Week 9 of the NFL season wraps up on Monday night with the Baltimore Ravens vs. the New Orleans Saints, and we've got a nice same-game parlay (SGP) for you to close out the week. These two teams have been plagued by injuries and have had their ups and downs, but still, this SGP is a low-risk, high-reward bet.
Let's start with our most confident leg, the Saints over 13.5 points. New Orleans has scored at least 14 points in seven of its eight games, and after struggling on offense early in the season, the Saints' offense is starting to click. The Saints have scored 24+ points in five straight games, despite having Andy Dalton as their starting quarterback. First-year head coach Dennis Allen has done a great job with this offense. Meanwhile, Baltimore has only kept its opponent under 14 points once, and with the Saints' offense really finding its groove, expect the Saints to have little trouble getting 14 points in this one.
A big reason for the Saints' offensive success is Alvin Kamara. After missing two of the team's first four games, Kamara has settled in and still looks like a top-five running back in the league. And more importantly, he's putting up numbers like a top-five running back. Kamara might just be the best pass-catching back in all of football, and that's why we love him to go over 19.5 receiving yards. Dalton at times has struggled with the deep ball, and the Saints are aware of that, so what have they done? Well, they've simplified things for him. And one way they've done that has been by featuring Kamara in the passing game. Kamara had 96 receiving yards last week against the Raiders — I know, big deal, it's the Raiders — and has put up at least 25 receiving yards in his last four games. Don't expect that to change on Monday night against Baltimore. The Ravens love to rush the passer, and one way to avoid a good pass rush is by dumping passes off to your running back.
As for the final leg of our SGP, take the Ravens +4.5 on the alternate spread. Baltimore has yet to lose a game by more than four points this year, and despite being without tight end Mark Andrews and possibly running back Gus Edwards, trust John Harbaugh and the Ravens to keep this game close. Baltimore has won three of its last four, and the Saints have dropped two of their last three. Baltimore might not win on Monday night, but betting against them to stay within a field goal is a bad idea. The defense has improved significantly after struggling earlier in the season, and the running game has gotten much better despite a ton of injuries to its running backs.
The SGP: Alvin Kamara > 19.5 Receiving Yards, Baltimore Ravens (+4.5) AND New Orleans Saints > 13.5 Points (+110 odds via DraftKings)
Bet $100 to win $110
In the news ...
Brady becomes first to 100,000 passing yards — Tom Brady made NFL history, again. No, it's not another fourth-quarter comeback, although Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did accomplish that as well on Sunday against the Rams. Instead, the 45-year-old future Hall of Famer became the first quarterback in NFL history to reach 100,000 passing yards (regular season and postseason combined). Brady reached the milestone in the fourth quarter when he completed a 15-yard pass to running back Leonard Fournette.
Georgia remains No. 1 in AP Poll; Michigan, TCU enter top 4 — Georgia remains No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll after defeating No. 3 Tennessee, 27-13, on Saturday, while Ohio State stayed at No. 2 after defeating Northwestern, 21-7. However, undefeated Michigan and TCU both entered the top four for the first time after the previous unbeaten Clemson and Tennessee lost on Saturday.
Mets make Diaz highest-paid closer in MLB history — The World Series may have ended over the weekend, but that doesn't mean there isn't big MLB news. The New York Mets made closer Edwin Diaz the highest-paid relief pitcher in MLB history on Sunday after signing him to a five-year, $102 million contract.
Today's Bark Bets is written by Jared Shlensky
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