Pittsburgh (-2 ½) at Tampa Bay – The Steelers opened as 2 ½ point road favorites and now books are scattered between 1 and 3 points. The Steelers were initially bet up to 3 but we’ve seen some buy back at a lot of sites. The squares are playing Pittsburgh at 90%, which means some sharp money has come in on Tampa Bay. Charlie Batch is set to start for the Steelers, which might be why some wiseguys are backing the Bucs. Tampa Bay is a surprising 2-0 after their road win in Carolina. Both defenses have played exceptionally well. The total for the game started at 34 points, but with the public playing the under at 2:1 that has dipped to 33 points at most sites.
Houston (-3) vs. Dallas – The Texans opened as 2 point favorites but early money moved the line to 3. There might be a little buy back here, but it’s negligible. The public is somewhat divided, playing the Texans at 55%. It’s hard to read the Cowboys. They have so much talent that they can beat anyone. But they’ve underperformed in their first two contests, to say the least. The ‘Boys had a ‘players only meeting’ earlier in the week, which is never a good sign for a team. But maybe they can right the ship. As for Houston, they’ve played well in their wins over Indy and Washington, though they have given up a lot of passing yards. But their rush defense has been effective, even without Brian Cushing. Matt Schaub has to be confident after his recent performance, and with what Jay Cutler did to the Cowboys. Bragging rights for the state of Texas are on the line.
Philadelphia (-3) at Jacksonville – The Eagles opened as a field goal favorite and the line has held mostly steady, although a few books have dropped this to 2 ½ points. The public has been hitting the Eagles hard at nearly 90%. Michael Vick is the man in Philly. He’s been electric so far. But the Eagles defense hasn’t been up to par. If the Eagles gave up 32 points to the Lions with their backup quarterback and rookie running back, how many will they give up to David Garrard, Maurice Jones-Drew and the Jaguars? Jacksonville is looking to bounce back from a humbling loss at San Diego last week.
Miami (-1 ½) vs. New York Jets – The Sunday night game is another line that has discrepancy from book to book. The Dolphins opened as a 1 ½ point favorite, but now the line is scattered between 1 and 2 ½, depending upon the sportsbook. The squares are slightly in favor of the home Dolphins, playing them at 60%. Miami is coming off an impressive road victory at Minnesota. The Jets, too, are looking to build off an important win over New England last Sunday. Braylon Edwards’ DWI has been a distraction, and his status for the game is somewhat uncertain. Rex Ryan has said the star receiver will play, but will he start? Not having Darrelle Revis hurts. The game features two great defenses. The total has moved from 35 to 35 ½ points.
Green Bay (-3) at Chicago – This line has been rock steady. For the Monday night game the Pack opened as 3 point road favorites, and while a couple books initially moved to 3 ½ points they’ve come back to 3. The public definitely likes the visiting Packers, playing them at 4:1. But Green Bay is without Ryan Grant, and playing Buffalo last week didn’t really allow for perspective to be had on his absence. The Bills are awful. Playing at Soldier Field will definitely be a challenge. The Bears are a lucky 2-0, considering the way they beat the Lions. Give Chicago credit, though. They went into Dallas and controlled the game. Jay Cutler looks much more comfortable with Mike Martz as his offensive coordinator. The Packer defense has played well so far – this is an intriguing match-up.
Maddux Sports has isolated 5 NFL picks for the Sunday card including our 20 unit NFL game of the Month. We cleaned up last week with a 4-1 mark and will stuff everyone wallets who follows us again this week. Click here to get our NFL picks for Sunday.
