Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer.
Here are our best bets for Thursday, Nov. 3:
TOP PLAY
The play: NFL, Texans +14 over Eagles
The odds/bet: -115 ($34.50 to win $30)
The book: FanDuel
Time/TV: 8:15 p.m. ET (Amazon Prime Video)
Our take: How crazy is at the same time Houston will be hosting Philadelphia in football, Philadelphia will be hosting Houston on baseball’s grandest stage? Has that ever happened before?
Well, we’re too lazy to look it up, but we wonder if anyone will be at Reliant Stadium – and the ones who are will be spending as much time looking at their phones watching the World Series as they will watching this NFL primetime special.
As far as this game goes, Davis Mills has been hit or miss – throwing for 302 yards and two touchdowns two weeks ago against the Raiders before passing for just 152 and one touchdown last week against Tennessee.
However, this is a weird spot for the Eagles, who are double-digit favorites for the first time since 2009. Having just enjoyed their bye two weeks ago, they are about to go on another mini-hiatus, as they don’t play again until Monday, Nov. 14 at home against the Commanders.
Coming off the rout of Pittsburgh, this one just seems too easy, and the public will be all over them. While we think the Eagles will find a way to get to 8-0, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all for it not to happen until the final minutes, and 14 points simply is too many.
In case you’re interested, we give you even more reasons why we like Houston in our weekly (very detailed) NFL picks column.
NO PICKS FOR MILLS?
The play: NFL player prop, Davis Mills not to throw an interception vs. Eagles
The odds/bet: +152 ($10 to win $15.20)
The book: FanDuel
Our take: While the Eagles have 1.4 picks per game, Mills has only thrown six this season (fewer than one per game), and he has had three games in which he didn’t throw any – against Indianapolis, Denver and Jacksonville.
Great value here that goes in line with us thinking the Texans will play one of their better games on a short week against a team that is well overdue for a letdown.
HOW WE’VE FARED
World Series Game 4 money line: Astros over Phillies (WON $30)
World Series: Astros to win championship (PENDING)
Wednesday’s profit/loss: +$30 (1-0, 1 pending)
Total for the week: +$85.70 (3-2, 1 pending)
Total for November: +$59 (2-1, 1 pending)
Total for 2022: +$75.30 (281-307)
NOTE: If a line or odds are minus, it considers the juice one must lay to place the bet. Ex: Team A is -160 on the money line, one would have to bet $160 to win $100 (or $16 to win $10). OR Team B is a 5-point favorite at -110, one would have to bet $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10.)
Conversely, on positive lines, if Team C is +140 on the money line, $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).