Bobby Maxwell
Sunday's winners
600-Unit NFL Absolute Lock - CINCINNATI BENGALS
What a difference between the opening week and Week 2 for the Bengals and the defense. They got just shredded by the Patriots in the opener and then came back last week and intercepted Baltimore’s Joe Flacco four times in a 15-10 victory over the Ravens.
Now the Bengals will feast on the Panthers and rookie QB Jimmy Clausen who takes over for Matt Moore who has been benched by coach John Fox. Moore got fed up with Moore after his four interceptions through the first two weeks, losses to the Giants and at home to the Bucs. Clausen played the final 10 minutes against Tampa and also threw an interception in the 20-7 loss but he impressed Fox enough to get the starting nod tonight.
The Bengals will be keying on the running game of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. This is a good RB duo but they have managed to average just 104 yards a game through the first two weeks. In the passing game, star WR Steve Smith has just six catches this season and has been a non-factor with the two struggling QBs.
For Cincinnati, they are counting on their veteran offense to get going any time. RB Cedric Benson has averaged just 3.2 yards per carry after a 1,251-yard year last season. And through the air, this team is loaded with weapons but hasn’t gotten on track yet. Even though Palmer has just one INT, the offense isn’t clicking. He completed just seven passes to his veteran WRs Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens against Baltimore.
The Panthers are on ATS slides of 3-7 after a non-cover, 0-5 in September games and 1-4 in Week 3 games.
I’m going to lay the points with the Bengals on the road as that Cincinnati defense is going to make life tough for the young Clausen. Play the Bengals.
100-Unit NFL Smart Play - WASHINGTON REDSKINS
If the Redskins offense can play anywhere near as well as it did last week against Houston, the Redskins will win this game by 21 points. I’m banking on them being able to both run and throw today as they are going up against a Rams’ defense that doesn’t know how to stop the run.
Washington has just 107 yards on the ground this season with Clinton Portis accounting for 96 of those yards. The Redskins had a great game from QB Donovan McNabb in the 30-27 overtime loss to the Texans last week. McNabb threw for 426 yards and had everything working on his attempts to WR Santana Moss. Those two have made a quick connection in Washington.
Portis will be facing a St. Louis defense that has given up 280 yards rushing in two games, including 145 to Darren McFadden in their 16-14 loss in Oakland a week ago. That ball control allowed the Raiders to control the clock for 37 minutes and ice that game.
St. Louis has the second worst offense in the NFC at 267.5 yards per contest and rookie QB Sam Bradford has thrown just four TDs and five INTs through two games. They have RB Steven Jackson, but with the defenses keying on him, the game really comes down to Bradford and how well the offensive line can protect him.
Washington comes in on ATS surges of 3-0-1 on the road, 5-1-1 after a straight-up loss and 14-6-5 on the road against a team with a losing home record. On the other side, the Rams have been horrible at the betting window, on ATS slides of 15-33-3 in September, 9-21 at home, 6-15 as a home underdog, 1-5 in Week 3, 1-4 against NFC teams and 0-4 after they cover a number.
In this series, the Redskins are 4-1 ATS in their last five treks to St. Louis and the road team is 7-2 ATS in the last nine clashes. I see the Redskins moving the ball at will and winning this one in a big way, somewhere near 27-14. Lay the points and play Washington.