Redskins at Patriots and Beating the Book
By Chris West
Dec 28, 2014; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson (11) celebrates scoring a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Redskins will have a tough task today when they travel to Foxboro to face the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. The Patriots are undefeated in 2015 and playing well in all facets of the game. The Redskins on the other hand have had an up and down season but have been competitive in almost every game.
Both teams have had plenty of rest with the Redskins coming off of their bye week and the Patriots having nine days of rest after beating the Dolphins on a Thursday night game. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is usually very well prepared but even more so when he has extra time to prepare. Redskins head coach Jay Gruden needs to be up to the task and take advantage of his two weeks to prepare for the Patriots.
The Patriots other large advantage is at quarterback. Kirk Cousins needs to put together a complete game and keep pace with the Patriots’ Tom Brady to give the Redskins a chance to beat New England. He should have one of his top weapons returning in Desean Jackson.
Jackson could help open up both the Redskins passing attack and running game by stretching the defense even if he doesn’t have a big game. Nose tackle Terrance Knighton will not play for the Redskins and cornerbacks Chris Culliver, DeAngelo Hall and Bashaud Breeland are all coming off of injuries and may or may not play. If they are not in the game, expect Brady to take advantage of their absence quickly.
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The Patriots are favored by 13.5 points currently. In their 4 home games in 2015, two were decided by 7 points and the other two were 34 and 29 point victories over the Jaguars and Dolphins. Washington must be at their best to keep the score within two touchdowns and I think they will. Take the Redskins +13.5.
Redskins +13.5 over the Patriots
Minnesota’s NFL club has had an excellent season since losing in San Francisco in week one. Their only loss since then was by three points in Denver to the undefeated Broncos. Their schedule hasn’t been very tough with their victories coming versus the Bears, Chargers, Chiefs and Lions twice. They have been impressive however and won two in a row on the road with a late comeback last Sunday against the Bears.
The St. Louis Rams are 4-3 and have seen a resurgence offensively with rookie running back Todd Gurley gaining 575 yards over his first five games in the NFL. They have won their past two games at home over the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers but also played well in a loss to the Green Bay Packers after beating the Arizona Cardinals. They began the season by beating the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks but followed that up with losses to the Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Minnesota is only 1.5 point favorites at home versus the Rams. I expect them to put up a good defensive game versus St. Louis. They have their own sensational running back in Adrian Peterson and he will want to have his own statement game versus the rookie, Gurley. Take Minnesota-1.5 in my Best Best of the Week.
Best Bet of the Week
Minnesota-1.5 over the Rams
With the uproar over the photos released in the Greg Hardy case, the Dallas Cowboys may not be focused on the game at home versus the Philadelphia Eagles. They also are still without their starting quarterback, Tony Romo and his replacements, Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassell have not performed very well. Although they played well defensively last week versus the Seahawks, their offense managed only four field goals in a 13-12 loss.
The Philadelphia Eagles on the other hand are coming off of two weeks rest and may have been able to strengthen some weaknesses over their bye week. Their defense has been very good in 2015 but their offense has been inconsistent under head coach Chip Kelly. Kelly was hired because of his offensive success at Oregon and may have used the bye week to focus on his new quarterback, Sam Bradford.
The Eagles will take advantage of their time to prepare for the Cowboys and cover the three points easily. Take Philadelphia -3 over Dallas.
Eagles -3 over the Cowboys
The Seahawks failing to cover the four points dropped my Best Bet of the Week record to 5-4. My Top Bets also fell to 15-17. I did win on a six team teaser which was capped by the Panthers victory on Monday Night to make it a winning week for me. My overall record is now 44-22-2 which is winning 2 out of 3 but I need to focus better to give readers better best bets.
Other teams I like this week to varying degrees are the Packers, Steelers, Saints, Broncos, Chargers and the Jets but I would wait until halftime on the Jets to see if Ryan Fitzpatrick can handle the snap with his left hand injury. I had my first losing week of college football with an 8-11 record to drop my overall record to 53-38-2. My Best Bet won when Texas Tech covered the 8.5 points to push my Best Bet record to 4-1.
Follow me on twitter @westcoast_skins for my college picks and updates on the NFL picks. Good Luck this week!