Jonathan Coachman is joined by sports betting experts Allie O'Neill, Zack Cimini and Allan Bell on The Early Edge podcast. They give you their best bets for the NFL and Major League Baseball for Monday, Sept. 26.
Coach starts things off with the SportsLine Play of the Day, which is courtesy of Larry Hartstein: The Cowboys (+1) to cover against the Giants on Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET). "Cooper Rush has a 93.6 passer rating in his two career starts, both wins," he says. "I think he'll continue to succeed, especially with the rookie Tyler Smith playing surprisingly well at left tackle. The Giants, they have some injuries. That could play a factor on the defensive side."
O'Neill is up next with a play in MLB. She likes Over 5 runs for the Braves (-137) against the Nationals in the opener of their three-game series (7:05 p.m. ET). "The Nats have lost five straight starts (by Cory Abbott). His last appearance was in Atlanta, and he gave up four earned runs in four innings," Allie says. "The Braves are only 1 ½ games back from the Mets in the NL East, so anything that they can do to really just push themselves and solidify their standing, it's going to be something. But I don't really want to have to back them - especially on the road - with the run line, so I think I'm going to go with the team total."
Cimini follows with a pair of prop bets on Monday Night Football. First, he likes Under 23.5 receiving yards for New York's Saquon Barkley (-110). "The Giants' strength right now, the only reason they are 2-0, is because of Saquon Barkley's rushing in the second half against the Tennessee Titans (in Week 1)," he says. "Last week against the Carolina Panthers, (he was) held in check all the way until late in the third quarter. Then all of a sudden, he burst for 45 of his 72 yards. So save his legs, you need him in what's going to be a tight game, and I think it's going to affect his pass receiving."
Zack's second play is Under 43.5 receiving yards for New York's Sterling Shepard (-110). "Daniel Jones, he's just not throwing the ball down the field," he says. "Being in this prime-time spot, the Giants want to win this game. They are going to look for safe, designed throws to keep Daniel Jones from turning over the football. Shepard really is not one of those guys that runs easy routes. He needs to get down the field, and we've seen Jones actually start to throw the ball to (New York's) young wideouts."
Bell wraps things up with three play in the Monday Night Football game. First, he likes Over 0.5 interceptions for Dallas' Cooper Rush (-120). "It's his first-ever start in a divisional game," he says. "Dallas is 1-4 in prime-time games without Dak Prescott since 2016, and that was with better Cowboys teams. He's going to put one up in the air because there will be pressure on him, both internally and from the Giants' front seven."
Allan's second play is Over 0.5 interceptions for New York's Daniel Jones (-125). "Daniel Jones has played in eight prime-time games. He's 0-8 with 15 turnovers," he says. "The Giants give up pressure on 48% of snaps - that's the highest in the NFL. The larger problem is that the Dallas Cowboys are one of the best teams in the NFL at getting pressure on quarterbacks. It is going to be a disaster for Daniel Jones. He is absolutely turning the ball over multiple times."
Bell's final play is Over 18 points for the Cowboys (-145). "We're going to see lots of drives that start inside the 25 because both of these quarterbacks will turn the ball over," he says. "Since 2016, the Cowboys have averaged 20.9 points per game without Dak Prescott at QB. We've only got to get (over) 18."
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