After three NFL games on Thanksgiving, the schedule is lighter than usual for Sunday, but there are plenty of tasty leftovers for bettors to pick at. There are 11 games on Sunday and several look attractive to gamblers.
This is also the time of year when head coaches are trying to coach for their jobs. Tampa Bay’s Dirk Koetter, Jacksonville’s Doug Marrone, and Arizona’s Steven Wilks could be coaching casualties if they don’t finish the season strong.
Below are some of the games we like this Sunday.
1. Jacksonville -3.5 at Buffalo
While the Bills have been awful this year, they might be getting rookie quarterback Josh Allen back, and if that happens, the 3.5 points they are getting, as well as home field advantage, should be enough. Jacksonville is in the midst of a six-game losing streak and former Buffalo Bill coach Doug Marrone, who left to go to the Jaguars, might be coaching to save his job.
The two teams are very similar. They have strong defenses – Buffalo is No. 2 and Jacksonville is No. 4 in total defense – and offenses that are struggling. The Jaguars are No. 22 in total offense, while the Bills are next to last at 31st.
If Allen is definitely playing, then take the Bills, but use caution if he is out for another week.
Take Buffalo and the points.
2. San Francisco +3 at Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay has been flip flopping more than a politician when it comes to who is going to start at quarterback. Dirk Koetter, another coach that could be fired soon, is going back to Jameis Winston after watching Ryan Fitzpatrick struggle last week.
Not that Winston is much better, but Koetter doesn’t have a whole lot of options at this point, and he has already hit the panic button in terms of his signal caller. Winston has thrown 12 interceptions and eight touchdowns, and has a paltry quarterback rating of 80.3.
San Francisco, though, could struggle to contain Winston, who is a mobile QB that could give the 49ers trouble. They do have the 10th best defense, so maybe they have a chance to keep Winston in check.
Take Tampa Bay and give away the points.
3. New England -9.5 at New York Jets
We are going to forget that New England failed to cover the spread for the first time in four games last week, and bank on the fact that the New York Jets are God awful. It doesn’t seem like 9.5 points aren’t nearly enough. Especially when you consider that rookie quarterback Sam Darnold is questionable for Sunday’s game.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady should be able to shed the Jets’ pass defense, which ranks 16th in the NFL. Let’s not forget that New York was thoroughly embarrassed by fellow cellar dweller Buffalo last week.
The term free fall comes to mind with the Jets, and New England should give them their fifth straight loss.
Take New England and give away the points.
4. Oakland +10.5 at Baltimore
Baltimore owns the best mark of any NFL team in the month of November, though they are 1-1 so far this year. They started Lamar Jackson at quarterback last week against Cincinnati, and the rookie passed for the most part. If starter Joe Flacco can’t go on Sunday, he is listed as questionable, Jackson should be able to face the toothless defense of the Raiders.
Whether he thrives or not is unclear. Jackson made a couple of mistakes against the Bengals, and the score was closer than it should have been at 24-21. As a result the Ravens failed to cover the spread.
We think they have a repeat of last week. They will win, but won’t cover the 10.5 points, a spread that has dropped from its opening number of 12.
Take Oakland and the points.
5. Arizona +12 at LA Chargers
If the Los Angeles Chargers are a legitimate playoff team, they have a funny way of showing it. Last week against Denver, they let the Broncos comeback and beat them late in the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals will not be having any miracle comebacks. Arizona will have trouble scoring on a Chargers team that will be extra motivated, and extra upset. This has the makings of being a huge blowout, far more than the 12 points Los Angeles has to give the Cardinals.
Take LA and give away the points.
