Sports betting is live in Louisiana! With sports betting being live we here at ESPN Lafayette want to incorporate sports betting into our content. So going forward every Friday the different members of ESPN Lafayette will give you their best bets for the weekend and one game that you should stay away from.

Scott Prather's Pick Of The Week

Kansas City -7. The Bengals have been a nice story, but Patrick Mahomes will carve up Eli Apple.

Burrow can be sacked 9 times and still outduel Ryan Tannehill, an average starting NFL quarterback.

Mahomes is the best player in the world.

AFC Divisional Playoffs - Buffalo Bills v Kansas City Chiefs
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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Lynden Burton's Picks Of The Week

To start off this new journey into betting I'm going to give you two picks. Let us begin with the NFL. My first pick is The Rams -3.5. The Rams have all the talent in the world, from a stellar defense to an offense that scored the 7th most points and the 6th most touchdowns at 54. Also on defense, the Rams were one of the best against the run. They allowed the 6th fewest rushing yards in the league with 1754 yards. You combine those factors with the fact that it's hard to beat a team 3 times in the NFL and with the fact that Jimmy G has yet to throw a touchdown this postseason, I have to go with the Rams. I believe the Rams will score first and the 49ers will be playing from behind for the majority of the game, which will be their downfall. Jimmy G won't be able to make the throws necessary for the 49ers to win. Take the Rams!

NFC Divisional Playoffs - Los Angeles Rams v Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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My second pick pains me to say but the Pelicans are playing the Nuggets Friday night and the line has Nuggets -5.5. Take the Nuggets at -5.5 and win you some money. The Pelicans are injured, plus Jokic is damn near having a better season than his MVP season. The Pelicans play hard night in and night out but Jokic and the Nuggets are too much for this injure-riddled team to overcome. The last time the Pelicans played the Nuggets they won by 6 points and Jokic had a triple-double and that Pels squad was only missing Zion. This time with more injuries I cant bet against the Nuggets. Take the Nuggets at -5.5!

Charlie's Pick Of The Week

My pick for the week is San Francisco +3.5. Between the two games in championship weekend, I'm rolling with the one I'm more confident in, and that's the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams. Similar to a couple of weeks ago, I'm expecting this game to have a crowd full of red jerseys in SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. 49ers fans will come out for this one, and after the last two weeks, I don't blame them.

San Francisco has been absolutely on fire defensively, allowing a combined 27 points to two of the top offenses in the NFC with Dallas and Green Bay. It starts upfront. I'm trusting the 49ers to dominate once again with their front seven that has a combined 10 sacks so far in the playoffs. Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, and Fred Warner are names along the front seven that have been amazing through the first two games, and I expect their stellar play to continue. If they get after Matt Stafford in this game, you may see some mistakes made, and turnovers could be key. The Rams beat Tampa despite turning the ball over four times. If the 49ers can force some turnovers and give the ball in a short field to a weaker offense, that's a huge deal.

Offensively, I don't expect too much from San Francisco, but if their defense holds the Rams to under 20 points like they've done so far in the first two games of the playoffs, that will be enough. In addition, the head coaching matchup is one to keep an eye on. Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay are recognized as two of the great young offensive minds in the game, but Shanahan has simply had McVay's number recently, beating him each of the last six times the two have faced off. In those games, the Rams have averaged 18 points per game offensively. The Rams blew a 17-0 lead in week 18 at home to San Francisco and lost 27-24 in OT. In the other game they played this year, the 49ers blew out Los Angeles 31-10. Sometimes a team just has another team's number. If the 49ers lose this game, it won't be by more than three points.
NFC Divisional Playoffs - San Francisco 49ers v Green Bay Packers
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
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The picks are in and that completes the first week of best bets. We will be keeping track of who's picks are right and who's picks are wrong. And at the end of each month, we will let you know who had the best bets and who had the worst. Now go and win you some money!

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