Sports Handicapper Will Rogers's Picks & Predictions

The set-up: I could break down the strengths and weaknesses of each of these teams and carefully look at every stat and each individual player and how he'll impact the play on the ice, but none of those factors are what I'm basing this pick on whatsoever. Buffalo is 3-5-2 in its last ten games and after falling 6-5 to the Canucks in OT in Vancouver just last night, I expect a predictable letdown here. 

The pick: Buffalo allows 3.33 GPG on the road and the Oilers average 3.36 GPG at home. The Sabres also already a terrible 2-5 (-3.2 units) this season when playing on back-to-back days, while Edmonton is a fantastic 9-3 (+6.2 units) in its last 12 non-conference contests. 

10* ELITE OF THE ELITE on the Edmonton Oilers.

The set-up: I think the 2-5 Thundering Herd can keep this one competitive until the final moments vs. the 6-2 Toledo Rockets. The Herd play with immediate revenge here, as they fell to Toledo 96-70 at home just last week. Marshall then lost to Akron, while Toledo defeated Cleveland State in its last trip to the court. 

The pick: The Rockets have won three straight, but I think they'll have much more of a fight on their hands vs. Taevion Kinsey and the hungry visiting side. I'll point out as well that Marshall has responded well for bettors in a "revenge" role, going 8-2 ATS in its last ten in revenging a loss where an opponent scored 85 or more points. Toledo on the other hand has struggled in this position, going 13-16 ATS in its last 29 as a home favorite or pick, including only 1-2 ATS this season. In a contest which I envision coming down to the wire, I'm grabbing the points.

10* PLAY-BOOK on Marshall.

The set-up: Dallas is looking fantastic behind the play of 20 year old phenom Luca Doncic. Doncic has plenty of talent around him as well, but after yesterday's big win over the Pelicans, I think the home side finally gets caught complacent here. The Kings on the other hand are 8-13 and they're hungry for a victory here after three straight losses. The Kings came close though in their last one, falling 105-104 in OT to the Spurs. 

The pick: Clearly in every respect, the Mavericks are better on than the Kings on paper. But Sacramento remains competitive and it's playing its best ball of the young season right now. Additionally note that the Kings are already 8-4 ATS on the road this year and 6-2 ATS off a road loss. The Mavs on the other hand are just 5-6 ATS at home this season. This one comes down to the wire, so grab the points.

10* DESTRUCTION on the Sacramento Kings.

The set-up: Two teams moving in opposite directions collide on Sunday afternoon and I believe those trends carry over again this weekend. Tennesse is now 7-5 after a hard-fought win over the Colts last week. The Raiders are now 6-6 after back-to-back losses, including getting routed by the Chiefs last time out. Oakland is having plenty of issues across the board, not just in one area. The Titans on the other hand made the difficult choice to bench longtime starting QB Marcus Mariota for Ryan Tannehill a couple of weeks ago, but the move has paid major dividends with the ex Miami QB being the difference in the "up tick" in play of late.

The pick: Note as well that the Titans are a perfect 3-0 ATS year off a road win against a division rival, while the Raiders are 0-3 ATS in their last three off a road loss vs. a division rival. The play on the field and the contrasting ATS stats listed above do indeed make Tennessee the correct call here in my opinion. But what about you?! Does Tannehill keep it rolling, or does Jon Gruden get the "ship righted" in Raider-Nation?!

1* FREE PLAY on Tennessee.

The set-up: Every season for the last decade or so, the Patriots will lose a couple of games and all of the pundits come out and say that Tom Brady has lost a step, or he doesn't have a good enough defense or enough weapons around him. New England has for the most part amassed its 10-2 record because of its hard-nosed defensive play, but a lot of that is due to the level of competition its faced. Brady and the offense have struggled a lot this season, including in last week's 28-22 loss to the Texans. The Chiefs have re-found their footing and enter having won two in a row, most recently destroying the Raiders 40-9. 

The pick: Unlike Brady, Chiefs' QB Patrick Mahomes continues to excel, so far he has almost 3,000 yards passing to go along with 20 TD's to just two INT's. New England's offense has failed to score more than 22 points in each of its last three games, so the revenge-minded Chiefs offense definitely catches a break in the second matchup. KC is also 5-1 ATS in its last six as a road dog, while NE is already 0-2 ATS this year in all contests when the line is set between +3 and -3. Bank on Mahomes finally getting over the hump here and for the Patriots to also finally get exposed for their ineffeciencies on both sides of the ball. That said, grab the points.

9* PLAY-BOOK on the Kansas City Chiefs.

The set-up: I have the Bills at 5.5. Whether you have 5, 5.5 or 6, I love this play. So far the Lamar Jackson and the Ravens have passed almost every test this year, but I think they're in trouble here this weekend vs. this under the radar Bills team which continues to get little respect from the oddsmakers. The Ravens have a "cream puff" at home vs. the Jets next weekend, followed by games vs. the Browns and then at home vs. the Steelers. Both teams have superb defenses, so I'm calling that area a "wash." Jackson have been phenomenal, but Bills' QB Josh Allen has gotten progressively better each week as well and he's been particularly sharp over the last month. 

The pick: The road ahead though is not quite as "easy" for the Bills, who have back-to-back road games at Pittsburgh and New England. Neither of those games are going to be "easy." This game isn't going to be "easy" either, but Buffalo clearly has to be looking at this contest as a "must win" game. In fact, I'm banking on it! Of course Jackson and company really "want" to win this one, but would anyone fault the second year pro and Baltimore for finally having a "letdown" here and looking ahead to that much more winnable game at home next week? Baltimore managed the SU win over the 49ers last weekend, but not ATS. I think it stumbles here as well (additionally note that Baltimore is just 8-10 ATS in its last 18 after one more loss vs. the spread, including 1-3 ATS this season, while Buffalo is already a perfect 4-0 ATS this year as an underdog.) The bottom line is that I think the Ravens do indeed finally have their letdown, while I expect Buffalo to risk life and limb in front of the home town crowd. While the outright is possible, in the end let's grab the points.

10* GAME OF THE YEAR on the Buffalo Bills.