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Basic Strategy Teasers: Best Week 8 NFL Betting Options


by Chris Vasile - 10/26/2018

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger

Can the NFL bring back replacement refs, please?

After watching last night's debacle in Houston, I actually started to miss the replacement refs we were stuck with back in 2013 for three weeks. I mean, come on. The NFL made history by firing a ref mid-season for the first time in the Super Bowl era. That back judge missed a blatant false start and was made an example of.

If the NFL had any clue on how to be consistent, they would fire the entire ref crew that worked last night's game. First, they missed a clear and blatant tripping penalty when the Houston player swung his leg out and tripped the Miami punt returner. Then they completely botched the review and overturned a sack/fumble into an incomplete pass, despite the pass going backwards - which by rule states "any pass behind the line of scrimmage is a lateral and a live ball". The ball landed five yards behind where Brock Osweiler was hit and about 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage itself. But I digress. I miss the "Fail Mary" days.

As for last week's Basic Strategy Teaser, we got back in the win column thanks to the Saints and Colts covering the adjusted spread. We are now 4-3 through seven weeks of action.

Remember, a Basic Strategy Teaser is a two-team wagering options that allows you to adjust the spread six, six-and-a-half or seven points to get a favorable spread. At Doc's Sports, we only recommend using two-team, six-point teasers and moving spreads through key numbers such as three and seven. If you would like more information how Basic Strategy Teasers work, click here .

Best Two-Team, Six-Point Teaser for Week 7. Lines courtesy of Bovada .

Carolina +8 & Pittsburgh -2 (-120)
Risk: $100 to win $83.33

Much was made before the season of how the Cleveland Browns had the pieces in place to be a "good" team. When you go 0-16 the year before, becoming a "good" team happens easily - all you have to do is win one game. Well, the Browns have won two and tied one, but they are still the Browns and they are still victim of terrible coaching.

Now the Browns have to play in their second consecutive road game against a Steelers team that is rested and coming off a bye week. And Las Vegas is allowing me to tease the Steelers down to one and a half-point-favorites? I'm all over that. Look, the Steelers haven't played their best football yet, but they are still 3-2-1 and sit atop the AFC North. The Steelers know they can ill afford any slip ups in the division as they've already lost to Baltimore once this season. The Steelers were hoping to get Le'Veon Bell back in the lineup this week, but that's not happening - which for the sake of this game, is a good thing. Let the Steelers do what they do best and that's utilize James Connor on the ground and let Big Ben make the decisions under center. We all know about the home/road splits for Roethlisberger, so in this spot, the Steelers are the play. If you want to lay the eight points , I won't hold it against you, but teasing them down is the better option.

The second part of this teaser will rely on the Carolina Panthers to get the job done against Baltimore as a home dog. Teasing up the Panthers will allow you to get past the key number of seven. Both of these two teams are coming off improbable finishes to their respective games. The Ravens were a Justin Tucker missed extra point (his first ever) away from forcing overtime against the Saints, while the Panthers completed a 17-point fourth quarter comeback on the road to stun the Eagles.

The Panthers have shown me a few things that I really like about them, and the main thing is their willingness to compete until the last snap. Even two weeks ago against the Redskins, the Panthers had a chance, down six, to complete the comeback, but they ultimately fell short. They improved on that last week and against a Ravens team that has lost two of their last three games and has been inconsistent on offense over that span. We all know how good the Baltimore defense is, but the Panthers defensive unit is no slouch, either. In a game that has such a small spread, teasing up the Panthers and relying on Cam Newton and the run game to keep drives going and keep the Baltimore offense off the field is the best way to approach this game. Baltimore very rarely blows teams out, and they could be caught in a look-ahead spot to a rematch with the Steelers on Nov 4.

Alternative Options

LA Rams: Depending on what book you use, you may be able to find a spread of 8.5. If you do find that spread, you can tease it down to get the best team in the league at home, under a field goal against a Packers team that is coming off a bye but still has a hobbled Aaron Rodgers under center. We know how good Rodgers can be when healthy and how effective he can be with an ailment - but that's against teams that are not as good defensively as the Rams. The Rams offensive should be able to go to down against a Packers defense that just gave up 30 points to San Francisco. If you are hesitant about laying almost nine points, teasing them down would be the best option. **Note** if you can only find lines of nine-points, teasing them down would make -3 a push, and we do not feel it's worth the risk.

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