← FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast
FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast
Top Predictions & Prop Bets for the Conference Championship Round (Ep. 1943)
00:56:29
Loading summary
Transcript77 lines
- [00:00]
A
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hello, everybody. Welcome into the Fantasy Pros Football podcast. I'm Ryan, warmly joined by Andrew Ericson, fresh off of being at Gillette Stadium for the Patriots making it to the AFC Conference Championship game. How was it there, Ericson?
- [00:19]
B
It was sick. There's really no other way to describe it. However, looked on tv, the weather wasn't as bad, but the crowd, the energy, the electricity in the audience, it was a blast. It was definitely one of the most fun Patriots games I've ever been to. And growing up in New England, I'm lucky enough that my parents have had access to tickets for basically my entire life. And it's because they had tickets when the Patriots used to be very, very bad before Tom Brady ever showed up. So, been to a lot of Patriots games, but this one's definitely super memorable. Just the way that they were able to win, the weather, the big plays, the K, Sean Booty touchdown. Just absolutely amazing. Amazing time.
- [01:00]
A
Sounds super fun. I've only attended one Ravens playoff home game or one Ravens playoff game ever, and it was when they lost to the Titans in 2019 as the 1 seed. So that was a huge bummer. That's. That's my low. And it was frigid that night, too. It was a Saturday night. I will. I will remember that for a very long time. But congrats to you on getting to be there in person for your team winning and an interesting playoff game. We talked about how this slate, there's no way it was going to live up to the wild card weekend. Just like how awesome it was. We did get some awesomeness. We got some, you know, less than awesome games as well. This was the one that's kind of in between where it was like weird and memorable, but like not a well played game. Obviously very sloppy. Largely weather driven. Also largely CJ Stroud driven. So an interesting one to be at for you. Congrats again on the win. You went three and one in the divisional round. I went two and two. We were talking before the show. I very much feel like the two losses I had were spiritually correct because they were the Unders in the Seattle game and the New England game. And the only reason both of those games went over is because of a pick six or short fields or, you know, special teams touchdown. Like, I was correct about it being defensive struggles in both. So spiritually I feel like I went for it now, but. But, but sadly, I included the actual Unders in my official prediction, so I have to eat. The two losses there but you went three and one. You're back up to.500 here overall since we started doing the show a few weeks ago.
- [02:33]
B
Yeah, a lot of my credit will go to targeting the Rams defense with slot wide receivers. That is cooked two weeks in a row. Jalen Coker, he destroyed the Rams defense. Luther Burden, not as big of a game, but still went over his receptions. And I know we're not going to talk about this specific prop, but I really like Cooper cup. Again, the slot receiver facing the Rams defense. That's what you want to attack. So Cooper cup has a really low receptions number. So I'll just drop that nugget here as a tease for when we get into more player props later on on the show.
- [03:02]
A
So what we're going to do this show, since we only have two games, is we are going to each make a prediction against the spread for both games. We are each going to make a prediction on the total for both games. And we are each going to give a player prop for. For both games. We have kept these secret from each other. Usually we kind of put them in the sheet together and we know what each other's gonna say. I wanted to go into this with so few games and knowing we're picking the same things as in, like, we're. We. You know, it's not like, oh, one of us is doing the total, one of us is doing the spread. We are both picking the spread, we're both picking the total. All that. I wanted us to come in and be surprised by what each other picked and see if we are on the same page or not. About these. Um, I'll go first in the first game. Cause it's the one I feel more confident about. And then I'll let you go first on the second. Cause I feel much less confident on the second. Patriots at Broncos. The line. I have it in here as is four and a half. I don't know if it's moved. When I was doing it yesterday, that's what it was on Hard Rock. Bet we could double check that here as we're talking. But at four and a half, I had the Broncos plus four and a half. This is me totally going again. Everybody is just like, patriots have the easiest schedule of all time. They finally. They get to face Jarrett Stidham in the. You know, in the AFC Conference Championship game. Like, what an unbelievable schedule they've had. And I kind of want to push against that narrative. Not that they're wrong. It's been an incredibly easy schedule, but Denver is a tough place. To play. This is a very good defense. Now, Patriots just did take advantage of, you know, Houston's defense, but that was largely with help from Houston's offense. Maybe that plays out again here with the Broncos offense and Stidham, but I think the Broncos defense is really good. I think this Broncos team is already sick of people, like, just writing them off because of the Bo Knicks injury. And I, I really do feel like this game will be close. I do think the Patriots end up winning. My, my prediction is simply Broncos plus four and a half. I do think the Patriots will end up winning the game, but I just think it's going to be a lot closer than people expect. I also think Sean Payton is arrogant enough to think that he can dial some stuff up with Stidham and maybe he'll end up being right. This is a guy who is very, like, creative and aggressive and does things that you might not expect. He's a really good head coach when he has his, you know, fully healthy team. With Stidham, you know, backs against the wall, nothing to lose. Like, I could see him trying some, some fun, unique plays here with stum. This was like the first guy they signed on free agency when Sean Payton was hired there. I do think he believes in Stidham and I just think this game will end up being closer than a lot of people are giving credit to it being. So this is, this was the easy one for me.
- [05:38]
B
Of all.
- [05:39]
A
Of all the totals, of all the spreads, this was the first one I wrote down. Broncos plus four and a half.
- [05:44]
B
Well, you chose the wrong Patriots fan to take the Broncos because that's the way I view this, too. I also really like the Broncos here with the points, so I don't really have any pushback about everything that you kind of listed out. I agree with a lot of those points. I think what I want to pose a question to you is about what would you put this line before the Bonix injury? So let's just pretend like, okay, Bonix is a starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. What is the Vegas line in that case, with the Patriots heading to Denver?
- [06:14]
A
Are you asking what I think it would have been or what I would have said it at?
- [06:18]
B
What do you think it would have been?
- [06:20]
A
I think it would have been Broncos minus one and a half.
- [06:30]
B
Yeah. So that was the look ahead line and you look.
- [06:33]
A
Oh, that was the line. Okay.
- [06:34]
B
I did not know that you looked last weekend. So before the divisional games played out. Yeah, before we saw Denver beat Buffalo, before the Patriots beat the Texans, it was Broncos minus one and a half which was the same line as Broncos and Bills. And I think most people play neutral field. Bills, Patriots, it's probably even. So I agree with that line.
- [06:52]
A
Yeah.
- [06:53]
B
And what I can't kind of wrap my mat, wrap my mind around is how Trump dramatically this line has shifted. So I know that you mentioned four and a half. There's a couple five and a half's out there. So that's telling me that some people are weighing Bo Nick six points against the spread and that just seems like way too many points. Not because he hasn't been a good quarterback this year, but the way that he has played. It's been helpful for the Broncos to win games in the second halfs. I mean he leads the NFL in second half comebacks. He has eight game winning drives in either the fourth quarter or in overtime this season. That leads all players, including the Chicago Bears who ranked second in that category. So I agree with you that it's. Yeah, the Patriots are still more likely to win especially because of that quarterback injury. But in terms of covering the spread, like Bonix hasn't really been helpful for the Broncos in that capacity. Right. If anything he's probably been a hindrance because he's been overvalued against the number in a number of situations. And now I think that it's kind of being overstated and overinflated. Oh, now we have to bury the Broncos because they don't have Bonix. What was Bonick's passer rating this year? It was outside the top 16. It was like 20th. So they haven't been getting elite quarterback play at all times from Bo Nix. But again, like I said earlier, what he has been elite about doing is winning games in the second half. But that doesn't help in terms of oh well now they're going to or the Patriots are going to win by five points or they're going by four points. So that's one thing I kind of wanted to bring up just because I think from a numbers perspective I don't think anybody would say oh yeah, Bonix is worth six points against the spread, but then he is worth six points against the spread. If you look at the way that these numbers have shifted based on what we thought it would be heading into the weekend and what it ended up being with, with the injury. So I don't know if you have any other thoughts on that specific kind of like analysis.
- [08:41]
A
I think it's great analysis. I also like Bonix was really good against the Bills. So maybe this is somewhat of just like a reaction from fans saying, wow, that quarterback was really good. Like, we just watched him play well in the playoffs and losing him and thinking it's worth more than. If you look at the course of the whole season where you're right, I think six points is just too many to be giving. I get the sense that it's less about, hey, Bo Nix is really good and more about, like, we've never seen Jarrett Stidham really do anything like he's four starts in the NFL or something like that. And I don't think he's taking a snap since like 2023 because bo nix just has never really missed any time, you know, in terms of coaches coming off the field ever. So like I, for me it's a, it's a belief in Sean Payton, who obviously has, has been here before. It's a belief in the defense, which is still really good. I know The Bills scored 30 points, but Josh Allen, even with, with all the turnovers, is still Josh Allen. This is a, a really good defense. They are at home. That means something to me. This is, I forget, I forget how far going back it is. I saw the stat somewhere, but this is the, this is the most home team in the conference championship game has been an underdog by, in like many years. And I, I just think that's not correct. This is no team. Neither of these teams is a juggernaut, right? Like the Patriots are a flawed team that, yes, have taken advantage of an easy schedule. They deserve to be here because they've beaten the teams that are ahead of him. But it's clearly a down year in the conference. It's the, the, the big hitters are not there. There is not an alien quarterback here. Maybe Drake may gets there eventually, but you know, it's still this first year of being elite. And like to me that says anybody can win this game. And if you're giving me four and a half, five and a half, we're going to use hard rock bets, line of four and a half. But if you're giving me five and a half some places too, I like, I just think that the Broncos defense, being at home, Sean Payton of it all, the run game, I know it's really hard to run in the Patriots now that they've gotten healthy. But like, you know, Sean Payton is, is good at designing. Like, I, I just, again, I just think the number's too big and that's kind of, at the end of the day, I thought it, I thought it moved too much from Bo Nicks. And that was as simple as the analysis gets sometimes.
- [10:48]
B
Yeah, I think that it simply just comes down to the number that we're getting and I think it just best number comes with the Broncos side. And I agree with you. I think the Patriots are still going to find a way to win because I think that's ultimately what losing Bo Nicks cost the Denver Broncos. Not them covering the spread, but they lose by field goal because well, when Jared sit and gets the ball in the fourth quarter, he's going to throw a pick versus Bo Nix who has made plays with his legs, has, has made key throws. I mean even last week. Right. I mean the guy, the last play he makes that big throw to Marvin Mims and then you know, the fractured ankle again also too just not to bury the lead. But we were robbed of, of a like a potential like start of a rivalry between Bo Nicks and Dre may like two second year quarterbacks bring their team to the AFC championship game. So that sucked. Like, like, like it's just really too bad that we didn't get to see this quarterback, this marquee type of matchup between two teams that were we expect to be at the top of the AFC for the upcoming years. So that's one thing I wanted to mention. I do want to talk about a couple of the trends. So when you look at just Denver straight up as an underdog, they've covered four straight games as an underdog. They're actually undefeated against the spread as an underdog this season. So going back to when you're counting out the Broncos, this is a time to bet on them. But when they're favorite, that's when you usually want to shy away because they're usually overvalued by the betting market. They've covered the spread in seven of their last eight home games against a team that held a winning record. So to your point again, the Broncos have played good teams like for a lot of the season now they haven't always won or dominated those teams similar to way like the Patriots have dominated inferior competition. But yeah, I think that they're not getting enough credit here just because of the, the quarterback change. Ultimately will that help them win? Like that'll be the reason that they don't win is because they don't have Bonex. At least that's how I kind of see this matchup. But one thing to mention, and this will kind of tie dovetail into what I think is going to happen in the points scored in this game. The Patriots have not played a single top 10 defense on the road this season. They've played three top 10 defenses this year. The Browns, the Chargers, the Texans. Two have they played in the playoffs. How great is the Patriots offense look the last couple weeks? Not as great. And that's a credit to the opponents that they're playing like they're playing much tougher defense as they played throughout the entire season and they've been able to overcome it because Drake May has made a bunch of key place but he also has six fumbles over the last two weeks which is not good. And the Patriots offensive line, especially Will Campbell has been massively exposed against some of these top tier pass rushers. But now you're taking that on the road. And one of the common sayings and cliches that I think holds so true even to this day in the NFL is I believe it was Michael Lombardi. That's the one that's kind of like coined it is that bad offensive lines don't travel. We just saw the Chargers and Texans go to New England and get boat raced because they're not good offensive lines. The Patriots offensive line is better than it was last year. I don't still think I view this unit as oh this is a strength of their team. I don't think that's the case. The Broncos lead the NFL in sacks and sack percentage. Like and the Denver Broncos defense knows if we win this game it's because of our defense and that Jared Stim doesn't turn the ball over. So again, kind of supporting the case of why I like the Broncos with the points and also kind of like leading into as we get to the totals here. I like the under in this game at 41 1/2 points. I think that the this is another defense that's a really tough matchup for the New England Patriots and I don't need to go like out on a limb to say like why Jared Stidham might struggle, you know against the Patriots defense has played really well over the last couple weeks. Additionally. So I like the total going under 41 and a half as my total prediction.
- [14:27]
A
First of all, just a quick note on what you're saying. I'm not gonna bet it probably and obviously it's not my prediction. I I like the Broncos plus 200 plus 210 on the money line. Like I do think, I do think there is a chance they win this game and I, I think that line is too high also for the reasons you laid out. If Sean Payton is going to be just like drilling into stum, do not Turn the ball over. Like, we just. The Texans would have won that game if not for Stroud turning ball as.
- [14:53]
B
Much as they did. I was really watching the game. I didn't realize, like, you had to go back, like, how many interceptions did he throw? Because it could seem like every single time he dropped back to throw, yeah, he was gonna get intercepted. It reminded me a lot of, like, that Sam Darnold scene, ghost matchup, where it didn't matter what the Patriots are doing. This guy's dropping back. He doesn't see anything the right way. And I was surprised that we didn't see, like, Davis Mills. Now, I, I don't think that that would have been putting Mills in a great situation because the other thing is that I don't think Stroud is really getting any. No. Or. I haven't really heard anyone talk about this. Nico Collins didn't play the number one wide receiver, and Dalton Schultz got hurt in the first quarter. So. So, like, he's out there with a bunch of rookies playing in a playoff game on the road. Not ideal situations. Again, weather not great as an indoor team. So I think the deck was definitely stacked against CJ Stroud, but he obviously did not.
- [15:44]
A
It's worth noting for the Broncos, too. Like, Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant left that game against the Bills. Like, you know, I. I don't. I actually haven't really looked into if they're likely to be back on Sunday or not. I don't.
- [15:56]
B
Yeah, we don't. We don't have any injury reports yet.
- [15:59]
A
But, but. But I. I also am taking the under. It's actually up to 42 and a half. It's gone up on Hard Rock bet. So that'll be. The line we get is 42 and a half. I'm taking the under also, so, of course, we're on the same page. It. It seems like here I. I will tell you this. If Bo Knx was playing, I would have taken the under on 42 and a half. So the fact that I would have taken the under with Bo Nicks is. And now you're going to the backup quarterback makes it very easy. In fact, I said that the first thing I wrote down was the Broncos plus four and a half. That's actually not true. That's the second thing I wrote down. The first thing I wrote down was under 40, 41 and a half at the time when we were looking at it. So up to 42 and a half. I. I think that's the easiest bet on the board, honestly. Like, I, I Just really think that, like, it's a great point by you that Drake May, he has faced a couple of really good defenses. It hasn't been on the road. And like, again, Denver is a legitimate home field advantage. Not every team has that. Denver has one. And it's a particularly, I think, tough matchup for the Patriots because of the pass rush. Like, I. They maybe don't have, like, I mean, Nick Benino is really awesome. Like, they don't have like, the Miles Garrett type that you think of as, like, the stud. Like, but as a unit, this pass rush is the best in the NFL. Going up against this offensive line, a quarterback that has turned the ball over and people are like, oh, well, like, he's. He's now faced the Chargers and the Texans, so now he's getting used to these really good defenses. He wasn't facing so much in the regular season. He wasn't good. I mean, he was fine. He wasn't terrible. Like, obviously Drake May was good enough to win the game. Like, I don't want to make it sound like he was awful, but, like, he put the ball on the ground a lot against the Texans. Right. He needed. He Only scored like 16 points against the Chargers. Right. This is not. He hasn't been like, shredding these great defenses. So I really think the offense is going to struggle. And then of course, there's a backup for the Broncos and they're going to want to rely on the run game. But the Patriots is really good against the run. Like, frankly, with Stidham in the game, I'm. I was surprised this number was in the 40s. I thought it might be like 38 or 39 given how strong the defenses are and have been playing. And I wouldn't have expected that with Bo Nicks, but with the. With the backup in there too. So, like, to me, like, under 42 and a half. I'm sure it's gonna not work out for me again because every time I take the under, I'm spiritually correct. And then there's some special team, such yacht or something. But this is a very easy call for me to take the under here.
- [18:17]
B
Yeah. Denver going back to how well they performed against the spread as an underdog, when they bit an underdog, those games one and four towards the over. So whenever you want to lean on the underdog in a particular matchup, usually that coincides with the game going under the total. Right. Like, how does the underdog cover it? Oh, they keep it lower scoring and that's how you see underdogs cover. So that's kind of really been the script for Denver this year. So we are seeing this game very similarly where through the lens, Denver kind of mucks it up a little bit. You're not seeing an offensive explosion really from either sides. They keep it close. And then ultimately does Jared Sinna make a play to win the game for the Broncos or is it Drake? Man that makes a play and I'm on the side of Drake May is going to make the final play that gets the Patriots to the super bowl because that's what is going to hurt the Broncos the most is not having Bo Nix in the fourth quarter in the second half to make that key third down conversion. I just don't think Jared Sims going to be able to do this, but I don't think that we're just going to see this Broncos offense just score like zero points and just like totally. He knows the offense he's familiar with. He started games in the NFL. Again it's not like a ton but look at his two starts in Denver in 2023 or excuse me, the last time he started with the Broncos. So he averaged 15 points per game in those two starts. He also threw for 224 yards in both of those and he had at least one passing touchdown. So again like I expect him to put up like a mediocre stat line. But going back to how Denver is the third straight top 10 defense the Patriots have faced. The Patriots offense specifically. So not counting, oh they got a pick six last week. They averaged just 18.5 points per game over the last two weeks against the Chargers and the Texans. So two top tier defenses. I would put Denver in that same ilk of the Texans and Chargers. But now you get them at home so it's just a tougher spot.
- [20:04]
A
I think the Broncos and Texans are better than the Chargers. Like I, I think that the clear best three defenses in football are Seattle, Denver and Houston. Chargers are really good. They're up there. But I, I like, I think this is a tier one unless you want to put Seattle in their own tier. I think this is a tier one defense.
- [20:19]
B
Yeah. And the only other top 10 defense the Patriots have faced this year besides the ones in the playoffs. The Cleveland Browns. And we know the Browns are kind of. Their matchups are weird because if their offense just doesn't get out of their own way then it doesn't matter how good their defense is. But Miles Garrett had a monster game against the Patriots offensive line. Look at the top 10 defenses when Drake May has faced them this year. He's been sacked at least five times in all those games. At least five times. So another point of what kills offensive production Worm what stalls out drives Sacks. So if Drake May is getting a bunch of sacks Jared Stidham Another thing that you lose when you don't have Bo Nix is that mobility Bonix's ability to escape sacks. I don't think Jared Stim has that. So if this Patriots pass rush that's been on a heater the last couple weeks carries over into this game against a a pretty strong Denver Broncos offensive line, that's the other thing too. The last two defenses or offensive lines the Patriots have faced terrible the Chargers in Texas are probably two bottom five offensive lines the Broncos don't like. The Broncos have a top 10 offensive line. They have a very good offensive line.
- [21:22]
A
They got offensive lineman catching touchdown.
- [21:24]
B
Exactly. So I think that you might not see the Patriots pass just be just as nearly as good, especially when they're not playing at home. Already talked about the Drake May fumbles. He has six fumbles last two games, right. So if one ball doesn't bounce their way and I think that the Patriots have kind of got some favorable bounces in the last couple of weeks. If one goes to the Denver Broncos in a short field, okay, well then you look up and it's seven nothing Denver because Jared sit and just, you know, play action fake whatever hits the tight end or the running back out of the flat. You know, you could see a scenario where the Broncos defense creates short fields for their offense to get an easy score. And the last thing to Drake May where he's been able to make so much of his damage this year has been on these deep throws right down the field. 20 plus air yards. Even in this game against the Houston Texans, again, he only had to hit on a couple three, a couple key throws to really contribute the touchdown. Stefan Diggs Demario Douglas Cas on booty the Broncos are the number one defense in EPA allowed per pass attempt on passes thrown, 20 plus air yards. So if there's any team that can neutralize a downfield passing attack, it has been the Denver Broncos secondary. So to all these points that we've made, both teams actually ranked top four in points per game allowed this season. The Patriots are 18, the Broncos are at 18.9 points per game. And to your point about why is this game not in the 30s, I kind of agree with you. Why is it not in the 30s when both teams are allowing 20 or fewer points per game on defense through the entire season. So that's interesting.
- [22:50]
A
And then adding in the backup. Yeah. So yeah, totally. We, we see this game annoyingly. Similarly, we've got a special offer for everyone. Unlock a month of Betting Pros Premium for free. Download the Betting Pros app today. Use promo code FP1MONTH. You can get access to tools like the same Game Parlay tool, the Prop Bet Analyzer and the Prize Picks Prop Bet Cheat Sheet. Don't miss out. Try it. Free for one month. Now available on iOS and Android. Erickson, let's give some props before we move on to the next game. I've got RJ Harvey over two and a half receptions and an eight and I considered over 18 and a half receiving yards as well. You have talked before about how with Milton Williams back out there, the Patriots are very hard to run on. I imagine that, you know Sean Payton is somebody who already likes using tight ends and running backs in the passing game. We talked about their receiving core is now getting banged up with guys like Bryant and Franklin leaving the game early against the Bills. Then you add in the fact that it's a backup quarterback and you the reputation of backup quarterbacks is more likely to shut down the fact that RJ Harvey is a good pass catcher. I think this is very, very easy to see him getting three catches, three plus in this game and if one of them gets gets some decent yardage, he's going to get up to over 18 and a half receiving yards there. This is a prop that has hit I believe in seven of the last nine games. I looked it up and then I forgot to write it down. I believe if I'm remembering correctly that's what it was. So yeah, I like RJ Harvey to get some work in the passing game here.
- [24:16]
B
I do like that one as well. When it comes to Sean Payton and player usage, running backs in the passing game is basically the only thing that you can bank on. Yeah, basically because everything else you got to throw out the window. And I think that this dovetails nicely into my prop which also has to do with Denver Broncos player. And I'm definitely going out on a a whim here because you never know what you're going to get from this guy. So I like Evan Ingram to go over 19 and a half receiving yards. Now some of this has to do with maybe the Broncos don't have all their wide receivers healthy. Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant both got hurt last week and that kind of coincided with this massive Marvin Mims game. And I can tell you what worm I know we're not going to get two Marvin Mims games back to back in a row. That's just. That's just not going to happen. So I'm staying as far away as possible from Marvin Mims props, because a Marvin Mims breakout game with those injuries almost guarantees that someone else is going to break out the following week for the Denver Broncos because Sean Page is going to pick somebody else. And I think that player could be Evan Ingram. So he ranked third on the team in terms of routes from the slot this season behind only guys Pat Bryant and Troy Franklin. So if those guys are limited or not 100%, well, you could see Evan Ingram running a higher percentage of routes per drawback. And the other thing that Benjamin Albright, who's a reporter for the Denver Broncos, has talked about is that Jared Stidham is going to be much more likely to look over the middle of the field. And that's really where you see a lot of tight ends operate, especially Evan Ingram. Guy lines up in line, lines up in the slot. So I think that this is a spot where Evan Ingram could see more usage and targets. Again, Sean Payton talked all off season about he's going to be my joker, we're going to do this and that. Well, now you're down a bunch of wide receivers. You got your backup quarterback in like, let's see it. Like, let's see if Evan Ingram actually can be a difference maker for your offense. Because the Patriots defense really hasn't been that great against tight ends. Again, the only guys that were productive last week, Dalton Schultz before his injury, he was putting up some yardage before he left that game. The Patriots have allowed the 11th most yardage to tight ends this season. I think Evan Ingram is a sneaky touchdown candidate here and I like his receiving guards over again. It's so low at 19 and a half. He's been over 20 yards in three of his last four games. Didn't hit the over last week against the Buffalo Bills. But what do we know about the Bills? They've been one of the best defenses against tight ends this season. So I think that this is just a really low bar to pass. And honestly, if I'm right about Stidham leaning on Ingram, I think this is like an alternate bet opportunity for Evan Ingram where we've seen him have games where he had like 70 receiving yards or like 40 plus receiving yards. He only has to get 20 yards to hit the over on the original prop where I could see this going even higher. If I am right about oh, well, Stidham has just, like, he's really honed in on Ingram as his number one guy. They're down a bunch of receivers. You have Courtland Sutton. He's locked up with Christian Gonzalez. And then Evan and Ingram kind of default becomes that de facto wide receiver 1. So I like playing this one from a cover to a couple different angles, but just the 19 and a half is the bar I like to set for the easy over.
- [27:12]
A
By the way, Eric Santa, we've gone longer on this game than I expected. Before we get off of it, I do just want to ask you, because it was such a big talking point, what did you think about the officiating at the end of the game? Like, do you think Brandon Cooks. It should have been a catch. Where did you have a problem with the pass interferences, like, in this Broncos Bills game? What was your, like, takeaway from all that?
- [27:28]
B
I just don't. I don't know what a catch is. I feel like they change it all the time. I think that we have gone too far in advancing, like, the frame by frame by frame. I think that becomes making things much more confusing. I think that when you just watch the game play out, it's like, did he catch it or not? And just, like, just watch and recognizing, hey, we were in the backyard. Would we count that as a catch or not? And we probably, like, no. Like, you didn't catch the ball, dude. Like, come on. So that's the way I at least kind of view it. Again, I'm not. I don't have all the answers. I get that refereeing NFL games is probably extremely difficult to do. I don't want to do it. So, yeah, that's kind of my take on it.
- [28:07]
A
I thought it was the most obvious correct call I've ever seen. I could not believe people who were like, you know, I don't understand how you could. There's no world where that's not a catch. Like, I can get, like, squinting and making an argument either way. But for me, I thought it was very clear. I was like, if the defender wasn't there and the ball just goes to the ground, literally nobody's arguing it's a catch. Like, that's clearly an incomplete pass. So the fact that it ended like, if. If we can accept that in no world is it a catch, then you must say it was an interception, because it never touched the ground. So I'm like, yeah, it was an interception. Correct call. And then there was all the complaint about, like, not reviewing it. I'm like, all turnovers are automatically reviewed. They looked like you're just mad that they didn't overturn it if you were emotionally invested in the Bills. Like, I get if that happened to me, like, as a Ravens fan, I'd be apoplectic. But. And I. And I would be coming. I would be coping, right? I would be coming up with these excuses because that's the nature of being a fan. But, like, watching it, I saw I genuinely did not care who I was a little rooting for the Broncos, but I really.
- [29:08]
B
I was rooting for the Bills, so I wasn't happy.
- [29:11]
A
See, I was kind of rooting for the Broncos just because, A, I live in Denver, even though they're not my team, and B, like, you know, as a Ravens fan, like, I don't want to see the Bills get there, but, like, I would have been. Had no problem with it. I did. I wasn't emotionally invested. And as an outside observer, I was like, that just is so clearly not an issue. And then, like, on the pass interferences, the first one I thought was an iffy call, but there was a roughing the passer anyway, so it only gave them 2 yards. And then the second one was clearly PI. So I was like, this idea that, like, oh, all these questionable calls cost Sean McDermott his job and, you know, handed the game to the Bron. Like, I don't get that at all. To me, those three calls played out basically the way they should have, because the one that I thought was wrong would have just gotten the rough in the passer anyway. So, like, I. I thought the officials did a totally fine job in that sequence. That's my opinion.
- [29:56]
B
Yeah. One of my takeaways was just that this is why you don't again, give credit to Brandon Cooks for providing a boost to the Bill's passing game. But you can't have Brandon Cooks be your number one or number two wide receiver with the game in the line. That's. You're going with the ball, too. Like, that's not recipe for success. So that was kind of my. More takeaways. Like, why is this Brandon Cooks that's put in this situation to win the game for the Buffalo Bills? Like, yeah, this guy got cut from the Saints, right? So we could go down a whole another rabbit hole of. Then they fired the head coach, they kept Brandon. They promoted Brandon Bean.
- [30:28]
A
The two people most responsible for that loss are Brandon Bean and Josh Allen, because Josh Allen played poorly even though he's a great quarterback. Like, those are the two people most responsible for the Loss, not the officials.
- [30:38]
B
The roster doesn't live up to expectations because it was put together poorly by the gm. The offense turns the ball over five times and they then fire their defensive minded head coach. Makes perfect sen like wild stuff.
- [30:52]
A
If you want a chance to win the ultimate symbol of fantasy glory, the fantasy football championship belts, courtesy of our good friends at Trophy Smack, the number one destination for epic fantasy football hardware, then this is your moment. This massive gold plated belt is built to make a statement. It's bold, it's heavy and it's guaranteed to turn heads in your league. Don't just win your championship, wear it. To enter, all you need to do is subscribe to the Fantasy Pros YouTube channel right now. Drop a comment below on any of our videos. That that's it. We will be announcing a winner right here on the channel, so make sure to turn on notifications so you don't miss your chance to claim this championship belt and flex on your entire league. All right Erickson, let's go to Rams at Seahawks. I want you you to go first here. I will tell you this for as quickly as I put together my picks on Patriots, Broncos, I took eight times as long to decide this game. I do not have I'm really excited about this game. It's the matchup I wanted to see in the NFC Championship game. I think it's going to be awesome. I do not have a strong feel for this, so I have, I have predictions written down here, but I will say I don't have nearly the conviction that I did in the first game. So why don't you go first here.
- [31:53]
B
I don't think you're wrong by not having strong conviction because I think that this game is so razor close and that's why I ultimately decide on Rams plus two and a half because I don't even know if that means that they win this game. I get, I don't know. Like this game is just so close third match between these two NFC west rivalry teams. Fitz brought this up on the Betting pro show. If you combine the total points both teams have scored in their first two games and the yards they're separated by one point in one yard. So. So it's basically been like a dead even split in the two games that have led up to this one and I think it's just going to be another nail biter that goes down to the end and at that point I lean on, give me the points. So I got a little bit of a buffer here with the Rams plus two and a half. So even if they lose by two, they lose by one. I still cover again. It doesn't mean that I think they're going to win because I'm still not really sure who I feel like will win this game. But ultimately I settle on when I can get the better quarterback. As an underdog in the playoffs, that's the side I like to settle on. And no, it doesn't always work. Obviously didn't work last week betting on the Bills with Josh Allen, but it's not like that bet was dead right. You had a chance. I mean, Josh Allen, if you make a couple more throws, then they can win that game against the Denver Broncos. But Bo Nicks, they made more plays. I guess I just don't have the faith that Sam Darnold can necessarily do that, especially what he's done against the Rams. If you look at Sam Darnold against the Rams last two seasons, right.
- [33:23]
A
I, I had this note. It's a great, it's a great point.
- [33:25]
B
Like I guess if you want to call Sean McVeigh versus Mike McDonald as a wash, right? Great offense versus great defense, if you want to call that like an even matchup, I mean, I'm taking the Rams defense over Sam Darnold all day long. I don't think that that is a wash at all because Sam Donald has thrown seven interceptions in the last three games against the Los Angeles Rams. He's zeroing three against the spread versus the Rams as a favorite in the last four matchups against Los Angeles again, two with the Seahawks and two with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024. So that's kind of how I am handicapping this game where the Rams have been really good in Seattle. They've covered six straight games in Seattle. They don't always win those games or they have been covering the spread. And I've just seen the Rams team dominate Seattle too much this season. Where in the first matchup we saw Sam Darnold throw four interceptions. The second matchup it looked like it was just another Sam Darnold implosion game until Rashid Shahid had that 58 yard punt return touchdown. And it kind of just like changed the the outcome of that game where people were like typing up Sam Darnold turns it back into a pumpkin, yada yada yada on that Thursday night game that just got really, really wacky. The Seahawks won that game, but they didn't cover the spread because they ended up closing as one and a half point favorites. So my main takeaway here has been the pre, like the pregame odds for Seahawks Rams has never actually translated into what actually happens in the game. So like I said, Sam Darnold, when he's been a favorite against the Ram, he's not covered any of those single times. So basically, when the market feels like, oh, he should win this game, he doesn't actually usually win that game, especially by margin. And the same thing goes for the total, which is why I like the under in this game as I'm kind of like previewing my whole thoughts on this matchup. Whenever the Rams Seahawks games have closed north of 45 and a half points, games go under. Whenever they've closed around, like 42 points, they've gone over the total. So we, as a, you know, the sports market essentially setting these lines, have been really bad at pegging what actually happens in these types of matchups. So that's kind of why I'm going in the other direction. Against a high total. I'll take the under because that's how it's played out. It's a Seahawks Sam Darnold favorite at home. I'll take the Rams with the points. That's how I'm seeing this. But again, going back to your first point about having conviction, don't have a lot of conviction with this compared to the Broncos with the point. So taking the the road underdog here with the Rams plus two and a half.
- [35:47]
A
All right, well, we were supposed to just do these one at a time because we only have two games. So we're trying to spread it out. I guess I'll do my spread and total prediction together, too, since you already did both of years. And I will just tell you, I have Rams plus two and a half and I have the under 47 and a half, which I am not thrilled about because there's no opportunity for me to, you know, try and mount a comeback here in our competition.
- [36:09]
B
That.
- [36:09]
A
This is why the comments will say.
- [36:11]
B
Comments will say that. I.
- [36:13]
A
But again, I feel very, very lack, like a real lack of conviction on this. I expected you to pick the Seahawks.
- [36:19]
B
Me too.
- [36:20]
A
Honestly, you've been all over them as this dominant team for a while. I. The reason I came down on the Rams, there's two reasons. One is not just the better quarterback. I do think it's the better coach. I don't think there's a wide gap at coach, but I do think Sean McVay. Like, if I, if I could pick one coach to coach my team, I'd rather pick Sean McVay than Mike McDonald. They're both awesome. Obviously quarterback, it's much more clear. I. So I. The better quarterback coach combo for sure. And I really just feel as like. And there's more quarterback point as well. I just can't imagine Sam Darnold in the Super Bowl. It could totally happen. It totally could happen. I'm not saying it's an impossibility. I'm saying it's hard for me to wrap my head around the idea. And I don't want to diminish like what he's done with his in the second half of his career. I don't want to discount what Clint Kubiak has done for the offense. Like, I don't want to make it sound like the. The defense is the only reason this team is good because the offense has played well this year. But the defense is the reason. Is the reason this team is special. And if you think that Stafford and McVeigh can come into this and so somewhat neutralize the fact that they're going up against the best defense in football, you're right. I like the Rams defense against Sam Darnold in this offense a lot better. The Rams should have won. They should have swept the Seahawks this year. It shouldn't have been in dominant fashion. Right. It wasn't like they were going to win these both games by two touchdowns. They did win one by just a couple points. It's one of the only losses Seattle's taken this year. And then that crazy game they should have won. It was just this weird, awesome, delightful, you know, primetime game to watch. But I don't think the better team won that game. I think the Rams are the best team in football, even though some of the metrics would suggest that it's Seattle. I do think these are the two best teams in football, but I think the Rams are a little bit better. And if it had been three and a half, I would have just like it would. I actually thought it would have been easy. But not getting the crossing that that three point line is. Was enough for me to be really torn on it. It's. It's a really good line, honestly. And it's, it's. It's a really good total also, I think. But yeah, I just like at the end of the day I was like better coach, better quarterback. I think the better overall team, even though the best unit in this game is the Seattle defense, I think the rest is. Is all in favor of. Of Los Angeles and, and again, I don't feel strongly about it, but you had to pick a side. The other thing too is I Don't want to overreact to the Seahawks. Like, the last two times we've seen them, they have won in pretty dominant fashion. One more so than other on the scoreboard, but both feeling like dominant wins. Those are both against the 49ers, and I don't want to overreact to that. I think there's a real chance that the Seahawks are just a. Like a really. They match up really well against San Francisco. Mike McDonald, one of the reasons he was hired by the Seahawks is because of when he was the Ravens defensive coordinator. What he did against Shanahan offenses, like, he kind of has the secret sauce against Kyle Shanahan. I don't want to overreact to that now. Now, obviously, McVay is under a similar tree is all that. So, like, you know, he's. He was also higher for what he could do against McVay offenses. But I think there's a reason the Rams have looked better than the Niners against Seattle this year, and I expect that to continue. So I, I don't want to overreact to those g. And then. And. And the third most recent game we've seen from Seattle was against the Panthers. Like, like, these are three games that you would expect them to do very well defensively. The game before that, that we saw them was the Rams game where they allowed 38 points. So, like, I'm not expecting 38 points from the Rams, but I. I am expecting them to show up and play really well and then I'll go to the. The total. I'm also taking the under. This was the single toughest pick for me. Was like, obviously this. This game was tougher for me, as I've made clear. I thought I found the total even harder than the spread. I thought. I thought 47 and a half, which is what it was when I put it in yesterday on Hard Rock Bet. I thought it was just a perfect number and I really struggled. There are lines you can find elsewhere that are a little bit lower. 46 and a half. Some places, 47. Some places. It's actually down to 47. Even on Hard Rock bet it was 47 and a half at one point. So I'm really torn on it. I could, you know, they've played twice this year. One of the games went well under. The other one went well over what this line is. So you can't really take too much away from that. At the end of the day, I'm going to say, hey, the best unit in this game is the Seattle defense. I'm not going to go in and blindly trust the Sam Darnold in any situation. The Seahawks lost Zach Charbonnet, which, you know, we don't think he's the best running back on that team, but he's a running back they like and trust and use in big situations. He's not going to be on the field. It's going to be cold. It's not going to be as, I mean, it's going to feel like a balmy mid-40s compared to Chicago for, for the Rams. It'll feel warm by, by comparison, but it's still like not a, you know, a great weather game at least several days out. That's what it looks like. So just enough for me to give it to the under. I tend to be somebody who, if I'm really truly torn and have to make a pick, I tend to lean under. I, I could see us getting like a, I mean, the Rams special teams is not good. I could see a Shaheed touchdown that, you know, switches this and makes it look silly on really both sides of, you know, both the spread and the total they were picking. But, but yeah, I, I ultimately was very, very, very torn on the total but for similar reasons to you ended up settling on the under.
- [42:11]
B
Yeah. Both defenses ranked top five in the red zone. And if we look at why did Bears Rams go under the total last week now, weather obviously had to play with it, but the Bears could not convert in the red zone. And why was that? Because, well, number one, the Rams have really good red zone defense. I think the Rams could find similar success. To your point, Zach Charbonnet, right. He has been their red zone guy and maybe it's not as much of a fall off going to Ken Walker in the red zone, but I think there was a reason why they liked using Charbonnet in the red zone because I think they did think that he was maybe a little bit better at converting those short yardage opportunities. So if Seattle is now kicking field goals, that is going to dramatically underwhelm the 47 half point total. Again, both defenses are allowing fewer than 21 points per game. The last time Darnold faced the Rams in the playoffs last year, the game went way under at 48 points. Going back to whenever Vegas has Sam Darnold in like a high projected game, it usually doesn't live up to expectations. It usually falls short. So that's the trend that I'm kind of going by here when it comes to Rams and Seahawks. Again, anytime it's close north of 42 and a half points. The game has gone under the last five matchups at 42 points or lower. The game has gone over, including one of the games that went into overtime. Because the other thing too, like the last game I play went to overtime. And that's actually another reason why I don't love the Rams as like my best bet to win on the money line or just the upset. And that's because they are coming off an overtime win on a short week. Right. Seattle is coming off more rest. And that I think is a big disadvantage for a team that's now playing their third road game. Again, not easy. And if you look at a lot of these trends from a betting perspective, got teams that play like third consecutive road game on in the postseason. Not clearly a strong betting type of angle, especially if you're like betting it blindly. Now, how many of those teams have the mvp? You can kind of get like very granular with this type of analysis. But the couple things I wanted to mention to you, Worm last two games against Rams, Seahawks. How many times Matthew Stafford been sacked against the Seahawks this year?
- [44:13]
A
I don't know.
- [44:14]
B
Take a guess. 4? 0?
- [44:19]
A
I was, you know, I was, I was like, I was like in watching those games, I don't remember a lot of them, but I was like, it's either going to be a big number or a little number, otherwise you wouldn't be asking. So let me split the difference in, in thinking about watching those games. I probably should have guessed the lower one, but yeah.
- [44:33]
B
And that's bonkers to me, right? NFL's best defense, they haven't sacked Matthew Stafford one time. Yeah, like that's. That kind of, that statistic kind of opened my eyes a little bit that, hey, Sean McVeigh knows what he's doing. And I think too what we've seen McVeigh in both matchups, he attacked Seattle's defense in different ways. One of the matchups, it was more of the 11 personnel. In the second matchup, it was more of the 13 personnel. Devonte Adams did not play in that Thursday night game, which is bonkers to think about because Matthew Stafford had like this ridiculous stat line, Adams playing in that game. So maybe it does come down to that final red zone possession. No Charbonnet for the Seahawks, but Devonte Adams for the the Los Angeles Rams. Like, does he make the biggest difference potentially playing in this game? He didn't play in the last game.
- [45:18]
A
I want to let everybody know we're going live during the AFC championship. Join Seth Wilcock and Scott Bogman at 2:45pm Eastern this Sunday for a first half betting live stream. We're tracking line movement in real time, breaking down live odds and calling out bets as the game unfolds. Get in before kickoff and catch us live on the Betting Pros YouTube channel@YouTube.com betting pros. Before we get to our prop picks here, Erickson, who do you, who are you rooting for in this game? Either from the just a general fandom or from the perspective of if the Patriots are in the super bowl, who would you rather face?
- [45:51]
B
I'm definitely viewing it from that the latter perspective. Who do I want the Patriots to play? And it's not even close. It's the Seattle Seahawks. They match up so much better versus Seattle compared to the Los Angeles Rams where you have a quarterback that get the inferior quarterback going from Sandarnold to Matthew Stafford. They have one top tier wide receiver. Okay, Christian Gonzalez, who are you going to cover this week? Oh, Jacksonville Jigba. Okay. We feel good about that. They can stop the run. So I think that the Patriots match up much, much better against Seattle versus Los Angeles. Especially when you have a coach who's been to multiple Super Bowls coaching against him in yet another super bowl against a team that he already lost to. I don't like the idea that oh yeah, the Patriots are going to go three and oh against the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl. I don't love that type of narrative. Whereas, yeah, can they go back to back against Seattle? I think they could. So I will be rooting for the Seattle Seahawks. So again, the best, the best way I could view this game is Rams lose by two points to Seattle and Sam Donald looks terrible going into the super bowl. So we'll see how that thing shakes out. But yeah, I will be reading.
- [46:57]
A
I feel like the Patriots can throw on the Rams though in a way that I don't. I think they would struggle to throw against Seattle. I don't know. I think there's reasons to prefer and not prefer both teams if you're a Patriots fan. So I'm surprised that you have as much conviction in who you want would rather see. I guess, I guess like the Sam Darnold. Like would you rather face Matthew Stafford or Sam Darnold? That's pretty easy.
- [47:21]
B
I also, I mean, again and I don't know what we're gonna get. I think that the league would probably love the MVP in the mvp, you know, the second MVP going ahead. I don't know if that's ever happened before where it's Basically, like the. The number one guy in voting and the guy right behind him went head to head in the Super Bowl. All I know is, like, whoever wins MVP usually loses the Super Bowl. Like, that has been like, the trend, unfortunately.
- [47:44]
A
So for that, I'm rooting for Broncos Rams. Although the Broncos one's tricky. Like, like, I'm rooting for them just because, like, most people who aren't Patriots fans, like, we saw enough of them recently. Like, let's, like, we don't need them back in the super bowl again in Drake May's second season. But I do get the idea of, like, nobody wants to see Jared Stidham starting in the super bowl. Right. Like, it. The fact that they're not there, their backup quarterback makes it harder to root for them. The Rams are who I want to win the super bowl because, well, I'm just petty that the Ravens are looking for a new head coach and they had Mike McDonald in the building. But B, like, there's no, like, unless you are a fan of a team, like a rival team of his. Like, how could you hate Matthew Stafford? Like, I just want to see him. I think it'd be cool to see him get a second Super bowl ring. Like, completely solidify 100%, like, first ballot hall of Famer. He's having his best season. Like, like, it's easy guy to root for. And it's like, I know they already have one, but it feels like this team is worthy. Like this. This generation of the Rams is worthy of more than one. So I'm rooting for them to get there and to win it all. I would probably rank my order of preference of who wins the super bowl this year as la, Denver, Seattle and then New England. Like, several tiers below the other three, which I'm sure you can understand why people would feel that way.
- [49:07]
B
I don't anyone that's not a Patriots fan to root for the Patriots, and I don't need to ask them why. Yeah.
- [49:16]
A
All right, let's do some props here and then we'll get out of here. I was kind of torn in the props. I considered the under on Kenneth Walker just because I think people will be more excited to go over without Zach Charbonnet there. I think it's like, it can be hard to run against the Rams, although he has run well against them, so maybe that's not as much of a thing. What I ended up settling on Prop wise was Terence Ferguson. Plus 600 anytime. Touchdown. I hit on Puka first touchdown a couple of weeks ago, so I'M kind of going back to the touchdown. Well with the Rams I considered Colby Parkinson. It meant a lot to me that like Stafford was throwing to Ferguson late against the Bears. Like there's a degree of trust there. Obviously Ferguson didn't play in the first playoff game this season so he coming in off injury and they were willing to go to him. They tried to get him a touchdown on the last drive or second to last drive in Chicago and, and plus 600 for an anytime touchdown. Like I, I think Stafford's gonna throw in this game. I don't know if he's gonna be successful but I think he's gonna attempt to throw in this game. And you know Devonte hasn't really done anything in the playoffs like coming back off the injury which has hurt me in a fantasy playoff league that I'm in. You know Puka's awesome but like Seattle knows that they're going to be paying attention to him and so I, I think Stafford is going to throw a touchdown to at least one of the tight ends in this game. And so at plus 600 that, that that tight end ends up being Ferguson who I think is one of the top two choices for that. I like that a lot.
- [50:46]
B
I really like that one too. I believe Ferguson, he caught a touchdown against the Seahawks earlier this year. So he did in the second matchup.
- [50:52]
A
So I mean I meant to mention that. Yeah.
- [50:54]
B
So obviously Adams didn't play in that game. So you are trying to consider that. But I think that's 6 to 1 odds. That's more than capturing. Okay, well maybe he only gets one or two opportunities. Yeah, I think that it matters a lot that they were going to him especially in the end zone like last week. Like he had a chance to catch a touchdown last week against the Chicago Bears. So I really like that one and.
- [51:13]
A
That, that second matchup just to quickly like that was the game that Puka had 225 yards and two touchdowns, 12 catches on 16 targets. Like Seattle remembers that. I'm not saying they're going to completely shut out Puka because Puka is really good. But like they do not want to get beat by Puka again. So I think that could open things up for the Titans.
- [51:30]
B
I think that's a great call. Definitely one that I will be tailing. The one I like tease it at the intro. Cooper cup over two and a half receptions. I cannot remember the last time I ever bet a Cooper cup over. So this will end very, very well for me. But he's gone for at least three catches in both games against the Rams this season against his old team. So that's kind of why I like this one. It's a low number. He's hit two and a half catches in three of his last five games. Four straight home games. He's hit the over and he's actually coming off one of his best performances of the year. Last week with JSN not doing a ton in terms of volume, cup had five catch for 60 yards on five targets. And then the really reason I like it the most is Rams are just not good against slot wide receivers. Jalen Coker smashed two weeks ago. Luther Burden hit the over on his receptions last week. So Cooper cup as the de facto number two wide receiver on the Seattle Seahawks against 74% of the snaps last week, he's still playing clearly ahead of Rasheed Shahid. Shahid's obviously making an impact with some big plays and on special teams, but in terms of the receiving game, like Shahid really hasn't had a major impact on the Seahawks offense. So gimme cup who leads Seattle in slot routes run this season? Five Star Bet in the Betting Pros Prop Bet Cheat Sheet Cooper cup over two and a half catches Today's show.
- [52:44]
A
Is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet. So it's time for our Hard Rock Best Bets of the Week presented by Hard Rock Bet. Erickson. What is your Hard Rock Best bet of the week?
- [52:53]
B
Betting against my team, but I'm going to go with the Denver Broncos plus four and a half. Doesn't mean that they win or beat the Patriots. I still think the Patriots will win, but I think that it's probably more like they win by a field goal. So Denver will cover the four and a half points at home as home underdogs in the playoffs and Jared Siddons first start in 2025.
- [53:13]
A
I'm sure everybody listening to this episode is going to be thoroughly unsurprised that my Hard Rock Best bet of the week is also in that game. And I'm going with the under 42 and a half is the one that I like better. Those were my two favorite bets of the show. I did. I did write this down before you had picked yours. So I didn't just go, you know, with the opposite one that you went with. But. But yeah, I like those both a lot. I like yours and I like the under 42 and a half quite a bit for the reasons we already listed earlier in the show. Those were our Hard Rock Best bets of the week. Remember Hard Rock Bet has live in game betting so you're never too late to the action. Find a winner or grab that player prop you meant to play and live bet between snaps and just a few easy taps. Bonus bets. If you win, just place a $5 bet and if it hits, you get not only your winnings but also an extra $150 in bonus bets. So just because your team may be out of it, that doesn't mean you have to sit on the sidelines this postseason. Between same game parlays, live betting, a can't miss welcome offer and new promos dropping every day, Hard Rock Bet has you covered all postseason long. Download the Hard Rock Bet app and make your first deposit payable and bonus bets.
- [54:16]
B
Not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida offered by the Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC in other states. Must be 21 plus in physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia Play Terms of conditions apply.
- [54:30]
A
Concern about gambling in Florida, call 1833.
- [54:33]
B
Play wise in Indiana, if you or.
- [54:35]
A
Someone you know has a gambling problem wants help, call 1-800-9 with it gambling problem call 1-800- gambler in Arizona, Colorado.
- [54:41]
B
Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia.
- [54:44]
A
Erickson and I will not be here next week because obviously there is no games for next week. We have to buy. We're not going to be predicting, you know, NFL awards or you know, Pro bowl or whatever. But, but we will be back for the week of the super bowl to do one final edition of this show for the year. We'll come up with some fun angles on making predictions on that one and kind of wrap up our competition with each other. And that super bowl will be facing what two teams? Erickson?
- [55:10]
B
It will be the New England Patriots facing the hopefully Seattle Seahawks.
- [55:16]
A
If it's the Patriots, the only, I think the only scenario where it's not a recent rematch is Denver and la, right? The others we've had Patriots, Seahawks, we've had Patriots, Rams, we've had Denver, Seattle, all within the last, you know, 10ish years. So maybe, maybe within the last 12 years. But I'm going to, I'm going to go with the new, the new one, I'm going to go with Denver, la, even though I don't really think Denver's going to win. But we're having fun here. It's not an official prediction. Best of luck to your Patriots, Ericsson. Only for you, not for, not for them actually. For Ericsson. I'm Ryan Wormley. Thanks everybody for tuning in. We'll see you next time. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pro's Fantasy Football podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on apple podcasts@fantasypros.com review or on Spotify. Follow us on X, Instagram and TikTok @fantasypros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube.com fantasypros. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.