Locks
NFL (2 Units) 2 Team 6 Point Teaser; Baltimore Ravens -.5, Cincinnati Bengals -1 (-120):
Baltimore Ravens -.5 @ New York Jets: 12 PM CT on CBS
It’s the Joe Flacco revenge game! I’m just kidding. Lamar Jackson is going to go crazy against a defense that ranked last in nearly every statistical category last time we saw them. I expect Jackson to get back to his MVP ways in a Week 1 beat down against whatever is left of Flacco and the Jets.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals -1: 12 PM CT on CBS
I’m taking this one on a teaser and ATS. AFC North matchups are known to be close, physical games, but this has to be the year the Steelers completely fall off. Mitch Trubisky is not the answer for the Steelers and after a heart-breaking Super Bowl loss, what better team to take out frustration on than the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Bonus Bets (0.5 Units): Baltimore Ravens -6.5 (-110), Cincinnati Bengals -7 (-110)
NFL (1 Unit) 2 Team 6 Point Teaser; Indianapolis Colts -1, San Francisco 49ers -.5 (-120):
Indianapolis Colts -1 @ Houston Texans: 12 PM CT on CBS
The Texans might be my least favorite team in the league, from its ownership all the way down to its mediocre roster. On the other side, the Colts might have the best defense in football led by Shaquille Leonard. Davis Mills covered a lot of back door spreads late last year, so that’s why I’m going with the tease here instead of the spread, but Matt Ryan and the Colts will roll in his Indy debut.
San Francisco 49ers -.5 @ Chicago Bears: 12 PM CT on Fox
Alright, I would have taken this one ATS, but I just don’t know about Trey Lance. However, I am very high on the rest of this 49ers team, enough so that I’m going to put them in a tease against a Chicago Bears team that should be a little better this year with Justin Fields having a full offseason under his belt. But a little better isn’t going to be good enough in Week 1 against Deebo Samuel and the Niners so hit them here on the tease.
NFL (1.5 Units) Cleveland Browns @ Carolina Panthers PK (Even): 12 PM CT on CBS
On my podcast, I mentioned that the Panthers are probably my favorite pick of the week and I stand by that here. Hopefully, I don’t regret that later today. Baker Mayfield was the most underappreciated athlete in Cleveland’s history. Think about it. Before Mayfield. the city of Cleveland literally had beer fridges locked up until they could win a single game. Now all of a sudden .500 is disappointing to them? Well, get used to it Cleveland because you’ll be lucky to even get there this year. Mayfield has never had a weapon like Christian McCaffrey, and I can’t wait to see it play out in a revenge game against Jacoby Brissett and a mediocre Browns team.
NFL (0.5 Unit) Dallas Cowboys +2.5 Vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-110): 7:20 PM CT on NBC
This one is for the Tiny Nick brand. I will be the most amped I’ve been in years for a season opener to watch this game, and I see it being a long, long day for Tom Brady. Say what you want about Trevon Diggs, Anthony Brown, and this Dallas secondary but Micah Parsons and Anthony Barr have to be excited to go up against this weak Tampa Bay offensive line. After a weird offseason of numerous distracting storylines for Tom Brady, his absence through training camp and keeping him off the field for all of preseason will be tough to overcome for Brady, and I’m willing to line up some bets against that. Brady is now 45 years old, and this Dallas team is being underrated right now due to some question marks on the offensive line and receiving spots, so I’m rolling with the Cowboys.
NFL (0.75 Unit) 2 Team 6 Point Teaser; Cowboys/Bucs Under 56.5, 49ers/Bears Under 46.5 (-120):
Cowboys/Bucs Under 56.5: 7:20 PM CT on NBC
I’ve already spoken about this game a little bit, but I really do see the defenses having a better start to their seasons than the offenses here. 8 touchdowns is just too many, so I’m rolling with the teased under.
49ers/Bears Under 46.5: 12 PM CT on Fox
This pick comes down to this being a bad weather game with rain and wind in the Chicago forecast. That has made for poor field conditions at Soldier Field, almost forcing the cancellation of a preseason game just weeks ago. I’m not convinced the 49ers are going to trust Lance to completely open up the playbook, and I love their defense, so I’m going to roll with the teased under here.
Degenerates
No degenerates today.
Tiny Nick is 850-716 ATS (+75.3 Units) on his Locks since joining Zone Coverage.
Every day he will offer his Locks and Degenerate picks. Locks are the games he’s confident in. Degenerates are entertaining but riskier picks.