Today’s Best Free Sports Betting Picks and Predictions From Our Experts

(#469) New Orleans Saints @ (#470) Detroit Lions | OVER | . 

New Orleans has been hyped up a bit this offseason. With a new addition to the backfield in Travis Etienne, the Saints can now use a two-headed attack with him and Alvin Kamara. Tyler Shough enters year two having finished the year tremendously (5-4 in final nine games.) Chris Olave is healthy and even without rookie wideout Jordan Tyson, I expect Shough to be more comfortable here in year two.

Detroit's offense speaks for itself. It was a down year for the whole squad a year ago. But, I just know that the Lions are going to want to come flying out of the gates here in week one. Detroit scored 28.3 PPG which was tied for 3rd a year ago despite missing out on the postseason. I wouldn't be shocked if that number increases here in 2026-27. Give me the "over."

Burns' Prediction: 34-26 Lions.

Free Play from Doc’s Sports. Take #344 Syracuse Orange over California Golden Bears (3:30p.m., Saturday, September 12 ACC Network) Both teams have a game under their belt and we will follow the line movement in this game. Cal has a new coach and system and they fell apart last week in Berkely, being outscored 21-0 by UCLA to lose by 21 points. I do not have much confidence in this team and feel Ron Rivera is in over his head as general manager. Syracuse got some confidence last week destroying New Hampshire and they did win at Cal in 2024 in route to a 10 win season. I see them bouncing back this year and making a bowl game. They should be able to win this game by double digits. Do not miss out on Doc’s Sports Weekend card featuring top plays football, soccer, and tennis. Sign-up now with a long term package and let 55 years of handicapping experience work for you.

Our opening week pulling the trigger in college football a week ago, was a successful week for us. This week I settle for nothing less than PERFECTION. So, if you’re going to follow me, bring a broom, because WE ARE SWEEPING THE BOARD. This week I have: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS WINNER. On Saturday, my first NCAAF CRUSHER, the OKLAHOMA/MICHIGAN WINNER, my first CONSENUS WINNER, my 1-0 TOUCHDOWN PLAY, my first LAS VEGAS STRIP MOVE PLAY, my BEST BET OHIO STATE/TEXAS WINNER, and my coveted LATE BAILOUT. Bring a broom and a big bag, because we are sweeping the board and will make a ton of money.

Saturday’s free winner: Alabama Crimson Tide.

Game 357.

12:30 PM PST/3:30 PM EST.

This may be just the first month of the NCAAF campaign, and laying nearly double-digits on the road is never an easy task. However, I think we can all agree Alabama learned from last year’s mistake. If you recall, a season ago they came out on August 30 on the road in Florida State as a 13.5-point favorite and got you humiliated, 31-17. They did rattle off 10 victories out of their final 11 remaining regular season contests. This does include wins and covers in all four games played on the road. This season they came out and blew up East Carolina at home, 48-10. They have the luxury of knowing they’ve dominated Kentucky taking six consecutive meetings straight up, covering four of those six, which includes the most recent matchup back in November 2023 in which they annihilated the Wildcats, 49-21. Speaking of Kentucky, they blew up Youngstown State in their opener, 45-13. But this is a team that faced quite a few of the same opponents, ‘Bama did last season and got shellacked in several of those outings. The Wildcats, under head coach March Stoops did surprise a few teams. However, I don’t feel they could carry that over this season with their current head coach, Will Stein. Yes, Alabama has Florida State up next, the team that took them down in the beginning of last season. But the SEC opener cannot be overlooked. While ECU, the team Alabama took down last week, is not a powerhouse. The Crimson Tide still produced 487 total yards, with 28 first downs. I feel they will absolutely dominate in their SEC opener, especially against a team that is certainly in a rebuilding year. Take the Alabama Crimson Tide. Thank you.

Lions -7

Locking this in early. Analysis to follow.

Sunday FREE NFL ATS Play

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Forty-four and a half is a quiet number until you remember who is walking into NRG on Sunday. Buffalo at Houston, 1:00 Eastern, Week 1, a pick’em dressed up like a heavyweight and a total that already admits this should look like 24-17, not 31-28. The public hears Josh Allen and starts adding touchdowns. The board heard Houston’s front and hung 44.5 like it meant it.

Last year the Bills went 12-5 and scored 481 points, 28.3 a night, tied for fourth in the league. That tape is real. So is a road opener in a building that has treated Allen like a tourist. Including the postseason he is 1-4 against this franchise with a 55.4 percent completion rate. That is not a curse you put on a poster. That is a completion percentage that lives in the 200s and a lot of third-and-long. Houston went 12-5 as well. The Texans were 7-11-1 to the total. Buffalo was 10-8-1. One of those clubs already knew how to keep a Sunday from turning into a track meet.

Week 1 is not January. First real snaps, first real crowd, first real script that has not been stress-tested since the spring. Openers lean under for a reason. Coaches call it safe. Quarterbacks check it down. Clock becomes the whole ticket. A 23-17 Texans win cashes 44.5 in its sleep. A 24-20 Bills win cashes. A 27-13 still has a pulse. The scores that beat it are the ones where both quarterbacks start slinging it in the fourth quarter of an opener because somebody panicked. That is not how this spot usually ages, and it is not how NRG usually ages when Buffalo is in town.

You do not need a defensive struggle that looks like 9-6. You need this to stay out of a late auction. Allen can still be the best player on the field and the under still gets paid. Stroud can still look like a franchise and the under still gets paid. The number is not asking you to fade talent. It is asking you to fade rust plus a Houston defense that does not need permission to hit.

Pertinent ledger from last season, the kind that lives on a football reference page if you want to stare at it: Bills 481 points in 17 games, 28.3 a night, 12-5, 19 giveaways. Texans 12-5, 12 giveaways, second-fewest in the league. Combined that is two grown clubs, not a cupcake and a bully. Combined they were not a 50-point problem every Sunday. Houston’s total record already told you that. Buffalo’s scoring average is the trap. People take 28.3, add a home dome, and forget that 28.3 was earned across a year, not on the first Sunday in somebody else’s building.

The public will smash Allen props and the over because the logo travels and the quarterback sells tickets. Let them. A 220-yard Allen night and a 210-yard Stroud night with a couple of field goals is an honest opener. James Cook can still eat and the total can still sit down. The ticket is not “nobody scores.” The ticket is “nobody turns this into a shootout before the rust comes off.”

Sit on 44.5. If the number drips to 43.5 it gets cleaner. If they hang 46.5, the edge is thinner and you can live without it. Sunday’s ticket is the under, not the chalk, not the revenge poster, not the first-game narrative that always sounds smarter on Saturday night.

Bet under the total in Week 1 games posted 45.5 or lower.

The Under’s record since the 2025 season: 12-7 (63.2%) with an average over/under of 43.8. (+4.1 units, ROI=19.7%)

Bet under the total in Bills road games against a 12-win defense.

That spot since 2023: 7-3 (70.0%) with an average over/under of 46.1. (+3.5 units, ROI=31.8%)

Bet under 45 in Week 1 games that open as a pick’em or inside a field goal.

That spot since 2024: 9-5 (64.3%) with an average over/under of 44.2. (+3.4 units, ROI=22.1%)

Bet under the total when Josh Allen plays in Houston.

That spot since 2022: 4-1 (80.0%) with an average over/under of 46.8. (+2.7 units, ROI=49.1%)

Confirm the number is still 44.5 closer to kick. Confirm both clubs are still listing the names you expect. Then take the under and let everybody else argue about a one-point spread in Week 1. Enjoy the early window. Bet the total. Let the logos yell at each other while the clock does the work.

Player Prop bets :Josh Allen’s passing line is sitting around 221.5. Take the under. He can still win the game and live in the 190s if Houston’s front gets him off schedule.

C.J. Stroud is around 218.5 passing yards. Same lean. Under. A home opener against Buffalo does not require 250. It requires 205 and a couple of scores.

Allen under 1.5 passing touchdowns is the other quarterback ticket. One through the air and a field-goal night is an honest road opener in this building.

James Cook around 73.5 rushing yards is the over that still fits the under. If this stays on the ground, he eats clock and the total still cashes.

My selection is on Cincinnati minus the points over Tampa Bay at 1 pm et on Sunday.

We saw considerable regression from the Buccaneers down the stretch last season as they ultimately missed the playoffs after having it set up on a platter for them in the down-trodden NFC South. So obviously Tampa Bay has a chip on its shoulder entering the 2026 campaign but I'm not sure that will make a lick of difference. I think we're going to see the Bucs get involved in their share of shootouts again this year and in the season opener, that suits Cincinnati just fine. The Bengals finally have QB Joe Burrow healthy to start a season and he has all the weapons around him he needs to take his team on a 'Super Bowl of bust' type of run this year. The big news is that Cincinnati finally made some moves to bolster its much-maligned defense. I think the Bengals defense is well-positioned to come up with the splash plays needed to ultimately pull away in this particular contest. Bettors are hesitant to back the Bengals in Week 1 given their early season futility in recent years. I think this is a team with a fresh outlook, however, and one that brings a lot of optimism into its home opener. Take Cincinnati (8*).

FRANK’S CUTTING ROOM FLOOR FOR THURSDAY, 9/10:

My “Cutting Room Floor” plays are the situations I considered the closest to being worthy of investment but did not make the “final cut” for my official plays today for subscribers. The last play I cut for Thursday is with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights plus the points versus the Boston College Eagles. Rutgers (0-1) looks to bounce back from a 37-21 upset loss at home against Massachusetts as a 29.5-point favorite last Thursday. The Scarlet Knights have still covered the point spread in 6 of their last 8 games played in September. They have also covered the point spread in 5 straight road games as an underdog of up to seven points. Boston College (0-1) looks to rebound from their 34-15 loss at Cincinnati as a 7.5-point underdog last Saturday. The Eagles have failed to cover the point spread in 3 of their last 4 games after losing on the road. They suffered a -2 net turnover margin in that contest — and they have failed to cover the point spread in 4 of their last 5 games after enduring a -2 or worse net turnover margin in their last game. Take Rutgers plus the points. Best of luck — Frank.

Frank Sawyer’s Hollywood Sports continued their 7 of 10 (70%) NFL TOTALS TEAR last night by CA$HING the New England-Seattle Under to further their 28 of 43 (65%) NFL over/under streak! Now Frank UNLEASHING his 25* NFC West Total of the Month for the 49ers-Rams’ O/U winner on Netflix at 8:35 PM ET! DO NOT MISS OUT!

Frank is on a 6 of 8 (75%) NFL run after his 1-0-1/2-0 mark last night — CA$HING the New England-Seattle Under and pushing with Seattle (although some may have won with the late -2.5s out there)! Now Frank has tonight’s 49ers-Rams’ side ATS winner on Netflix at 8:35 PM ET! CA$H-IN Frank’s Thursday Discounted Deal — IT’S A STEAL!

Jets @ Titans — Week 1

The Saleh Storyline

Robert Saleh coached the Jets from 2021–24 before being fired mid-season. He spent 2025 as 49ers DC, and now gets his first game as Titans head coach — fittingly, against his old team. Aaron Glenn enters Year 2 in New York. Both coaches downplay the "revenge" angle, but the intrigue is real.

The Quarterbacks

Geno Smith returns for the Jets — a veteran who can manage a game, but he's turnover-prone, and Saleh's blitz packages will test his protection instincts. Cam Ward enters Year 2 for Tennessee, still learning new OC Brian Daboll's scheme. Neither offense should be explosive in Week 1; I'd expect conservative play-calling and a run-first approach from both sides as the defenses try to keep things clean.

Weapons

Jets: Breece Hall looks good to play, and Garrett Wilson is a clear WR1 — on paper, the better supporting cast at multiple spots.

Titans: Calvin Ridley, Wan'Dale Robinson, and rookie Carnell Tate (the No. 4 overall pick, brought in for receiver help) lead the passing game, with Tony Pollard and Spears splitting backfield work. Saleh has confidence in his young QB, but this group doesn't move the needle for me yet.

Edge for Tennessee: home field, plus Saleh's inside knowledge of Jets personnel.

The Trend

Teams that posted a turnover differential of -0.9 or worse per game the previous season have rebounded well in Week 1 of the following campaign — 11-8-1 SU and 14-5-1 ATS (73.6%) since 2013 when not facing a similarly bad team. That's +8.5 units, 44.7% ROI, Grade 68. (per Steve Makinen)

The Market

Jets have covered 8 of their last 10 vs. Tennessee, including a 24-17 road win in Nashville back in September 2024, and have won 4 of the last 5 outright.

Titans opened -3; the line has already drifted to -1.5 on Jets support.

The Play

Skipping the spread — I'm not sure Jets ML stays plus money for long, so I'm taking it now.

Take Jets +105.

Let's cash some tickets!

For one of my best free picks on Sunday I am looking at the Washington Commanders at the Philadelphia Eagles here on Sunday. I think we are getting a great value here getting more than a field goal with Washington. Over the years these teams no matter how good either one is play tight NFC East style games. I think Washington is under valued due to their poor season last year and the Eagles are over rated as usual and should see some decline this year. Look for a field goal win from the Eagles but it would shock me if we saw an upset here.

Play on the Washington Commanders plus the points rotation #475

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