Strangely enough, there are no byes this week, so there’s a plethora of player prop options this week.
Best of luck to your entries over at PrizePicks for Week 8 of the NFL season.
Check out all of our predictions using our PrizePicks cheat sheet >>
Strangely enough, there are no byes this week, so there’s a plethora of player prop options this week.
Best of luck to your entries over at PrizePicks for Week 8 of the NFL season.
Check out all of our predictions using our PrizePicks cheat sheet >>
Strangely enough, there are no byes this week, so there’s a plethora of player prop options this week.
Best of luck to your entries over at PrizePicks for Week 8 of the NFL season.
Check out all of our predictions using our PrizePicks cheat sheet >>
This season: 23-25
After leading the NFL in rushing yards last season, Josh Jacobs has taken a massive step back in production. He is under this mark in five of seven games, averaging 50 yards per game. Now, Jacobs and the Raiders head to Motor City as 8.0-point underdogs to take on a fantastic rush defense. The Lions have yet to allow a running back to eclipse this mark. They have allowed the second-fewest rushing yards per game and are 10th in rush defense by EPA's metrics.
Javonte Williams did not get off to the best start to his season following a massive layoff due to a knee injury last year. He sat out in Week 5 due to a quad problem, but since then, he has looked great. He's coming off a season-high 31 snaps, 15 carries and 82 rushing yards against the Packers and should be able to build on that usage this week, taking on the Chiefs.
Kansas City is 30th at defending the run, according to EPA, and Williams had 52 yards on 10 carries against them a couple of weeks ago. PFF rates this as the sixth-most advantageous O-line vs. D-line matchup in terms of run blocking this week as well. This has been a committee for the vast majority of the season, but if last week’s usage is an indication of anything, it's all Williams going forward.
Christian Kirk is the leading wide-out for Jaxsonville and leads the team with 55 targets and 474 receiving yards. He has recorded 54+ receiving yards in five of his seven games, averaging 68 yards per game. He and the Jaguars’ passing attack take on Pittsburgh, who has allowed the second-most yards to wide receivers. Jacksonville is still without Zay Jones, shrinking the target share to Kirk, Calvin Ridley and Evan Engram. The Jaguars lean on the passing game heavily and are sixth in pass rate over expectation. Despite their 5-2 record, the Jags refuse to put teams away even when they're leading. As -1.5 road favorites, another pass-heavy gameplan will be in the cards for Jacksonville.
He’s only over this mark in three-of-six games this year, but this still feels pretty like a short line for CeeDee Lamb. He has exceeded this mark in 17 of his last 25 games dating back to last season and is regarded as one of the best pass-catchers in the league. The Rams just allowed George Pickens (107 yards) and Dionte Johnson (79 yards) to get over this last week with relative ease. Operating out of the slot like Lamb, Ja’Marr Chase went nuclear against them in Week 3, finishing with a 12/141 line. Lamb definitely can go off like that, too. We saw it last week vs. the Chargers when he finished with a 7/117 line and vs. the Jets in Week 2 with a 13/143 line.
It has been an injury-plagued season for the Chargers running back Austin Ekeler. He has played just three games this season due to an ankle sprain he sustained in Week 1 and appeared to pick up another ankle injury last week. It doesn't look very serious, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Joshua Kelley continue to get snaps in the backfield. It was a 60/40 split last week, and that could even out more this week, considering the Chargers are -8.5 home favorites.
In their three games played together this year, Kelley has handled 24 of the 68 (35%) combined carries between the two and has gone over this mark in two of the three. The lone game he did not was when he received just one carry in a tightly contested game against Dallas. I think he could see up to double-digit carries on “Sunday Night Football,” with the Chargers playing ahead of the Bears and running the clock out toward the end of the game.
“Scary” Terry McLaurin has a long history of tormenting the Eagles. He has exceeded this number in seven of nine games against them, averaging 87 yards per game. That includes a game three weeks back where he had 86 yards on eight catches. Teams have difficulty establishing the run when they face Philly, but passing is a different story. The Eagles have allowed at least one wide-out to go over this total each week and have allowed the ninth-most receiving yards to receivers this season.
Despite Dalvin Cook’s cries for more carries, it’s the Breece Hall show in the New York backfield. He’s coming off a season-high 43 snaps and, over the last two games, has out-carried Cook 34 to nine. Hall struggled to get much going against the Eagles in Week 6, but every tailback does. Coming out of the bye, the Jets take on one of the worst run defenses in the New York Giants. They are 29th in EPA and rushing yards allowed to RBs per game. At least one halfback has exceeded this mark in six of their seven games.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Saturday:
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Tyler Gentile is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Tyler, follow him @808Paperboi.