As we head into week 7 of the NFL betting season, the best of the best are rising to the top, and the fakers are starting to settle at the bottom. After a week 1 loss to Baltimore, the Jets have gone 5-0 and sit at the top of their division, the return of Ben Roethlisberger to beat the Browns last week has Steeler fans excited, and other teams like the Giants and Texans have emerged as division leaders as well. This week, we have some games that you will be able to make solid picks on and go up big.
Pittsburgh Steelers (-2 ½) @ Miami Dolphins
Sunday, October 24 – 1:00 PM
The Dolphins pulled out a huge win last week with an upset over the Packers. Coming into the game as 3 ½ point dogs, Miami kicker Dan Carpenter booted a 44 yd field goal in OT to let the Dolphins return home winners. Miami improves to a 3-2 record and is looking to pull another upset against Pittsburgh this week. QB Chad Henne played a decent game with 231 yards and 2 TD passes while Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined for 137 yards on the ground. However, this week they will be playing the league’s best run defense which has allowed and average of just 63.8 yards per game on the ground. With up front defenders that include Lawrence Timmons, James Harrison, and LaMarr Woodley, the Steelers will be much more effective than the Pack in shutting down Brown and Williams. The Steeler defense also sacked Colt McCoy 5 times in their win over the Browns, so expect Chad Henne to see some big time pressure.
Ben Roethlisberger looked a little bit rusty in his first game back for Pittsburgh, which is to be expected. Aside from one interception and a few overthrown balls, he played well with 257 yards and 3 TD passes. His partner in the backfield, RB Rashard Mendenhall, also played well with 84 yards on 27 carries and 1 TD. However, Roethlisberger will need to sharpen his skills for this game. Miami’s secondary is very quick and also claims one of the most underrated corners in the league in Vontae Davis. Cameron Wake is also a very skilled pass rusher and could put a lot of pressure on Big Ben.
Betting Trends
Pittsburgh has gone 7-1 SU in its last 8 games and 5-1 SU in its last 6 against Miami. Miami is struggling as it has gone just 1-6 in its last 7 games at home and 1-5 SU in its last 6 against Pittsburgh. In 4 of the last 5 games when these two teams have met in Miami, the total has gone UNDER. Check our featured NFL page to get the pick on this game.
WE MEET OR BEAT ANY BONUS BetOnline.com
St. Louis Rams @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-2 ½)
Sunday, October 24 – 1:00 PM
Both of these teams are sitting in the lower half of their respective divisions and each is looking to make a leap in the standings this week. After being the two worst teams in football last year, both teams have something to be smiling about this season. The 3-3 Rams will march into Tampa Bay where the Buccaneers sit with a 3-2 record. Sam Bradford has been quite an unexpected leader this season, stepping up to take the reigns with wins over Washington, Seattle, and San Diego. Steven Jackson has been running well this season as well with 507 yards on the year.
The Buccaneers’ success is slightly more complicated to understand. In fact, almost no one understands it. The Bucs have pulled out 3 wins this season without an established running back, one of the league’s lowest scoring offenses, and a sieve-like defense. Yet, somehow, they have managed to lose just 2 games. This could be a very close game or an absolute blowout depending on which Bucs team shows up.
Betting Trends
After St. Louis’s abysmal season last year they sit at just 4-21 SU in the last 25 games and 0-5 in the last 5 games on the road. When playing Tampa Bay the Rams are just 1-6 ATS. Tampa Bay has gone UNDER the total in 10 of its last 12 games and 6-19 SU in the last 25. They are 2-12 ATS in the last 14 home games and 4-1 SU when playing St. Louis.
Cincinnati Bengals @ Atlanta Falcons (-5 ½)
Sunday, October 24 – 1:00 PM
Atlanta had a rough week 6 in Philadelphia after being pegged as one of the NFC’s teams to beat this season. The Eagles manhandled the Falcons in a 31-17 win as the Atlanta defense allowed 474 total yards and 4 TD’s. The Falcons’ offense looked limp with Matt Ryan throwing only 2 TD passes, an interception, and ending the game with a 78.5 passer rating. RB Michael Turner was unable to start anything offensively either, running for just 45 yards on 15 carries. The secondary needs to tighten up and the offense needs to find some kind of rhythm if Atlanta wants to get back on top.
The Bengals have nothing more to brag about. Cincinnati is coming off a much needed bye week after losing a nail-biter to the Buccaneers two weeks ago. The Bengals somehow managed to beat Baltimore in week 2 but in the loss column they have racked up New England, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay. After losing in the playoffs last year with a run-first strategy, the Bengals thought that balancing their receiver core would help them solve offensive problems this year. Much to their dismay, they have been inept in scoring.
Betting Trends
Cincinnati is 2-5 SU in the last 7 games and 3-10 ATS in its last 13. The total has gone OVER in 5 of the last 7 games and they sit at 2-5 ATS in the last 7 road games. For Atlanta, the total has gone OVER in 9 of its last 12 games and is 11-2 SU in the last 13 games at home.
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