Yahoo fantasy football analyst Scott Pianowski reveals his weekly NFL betting ticket in his Throwing Darts column. Check out where he’s putting his jelly beans for Week 5. All lines are courtesy of our friends at BetMGM.
So far, so good with the 2022 ATS picks, but it’s a long season. Keep the head down, keep grinding.
Cowboys +5.5 at Rams
Forget home field, this will feel and sound like a Dallas home game. And until I see the Rams offense fix itself, I can’t trust Los Angeles, certainly not as a favorite. The nasty Niners defense exposed the Rams last week, and Dallas’s defense isn’t that far behind in the metrics.
An upset is in play here, but we’ll gladly take the points.
Bill Parcells would tell us to lean towards the more-desperate team, and that’s Cleveland. Of course, desperation won’t offset a terrible roster, but the Browns have a competitive group. Nick Chubb is probably the best back in the NFL, quietly averaging better than five yards a carry his entire career. And he’s got a fair amount of help on this unit. The Chargers are forced to play an early body-clock game, which never helps.
Lions +3.5 at Patriots
It hurt to abandon the Lions last week, but I couldn’t trust them as a favorite. Now they’re back in their junkyard dog role catching points, and it’s against a Patriots team with a backup quarterback and limited explosion on offense. Detroit’s defense can probably make any opponent look good, but I have to grab the points here.
Cardinals +5.5 vs. Eagles
My handicapping theory is tied to taking points when in doubt, being fine with mostly underdogs, being willing to back teams that the public wants no part of. I expect the squares to surely line up with Philadelphia and it makes sense — the Eagles are the most complete team in the NFC. And no, I don’t trust the Cardinals coaching staff. But Arizona gets paid, too, and maybe Kyler Murray can make up enough positive plays to keep the game competitive.
Bengals +3 vs. Ravens
Lamar Jackson is a whirlwind, and he’ll need to be, given the cracks in Baltimore’s infrastructure. Now that Cincinnati has cleaned up the line play a bit, this is a much more complete and balanced team. Take the points.
Last Week: 4-1
Season: 15-5
Pianow’s historical Throwing Darts record (only two losing seasons in 13 years) can be found here.