Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
It was a no-brainer for the Cincinnati Bengals to pick LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft after Burrow had a record-setting Heisman Trophy-winning season last year. Who was the second-best quarterback prospect in the draft? Some scouts preferred Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and others Oregon’s Justin Herbert.
With the No. 5 overall pick, the Miami Dolphins took Tagovailoa even though he had some injury red flags over Herbert, who was considered the more prototypical NFL signal-caller but also raw. Herbert went with the next pick to the Los Angeles Chargers. On Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET, Tua and the Fins host Herbert and the Bolts in what could be the beginning of a terrific rivalry. Tua and Herbert never faced off in college. Miami is a 3-point favorite and has won 20 of its past 24 at home against west coast teams.
The San Francisco 49ers are missing almost an unprecedented number of players due to injury so they will not be repeating as NFC champions or likely even make the playoffs. The Niners partially earned the NFC’s top seed last year with a wild 48-46 victory in New Orleans in Week 14 of the regular season. That proved a crucial tiebreaker for San Francisco, which is back in the Big Easy on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET. The Saints are -9.5 but 2-7 ATS in their past nine at home.
Speaking of Burrow, he’s battling Herbert for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. The Bengals come out of their bye week and Burrow gets his first in-person look at the terrific Pittsburgh Steelers with a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. Unbeaten Pittsburgh is -7, but that line is a bit in flux with Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger in the COVID-19 protocol (he didn’t test positive). Cincinnati has lost its past 10 in the series by an average of 8.5 points per game.
It’s an important game from the NFC West when the Los Angeles Rams come out of their bye week and host the division-leading Seattle Seahawks at 4:25 p.m. ET. It’s their first meeting of the season after splitting in 2019. The Rams are -1.5 and 6-2 ATS in their past eight at home in the series.
The Sunday night matchup features the Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots in a matchup of former Heisman Trophy-winning QBs and ex-NFL MVPs in Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and New England’s Cam Newton. The Ravens are -7.5, and the Pats are 0-6 ATS in their past six night games.
Week 10 concludes Monday night with the Minnesota Vikings visiting the Chicago Bears in the first meeting this year between NFC North rivals. Minnesota made the playoffs in 2019 and the Chicago didn’t, yet the Bears swept. The Vikings are -3 but 2-10 ATS in their past 12 in Chicago.
