Handicapper Alex B. Smith breaks down every game of Week 8 of the 2020 NFL season, with analysis, trends and final scores.
NFL
Mark Franco leads the pack with a 23-11-1 ATS record, and Doug Fitz is in second place at 21-14. Micah Roberts is 20-13-2, and Dave Tuley is 19-14-2.
Sure, the AFC North has shown some power, but it also has the 1-5-1 Bengals. Plus, the Browns have built their 5-2 record mostly against the league’s dregs.
The team’s first-round, who lost his best friend to a car accident in high school, has made a quick impression in the locker room with his laugh and ‘goofy’ attitude.
One of the keys to the Browns’ high-powered rushing attack is former Raiders’ coach Bill Callahan, who guides Cleveland’s offensive line.
The Browns have employed 30 starting quarterbacks since their rebirth as an expansion team in 1999. They hope Baker Mayfield can finally be the face of their franchise.
Something is amiss with the former first-round pick out of Alabama, who is averaging just 65.7 yards per game and 3.4 per carry.
With each team eyeing one of the three wild-card spots in the NFL’s expanded conference playoff format, the Raiders can’t let the Browns move too far out in front of them.
Ronnie Stanley, a Bishop Gorman High School product, signed a five-year, $98.75 million extension with the Baltimore Ravens, becoming the NFL’s second highest-paid left tackle.
The line has dropped to Cleveland -2½ at home after opening -3. The total has plummeted with a forecast of rain and high winds.
Big screens, and lots of them, all showing Raiders action
Trent Brown returned to the practice field Friday for the first time since testing positive for COVID-19 last week.
The over is 5-0-1 in Raiders games and 5-2 in Browns games this season. Eight of the last 11 Browns games have gone over the total.
There is no question the Raiders are looking at ways to get better, but the question always comes down to cost vs. reward.
The NFL usually involves tight point spreads and games that come down to the final minute, but sometimes there are games like Jets-Chiefs.
