2013 Week 7 NFL Picks

San Francisco 49ers at Tennessee Titans: 2013 Week 7 NFL Pick

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San Francisco 49ers (4-2) at Tennessee Titans (3-3)

I have legitimate concerns about the 49ers’ offense. Their defense is more than fine once again, as opponents move the chains at a 70% rate. Even without Aldon Smith, they have plenty of talent defensively. However, offensively it’s clear that Colin Kaepernick is not the same as he was last season, at least thus far. As a result, the offense is moving the chains at just a 70% rate as well.

Kaepernick is completing just 55.9% of his passes for an average of 7.6 YPA, 8 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions this season. The problem is twofold. One is his lack of receivers. Michael Crabtree and Mario Manningham remain out so Kaepernick has been limited to Anquan Boldin, Vernon Davis, and a bunch of scrubs. Boldin busted out of the gate on fire this season with 13 catches for 208 yards and a touchdown in the opener, but he’s barely matched that in his other 5 games, catching 16 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown. Kaepernick seriously misses Crabtree, his go to receiver down the stretch last year. Crabtree totaled 66 catches for 950 yards and 9 touchdowns in 11 games with Kaepernick last season, over a third of Kaepernick passing production.

The other reason is he hasn’t been able to run the ball nearly as effectively. After rushing for 568 yards and 6 touchdowns on 75 carries in 11 games last year, Kaepernick has rushed for 172 yards and no scores on 31 carries in 6 games this year. This is a growing trend across the league as mobile quarterbacks like Robert Griffin and Cam Newton have also been kept in check on the ground this year as teams have had an off-season to study them and the read option. It’s something Kaepernick will have to adapt to and, while I believe he’s capable of it, it’s something I’ll have to see first.

The Titans, meanwhile, remain a solid team even with Ryan Fitzpatrick under center. Obviously he’s the limiting factor, but they have a great defense that only allows opponents to move the chains at a 71% rate, while their offense moves the chains at a 70% rate. They were the 2nd team over the past 2 seasons to cover in Seattle last week. The 49ers are getting better in terms of rate of moving the chains differential every week, after their rough start, so I’m hesitant to bet against them, but these two teams are very even in that aspect, so I immediately want to take the 4 point home underdog. This should be a very close game and even if the 49ers win, it could easily be by a field goal or less.

Update: Jake Locker is going to surprisingly start despite injury. I don’t know how this changing things. I’m going to continue staying away.

San Francisco 49ers 13 Tennessee Titans 12

Pick against spread: Tennessee +4

Confidence: None

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons: 2013 Week 7 NFL Pick

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-5) at Atlanta Falcons (1-4)

I could go either way on this one. On one hand, Tampa Bay may be 0-5, but DVOA calls them the best 0-5 team ever (at least as far back as they have data, going back to 1991). I don’t have the historical context to determine whether or not that’s true, but it makes sense and they’re definitely better than their record would suggest. Every single team they’ve faced thus far has been 3-3 or better and 3 of the losses came by 3 points or less.

The Falcons are arguably the easiest team they’ve faced thus far. In terms of record, they are definitely the easiest at 1-4 and they’ve already lost to 3 of the teams the Buccaneers have faced. Injuries have decimated this team on both sides of the ball. Defensively, they are missing starting defensive end Kroy Biermann for the season and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon indefinitely. This is killing a defense that was pretty thin and lacked impact players to begin with, after losing Vance Walker and John Abraham this off-season.

Offensively, left tackle Sam Baker has missed time and will probably miss this week as well, forcing them to once again start the terrible tackle duo of Lamar Holmes and Jeremy Trueblood. Steven Jackson remains out, forcing the overmatched Jacquizz Rodgers and Jason Snelling to try to establish some sort of a running game, which they’ve been inconsistent at best at doing, especially behind an offensive line that has just 1 starter in the same spot he was in last season. Now both Julio Jones and Roddy White are out, Jones for the season and White for at least this week as his leg problems have gotten just too limiting to play through. He’ll miss the first game of his 133 game career this week and he was a shadow of himself in the first 5 games of the season, catching 14 passes for 129 yards.

There’s a chance they could win 6 or fewer games and teams who do so rarely cover as favorites of 6 or more. Teams who finish with 6 wins or fewer are 25-69 ATS as favorites of 6 or more since 2002. There are two issues with this trend. One, it’s very rare (it only happened 7 times all last season, going 2-5 ATS). Two, it’s even rarer that a situation will come up in which you can confidently use the trend. The Eagles were 8.5 point favorites in Cleveland last year week 1 (they didn’t cover), but there was at the time there was no way to know that the Eagles would finish 6-10 or worse. The Falcons could be in this situation this week, but there’s no guarantee.

On the other hand, the Falcons are a proud veteran team with a top-10 quarterback and they’ve had a week off. I actually don’t think they’ll win 6 or fewer games. I have them finishing at 7-9 right now, though that’s obviously subject to change. As bad as their defense is, allowing opponents to move the chains at an 80% rate, but they still move the chains at a 79% rate offensively.

The Falcons have also faced a tough schedule, as all 5 of their opponents are currently .500 or better. All 4 of their losses have come by 6 points or less and even though their only win was by just 7, they led the Rams 21-0 early before garbage time. If they can beat the Rams by a touchdown, they can beat the inferior Buccaneers by a touchdown as well, even after injuries. They’re also historically very good at home and off of a loss in the Matt Ryan/Mike Smith era. They are 25-17 ATS (34-9 SU) at home in games in which Matt Ryan starts and they are 18-6 ATS off of a loss in games in which Matt Ryan starts. I’m going with the Falcons to prove they’re not quite as bad as people think against an inferior opponent, but I have no confidence.

Atlanta Falcons 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17

Pick against spread: Atlanta -7

Confidence: None

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Cincinnati Bengals at Detroit Lions: 2013 Week 7 NFL Pick

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Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) at Detroit Lions (4-2)

These two teams are about as evenly matched as two teams can be. They are 9th (Lions) and 10th (Bengals) in my Power Rankings. They have the same record (4-2). The Lions have outscored opponents by a few more points on the season (+22 vs. +10), but the Bengals have played a slightly tougher schedule, as the Lions’ opponents are a combined 3 games under .500, while the Bengals’ opponents are a combined 2 games above .500. The Bengals are slightly better in DVOA, about 5%, as they are 9th and the Lions are 12th. Both teams have had injuries to significant players who have since returned, Leon Hall, Michael Johnson, Andrew Whitworth and Reggie Nelson for the Bengals and Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush for the Lions.

In terms or rate of moving the chains, they have very, very similar differentials, with the Bengals about 3/100ths of a percent better than the Lions. The Lions are doing it more with offense, moving the chains at a 77% rate, while their opponents move the chains at a 74% rate. The Bengals, meanwhile, have an offense that moves the chains at a 74% rate, but their defense holds opponents to a 71% rate. And to top it off, this line essentially suggests these two teams are exactly even with the Lions favored by 2.5 points at home.

The Bengals do have a trend on their side. Non-divisional road dogs are 95-61 ATS since 1989 before being non-divisional home favorites. With only a game against the Jets next on the schedule, the Bengals could be more focused than the Lions, who play the Cowboys next week. However, I’d actually go with the Lions if I had to take a side. I don’t like the way the Bengals have played on the road this season, losing in Chicago, Cleveland, and going to overtime in Buffalo. You couldn’t pay me to put money on either side though (well you probably could, but still).

Detroit Lions 23 Cincinnati Bengals 20

Pick against spread: Detroit -2.5

Confidence: None

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Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts: Week 7 NFL Pick

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Denver Broncos (6-0) at Indianapolis Colts (4-2)

The Broncos have failed to cover in their last 2 instances, barely winning in Dallas and sleepwalking to a 16 point win over the Jaguars at home. However, the odds makers continue boosting the spread on them as if they are some kind of perfect, invulnerable opponent. I never bought that they could continue this level of play all season and we’ve shown them display some cracks, particularly defensively, in recent weeks. This week, they are 7 point favorites on the road over the Colts and the public is still all over them. I think the Colts are too good of a team to be 7 point home underdogs to anyone.

The Colts are moving the ball at an 81% rate offensively thanks to a breakout season from Andrew Luck, in part because of new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s system and an improved offensive line. Defensively, they are allowing opponents to move the ball at a 74% rate. That’s slightly worse than league average, but they are still improved defensively over last season, thanks to the addition of new players through free agency and the return of defensive mind Chuck Pagano from cancer.

That +7% differential is 5th in the NFL. The Broncos are still 1st at +11%, moving the chains at an 86% rate, as opposed to 75% for their opponents. However, I don’t think they deserve to be favored by this much in Indianapolis. The Colts flopped last week in San Diego, but I don’t put much weight into that. It was an obvious trap game situation between a win as home underdogs over the Seahawks and this huge game. They also were in a bad spot as an Eastern Time Zone team on the West Coast at a 8 PM ET start. They should be able to bounce back and at least keep this within a touchdown, if not hand the Broncos their first loss of the season.

Denver Broncos 34 Indianapolis Colts 31

Pick against spread: Indianapolis +7

Confidence: Medium

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New England Patriots at New York Jets: Week 7 NFL Pick

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New England Patriots (5-1) at New York Jets (3-3)

Injuries are a huge part of this game write up as the Patriots have one of the most thorough and dynamic injury situations in the NFL. We already know Vince Wilfork is out for the season with a torn Achilles. The Patriots have done a good job continuing to play strong defense even without him, though their run defense is noticeably worse. The Patriots are allowing opponent to move the chains on 68% of opportunities this season. They haven’t faced a particularly tough schedule, but they held Drew Brees to less than 50% completion last week for just the 2nd time since the beginning of the 2007 season.

Unfortunately, that win did come at a price, as Jerod Mayo tore his pectoral late and will miss the remainder of the season. Mayo was ProFootballFocus’ #2 ranked 4-3 outside linebacker after Von Miller last season, but he ranks dead last at his position through 6 games this season. He’s been awful against the run and even though he probably would have improved his run play going forward, I think he can be replaced in the run game by 2nd round rookie Jamie Collins. However, his ability in coverage will definitely be missed. Even this season, he was grading out above average in coverage. Neither Dont’a Hightower nor Brandon Spikes, as good as they are against the run, is good in coverage, but they will be relied on more in that fashion going forward as Collins is expected to be a pure two-down linebacker.

Fortunately, they are getting stellar play from Devin McCourty at safety this season so their lack of a strong coverage linebacker can be masked a bit. McCourty is ProFootballFocus’ #1 ranked safety. The Patriots are also expected to be without Aqib Talib in this one, though there is a chance he could suit up after returning to a limited practice on Friday. That’s obviously a huge loss as he’s been ProFootballFocus’ 5th ranked cornerback this season, but if there were a game for him to miss, it’s this one. The Jets are without Santonio Holmes again and they are generally devoid of play makers downfield so the absence of Talib will be minimized in this one. The Jets are moving the chains at a 66% rate on the season thanks to the inconsistencies of rookie quarterback Geno Smith and his receiving corps so they should still have a strong defensive game.

Offensively, Danny Amendola is not expected to play with a concussion, which will leave them with the inconsistent trio of Kenbrell Thompkins, Aaron Dobson, and Julian Edelman at wide receiver. However, the Patriots are expected to get Rob Gronkowski back this week. That could definitely be huge. Gronkowski might not be 100% in his first game back, but his presence on the field alone is going to help them tremendously and he should also be very productive in the passing game, especially around the goal line. Even if he doesn’t play a full set of snaps, he’ll definitely be used on all red zone and goal line snaps.

The Patriots are 30th in red zone scoring percentage this season, scoring a touchdown on just 40.9% red zone opportunities, only ahead of Jacksonville and Pittsburgh. This is opposed to last year, when they scored a touchdown on 67.5% of red zone opportunities, 3rd in the NFL. The absence of the 6-6 Gronkowski, who has scored 36 times in his last 35 full games, undoubtedly has a ton to do with that.

Over the past 2 seasons, Rob Gronkowski has played in 10 full games. In those 10 games, Tom Brady completed 65.1% of his passes for an average of 7.6 YPA, 21 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. He’s missed 14 games, including playoffs. In those 14 games, Brady has completed 58.1% of his passes for an average of 7.0 YPA, 25 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Gronk returning won’t solve all of his problems, but it’ll have a significant impact, particularly against a tough Jets defense, that is allowing opponents to move the chains at a 68% rate. They’ll have to make the most of their goal line opportunities to win this one.

Before the announcement of Gronk’s return, I was leaning towards the Jets to at least keep this one within a field goal, in a good spot as home underdogs off of a loss as home underdogs (64-43 ATS since 2002), especially since the Patriots could be overconfident after last week’s win. However, I don’t really want to go against the Patriots in a game in which they could be much improved offensively. On top of that, Tom Brady is 17-6 ATS in his career after a game in which he won despite throwing 16 or more incompletions, including 1-1 ATS this season. I’m not confident in them at all, but they’re the side I’m going with.

New England Patriots 20 New York Jets 16

Pick against spread: New England -3.5

Confidence: None

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Chicago Bears at Washington Redskins: 2013 Week 7 NFL Pick

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Chicago Bears (4-2) at Washington Redskins (1-4)

The Bears seem to be pretty overrated by the public. They are 4-2, but their defense has been nowhere near as good as it traditionally was in the Lovie Smith era. Last year, they were a dominant stop unit that also took the ball away. This year, if they can’t take the ball away from you, they generally can’t stop you from scoring, forcing 19 punts in 6 games this season, which puts them dead last in the NFL in punts forced per game.

If you watched them play the 0-6 Giants at home, this was obvious as the Bears only won by 6 despite winning the turnover battle by 3, including a pick six that ended up being the deciding score. That’s a very bad thing because they won’t always be able to dominate the turnover battle. It’s something that’s very inconsistent on a week to week basis. Teams who have a -4 turnover margin in a given game average a turnover margin of +0.0 the following week. The same is true for teams that have a turnover margin of +4 in a given game. They’ll force more punts if they stop taking away the ball as often, but this is still a stop unit that is allowing opponents to move the chains at a 76% rate.

This is for several reasons. One is age as they have four key 30+ players on their defense in Julius Peppers, Lance Briggs, Tim Jennings, and Charles Tillman, none of whom is playing as well as they did in 2012. Injuries are also a problem. Henry Melton is the 5th of their 5 defensive studs from 2012 and he’s out for the season with a torn ACL. His backup Nate Collins is also out for the season and Stephen Paea, the other starting defensive tackle, has missed time with injury. He’ll be back this week, but the Bears will still start converted defensive end Corey Wootton at next to him. The 270 pounder is unsurprisingly getting blown off the line of scrimmage in the run game.

The third issue is probably that they miss departed defensive minded Head Coach Lovie Smith, as well as defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli. New defensive coordinator Mel Tucker does not nearly have the same track record as those two. New Head Coach Marc Trestman actually has done a great job with the offense, which, also thanks to off-season additions, is much improved this season. Still, they are moving the ball at just a 75% rate, which is worse than the rate the defense is allowing.

Despite having a worse record than the Redskins, the Redskins actually have a better differential in terms of rate of moving the chains, albeit just 3/10ths of a percent higher. In spite of this, the Bears are actually favored on the road and the public is all over them. I don’t think that’s accurate. The Redskins should move the ball with ease on the Bears and, if we assume net zero turnovers, which I think is generally a smart assumption, I think the Redskins have a much better chance of winning here at home. The only reason this isn’t a bigger play is the Redskins are playing the Broncos next week. Teams are 31-64 ATS since 2010 before being double digit underdogs. They could be distracted. They should still be the right side though, especially in a must win at 1-4.

Washington Redskins 27 Chicago Bears 20 Upset Pick +100

Pick against spread: Washington +1

Confidence: Low

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Cleveland Browns at Green Bay Packers: 2013 Week 7 NFL Pick

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Cleveland Browns (3-3) at Green Bay Packers (3-2)

The Packers are in a great situational trend spot this week, as non-divisional home favorites here against Cleveland before being divisional road favorites in Minnesota next week. Teams are 47-22 ATS in that spot since 2008. They have no distractions on the schedule and can be completely focused for an obviously inferior opponent. However, this line might be a little bit too here at -10.

The Packers are getting destroyed with injuries. Casey Hayward will make his season debut this week, which is a positive and Morgan Burnett seems to be fine in a few starts back from injury, but that’s about where the positives stop. Middle linebacker Brad Jones is probably out this week. Clay Matthews is out indefinitely and Nick Perry, who was having a great game picking up Matthews’ slack last week, is now also out indefinitely, which leaves them with a converted defensive lineman, a 6th round pick rookie, and an undrafted rookie at rush linebacker.

Offensively, tackles Bryan Bulaga and Derek Sherrod remain out with injuries. Bulaga is out for the season and Sherrod probably won’t play at all this season either. Eddie Lacy is back, but talented slot receiver Randall Cobb was put on short-term injured reserve and James Jones suffered an injury of his own. He’ll probably play, but he could easily be limited. This isn’t a new thing for the Packers. In 2012, they were dead last in adjusted games lost and in 2010, when they won the Super Bowl, they were 30th.

The Browns, meanwhile, are obviously incompetent offensively with Brandon Weeden, but they have a very strong defense, allowing opponents to move the chains at a 72%, as opposed to 71% for their offense. They generally don’t get blown out, with 19 losses by more than a touchdown since the start of the 2010 season. That sounds like a lot, but consider they’ve lost 37 games total since the start of the 2010 season. More than half of their losses have come by a touchdown or less and only 12 have come by more than 10 points.

Of course, they played the Lions close last week and still lost by 14 because of a ridiculous pick six by Brandon Weeden. I wouldn’t be shocked if something like that happened again. The Packers are always especially dominant at home, going 26-3, outscoring opponents by 13.7 points per game and covering 21 out of 29 times. Aaron Rodgers is incredible at home and we could see the Packers blow out the Browns in a very Aaron Rodgers led effort. I wish the line was lower, but the Packers should be the right side. They’re also my survivor pick this week.

Green Bay Packers 27 Cleveland Browns 10 Survivor Pick

Pick against spread: Green Bay -10

Confidence: Medium

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Minnesota Vikings at New York Giants: 2013 Week 7 NFL Pick

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Minnesota Vikings (1-4) at New York Giants (0-6)

The Giants have yet to win a game this season, but they played their best game of the season last week in Chicago. They moved the ball easily against, admittedly, a Chicago defense that is a shell of its former self thanks to injuries, age, and departed coaches. They still lost the turnover battle by 3, including a pick six that turned out to be the decisive play on the final score. However, turnovers shouldn’t be as big of a problem going forward.

The Giants are a league worst -16 in turnovers, an average of -2.7 per game. That has them on a pace of -43 on the season, which would shatter the modern day record of -30. Even if they are all-time bad (which I don’t think they will be), they could still see their turnover margin cut in half going forward. This type of thing is inconsistent on a week-to-week basis, as teams who have a margin of -4 in a given game average a margin of +0.0 the following game. The same is true for teams who have a margin of +4 in a previous game.

Their poor turnover margin is the result of two things, an unsustainably low fumble recovery percentage and an uncharacteristically high interception rate from Eli Manning. They are recovering just 26.7% of fumbles on the season. That won’t continue going forward. Eli, meanwhile, is throwing a pick on 6.5% of his attempts, a stark contrast from his career rate of 3.4%. I don’t expect that to continue. They are also -30 in points off of returns, thanks to two punt return touchdowns allowed and 3 defensive touchdowns allowed. That probably won’t be an issue going forward.

The Giants still aren’t moving the ball great on the season (66%), while their opponents are moving it at an 80% rate. However, they get by far their easiest opponent of the season this week in the Vikings and they get them off of 11 days rest, after playing the Bears on Thursday Night the previous week. The Vikings are 1-4 on the season and they’ve been every bit that bad.

They have benched both Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel for Josh Freeman, who will make his debut for the team this week, roughly 2 weeks after being signed. That’s not a good sign, especially considering he was completing less than 50% of his passes in Tampa Bay before being cut. The Vikings are also going to be without Harrison Smith in this game, which won’t help matters at all defensively, where they are already allowing opponents to move the chains on a 79% rate.

Of course, the line does suggest that the Giants will get their first win, as they are favorites of 3.5 points, but I think they have a very good chance of covering the spread as well. The Vikings are in a tough spot as non-divisional road underdogs before being divisional home underdogs, facing the Packers next week. Teams are 49-74 ATS in that spot since 2002. I wish this line was -2.5 or -3, but I still like the Giants to win by about a touchdown.

New York Giants 27 Minnesota Vikings 20

Pick against spread: NY Giants -3.5

Confidence: Low

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Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs: 2013 Week 7 NFL Pick

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Houston Texans (2-4) at Kansas City Chiefs (6-0)

If Matt Schaub were starting in this one, Houston would have been my Pick of the Week. Seriously. I think they’re significantly better than their record right now. They are just getting killed in turnovers and points off of turnovers, two things that tend to be inconsistent on a week to week basis. Since 1989, 35 teams have lost despite winning the first down battle by 10 and the yardage battle by 200. 2 of those teams are the 2013 Houston Texans and the Texans also did so a 3rd time against Tennessee. One of those times was last week against the Rams.

The Texans have turned the ball over 15 times this year. 6 of those were returned for touchdown, an absurd 40% rate that would not have continued going forward. Between those 6 returns and a punt return touchdown they allowed, they are -6 in return touchdowns, -42 in points off of returns. Even if they were to continue their AFC worst -12 turnover margin, an average of -2 per game, they would not continue to get killed by return as much.

However, it was unlikely they’d continue that turnover margin. If they were to continue an average of -2 per game, they’d finish the season at -32, which would be a modern day record. I don’t think this team is all-time bad in turnovers, especially a year after they were +12 in turnover margin. And that highlights another point: that turnover margin is very random and inconsistent on a year to year and week to week basis. On average, teams that have a -4 turnover margin in a given game have an average turnover margin of +0.0 the following week and the same is true for teams that have a +4 turnover margin in a given game.

That turnover margin was largely the result of an unsustainably low rate of recovering fumbles and an uncharacteristically high interception rate by Matt Schaub. Thus far, the Texans are recovering just 30.8% of fumbles, which won’t continue. Matt Schaub, meanwhile, was throwing an interception on 3.9% of his attempts, as opposed to 2.6%, which is his career rate. When he is under center going forward, that probably won’t continue.

The Texans are actually moving the chains pretty well, a 76% rate, as opposed to 72% for their opponents. That’s a differential that’s 9th best in the NFL, while Kansas City sits at 4th. However, Houston has faced a much tougher schedule than Kansas City thus far as all 6 of their opponents this season are currently .500 or better. Kansas City’s opponents, meanwhile, are 11-25 combined. Houston with Matt Schaub is arguably the 2nd best team they’ve faced thus far this season behind Dallas, who only lost by 1 in Kansas City.

The Texans are also in a good spot off of back-to-back losses by 21+ or more. Teams are 37-20 ATS in this spot since 2002. Teams tend to be undervalued, overlooked, and embarrassed in that situation. The Texans have yet to cover a spread thus far this season, but that’s because they’ve been overrated thus far. That’s obviously no longer the case. Everyone covers a spread eventually, at least 3 or 4 times per year, even really bad teams, which is not what I think Houston is.

The Chiefs, meanwhile, have been helped by an unsustainably high +12 turnover margin, largely as the result of a 64.7% fumble recovery rate. If Schaub were under center, I legitimately thought they had a good chance to pull the upset and, at the very least, cover. However, I don’t really feel like putting a ton of confidence in an undrafted rookie who has never attempted an NFL pass on the road against arguably the best defense in the NFL, which is allowing a 62% rate of moving the chains, albeit against a weak schedule.

We could see the rest of the team, particularly their strong defense, step up and shut down a Kansas City offense that is moving the chains at a mere 69% rate, despite a weak schedule. That could definitely keep this came close and the fact that the line is so low makes me think that it’s a trap line, especially with the public all over Kansas City. If this line increases to a touchdown or more, I’ll increase this to medium confidence, but don’t put anything on this line yet. There’s a chance it increases in the wake of the Keenum announcement, but it’s been a few hours and nothing has really changed, so we’ll see.

Update: The line is still now at 7. I’m going to raise this to medium confidence.

Kansas City Chiefs 16 Houston Texans 13

Pick against spread: Houston +7

Confidence: Medium

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Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles: Week 7 NFL Pick

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Dallas Cowboys (3-3) at Philadelphia Eagles (3-3)

I’ve maintained the whole time that the Cowboys are the best team in the NFC East, especially with the rest of the division flopping in spectacular fashion this season. The Eagles are the best of the rest this season, going 3-3 with wins over both the Giants and Redskins. However, their record is misleading as the combined record of the 3 teams they beat is 1-15 (Tampa Bay 0-5, NY Giants 0-6, Washington 1-4). That being said, this is probably the worst possible time for the Cowboys to be facing the Eagles in Philadelphia for reasons I’ll get into.

Because of that, I totally understand why the Eagles are favored. Nick Foles has been excellent in a game and a half in relief of an injured Michael Vick to the point where Chip Kelly essentially admitted that Vick won’t necessary get his job back when he’s healthy. I think that’s the right move. It was my suspicion all along that a washed up Vick was being made to look better than he is by Kelly’s offense and the way Foles has played in the last game and a half would seem to support that.

Foles obviously isn’t the runner Vick is, but you don’t need to be to run Chip Kelly’s offense. Kelly has done a great job catering to Foles’ strengths. He started out completing 16 of 25 for 197 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Giants, which I guess isn’t incredibly impressive because it’s the Giants. However, the Buccaneers have a very solid defense and Foles torched them for 296 yards and 3 touchdowns on 22 of 31 passing. The Eagles are already moving the chains at a 79% rate on the season thanks to play makers like LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson, but if Foles continues to be an upgrade over Vick, we could see that number go into the 80% range.

The Eagles haven’t faced a terrible tough schedule remember, but the Cowboys don’t present much of a challenge defensively either. They have talent, but they’re allowing opponents to move the chains at a 79% rate, as injuries have taken a huge toll on them. They were expected to start Anthony Spencer, Jay Ratliff, Jason Hatcher, and DeMarcus Ware on their defensive line, but Spencer is out for the season with knee surgery, Ratliff was waived/injured rather than being activated off of the PUP, and DeMarcus Ware will miss anywhere from a week to a month with an injury of his own.

That could be the killer considering how important he is to this defense. Defensive Line Coach Rod Marinelli has done a good job of coaching up backup caliber talents this season, but the downgrade from DeMarcus Ware to Kyle Wilbur might be just too much. Between that and youngsters Morris Claiborne and Bruce Carter failing to adapt to Monte Kiffin’s scheme, the Cowboys have had a hard time preventing opponents from scoring without takeaways, forcing just 22 punts in 6 games. The Eagles should basically move the ball at will against them.

They might have to because the Eagles’ defense sucks even more. It’s one of the reasons why I think and have always thought the Cowboys will eventually win this division. They are allowing opponents to move the chains at an 80% rate, a number that was much higher before they ran into the Giants’ and Buccaneers’ incompetent offenses. Even Mike Glennon lit up their secondary last week.

The Cowboys offense is playing very well this season, as anyone who saw them play the Broncos will tell you, as they are moving the chains at a 79% rate. Their offensive line is night and day better than last season, thanks to a huge bounce back season from Doug Free and the additions of Travis Frederick and Brian Waters. This is giving Tony Romo plenty of time to hit his talented receiving corps, despite the fact that Miles Austin really has yet to contribute this season.

However, injuries hurt them here as well as DeMarco Murray is out for at least a week with an injury (surprise). He was a big part of the reason why the Cowboys had one of the better rushing attacks in the NFL thus far this season. Joseph Randle will be his replacement and he struggled against the Redskins in relief of Murray, rushing for 17 yards on 11 carries, though he did score a touchdown. He could be better with a week of practice as the starter and against a weak Philadelphia defense and strong run blocking will help him, but it’s an obvious downgrade.

There is also a trend in the Eagles’ favor, as teams are 110-81 ATS since 1989 as favorites against an opponent who beat them twice the previous season. Normally I ignore the revenge game factor, with a few exceptions, because there is no trend supporting it and because I generally subscribe to the theory that if a team beat you once, it makes it more likely they’ll do it again, not less. That being said, there is a trend supporting this and it makes sense. If you’re favored, that generally means you are better or equal to an opponent and the fact that they beat you previously shouldn’t matter to that. The Cowboys covered in this spot last week against the Redskins. Of course, I’m, not exactly sure the Eagles are better or equal to the Cowboys.

Between the emergence of Foles and the Cowboys’ injuries, I’m less certain than I’ve been all season that the Cowboys are the team to beat in the NFC East and I’m not certain at all they’ll be able to win in Philadelphia without their best defensive player and with a situational trend working against them. I also hate backing a publicly backed underdog, especially a publicly backed short underdog. The public feels the Cowboys will win. The odds makers feel the Eagles will win. And I hate siding with the public on an issue like that. However, I’m taking the Cowboys in an “upset” on principle. I’m not confident at all though. This game will be a shootout that could go either way.

Dallas Cowboys 34 Philadelphia Eagles 33 Upset Pick +120

Pick against spread: Dallas +2.5

Confidence: None

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