Outkick Bets: A Pair of NFL Winners
Do you feel the desperation watching these games like I do? Teams like Baltimore holding on by a thread, the Patriots having to regroup quickly, the Saints going through an NFL-record number of starters and Dolphins streaking and the AFC being airtight are some of my favorite storylines to watch right now and that's just the beginning of it. I cannot wait to see what's the latest chapter with two more weeks left.
There's disasters and then there's the 2021 Jacksonville Jaguars. I promise you that I will always be honest and that means telling you I was on the Jags bandwagon last week against the Texans. I really thought when the Jags removed the cancer from the building, one win against a bad Houston team wasn't impossible. Apparently it was and I threw good money after a bad team. This week, it's back to reality for me and the Patriots are reeling. It's more than a bounce-back spot for New England, they are fired up after losing two in a row and ready to do some damage to a bad, bad team. It may take a little while for us to get there, but there is literally nothing that tells me an overmatched team and coaching staff should be anywhere near the Pats in Foxboro. Mac Jones needs some confidence regained after throwing four picks in the past two weeks and he'll get it against a team in the bottom third of the league defensively.
This game looks special. We could see the first 0-0 tie in the NFL since 1943. Sam Darnold is back in as starting quarterback and there's a reason he's back in. There was also a reason (above injury) he wasn't in before. New Orleans isn't in much better of a position. They got good news when several players come off Reserve/Covid-19 list. While most of those were defensive players (good ones too), an important note is that Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian are also back off the list so theoretically a starting quarterback with experience will man the helm. Both teams' quarterbacks have struggled mightily and probably will even more so this week because both of these teams' defenses are really, really good. Carolina is second in total defense, pass defense and the Saints hold the fifth best rush defense in the league and fourth in scoring defense. Carolina has scored just 51 points in their past four games and the Saints have scored 65 in their past five games and one of those games they scored 30 against the Jets. I just don't know who is going to see endzone.