Record: 36-30 | Bonus Record: 3-6
Week Sixteen brought the worst weekend of football for me so far this season, with the Lions’ heartbreaking loss and going 1-4 in best bets. I guess I’ll just blame the lack of success on being unfocused on Christmas Weekend and the terrible weather in which most games were played last weekend. Hopefully New Years brings far better results:
Cam Akers O69.5 Rushing Yards
After last week’s performance against the most miserable team in the NFL, it appears that Akers’ New Years resolution is to have a resurgence. After spending the majority of the season looking like the least effective rusher in the NFL, Sean McVay finally trusts Akers in a featured role. Of course, Akers has only been featured for one game, but comforting is that he exploded in what most would have projected a difficult matchup. Therefore, there’s no reason McVay should decide to move away from one of his few successful offensive pieces since Kupp went down. Expect Akers to command a heavy workload again in a far more friendly matchup with the Chargers’ rush defense this week.
Justin Jefferson O97.5 Receiving Yards
The best receiver in the NFL delivered my only win last week and is reliable as anyone to hit his receiving prop. The Vikings still have a high motivation for allotting Jefferson his usual snap share because the 49ers are nipping at their heels for the two seed in the NFC. Meanwhile, Jefferson sits only 200 yards behind Calvin Johnson for the receiving record and would love to keep pace in making history by going for over 100 yards again this week. Furthermore, Jefferson burned the Packers already, only needing the first half of week one. The Packers have been better in coverage since their dismal first performance, but that shouldn’t stop Jefferson from having another huge game to add to his historic season.
Jaguars @ Texans O43 Total Points
One of these teams is fighting for their playoff lives while the other should be quietly tanking for the first overall pick. However, the latter hasn’t done anything of the sort in the last three weeks, causing issues for two top five teams and picking up a victory against a mediocre one. Although offseason vacation for the Texans gets closer every week, the players seem committed to finishing strong, especially this week with the chance to play spoiler against a division rival. This is why I expect the Texans’ offense to stay with the red-hot Trevor Lawrence who can dismantle a league worst Texans’ defense with ease. With the game being played in the absence of awful weather that affected so many games last week, the game should not be thwarted from hitting the over.
Panthers +4 @ Bucs
The Bucs are heavily favored for a team with such an inept offense throughout the entirety of the season. The Bucs will probably sell out to stop the Panthers’ run game in the hope of forcing turnovers from the newly inserted Sam Darnold, but Darnold has remained disciplined so far and again won’t be asked for much against a sputtering Bucs’ offense. If the Panthers can stay true to the identity they’ve established since firing Matt Rhule, they will not only keep this game competitive but also have a great chance to win and upset the Bucs for the division.
Davante Adams U58.5 Receiving Yards
With his good buddy Derek Carr benched for the remainder of the season, Adams has to be frustrated and missing his connection with Aaron Rodgers back in Green Bay. That frustration could reach a boiling point in this contest against the 49ers’ outstanding defense and even result in Adams heading to the bench early.
M-FANS 