With the elongated season, it’s going to feel like we are still in the early stages for quite some time. That’s not exactly a problem — it gives teams a little more leeway in an attempt to recover from a slow start — but it is something we need to monitor over the coming weeks. We are used to the ebbs-and-flows of a season, but will the same quarter-mark still hold weight after Week 4 is done?
We also need to keep in mind that, like last year, seven teams from each conference make the playoffs now. This gives an even deeper reason as to why we shouldn’t bury anyone just yet.
While we may know this — and act carefully to not make any snap decisions — others probably won’t. Teams that are already 1-2 or 0-3 — with the exception of the Chiefs — are likely to be written off just three weeks into the season, and that should probably lead to some nice buying opportunities. Even if we can’t jump back in this week.
Below are predictions for each game against the spread. Spreads have been taken from various websites and are subject to change. The spread in parenthesis denotes the selected team. Spread is listed as advertised number and odds at either DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, Caesar’s Sportsbook, or SugarHouse Sportsbook. All efforts were made to provide picks at -110 or better, with some stretching to a -125 if no reasonable advertised spread was found.
*Confidence Picks – 2021 Season: 8-9 (Last Week: 2-3)
(2020 Season: 53-42-3) (2019 Season: 57-43-3) (2018 Season: 63-48-4) (2017 Season: 53-48-4) (2016 Season: 53-67-3) (2015 Season: 69-45-2) (2014 Season: 61-46-2)
(7-Year Total: 409-339-21)
All Picks Against Spread – 2021 Season: 28-19-1 (Last Week: 8-8)
(2020 Season: 132-128-7) (2019 Season: 142-118-7) (2018 Season: 137-118-12) (2017 Season: 137-119-11) (2016 Season: 123-136-8) (2015 Season: 143-117-7) (2014 Season: 149-114-4)
(7-Year Total: 963-850-56)
Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 4 kicks off with quite a matchup. The last two players selected first overall in their respective NFL Drafts will go head-to-head on national television. It’s Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars traveling to play against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
And the league cannot be happy about it.
Prior to his injury last year, Burrow was putting up impressive rookie numbers — personally, I have argued against the efficiency in them, but the counting statistics were outstanding. This year, Lawrence has taken the torch from Burrow and… been a complete dud.
No, he’s not a bust nor is the future already over for Lawrence. But he hasn’t even been an average quarterback, despite the volume and opportunity to match what Burrow did.
The good news is, while the league may not be happy, we have a reason to be thrilled. Thursday’s night’s matchup offers tremendous value.
One week ago, we looked at