Betting the Spread: NFL Week 4 – Turning the Corner
by Shervon Fakhimi, October 1, 2022Dalvin Cook sustained yet another injury to his shoulder that has bothered him for years. Backup Alexander Mattison has risen to the occasion in Cook’s absence in the last three seasons. In the five full games Cook has missed since 2020, Mattison has averaged 21.4 carries, 90.2 yards, and 0.6 touchdowns per game while adding five targets per game and 0.4 touchdowns through the air. The Saints’ run defense has not been as stout this season as we’ve been accustomed to them being. They stifled Leonard Fournette (24 carries-65 yards), but Cordarrelle Patterson (22 carries-120 yards-1 touchdown) and Christian McCaffrey (25 carries-108 yards) had their share of success. The Saints’ defense skews closer to the Tampa matchup than the other two, but we’ll see. Mattison is a fine RB2 this week if Dalvin misses.