DOLPHINS OR RAVENS? WEEKLY NFL PICKS.
Moore rallied team past Jets last week
On a short week, having a backup quarterback start usually means trouble.
Not so for the Miami Dolphins, who saw Matt Moore come on for the injured Jay Cutler — to cheers at Hard Rock Stadium — and rally the troops past the Jets.
Right now, the Ravens aren’t as good as the Jets, either, which isn’t saying much.
For Miami, no deficit seems to be intimidating. The Dolphins came back from a 17- point hole at Atlanta to win. Then they overcame a 14- point Jets lead in the fourth quarter for a victory last Sunday.
“A lot of it has to do with the personality of the players,” coach Adam Gase says. “Guys around here seem to embrace it more than worrying about failing. They enjoy being in that moment, and when they get opportunities, somebody seems to step up and make the play.”
Miami is 13- 4 under Gase since starting out 1- 4 with him in 2016.
The Ravens have a terrific coach in John Harbaugh. What they don’t have is anything near a healthy roster.
“I don’t know how many other teams have had this many injuries on offence,” Harbaugh says.
“We’ ll just see how it plays out. We have a lot of tough guys. It’s about mental toughness. You have to put everything aside, ignore the noise and go out there and fight.
Miami is a 3.5-point underdog at Baltimore. We don’t see that. Upset Special: Dolphins, 20-10 Minnesota (minus 8) vs. Cleveland at London It’s got so ugly in Clevel and we’re surprised the Browns were allowed to leave the U.S.
Best Bet: Vikings, 24-9 Dallas (minus 2.5) at (tie) Washington One of the NFL’s great rivalries. Go with the home side. Washington, 30-28 Denver (plus 6) at Kansas City, Monday night One of the NFL’s great rivalries. Go with home side. Chiefs, 24-16 Houston (plus 5) at Seattle Tough matchup for the Seahawks, whose offence remains sporadic. Seahawks, 20-17 Pittsburgh (minus 3) at Detroit Rested Lions will give the Steelers plenty of trouble. Lions, 28-27 Chicago (plus 8) at New Orleans Somehow, this game has lots of meaning in Week 8. Saints, 23-9 Atlanta (minus 7) at New York Jets Time to worry in the ATL if the Falcons fall here. Falcons, 24-20 Carolina (plus 2) at Tampa Bay Really disliked what we saw from the Panthers at Chicago. Buccaneers, 23-19 Los Angeles Chargers (plus 7) at New England Really liked what we saw from both teams on threegame winning streaks. Patriots, 26-17 San Francisco (plus 11) at Philadelphia The Niners got exposed by Dallas last week. More of same ... Eagles, 30-10 Oakland (plus 2.5) at Buffalo The Raiders haven’t won here since 2002. Bills, 22-20 Indianapolis (plus 10) at Cincinnati When the Bengals are this big a favourite, we know how bad the Colts are. Bengals, 23-14
2017 Record: Last week: Against the spread (5-9). Straight up (123)
Season Totals: Against the spread (48-52-1). Straight up: (65-41)
Best Bet: 3- 4 against the spread, 5-2 straight up.
Upse t special: 6 -1 against t he s pread, 6- 1 straight up.