NFL divisional races are heating up, a CFB rivalry gets a dose of excitement…
and some MLB teams are going home.
Week 6’s Need To Know
What Happened: We are late enough into the NFL schedule that we can begin to draw conclusions about teams (Panthers = BAD) while still early enough that the standings can flip on a matchup.
Last night’s NFC West thriller allowed the 49ers to leapfrog the Seahawks for first place in the division. San Francisco now stands as the only team in the NFC West with a positive point differential, and holds a crucial tie-breaker over Seattle. It was a consequential win.
Where else on this weekend’s NFL slate are the stakes especially high? Let’s take a look at four key matchups we’ll have a close eye in Week 6.
Why It Matters: 1. Let’s get started with a game that doesn’t carry divisional implications, but might be the most anticipated on the slate for Sunday. The Battle For The DMV features reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and rookie sensation Jayden Daniels. The Commanders are unexpectedly sitting atop the NFC East with a 4-1 record, while the Ravens quickly flipped an 0-2 record into a 3-2 one that now shares first place with the Steelers. Hopefully the start of a fun local rivalry here.
2. Sheesh, the Saints are on a real roller coaster ride so far this season huh? They came firing out of the gates, winning their first two and scoring 91 points through two weeks. Since then? Three losses and a combined 49 points. Oh, and now Derek Carr isn’t playing against Tampa Bay due to injury, forcing New Orleans to turn to fifth-rounder Spencer Rattler at QB. The Bucs currently have a 50-50 shot at the playoffs per the Football Power Index and a 33% chance at winning the division (Atlanta leads there at 45%.)
3. The Lions being 3-1 is no surprise, but them being in second place? No one saw that coming. But as long as Minnesota keeps winning, Dan Campbell’s team will continue to chase. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have squeezed by the Giants and Steelers in consecutive weeks and are more likely to make the playoffs (-114) than miss them (-106) per FanDuel’s odds.
4. The Jets are in disarray, the Bills need to get their season on track…where have we seen this before? Everyone forgets that after Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles last season, Gang Green’s defense bailed him out and won via a punt return TD in overtime of that Week 1 MNF game. Now, the Bills enter Monday on a 2-game losing streak and face a Jets team that just fired its coach and has lost two in a row as well. Winner gets first place in the AFC East, and maybe we should just relegate the loser to a lower-tier of football.
What We’re Watching Today
Padres at Dodgers (8:08 PM ET) – The Dodgers survived a bullpen game and now get to pitch a real-life, actual starter in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who will face off against fellow countryman Yu Darvish of the Padres. San Diego roughed up Yamamoto in Game 1 (five runs in 3.0 innings) while Darvish tossed 7.0 innings of one-run ball in Game 2 and earned the win, but L.A. was able to halt the Pads’ momentum in Game 4 and will enjoy home-field advantage here.
Tigers at Guardians (Saturday, 8:08 PM ET) – You know something special is afoot when the road team is favored in a Game 5 winner-take-all game. That’s the magic of Tarik Skubal, who hasn’t allowed a run yet in 13 postseason innings of work and has walked just one batter.
#1 Texas at #18 Oklahoma (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET) – The Longhorns get QB Quinn Ewers back for this edition of the Red River Shootout. Oklahoma is riding with Michael Hawkins Jr., a true freshman and the first one ever to start at QB for the Sooners in the 120th edition of this rivalry game. Nerves will be high, and so should the scoring, considering the way these teams can put points up on the board.
FCS Weekly Roundup
Even when we throw in free plays, we can’t help but sweep around here! Thursday was dominance at its finest, but the rest of the week wasn’t too shabby either:
🧹 The team produced a complete sweep last night, with three official plays for VIP cashing, a 2-leg Underdog Fantasy entry hitting, and our free play via Instagram (Deebo Samuel First TD +900, you need to follow us there) made some folks a nice chunk of change.
⚾ Our Ohtani-like MLB run continued, improving to 8-3 this postseason and having cashed 15 of our last 19 MLB plays. It’s almost too easy at this point…
🏈 Looking for college football plays? Glad you stopped by! FCS has gone 6-1 over our last seven NCAAF wagers for our VIP community. Name a sport, we have a winning play for you. It’s that simple.
