I need to apologize for my last column. One and three is an unacceptable performance. You, my readers, deserve better. If there were one silver lining is that on the year we are still four for four. Nobody has lost money yet. For those who started reading last week and are down $200, don’t give up! You’re only down when you’re dead. Saying you are going to stop sports betting is like selling your bitcoin. Sure buying in at its peak looked great, but when it crashed you thought about selling off and cutting your losses. However, you remembered the immense potential it still possessed. You are in it for the long haul as all of us are. There’s also your daily cryptocurrency tip from your neighborhood blockchain/crypto connoisseur. With our heads back in the game I truly believe we have winners in this group of picks. 

Los Angeles Rams plus one and a half – The Rams are coming off of a big loss to the surprising Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Seahawks are coming off of a big win over the Arizona Cardinals (I can’t believe they didn’t cover, it still hurts). The Rams need a statement win this year and playing a Seahawks team that still has not beat anybody is the perfect opportunity for them. Despite the loss they still put up 40 points last week and Jared Goff seems to have found his groove with his abundance of weapons on the roster. The biggest mismatch I see in this game is the Rams defensive line versus the Seahawks offensive line. Aaron Donald is still a savage and his supporting cast is looking dominant. Rams should pull off the victory and are looking like a promising cover.

Baltimore Ravens minus three and a half – This game relies heavily on Lamar Jackson bouncing back from a brutal 40-25 loss to the Browns. It wasn’t even that he had a statistically horrible game (three touchdowns) it was more the mistakes that killed their chances (two interceptions). This will be Lamar Jackson’s first game as a starter against the Pittsburgh Steelers and it will be a true test of his character. The Steelers are bad but are pretending to think they are competitive this year and to their credit they have kept it close with good teams while beating bad teams. This should be the breakout game for the Ravens as they assert dominance in their own division. 

Jacksonville Jaguars plus three and a half – The saving grace from last week, Gardner Minshew channeled his inner Uncle Rico and pulled out a gutsy win versus the Broncos. This week they travel to Carolina to face the Panthers and their new starting quarterback Kyle Allen. Jacksonville finally got a good output from Leonard Fournette and I expect his pissed off style of running to continue into this matchup. The key to this game will be keeping Christian McCaffrey under wraps (which is impossible but semi under wraps would be ideal). Jacksonville’s defense needs to make a stand this week because Gardner Minshew is leading this offense to the promised land (aka covering).

Green Bay Packers plus three and a half – I truly think that the Dallas Cowboys are a good team. I believe that they have all the pieces of a championship contender. The only thing they do not have is Aaron Rodgers. The Cowboys have not been challenged by an upper level quarterback all year long. If there is a quarterback in this league that can perform under the bright lights better than Aaron Rodgers who is three and one at AT&T Stadium and seven and two lifetime against the Cowboys. Aaron Rodgers knows how to win and will be prime for a great game.