) (Wembley) (Jaguars +23.5 Team Points)
There’s no way of dressing this up. This is a tough game to call. You have two teams short on confidence – one expected to in playoff contention, the other was always going to be in a rebuilding mode this season. As a result, the New England Patriots have already turned to their rookie 1st round pick, Drake Maye – and this will be another step on a steep learning curve for him.
Of course, the Jaguars are used to playing at Wembley and all too often they’ve come here when results haven’t been going well for them. That’s the case this year and no doubt, they’ll be hoping to take advantage of the inexperience on the other side of the field. It’s not like all’s rosy in their garden either though. Just 1 win in 11 games and they were thrashed at Tottenham by the Bears last weekend. We’ve already hear head coach; Doug Pederson say that his players have to be accountable for their own mistakes on the field and again last Sunday that was true. Dropped catches in the endzone, mental errors and too many penalties in critical situations once again cost them dearly.
However, they’ll also know, if they can jump out into an early lead against this New England Patriots team, that will increase the pressure on Drake Maye. Last weekend we saw what happened when he pressed against the Texans – Houston running away with a 41-21 win….and it wasn’t that close!
That same formula is what Jacksonville need to produce to get the win and overcome their own mistakes. They head into this matchup has 5.5 point favourites. They’ve not won a game by that margin in nearly a year – in fact they’ve barely won a game in that period! Yet, I do think they get the opportunity to put points on the board, regardless of the outcome and I expect them to do so!
PICK: Jacksonville Jaguars – over 23.5 team points
Eagles (3-2) @ Giants (2-4) (under 43 Total Points)
An NFC East battle in MetLife stadium and a home coming of sorts for Saquon Barkley. The running back drafted by the Giants but now dressing in Eagles colours. Expect Philadelphia to try and feature him early and often in this encounter.
It’s no surprise that Philly go into this game as favourites. On paper they have the better roster and are the better team, but NFC East encounters are rarely so straight forward – especially when these two meet! The New York Giants have given the Eagles fits in recent years and in this corresponding fixture last season, were 27-10 winners! That being said “Big Blue” hadn’t scored more than 21 points in a game this season prior to blocking Seattle’s field goal attempt late in the game and returning it for a touchdown and you suspect they will need more instances of good fortune if they are to reach that mark in this encounter. Last weekend – minus star wide receiver, Malik Nabers – they were held to just 7 at home by the Bengals.
It’s not like Philadelphia have been blowing up scoreboards either though. The opening weekend of the season is the only time they’ve scored more than 21 points in a game this year. True, they’ve been riddled by injuries but even with both star wide receivers back last weekend, they only reached 20 points against a beleaguered Cleveland Browns outfit. Star right tackle, Lane Johnson has missed time this season with concussion, while left tackle, Jordan Mailata is out with a hamstring injury.
This has all the makings of a bruising, physical, attritional divisional battle. The Giants give up on average 20 points per game – the Eagles 22. There have been 40 total points or more scored in a game involving the New York Giants only once so far this season and there’s no reason to think the scoreboard will be lit up in this one either.
PICK: Total Points – under 43
Panthers (1-5) @ Commanders (4-2) (Commanders over 29.5 points)
At the outset of the season, these might have been two teams we put in the same rebuilding bracket, but the Commanders have certainly laid waste to that theory. They’ve been outstanding this season so far! Young, rookie QB, Jayden Daniels has lit up the league under the guidance of new Washington head coach, Dan Quinn – and the Commanders sit on top of the NFC East with a 4-2 record. They hold the League’s number 2 ranked scoring offense – averaging 29.7 points per game. They have a top 5 rushing attack, and the 13th ranked passing offense. Whichever way you dress it up, it’s a remarkable transformation in this organisation.
Contrast that with this week’s opponents. A year ago, it was the Carolina Panthers trading up in the Draft to get the player they hoped would be the face of their franchise. It was the Panthers looking to the future with optimism. Well, since then they’ve already changed the head coach and several weeks ago, they benched Bryce Young in favour of veteran QB, Andy Dalton – and a win in Las Vegas aside, it’s not really changed anything. They’re offense ranks in the bottom 6 in scoring (17.2 ppg), their defense is bottom 5 overall and gives up more points per game than anyone else this season (33.8). They maybe relieved to see they won’t have to face one of the NFL’s best defensive linemen on Sunday – Jonathan Allen is out for the season – but no-one expects anything other than a Washington win.
The Commanders pushed Baltimore all the way last Sunday – albeit in defeat – and there’s no reason to suspect their form will drop off here. The Panthers can’t stop shipping points, and the Commanders have a quarterback who appears able to slice and dice defenses for fun.
PICK: Washington Commanders – over 29.5 points
