“Fire it up!”
Football is back, and so is our stalking of Colin Cowherd’s picks. Last year, we tracked Cowherd’s Blazin’ 5 and Marquee 3 Super Boost college football picks each week.
Cowherd is much better handicapping the pros.
He finished the NFL season with an overall record of 42-41-3. Fox Bet PA’s promo at the time gave PA bettors the chance to double their money with the sportsbooks odds when three of his five picks covered.
Cowherd flunked when it came to college football. In 2019, his overall record was 18-27. If all three of his Marquee 3 Super Boost college football picks hit, sports bettors cashed in at +800 instead of +600.
Cowherd only correctly picked all three games once over the course of 15 weeks.
2020 Colin Cowherd promos at Fox Bet Sportsbook
“The Herd with Colin Cowherd” airs his Blazin 5′ picks every Friday around noon. This year, the promo with Fox Bet is different. It’s now “Colin Cowherd’s Blazin 5′ Boom Bet.” Each week, the sportsbook app will boost Cowherd’s “hottest pick” for 4x your money.
Now, he gets to cherry-pick from a full slate of NFL games and go 1-1 each week instead of 3-for-5.
The Marquee 3 Super Boost is missing from “The Herd” and Fox Bet promos. We don’t have any official word where it went, but we have some guesses.
Colin Cowherd’s 2020 Week 1 NFL picks
A bearded Cowherd is back with his picks and bravado.
“I gotta be honest with you. Every week, I think I’m going to go 5-0. Every dang week, I think I’m going to go 5-0. “
Colin did not go 5-0.
Cowherd’s Week 1 picks went 2-3.
His “Boom Bet,” the Jets +6.5, was a dud. His other “pick of the weekend,” the Falcons +2.5, turned out to be a trashed ticket, too.
Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens (-7.5)
Colin’s pick: Ravens
Colin’s final score: Ravens 33, Browns 20
Cowherd said:
“I rarely swallow more than a touchdown, but I’m going to take Baltimore. Nobody is worse than the Browns the last 15 years during opening games. Why? Cause they are always changing stuff. Oh, wait. They changed stuff again with a new coaching staff. Cleveland beat Baltimore last year. Baltimore is not overlooking Cleveland. The Browns haven’t won during Week 1 since 2005. The Ravens led the NFL in rushing, and I believe their rushing game will be better. This is a testament to John Harbaugh and coaching. The Ravens have held their opponents to 10 points or fewer in the last four season openers.”
Actual final score: Ravens 38, Browns 6
Did Colin win? Yes
New York Jets (+6.5) vs. Buffalo Bills
COLIN’S BOOM BET (But he doesn’t say it’s his Boom Bet or “Boom goes the dynamite.” Instead, we found it in the app and promoted on Twitter.)
Colin’s pick: Jets
Colin’s final score: Bills 24, Jets 20
Cowherd said:
“Josh Allen was bad last year. He was pretty good against Dallas, and that’s the game you watched. Josh Allen was last in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completion percentage and passer rating the last two years. The coaching staff is great, he’s bad. He wasn’t good his last year at Wyoming. The Bills have scored fewer than 20 points in each of their last five games last year, including the playoff loss. 6.5 points when I get the better quarterback … there is no question the Jets upgraded at wide receiver, tight end and offensive line. Buffalo may win, but 6.5 points is way too many points to give the Jets. Buffalo weather won’t be an issue, LOVE the Jets +6.5.”
Actual final score: Bills 27, Jets 17
Did Colin win? No
Seattle Seahawks vs. Atlanta Falcons (+2.5)
Colin’s pick: Falcons
Colin’s final score: Falcons 24, Seahawks 23
Cowherd said:
“Like it, I love it. Atlanta is my pick of the weekend. The Falcons played really well last year and won their last four and six of their last eight to support their coach. Matt Ryan has figured out Pete Carroll. They’ve faced each other seven times, and Ryan is 5-2 with a passer rating over 100 and 16 TDs. He’s done really well against Pete Carroll defenses, and this is not one of his great defenses. For all their issues, Ryan and the offense isn’t the problem. As much as I love Russell Wilson, it’s really hard in the NFL to go on the road cross-country against a Pro-Bowl-level quarterback when you have a significantly worse offensive and defensive line.”
(Hmmm. So if the Falcons are Cowherd’s “pick of the weekend,” why is it not his Boom Bet? We couldn’t tell ya.)
Actual final score: Seahawks 38, Falcons 25
Did Colin win? No
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Carolina Panthers (+3.5)
Colin’s pick: Panthers
Colin’s final score: Panthers 28, Raiders 27
Cowherd said:
“I know, I know … a bunch of new stuff for Carolina. But can I just say something? … Of course I can, it’s my show. Teddy Bridgewater is good. Best winning percentage as a starting quarterback in the last five years. He’s 16-6, and he also has a history of walking into a playbook and figuring it out. He does not make mistakes, and he’s got a world-class running back. I’ve always thought their wide receivers are underrated. The O-line is good enough. Defensively, they are in a rebuild. The Raiders were a bad team last year, not just on defense. Week 12 on, the Raiders were bad offensively with all those weapons. It’s a Gruden-Derek Carr issue. The Raiders were a bad road team, 2-6, and were outscored by 90 points. Worst road point differential in the NFL.”
Actual final score: Raiders 34, Panthers 30
Did Colin win? No
Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams (+3)
Colin’s pick: Rams
Colin’s final score: Rams 28, Cowboys 27
Cowherd said:
“I think the Rams are the better team, and they are getting points at home. The Cowboys only had seven defensive interceptions last year. They don’t make offenses uncomfortable. The Rams O-line is healthy, same quarterback, same coach, same system … this is a good Rams team with a super-hypercreative head coach. Sean McVay in season openers, this is what creative head coaches do, he’s 3-0, averages 36 points, and two of the three wins came by 20+ points. Jared Goff, for all the heat he gets, in the last four weeks, averaged 330 yards passing, second-best in the NFL. Cam Akers, rookie running back, has been the talk of the camp, as has Van Jefferson. I like the Rams to win in their new stadium. A lot of points here.”
Actual final score: Rams 20, Cowboys 17
Did Colin win? Yes
Blazin’ 5 Week 1 record: 2-3
Boom Bet record – Cowherd’s “hottest pick” boosted 4x at Fox Bet: 0-1
Be sure to check back at PAOC each week of the 2020 NFL season to see if Colin Cowherd’s picks won.