For the second week in a row a majority of the games played below the closing total and we hit the trifecta with all three of our picks cashing at the betting window. And, not surprisingly, it was the under that won for us. Not to brag or anything, but a perfect 3-0 week is pretty impressive. The key is to continue winning and not rest on your past accomplishments, so we aren’t going to do that. But winning all three tickets on our top total plays made for a successful week. It’s hard to play the under in Saints game, but we did that for two consecutive weeks and they made us winners. New Orleans is a different team at the Superdome and their Week 9 tilt with the Rams had an opening total of 60. We’ll stay clear of that game, but we’ll diagnose other fascinating Week 9 matchups and take a look at a few top total plays to help line your pockets.
Top Total Plays Of Week 9
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
Pick: Under 47
The Ravens have some work to do after getting gouged for 36 points and nearly 400 yards last week. The Panthers threw a bunch of misdirection plays and a lot of Cam Newton at Baltimore and it amounted to the worst defensive performance by the Ravens in some time. It’s easy to pick on a team when it’s down, looking at you Jacksonville, but the Ravens will make the necessary adjustments to slow down Pittsburgh’s offense.
And they aren’t facing Newton, which is a plus. That might sound odd when Ben Roethlisberger is next up, but the Ravens defense is better built for a guy like Big Ben than it is Cam. And we saw the Ravens clamp down a few weeks ago when they held Pittsburgh scoreless in the second half and eased their way to a 26-14 win in hostile territory. By today’s NFL standards, the opening total is low, but considering the Steelers have upped their defensive game, it’s a number that will be difficult to reach.
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings
Pick: Under 51
The Saints did a nice job of playing keep-away from the Vikings last week, and the scheme paid off. You know the Lions are going to look hard at the film and attempt to devise a similar game plan to try and keep Kirk Cousins and Adam Thielen from going off. Of course it’s only a smart tactic if it works and that’ll be up to Matthew Stafford and a ground game that’s present one week and absent the next, just like my attendance at school in the early years. But I digress.
The Lions need to run the football successfully and not do stupid stuff that costs them a chance at winning football games. They reverted to early season form in a loss to the Seahawks last week, giving up chunks of yards on the ground, not being able to counter when they had the football, and making a number of blunders on special teams. Detroit showed signs of taking after their head coach Matt Patricia with a couple of wins that lifted them near the top of the standings. However, last week’s loss was huge and they really need to make statement this week. They will do that with a defensive effort that slows the Vikings down, allowing the under to cash out.
Tennessee Titans at Dallas Cowboys
Pick: Over 40.5
Both teams are coming off a bye that allowed them to work on things in advance of their Week 9 Monday Night Football showdown. The Titans paid attention to their red zone woes and will look to strengthen their 29th ranked passing game. Giving Marcus Mariota a few extra days to rest some lingering ailments should help. The Cowboys also had some additional time to work their new acquisition into the lineup as Amari Cooper and Dak Prescott have spent plenty of time together working on routes and timing.
Dallas became too predictable on offense with Ezekiel Elliott the only weapon. But what a weapon he is. With teams keying on him, Zeke has still been able to run for 619 yards, the second-most in the NFL. With the NFC East still within their reach, the Cowboys went all in with their deal for Cooper. A first-round pick just a few years ago, Coop had fallen on hard times with the Raiders and the hope is that he can revive his career and his numbers. That’ll take Jason Garrett removing the training wheels from Dak, but Cooper wasn’t brought in to be a stick figure. Expect him to have an immediate impact and the low total of 40.5 should tumble easily.
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