expert picks – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Experts Pick Notre Dame, Navy

The experts pick Notre Dame against Navy.

No. 12 Notre Dame is taking on No. 24 Navy at MetLife Stadium on Saturday, and the experts have thoughts.

Notre Dame will be challenged by a Navy team that is playing well on both sides of the ball, and the Fighting Irish can’t afford to lose. That said, the undefeated Midshipmen haven’t faced a true challenge, and Notre Dame has a higher level of talent than any team Navy has faced so far.

So with that in mind, CBS Sports’ Will Backus thinks that at the very least, Navy will cover the spread.

“The Midshipmen are for real. The offense steals a lot of the headlines, but their defense has also held each of their last three opponents under 10 points. Despite all the injuries, things seem to be coming together for Notre Dame on both sides of the ball. The betting-favorite Irish are a smart pick to win, but this one’s going to be a lot closer than Vegas seems to think. Pick: Navy +12.5,” he writes.

Oct 19, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) runs the ball against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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NFL Week 7 picks: Almost all of the experts favor the Commanders

Almost all of the experts believe the Commanders will defeat the Panthers.

The Washington Commanders (4-2) look to get to their winning ways on Sunday as the Carolina Panthers (1-5) come to town. Washington suffered its second loss last week, falling 30-23 to the Ravens, snapping its four-game winning streak.

Now, the Commanders face arguably the NFL’s worst team. In addition to Washington being the better team, the Panthers will be without several players, and top wide receiver Diontae Johnson is questionable.

The Commanders opened as 7.5-point favorites over the Panthers, and that line has increased to 9.5 points. We discussed five keys to a Washington victory.

While the betting lines love the Commanders in a potential blowout, what do the experts think? According to NFL Pickwatch, 99% of the predictors believe Washington will defeat Carolina. If you want to know how times have changed, that is proof. In recent years, the Commanders have been on the other hand of those types of odds. Earlier this year, well over 90% of the experts picked the Bengals over Washington, and we know how that turned out.

So, what we’re telling you is that this is the NFL. There are no easy games. The Commanders need a fast start to put the Panthers away early.

Experts expect easy Notre Dame win against Georgia Tech in Atlanta

Once again, the experts are on the side of the Irish.

Notre Dame should win in Atlanta against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

So say the experts.

Your author thinks it will be closer than the experts do, but I, too, expect the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to walk away as winners.

Maybe it’s because Georgia Tech is frisky, or maybe it’s the Notre Dame injuries, but I have worries. On the other hand, the Irish do have more talent than Georgia Tech.

So the Irish should win. Still, it could be a dogfight in the Peach State.

Notre Dame’s playoff hopes do hinge on a victory, so there’s that.

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (4) runs the ball down the sideline on his way to score a touchdown during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in South Bend.

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Experts picking a bounceback win for Steelers over Raiders

Most NFL experts are picking the Steelers over the Raideres.

This week the 3-2 Pittsburgh Steelers face off against the 2-3 Las Vegas Raiders with both teams coming off of a tough loss. The Raiders have made a quarterback change, going with Aidan O’Connell while the Steelers are sticking with Justin Fields for another week.

NFL experts and pundits seem to feel that Fields gives the Steelers a better chance than the Raiders have with O’Connell. Both teams are missing key players including multiple pass rushers for the Steelers and Las Vegas’ top receiver.

We turn to our friends at NFL Pick Watch to give us the numbers for online experts. They aggregate picks from all over the internet and put the results all in one place.

As of Friday afternoon nearly all expert picks are in and the Steelers hold an edge of 88 percent to just 12 percent calling for the upset by the Raiders.

Both teams need this win to stay relevant in their respective divisions.

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NFL Week 6 picks: Do the experts lean toward Commanders or Ravens?

Baltimore or Washington? The experts leaning heavily in one direction.

The NFL game of the week for Week 6 will emanate from Baltimore, Maryland, on Sunday as the Ravens (3-2) host the Washington Commanders (4-1).

Not only is this a matchup of two good teams, but it’s teams whose home stadiums are separated by less than 45 miles, making it a hot ticket for fans around the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia).

Washington and Baltimore also enter Sunday’s game on winning streaks. The Commanders have won four in a row, while the Ravens have won three consecutive games.

While the Commanders have won one more game, they’re not the favorite. The Ravens opened as 6.5-point favorites over the Commanders.

The oddsmakers have spoken and believe Baltimore will have little problem with Washington. So, what do the experts think? According to NFL Pickwatch, 90% of the picks are in, and they also believe the Ravens defeat the Commanders.

This isn’t the first time Washington has faced these types of odds this season. Remember when nearly 100% of the experts picked the Bengals over the Commanders in Week 3? How’d that one turn out?

Experts say Notre Dame will sail over Stanford

The experts all think Notre Dame will have it easy against Stanford.

It looks like there’s once again consensus that Notre Dame Fighting Irish will win at home.

This time they’re hosting the Stanford Cardinal in South Bend, and experts have the Irish winning — though more than a few believe the Cardinal will at least cover the spread.

We’re still worried about it being a trap game, but then again, the Cardinal aren’t very good and the Irish may have figured a few things out.

We hope, for the sake of the Irish’s playoff chances, that Notre Dame will walk away winners on Saturday. Certainly, most, if not all, experts think that they will.

For example, CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli has the Cardinal covering the spread, along with several other experts at the network. Yet the staff has unanimously has Notre Dame winning.

“Stanford isn’t likely to try to air it out against this Irish defense, so I don’t know that either team will be able to pull away from the other,” Fornelli wrote.

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA – SEPTEMBER 28: Beaux Collins #5 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in action against Tahveon Nicholson #23 of the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium on September 28, 2024 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

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NFL Week 5 picks: Experts heavily favoring Commanders over Browns

The experts believe in the Commanders over the Browns in Week 5.

The Washington Commanders enter Week 5 in an unusual position. Washington, winners of three consecutive games, hosts the Cleveland Browns on Sunday from Northwest Stadium and is a 3.5-point favorite, according to BetMGM.

In the Commanders’ first four games, they’ve been underdogs three times and significant underdogs twice. While oddsmakers had Washington as the underdogs, so did the experts. In the Week 3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, 97% of the expert picks favored Cincinnati.

Now, the shoe is on the other foot for the red-hot Commanders.

According to NFL Pickwatch, 87% of experts pick Washington over Cleveland on Sunday.

Uh oh.

As we’ve seen this year alone, this doesn’t mean much. You can bet head coach Dan Quinn and the Commanders aren’t taking the Browns lightly. Just one year ago, the Browns won 10 games and made the playoffs. While they are off to a slow start, they are capable of turning things around on any given week.

NFL expert picks: Commanders remain heavy underdogs

It’s surprising to see so many picks in favor of Arizona.

When the betting lines opened for Week 4 last week, the Arizona Cardinals opened as favorites over the Washington Commanders. However, when the Commanders upset the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, the Cardinals remained the favorite, but those lines narrowed.

Arizona remains the favorite over Washington on Sunday, as the Commanders will be without the services of one of their best offensive players. Running back Austin Ekeler will miss the game as he’s in concussion protocol. Ekeler was injured in the third quarter of Monday’s win at Cincinnati.

The Cardinals will also be without a key offensive starter, tight end Trey McBride, who is also in concussion protocol.

The good news for Washington is that rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is healthy and will be under center. Daniels was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in the win over the Bengals. He was also named Rookie of the Week for the second time in three weeks.

So, while oddsmakers favor the Cardinals, who do the experts pick?

According to NFL Pickwatch, 76% of this week’s picks favor the Cardinals. Considering last week’s results, seeing so many pick Arizona is a bit surprising. Washington is probably happy about that since nearly 100% of the so-called experts picked the Bengals last week.

NFL Network experts going for the Steelers over the Colts

NFL Network is leaning in hard on the Steelers getting the road win this week.

Week Four of the NFL regular season is upon us and the Pittsburgh Steelers are a surprising 3-0. This has been in large part due to a smothering defense, the best in the NFL, and a conservative offense that hasn’t made mistakes.

This week the Steelers travel to take on an Indianapolis Colts (1-2) that got their first win of the season last week against the Chicago Bears. The Colts are still a work in progress but have some dangerous weapons on offense NFL Network did a full preview of the game and offered up their expert picks.

Of the 10 NFL Network picks, only Kevin Patra calls for the Colts to upset the Steelers at home.

The Steelers got to 3-0 by defeating the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons.

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Who are the experts picking in Panthers vs. Bengals?

A new starting QB has sparked a bit of faith in the Panthers heading into their Week 4 matchup against the Bengals.

Do the experts think the rejuvenated Carolina Panthers can put away the 0-3 Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday?

Here are their picks for this intriguing Week 4 matchup . . .

USA TODAY: Bengals (6-0)

Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Panthers (0):

Bengals (6): Jarrett Bell, Chris Bumbaca, Nate Davis, Tyler Dragon, Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz, Lorenzo Reyes

NFL.com: Bengals (9-1)

Panthers (1): Adam Rank

Bengals (9): Colleen Wolfe, Maurice Jones-Drew, Marcas Grant, Bucky Brooks, Grant Gordon, Daniel Jeremiah, Nick Shook, Eric Edholm, Kevin Patra

ESPN: Bengals (10-1)

Panthers (1): Kalyn Kahler

Bengals (10): Stephania Bell, Matt Bowen, Mike Clay, Jeremy Fowler, Dan Graziano, Kimberley A. Martin, Eric Moody, Jason Reid, Lindsey Thiry, Seth Wickersham

CBS Sports: Bengals (7-1)

Panthers (1): Will Brinson

Bengals (7): Pete Prisco, Jared Dubin, Ryan Wilson, John Breech, Tyler Sullivan, Dave Richard, Jamey Eisenberg

Bleacher Report: Bengals (5-3)

Panthers (3): Gary Davenport, Vince Michelino, Brent Sobleski

Bengals (5): Brad Gagnon, Ian Hanford, Kristopher Knox, Maurice Moton, Wes O’Donnell

Pro Football Talk: Bengals (2-0)

Panthers (0):

Bengals (2): Mike Florio, Chris Simms

Overall

Panthers: 6

Bengals: 39

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