There aren’t too many things I love more than this sport.
But there was a brief moment on Sunday evening where I contemplated walking away from it. No, this isn’t an Andrew Luck memoir, this was me, on my sofa, watching Miami and Washington.
While that alone would have been enough for me to lose faith, it was due to a particular passage of play, more specifically.
Ryan Fitzpatrick had just thrown a touchdown pass with six seconds remaining. I had no doubt that, given momentum, Miami were an extra point away from an eventual overtime win.
See, I’m addicted to logic. The world needs to make sense. For once, I thought that was beyond me briefly. Until Brian Flores went for two and threw a flanker screen.
Phew. Now for Week 7.
Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts (-1.5): -110
Sunday 20th October, 1PM
With this selection, I’m saying absolutely none of the following:
The Colts are a better team than the Texans; the Texans win over the Chiefs was a fluke; home advantage is massive for Indianapolis; the Colts are better without Andrew Luck.
But what I am saying is that sometimes lines, at face value, make no sense. This draws you in and asks you to dig deeper. Usually, you can acknowledge someone’s had an off-day in the trading departments.
And then there’s lines like this.
The Colts are at home. They’re coming off a bye week. They’ve got an offensive line that can stand upto the freakish Texans pressure that they generate. They put a lot into the game in Missouri. Jacoby doesn’t really turn the ball over.
Stay with me, here.
BET | Indianapolis Colts (-1.5) @ -110 with CanPlay!
Los Angeles Rams (-3) @ Atlanta Falcons: -108
Sunday 20th October, 1PM
I’m not saying the Rams are any great shakes. In fact, I’m fairly pessimistic about them going forward under McVay’s tenure.
But these Falcons are the worst best team in the league. What I mean is, they have a roster to succeed to a reasonable level. Postseason? Definitely. Super Bowl? On the periphery.
Instead, they’re chasing 17-point deficits to Arizona in the desert. This shouldn’t be happening, but it will continue to do so until such a time as Dan Quinn walks away from this role.
It wasn’t so long ago where Quinn was the most sought-after coach in the game, as he pieced together Seattle’s infamous ‘Legion of Boom’. Now, he can barely piece together a third-down stop.
The Rams, fired up after last week’s loss, will eat these Falcons alive.
Los Angeles Chargers (+2.5) @ Tennessee Titans: -112
Sunday 20th October, 4:25PM
Mike Vrabel is 100% going to stick with Marcus Mariota for this game and it might well cost him his job going forward.
It’s not that Vrabel has been particularly bad, it’s just that he makes little to no impression on any of these units. Punting on 4th-and-2 inside your opponents’ half is a woeful example to set, yet he was happy to do so.
The Chargers are no great shakes, but have been heavily rocked by injuries. Their luck will be in this time though, as they face a franchise who aren’t so much in limbo, rather on a fast track to re-build city.