Less than 24 hours into the NFL season, there's already pressure to keep pace in the NFC West.
That's life in the best division in football -- one that features the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, the current Super Bowl favorite Los Angeles Rams, the battle-tested San Francisco 49ers and the, um, Arizona Cardinals. On Wednesday night the Seahawks held serve, opening the NFL season with a 13-10 victory over the Patriots in a rematch of last season's Super Bowl.
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And on Thursday night, either the Rams or the 49ers will join Seattle atop the division when the teams collide in Melbourne, Australia. The game will be the first for Los Angeles after significantly improving the defense in the offseason with the additions of Myles Garrett, Aaron Donald and Trent McDuffie. Donald, who's still working his way back out of retirement, will not play on Thursday. Meanwhile, San Francisco enters the season after a drama-filled offseason that featured the arrest of owner Jed York and a car crash involving coach Kyle Shanahan.
The Rams, who are the +500 futures betting favorites to win the Super Bowl, are 3.5-point spread betting favorites over the 49ers.
While Los Angeles vs. San Francisco is the marquee attraction on Thursday, there are other sports betting options on a sporting landscape that includes a five-game MLB slate. Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet at the best sports betting apps, for Thursday, Sept. 10. All times Eastern.
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NFL best bets, where to watch
Rams vs. 49ers
Time: 8:35 p.m. | Location: Melbourne, Australia | TV: Netflix
SportsLine pick -- Model: Rams -3.5 | Expert: Rams -3.5 (Mike Tierney)
Much has been made about the teams' differing strategies in traveling to Australia. San Francisco arrived Down Under almost a week ago, while Los Angeles landed Thursday morning local time. While the Rams' strategy may be head-scratching, coach Sean McVay knows what he's doing when it comes to international games; he's 3-0 in them. Los Angeles also has won four of the last five matchups against the rival Niners. Also, "Coach Sean McVay is 7-2 [straight-up] in season openers, with one loss in overtime, partly because his regulars sit out the entire exhibition schedule and begin unscathed," Mike Tierney told SportsLine. The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, agrees. It says the Rams have a 57% chance to cover and assigns a 'B' grade to Los Angeles -3.5 as its top NFL betting pick for this game.
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MLB best bets, where to watch
Rangers at Mariners
Time: 4:10 p.m. | Location: Seattle | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine pick -- Model: Mariners -128
Texas and Seattle square off for the last time this season when the teams battle at T-Mobile Park. The Rangers are set to start Jacob deGrom (10-9, 3.96 ERA), who has been a completely different pitcher on the road (3-7, 5.86) than he has been at home (7-2, 2.46). As a team, Texas is just 32-42 on the road this season. Meanwhile, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has been on a late-season surge, batting .351 with three home runs and seven RBI over his last 10 games. The SportsLine Projection Model says Seattle has a 55% chance to win and gives a 'C' grade to the Mariners money line betting odds of -128.
Rockies at Yankees
Time: 7:05 p.m. | Location: New York | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine pick -- Model: Rockies +240 | Expert: Max Fried pitcher to record a win +102 (Prop Bet Guy)
New York will look to complete a three-game sweep of Colorado on Thursday in the Bronx. Lefty Max Fried (4-4, 2.73) is set to make his third start since coming off the injured list due to a bone bruise in his left elbow. Prop Bet Guy notes that Fried was stretched out to 72 pitches in his last outing and should be in line for enough innings to get the win over a Rockies team that is 1-4 over its last five games and 5-16 over its last 21. "I'll trust the Yankee bullpen (David Bednar and Brent Headrick are both rested) to keep the lead," Prop Bet Guy told SportsLine of his prop betting pick of Fried to pick up the win on Thursday. Meanwhile the SportsLine Projection Model disagrees. It says the Rockies have a 29.0% chance to win and assigns a 'C' grade to the Colorado money line (+240).
Pirates at White Sox
Time: 7:40 p.m. | Location: Chicago | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine pick -- Model: White Sox -109
Former No. 5 overall pick Hagen Smith (3-1, 0.56) is set to make his first career MLB start when he takes the mound for Chicago against Pittsburgh. Selected fifth in the 2024 MLB Draft after setting a NCAA DI record for strikeout rate (17.3 per nine innings) at Arkansas, the 23-year-old left-hander has been dominant out of the bullpen for the White Sox this season. On Thursday, he will face a Pirates team that has struggled against southpaws all year, with a .685 OPS that ranks 25th in the majors. The SportsLine Projection Model says the White Sox have a 50% chance to win and gives a 'B' grade to the Chicago money line (-109).
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Looking ahead
College football: No. 23 Missouri at Kansas
Time: 8 p.m. Friday | Location: Lawrence, Kan. | TV: FOX | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine pick -- Model: Kansas +5.5
The Jayhawks will host the Missouri Tigers in Lawrence for the first time since 2005 when the two rivals reunite in the latest edition of the Border Showdown. Both teams are coming off blowout wins against overmatched FCS teams. Tigers quarterback Austin Simmons had more touchdown passes (four) than incompletions (two) last week against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but last season, while at Ole Miss, he struggled against the rush. When he was pressured, Simmons was 4-for-10, threw one touchdown and three interceptions and had a passer efficiency rating of 54.2. That bodes well for a Kansas defense that got pressure on 50% of snaps last week against LIU. The SportsLine Projection Model says the Jayhawks have a 67% chance to cover and assigns a 'B' grade to Kansas +5.5.
