Not a fantastic week for "Dajani Dimes." The New Orleans Saints couldn't get us the cover in Paris, the Minnesota Vikings missed a cover against the Indianapolis Colts by half a point, and the Kansas City Chiefs never got off the plane in Seattle. We did have the Cincinnati Bengals defeating the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions taking down the Green Bay Packers, though. This week around the NFL, Lamar Jackson is set to return to the lineup after missing the last three games with an ankle injury, the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have an interesting showdown in the NFC South, and Caleb Williams looks to score another major victory in prime time against Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks.
Here's what I'm thinking for this Sunday. As always, credit to the CBS Sports research team for making me sound smart. Top five picks ATS record: 16-18-1Overall ATS record: 51-54-2Straight-up record: 62-44-1 Sunday, 1 p.m.
ET (Fox, Stream: Fubo, try for free) The only remaining undefeated team in the NFL is a three-point underdog? I actually agree with the line. The Vikings have scored the fewest touchdowns (10) by a 6-0 team since the 1934 Lions, and rank 31st in offensive EPA.
They had to battle to beat the Colts last week -- who lost to the Tennessee Titans and are in the midst of a fire sale right now. The Lions rank No. 2 in total offense (397.3 yards per game) and scoring offense (30.7 points per game), and I would argue that Kelvin Sheppard is figuring it out on the defensive side of the ball. The Lions allowed just 17 points to Jordan Love and the Packers last week, and Brian Branch is back in the lineup.
Brian Flores is going to throw the kitchen sink at Jared Goff, and he's going to have to be ready for that pressure. But I think the Lions hand the Vikings their first loss of the season on Sunday. The pick: Lions -3Projected score: Lions 24-20 Sunday, 1 p.m.
ET (CBS, Stream on Paramount+) The Titans looked like a legitimate NFL team for one quarter last week, as they jumped out to a 14-0 lead over the Cleveland Browns. However, Deshaun Watson and Co. scored 17 unanswered points, and then Harold Fannin Jr. took a short reception 36 yards down the field with 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to set up a game-winning field goal. Seriously, it looked like we were headed to overtime, but Robert Saleh's defense forgot there was time on the clock.
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