Watch: Nostrathomas Predicts! The Falcons Attempt to Go 2-0 In the NFC South
After crushing the New Orleans Saints last week in their first game within the NFC South, the Atlanta Falcons travel to Charlotte to play the Carolina Panthers in Week 11.
Last week, Nostrathomas was 1-2 straight-up, but sports books don’t pay for just picking winners. He went 3-0 against the spread, picking Atlanta to stay within 13 points of the Saints, the Miami Dolphins to keep within one score of the Indianapolis Colts and predicting that the Baltimore Ravens would crush the Cincinnati Bengals.
Heading into Week 11, Nostrathomas is now 11-4 in his picks against the spread on Falcons Maven and 8-5 straight-up. Let’s keep the win streak going with the following.
Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers -4 (1PM ET; Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC)
This game opened with the Panthers favored by -7. That spread has been gradually dropping during the week as two-thirds of public money has been backing the Panthers.
Ready for a surprise? The Falcons have won seven of their last eight games against the Carolina Panthers. Normally, Nostrathomas would say, the trend is your friend, but until last week Atlanta has been trending towards the cellar of the NFC and contending for a top five draft pick in 2020.
The Falcons did two things exceptionally well last week. They shut down Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray on the ground and held the lead most of the game which forced Drew Brees to pass more than he would have liked. Knowing that New Orleans would be relying on the arm of the practically immobile Brees, the Falcons pass rush finally got home, dropping him six times for 46 yards.
The Falcons are still fifth in the NFL in rushing yards per attempt allowed but this week they face one of the top all-round backs in the game in Christian McCaffrey. He currently leads the league in average rushing yards per game with 109.9, rushing touchdowns with 11 and 14 rushing/receiving touchdowns.
To have a chance in this game, Matt Ryan will have to get the Falcons out to another quick lead and force quarterback Kyle Allen into passing more. If Ryan can’t and Allen only totals 25 to 30 attempts for the game, Atlanta will lose by at least a touchdown.
Take the Carolina Panthers at home to win and cover the -4 spread.
Carolina Panthers 29 Atlanta Falcons 22
Now let’s see what other games look good that will allow you to cash another multi-bet parlay this week.
Denver Broncos at Minnesota Vikings -10 (1 PM ET; U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN)
Yes, the Denver Broncos are coming off their bye week and beat the Cleveland Browns 24-19 in Week 9. Now forget it.
The Vikings hold most of the high cards heading into this game and have won their four home games by an average of 16 points per game. Denver’s rookie quarterback Brandon Allen had a strong game at home against the Browns. He’s stepping up in class this week in facing Minnesota’s relentless defense.
Vikings win and cover easily.
Minnesota Vikings 32 Denver Broncos 17
Arizona Cardinals +10 at San Francisco 49ers (4:05 PM ET; Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA)
The 49ers are coming off a short week and emotionally draining Monday night overtime loss at home to the Seattle Seahawks. They also have a game coming up against the 8-2 Green Bay Packers next week. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will also be missing tight end George Kittle and receiver Emmanuel Sanders for the second straight week.
The Cardinals aren’t good enough to win against a team of San Francisco’s caliber on the road, yet. They did keep their Week 9 game at home close, only losing 28-25.
Take the 49ers to win but 10 points is too big a spread for them to be laying this week. Arizona should cover.
San Francisco 49ers 24 Arizona Cardinals 16
