The 7-3 record against the spread the past two weeks with the Best Bets has me even for the season, which, after an 0-4-1 first week, I am happy to say.

My record is now 12-12-1 as part of Team OddsShark in the Westgate Super Contest. I feel good about the momentum from the past two weeks.

Let's keep it going with five picks this week, including three favorites and two underdogs. I don't usually like laying big numbers, but I have two that I really like here for specific reasons.

One is the New England Patriots minus-9 against the New York Jets, and the other is the Washington Redskins minus-10 against the San Francisco 49ers. Read on to find out my reasons, and check back with me next week when I climb over .500 and stay hotter than the seat under Giants coach Ben McAdoo.

Patriots -9 at Jets

You give Bill Belichick an extra couple of days to prepare and he will make the opposition look bad. When this game kicks off, the Patriots will have had 10 days off. That matters. The Jets are riding high with three straight victories, but I can't see them hanging around in this one. Tom Brady lights them up.

Ravens -6.5 vs. Bears

This will be the first road start for Bears rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. That's tough. But it's even tougher against a good defense that features two smart, ball-hawking safeties. I think he will throw a couple of picks -- one to Eric Weddle and one to Tony Jefferson -- that will lead to points for the Ravens. This could get ugly.

Redskins -10 vs. 49ers

The schedule-maker abused the 49ers in this one. They are playing a third consecutive road game, and are doing so against a team on the East Coast coming off a bye. That's just brutal. What's even worse is those two road games went into overtime. That's too much to overcome. It's the Redskins in a blowout.

Steelers +4.5 at Chiefs

The Steelers beat the Chiefs twice last season, once at home and once at Arrowhead in the playoffs. Even though the Chiefs are playing good football, they have some defensive issues. I think Ben Roethlisberger will get back on track here and the Steelers will keep it close -- and could pull off the upset. Take the points.

Chargers +3.5 at Raiders

The Chargers are playing consecutive road games. That is always tough, but this is more of a pick against the Raiders defense. They made the Ravens offense look good last week. Even with Derek Carr back at quarterback for Oakland, I think this is a game where Philip Rivers has a big day to keep it close and maybe win it.