Dave Tuley, senior reporter at VSiN.com, is in his fourth season with The Post’s Bettor’s Guide. His handicapping pieces appear in VSiN’s online magazine, Point Spread Weekly.
Tennessee Titans (+6.5) over NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS:
The Patriots (7-4) are the flavor of the week. They’ve won and covered five straight, and enter this game no worse than tied for first in the AFC East. Last week’s advance line was Patriots -3 before the Titans inexplicably lost 22-13 to the Texans as 10-point home favorites, and if this game was played just a few weeks ago, the Titans would probably have been short road faves.
So, this is a classic case of buy low/sell high. The Titans (8-3) still have the top record in the AFC and are getting nearly a TD against an overrated Patriots team in a game that should come down to a late field goal. To be on the safe side, wait until Sunday to see if the public continues to jump on the New England bandwagon and bets this up to 7.
Cleveland Browns (+4) over BALTIMORE RAVENS
Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson (supposedly non-COVID-related illness) needs to see Aaron Rodgers’ homeopathic doctor to raise his antibody levels. Baker Mayfield is also less than 100 percent. Assuming they both are able to start, this shapes up as a great Sunday nighter in the up-for-grabs AFC North. Except for the occasional outlier game (Browns allowing 45 points to the Patriots, Ravens having a 34-31 shootout against the Vikings), both defenses are playing better than the offenses right now. Both teams want to run the ball and grind out wins, so I’ll take the dawg in what looks like another field-goal game. I also like the Under 46.5 as a bonus play.
Last week: 1-1. Washington (W), Cowboys (L)
Season: 15-7.