DFSGhost 
A tough NFL Sunday is on the way and sometimes we all need a little help to win. Jacob has torn through the numbers and has found you three od Jacob’s Above Average Plays to help you cash today.
Take Pittsburgh Steelers -129 vs Buffalo Bills (8:20 pm EST, Sunday, December 15, 2019 NBC)
These are two great defenses who like to play smash-mouth football. Buffalo had been playing well up until last week when they fell to the Ravens – That’s the reason I really like the Steelers. Teams don’t play well the week after playing Baltimore, (likely due to how tough those games have been), while the Steelers play well at home. The Steelers also get a bunch of offensive weapons back, including James Connor and Ju-Ju. Duck Hodges has been more than serviceable, and I like him to help Pittsburgh pull out the win in a low scoring home game.
Take Miami Dolphins +3 vs NY Giants (1:00 pm EST, Sunday, December 15, 2019, CBS)
I feel like I should just stop typing before I actually take a side in this game. I mean, really – there is an entire slate of NFL football and this is one of the games I take. I’m not sure if there is a subconscious message coming through for actually risking my money on a dumpster fire of a game, but here we are. I can tell you this these two teams are not above average, or even average, they are just bad. We are going to see a game that feels more 2010 than 2020, with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Eli Manning as starting quarterbacks for two NFC East teams. The Giants this year has been one of the worst teams in the NFL. They currently rank 26th in total overall offense, with a total of 4,055 yards amassed this season – averaging 311 yards per game on offense. Most of this was done by Daniel Jones after the early season benching of Eli Manning, so there aren’t many stats for Eli this year. Last week, however, he was 15 of 30 for 203 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. They are rushing for an average of 93.8 yards per game, and, honestly, I expected more from Saquon Barkley. I thought he would come into the league with above average stats across the board, but he’s been more than just lacking. When I watch him play, I feel like he has no energy towards the game and that he may have given up on his sophomore season. You can’t really blame him, though. He is trying to run behind an offensive line that ranks 21st in the NFL – As you can imagine, it has been a tough year. As for the Giant’s defense, they have one player who has been playing above average this year. Janoris Jenkins has been playing well. He has 4 interceptions on the year, but overall – the defense stinks just as bad as the offense (if not worse). They rank 27th in overall defense, giving up 27.9 points per game with an average of 362 yards allowed. I think all of these stats are BIG problems when taking on the Dolphins today. Fitz-magic is headed back to New York and he’s ready to play. Ryan Fitzpatrick has added a real spark to the Dolphins offense and, while they rank near the bottom in every offensive category, he’s made games exciting. I believe Fitzpatrick will really exploit the Giants defense with his deep threat option, Devante Parker, who is averaging 16.3 yards per catch. The Giants don’t have the offense to keep up if this turns into a shootout, and I will definitely take 3 points in what should be an above-average game in New York. Just a fun fact: the Giants are 1-5 ATS at home while Miami is 4-2 on the road 🤑. Also, shop around for a good line. You may still be able to find +3.5 points.
Take Oakland Raiders -6.5 verse Jacksonville Jaguars (4:05 pm EST, Sunday, December 15, 2019)
One of these teams is going to have their entire staff fired when the season ends. They have changed quarterbacks multiple times and are winless in their last five games, straight up and against the spread. The other team has won four of the last five games at home, they have won the last three meetings verse Jacksonville, and – oh yeah! They’re playing their final home game at their long-time stadium. The Oakland Raiders will soon become the Vegas Raiders, and die-hard fans will fill the stands one last time to have an MVP game as the 12th Man. The Raiders have been above average at home verse bad teams, winning ten out of the last twelve games – including seven and three against the spread the last ten games. The Raiders take on a struggling Jacksonville Jaguars team that hasn’t covered a game on the West Coast in their last six games. In their last five games: They haven’t rushed for more than eighty-eight yards except once, and they only scored more than thirteen points in one, single game. Gardner Minshew was brought in for an injured Nick Foles before being benched for Foles when he was healthy again. Foles was then benched after three lopsided games; now Minshew is back. I don’t see any improvement. This is the time of year you start to see bad teams quit, and the Jaguars have been added to my list of those who have. I see Oakland stepping up to play an above-average game verse a bad Jacksonville team, and they’ll give their fans some fireworks as a sendoff (I would guess literally and figuratively!). This line opened at -5.5 and the sharps immediately pounded it up to 6.5, so get on it before it goes any higher.
