The Niners can enjoy a weekend off while the rest of the NFL season keeps rolling.
After a 5-0 start to the season, it seemed like the San Francisco 49ers were in prime position to cruise into their BYE week as one of the best teams in the NFL. Instead, the Niners lost their next three games and seemed clearly in need of an upgrade at the trade deadline. They landed edge rusher Chase Young before the deadline and they will hope he can help stabilize a struggling defense. However, Kyle Shanahan will also need to get Brock Purdy out of the worst slump in his young career. Nevertheless, the rest of the NFL action marches on.
Due to our sponsorship with Tallysight, we have to pick every game. But, as usual, we’ll narrow it down to six for you at the bottom. Odds for all the games are available on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Marc’s picks record last year:
Regular season: 154-116-2
Postseason: 12-1
This season:
Week 1: 7-9
Week 2: 9-7
Week 3: 10-6
Week 4: 13-3
Week 5: 10-4
Week 6: 9-6
Week 7: 7-6
Week 8: 9-7
Overall: 74-48
Here are Marc’s picks for this week’s slate of games:
Steelers over Titans: Two teams without a viable quarterback at the moment, I’ll lean towards a Steelers roster that has more talent around Kenny Pickett.
Kansas City over Miami: I didn’t feel great about this pick. Kansas City’s offense has been strangely hot and cold so far this season as Patrick Mahomes adjusts to life without at least two elite weapons. That said, at only -125 at home, those are as favorable odds as a Mahomes-led team ever gets.
Vikings over Falcons: The Vikings are giving a rookie his first career start at quarterback, while the Falcons are benching their struggling young signal caller. Taylor Heinicke and the Falcons are probably a safer pick, but I’m not confident enough in them to pass on +180 for an otherwise solid Minnesota squad.
Bucs over Texans: Probably my toughest pick of the week. DeMeco Ryans has the Texans playing above their weight, but they still lack the pieces to be a consistent winner. The Bucs have plenty of flaws, but still have plenty of players who helped them win a Super Bowl not long ago. As I often do when I’m unsure, I rolled with the underdog.
Ravens over Seahawks: This would have been a much tougher call if the Ravens had to travel to Seattle, but Lamar Jackson is quietly having an MVP-caliber season and I don’t think the Seahawks will overcome the talent deficit on the road.
Saints over Bears: Every week I just marvel at how easily the Saints should coast into the playoffs.
Cardinals over Browns: Deshaun Watson is practicing, so you know the rules.
Commanders over Patriots: The Commanders ownership clearly wants to tank, but Ron Rivera is coaching for his job right now.
Rams over Packers: I needed to see some life out of the Packers offense coming off their BYE week and instead, they scored 10 points against Minnesota. I know the Rams’ quarterback situation is up in the air, but I’ll take Sean McVay’s ability to scheme up enough offense to pull the upset in Lambeau.
Panthers over Colts: The Panthers managed to beat a surprising young Texans team last week and now get to return home to face the Colts, who have far less upside on any given week now that Anthony Richardson is out.
Eagles over Cowboys: I contemplated picking the upset here, but I don’t think this game will be particularly close in Philadelphia.
Giants over Raiders: What happens when a dumpster fire meets a dumpster fire? Pick the underdog.
Bills over Bengals: The Bills haven’t looked the same this year and the Bengals seem to be finding their groove, but it’s a bit too early in the season for me to rule Buffalo out. At +105, I’ll lean toward Josh Allen’s squad.
Chargers over Jets: Picking against the Jets isn’t as easy as it seemed like it might be after Aaron Rodgers went down, but I don’t even think Robert Saleh will be able to slow Justin Herbert down enough for Monday Night Football to get interesting.
Here are the six games to pick (times in Pacific):
Dolphins @ Kansas City, 6:30 AM
Bucs @ Texans, 10:00 AM
Commanders @ Patriots, 10:00 AM
Colts @ Panthers, 1:05 PM
Giants @ Raiders, 1:25 PM
Bills @ Bengals, 5:20 PM
About the Author: Insidethe49
