BOB’S NFL WEEK 5 “BEST BET”: STEELERS TO CRUSH JAGUARS
The Pittsburgh Steelers are playing surprisingly well on defense and the offense is due to explode.
Jacksonville followed up a resounding 44-7 romp over Baltimore in London by doing the unthinkable – losing 23-20 at the New York Jets.
This week’s “Best Bet”: PITTSBURGH (-8) 30, Jacksonville 13.
Sunday’s other games
(home teams in CAPS)
Buffalo 20, CINCINNATI (-3) 13 – After picking the Bills to lose 30-7 in Atlanta, I feel obliged to give them the nod against Andy Dalton and Co. It won’t be easy. Buffalo doesn’t have enough firepower to ever win easily.
San Francisco 24, INDIANAPOLIS (-1 ½) 15 – The 49ers are due for some breaks after losing their last three games by 3, 2 and 3 points.
CLEVELAND (-1) 21, New York Jets 17 –To say the least, the Browns are due for a victory (2-29 in their last 31 games) and could have just enough defense to get the job done here.
Carolina 24, DETROIT (-2 ½) 20 -- The Panthers should win if they don’t cough up the football. The Lions lead the NFL with 11 takeaways.
Tennessee 27, MIAMI (+3) 15 – Titans QB Marcus Mariota has a hamstring problem and could be replaced by Matt Cassel. That wouldn’t be good. Dolphins QB Jay Cutler and RB Jay Ajayi are healthy but struggling.
NEW YORK GIANTS (-3 ½) 28, Los Angeles Chargers 20 – One of these 0-4 teams almost has to win and I believe the Giants have more overall talent.
PHILADELPHIA (-6 ½) 24, Arizona 13 – The Cardinals are averaging 2.7 yards per rush. That means QB Carson Palmer will be under steady pressure and likely to have a few costly giveaways.
Seattle 27, LOS ANGELES RAMS (-1) 17 – The Rams are 3-1 and scored 122 points in the three victories. They could be ripe for a letdown after a 35-30 win in Dallas.
Baltimore 24, OAKLAND (-2 ½) 20 – EJ Manuel replaces injured Raiders QB Derek Carr and gets a chance to show up his critics. I don’t think he’ll do it, even at home against the rather ordinary Ravens.
Green Bay 35, DALLAS (-2 1/2) 31 – Packers QB Aaron Rodgers getting points is too good to pass up.
Kansas City (-1) 21, HOUSTON 14 – The Chiefs aren’t the NFL’s only undefeated team (4-0) by accident. QB Alex Smith could be the early favorite for league MVP and RB Kareem Hunt has been the NFL’s best offensive rookie (though Texans rookie QB Deshaun Watson could close the gap in this spot).
Monday night’s game
CHICAGO 20, MINNESOTA (-3) 17 – Rookie QB Mitchell Trubisky gets his first NFL start. Minnesota’s pass rush will bother him but he should produce enough points to outscore an offense minus QB Sam Bradford and star rookie RB Dalvin Cook.
BEST WISHES TO NICOLAS DESLAURIERS
No offense to 26-year-old left wing Nicolas Deslauriers, but I was happy to see the Buffalo Sabres trade him to the Montreal Canadiens this week for defenseman Zack Redmond, who was assigned to Rochester.
Deslauriers is a strong physical hockey player but hasn’t displayed much of a scoring touch. The Sabres have had too many forwards of that ilk taking up spots on the roster for too long.
In 211 games with Buffalo the past four NHL seasons, he had 12 goals, 18 assists and 186 penalty minutes. He did supply some of the toughness every pro hockey team needs. His plus-minus was -54. Last season, in 42 games with the Sabres, he had 0 goals and 2 assists.
Maybe he’ll find a scoring touch with the Canadiens. But I don’t believe Deslauriers was going to be a scoring machine for Rochester – let alone Buffalo.
Redmond is a solid 29-year-old defenseman and figures to be insurance for the Sabres in a manpower pinch. In 130 career NHL games with Winnipeg, Colorado, and Montreal, he has 9 goals and 29 assists. His acquisition is more proof that Buffalo is committed to putting an improved product on the ice in Rochester.
SHORT SHOTS
The deadline for baseball’s Most Valuable Player balloting was before the postseason started. That’s good for Yankees rookie slugger Aaron Judge. He struck out four times – and looked bad doing it – in Thursday night’s loss to Cleveland in Game 1 of their ALDS series. Earlier in the day, Houston’s Jose Altuve – all 5-foot-6 of him, hit THREE home runs in a romp over visiting Boston in the opener of their ALDS.
Too bad the Buffalo Bills couldn’t have loaned kicker Stephen Hauschka to Tampa Bay Thursday night. The Buccaneers played well enough to upset New England were it not for veteran kicker Nick Folk going 0-for-3 on his field goal attempts. The Patriots won 19-14.
The Las Vegas over/under number (combined points by both teams) for Saturday’s Pittsburgh Panthers at Syracuse Orange football game is 66 ½. That’s a lot of points, but remember – Pitt won 76-61 over SU last season in the highest-scoring game in FBS history. The teams combined for 137 points and 1,312 yards offense (Su had 668 of them).
Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson probably lost any chance he had to repeat as the second repeat Heisman Trophy with his team’s 39-25 loss at NC State. He played well but it was the second loss for the Cardinals. He’s going to be a great pro. But at what position?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Friday, October 7
Mookie Betts (25)...Nik Stauskas (24)...Olivier Vernon (27)...Russell Okung (30)...Chase Daniel (31)...Jairus Byrd (31)...Evan Longoria (32)...Charles Woodson (41)...Priest Holmes (44)...Mike Hurlbut (51)...Jayne Torvill (60)...Brian Sutter (61)...Dick Jauron (67). John Mellancamp (66) is invited to the birthday party. Vladimir Putin (65) is not.
Saturday, October 8
Grayson Allen (22)...WWE star Mike “Miz” Mizanin (37)...Matt Bionda (52)...Tony Eason (58)...Bill Elliott (62)...Enos Cabell (68)...former Amerks AHL MVP Art Stratton (82). Bruno Mars (32), Matt Damon (47), Sigourney Weaver (68). Chevy Chase (74), Jesse Jackson (76) and Paul “Crocodile Dundee” Hogan (78) are invited to the birthday party.
Sunday, October 9
Cam Robinson (22)...Jerian Grant (25)...Stephen Gionta (34)...Kenny Anderson (47)...Annika Sorenstam (47)...Trevor Matich (56)...Mike Singletary (58)...Steve Ovett (62)...Brian Downing (67)...Shep Messing (68)...Joe Pepitone (77). Rochester Royals center and Basketball Hall of Famer Arnie Risen was born on this date 93 years ago (1924) and died in 2012 at age 87.