Back to back 4-2 weeks for The Sports Blueprint and we now sit at 36-23 on the season. A lot of important matchups this week make for an interesting card. I'm feeling confident we can go above .500 for the 3rd straight week.
The Lions come into Saturday against the Bucs with their third head coach of the season. Wide Receiver coach Robert Prince will lead the team after interim head coach Darrell Bevell is out on the COVID-19 list. The Lions are a disaster this year losing 6 of their last 8 games. I think the Buccaneers finally use this game to gain some confidence going into the playoffs. Mike Evans has a big day and the defense forces Stafford into a few mistakes. Tom Brady and the Bucs win big. Tampa Bay -9.5
The Dolphins go into Vegas on Sunday needing to win out to make the playoffs this year. The Raiders on the other hand, are a team that is hard to understand. They are 7-7 on the year and have wins over the Chiefs and Browns, but have lost to the Falcons big and should of lost to the Jets. The one fact we do know about the Raiders is they can score a lot of points. They've scored over 27 points in each of the last 3 weeks and the over has hit in every game but 1 at Allegiant Stadium. Ill take the over here and I think this is the game the Dolphins lose as they look ahead to a matchup against the Bills next week. Over 47.5. Raiders +2.5.
If Gardner Minshew is the best QB on the field the game is UNWATCHABLE. But, as I've said all year, the Bears quarterbacks stink! Jacksonville +7.5
The Cowboys and Eagles game in week 16 was meant to decide the division, instead the game this year means absolutely nothing. Nonetheless, it will still be very fun to watch for all of us who love to make fun of these two teams. The Cowboys defense has played better in recent weeks, leading the team to back to back wins. The problem this week is that they will be facing another running quarterback in Jalen Hurts. Both times this year that the Cowboys played running quarterbacks, Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray, the defense got torched. Allowing each to be unstoppable on 3rd down and losing both games by over 17 points. I believe Hurts has another 100 yard day and the Eagles run all over the Dallas defense. Eagles -1.5
Lock of the Week
The Seahawks make my lock of the week pick for the second straight week, and again I'm betting that they don't cover. The last time the Rams and Seahawks played each other, Jared Goff had one of his best games of the season. I think Goff does the same this time against an overrated Seattle defense that may be one of the worst units in the league. On the other side of the field, Russell Wilson had one of his worst game of the season last week against the Washington Football Team and their scary pass rush. The bad news for Wilson is that the only defense better than Washington's this season at making the opposing quarterback uncomfortable has been the Rams defense. I think the Rams will come in angry after an embarrassing loss the Jets and win big against Seattle. Rams +1
