It’s a battle of the aged on Thursday Night Football.
Aaron Rodgers, 41, and the Steelers (-5.5) will face off against 40-year-old Joe Flacco and the Bengals in Cincinnati (8:15 ET, Amazon).
VSiN.com senior editor Zach Cohen previews the NFL Week 7 opener:
Cincinnati actually looks like the right side to me. While this Bengals defense is a complete disaster, it’s not like the Steelers are equipped to torch them. Pittsburgh’s offense might look competent this year, but the team is averaging only 277.8 yards and 23.8 points per game. Those aren’t world-beating numbers, and this is an offense that really relies on the running game to succeed.
>>Zach has three bets for your consideration.
Dave Tuley has posted his takes on every Week 7 game, including this one:
I’m sure everyone is expecting me to take the dog here, but I’m invoking the pass side of “dog or pass.”
But why, Dave?
Why? For starters, while the Bengals came through for me in Joe Flacco’s first start, I’m not willing to take them at the much shorter number here even as a divisional home dog. The Steelers are coming off a solid 23-9 win over the Browns and come in healthy and won’t take the Bengals lightly after seeing them give the Packers a game. This just looks like a similar game to last week for the Steelers, as they’re the better team on both sides of the ball and should grind out a comfortable win.
Here are a few trends from Steve Makinen’s Analytics Report:
>Rodgers is 11-13 SU & 7-17 ATS as a single-digit road favorite since 2021.
>Bengals coach Zac Taylor is on 13-11 SU & 17-7 ATS run vs. teams with winning percentages of 66.7 percent or better.
Josh Appelbaum’s TNF Sharp Report will be posted later this morning.
More MNF resources
>Steelers-Bengals matchup page.
>Opta AI prop projections for the game. Both Rodgers and Flacco are projected to go Under their passing yards props at DraftKings Sportsbook.
>Injury Report: Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson (back) is listed as questionable.
>VSiN Pro subscribers have access to our NFL picks page with plays from hosts and guests.
Everything we post on NFL Week 7 will be here.
Longtime readers have asked me about this, so here are Makinen’s pre-bye week and post-bye week trends pieces.
Gill Alexander and regulars Will Hill and Todd Wishnev are joined by VSiN’s Wes Reynolds on Beating The Book. >Listen.
MLB Playoffs: NLCS & ALCS in action
Down two games and two runs after one inning, the Blue Jays stormed back to beat the Mariners 13-4 on Wednesday night.
We have a playoff doubleheader today: Brewers (+168 at Circa) at Dodgers (6:08 ET) with LA up 2-0 followed by the ALCS (8:33 ET) with Seattle the favorite at -126.
Greg Peterson has Best Bets on both games.
Adam Burke will file his Best Bets and Steve Makinen will have his Analytics Report later this morning.
CFB: Tonight’s game
Just one college football game tonight: Tulsa (+17.5) at East Carolina (7:30 ET, ESPN) in an American Conference matchup.
Writes Adam Burke in his preview:
Maybe the Pirates do go out there and cover this big number, but I made this one -13 in my Week 8 College Football Power Ratings. I’ll take my chances with Tulsa on some extra rest and prep with a good first-year head coach.
This is one of Steve Makinen‘s Best Bets for Week 8:
With ECU having lost two of its last three games while scoring just 20 PPG, the oddsmakers are expecting us to buy into the thought that the Pirates are in a good position to win and cover this game by beating Tulsa by at least 18 points. Most of the bettors at DraftKings and I are not buying it, with 74% of the handle leaning toward the live road dogs here.
Wednesday college football steam alerts from DonBest Sports:
Wisconsin (+26) vs. Ohio State
Arizona State (+9.5) vs. Texas Tech
Houston (+1) vs. Arizona
Get real-time steam alerts from the DonBest Screen. Sign up now for a 7-day free trial at go.donbest.com. Use the promo code VSIN10 for 10% off your initial subscription.
>CFB Week 8 Hub with stories and resources.
On the VSiN College Football Betting Podcast, Tim Murray welcomes fired-up Indiana alum Wes Reynolds, plus Brett Ciancia from PickSix Previews. >Watch. >Listen.
Quick Hits
NHL: VSiN hockey analyst Jonathan Davis will post his Best Bets around mid-day.
NBA: The VSiN NBA Betting Guide is ready for download.
Horse Racing: VSiN’s “Mr. Ed” Sehon and 1/ST BET handicapper Jeremy Plonk have picks for today’s card at Keeneland.
1/ST BET and VSiN have teamed up with an exclusive offer for horse-racing and sports-betting fans. Open and deposit into a new 1/ST BET account and get up to a $250 sign-up bonus with promo code VSIN250. Then, place $100 in wagers within your first 30 days and you’ll unlock a full year of VSiN Pro — a $240 value. Already a VSiN subscriber? We’ll extend your subscription for another year — free. Sign up today.
