Coach T’s NFL Sunday School – Week 7 Recap and Week 8 Betting Advice

Week 7 of the NFL betting season was not filled with too many surprises. The biggest “surprise” came in Foxborough, as the (4-3) 49ers rolled through and dismantled the (2-4) Patriots, 33-6. The game-of-the-week, which proved to be a good matchup, featured unbeaten teams in the Steeler and Titans. The (6-0) Steelers became the only unbeaten team left in the NFL after the (5-1) Seahawks loss to their division rivals the (5-2) Cardinals on Sunday Night Football.

Make sure to continue following along with all our NFL stories and betting advice as the 2020 NFL season progresses. Our BetUs Locker Room Page is full of insight from some of the best in the business. Make sure to check out our matchups page and place all your NFL bets at our NFL sportsbook this betting season.

Check out the play of the day on SNF, where D.K. Metcalf ran down Budda Baker to save his team from a pick-6

DK Metcalf is FREAKY FAST. @dkm14

📺: #SEAvsAZ on NBC
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/FSTZl0ocgC pic.twitter.com/WSuLjzfIl3

— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2020

NFL Week 7 Sunday Recap

(6-0) Steeler 27, (5-1) Titans 24

• The Steelers’ fast start was a key part of their 27-24 victory to stay unbeaten against the Titans
• The Titans won the turnover battle with a +3 margin but a missed last-second FG spoiled their chances at a big comeback victory.
• The Steelers are the last unbeaten team in the NFL with the (6-1) Ravens up next.

My Pick: (Moneyline/Spread) – PIT/TEN +2 

(4-2) Saints 27, (3-4) Panthers 24

• The Saints’ efficient offense lead the way to a 27-24 win over the Panthers
• The Saints were missing their top two receivers but were able to ride Drew Breeze and Alvin Kamara to victory.
• Carolina’s inability to stop anyone on third down cost it again as the Saints went 12-for-14 on third downs. The Panthers will need to fix their defensive problems if they want to keep up in the NFC.

My Pick: (Moneyline/Spread) – NO/CAR +7½ 

(5-1) Packers 35, (1-6) Texans 20

• Aaron Rodgers and Devante Adams dominated another defense as Adams had 13 catches for 19 yards and two TDs.
• Houston may be heading into rebuild mode as the trade deadline approaches

My Pick: (Moneyline/Spread) – GB/GB -3½ 

(3-3) Detroit 23, (1-6) Falcons 22

• Matthew Stafford led a vintage comeback victory over the Falcons who are becoming accustomed to losing 4th quarter leads.
• Todd Gurley’s mishap of scoring a touchdown late when the Falcons just needed to run the clock down and kick a short field goal cost Atlanta the win.

My Pick: (Moneyline/Spread) – ATL/ATL -2

(4-2) Bills 18, (0-7) Jets 10

• The Bills played well enough to smother the horrible Jets in a game that the Jets’ defense actually played decent.
• It is the first time all year that the Jets covered the spread.

My Pick: (Moneyline/Spread) – BUF/BUF -13

(5-2) Browns 37, (1-5-1) Bengals 34

• Baker Mayfield threw for five TDs to earn a sweep of the Bengals and Josh Burrow this year.
• The Browns are hoping Mayfield can continue to have these kinds of games as they head into the second half of the season.

My Pick: (Moneyline/Spread) – CLE/CIN +3½ 

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is the latest player who will be forced to sit out with a season-ending injury after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee during the team’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday https://t.co/kLK8qP7Sm5

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is the latest player who will be forced to sit out with a season-ending injury after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee during the team's win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday https://t.co/kLK8qP7Sm5

— CNN (@CNN) October 26, 2020

(2-5) Football Team 25, (2-5) Cowboys 3

• Washington played its best football against the Cowboys who are in desperate need of some answers.
• The Cowboys are now 0-7 against the spread this year as people continue to expect this team to turn things around and succeed.

My Pick: (Moneyline/Spread) – DAL/DAL Pk

(5-2) Buccaneers 45, (3-3) Raiders 20

• A 4th quarter three touchdown burst helped the Bucs down the Raiders and take  first place in the NFC South.
• The Raiders could not run the ball or get a pass rush on Tom Brady as the game wore on

My Pick: (Moneyline/Spread) – TB/TB -3

Peyton Manning has breaking news on why @TomBrady and the @Buccaneers offense is looking so good.

Sorry, @AdamSchefter! 🤣#DETAIL: https://t.co/Bqb3Pphccj pic.twitter.com/dzoqlD7QXN

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) October 26, 2020

(6-1) Chiefs 43, (2-4) Broncos 16

• Kansas City looked leagues ahead of Denver in all aspects of the game.
• Le’Veon Bell showed glimpse of his Steelers’ playing days in his first game as a Chief.

My Pick: (Moneyline/Spread) – KC/DEN +10

(4-3) 49ers 33, (2-4) Patriots 6

• The Patriots looked uncompetitive behind the horrific QB-play by Cam Newton against a heating up Niners team.
• Cam was inaccurate all day and threw three picks before getting benched.

My Pick: (Moneyline/Spread) – NA

(2-4) Chargers 39, (1-6) Jaguars, 29

• Justin Herbert and the Chargers showed signs of improvement against a Jaguars team that is trending in the opposite direction
• Jags’ coach Doug Marone could lose his job this week after his team has lost six straight

My Pick: (Moneyline/Spread) – LAC/LAC -7½ 

(5-2) Cardinals 37, (5-1) Seahawks 34

• Kyler Murray outduels his veteran counterpart Russell Wilson in thrilling overtime fashion.
• Wilson and Tyler Lockett connected 15 times for 200 yards and three TDs in a tough loss where Wilson also threw three INTs.

My Pick: (Moneyline/Spread) – SEA/ARI +3½ 

Week 7 Takeaway

The NFC has the Best and Worst Division in the NFL.

The NFC West became wide-open after the Cardinals took down the unbeaten Seahawks on SNF. The 49ers handled the Patriots on the road to close the gap by a full game between them and the first-place Seahawks.

I still think the Seahawks are the best team in the division because they have the best QB in the division. A loss by the Seahawks was bound to happen because their defense is not good enough to win all the close games that Wilson continues to find ways to win. I am in no way surprised the Cardinals had enough to pull off the upset. With Wilson having one of his best years of his career, the NFC West could have any of the four teams come out on top.

The four teams in the NFC East are absolutely horrible. After the Eagles’ one-point victory over the Giants, they are now in sole possession of first place iwith a (2-4-1) record. The Cowboys’ defense has had troubles all year and now without QB Dak Prescott their offense looks just as lost. Similar, but very different to the NFC West, the NFC East is anyone’s division to win this year.

The worst team in the NFC West will end the season with a better record than the best team in the NFC East.

Total wins by division so far:
NFC West: 16
AFC North: 15
NFC North: 12
AFC South/AFC West/NFC South: 11
AFC East: 10

NFC East: 5

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 20, 2020

The Steelers are the Best Team in the AFC

Okay, that may be an overstatement because the Kansas City Chiefs still have a healthy Patrick Mahomes and they went out and added Le’Veon Bell to their arsenal of offensive weapons. The Steelers have an impressive offensive arsenal of their own. Big Ben looks as good as ever and they just beat a really good Titans team.

Rothlisberger, who recorded three INTs, needs to eliminate his second-half mistakes when his team has a lead if the Steelers want to continue winning. Where the Steelers are better than most anyone in the AFC, and possibly the entire NFL, is on the defensive side of the ball. T.J Watt continues his disruptive play as Biltzburgh puts pressure on opposing QBs after they shut down the run week-after-week.

The game of the week for Week 8 is definitely a showdown between the (6-1) Baltimore Ravens and the (6-0) Pittsburgh Steelers. If the Steelers’ have a great opportunity to show the rest of the league that they indeed are the best team in the NFL. This rivalry is better than ever with the division on the line.

The chart below shows how good the Steelers are and well, the whole NFC West.

The Seahawks need to be worried. The NFC West is good. Really good. https://t.co/SBHuomMEwv

— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) October 26, 2020

Is it Time to Panic for the Patriots?

The Patriots lost their second straight game in as many weeks. They were not competitive against the 49ers. The (5-2) Bills are three wins ahead of the Patriots in the AFC East. (3-3) The Dolphins are also a game up and played their best football of their season in Week 6 before their bye.

Cam Newton played well in the opening weeks of the season, but it seems years ago. He contracted Covid-19 and missed more than two weeks and has come back the past two weeks looking like a different QB. He is throwing passes into the ground or to the opposing defense. New England has thrown for a league-low three TDs and a league-high 11 interceptions during their 2-4 start.

The Patriots seem like one bad-game away from Coach Belichick hitting the panic button on the season. It would be interesting to see a Patriots team in desperation mode. It is something I have never seen in my lifetime. The Patriots need to figure things out quickly as they travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills in Week 8.

Week 8 Betting Advice

Let’s take a look at Week 8 of the NFL betting season. I will pick out a few games that stand out to me and give some advice on my ‘best bets’ of the week.

(2-4) Los Angeles Chargers at (2-4) Denver Broncos — 4:05 p.m. EST

Chargers’ rookie QB Justin Herbert secured his first win with a 39-29 victory over the Jaguars in Week 7. Herbert has played fantastic in his first five career games but could not close out an opponent for the win. This week was different as he handed the Jags their sixth consecutive loss by scoring 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Herbert is setting all kinds of records in his first five games.

Justin Herbert’s first five starts:
▫️311 passing yards, 2 total TD
▫️330 passing yards, 70.4% completion %, 1 TD
▫️290 passing yards, 80% completion %, 3 TD
▫️264 passing yards, 4 TD
▫️347 passing yards, 68 rushing yards, 4 total TD

A star in the making.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 25, 2020

Herbert is the only QB not named Patrick Mahomes to throw for at least 250 yards in his first five starts. He also is tied with Russel Wilson (who is widely considered to have the best deep-ball in the NFL) with 8 TDs over 20 yards.

The Chargers accounted for five sacks against the Jags. The five sacks coincided with the return of DE Melvin Ingram back to the Chargers’ defense. The Chargers defense without Ingram recorded five sacks in the past four games. With Ingram back in the line-up, Joey Bosa will be able to find more freedom to be disruptive. The Chargers’ defense is moving forward right in pace with their offense and the team is trending up.

eatin’ 🍴@jbbigbear | @UchennaN_42 pic.twitter.com/nGlS2N0kJz

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 25, 2020

Denver is trending in the other direction with the poor QB play of Drew Lock. RB Phillip Lindsay was the only spark on the Denver offense before he went out with a concussion against the Chiefs. The Broncos and Chargers are similar teams with different QB play. That is why I like the Chargers in this one.

My Pick: Moneyline/Point Spread – LAC/LAC -3 Under

(4-2) Indianapolis Colts at (3-3) Detroit Lions -1 p.m. EST

The Lions are coming off a last-second 23-22 victory over the Falcons. Falcons’ RB Todd Gurley was supposed to get tackled when he was handed the ball with 1:10 left to play. Instead, he forgot and scored a TD to give the Falcons a 20-16 lead. After a successful 2-point conversion the Falcons led 22-16 with about a minute to play.

The Lions had 64 seconds and no timeouts to cover 75 yards to secure their third win of the season. QB Matthew Stafford is one of the best with the game on the line and he delivered again. The Lions are now on a two-game winning streak after consecutive wins over the Jags and Falcons. Their first win of the season may have been their most impressive when they outlasted the Cardinals 26-23 in Week 3.

I am excited to see Philip Rivers take on Matthew Stafford. Two QBs that seem to play the game in a similar way. I think the Colts defense is going to be too much after a bye for the Lions to put up enough points to win this game. The Lions only scored 16 points with a minute left in the fourth quarter against one of the NFL’s worst defenses last week.

My Pick: Moneyline/Point Spread – IND/IND -3 Under

Here is a look at the latest Super Bowl Odds.