Schein 9 NFL Week 8:

Week 7 was wild. Obviously. 9-6 ATS, which was great. I hit the SGP on Make it Rain on Monday for the Ravens/Bucs. Even better. 

Picking the Jets, Niners, Texans, Falcons to win? Starting Tank Dell in DFS? Not so hot.

 

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Here are our midweek musings, predictions, takes, and plays, Schein 9 style

1. La-Marvelous 

You can make the case, and I will, that Monday Night’s domination was the single best game of Lamar Jackson’s career. He’s brilliant and breathtaking, one of the most sensational players in the NFL in the last 40 years. Jackson threw for 5 touchdowns, 281 yards on a pristine 17 for 291 passing and added 52 rushing yards. It was poetry and domination. Jackson is the first QB since the great Steve Young to lead all quarterbacks in passing rating and rushing yards through Week 7. Lamar is on pace to become the first 4000-yard passer and 1000-yard rusher in NFL history. No surprise that the oddsmakers moved Jackson to the current betting favorite for MVP. As a voter, I agree. I always keep a current list. 

My MVP ranking through 7 weeks:
Lamar Jackson
Derrick Henry
Josh Allen
Jared Goff
Jayden Daniels

Frankly, it’s pretty tight. Jackson has been iconic and historic. I do think there’s a good case to be made for Henry as the most valuable Raven. Henry is the only player since 1970 to lead/co-lead the NFL in rush attempts, rush yards, yards/rush and rush TD through Week 7, while being on pace for an NFL-record 2,120 rush yards this season. While this puts Henry on top of my list and the Vegas board for offensive player of the year, it also underscores the sheer importance of Henry to Jackson and the Baltimore attack.

Jackson and Henry have been unstoppable, and the Ravens are at the top of the charts in every offensive category that matters. The Ravens are the only team in NFL history with 250 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in a seven-game span. I love the Chiefs. They are the champs. But there are real signs on the eyeball test that this version of the Ravens can finally climb Mt. Mahomes in the playoffs. And I have the Ravens as the best team in the league as we speak. 

2. Sheer perfection

Patrick Mahomes has thrown more picks than touchdowns, and the Chiefs are 6-0 and the only undefeated team in the NFL. Wow. It shows how amazing Andy Reid is, how dominant the Chiefs’ defense is, and how tough and clutch Mahomes is. He stayed calm and poised in San Francisco against the Niners’ talented defense. Mahomes didn’t throw a touchdown, threw a couple of picks, and it didn’t matter. He trucked a cat en route to a rushing touchdown and juked a defender on a gorgeous long gain. These guys are back-to-back champs for a reason. And this might be the most impressive stretch of wins for the Chiefs in their dynasty. They have so many injuries, and it truly doesn’t matter. KC is a 10-point favorite against the Raiders. Normally, that’s the kind of rivalry game you want to take the dog. With the inept Raiders offense going against the KC defense and no chance the Chiefs overlook Vegas on the heels of Christmas last year, KC should steamroll. Heck, the Chiefs defense might outscore the Raiders offense. I’m only exaggerating by a little bit. 

Mahomes is 31-5 against the AFC West, 18-1 on the road against the division, and 5-0 at Allegiant Stadium, including the Super Bowl last year. Just saying…

On Wednesday morning, KC traded for DeAndre Hopkins, a perfect pickup for Mahomes with the aforementioned injuries. Feels like a move for the annual Chiefs parade.

3. Buffalo soldiers

The Bills spanked the Titans on Sunday, and I thought it was rather significant. Amari Cooper made his Buffalo debut, and it was an impactful one, catching 4 passes for 66 yards and a touchdown from Josh Allen. He just got to town five days before the game. This is why we raved about the pickup. It was needed for a weak receiver room. Wait until Allen and Cooper develop true chemistry. It was inspiring. Buffalo covered the massive spread, which was noteworthy. We predicted it, but truthfully, I was mildly concerned after Tennessee upgraded to backup Mason Rudolph and told Will Levis to hold the mayo and take a seat on the bench. Buffalo crunched the Titans. It was that they won, how they covered, and the vision for Cooper. It’s all applicable as the team flies to the great Northwest for a date with the Seahawks, fresh off of pasting the Falcons. I will always respect Seattle’s home field. But Vegas has this one right with the Bills favored by 3. I want to see Buffalo continue to handle business and inspire. I will lay the points and expect a Bills win by a touchdown.

4. Bear it

Jayden Daniels’ rib injury puts the highly anticipated matchup between the top two picks in the draft in question. But Caleb Williams and the Bears are my pick, regardless of Daniels’ availability. Yes, Daniels is off to a sizzling start. But Williams is piping hot, 9 passing touchdowns in the last 4 after 0 touchdowns against 2 picks in his first two games. There’s balance on offense with D’Andre Swift running with authority, averaging 135 yards per scrimmage during the Bears’ three-game winning streak. The big three at receivers are all finally healthy at the same town and resembling the vision of a diverse and dynamic group. Cole Kmet is on fire. The Bears are tops in the NFL in points per game and takeaways since last year. I hope Daniels is healthy. I’ve had this game circled since schedule release day and love that it was moved into the coveted 4:25 ET slot on CBS. It’s a battle of the future stars of the NFL. Whether or not Daniels plays, I like Williams and the Bears in the present.

5. Anything for Love

I am pretty sure I haven’t picked the Packers with the points this year. That’s not great. In theory, it’s the perfect time to right the wrong with the Packers favored by 4.5 against the lowly Jaguars. Here’s a wild betting stat… The Packers are 0-6 in their last six games ATS against AFC teams. Yes, the Titans were favored when Malik Willis started for the Packers. And no, the Packers didn’t cover while beating the Texans last week, which was good for my picks and bet slip. Love has played YOLO ball this year, becoming the player since slingin’ Sammy Baugh in 1943 with 15+ passing touchdowns and eight or more picks in the fist five games of the season.

This will be the first time this year I’ll take the Packers with the points, laying the 4.5. Like a Jordan Love deep ball… YOLO.

6. Rise up

The Falcons were flat as a pancake in a loss at home to Seattle. Yet, with the awful injuries to Chris Godwin (dislocated ankle) and Mike Evans (hamstring), Atlanta felt like a Week 7 winner. And anyone ripping Todd Bowles for keeping Godwin in the game late with a chance to win is simply looking for attention. Bowles is playing to win. The result was awful and, unfortunately, part of the game. But now the reality sets in. No Evans. No Godwin. No chance for Tampa, excuse for the Falcons, even in Atlanta. It’s a golden opportunity for the Falcons to take advantage of the injuries and a true stranglehold on the division. Love Falcons -2.5

7. P-A-N-I-C

A far cry from Aaron Rodgers’ R-E-L-A-X mantra years ago. And color me stunned. At 15-6 Jets late in the second quarter, I thought the Jets were back, and I was right. Then Rodgers threw one of the worst picks of his career, flipped momentum, Russell Wilson went from pop gun to confident gunslinger, and a 15-6 lead turned into a 37-15 loss! Garrett Wilson’s bold strategy of not trying to use his hands to catch the ball and having it bounce off of his body into Beanie Bishop for his second pick was right out of the Same Old Jets playbook. The only thing missing was Mark Sanchez and Brandon Moore’s backside.

Of course, the aforementioned buttfumble took place against the Patriots on Thanksgiving night. A desperate and spiraling Jets team visits an awful version of the Patriots on Sunday, fresh off of losing to Jacksonville and Jerod Mayo calling his defense soft.

The Jets should win by double digits. Right?

8. Fright Night

What did we do to deserve getting Daniel Jones once again in primetime?!? Jones is 1-14 in his career after dark with 24 turnovers. ESPN might have to put a V-chip warning on this game to protect the kids from seeing something so gory. Brian Daboll rightly benched Jones for a spark, turning to Drew Lock late in the nightmarish loss to the Eagles. Daboll then wrongly gave Jones his job back. It’s going to be a bloodbath on the Monday before Halloween for Jones against TJ Watt and the Steelers.

9. Carolina blues

Dave Canales says he is sticking with Andy Dalton, and the redhead gives Carolina the best chance to win. Is this a headline ripped from The Onion? Is this a bit? Never get it twisted; the Panthers are the worst. Carolina is the worst team in the NFL with the worst owner in the league. They go to Denver this week, and a Bo Nix-led team is favored by 7.5. Denver made me look great last week. Denver covering the 2.5 was my best bet. This defense is great. Sean Payton is special. Carolina is a car accident; next stop on the road to loserville being Denver, Colorado. 

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