Previous Week Plays – 0-0
Season Record – 9-15
Week 7 Recap:
A rare bye week for the BetCrushers in week seven as the travel schedule to watch some NFL ball took us away from the screens for a bit. With our rough start to the season, the break was probably needed, and we’ll hope it gave us a chance to get healthy and on track.
Week 8 Picks:
Dipping our toe back in the water with just a pair of plays, as the player prop market seems a little more appealing in week eight. We’re expecting fireworks in one ballgame, and backing a pair of tough defenses in a teaser bet. We may add something additional late, so don’t forget to follow @TheBetCrushers on X (Twitter).
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Cincinnati Bengals
vs. 
Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (3-4)
Sunday October 27th
1:00pm
Paycor Stadium – Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati Bengals -2.5 (-110)
Over/Under 48 (-110)
One of the more intriguing inter conference matchups of the weekend has the Philadelphia Eagles in Cincinnati to face the Bengals in a critical contest. If you’re a glass half full kind of person, the winner could be gaining some momentum for the second half of the season, while the loser will see their playoff odds decrease dramatically. There are some individual matchups that favor each team on Sunday, but which will be able to do enough to come away with a win?
The Philadelphia Eagles offense is getting healthy with the players you know for your fantasy leagues, but they may have an issue with stud left tackle Jordan Mailata slated to miss the game. At this point in the season, the Eagles offense has essentially been Saquon Barkley, and an occasional home run play to the X and Y wide receivers. As far as consistent quarterback play, Jalen Hurts ranks somewhere around the middle of the pack, and has not done well when blitzed or under pressure. If the Bengals have a weapon on defense, it’s right end Trey Hendrickson, who is just a tiny tier below the top guys in the league like T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett. Backup tackle Fred Johnson will have his hands full containing Hendrickson, and how well that happens will be a huge factor in the outcome of this game. The good news for the Eagles is they should be able to double Hendrickson when needed, as the Bengals have struggled to generate pressure at any other positions. There’s more to be optimistic about for Philly in this matchup, as Saquon Barkley should have another productive game out of the backfield. The Bengals run defense is much improved since getting three linemen back over the last couple of weeks, but it’s still not elite. Look for Barkley to continue his strong play here in a close matchup. Perhaps the biggest plus for the Eagles is the previously mentioned X and Y receivers, A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. With the tandem healthy, it really opens things up overall for Hurts and the offense, especially outside of the numbers. The Bengals have been good defending the middle of the field, but have not been great defending the outside. The Eagles rarely throw in the middle of the field, so Jalen Hurts should be in his element in this matchup.
Lost in the team’s overall slow start is the fact the Bengals have by most metrics, a top five offense in the league through seven weeks. Joe Burrow is playing as well as he ever has, and with WR Tee Higgins back in the lineup, the offense looks good. Despite investing in the secondary, the Eagles rank dead last in the league at defending number one wide receivers, so this should absolutely be a Ja’Marr Chase game, with Higgins getting his share as well. The question on the Cincy side of the ball is whether or not they’ll be able to run it effectively to stay balanced? Zack Moss has been pretty pedestrian, and Chase Brown is often hit or miss when he’s in the game. The Eagles would undoubtedly like to play coverage against the talented Bengals receivers, but they’re going to have to prove they can stop the run with their defensive front first. One other note regarding the Bengals offense, not counting the week one debacle, their worst performances were on the road, so in a small sample size, you can make the argument they’re more explosive in the friendly home stadium.
Key Stats and Trends
– The Eagles are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games
– The Bengals are 10-0 ATS in their last 10 games vs. the Eagles
– The total has gone over in 8 of the last 11 games for the Bengals
– The total has gone over in 5 of the last 6 home games for the Bengals
If you couldn’t tell from our breakdown above, we’re buying into the offenses a lot more than the defenses in this game. The Eagles are going to struggle with the talented wide receivers for the Bengals, and Saquon Barkley should roll for Philly. When you add in what we discussed with the approach the Eagles like to take outside of the numbers and the Bengals struggles there, it just seems like both teams are going to struggle to get off the field. If you’re thinking the Eagles defense is taking form, it’s important to note against good offenses, they’re giving up over 28 ppg. In simple terms, beating up on the Giants without their left tackle may be a little misleading. Look for a bit of a back and forth type of game that hopefully gets over the total.
BetCrushers Take: Total – Over 48
Bengals 28, Eagles 24
Teaser Bet
New York Jets vs. New England Patriots
New York Giants vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
vs. 
and 
vs. 
New York Jets (2-5) vs. New England Patriots (1-6)
Sunday October 27th
1:00pm
Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, MA
New York Jets -7 (-110)
Over/Under 41 (-110)
New York Giants (2-5) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
Monday October 28th
8:15pm
Acrisure Stadium – Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh Steelers -6 (-110)
Over/Under 36.5 (-110)
TEASER MOVES SPREADS TO: New York Jets -1 and Steelers pick
The New York Jets are hoping to right the ship when they travel to New England to take on the divisional rival Patriots. If there’s ever been a team needing a win, it’s the Jets right at this moment. Monday Night Football offers fans the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting a New York Giants team coming off of a pretty ugly loss to the Eagles. Can this pair of touchdown-ish favorites in the Jets and the Steelers finally bring us a teaser bet victory?
The Jets franchise isn’t shying away from a tough start to the season as they’re still investing in trying to put a winner on the field. Offensively, that means adding another of quarterback Aaron Rodgers old buddies, Davante Adams into the mix at wide receiver. With Mike Williams unable to show any splash off of his knee injury, Adams teams with Garrett Wilson to give the Jets about as good of a one-two punch at the position as there is in the league. They’ll attack a Patriots defense that has some talent in the secondary, but is a unit that head coach Jerod Mayo publicly stated is “soft” earlier this week. Will that motivate the Patriots to step up, or has New England essentially already punted on their season before the halfway point? Where it really will show up is in their run defense, which is allowing over 4.7 yards per carry to opposing teams. The Jets offense seems to click best when they can get Breece Hall going, so let’s see if the Pats can toughen up here. On the other side of the ball, Patriot fans can at least get excited about watching Drake Maye make another start at QB. The youngster has looked like a rookie at times, but has also provided some really encouraging play as well. The Jets defense hasn’t looked like the Jets defense since the firing of head coach Robert Saleh, but that probably has more to do with some key injuries they’ve had, particularly in their secondary. D.J. Reed looks as though he’ll return, so that should help against a very weak skill unit for New England. The Jets will also get some snaps out of pass rush specialist Haason Reddick, who ended his holdout and will make his season debut. With a healthier defensive group, the Jets should be able to make things tough on a rookie quarterback, and at least keep tabs on Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson and the running game.
The other New Jersey club, also known as the New York Giants were dealt a big blow as their best offensive lineman, left tackle Andrew Thomas was lost for the season in week seven. Thomas had helped provide some stability and decency for an offensive line that was atrocious a season ago. That’s not ideal for quarterback Daniel Jones, who hasn’t been sharp most of the year, and was even benched at the end of last week’s contest. The Giants will try to run the ball with Devin Singletary and rookie Tyrone Tracy, Jr., but a healthy Steelers defense has proved physical and stout all year. The bright spot for New York has been rookie Malik Nabers, and the other receivers on the team, but with Alex Highsmigh and T.J. Watt breathing down the neck of Jones, it may be difficult to get the ball down the field. With a raucous crowd as always at Acrisure Stadium, we could see a lot of punts, or even worse, turnovers from the G-Men. The Steelers offense actually has a pretty favorable matchup in this game as well. Pittsburgh wants to run the football with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, and the Giants rank dead last in run defense in the league. Look for the Steelers to run it until the Giants prove they can find a way to stop it. If Russell Wilson can pick up where he left off in the second half of the game he played a week ago, it could be a long night for the Giants defense.
Key Stats and Trends
– The Patriots have lost six straight games straight up
– The Patriots are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games
– The Giants are 1-4 straight up in their last 5 games vs. the Steelers
– The Steelers are 8-3 straight up and ATS in their last 11 games
Hold your breath if you’re betting on the New York Jets for anything right now, but that’s why they call it gambling. The Jets can’t possibly lose this game, can they? It’s hard to even type that sentence, yet here we are. Drake Maye will have some trouble going against the corners of the Jets, so as long as New York can slow down the running game, they should find a way to get it done. If they don’t, sheesh, watch out in New York. Speaking of watching out in New York, watch out for Daniel Jones health against the Steelers defense. Without Andrew Thomas, it’s going to be really tough for the Giants to move the ball. The Steelers are strong enough defensively to slow down the Giants running game, and their pass rush will have Jones flustered. Russell Wilson proved he can do enough to help the offense, but it’ll really be about the Steelers running backs. Ultimately, this is a game that the Steelers should simply win, way more often than they’d ever lose.
BetCrushers Take: Tease Jets -1 and Steelers pick
Jets 22, Patriots 17 / Steelers 24, Giants 16
