Our “Love-in” paid off — Jordan Love and the Packers at plus money parlayed with the over vs. the Chargers — as did our secondary bet, Vikings +7.5 and under 45.5 in Denver.
Our player prop? Josh Dobbs went over his rushing attempts (5.5), carrying eight times for 21 yards.
Let’s keep it rolling.
With the Taylor Heinecke experiment all but done, the Atlanta Falcons move back to Desmond Ridder as they host the New Orleans Saints.
Can Ridder become more useful with a break/benching in his rearview mirror?
See how the primary play developed, along with a bonus play and a player prop below.
THE HEADLINER
Saints at Falcons, 1 p.m. ET
The line: Falcons -1.5, total 42.5 (FanDuel)
Ridder likely has found some potential answers to the specifics that have tortured him — and Falcons fans — most of this season.
The question is whether he can apply those lessons and execute the plan successfully. In this scenario, he’ll have help from a New Orleans defense that is showing wear and tear.
The Falcons’ defense is seventh in yards allowed per game (308.8) but only 18th in points allowed (21.7). That’s in large part due to Ridder’s early-season mistakes that allowed opponents a short field.
Ridder was 4-4 as the starter before being evaluated for a concussion in Week 8 against Tennessee. Taylor Heinicke replaced him to start the second half and started the next two games, both Atlanta losses.
In Atlanta’s most recent game, Ridder came in for an injured Heinecke and completed 4 of 6 passes for 39 yards against Arizona.
“We have a lot of confidence in Des,” Atlanta coach Arthur Smith said. “Over the last couple weeks, he has handled it really well. I think the time (as a backup) was very beneficial for him.
“Des did a lot of good things (during his time as a reserve). In Arizona, you could see how prepared he was. We had confidence in Des then and we have confidence in him moving forward.”
Smith said he plans to keep Ridder as the starter for the rest of the season.
The Saints are similarly confusing, having seen improvement from the offense but attrition from the defensive numbers.
Saints QB Derek Carr, who was in concussion protocol but officially cleared it Thursday, is a solid if not stellar veteran. Coach Dennis Allen said he’d “like to see more consistency in the passing game.”
This is a battle for first place in the NFC South, so the stakes are still pretty high.
The Falcons continue to be among the unluckiest teams via the Action Network’s luck rankings, and we’ll give into the temptation to believe — a little bit — in Ridder this week.
The play: Same-game parlay teasing Falcons +3.5, with the over teased to 36.5 (at +100 odds, per FanDuel).
THEY SAID IT
“You get a different perspective of not only yourself but the offense as a whole. There are a lot of things where I’d like to have gone back and done better. I could’ve protected the ball better, but there are a lot of (instances) where I could’ve done things to not be in those situations, whether it’s footwork or your reads or your progressions.”
–Falcons QB Desmond Ridder said of his time on the sideline.
BONUS COMBO
The Buffalo Bills were done, right? Dead and buried and likely to struggle against the Jets.
Didn’t happen. Is Buffalo back?
Bills at Eagles, 4:25 p.m. ET
The line: Eagles -3, total 48.5 (FanDuel).
This is not an indictment of former offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey — rather, a vote for the new-look Bills offense.
No longer so reliant on Stefon Diggs, Buffalo QB Josh Allen is set to continue spreading the wealth.
The Eagles’ low-scoring victory in Kansas City was more a product of a struggling Chiefs passing game — and the bad weather.
We like the Bills to exploit a sagging Eagles secondary and keep this within a field goal — if not an outright win for a desperate team.
The play: Two-leg same-game parlay teasing Bills +7.5, with over teased to 41.5 (+105, per BetMGM).
PROP CORNER
Let’s stay with the Bills’ offense for this one.
Conventional wisdom could point to Diggs’ reduction in usage as something that’s here to stay. We aren’t conventional.
The Allen-Diggs combination should be able to hit a few chunk plays on Sunday, resulting in a nice receiving number for Diggs (and his backers).
Prop play: Bills WR Stefon Diggs 80 or more receiving yards (+110 at DraftKings).
–Field Level Media