Watch: Nostrathomas Predicts: Falcons Favorites in the Valley of the Sun
The Atlanta Falcons find themselves playing an unfamiliar role this week. They are 2.5-point favorites on the road in Arizona to face the Cardinals. If the Falcons lose, they can kiss any remaining hopes of making a playoff run goodbye. For Arizona, this game is another step in the development of rookie quarterback Kyler Murray.
Last week Nostrathomas gave you three bets to parlay. Two came in. Unfortunately for Falcons fans, one was the Houston Texans covering the five-point spread over the Falcons. The other was when the New England Patriots covered the 15.5 point spread while ending Jay Gruden’s head coaching career in Washington. The miss happened when the Oakland Raiders scored their final touchdown to beat the Chicago Bears 24-21, taking the game over the 40.5-point total.
We’re going to try another three-bet parlay for Week 6. So far this season Nostrathomas is 5-1 against the point spread and 4-2 straight-up with his predictions on Falcon Maven. Here are your recommendations.
Atlanta Falcons -2.5 at Arizona Cardinals, Point Total – Over 51.5 (4:05 PM ET; State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ)
The Falcons have rolled over Arizona in the last three games these teams have played against each other but each one had Atlanta hosting. An even more surprising trend is that, going back to the 2004 season, the home team has won every one of the nine games between these two.
Now to what really matters for tomorrow. Both teams can crank it up on offense but neither have acted like they understand you also need to play defense in this league.
For the Cardinals, they’re finding out that they have more quarterback in Kyler Murray than anyone gave them credit for when they made him the first overall draft pick last April. One thing Murray seems to have learned very quickly is, find Larry Fitzgerald and get him the ball. Even at age 36, Fitzgerald makes things happen for the Cardinals.
The challenge for the Falcons is scoring enough points to make up for their deficiencies on defense. Murray is currently the third most sacked quarterback in the NFL. That’s not as big an advantage as it sounds. Marcus Mariota and Deshaun Watson also take a lot of sacks and the Falcons defensive front made Tennessee’s and Houston’s offensive linemen look like Pro Bowlers.
The hope is that the Falcons treat this game like their season is on the line, because it is. Because of that, Nostrathomas recommends you take the road favorites to win and cover the spread.
Because of what these teams can do on offense, and the fact that Dan Quinn refuses to blitz vulnerable quarterbacks on defense, he also recommends you take the over 51.5 points. This game is going to boil down to which team can outscore the other.
Atlanta Falcons 30 Arizona Cardinals 27
For a third bet to put down this weekend, the Seattle Seahawks are going on the road to play the Cleveland Browns and are favored by just one point.
The Seahawks and quarterback Russell Wilson are the Rodney Dangerfields of the NFL. They get no respect, no matter how much they win and who they beat. Currently, Seattle is a far superior team to the struggling Browns and should win this game. Take the Seahawks -1 to complete your Week 6, three-bet parlay.
