“Hello darkness, my old friend…” Kidding, kidding, kidding. Week 9 was, for lack of better words, surprising. It feels like there’s one week every season in which all of the super bowl contenders in the league decide to execute a senior skip day and no one shows up to play. I’ll be honest, the lackluster performances in the league in week 9 could not have come at a better time. I’ve had week 10 marked on my calendar for weeks now because of the juicy matchups and, guess what, most of the favorites are coming off embarrassing losses to inferior teams last week or byes. Teaser paradise. Enjoy our formulas for success this week and always remember to bet smarter, not harder.

Q’s Best Bets (10-10 Overall)
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts – Sunday, 11/14 (1:00 PM EST)
Pick: Colts -9.5

The Jags shocked the world last week, taking home a 9-6 victory against the powerhouse Bills. While it was great to see Trevor Lawrence pull off a huge win like that, I’m viewing it as a fluke vs a trend. The Jaguars are terrible and the Colts have a great defense, a run game that should put them in the driver’s seat of this game early and a superior set of WRs in comparison to the Jags exposable secondary. The Colts have been solid against the spread this year (6-3 overall) and have looked solid at home. Don’t overthink this one, take the Colts with confidence.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ WFT – Sunday, 11/14 (1:00 PM EST)
Pick: Total Points Under 52

I know what you’re thinking, the Bucs can probably put up 50+ by themselves. While I completely agree, timing is everything. Teams actually tend to come out of bye weeks slightly rustier than usual and both of these squads are coming off of byes. Tampa Bay has one of the best pass rushing defenses in the league, they’re lethal against the run and, although their secondary hasn’t been great this year, they should be able to keep the WFT offense in check. The WFT defense has underwhelmed this year but they’re just as talented as last year’s playoff squad and could wake up any given Sunday. Leaning heavily on the possibility of some bye week lag in this one as well as WFT’s inability to produce on offense. Expect Tampa Bay to control this one from start to finish and hopefully start bleeding out the clock early.

DPJ’s Best Bets (13-12 Overall)
Detroit Lions @ Pittsburgh Steelers – Sunday, 11/14 (1:00 PM EST)
Pick: Lions +9

After the Lions got their asses handed to them in Week 8 I told myself I would not bet on them for the rest of the season. Fast forward two weeks, and having had a break from watching Jared Goff suck, here I am dropping some more cash on the hungry Lions. I certainly don’t feel confident picking them to win this week but having two weeks to prepare for a pretty lousy Steelers offense is more than enough time to keep this score within 10 points. The Steelers are averaging 20 points a game (23rd in the league) and I never trust Mike Tomlin as a TD+ favorite, even at home. The Lions will win eventually, and I do hope to cash that bet, but for now we will sit on them to cover the +9.

Cleveland Browns @ New England Patriots – Sunday, 11/14 (1:00 PM EST)
Pick: Patriots -1

The Browns were a preseason darling who disappointed early in the season but have been rounding into form. The Pats had low expectations coming into the season, started slow but are now rounding into form. This should be a great game. There is no doubt that the OBJ departure from Cleveland seems to have boosted their morale, but with most likely no Nick Chubb or Kareem Hunt gain this week I don’t see Cleveland having the same success. D’Ernest Johnson looked good for a week against Denver but I am certainly not expecting that to happen again. Mac Jones will game manage his way to another low turnover game, Patriots will pound the rock and all the Pats fans will be acting like assholes on social media again. I can see it already.

Best of the Best Bets – DPJ & Q approved (6-14 Overall)
Minnesota Vikings @ LA Chargers/Kansas City Chiefs @ Las Vegas Raiders
Pick: 6 Point Teaser: Vikings +9, Raiders +9 (-110 odds)

It feels like almost every spread this week is asking to be teased, and these are two of our favorites. These both seem like winnable games for Minny and Vegas but at the least they should be tightly contested. Here’s a fun stat to start: the Vikings have lost 5 games this year, average margin of victory is 3.6 points. And they haven’t lost any by more than 7. They are impossibly bad at winning games. But covering 9 points? That is what Kirk Cousins does best. I could see that game being a bit of a shoot out but would be shocked if the Chargers blow MIN out. You might think the Vikings are on the road, but that fanbase travels well and the Chargers still struggle to fill up the stadium despite a promising future for the franchise. Looking at the other side of the coin, the Chiefs have only two wins by 9+ points this year and they were both against garbage teams (WFT and Eagles). We all know how much that KC offense is struggling and how easily the defense can be torched, so I like Derek Carr to keep that one within 9 points as well. Vegas is 3-1 at home this year and i’m happy to sweep their road loss to the Giants under the rug (or ruggs) due to the awful Henry Ruggs news and the look-ahead spot that his KC game was. The Teaser Boys should clean up here. – DPJ

Buffalo Bills @ NY Jets/Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ WFT
Pick: 6 Point Teaser: Bills -5, Bucs -3 (-110 odds)

Both of these games are pretty straightforward takes.

The Bills are coming off by far their most shocking loss in recent memory to the lowly Jags. The Bills are superior to the Jets on both sides of the ball, they won’t be taking the Jets for granted after last week and they’re hungry to show the world they’re still heavy contenders to win the Lombardi. Easy money, expect a Bills blowout.

I already talked about this game for my under pick but it’s pretty simple, the Bucs are a lot better than WFT. While I don’t expect a high scoring affair since both teams are coming off of bye weeks, I do fully expect Tom Brady and his high powered offense to control the tempo of the game from start to finish. Expect the Bucs to keep it rolling in this one and win by 10+. – Q

Other Action (51-52-4 Overall)

Falcons @ Cowboys: Cowboys -8

Bills @ Jets: Bills -11

Seahawks @ Packers: Seahawks +4

Rams @ 49ers: Rams -3.5

Risky Business (17-28 Overall; currently up 1.5 units)

3 Team – 7 Point Teaser (+120 odds): Colts -3, Bucs -2, Seahawks +11

3 Team – 6 Point Teaser (+180 odds): Cowboys -2, Bills -5, Bucs -2

4 Team Parlay (+120 odds): Cowboys Money Line, Colts Money Line, Bills Money Line, Bucs Money Line

5 Team Parlay (+260 odds): Cowboys Money Line, Colts Money Line, Bills Money Line, Bucs Money Line, Patriots Money Line

Lions @ Steelers: Lions Money Line (+300 odds)

Vikings @ Chargers: Vikings Money Line (+120 odds)

Seahawks @ Packers: Seahawks Money Line (+160 odds)

Disclaimer: SidehustlebetsMJQ.com is not an online gambling operator or a gambling site of any kind. Our insights about sports/sports betting are purely for entertainment purposes only.