Sunday, September 27, 2020 Las Vegas Raiders vs. New England Patriots (NFL) - 1:00 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Money Line: -240 New England Patriots Rating: 9* Mike's NFL Earlybird Dependable (WIN) Let there be NO mistake! HC Bill Belichick is coaching this season with fire in his eyes. He's heard way too much negative comments about how Tom Brady made him a successful coach. The Patriots STILL have Josh McDaniels as OC & he WILL exploit Las Vegas DE's Maxx Crosby & Clelin Ferrell throughout the day. QB Cam Newton looks very comfortable in his new system as witnessed by his 4 rushing TD's along with a 71.4% completion rate. It's going to be a tall task to force him to stay in the pocket. As far as turnovers go, New England has thrown 1 pick on offense while collecting 4 from their "D". My bottom line says there's no denying that the Raiders struggle mightily when traveling to the mid-west or east posting a 2-9 SU record & an average scoring margin of -17! Belichick is excellent @ taking away a team's best player (RB Josh Jacobs) & making an offense one-dimensional. He's also a not too shabby 65% ATS coming off a SU loss. Off their Vegas debut home opener & on a 10 a.m. biological clock, the Silver N' Black will be gassed @ the end. However, we play the numbers & this number is slightly inflated. Therefore, there's only 1 way to play this. Let's go Gillette Stadium & play the NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS to ge the "W" as my 9* NFL Earlybird Dependable. Monday, September 28, 2020 Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens (NFL) - 8:15 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Money Line: -160 Baltimore Ravens Rating: 8* Mike's MNF Attention Grabber (LOSS) Both of these teams made some nifty off-season personnel changes. However, Baltimore's defense has beefed up quite well. They addressed key issues & have reloaded to control the line of scrimmage. Even though were actually in Week 3 of pre-season & not three weeks into the regular season, the Ravens' "D" have limited opponents to 11 PPG. QB Lamar Jackson (77.6% completions this season) has been grilled & battered about being 0-2 SU (both close games the past few seasons) versus Mahomes all week. He will PRODUCE here! In his young career, he's a perfect 4-0 SU in primetime & is almost identical to Mahomes having a 28/1 TD/INT ratio his last 9 regular season games. My bottom line points out Inner Harbor's Finest have rushed for 100+ yards in 18 straight games (longest streak in the league) & matchup nicely with KC's front line of defense. Remember, the blueprints to beat KC have already been laid by the Chargers last week. The key addition of Baltimore DT Calais Campbell makes that "D" considerably better (they allow 1.2 yards LESS per play than the Chiefs). What's even more alarming is the fact that the KC defense allowed close to 500 yards to a rookie QB (Justin Herbert) last week. It's hard to ignore Baltimore having won 14 straight non-playoff games in a row entering in. This looks like a preview of the AFC championship gamer barring injuries. SIDE NOTE: The last time KC came to Baltimore after a Super Bowl winning season was back in 1970 when the Chiefs with Lenny Dawson beat Johnny Unitas & the Colts 44-24 @ Memorial Stadium. Get pumped & get ready! We're off to an empty M&T Bank Stadium by the Chesapeake Bay to play the BALTIMORE RAVENS for the "W" as my 8* MNF Attention Grabber! NOTES: It was a decent weekend going 2-1 (67%) overall in football. I didn't see it coming when Baltimore came out with a vanilla or basic defense as if to say that home field for the playoffs isn't a big advantage due to COVID. The Ravens secondary didn't press much as Pat Mahomes & Co. rang up 517 yards of offense (385 through the air). Baltimore's offense focused on ground & pound (158 rushing yards) with no fancy play-calling throughout as they ended up with a -8 minutes time of possession. Stay tuned as this "keep our fellas healthy for the post-season" approach may catch on by the winning power teams with a Top 5 defense who are content with making the playoffs despite the seeding. Going into Week 4, KC's is @ 5-1 odds to win the Super Bowl but Baltimore is 7-2 or 3 1/2-1! Remember, this is a marathon & not as sprint whether you're a player or a handicapper. The mushes stole 1 here but our talent, luck, work & nerve approach will crush them in the end. Look @ our overall for the complete picture & you'll see where I'm going! Join me as I go for that near-impossible Exotic Triple Crown in horse racing handicapping (@ the Preakness Saturday) where you must win an exotic bet (exacta-trifecta-superfecta-super hi-5) in all 3 races (Kentucky Derby-Preakness-Belmont Stakes). Mike Handzelek's 2020-21 NFL Week 3 record: 1-1 50% Mike Handzelek's 2020-21 NFL Overall Record: 5-3 62.5% Mike Handzelek's 2020-21 CFB & NFL Combined Record: 10-3 76.9%
 

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