Vic's Picks
Authored by Victor Cruz: Prophet Exchange Strategic Partner & Brand Ambassador
All stats, odds, records, and any additional information provided is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not intended as advice on gambling, specific game selection, specific wager selection or decision-making.
The NFL season is finally here! And with that, we present you the debut of World Champion and New York Giants legend Victor Cruz's weekly blog, Vic's Picks, where Victor will be giving his favorite plays each week of the NFL season. We hope you enjoy.
New York Giants +5.5
New York Giants ML +230
Week 1 is finally here. My New York Giants have a new regime in place. It’s a new era for Big Blue and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this great organization. Coach Brian Daboll and General Manager Joe Schoen are the right leaders to get this team headed back to glory. It will take some time and patience, but I am confident that the right foundation is in place.
I am also confident that the New York Giants will shock the world in Week 1. They will not only cover the +5.5 on road against the Tennessee Titans, but they will win outright. That’s right. An upset in Nashville. This is the first time in a long time that the Giants are relatively healthy and the playmakers are all on the field together. I think the combination of Saquon Barkley, Kadarius Toney, Sterling Shepard, and rookie Wan’Dale Robinson will give this Titans defense some real problems in Week 1. The Titans struggled defending against explosive athletes last year as they ranked 23rd in the NFL defending explosive passing plays. I don’t see how they’ll have answers for the aforementioned Giants playmakers.
Plus, my guy Daniel Jones has performed well on the road against the spread in his career. He’s 12-6 ATS and has 28 TD and just 10 INT on the road. I am excited to see how Jones progresses in year 4 under the tutelage of Brian Daboll and Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka. I really liked what I saw from Jones and offense when I was up at Training Camp last month.
You heard it here first: Big Blue to cover and win outright in Week 1. I think this team will surprise some people. And because I'm betting with Prophet Exchange, I got Giants +5.5 at even odds and got the best moneyline price in the market!
Tampa Bay Buccaneers ML -130
For my third and final pick of the week, you know I have to go with the GOAT. Sorry about Super Bowl XLVI, Tom!
Anytime I can pick against the Dallas Cowboys I just have to, especially when they’re going up against Tom Brady and the Bucs high powered offense. I am not too concerned with the fact that Brady missed a good chunk of Training Camp or the fact that he is 1-10 ATS in his last 11 road primetime starts. I am not sure how the Cowboys defense can hold up with Brady, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and the recent additions of Julio Jones and Russell Gage. That’s a nightmare for any opposing defense, it would even be for the ‘07 and ‘11 Giants (Apologies again, Tom)!
I know Dallas had a great season last year and went 13-4 ATS, but I think we will see some regression from them this year. It will be hard for them to top last year’s defensive metrics, where they led the league in takeaways and ranked No. 1 in Turnover expected points added. This defense is no joke though. Micah Parsons is an absolute stud and a Top-10 player in the NFL already and ballhawk Trevon Diggs is always lurking. That being said though, I just don’t like this matchup for Dallas. Tampa Bay has too many weapons on offense to exploit them and I just simply can’t bet against Brady.
These two teams opened up last year’s season with the Bucs inching past the Cowboys 31-29 with seven seconds to play. I expect a similar scenario this time around. Bucs win by a hair and I am taking them at -130 moneyline, which is the best price in the market as I am writing this.
Let's play some football!
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