VSiN Best BetsVSiN Morning Line, hosted by Grace Remington and Erik Coleman, sets the stage for your sports betting day with expert analysis and the latest news across the NFL, college football, NBA, and more. Grace and Erik break down key matchups, provide actionable insights, and share their best bets to help you make smarter plays.
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Heward, good morning, Happy Friday. We made it to the end of the work week. This is the VSON morning line. Thank you so much for waking up with me. I'm Grace Remington joined by Eric Coleman on this very fine day, and we now know half of the National Championship game. Notre Dame headed back to the title match for the first time since twenty thirteen. And Eric, what a semi final game. The first half, I mean, what a dud. I was ready to pack it. I was very much horizontal on the couch, loathing the fact that I had to stay.
Up to watch the second half.
But then as soon as we got into that second half, all the momentum swings, and oh my goodness, I was on the edge of my seats for the rest of the night, so wired that I couldn't go to bed. I'm running on like four hours of sleep. Now that game was an instant classic.
Oh it was an amazing game.
And Grace, I was watching the game from the airplane, so I watched it from the beginning to end. On the plane. We had a whole row of people cheering and yelling for the game. But you're right, the first half was a dud. Yeah, the first half was like, what's going on?
Here?
Is a defensive you know, it is a defensive matchup that both defenses played very well. But you know, there was a couple of big plays and that second half did not disappoint. It was very exciting, and you're right, I had the adrenaline going all night long.
I love that there were other people on the plane watching the game with you. That's one of my favorite things is just you're all strangers, but you can kind of look bond over this one little thing. But Mitch Jeter goes out to kick the forty one yard game winning field goal with seven seconds left. That CAP's a game with three ties, three lead changes. Notre Dame goes on to win twenty into twenty four, covering the spread no matter which number you back to Notre Dame at, and then after zero points in the first quarter, the scoring breaks out in the second half thirty one points in the fourth quarter. So this one ends up going over the total of forty five and a half. We'll dive much deeper into this game, but first look ahead into what's coming up on the Vson Morning Line. We're going to give you a preview of Ohio State Texas before they kick off tonight. Then take a look at all the wild card games this weekend, starting in the AFC, moving to the NFC, giving you some betting advice in our leans for those games, some keys to the game, and we will wrap the show with prop Shop with NFL plays of course, but also sprinkle in some college player props in there as well, and wrapping the show with our best bets. So let's get back to Notre Dame and Penn State now capping a what I call it a comeback of a season, because I feel like everyone just wrote off Notre Dame after that law to NIU. But if you had watched the Irish all season long, this is kind of what they do.
Relentless is their thing.
Here's Marcus Freeman after the game on where they executed well in this game.
These guys are resilient and they found a way to make a play when it mattered the most. And that's what again is to me. With great teams, great organizations, they're able to at that moment that they need to do their job or make a play, they do it. And the last play doesn't matter. There's unpredictable things that happen all the time and they find a way to make it work.
And coaches right, his team really stepped up when it counted. I thought Riley Leonard had an excellent second half after getting banged up in the first half, you know, not getting off to a great start. That second half, he really took strides and made some big plays. And what I love about Notre Dame is it's like it's a different player that steps up every week. Last week it was a faise on who had the big plays. This week it was great house. You know, Jeremiah Love had a big impact with that injury. No one thought he was gonna play, and he did a great job. So then a ton of players step up make big plays for this Notre Dame team, and that just shows the resilience. These guys are really out there playing for one another, and you can tell by the way they played.
That field goal at the end of the half looked small on the scoreboard, but had so much importance to the momentum of this game, keeping Notre Dame in it and making it just a seven point game. And at halftime, Eric I was feeling like, oh, this game is over. Even when Penn State went up three to zero earlier in the game, I was like, that is an insurmountable lead based on just how that first half looked with Penn State controlling the line of scrimmage. And then you come back out in the broadcast reminds you, oh, it's a seven point game.
Oh oh yeah, yeah, I guess you're right.
But that first drive they came out of the half, they had more rushing yard on that drive forty four than they did in the entire first half. They end up going eight plays, seventy five yards, score a touchdown, so they win the middle eight there, And you mentioned Riley Leonard, I mean just absolutely clutch, putting his body on the line, goes well over his rushing attempts. Line goes over eleven and a half with eighteen carries for thirty five yards. And even that looks like a small number, but several of those runs came on key third and fourth down conversions. Let's take a listen to the Notre Dame quarterback now on what he saw last.
Night culture wins. You see a bunch of talented guys, you know, across our locker room, but you can see that anywhere in the country. I think at the end of the day, it's you know, which guys are putting their bodies on the line and doing everything they can from the man next to them. Nobody's thinking about Drasstocks or next year or anything like that, any type of individual glory. We're all thinking about the man beside us.
He's writing Marcus free and has created such an amazing culture at Notre Dame.
You know, you don't have a lot of the transfers.
You know a lot of the guys like to stay and play for Marcus Freeman in this team because they've created such a winning culture.
And you saw it. You know it was next man up mentality.
Riley Leonard goes down, Steve Vangeli comes in, throws the ball exceptionally well, leads him down to a field goal. You have offensive linemen. Two offensive linemen go down for Notre Dame. Next man up, They step up and play well. This team is selfless. Everyone is prepared to play and from top to bottom, this roster is full with a bunch of guys who play hard, who understand their job and go out there and put on the line. So applause to Notre Dame. I'm happy that they're in the National Championship.
Yeah, let's give a shout out to Steve Vangelli. He went six of seven for forty four yards on that drive before halftime while Riley Leonard was being evaluated for a concussion. If that drive had gone the other way, that could have been the end of the game right there for Notre Dame. So props to the back up QB for being ready. And I just love listening to Riley Leonard. It's no surprise at all with his moxie, just just the crazy. I mean, he's leaping over defenders at the end of the game. The last dart of the game, he's like dragging four defenders with him on a three yard run. It's no surprise why the guys around him love him and rally around him.
Now, on the other side.
Of things, Big game, James makes his return. James Franklin now four and twenty against top ten ranked teams in his tenure. This is just a second half meltdown, and of course it's not all on him, but Penn State was out gained two hundred and sixty one yards to one hundred and forty nine yards in that second half, they were outscored twenty.
Four to fourteen.
Let's take a listen to Franklin now on what the difference in the game was.
We weren't effective enough on third down and then the middle eight. You know that that field goal right before.
To half was big.
We had almost had a chance to add a fumble recovery right there off the street. And then to open the second half with them going down and scoring a touchdown and us going three and out. You know, those things, those things that was significant in the game.
The middle eight was devastating for Penn State, you know, for Notre Dame to go down there and kick that field goal right before a half. And yes, it was dominant performance by Penn State in the first half, but it was still a one possession game, giving Notre Dame hope.
They gave him hope winning the halftime.
Marcus Freeman gave him some type of speech because they came out and ran the ball as if they were like they ran the ball earlier in the season. Penn State did a great job of stopping the run. They were out physically Notre Dame in that first half. But something was said in that locker room because they came out in the second half. Jeremiah Love ran the ball, a great House was moving the sticks. Riley Leonard did a great job. It was just a team effort. They came out with intention, they scored that, they tied it up.
From there.
It was the Washington the second half. You were like, whoever has the ball last is going to win this game. And you know, thank you, hopefully, thankfully for Notre Dame. They ended up winning it.
I really hope they were miked up in that halftime locker room speech because we need to hear whatever Marcus Freeman said to the guys. Look going back to Penn State side of things now, I think they leave this game with a lot of what ifs. What if James Franklin went for it on fourth and goal early in the game and early in the second quarter instead of settling for a field goal that could have been the difference there. What if the defensive back Cam Miller didn't fall down against Jaden Greathhouse on that big Notre Dame touchdown at the end of the game. What if Drew Aller didn't throw an interception on their last chance of the game. Of course, the loss never comes down to one person or one thing. It's always a team loss and a team win. But it is hard to ignore the inconsistencies we saw from Drew Aller. So let's take a listen to the Penn State quarterback on what he saw on that final interception of the game.
Yeah, I mean I was going through my progression, got to the backside, and honestly, I was just trying to dirt it at his feet. But I mean it just I should have just thrown it away when I thought the first two progressions not open, just because of the situation we were in. But I was just trying to dirt it out of Marii's feet. So but just didn't execute what I was trying to do.
And that's the advantage that Notre Dame's defense brings to the table. They do a great job in man and man coverage, and when you play manda man coverage at a high level, there's very small margin for air for quarterbacks. As you just heard, Drew Aller is trying to throw the ball away and because of Notre Dame's pressure, because of how tight the coverage was, a small mistake and throwing the ball away ends up an interception for Notre Dame. The game changes and now we have an Irish victory. Drew Aller had a fantastic season. You know, much credit to him in Penn State. They did a great job. This a kentire sea and played great football. Notre Dame stepped up when accounted.
Yeah, still have to give Penn State their flowers. It was still a successful season, thirteen wins, made the Big Ten Championship, made the College Football Playoff semi final, and now maybe Aller comes back, considering he didn't really end the season on a high note. He'll get year two under Andy colt Nikki and you know they can only go up from there. But the Irish now have a chance to win their first national title game since.
Nineteen eighty eight.
The look ahead lines have them a nine and a half point dog to Ohio State, a two and a half or three point dog to Texas, depending on where you're looking. We will get into the second semifinal game coming up next. We are just getting started here on the VSENT Morning line. Ohio State, Texas next, and then moving on to the NFL.
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Welcome back into the vs IN Morning Line. Thank you for waking up with us this Friday morning. I'm Grace Remington with Eric Coleman, getting you ready for a jam packed weekend of playoff football. So Notre Dame advances to the National Championship Game, they will find out their opponent tonight, the winner of Ohio State and Texas. This line has kind of been fluttering back between the five and a half and six for the last couple of days, with the total still sitting at fifty three and a half. Although you know what now, I actually am seeing some fifty twos and a half, So some action to the under there. But let's get into this game now, Eric, what is the biggest matchup or key to the game, anything that stands out to you here?
You know, when you look at Ohio State and Texas, this is good on good. This is two amazing teams playing in one another, playing in the semi finals. But I like Ohio State and Will Howard with Jeremiah Smith in that offense up against the Texas defense. The secondary for Texas led by Baron who is a Thorpe Award winner. In the secondary, they create a lot of turnovers, they match up well, So how is Texas going to line up against Ohio State's potent offense. That's going to be my key matchup. But now really looking forward to this one is going to be an explosive game. Some big time playmakers out there. We're in for a treat tonight.
That's been one of my biggest keys all week. For as good as Jeremiah Smith and Amika and Buka are, and they are probably the best wide receiver group in the country, don't overreact to what we've seen in the college football playoffs so far, because Texas has as good a chance as any defense in the country of stopping these guys. They ranked number four and drop back success rates number three in explosive pass rate allowed, So it could be the passing the toughest passing defense the Buckeyes have faced this season. Now, that's just at the top of our list. I'm sure Steve Sarkisian has a long list of things to worry about in this game.
Let's take a listen to the Texas head coach.
Well, I think we've got to be really good at the line of scrimmage against the run and the pass. You know that the Ohio States similar to us that way, when they have balance, they're very difficult.
And so we've got to be good against the run.
We got to try to, you know, affect him in the pocket, and we need to disrupt timing in the back end. We need to disguise our coverage as well. We need to be sticky in coverage. We need to get hands on footballs. We need to make throwing lanes difficult. We need to get our hands up at the line of scrimmage. So there's a there's a lot.
Of factors to that.
Not an easy task, I'll say that, but but one that I think is going.
To be necessary if we want to be successful.
Yeah, and Steve Sarkisian is right on defense. You have to dominate the line of scrimmage. And that's the key to playoff football. As a defense, you cannot allow teams to run the football down the middle of your defense. It allows them to open up their entire playbook. You can run the football, you can run play action, you can take shots down the field, and it really puts Ohio State at an advantage if they're able to run that football. So for Texas, stopping that run early is going to be big, but also just handling that early wave from Ohio State in the college football playoff. Ohio State is outscoring opponents thirty five to nothing in the first quarter. They get off the fast starts. Texas is going to have the weather that storm early if they want to compete in this game.
Both of these teams are really good at starting the first quarter fast deep sarkesin especially great at scheming things up early in the game. He's historically been great on scripted drives, so that fast start is everything in this one. And looking at the spread, I think you want to look at all the possibilities here because sports betting is a game of probability. There is an outcome that Ohio State starts this and gets out to such a massive lead that Texas just can't come back, and the Buckeyes winning a blowout. However, I think if Texas is playing at its ceiling, this one will be a little bit closer. I was hoping to see some action get us to a seven before kickoff. I'm still waiting on that. That's where I would play Texas. But I actually played the under fifty four and a half earlier in the week. Like we've been talking about two of the best defenses in the country here, and I think the secondary for Texas is a good matchup against these wide receivers. But is there any type of lean you have in this game, Eric, Well, you know.
I do lean towards the Buckeyes to win this game and lay the points because of the way that they've been dominant this college football playoff. You know, they had a couple of shortcomings throughout the regular season, but coming into this playoff they have been just flat out dominant. The way they played against Oregon, you never really thought Oregon had a shot to win that game. And this is an Oregon team that was undefeated. They dominated every opponent that was put in front of them in Ohio State made them look as if they weren't even They shouldn't even have been in that game. So Ohio State is on fire right now. So I like the Buckeyes to continue with their winning ways. I think they'll they'll win by a good margin, but it's going to be a thriller. This game is not going to separate until the second half, until that fourth quarter, so I like it to be a closed matchup. I'm gonna lean Ohio State with the points and listen, this is this is a big time stage that that total is making me uncomfortable. I'll stay away from the total because you know, a couple of plays here there can make it go over under.
But I'll go with Ohio State at the points.
I know it's literally do you see Ohio State pulling away? Because if you if you do, that's that's how I see it going over. So I'm banking on Texas to cover and keep the under here. But we'll see It's playoffs are hard. It's when these betting markets become really efficient. So it's it's a little bit harder to win in the postseason here, but either way going to be really entertaining for all of US fans. The updated odds for the National cha Championship winner Ohio State minus one forty, Notre Dame plus two to fifty and Texas plus four fifty. Now, if you want to bet smarter, you can start with Smarter Insights. A Visa Pro subscription delivers the kind of actionable content that gives you the betting edge, and right now you can check out articles like Saturday's NFL Wildcard Games preview. Greg Peterson's college basketball Best Bets and Sunday's NFL Wildcard Games preview. Later today, you can check out Wildcard Weekend First Touchdown, score, prop picks, That's a fun one, Zachary Cohen's NBA Best Bets, and a Vikings Rams preview. To get access to all of the articles on vson dot com right now, you can sign up for a for fifty nine dollars off an annual subscription with the promo code VML. Just head to vson dot com, slash subscribe and sign up today.
Let's get into the NFL now.
Wildcard Weekend kicks off this Saturday afternoon with the Chargers and the Texans coming into this one on a three game win streak. They opened as a two point favorite, but the early action jumping on Jim Harbaugh's team, moving them to three.
What are your thoughts on this game, Eric, Well, you.
Know, this is a game that I'm leaning towards the Los Angeles Chargers because they have the best defense in the NFL. You know, you look at the Chargers in the way that they've been holding teams to seventeen points a game.
CJ.
Stroud has not been the player we thought he was going to be. Coming into this next season, but who knows he can put things together offensively for the Chargers. The big matchup for me is Joe Rayshawn Slater against Will Anderson and Daniel Hunter, the pass rushers for this Texans team. The Texans get after quarterbacks at a high rate. Can Joe can Rashawn Slater keep Justin Herbert clean to throw that football? So that's going to be the big matchup. But overall, I do like the Chargers. Jim Harbaughs has instilled a toughness in this Chargers team. They run the football, they play physical on defense, and they let their quarterback pick apart defenses when they're off balance. So I do like the Chargers to continue their winning ways. But it's going to be a close one because the Texans are not going to go down without a fight.
I tend to agree with you there.
My lean for this one would be the under forty two and a half because you have two teams that want.
To run the ball. They're both slow paced. Houston ranks twenty fifth and tempo.
Chargers are dead last in the NFL in tempo, and then you look at the coaches and the decisions they make.
They are happy to settle for field goals.
Looking at their cover rates, Texans are eleven and six to the under this season. That's the highest under rate in the NFL, and most of that is because of their inefficient offense at ranks thirty first in success rate. Probably not an offense that deserves to be in the postseason, but such as life in the AFC South. Let's take a look at the Broncos Bills. Now we have a couple of really big in the AFC here, but Bill's I mean, this one's interesting because I've seen a lot of people take Broncos plus the points, but then other people are adamant that you should lay it with the Bill, So this one seems very opinionated.
What do you think is the difference in this game?
Well, one, the Buffalo Bills in this offense are playing outstanding. James Cook is having a great year on the ground. Obviously, Josh Allen having an MVP type season where you know he's not just thrown it to one receiver. It's not just Stefan Diggs as it has been in the past. He's thrown it to whoever's open. He's been efficient, he's taking care of the football, and this Buffalo team looks like a big time juggernaut. But the really big difference is bo Nicks. You got a rookie going in to Buffalo in the playoffs, in that playoff environment. I like my chances with Buffalo dominating this matchup. You haven't seen a rookie going there going and win a playoff game with this big of a spread since Mark Sanchez back in two thousand, so it's been a lot of time since the rookies had success in that.
Wildcard History would tend to agree with you. Eric, Rookie quarterbacks on the road in the playoffs in the last ten seasons are zero to five straight up, one and four against the spread, and then Sean McDermott in his tenure as a head coach, specifically against rookie quarterbacks, he is.
Nine and four.
So I do lean the bills way all right. If you haven't heard the news, where have you been? Because Vson is returning to Sirius XM starting January seventeenth.
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Welcome back into the VSON Morning Line and Happy Friday. I'm Grace Dummington with Eric Coleman, getting you ready for NFL Wild Card weekend. We continue our AFC previews here with the Steelers and Ravens. We are getting a trilogy in the same season. And it's funny, Eric. The last time these two teams played, Baltimore was a six and a half point favorite, and at the time I and probably many others were like, Wow, this is a lot of points to lay in a divisional game. Now we're looking at a nine and a half. It was ten just yesterday. But what are your thoughts on this one?
Well, you know, I think that Baltimore is playing great football right now. They're running the ball at a high clip. Derek Henry's had a phenomenal year. Lamar Jackson obviously in the MVP Hunt. So I do expect the Baltimore Ravens to win this football game. But nine and a half points, considering the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Baltimore Ravens, considering Mike Tomlin's success against this Ravens organization, and the fact that it's a division foe, I think nine and a half points is too rich for my blood.
I'll take the Steelers plus nine and a half. But overall, the.
Baltimore Ravens are gonna win this football game. They've been playing great football. They are going to be without Zay Flowers, which is gonna hurt them stretching the field vertically, but enough talent on this team. The defense is playing very well for Baltimore, and Russell Wilson and George Pickens cannot get on the same page if the ball. If the Steelers want to have a fight in this game, they're gonna have to get the ball to George Pickens early. They're gonna have to get it to him often because as his attitude goes, as his success goes, so does that Steelers offense.
So it's going to be important for the Steelers to get Pickens involved early.
George Pickens is such an interesting case study. I just want to if we find out more of whatever's going on behind the scenes in the off season, or you know, if he eventually leaves there. But I'm I'm kind of with you. Nine and a half feels like a lot. I won't be surprised at all if the Ravens do end up covering it. But my thought in this one was to consider taking laying the points of the Ravens in the first half minus six and a half in the first at minus one aweight. It's a play that I gave out last week. They were minus ten and a half point favorites in the first half and they still covered. They ended up covering the massive spread against the Browns anyways, But just kind of protecting yourself from any type of backdoor cover here. But you look at that Week sixteen game between the Steelers and the Ravens when Pittsburgh was blown out. Pitt was in the midst of a really bad scheduling stretch. They had four road games in six weeks, three of those games coming in a span of eleven days, and it was against the best teams in the league. Philadelphia, Baltimore, Kansas City, So it kind of makes me feel like maybe we overreacted to that raven went just a bit much. And then you mentioned Mike Tomlin's success as an underdog since two thousand and seven. He is thirty eight fourteen and two against the spread as a dog against fellow AFC North opponents, including thirteen three and two against the spread against the Ravens. But no matter which way this one goes, it's a fantastic rivalry. It'll be, no doubt a fun one to watch. Moving to the NFC, now, we'll start with the Packers and the Eagles. Two big injuries we're monitoring here are for the quarterbacks, but Jalen Hurts and Jordan Love both full participants in Thursday practice. What stands out to you in this game, Eric, What stands.
Out to me is this is going to be a ground and pound football game.
When you look at the Green Bay Packers, Josh Jacobs having a phenomenal year, they've relied heavily upon the legs of Josh Jacobs as well as the Philadelphia Eagles in that runoffense, Sayquon Barkley rushing for over two thousand yards this season, That offensive line of the Philadelphia Eagles has been maueling defenders, so I think the key to this one is going to be heavy ground attack, Jalen Hurts, take care of the football, and I think that you have the Eagles in a really good position to win this football game. On the defensive side of things, the Philadelphia Eagles defense is playing one of the best in the NFL. They're playing at a high clip, they're forcing turnovers, They're creating opportunities for that offense. Philadelphia is hitting their stride right now in the perfect time. I think that the Eagles are going to win this game. I'll lay the points with the Philadelphia Eagles, and I think this the end of the season for the Green Bay Packers.
I like, yeah, I think I like the Eagles here. I'm less sure on the spread. I kind of like the total. It's already been bet down two points, but I still think there's a room to take the under forty five and a half. You have two top three run heavy teams in the NFL that means short gains with the clock running, and then you have the number three and number four d.
Defenses in EPA per play allowed.
Another angle I found here that I think is kind of interesting is taking the Packers to win the first quarter on the money line plus one ten. Green Bay is averaging twice the amount of first quarter scoring as the Eagles. Green Bay ranks number four in the first quarter, Philly ranks number twenty one. And you might remember when the Eagles slow starts in their games was the story of their season. They didn't score a first quarter touchdown until Week nine. So just another fun little angle to look out there. Go to the com Yeah, oh no, thank you, thank you god.
I did see his stat about Jalen Hurts and his first two drives. He's one of the worst in the NFL. So that first half, that first quarter Packers pick, I'm gonna have to put some money on that one.
Okay, let's go. I love it when we're in unity.
Quite the opposite looking game we'll have in this next one. The Commanders and buck highest total of the weekend at fifty and a half. Home team Buccaneers laying three points in this one.
What do you like in this game?
You know, I look at the total in this game and I know that it's higher right now, but I'm going to take the over. I mean, you have two top five offenses going against each other. You know, obviously, Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers have been playing amazing. Baker Mayfield forty one touchdowns this year, Bucky Bucky Irvin is running the football well, and the Commander's defense is thirtieth in the NFL in rush defense. So I look at the Buccaneers to put up a ton of points. And when you look at the Commanders, Jane Daniels thirty plus touchdowns this year, playing amazing. In the pace that the Commanders play is second in the NFL, so they're getting a lot of plays off, they're putting up points.
This is going to be an explosive game. I'm going to take the over in this matchup.
I think that's a good call. And you know, one of my favorite plays here. Once again, I'm going back to these first quarter plays. But I actually like the first quarter over nine and a half. I gave this out a couple of days ago, and since then it has now been juiced to minus one thirty, so people are catching on. But these teams are the number one and number two first quarter scoring teams in the league, Tampa Bay averaging almost seven points a game in the first quarter commanders averaging six point four points a game in the first and the Bucks are actually the best team in the NFL on opening drives. They've scored on eleven of them, eight of those are touchdowns. And if you're thinking about, oh, maybe I'll take someone on the spread instead in that opening period, while both of these teams are ten six and one against the spread, so quick starts a strength for both teams here, I'll just take the over nine and a half in that one. One more game to get to and I'm glad we actually have time because I thought we were going to run out but Vikings and Rams, and this is an interesting situation because due to the California wildflow fires and sending thoughts and prayers to everyone over there and especially our first responders and firefighters, this game has been relocated from SOFI Stadium to Glendale, Arizona, and we have seen a line movement come with that. So Minnesota now a two and a half point favorite on a neutral site.
Game, I guess is what it is now.
But I just wanted to give people the house rules because these situations can get kind of weird, and it's different from what we saw for the Georgia Notre Dame game last week where it was postponed less than twenty four hours, but in the same location. When you relocate, that actually changes the way the spread is calculated. So DraftKings and Circa said they'll honor bets last night. FanDuel and Caesars were unclear, but MGM voided bets. So just a reminder to always check your house rules in situations like this.
But going to the x's and o's. Now, Eric, what are you looking for in this matchup?
Well, this is a great matchup.
You know, you talk about Los Angeles Rams offense, who is starting to play well. You know, Matthew Stafford has a ton of experience and he is particularly great against the blitz playing against the Minnesota Vikings defense. They're the highest blitz were at one of the highest blitz rates in the NFL. So I think the key to this matchup is in Minnesota Vikings finding a way to create pressure on Matthew Stafford without sacrificing their defense, without leaving everyone on the islands.
With Poka Nakula with Cooper Cup.
Because stats have shown Matthew Stafford has shown give him an extra second, he's going to find that open receiver and make you pay for taking that chance blitzing the ball. Now, for the Vikings offensively, they've got to find a way to give Matthew excuse me, give Sam Donald an extra second. When you look at that game against the Lions, Aaron Glynn did a great job of blitzing Sam Donald, making him uncomfortable. He was a lot of airt throws in that game, and that was because Sam Donald was uncomfortable early. The Vikings have to find a way to protect him, allow Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison to get open in the deeper routes, and I think the Vikings will have success. But I do lean towards the Vikings in this matchup. Los Angeles Rams have just gone through too much. The Vikings fourteen wins this season for a reason, I think they continue their winning lace.
I'm staying off this game, but I choose to believe that Week eighteen game was more of an outlier.
So I'm kind of with you there.
But that game the Monday night game, and as we're getting ready for Big Game fifty nine, we have a big deal to match. You can say fifty nine dollars off a Vson Pro Annual subscription. When you sign up using the promo code VML. Visit vson dot com slash subscribe. Use the promo code VML to save fifty nine dollars off your Vson Pro Annual subscription today. Coming up next, get your shopping cards ready, We're going to the prop shop.
This is the VSON Morning Line.
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Coming up after the Vson Morning Line, it is Vsoned by the Books with Dave Ross and Mark Dominic beginning at eight a m. Eastern time that he can stick around for a numbers game with Gil Alexander.
On today's show, Professional Better, Steve Feszick is.
Joining to give his best bets for NFL wild Card weekend. They will be followed by Money Moves with Stormy Bond and Toni and Jeff Schwartz beginning at noon Eastern and welcome back into the VSON Morning Line.
I'm Grace Remington with Eric.
Coleman, getting you ready for all the playoff games in college and the NFL. We have broken them down one by one with our keys Lean's best bets, so there is only one thing left to do. Now we're taking a look at player props. So grab your shopping cart. We're headed to the prop shop.
Looking for props.
Our shelves are stocked.
Let's open the doors to the Viison Morning Line prop shop.
Who all right, So we're mixing in, mixing up this one a little bit and throwing some college player props in here, which I love. Only legal in half of the betting states. So hey, if you win on one of these, send us, send us a screenshot so we can live vicariously through her through you. But I'm going to start with a Texas prop here and go with a gunner Helm anytime touchdown at plus two twenty. Also, I think his receptions line is worth a look over three and a half receptions at minus one twenty. So here's my pitch for you. Eric gunner Helm has been the safety blanket for Quinn viewers over the middle of the field. He's effective as a receiver because of his ability to block in the run game, so it kind of makes it hard for defenses. Defenses to know if he's releasing on a route or blocking. He does have a touchdown in both playoff games so far. So far, and he has gone over this catches line in eight of thirteen games this season. So how do you feel about that anytime touchdown and the over on his receptions.
I love both of these because Gunnerhelm has had a fantastic year, you know, and when Texas plays well, they're getting the ball to gunner Helm. The one game that they lost against Georgia, he only had one reception. But as you mentioned, these last couple college football playoff games, he has touchdowns. He has three catches last week against Arizona State, sixth the week prior, and you know this guy, he is a safety blanket. He does a great job in the blocking game, and I think he'll easily go over that three and a half and get a touchdown.
Love it.
Okay, I'm going with another tight end prop here, this one for Ohio State.
Their tight end g.
Scott over fourteen receiving yards at minus one fifteen, so he has gone over this six times, under four times, pushed one time. But in his two most recent games he has thirty yards against Oregon thirty nine yards against Tennessee. In this game, all the focus is going to be on Jeremiah Smith and stopping the freshman phenom, which frees up Scott. Oh and by the way, Texas won one hundred and fifteenth and receiving yards allowed two tight ends. So how do you feel about g Scott going over his receiving yards?
Oh, this is a nice one. I like how you found this on Grace. You know you're right.
All the attention from the Texas secondary is going to be on stopping Jeremiah Smith playing top to bottom, trying to eliminate big plays.
In what better way to mediate that? Do some play action?
Hit your tight end going across the middle of the field fourteen yards, that's an easy play. I think fourteen and a half is definitely conceivable. I like G Scott over I like this problem.
All right, let's go. We got two winners in the college ranks. Now let's go to the NFL. Starting with Lamar Jackson over forty eight and a half rushing yards at minus one twenty.
So he averages fifty four rush yards a.
Game this season, but has only gone over the line in nine of seventeen games. So this for me is more about how he just kind of goes into an extra gear in terms of running because I know he doesn't have the best playoff record, but in his sixth career playoff games, he has gone over this line five times.
So how do you feel about this.
One, Grace?
This is playoff football, everything on the line. This is a completely different season. All bets are off. I love this prop because Lamar Jackson is going to do whatever it takes to get these playoff wins to get his team to the super Bowl, whether that be throwing the ball deep, putting his body on the line, stretching for that extra first down. I see Lamar Jackson going over forty eight and a half yards easily. This is going to be a big game for Lamar. He's got a great pass rush he's going against. Why not tuck the ball, alleviate some of that stress, move the chains.
This is a great problem.
Okay, love it, Glad we're seeing that the same way staying in that game. I'm taking a look at Derrick Henry going over nineteen and a half rushing attempts at minus one twenty. So there's a big discrepancy between when he goes over under this number number the ravens are zero to five. When he has fewer than twenty rush attempts in a game, those losses were to Philly, Pittsburgh the first time, Cleveland, Las Vegas, and Kansas City. Now we already know the Steelers offense is not explosive, so that makes it hard for them to pull away, which could make it easier for the Ravens to stick to a run heavy game plan and kind of chwo out the clock here. And as a nine and a half ten point favorite, they could just go up big anyways and run out the clock in the second half. So Derrick Henry over ten and a half rush attempts.
How do you feel, Grace, We're four for four.
I like it, you know.
I think the raven success is going to be behind the pads of Derrick Henry running that football.
We talked about it earlier in the show Nose Flowers.
For this matchup, that's a big threat that's lost offensively, You're gonna have to lean more on the run game, I think, you know, I think Derrick Henry's had a fantastic year of you know, close to two thousand yards rushing. Again, he just continues to do it, and he gets better and better as this game progresses. I like Derrick Henry leaning on the defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers over twenty rushing yard, twenty rushing attempts.
Awesome.
Okay, going with another quarterback rushing prop here, Justin Herbert over eighteen and a half rushing yards at minus one fourteen. This is kind of about the matchup with the Texans. So they're good against run offenses in general, but not against running quarterbacks against mobile quarterbacks. This season, Anthony Richardson twice, Drake May, Caleb Williams, Josh Allen, Pat Mahomes, Lamar Jackson all went over this number. So do you think Herbert does the same.
Yes, he does.
You talk about the pass rush of the Houston Texans, and they get a lot of success against what we call iron deer quarterbacks, quarterbacks who are going to be standing there in the pocket. Danielle Hunter, will Anderson could go off the edge, pitting their ears back and get after their quarterback. Now, we talked about this matchup between the tackles of the Chargers, Slater and all.
Going against these great defensive ends, they're gonna need.
A little help from Justin Herbert, and Justin Herbert is more mobile than he gets credit for. I think Justin Herbert goes over eighteen and a half rushing yards. We're five for five, right now, brace keep them going.
Let's do it all right, all right, five for five. But this could actually be the first one where we disagree. I'm a little iffy on this one. We know how important Josh Jacobs will be for the Packers, but the under sixty nine and half rush yards for him, it's already been bet down six yards from the opening number of seventy five and a half. He's going up against an Eagles defense that ranks number two in EPA per rush allowed, and he's gone under this in five of his last six games.
So how do you feel about this one?
You're right, I do disagree with you on this only because if the Packers are gonna have any chance in winning this football game, it's gonna be behind Josh Jacobs. Josh Jacobs is gonna have to set the tone with early and often. He's gonna have to run the ball, move the chains. Jordan Love with that elbow injury, I don't know if he's gonna be able to put the zip on the ball that he needs to. He's missing Christian Watson. There's some weapons out for the Packers. I think Josh Jacobs, who had success the first time in Week one when they played against the Philadelphia Eagles rush for over one hundred yards.
I think it's gonna be something similar. I think he's gonna have a big game.
Yeah, this one is probably more of a no play stay away from his rush your prop, especially since it's moved so much. But I just think it's an interesting conversational piece, So we'll see what happens there. All right, let's get into our best bets now, brought to you by g Bank, the Official bank of Vson and Eric.
You do have one for us?
I do, and is Tampa Bay Buccaneers Washington Commanders over fifty and a half points. You're talking about two of the top five offenses in the NFL going.
Head to head. The Commanders struggled defensively against the run. I think this is going to be an explosive matchup. I like the over fifty and a half points.
Love it.
That'll make the fans happy too, too, really exciting quarterbacks. Everyone roots for points in the playoffs, and it's honestly it's it's the only game of the weekend where I really feel comfortable taking the over. So I'll be rooting for you on this one. Vson recommends every better make the G Bank visa signature card part of their betting toolbox. Save up to three to five percent on cash advance fees, earn cash back rewards on eligible betting transactions, and now, for a limited time, you'll get a two hundred and fifty dollars bonus when you open your account and spend one thousand dollars in the first ninety days. Apply now at vson dot com slash Gbank, that's Vson dot com slash g Bank and take advantage of the two hundred and fifty dollars bonus for a limited time from our friends at Gbank, the official bank of Vson. Subject to credit approval. Terms and conditions apply. All right, Well, we hit a lot in this show. Really excited to hit some winners this weekend.
Eric, thanks so much for joining me on this Friday.
I'm sure we'll see you more on Vson next week. But that'll do it for us here on the Vson Morning Line once again, I'm Grace Starvington. He's Eric Coleman. Thank you so much for waking up with us this morning. Vson by the Books with Dave Ross and Mark Dominic is next enjoyed this football weekend.
