Thursday Night Football can be hit or miss, but tonight’s game is shaping up to be really good one. We’ve got an NFC South showdown between the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Falcons are 2-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook. This game has significant divisional supremacy implications, as some believe it will be a competitive three-way battle between the Saints, Falcons and Buccaneers to see who will claim the top spot in the division. Claudia Bellofatto, co-host of DraftKings Network’s Pregame PowerUp alongside host Trey Wingo, stopped by Thursday’s edition of GoJo and Golic to preview this matchup with Mike Golic Jr. and Mike Golic Sr. as well as highlighting key betting opportunities to watch out for tonight.
Tampa Bay has multiple players sitting out this game, such as safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (foot), offensive tackle Luke Goedeke (concussion), receivers Jalen McMillan (hamstring) and Trey Palmer (concussion), and defensive lineman Calijah Kancey (calf), making it an actual pick ’em game, according to GoJo.
Claudia said that the injuries stick out because she believes the edge for tonight’s game comes in the trenches. It is essentially a tale of two lines between the Buccaneers and Falcons. Claudia expresses that the Falcons’ pass rush has not been able to get home, whereas the Buccaneers have been able to put pressure on quarterbacks through blitzing. The Buccaneers’ defense could cause major concerns for Kirk Cousins, who has the third-worst completion percentage against the blitz this season. This is why she is predicting the Bucs to be victorious tonight, as well as the comfortability Baker Mayfield has shown, especially after last week’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
From a betting perspective, Claudia encourages throwing the Bucs in a six-game teaser and finding another underdog or favorite that you can tease them with. She mentions the Bengals at +2.5 against the Ravens, which she believes to be a tight game as a possibility. Senior, meanwhile, shifts the discussion to in-game bets, specifically with Mayfield over 243.5 yards and 22.5 completions. He points out that Atlanta is DEAD last in the league in sacks with four, inferring that Baker should have a plush pocket to work from. Claudia contends that if the protection holds up, completions are a really safe number for him, given he only needs 23, which he has done so far in every game this season except for one.
GoJo pivots to get Claudia’s take on where the opportunities lie with this Falcons offense. He mentions that Kirk Cousins, especially given that he does not look like he did in Week 1, where his pocket presence was reminiscent of the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz. That said, he is still an older player recovering from a lower-body injury. Claudia says Kirk is essentially who she thought he would be — an upgrade but not necessarily the savior some other folks thought he would be when he signed with the Falcons. A player she is targeting is Kyle Pitts, specifically the under on his receiving yards prop tonight. Ultimately, she admits that this may be the game that Pitts goes off but reckons she has waited long enough for Kyle Pitts to live up to the pre-draft hype he had coming out of the University of Florida. She is OVER waiting for Pitts to show flashes. She even referenced his abysmal 0 catches of three targets and the fact that he’s the FIFTH option in the Falcons passing game.
Further zooming out and looking at the entire NFC landscape, the Saints are currently sitting third in the division, prompting GoJo to ask if it is a time to buy low on the Saints winning the division, especially given New Orleans’ offensive onslaught that produced 91 points in the first two weeks of the season. Claudia adds that the Saints are in for a tough battle in the NFC South, but the Saints have emerged as a contender. She is even going as far as fading the Chiefs this weekend, who are currently 5.5 point favorites against the Saints at DraftKings Sportsbook. The Chiefs are still undefeated, their are still the favorites in the AFC, but you take away Rashee Rice, you take away Hollywood Brown and factor in the fact that Patrick Mahomes is quietly bottom 10 in QBR right now and it’s fair to have some concerns about KC. In fact she has a message for Mahomes fantasy owners: IT IS OK TO BENCH MAHOMES! Especially when you take away so many of his weapons.
Watch or listen to the full show below and tune into GoJo and Golic weekday mornings from 8-10 a.m. ET on DraftKings Network! See more about how to watch DraftKings Network here.
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Hour 1: Davante Adams’ Future & Mahomes No Playing Well + Claudia Bellofatto on TNF Bets: Baker Props, Kyle Pitts, & Fading the Chiefs
Hour 2: Hour 2: Sean Casey, MLB Analyst, on the Astros, the Yankees & Dodgers’ Postseason Pressure + NFL Power Rankings
VIDEO
Watch GoJo and Golic every weekday on Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Xumo Play, Google TV and DraftKingsNetwork.com from 8 to 10 a.m. ET. The show is also available via audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow Mike Golic Sr. on X at @golic and Mike Golic Jr. on X at @mikegolicjr.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
