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I was terrible last week, but so was everyone else except Abe, who tightened his stranglehold on the ChabDog picks contest by being sharp when everyone else was being square. Abe had New England when the rest of us had Tampa and New Orleans when the rest of us had Carolina. The only good pick I made was Houston, and that was still a loser after the Texans’ miracle comeback! It took a fluke touchdown at the end to get Houston to cover the spread. At least I finished strong with big wins by the Chargers and Eagles.
Abe might be too far gone at this point, but I can still catch the Tank with a solid Week 11.
Jets +11.5 at Patriots
Jets have won two in a row and the Patriots are wearing ugly uniforms.
Commanders +2.5 at Dolphins
This is such a recency bias spread. Marcus Mariota has played well for Washington with Jayden Daniels out.
Panthers at Falcons -3.5
I should pick Carolina since it was such a letdown last week, but I’m back on the Falcons after they blew the cover and the game in European overtime.
Buccaneers at Bills -5.5
Last week was a fluke for Buffalo. The Bills will bounce back at home against a team from Florida.
Texans -7.5 at Titans
Another favorite that I’m nervous about. Houston crushed Tennessee in their first meeting 26-0.
Bears at Vikings -3.5
Chicago only covered last week because Jaxson Dart got hurt. The squares will say the wrong team is favored.
Packers at Giants +7.5
This has Jameis Winston backdoor cover written all over it.
Bengals +4.5 at Steelers
There’s just something about Joe Flacco! Cincinnati can’t stop a nose bleed, but it’s still hard to bet against.
Chargers -2.5 at Jaguars
I’m going chalk here because of all the fantasy interest I have with the Bolts this week.
Seahawks at Rams -2.5
Chalk again. Rams being favored by less than three at home is disrespectful.
49ers at Cardinals +2.5
Despite getting their doors blown off in Seattle, Arizona has been more consistent than San Francisco lately.
Ravens at Browns +7.5
This game will either go like Bills vs. Dolphins and Saints vs. Panthers last week or like Lions vs. Commanders and Cardinals vs. Seahawks. That’s why picking is hard.
Chiefs -3.5 at Broncos
Major fraud test for the Broncos. I say they fail.
Lions +1.5 at Eagles
Detroit bounced back well last week. Now it is time to assert dominance over the NFC.
Cowboys at Raiders +3.5
Dallas desperately needs this game to justify the Quinnen Williams trade. Raiders have been plucky, though.
Oba Femi is back! The Ruler of NXT had been absent from the wrestling universe since dropping the NXT Championship to Ricky Saints at No Mercy in late September, but he returned to the scene on Tuesday night right after Saints barley survived his bloody Last Man Standing title match against Trick Williams. Williams did everything he could to keep Saints down for a 10 count, including hitting a Trick Shot knee strike, blasting him with the steel ring stairs, burying him under those stairs, and throwing him through a wall, but Saints got up and kept fighting. Williams then brought Saints into the crowd and hit another Trick Shot, but Saints answered by spearing Williams out of the stands and through the announce table below. The epic blow was barely enough to keep Williams down and keep the NXT Championship around Saints’ waist… for now.
Cinema. pic.twitter.com/q2Qxil8WuI
— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) November 12, 2025
As soon as the match ended, Femi emerged on the entrance ramp to stake his claim to a rematch. With no NXT Championship match on the upcoming Gold Rush card (November 18 and 25 at Madison Square Garden), I’m thinking that Femi will get his shot at becoming a two-time NXT Champion at Deadline on December 6 in San Antonio.
One rematch that is happening at Gold Rush is Tatum Paxley vs. Jacy Jayne for the NXT Women’s Championship. Paxley opened the Tuesday show by granting a rematch to Jayne despite Paxley’s friend Izzi Dame wanting her to be more selective when handing out title shots. If Paxley wins at Gold Rush, it could make the champion more confident in doing things her way instead of listening to Dame. If she loses, Dame can say “I told you so” and continue having Paxley do the bidding of The Culling. That’s why I’m predicting that Dame costs Paxley the title next week. Remember, at Halloween Havoc, it looked like Dame was trying to sabotage Paxley when Dame ran into the ring with the title.
We also set up an NXT Tag Team Championship match on Tuesday with Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater announcing that they’ll challenge DarkState at Gold Rush. Slater appeared to be in a remote location during the announcement, but when DarkState attacked Evans, he ran out from backstage and helped the Bouncy Boy fight off the fearsome foursome. Evans and Slater are a hot team right now, so I could see this going either way. I will give the edge to DarkState since I think Evans is close to breaking out on the main roster. Look for DarkState to interfere with Evans’ match against Gunther on Monday Night Raw the night before Gold Rush.
This is CHAOS!!!@theahail_wwe and @wwe_alba are giving us a good one! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/57mSGcyaAo
— WWE (@WWE) November 12, 2025
The Triple-A Mixed Tag Team Championship is also set to be defended during Week 1 of Gold Rush, and we got a little preview on Tuesday when Thea Hail defeated Secret Hervice member Alba Fyre in a singles match while fighting off interference from Ethan Page and Chelsea Green. Everyone loves Hail and Joe Hendry, but they don’t have the chemistry together than Green and Page do. That’s why I expect the defending champs to win next week. I would rather Hail lose and go on to pursue the NXT Women’s Championship or the Women’s North American Championship than continue teaming with Hendry and living in his shadow.
One more match on the Gold Rush card is Blake Monroe vs. Sol Ruca for the NXT Women’s North American Championship. I feel very good about Monroe winning so that the wedge between Ruca and Zaria is driven deeper. I could see Ruca losing next week and then Zaria winning the Speed Championship during Week 2. That would make Ruca bitter about Zaria only winning when its her title opportunity and not Ruca’s. Remember, Zaria lost the Women’s North American Championship at Halloween Havoc when she stepped in for an injured Ruca.
It wasn’t surprising to see John Cena open up Monday Night Raw last night and hear him hype up his last match ever on December 13. It was a lot more surprising when Dominik Mysterio came out and accidentally got himself booked in a fight for his Intercontinental Championship. Dom busted out all of his tricks in an effort to retain the prestigious title, but Cena ended up defeating him twice. First when Dom tapped out to the STF while the referee was incapacitated and again when Cena rolled through Dom’s Frog Splash and hit the Attitude Adjustment, this time with the referee ready to count to three.
Just one month before his retirement from WWE, Cena has shockingly won his first Intercontinental Championship, which raises the question, will Cena’s final match be a loss for the legendary wrestler? It seems likely now that the anticipated match on December 13 will be for the Intercontinental Championship unless Cena drops the title as suddenly as he won it. Heel Cena had previously talked about going home with the Undisputed WWE Championship and ruining wrestling, but this current version seems content to let the legacy of his current title continue past 2025. Unless Cena is taking the Intercontinental Championship with him into retirement, he is probably losing in his final match, and that only builds the intrigue over who the opponent will be.
We got two more possibilities announced by Adam Pearce on Monday night. The Raw general manager said that Je’Von Evans will face Gunther in The Last Time is Now Tournament next week. Solo Sikoa will also be in tournament action against a mystery opponent. That leaves us with a second mystery entrant with the first set to be revealed on SmackDown as LA Knight’s tournament opponent. Joe Hendry has been speculated as a mystery spot, but I would be surprised if it was him because he doesn’t have a connection to Cena. Oba Femi makes more sense to me because he is larger than life and is someone that fans including myself would love to see fight Cena before he rides off into the sunset. I will currently project Hendry to face Sikoa and Femi to face Knight, but the possibilities are endless. Chris Jericho making a return to WWE would be electric and Trick Williams seems overdue to break out on the main roster.
Next week, the tournament continues.@WWE pic.twitter.com/lwYpsGM495
— Adam Pearce (@ScrapDaddyAP) November 11, 2025
Right now my two favorites to defeat Cena in his final match at The Miz and Gunther. It would probably take some shenanigans to get The Miz past Jey Uso in the first round of The Last Time is Now Tournament, but he just cut a killer promo on Friday and he has history with both Cena and the Intercontinental Championship. Gunther has never faced Cena, but he’s someone who would certainly have had an epic feud with Cena if he had come around a decade earlier. With Seth Rollins out of action, Gunther is returning to the spotlight as WWE’s most dominant heel. He has almost always had a title around his waist since being promoted to the main roster, so it would make sense for him to take the IC Championship back after his glorious run with it two years ago.
Both Rusev and Sheamus won their matches in The Last Time is Now Tournament to advance to the quarterfinals. Both wins were easy to predict since both guys have history with Cena. Sheamus’ case for winning the tournament is interesting because he has never won the IC Championship and December 13 is the anniversary of Sheamus defeating Cena for the WWE Championship many years ago. Rusev has beef with Cena because when Cena beat him for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 31, the Bulgarian Brute’s career was never the same. I like the promo that Rusev cut this week, but I give Sheamus the edge to advance farther in the tournament.
Getting back to that Dom vs. Cena match on Raw, it is interesting that none of Dom’s Judgement Day family was at ringside to help him out, especially since so many of his title defenses have been team efforts. Is this signaling a split between Dom and The Judgement Day? The legacy superstar is already being treated like a babyface by the crowd, and he’s been one of the hottest heels in the company since he betrayed his father three years ago. Pulling the trigger on a babyface turn for Dom would likely ignite a massive run for him with limitless possibilities including a reunion with Rey Mysterio and an underdog run at a major championship. It’s all potential energy right now and the only question for WWE creative is when to push that button.
"Lonely" Dominik Mysterio 👀 pic.twitter.com/uHm0JVWqS4
— WWE (@WWE) November 11, 2025
The other big thing to happen on Raw was the formation of teams for WarGames. On the men’s side, CM Punk called out Logan Paul after Paul sucker punched him with brass knuckles last week. That led to Paul coming to the ring with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed, which in turn led to Punk fighting them off with the help of Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes. Later in the evening, William Regal showed up out of nowhere to officially announce “WarGames!”
We are still at only three men aside, though. It would be surprising if Roman Reigns didn’t join the babyface side. He’s got a strong bond with Jey and both he and Punk share a disdain for Paul Heyman, the man managing Breakker and Reed. With Reigns in the mix, you might as well throw in Jimmy Uso as well to get the babyfaces to five men. I suppose Sami Zayn is also a possibility if he is medically cleared with the history he shares with Reigns and Uso.
PREPARE FOR WAR. 👀
IT'S TIME FOR WARGAMES!!! pic.twitter.com/GN32iss2JS
— WWE (@WWE) November 11, 2025
As for the heels, Drew McIntyre is suspended, so he probably won’t get announced until close to Survivor Series, but he makes too much sense since he doubled down on his feud with Rhodes by Claymore Kicking a referee last Friday. Gunther is also a possibility based on him disappearing since losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Punk at SummerSlam. Kevin Owens has been on the shelf even longer than Gunther and has a score to settle with Rhodes, but I’m not sure how close he is to returning to action. Owens would also make sense as one of the mystery combatants in The Last Time is Now Tournament since he had a major feud with Cena as soon as he came up on the main roster.
The ladies also got into the WarGames spirit when the new team of Nia Jax and Lash Legend showed up to screw over Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss during their Women’s Tag Team Championship match against the Kabuki Warriors. Bliss had done a great job intercepting Kairi Sane with Sister Abigail to stop the Pirate Princess from breaking up Flair’s Figure Four leglock, but Jax and Legend interfered with the submission while the referee wasn’t looking. That led to Sane throwing Bliss over the announce table and then hitting the Insane Elbow on Flair for the pin to crown new champs.
NEW WOMEN'S TAG TEAM CHAMPS!
RHEA RIPLEY IS BACK!
WOMEN'S WARGAMES MATCH IS ON!
WHAT A CHAOTIC ENDING TO RAW! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/S27ZMgbw6D
— WWE (@WWE) November 11, 2025
Bliss tried to pick a fight with Jax and Legend after the match and it predictably wasn’t going well until Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley showed up to clear the ring of the heels. Ripley shouted “WarGames!” at the baddies and all of a sudden we had four women on each team. I’m thinking that the final two spots will go to Jade Cargill and either Tiffany Stratton or Bianca Belair depending on who is available. Cargill doesn’t have a challenger for her new WWE Women’s Championship yet because all she did on Friday was say “I’m that bitch” and walk out of the ring. However, she didn’t make it far before bumping into Flair, which foreshadowed beef between the two powerhouses. Both Stratton and Belair have history with Cargill with Stratton just dropping the title to her and Belair teaming up with her before missing time due to injury.
If Stratton and Belair both aren’t cleared, I can see Bayley jumping on on the babyface side due to her history with Damage Ctrl. Nikki Bella and Stephanie Vaquer would make great candidates for WarGames as well, but they appear locked in their own feud after Bella smashed Vaquer with the title following the latter defeating Raquel Rodriguez to defend the Women’s World Championship last night.
Straight from Ava’s office…
Think of @WWE Last Man Standing matches from the past and understand that ya don’t wanna miss tonight!!!@TheCW_Sports pic.twitter.com/UZzA4ZKseM
— Robert Stone (@MrStoneWWE) November 11, 2025
Tonight on NXT, my hero El Grande Americano defends the Speed Championship against Jasper Troy and Ricky Saints faces Trick Williams in what is sure to be an epic Last Man Standing Match for the NXT Championship. Should be a great show.
The Giants announced today that they have parted ways with head coach Brian Daboll. General manager Joe Schoen, who joined the franchise in 2022 right before he hired Daboll, still has a job for now despite two of his six first-round NFL Draft selections being massive busts (Evan Neal and Deonte Banks). To be fair to Daboll and Schoen, the two players they chose in the first round of the 2025 Draft have the potential to be future franchise cornerstones with Jaxson Dart and Abdul Carter both in consideration for Rookie of the Year awards. To also be fair, the rosters produced by Daboll and Schoen have started 2-8 for three straight seasons following the 2022 playoff season.
Brian Daboll has been relieved of his duties; Mike Kafka will serve as interim head coach.
📰: https://t.co/IH63AEqwwl pic.twitter.com/quKIBitNc7
— New York Giants (@Giants) November 10, 2025
Daboll and Schoen both came from Buffalo together in 2022, so in my opinion, they just both leave together. So why was Daboll shown the door before Schoen? Probably because of the Giants losing four games this season in which they held a lead of 10 points or more. In the games at Dallas and Denver, New York scored to take the lead with mere seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. In the game at New Orleans, the Giants turned the ball over on five straight possessions after jumping out to an early 14-3 lead. In the most recent collapse at Chicago, the Giants led by 10 in the fourth quarter before falling apart on both sides of the ball.
If you reverse those results, the Giants are in position to make the playoffs and Daboll might be in line to win Coach of the Year like he did in 2022. Instead, the season has been torturous. Big Blue has shown the potential to be a solid team when it defeated the Chargers and Eagles. In the seven quarters spanning the win over Philadelphia and the start of the Denver game, the Giants looked like a legitimate playoff contender, but instead of closing out the Broncos, New York wilted like it has too often this season. Daboll couldn’t get the Giants across the finish line.
Daboll has also been reckless with Dart. The rookie quarterback has been evaluated for a concussion four times this season, and he was confirmed to have suffered a concussion on Sunday. The injury may have cost the Giants the game based on how ineffective Russell Wilson was in relief. Dart isn’t doing enough to protect himself when he runs, even after he has gained enough yards for a first down. Hopefully interim head coach Mike Kafka will move Jameis Winston ahead on the depth chart so that we don’t have to watch Wilson again this season. It’s a big decision because Dart will probably miss at least one game due to the concussion.
Whoever is the next head coach of the Giants will have big expectations out of the gate. The offense in 2026 will be talented with Dart, Cam Skattebo, and Malik Nabers on the roster. Plus, the Giants will probably have an opportunity to grab a great talent with their first round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The next three opponents this season are Green Bay, Detroit, and New England, so it might be a while until New York improves on its 2-8 record.
Guess who is the Week 9 picks champion at ChabDog? That’s right. It is me, and I did it without hitting on any island picks. The keys to victory were the Falcons, Panthers, Steelers, Raiders, and Bills. On those five picks, I was in the minority with only one other person making the correct selection. On four of those five, it was me and Frank the Tank riding together. We didn’t plan it like that! I was just in a Tank state of mind.
The victorious week put me one game above .500 for the season and just two games behind Frank for second place. Can I stay hot in Week 10?
Raiders +9.5 at Broncos
The Las Vegas offense came alive last week with the return of Brock Bowers. Going up against Denver’s defense will be a tougher test, but I’m thinking Bowers will create enough opportunities to keep the Raiders in the game. The Broncos have won six straight, but four of the six wins are by less than a touchdown.
Falcons +5.5 at Colts
Finally we saw some of the real Daniel Jones last week, as he threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles in a loss at Pittsburgh. Indianapolis probably won’t turn the ball over six times for a second straight week, but I think Atlanta has the weapons to keep this close.
Giants +3.5 at Bears
I expect Caleb Williams to tear up the Giants’ depleted secondary like Mac Jones did last week. Hopefully Jaxson Dart can be heroic and provide an answer to every Chicago touchdown.
Bills -8.5 at Dolphins
Buffalo is back in juggernaut mode since the bye week. The defense did a great job last week hanging on when I thought the Bills would blow it against Kansas City.
Ravens at Vikings +4.5
Baltimore seems to have righted the ship with two blowout wins in a row, but the Vikings just scored a huge upset win at Detroit in J.J. McCarthy’s return to action. I am a sucker for this kid and his grit.
Browns at Jets -2.5
The Jets trading away Sauce Gardner after signing him to a massive contract is a gut punch that even the most pessimistic Jets fans did not see coming. I think the team rallies together and beats the Browns, though.
Patriots at Buccaneers -2.5
This should be a terrific game. I think Tampa Bay superior playmakers (even with Mike Evans out and possibly Chris Godwin as well) make the difference.
Saints at Panthers -5.5
New Orleans is not a spunky underdog anymore with Tyler Shough under center, and Alvin Kamara looks washed.
Jaguars at Texans -1.5
C.J. Stroud is out and Houston just lost a tough one against Denver, but I believe in this Texans defense.
Cardinals +6.5 at Seahawks
Arizona has covered the spread in all three of Jacoby Brissett’s starts, and the defense came alive last week in Dallas.
Rams -3.5 at 49ers
Mac Jones has played well for San Francisco, including a month ago in a big upset over these Rams. Sean McVay and company will not let that happen again. Ram it!
Lions at Commanders +8.5
Marcus Mariota is not a big drop off from Jayden Daniels and my faith in Detroit is shaken after last week’s shocking upset loss.
Steelers at Chargers -3.5
The Bolts were punched in the mouth by Tennessee last week, but they still came back and won comfortably on the road. Yes, the Titans are awful, but that is still a good sign.
Eagles +2.5 at Packers
Philadelphia is a chalky underdog, but you can’t trust Green Bay when it just lost a second game this year as a big favorite.
I got busy over the weekend and didn’t have a chance to talk about the insane ending to the World Series. I really thought the Blue Jays were going to finish the job, but despite all of their money bags, the Dodgers maintain the grit of a desperate underdog looking to defy the odds. That’s how Los Angeles was able to escape the ninth inning of Game 7 after Toronto loaded the bases with one out. Dalton Varsho hit a sharp ground ball to second base that Miguel Rojas, who had just tied the game with an unlikely home run in the top of the inning, had to back up on. It should have been enough to score the run from third, but Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who had just been inserted as a pinch-runner for Bo Bichette, didn’t get a great jump off of third base and was forced out when Rojas threw home to catcher Will Smith.
MIGUEL ROJAS GETS HIM AT THE PLATE pic.twitter.com/lAW2GEcdDh
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2025
That is a run that the gritty underdog is supposed to score to get an edge over the powerhouse filled with superstars. Instead, it was Rojas with the nerves of steel and Kiner-Falefa not being desperate enough to score. The mistake of inserting Kiner-Falefa compounded itself for Toronto skipper John Schneider when the infielder came to the plate in the bottom of the 11th. Will Smith had homered for the Dodgers in the top of the frame to put Los Angeles on top, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got the Blue Jays going with a double. With Kiner-Falefa at the plate instead of Bichette, Schneider opted for a bunt to get Guerrero Jr. to third. The play was executed correctly, but it proved to be the wrong strategy as after Addison Barger walked, Yoshinobu Yamamoto got Alejandro Kirk to ground into a season-ending double play.
Poor running of the bases also doomed Toronto in Game 6 when Barger was doubled off second base following Andres Gimenez’s line drive to left field. Barger had just hit a double that somehow got stuck against the center field wall. I thought that Los Angeles outfielder Justin Dean took a huge risk by putting his hands in the air and claiming that the ball was lodged, but fortunately for him, the umpires agreed and forced Barger to stop at second base. If they said that the ball wasn’t lodged, Barger could have run all the way home thanks to Dean not playing the ball.
#Postseason hero Kiké Hernández had one final trick up his sleeve to finish out the month of October 🤯#WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/Vg9xQyZBtP
— MLB (@MLB) November 1, 2025
Anyway, without that lodged ball call, Barger might not have been at second base and he might not have run into a double play on Gimenez’s drive that was caught by Enrique Hernandez. The Blue Jays might have caught a bad break, but they also ran themselves out of the game. There’s also the possibility that Barger would have stopped at second base if the ball had just bounced off the wall, so maybe it’s not too bad of a break.
Despite Shohei Ohtani’s unbelievable Game 3 performance, the World Series MVP went to Yamamoto, and it’s hard to say that he didn’t deserve it. The man pitched a complete game to lead the Dodgers to victory in Game 2 and then pitched six innings with one run allowed in Game 6 to earn a second World Series win. We already knew Yamamoto was built different when he started warming up during the 18th inning of Game 3, but then he proved it by entering Game 7 in the ninth inning and keeping Toronto off the scoreboard until the game was over two and two thirds innings later. Yamamoto was hyped up a lot when he signed a massive deal with the Dodgers before the 2024 campaign, but he has lived up to it and then some with his heroic postseason performances.
We got some bad news on Wednesday night, as the Blue Jays are now one win away from bringing the Commissioner’s Trophy to Canada. They cruised to a 6-1 victory in Game 5 of the World Series after Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the game. Trey Yesavage took it from there with just four batters reaching base against him (three hits and a hit by pitch) in seven innings. He struck out 12 Dodgers during the incredible performance.
Trey Yesavage is LOCKED in 🔒
He strikes out the side in the 2nd! pic.twitter.com/XcbWPvNq4N
— MLB (@MLB) October 30, 2025
Toronto now has two chances to clinch the championship in its home ballpark. The good news for the Dodgers is that Yoshinobu Yamamoto is slated to start Game 6, and he is coming off of two straight complete games. Kevin Gausman will take the mound for the Blue Jays after being outdueled by Yamamoto in Game 2.
We got a little football action during the World Series’ off day, and I’m happy to say that I started the week 1-0 with my picks, but these standings remained the same because everyone picked Baltimore to crush Miami.
Here are the rest of my Week 9 picks as I try to escape the Isle of Mid.
Ravens -7.5 at Dolphins
Miami surprisingly blew out Atlanta on the road last week, but Baltimore was also impressive. I think Lamar Jackson’s return gets the Ravens the points they need to cover the spread.
Bears -2.5 at Bengals
The Bengals have scored more than 30 points in each of the past two weeks with Joe Flacco under center, but the defense still stinks. I think Caleb Williams has a day.
Vikings at Lions -8.5
Detroit is great at covering big spreads like this one because they can keep scoring even when trying to kill the clock.
Panthers +12.5 at Packers
Last week was a big return to form for Green Bay, but Carolina isn’t a pushover.
Chargers -9.5 at Titans
I’m done picking the Titans to cover anything.
Falcons +5.5 at Patriots
The Falcons are Jekyll and Hyde. I think they play well on the road after everyone wrote them off.
49ers at Giants +2.5
Maybe this isn’t Kyle Shanahan’s masterpiece after all? The win over the Rams is looking like a fluke.
Colts at Steelers +3.5
I am going back to the Pittsburgh home underdog well. Indianapolis has been a juggernaut, but its schedule has been very soft.
Broncos at Texans -1.5
Texans have now won three of four, but they played terribly in the one game of those I watched. That was at Seattle, and Houston has been better at home.
Jaguars at Raiders +3.5
Just when I was starting to believe that the Jaguars weren’t frauds, they go out and lose two in a row.
Chiefs at Bills +1.5
Chiefs have been unstoppable since the Jacksonville loss, but Buffalo appears rejuvenated after the bye week.
Seahawks -3.5 at Commanders
Washington might just be bad.
Cardinals at Cowboys -2.5
Cowboys at home is the easiest pick every time they play at home.
Since the World Series shifted to Los Angeles on Monday night, the Dodgers won a game that will be considered one of the greatest in the history of the Fall Classic. The next day, the Blue Jays won a very boring game by comparison, but they both count the same and we are tied 2-2 heading into a pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday night.
FREDDIE FREEMAN WALK-OFF HOME RUN IN THE 18TH INNING! #WORLDSERIES pic.twitter.com/wD1xbRxDbC
— MLB (@MLB) October 28, 2025
So how did we get here? It has a lot to do with Shohei Ohtani cementing his legacy as an all-time baseball legend and setting a Postseason record by reaching base nine times during the Game 3 marathon that ended on Freddie Freeman’s walk-off home run off of Brendon Little to lead off the bottom of the 18th. If nine times on base with no outs made wasn’t amazing enough, Ohtani’s first four plate appearances resulted in extra-base hits, and the last two led to the Dodgers coming back and tying the game. His double in the fifth inning drove in Enrique Hernandez to make the score 4-3 before Freeman singled to get Ohtani home with the equalizing run.
SHOHEI OHTANI'S SECOND HOMER OF THE NIGHT
TIE GAME! #WORLDSERIES pic.twitter.com/eA6h6saLnV
— MLB (@MLB) October 28, 2025
Then, after Bo Bichette’s single down the right field line got Vladimir Guerrero all the way from first to home with the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh, Ohtani answered with his second home run of the game to tie the score at 5-5, where it would stay for the next 11 innings. Part of the reason the game stayed tied for so long was that Toronto intentionally walked Ohtani during his next four plate appearances and then walked him conventionally in his final plate appearance to mix things up. That last walk by Little in the 17th inning was so noncompetitive that it looked like an old intentional walk from back when you had to throw the ball to the catcher. The craziest part of the five Ohtani walks was that only one of them came in a typical intentional walk scenario with first base open and a runner on second or third. On the other four occasions, Blue Jays manager John Schneider either put Ohtani on as the winning run or to push the winning run into scoring position. The strategy worked.
We also wouldn’t have made it to the 18th inning without a couple of relief pitcher heroes in Eric Lauer for Toronto and Will Klein for Los Angeles. Lauer is a former Padres and Brewers southpaw who split his time between starting and relief pitching this season with the Blue Jays. He threw four and two thirds scoreless innings after entering the game with one out in the 12th. Klein’s four shutout frames were even more surprising because he had never started a game before in his two-year big league career. In his 22 regular season appearances, he never went longer than two innings before, and yet here was Stein taking the Dodgers deep into the night when they didn’t know if they even had another pitcher available.
PAINT
The Dodgers' TENTH pitcher of the night keeps it tied in the 15th! #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/ApMh6prBlG
— MLB (@MLB) October 28, 2025
If Little had retired Freeman in the 18th, we might have seen something as incredible as Stein’s great outing. That’s because Yoshinobu Yamamoto was warming up in the bullpen after throwing his second straight complete game of the Postseason just two days before! Just when I thought I would never see a pitcher save his team on short rest again, Yamamoto was willing to come back on one day of rest! It’s kind of a shame that Freeman ended the game when he did, because that would have been something to see. It REALLY would have been a shame if Toronto won, but at least that didn’t happen.
Monday night’s cathartic Game 3 victory made it seem like Los Angeles had all the momentum, especially with Ohtani on the mound to start Game 4. Could he possibly grow his legend even more? It turns out that no, he could not. The Dodgers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning when a Max Muncy walk and a Tommy Edman single led to a sac fly by Hernandez, but Shane Bieber would keep Los Angeles off the scoreboard for the rest of his five and a third innings. Toronto struck back and took the lead in the third when Guerrero Jr. launched a two-run home run off of Ohtani.
VLADDY GETS AHOLD OF ONE! #WORLDSERIES pic.twitter.com/UIgEgJBUPu
— MLB (@MLB) October 29, 2025
The Dodgers’ best chance to retake the lead came in the sixth when Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez singled to set the table with one out, but Mason Fluharty came on for Bieber and got Max Muncy to fly out before striking out Edman to end the threat. The Blue Jays started the seventh with two straight hits to chase Ohtani and went on to rally for four runs with RBI hits coming from Andres Gimenez, Bichette, and Addison Barger. That was more than enough for Toronto, and it went on to win 6-2.
It feels like we’ve already had enough dramatic events to fill a whole series (probably because the Dodgers and Blue Jays have played five games’ worth of innings in four games), but there are still at least two more games left to play in the 2025 season. I can’t wait to see what happens in Game 5 tonight with Blake Snell on the bump for Los Angeles against Trey Yesavage for Toronto.
Boy, did I have a bad sports day on Sunday. It was bad enough when the Giants got whomped by the Eagles so badly that it made New York’s home win over Philly two weeks ago seem like a total fluke. Then I had to watch the Knicks fall behind the Heat by 18 points in the fourth quarter and tease with a comeback before falling 115-107. The cap off the evening, the Rangers lost a second straight game to one of the worst teams in hockey.
At least the 38-20 defeat suffered by the Giants might have been closer in an alternate universe where the referees called the game fairly. I’m not a big blame-the-refs guy, and the Giants might have lost this game anyway due to some horrendous run defense that allowed Saquon Barkley to take off on a 65-yard touchdown run on Philly’s first possession, but a few calls in this game were very frustrating.
After the Giants tied the score 7-7 on a touchdown pass from Jaxson Dart to Cameron Skattebo, the Eagles answered with a drive of their own that hit a snag when Jalen Hurts scrambled for eight yards on 3rd and 9. Usually this wouldn’t be a problem for Philly because of its famous Tush Push that it uses whenever there is one yard to go. However, this time Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux ripped the ball away from Hurts as he reached for the first down. This looked like a huge momentum shift as the Tush Push was not supposed to be beatable. It was a huge play early in the game, until the refs explained that Hurts’ forward momentum had stopped after he achieved the first down but before he lost the football. How convenient!
Some more looks at the non-fumble on the Eagles tush push due to forward progress being called.@KevinBurkhardt, @TomBrady, and @DeanBlandino discuss: pic.twitter.com/g1leAsahVS
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 26, 2025
I don’t understand how forward progress is stopped when the ball carrier is still moving forward. Since the call of forward progress being stopped isn’t able to be overturned by replay, the Giants couldn’t challenge the ruling (although they did anyway). Barkley caught a touchdown pass from Hurts two plays later to make the score 14-7 Eagles, and they would lead for the rest of the game.
To make matters worse for the Giants, Skattebo suffered a gruesome ankle injury on the ensuring possession, and he is presumed lost for the season. New York continued to battle, but it blew a huge chance to get off the field early in the fourth quarter when a Brian Burns sack for a massive 21-yard loss was immediately undone by a handoff to Tank Bigsby.
2nd & 31: 1st down Eagles pic.twitter.com/3jZC6OGHoM
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) October 26, 2025
That play led to a Hurt touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert, but the Giants appeared to bounce right back with Dart throwing a 68-yard touchdown pass to Darius Slayton on 4th and 11. Alas, the incredible play was overturned by a dubious offensive pass interference call, and that was pretty much it for the competitive part of the game. The Giants are now 2-6 and without Skattebo as well as Malik Nabers. They will take on the 49ers in New Jersey next Sunday.
As if the Giants game wasn’t sad enough, I got to watch the Knicks shoot 39 percent from the field at Miami and the Rangers lose 5-1 to the 1-7-1 Flames. We’ve got to do better this week.
The Dodgers needed a hero after the Blue Jays crushed them in Game 1 with a nine-run rally in the sixth inning that led to an 11-4 Toronto win. Los Angeles took an early 2-0 lead with an RBI single by Enrique Hernandez in the second inning and one by Will Smith in the third, but it both frames, the Dodgers could have had so much more. In the second, Andy Pages was struck out by Trey Yesavage with the bases loaded before Shohei Ohtani grounded out feebly to end the threat with just one run scored. In the third, Freddie Freeman was thrown out trying to reach third base on Smith’s RBI hit, and that helped Yesavage escape another jam without giving up a crooked number.
Blake Snell was shaky during his five innings. He gave up a two-run home run by Dalton Varsho in the fourth that tied the game and then loaded the bases in the sixth with a walk, a single by Alejandro Kirk, and a hit by pitch. That set the stage for Toronto’s massive rally with October gas can Emmet Sheehan allowing RBI singles to Ernie Clement and Andres Gimenez before Anthony Banda got taken deep by Addison Barger for the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history.
ADDISON BARGER
PINCH-HIT
GRAND SLAM#WORLDSERIES pic.twitter.com/REg58MNosp— MLB (@MLB) October 25, 2025
If we didn’t want to see a Canadian team take a 2-0 lead in the World Series and get halfway towards breaking the nation’s Commissioner’s Trophy and Stanley Cup drought, we needed someone to step up and take a stand. That man was Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who in his last start pitched a complete game against the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLCS. No way he could repeat the feat in the year 2025, could he?
Yoshinobu Yamamoto closes out an incredible #WorldSeries performance 🤩 pic.twitter.com/fxWxO49kQN
— MLB (@MLB) October 26, 2025
Unbelievably, in the era of pitch counts and babying of pitchers, Yamamoto made it through all nine innings again with just one run allowed and zero walks. He struck out eight Blue Jays, including three in a row during the eighth inning, and retired the last 20 batters that he faced. After Kirk hit a sac fly to tie the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the third inning, not one Toronto batter reached base. After Los Angeles rallied for two runs each in the seventh and eighth innings, it came away with a 5-1 victory to tie the World Series at one game apiece. What a heroic performance by Yamamoto, not just for the Dodgers, but for America. If not for Yamamoto’s gem, we could be two games away from Canadian sports fans saying “Who cares about the Stanley Cup drought? We won the World Series!”
And nobody wants that.
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Brandon’s Posts
A Monday Night To Remember…
Famous Jameis was having such a swell time out there, he forgot what his mama told him when he left home to be a pro QB …. never look a gift-horse … in this case a Bronco db … in the mouth … or bad things can happen. Particularly on the short ones, he was play acting the million dollar a year telegraph operator, and that’s a job opening with a pretty short half-life. Browns give themselves wonderful nightmares, a week before they face the music against the Steelers, while Denver can relax for a 2-week coffee break.
Yo Antonio…
Yo Antonio… ever heard of calling a time out … so your disorganized rabble can get organizized? When you come into Arrowhead, you need your @#$@# wired tight. Not usually the case with a notably novice QB…. What was looking like a perfectly orchestrated Silver and Black Friday turns dark and ugly for the Vegas vagabonds, who blow themselves up at the 11th hour with an unforgivable hiccup hike fumble. More smoke and mirrors for the Thiefs~ Ughhhhh
Well Read’s Posts
NFL Week Two Pick Results
It was a massacre of the favorites! 11 dogs came home. How the heck did the Raiders do that? Why do the Cowboys suck again? How on earth did the Vikings beat the 49ers? The Rams? WTF! Fitting that the Falcons upset Phiily last night.
Leading the group Abe and Aaron are tied at 8-7-1. In second with 6 wins was Chabdog and Well Read, and poor Dorothy D had 4.
Yuk
Well Read Week 2 Picks
Abe’s Posts
NASCAR Preview: South Point 400
Hello, Chabdog racing fans, and welcome to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the first race of the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs!
Source: Las Vegas Motor Speedway Track Map – Bing images
Qualifying is done for today’s race, and I’ve posted the Top 10 drivers as shown below:
Source: Las Vegas Motor Speedway Race Results, Lineup | Official Site Of NASCAR
Below are our current playoff standings (Round of 8). Please note that the Round of 8 is made up of 3 races: Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Martinsville Speedway. Today, we expect all the playoff drivers to push hard to either win this race or gain as many points as possible by staying at the very front of the pack. Finally, a win at any of these 3 races automatically clinches that driver for the Championship 4 race at the Phoenix Raceway.
Source: 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs | Official Site Of NASCAR
Every week the Chabdog Sports Team makes on-air picks on the show for the upcoming NASCAR race and earns points based on the following criteria:
: Anyone who picks the winning driver gets 3 points.
: Anyone who picks the 2nd place driver gets 2 points.
: Anyone who picks the 3rd place driver gets 1 point.
Lastly, if no one picks a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place driver then 1 point is awarded to the picked driver that is closest to the podium. Therefore, in our fantasy game, someone from the team always walks away with a point.
For those who are unavailable to make a pick, or do not make a pick prior to the start of the race, then that person is given the “chalk pick”. The “chalk pick” is the poll position driver for that week’s race. This week’s “chalk pick” is Christopher Bell.
Last week’s race results:
Source: Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course Race Results, Lineup | Official Site Of NASCAR
My pick: William Byron
Lastly, sound off who you think our podium winner is for today’s race in the comments below!
With that, let’s get ready to NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASCAR!
| | @darthvaber99
Week 6: Abe’s Shitty NFL Picks (AST)
Hey everyone and welcome to another episode of me making shitty picks based on flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and drunken logic since my current record is:
Week 1: 6 Week 2: 8 Week 3: 6 Week 4: 8 Week 5: 6
Also, need to honorably mention that fading me statistically gives you a way better chance of making any money from my NFL picks, hence, Abe’s Shitty NFL Picks. So let’s try this again with the goal of trying to pick more right games than wrong ones in Week 6!
KC SWIFTS (CHIEFS) -10.5: Made my Thursday Night Football Pick via X.com before the game. See the reply in the tweet below:
https://t.co/OCBzsaq9vi@chabdogsports
— Well Read Producer ChabDog.com (@NewportBest_) October 12, 2023
es here
RAVENS -4: Again we find ourselves in London, England for another great match on the pitch. I need you to know that I am 1-1 in predicting London games with last week’s Jags win over the Bills sucking for a lot of folks mate. However, this week the Jags are no longer in town as we see team Ravens-claw and the Titans-puffs go at it in a good old-fashioned quidditch match instead. Two teams that are kicked in the nutz by jet lag and partying at the pubs all night. Offensively and defensively the Ravewns have the higher ground and why they are favored in this game. However, I am concerned about their loss to the Steelers last week and am willing to call it a fluke considering they easily penetrated through the Browns’ defense the week prior. The Titans, are not the Browns, so I am expecting the Ravens to bounce back and kill the Titans by more than 4 points.
COMMIES (COMMANDERS) +2.5: Going with the underdog Commanders in this game simply because they have a better offense and have played against much better teams than the Falcons. Sure, they lost to the Eagles and the Bills, but keep in mind they sent that more recent Eagles game into OT 34-31. However, they’ve also lost to the Bears (a garbage team) and the Bills by 20 or more points. However, the Falcons are getting their Wins by beating Houston, Greenbay, and the Panthers. Three teams that are not that amazing. So taking all things into consideration, offense, defense, and past games, I expect this game to be close or flat-out beat the Falcons at home.
VIKINGS -2.5: Yes, we all know the Bears actually did something good and beat the Commanders by 20 points. Yes, we also know the Bears are garrrrrrrrrrbaggggggge and have been a complete catastrophe before that. I can also say that the Vikings have not been amazing this year, but do come into this game with better offense and defense. Therefore, I find myself in a similar situation as I did with the Panthers in Week 4 where I also picked the Vikings and won using the exact same philosophy. Why change something that works, I’m all in with the Vikings.
BENGALS -2.5: The Seahawks are coming off a bye-week and are probably feeling pretty energized after winning their last three games. However, Joe Burrow is feeling much better from his injured calf and showed a little dominance against the Cardinals. Offensively, the Bengals have all the right stuff to beat out the Seahawks at home with a mobile Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase connecting being major factors in making this pick.
49ERS -7: The Browns have really been hit-and-miss this season, and are coming off a bye-week. However, let us keep in mind that Deshaun Watson (QB) will not be playing in this game, and this simply sounds like a recipe for disaster for Cleveland. The 49ERS are RED HOT, and this game is simply SCREAMING 49ERS.
TEXANS +1.5: Derek Carr killed the Patriots last week so it may look easy to go with him this week as well. However, we all need to accept here that the Houston Texans are not the Patriots, they’re much better than them. HAHAHAHA…gawd has that team fallen into the abysmial pit since Tom Brady left. So need to factor that Houston is at home and has greater offensive numbies than the Saints. Maybe why this game’s spread is so small and validates my logic here.
JAGUARS -4: The Colts once again find themselves with Gardner Minshew who is seeking revenge on his former team. However, he’s coming up against a team that just beat the Buffalo Bills and who also has better offensive and defensive numbies than the Colts. Uphill battle for the Colts going into this one in Jacksonville.
DOLPHINS -13.5: Incredible to see such a huge spread, but then again it’s the Miami Dolphins against the absolute worst team in the league and in Miami chico. Been a while since Miami could command such a spread. The only thing I hate about this game is that RB De’von Achane is out on the IR till about Week 11. Now, had this been another team, I might have really considered a hard pass on this 13.5-point spread, but c’mon it’s Carolina. A Miami field day with this team is still in the realm of possibilities with the ability for the Panthers to lose by more than 20 points still on the table.
LIONS -3: The 4-1 Detroit Lions have done well this season and come into this Tampa game with WR Mike Evans with a high probability of not playing or being limited in this one for the Bucs. A huge factor to consider in this game. Sorry but the BUC stops here….LIONS.
RAIDERS -3: Wow, do the Patriots suck. Wow, do the Raiders suck. Raiders hopefully get Devante Adams (WR) in this one considering he’s still questionable. Not much to boast here aside from the Raiders being at home, and the Raiders finally seeing a W in Week 5, unlike the Patriots who haven’t seen one since September 24 against a Zach Wilson New York Jets team. Again, not much going on here except for two really bad teams playing near a Tacos El Gordo (the best part of this whole matchup).
RAMS -7: The Cardinals have lost their last two games by 14 or more points as their defense continues to crumble. The Rams on the other hand have the clear offensive advantage in this game at home, and should be able to penetrate the Cardinals’ defense by more than 7 points with Stafford (QB), Williams (RB) and Nacua (WR).
EAGLES -7: The undefeated Eagles take on the 2-3 New York Jets with no advantage here aside from being at home among many Eagles fans. However, the Jets have done well to keep it close against KC and beat the Buffalo Bills. However, the Birds were able to beat the Rams last week in LA by 9 points so 7 doesn’t seem impossible in New Jersey. Especially since Zach Wilson already has 5 interceptions this season and it would only take one more to get an easy extra 7 points on the board.
BILLS -14: The Giants have been a flaming dumpster fire all season and the Bills have been killing every team so far except for the Jags last week. Are the Bills coming here to feel good, try to crush this team, and show dominance once again??? I think so after that devastating loss against the Jags. Again, let’s not forget the Bills crushed the Dolphins by 28 points the week before and we all know the Giants are not the Miami Dolphins.
Chargers +2.5: The Chargers are coming off a bye-week in LA to play a Cowboys team that may be missing their RB Tony Pollard. No bueno for the Cowboys as that may impact their offense if he’s limited or not playing. The great news here, is that the Chargers are underdogs so anything close or a W is a cash out for us. Again, it’s a bye-week, they are at home, and Dallas may be out an RB making this an easy underdog pick.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Every week I seem to find a theme with my picks. Some weeks I lay heavily into the favorites. This week it seems I took all the big spreads and told Vegas to cash me out on every single one of them. To be clear, I don’t tell myself I am going to pick them all, but as I look at every game under the shitty microscope I tend to find enough fault in the other teams to justify taking the bigger point spreads. Lastly, check out my picks in greater detail on the show, along with our other co-host for an hour of fun before kickoff every Sunday this season. Let me know in the comments what you think about Week 6 here, or on whatever social media platform this is posted @
| | @darthvaber99
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Aaron’s Posts
Will 2025 Make the Mets Great?
The Mets won another offseason title in 2024 when they signed Juan Soto to the largest contract in the history of professional sports. That is an awesome move and the Mets may become World Series contenders for years to come, but it won’t be only because of Soto. We’ve seen megastars struggle to qualify for the Postseason in baseball (most notably with Abe Miranda’s Anaheim Angels) and we’ve seen hyped Mets signings like Justin Verlander fail to convert offseason banners into real ones. What makes Soto different? Well, he might be a more talented slugger than the Mets have ever signed before with an on-base percentage above .400 in each one of his seven big league seasons. Most importantly, though, is the fact that Soto is joining a team that won a couple of Postseason series in 2024. He doesn’t have to be a savior, but I also can’t help but think that the Mets needed to do more over the winter to secure a bid in October.
If the Mets fall short this season, it will probably be because of the starting rotation. Two years ago, Kodai Senga and his Ghost Fork emerged as a star, but in 2024 he got hurt and missed 99 percent of the season. Fortunately, Sean Manaea put together a career year at age 32 and provided stability to the rotation alongside Luis Severino and Jose Quintana. Over the winter, the Mets brought back Manaea on a three-year deal, but they let Severino and Quintana walk while adding Frankie Montas, Griffin Canning, and Clay Holmes to replace them. Holmes was the Yankees’ closer last year, but he was demoted in October and hasn’t made a major league start since 2018.
Aaron’s Week 18 NFL Picks
Here we are at Week 18 and there is no more time for me to improve my dreadful picks record for this season. Mathematically, it is still possible to get back to .500, but that will require an incredible heater, and heaters are difficult when a lot of teams aren’t trying to win this week. Not only that, but the motivations for these teams are fluid and the NFL is too stupid to play all these games at the same time like a proper league would. For example, the five seed in the AFC is valuable because that team gets to travel to feeble Houston in the Wild Card Round instead of Baltimore or Buffalo. If Pittsburgh wins on Saturday, it takes the Chargers out of the running for that spot and they could lay down for the suddenly surging Raiders.
I’ll be taking the Steelers since they are home underdogs (even though that didn’t work last week) and the Chargers with the hope that they are motivated to stomp Las Vegas. The Ravens are now favored by an unheard of 20 points vs. Cleveland because they are playing for the AFC North title, so I’ll get out of their way and lay those points. Washington has clinched a Playoff spot, but there is plenty of reason to win at Dallas because a loss might force the Commies play at Philadelphia in the Wild Card Round instead of at Los Angeles against a Rams offense that has been held under 20 points in three straight games. That same motivation is in play for the Packers, who need a win and a Washington loss to avoid Philly. Speaking the Eagles, they have chosen against embarrassing the Giants by having Saquon Barkley rest instead of shattering the single-season rushing record against them. That gives me hope that Big Blue can end the season with a second straight win. Hopefully there will still be someone talented to select when our first round draft pick finally comes around.
Buffalo is also laying points while resting starters, but I trust Mitch Trubisky enough to give it the nod against New England. Denver is a massive favorite over Kansas City in a must-win game for the Broncos. I think they get the job done, but Carson Wentz playing spoiler would be hilarious, so give me the points in that one. In the great Sunday Night Football game, I like the Lions despite their defensive issues. They might be scarier on offense with Jahmyr Gibbs taking on a heavier workload due to David Montgomery’s injury.
Aaron’s Week 17 NFL Picks
Merry Christmas! Roger Goodell gave his haters a special gift this year by figuring out how to play NFL football on a Wednesday while lining the owners’ pockets with Netflix money. That’s great news for those of us who thought we would have to watch the NBA on Christmas. The only thing that can make the deal better is if I can get a couple of picks correct. The Steelers are down bad after two straight double-digit losses to Super Bowl contenders, but now they are home underdogs against the Chiefs, and I love their chances to win outright even though Kansas City has finally started covering spreads. In its only other road dog spot this season, Pittsburgh defeated the Ravens outright. In the late game, Baltimore looks to cover as a road favorite for the third time in a row. I’m happy to lay those points with how Lamar Jackson and the offense have played all year.
For the Boxing Day special, I am doing the square thing and taking Seattle. It has been a long time coming, but I finally have confidence in the Seahawks again, even if it is only because they are playing a Chicago team that has lost nine in a row, with the last three coming by at least two scores.
The Chargers coming east on a short week is a little scary, but they play an east coast style of ball, so I will bank on them bludgeoning New England. The Bengals are finally hitting their stride, but I don’t think they hold off Bo Nix and the bucking Broncos. Arizona is in a tailspin, which means that it is time to Ram It. Sean McVay’s team is coming off ATS wins against two other tailspin teams in the 49ers and Jets.
Sunday will feel strange with just nine games on the slate, but Green Bay at Minnesota should be a great game. The spread being fewer than three points is a little disrespectful to the Vikings, so I will roll with them. In the late afternoon, almost everyone will be watching the Cowboys and Eagles. Let’s go with Dallas and the huge number since Dem Boyz have won four of five and have figured out how to run the ball lately. In prime time, I like how Michael Penix Jr. looked in his first start enough to take Atlanta in Washington’s letdown spot. Laying points with the Lions is the squarest pick of the week for me, but they came through as a big road favorite last week, so it must be done.
Aaron’s Week 16 NFL Picks
I went 9-7 last week and clawed to within 15 games of .500 at 104-119-1 with three weeks to play. That ground is not impossible to make up, but it is going to take foresight, discipline, and some hefty road favorites covering this week. Just look at that Detroit line at Chicago. It’s over a touchdown even though the Lions were shredded on defense last week and nearly allowed a miracle comeback by Caleb Williams on Thanksgiving. So why are we backing Detroit? Because this season, laying the big number with Detroit has paid off. The Lions are 3-1 against the spread when being favored by seven or more, and I expect them to pound the struggling Bears.
I am also taking the Rams, Eagles, Vikings, and Buccaneers as road favorites. They probably won’t all work out, but maybe they will go 3-1 since all four are surging right now while playing inferior competition. I actually like the Giants pick this week since they were able to move the ball a little against Baltimore and Michael Penix Jr. is making his first start for Atlanta. Maybe a rookie mistake or two will help the Giants intercept the ball for the third time this season.
I might not even watch the NFL on Saturday because of the College Football Playoff and a decent college hoops slate, but I expect Kansas City and Pittsburgh to come through for me. The Chiefs have transformed into favorites with the news that Patrick Mahomes is practicing fully this week, so getting two and a half points makes this one the easiest pick on the board. For the Steelers, they failed me as underdogs in Philadelphia, but I’m rolling with them again since they own Lamar Jackson.
Back to Sunday, I am becoming the Carolina whisperer as I smartly jumped off the bandwagon last week when Sir Purr and company became favorites against Dallas. However, now the Cats are back to being dogs and facing a floundering Cardinals team at home. Sign me back up!
Aaron’s Week 15 NFL Picks
Bad news for the haters: None of my fantasy teams made the playoffs, so I have more attention to devote to picks! We are running out of time to make a comeback, but at least I don’t have to worry about how much FAAB money to drop on the waiver wire every week. What I do need to worry about is whether or not the 49ers are back. They burned my strategy of continuing to fade them with their destruction of the Bears, but I think they come back to Earth in a tough divisional game. I am going to Ram It for the first time in a while.
In the next three games, I have big home dogs. The Chiefs never cover, so Cleveland is an easy pick. Cincinnati’s cover in the Simpsons game was a total fluke and Lisa Simpson won’t bail them out this time. Tennessee was terrible against Jacksonville, but I’m sure Will Levis will bounce back now that I’m not relying on him to save my fantasy team. New Orleans is getting way too many points against a Washington team that hasn’t impressed lately.
That brings us to the return of Tommy DeVito to MetLife Stadium. I am actually happy to see him again because Drew Lock was beyond miserable last week, but that doesn’t mean the Giants have a snowball’s chance to beat Baltimore. I think the Ravens win by at least 20 as Derrick Henry attempts a single game rushing record.
The Giants will not be fun to watch, but Dallas at Carolina should be a pretty interesting game considering how bad the record are. The Panthers have been money against the spread as a dog, but I’m not feeling them as a favorite. I think the Cowboys win outright. The Jets are another team I don’t feel great about as a favorite, but I feel better about them than the Jaguars. Plus, Aaron Rodgers is coming off one of his best games a Jet.
Dolphins vs. Texans is close to a toss-up, but I’ll take Houston because of how consistently it runs the ball with Joe Mixon. I feel a lot better about Denver as a home favorite because of how well it has played lately with three straight wins by more than a touchdown. The Lions are still an auto pick because they never lose, and the Steelers get the nod in the underdog spot as usual.
I have to fade the Cardinals, as they have hit the skids with three straight losses. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has won three straight, but the Chargers are a big step up in competition and should handle the Buccaneers at home. I am going to feel like a fool if I lose against the Seahawks again, but the Packers are playing too well, so we’ll try fading Seattle one more time.
Both home teams look good in the Monday night slate. Sam Darnold has played some of the best football of his career lately for Minnesota, and the Falcons have not played well enough lately for me to trust them against my plucky Raiders.
