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Here’s what the experts think will happen tonight for Notre Dame.
No. 3 Notre Dame is ready to take on No. 9 Indiana about an hour from now and let’s continue to get you ready for the College Football Playoff first-round tilt between the Fighting Irish and Hoosiers with some expert picks.
Let’s start with The Athletic. Unless this author missed it, regular Pete Sampson doesn’t make a pick — instead, the outlet polls its staff.
Said staff is unanimous in picking the Irish to win, though one believes Indiana will at least cover the point spread.
Who are the experts riding with in Week 13?
The Washington Commanders (7-5) host the Tennessee Titans (3-8) in one of the most interesting NFL Week 13 games.
In a meeting of teams with first-year head coaches and young quarterbacks, the Commanders and Titans appeared to be heading in completely opposite directions a few short weeks ago. However, Washington has lost three games in a row — all by one score — while the Titans have played much better behind second-year quarterback Will Levis.
Levis led the Titans to an upset road win over the Houston Texans last week, passing for 278 yards and two touchdowns despite being sacked eight times. Meanwhile, the Commanders were disappointing for 55 minutes against Dallas before the offensive came alive with two Jayden Daniels touchdown passes in the final five minutes. Unfortunately for Washington, kicker Austin Seibert missed the extra point, giving Dallas the upset win.
The Commanders enter Sunday as a six-point favorite over the Titans.
We made our picks. What do the experts think?
According to NFL Pickwatch, 89% of the experts’ picks are going with the Commanders. Last week, 99% of the picks came in for Washington over Dallas.
Can the Commanders avoid another upset before their Week 14 bye?
Who are the experts riding with in Week 12?
Only one game on the Week 12 NFL slate features a more significant favorite than the Washington Commanders (7-4) over the Dallas Cowboys (4-7).
The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are an 11-point favorite over the Carolina Panthers. Washington is a 10.5-point favorite over Dallas.
The Commanders were already double-digit favorites over the Cowboys before prominent starters, such as guard Zack Martin, cornerback Trevon Diggs, and wide receiver Brandin Cooks, were ruled out on Saturday afternoon.
The good news for Washington is that playing last Thursday gave the roster a mini-break after losing its second consecutive game. The Commanders have yet to arrive at their bye week. The extra rest days were good news for a banged-up roster, specifically rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Daniels injured his ribs in a Week 7 win over Carolina, and while he didn’t miss any games, he missed some practice time and is coming off his worst NFL performance in last week’s loss at Philadelphia.
So, do the experts agree with the oddsmakers?
According to NFL Pickwatch, the experts do agree, with 98% of the picks going in favor of Washington.
This is the Commanders’ fourth NFC East game of the season. They are currently 2-1 in divisional play.
Here’s how the experts see tonight’s Notre Dame/Army game playing out.
Tonight’s tilt between the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 18 Army Black Knights at Yankee Stadium in New York City has huge College Football Playoff implications.
The experts who pick these games each week are certainly aware of that. Army has been hot, but also has had a weak schedule, and the Irish have a deeper roster of talent.
On the other hand, Notre Dame has lost to a lesser opponent, at home nonetheless, this year.
So, with that in mind, how are the experts leaning?
Let’s start with Pete Sampson from The Athletic.
“Notre Dame is a huge step up. And Army knows it, which might be to the Black Knights’ benefit,” he writes. “Notre Dame flexes its muscle but never gets inside Army’s head (see: Navy’s six turnovers), which is enough to pull away in the fourth quarter.”
He has the Irish winning 28-14.
The experts expect Notre Dame to have an easy one this weekend.
No. 8 Notre Dame should roll over the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday.
So say the experts.
Let’s start with The Athletic’s Pete Sampson, who has Notre Dame winning 35-14.
“After two-plus seasons of searching, it feels like Freeman has found his groove on the sidelines. Mentions of his inexperience are down. Consistent performances are up. That reliability should carry through the regular-season home finale,” he writes. “It’s hard to see the Cavaliers finding much success against one of the nation’s best defenses. It’s also hard to see Virginia bottling up Leonard. It all means the Irish will pull away in the second half, continuing their push toward the Playoff.”
It’s overwhelming: The experts believe the Eagles get it done against the Commanders.
It’s not often you get the best NFL game of the week on Thursday night. That’s what we have in Week 11 when the Philadelphia Eagles (7-2) host the Washington Commanders in a good, old-fashioned NFC East battle.
The Commanders were in first place for much of the season until last week’s 28-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Meanwhile, the Eagles won their fifth in a row, dominating the wounded Dallas Cowboys on the road.
Washington and Philadelphia are 2-0 in NFC East play, and this is their first meeting in 2024. Both teams have elite offenses, while the Eagles have a stout defense. The Commanders’ defense is improving under first-year head coach Dan Quinn, but they have some holes, particularly at cornerback.
By virtue of being at home, the Eagles are a 3.5-point favorite over Washington.
The experts have weighed in, too, and they side with the oddsmakers. According to NFL Pickwatch, 82% of the picks are in and favor Philadelphia to beat Washington. Two years ago, 99% of the experts picked the then-unbeaten Eagles over the Commanders on Monday Night Football, and we see how that one turned out.
The experts weigh in on Sunday’s game between the Commanders and Steelers.
The Washington Commanders (7-2) host the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) on Sunday from Northwest Stadium in arguably the game of the weekend.
The Commanders and Steelers come into Week 10 riding high on three-game winning streaks. However, Pittsburgh has an advantage, coming off a bye and heading into this game healthy.
Meanwhile, the NFC East-leading Commanders are banged up. Running back Brian Robinson Jr., offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas, cornerback Marshon Lattimore and kicker Austin Seibert are out. Additionally, long snapper Tyler Ott and right tackle Andrew Wylie are questionable. All indications are Ott and Wylie will play.
Washington is a 2.5-point favorite over Pittsburgh, but Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has a 13-4 record off bye weeks.
So, who has the advantage?
According to NFL Pickwatch, the experts have weighed in, with 58% of the picks coming for the Commanders.
Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels will have his hands full against a Pittsburgh defense led by T.J. Watt, Patrick Queen and Cameron Heyward. Will Daniels pull off more magic to lead the Commanders to their fourth straight win?
Both teams run the ball well, and whichever team runs the ball the best on Sunday will likely emerge as the winner.
The experts expect Notre Dame to cruise against Florida State.
No. 10 Notre Dame hosts Florida State in a game that was circled on many calendars before the season began.
Now, however, the Seminoles are struggling at 1-8 and the Fighting Irish are playing good football but also in a position that likely requires them to win out to make the 12-team College Football Playoff.
So, with that in mind, let’s see what the experts think about who will win.
Let’s start with The Athletic. Pete Sampson is feeling pretty good about an Irish win and has them rolling 42-7, especially given quarterback [autotag] Riley Leonard’s[/autotag] improvement.
He writes, in part: “When Leonard plays well as a dual threat quarterback and not just a runner, Notre Dame becomes a problem for even locked-in teams. And Florida State won’t be locked in on Saturday night, as its season lurches toward its forgettable conclusion.”
The experts weigh in on Sunday’s game between the Commanders and Giants.
The Washington Commanders (6-2) enter Sunday’s showdown against NFC East rival the New York Giants (2-6) as four-point favorites. When you first glance at the records of each team, you may think that the spread appears to be a bit low.
However, this is a divisional matchup and one that the Giants have had the upper hand for the past several years. The two longtime foes met back in Week 2, with the Commanders barely defeating the Giants, 21-18, on the strength of seven Austin Seibert field goals.
Much has changed since Week 2. Washington is one of the NFL’s hottest teams, led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Meanwhile, the Giants have had another difficult start to the season.
So, does New York quarterback Daniel Jones continue his streak of playing well vs. Washington? Or does Daniels begin a new streak and go 2-0 vs. the Giants to start his career?
We made our picks for Sunday’s NFC East battle, and we believe the Commanders prevail. However, what do the experts think?
According to NFL Pickwatch, 93% of the experts believe Washington will defeat New York.
The Giants are a reasonable upset pick for Week 9, but the experts strongly favor the NFC East leaders at MetLife Stadium.
Who are the experts taking in Sunday’s game between the Commanders and Bears?
Long before we knew today’s game between the Washington Commanders (5-2) and Chicago Bears (4-2) would feature two good teams in a potential playoff preview, there was tremendous anticipation for this matchup.
On one side, you have the No. 1 overall pick for the Bears, QB Caleb Williams, facing off against the No. 2 overall pick, QB Jayden Daniels of the Commanders.
The most significant question heading into this afternoon’s matchup is the health of Daniels. Will he play? Daniels suffered a rib injury in last week’s win over Carolina and was listed as questionable on Friday’s final injury report. However, all signs point to Daniels playing.
With Daniels’ health in question all week, the Bears opened as favorites. However, once Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Daniels was likely to play late Saturday night, those odds shifted, with Chicago only the slight favorite.
So, what do the experts think?
According to NFL Pickwatch, 63% of the experts are picking the Bears to win. However, those numbers could be skewed due to the uncertainty surrounding Daniels.
The Commanders and Bears are scheduled for a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff.
