Kickoff ‘23

The Linc will be rockin' again this
season. (Photo credit: Pat Quinn)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year 🎶 . . . for sports fans. Football is back, there’s nothing better than meaningful fall baseball, and basketball isn’t far off. The sports writer in me always wants to come out and play when the weather turns a little cooler (the weather people say it’s happening this weekend). So, I’m dusting off my Blogger account and seeing if I can get the motor running on Rob Q. Ink – A Philly Sports Blog.

The NFL kicks off their season tonight with the Detroit Lions facing the reigning Super Bowl Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. If you’re wondering how the hell the Lions got part of this marquee matchup, I’m right there with ya. But it’s the only national Thursday night game fans are able to watch without paying for a streaming service, so shut up and enjoy it (said the NFL 😊😉🏈). (The guide on our cable service has next week’s Eagles game airing on FOX 29. I do not believe Prime Thursday Night Football games were available without the streaming service even in local regions of the teams playing last season.)

I don’t love season long bets in the any sport, especially the NFL. Injuries play too much of a role, and, let’s face it, my bankroll’s never been big enough to shelve a decent percentage of it waiting for a months-long bet to play out. Plus, I rarely see odds that are worth it. If you’re putting down money on a long-term bet, the payout’s gotta be substantial – unless you think it’s a slam dunk and you got the money 💰 to go big. For instance, the Eagles over/under Wins total for the regular season is 11.5, but “over” is -105 and “under” is -115. (If you’re new to gambling, the number is based on $100; so, in this case you would have to bet $105 on the “over” to win $100. You can bet other amounts; the ratio just stays the same.) I just don’t think that’s worth a season long bet. That said, here’s some thoughts on season props based on odds from Sugar House on Thursday morning:

Chiefs to beat the Eagles at +3000: Because the universe likes to laugh at me 😂. (If you don’t know the story of me giving up my Eagles fandom . . . good!) It’s all about quarterbacks in the NFL. If you want to take someone over Patrick Mahomes, good luck; and the way Philadelphia uses Jalen Hurts, I can’t pick anyone in the NFC over the Eagles right now. (This was +2800 DraftKings on Wednesday.)

Eagles “over” 11.5 Wins: If Jalen Hurts stays healthy, I think the Eagles go a streaky 14-3. Granted, I’ve looked at the schedule for about a minute, but I don’t see them losing before the bye, then I have them losing 3 straight in a brutal stretch (@KC, Buffalo, San Francisco), and winning out to finish the season. (Total was the same on DK on Wednesday; the odds were +108 on SH on Thursday morning.)

Steelers “over” 8.5 Wins: At -150, I’m definitely not betting this (nor have bet the two above, yet), but I know my haters will want me to mention my Steelers fandom. This 8.5 number is right around where I have the Steelers – again, looking at the schedule very quickly. I’m happy Kenny Pickett got a full off-season as the starter. But their division is brutal with three great or potentially great quarterbacks – Deshaun Watson in Cleveland, Joe Burrow in Cincinnati, and Lamar Jackson in Baltimore – and I don’t trust their defense. (This was -145 on DK on Wednesday.)

Tonight’s game. DraftKings threw me some bonus money to play in their casino, and I was lucky enough to turn it into $20.50. So, I put that money on Kansas City -6.5 over Detroit on Tuesday morning . . . and the next time I went online, I saw that Travis Kelce had gotten hurt 😒. I’m not too worried. Writing on Wednesday night, the line had dropped to 4.5 on DK. It was -5 Thursday morning on Sugar House. I’ll take what I got at -6.5 and call it an official pick. Tread lightly.

What else? You tell me! Get in the comments section and let’s have some fun with this! Give us your best bets for the season or the weekend. I’ll do the same if I have any college or NFL picks for the weekend. And, we have some social media share buttons for sites you might actually use. So, if you like the post, feel free to share it! (Forgive the old-looking Twitter button – it still works.)

 

 

Note: I generally play on Sugar House simply because I’ve won there more. I also have trouble with DraftKings’ geo locator tool for some reason, including Thursday morning, which is why DK numbers are from Wednesday.

Note: This post originally stated that fans would not be able to see any Thursday night NFL games after tonight until Thanksgiving without a streaming service. Later, I learned these games are available in the local markets of the teams playing and made appropriate corrections.