Bleeding Green Nation
Are you going to gamble on the game?
Steve Maltepes, known as “The Philly Godfather,” will impart his gambling wisdom on the Eagles and where the smart money is going on various pro football games each weekend this season. Maltepes is one of the nation’s hottest sports betting experts who appears weekly on national radio and has his own website, www.thephillygodfather.com [thephillygodfather.com].
The Line: Eagles minus-5.5/Total: 44.5
What is the line telling you:
It appears the Eagles have a big problem in the locker room. A.J. Brown and Jalen Hurts are beefing again, and this is definitely not the right time for this to happen, with the Eagles going up against the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday. The Steelers, surprisingly, have been one of the better teams in the NFL this year for a team that had a projected Vegas win total opened at 7.5. They have already won 10 games and have the second-best record in the AFC. This is a very dangerous Pittsburgh team. The Eagles have the best defense in the NFL, and the Steelers are not that far behind. Offensively, the Eagles average a half-yard per play this season, and since Russell Wilson has been the consistent starter for Pittsburgh, the Steelers are averaging 28 points per game.
Bottom line:
The game, surprisingly, has the Eagles as 5.5-point favorites, which in my opinion is too many points. The Steelers plus-5.5 is the right side. This is probably the healthiest the Steelers have been all year. I think the team that has the ball last will probably win this game. It will probably be a field goal game. I would not be shocked if Pittsburgh won the game outright. The Eagles are a very, very good football team. Winning 10 games in a row is not easy in the NFL. We like Pittsburgh here plus the 5.5 points.
Jalen Hurts anytime touchdown, minus-115
Najee Harris anytime touchdown, plus-125
Jalen Hurts over 194.5 passing yards, minus-114
Saquon Barkley under 99.9 rushing yards
Najee Harris over 54.5 rushing yards, minus-110
Buffalo Bills (10-3) at Detroit Lions (12-1), 4:25 p.m. Sunday
The Line: Lions minus-2.5/Total: 54.5
What is the line telling you:
This will probably be the most exciting game of the weekend. The total shot up from 53.5 to 54.5, so Vegas is expecting a lot of points will be scored in this game.
Bottom line:
I personally like Buffalo to bounce back from its loss last week in Los Angeles. I don’t think you will need the 2.5 points at all. I think Buffalo wins the game outright. Detroit is really banged up offensively and defensively. The Bills have a plus-15 health score better. Detroit is limping into one. Both teams have the top two offenses in the NFL. Their yards-per-play metric is almost identical.
(Betting lines are subject to change.)
