Ricky Dimon

Pickswise Expert

Ricky is Deputy Editor at Pickswise who lives in Atlanta, Georgia – although he spends much of his time travelling the world visiting his brother in Africa and covering professional tennis tournaments such as in London, Paris and Melbourne. Ricky has been handicapping tennis for more than a decade and other sports for 5+ years. Futures plays are his favorite targets when it comes to the sports betting market, while he also likes to hit point spread (or game spreads in the case of tennis).

Live Picks 8

Live Parlays 0

Weekly News Articles 5

Location

Atlanta, Georgia

Favorite Sports

Favorite Teams

Greatest Betting Win

Hitting Kvitova at 100/1 odds was a fun one – and for multiple reasons beyond just the cash supplement. First, my confidence in it could not have been higher at the beginning of the Miami tournament. When I saw Kvitova going off at 100/1, I asked two of my friends who cover the WTA Tour full time what the heck was going on. Was she injured?!?! No, in fact it was just a gross pricing failure by the market. Second, I naturally gave out the pick at Pickswise in my pre-tournament best bets article. Winning bets yourself is fun; handing them out for many others (hopefully!) to benefit from is even better!

Greatest Achievements

100/1 play on Petra Kvitova to win the 2023 Miami Open Winner of the USTA Georgia Media Excellence Award in 2015

Education

Ricky graduated from Davidson College (Davidson, North Carolina) with a bachelor’s degree in history. That’s where he began his sports-writing endeavours, covering college athletics for the school newspaper.

Experience

Ricky has been sports writing as a profession for the last 15 years. In addition to Pickswise, his current roles include covering high school sports (mostly football) for a local paper in Atlanta and covering the professional tennis tour for various websites – including his own blog. Ricky first got into the sports-writing world as a fantasy football analyst and he continues to be an avid fantasy football player. Representing Pickswise, Ricky won the 2022 Sirius XM Indepence Day Invitational league in his debut appearance.

Favorite betting market / type

Futures and Point Spreads.

Favorite bookmakers

Ricky's Picks

Game Totals Pick

Under 39.5(-105)

Reasoning

Cleveland obviously has a better chance to cover if this battle results in a defensive struggle because the visitors probably can’t keep up if it’s some kind of shootout. But a relative rock fight is exactly what this matchup should be, so my Browns vs. Bears pick is Under 39.5 — which correlates nicely with Browns +7.5. I just don’t see Chicago scoring enough to cover — at least not in these conditions. It will be absolutely freezing (and windy, as usual) on Sunday, with a current high of 12 degrees. Snow is currently in the Saturday forecast, so the weather could get even trickier if the forecasters are off by more than a few hours or so. Regardless, passing — and kicking, for that matter — won’t be an easy task this weekend.

Whatever the case, Cleveland is defensive-minded even in ideal conditions. The Browns are #2 in the NFL in total defense, #1 against the pass and #2 in sacks. Myles Garrett has already recorded a ridiculous 20 sacks by himself this season — no other player in the league has more than 13. For comparison, 3 teams don’t even have 20 total sacks. Although the Bears’ offense is better than the defense, they are a run-heavy team — and certainly will be on Sunday against Cleveland. They may go on some scoring drives, but those will likely be run-heavy slogs that burn the clock.

Browns vs Bears prediction: Under 39.5 (-105) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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Game Totals Pick

Under 38.5(-110)

Reasoning

Outside of Bowers, there is literally nothing about the Raiders’ offense that inspires any confidence — not even rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, a first-round draft pick. In fact, Las Vegas is dead last in the NFL in rushing offense by a country mile (72.7 yards per contest). Its 3.4 yards per carry are also worst in the league. Head coach Pete Carroll’s crew is last in the league in scoring (15.1 ppg) and second-to-last in total offense (257.2 yards per game). Quarterback Geno Smith has struggled all year to the tune of having almost as many INTs (14) as TDs (16). Smith is questionable for this weekend due to a shoulder injury sustained during last Sunday’s setback against Denver. Largely because of this offense, my Raiders vs Eagles pick is Under 38.5.

Of course, Philly should also contribute to a low-scoring affair. Its offense has been shockingly inept over the past 5 weeks. Jalen Hurts’ struggles actually got worse in Week 14 — and that’s an understatement. The Alabama and Oklahoma product committed an absurd 5 turnovers against the Chargers, including 2 on 1 play alone! That’s right; he threw a pick, recovered an ensuing fumble and then fumbled it back to the Bolts. Hurts’ 4th interception of the night in overtime ended the game in unceremonious, yet appropriate fashion. The under is 3-1 in the Raiders’ last 4 road games and 5-0 in the Eagles’ last 5 overall. It’s a lean toward the under for me.

Las Vegas Raiders vs Philadelphia Eagles prediction: Under 38.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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Game Totals PickBest Bet

Under 42.5(-108)

Reasoning

It’s hard to even describe just how good the Texans’ defense is. Perhaps the most telling way to say it is that the unit is so good that you might actually tune into a football game for the purpose of watching defense instead of offense. Yes, the Texans’ defense is legitimately fun to watch — and it is the main reason why my Cardinals vs. Texans pick is Under 42.5. They have recorded 36 sacks and have forced 22 turnovers (4th-most in the league). Moreover, the offense has committed the 3rd-fewest turnovers in the NFL (10) — so it rarely puts the defense in bad situations. Speaking of the offense, quarterback C.J. Stroud has been solid but unspectacular in 2 starts since missing 3 games with concussion. In those 2 appearances, he went a combined 37-of-66 for 479 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.

Meanwhile, Brissett is playing well for the Cardinals but is not getting much help at all from the running game. And no matter what Brissett brings to the table on Sunday, it’s hard to like any offense’s chances against Houston at the moment. Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter and others are probably going to wreak havoc in the backfield. I’m not even entirely positive that Arizona will avoid getting shut out. The under is 4-0 in the Texans’ last four overall and 2-0 in the last two head-to-head encounters.

Cardinals vs Texans prediction: Under 42.5 (-108) available at time of publishing. Playable to 40.5.

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Game Totals Pick

Under 40.5(-110)

Reasoning

Only 24 total points were scored in the first head-to-head matchup of this 2025 campaign. Now we’re asking Carolina and New Orleans to combine for at least 41?!?! It’s a no from me. My Panthers vs. Saints pick is Under 40.5. The Saints have played 13 games this season; only 3 times have they reached the 20-point mark — and in those 3 exceptions their outputs were 21, 24 and 26 points. Despite prevailing at Tampa Bay 24-40 this past weekend, New Orleans’ offense amassed a grand total of 260 yards. Running back Alvin Kamara is a shadow of his former self and is questionable for Sunday due to a knee injury.

Somewhat surprisingly, neither defense is terrible. Carolina’s is arguably above average, while New Orleans is at least quite good against the pass — #6 in the NFL in that department. The Panthers are tied for 10th in the league with 17 takeaways and the Saints have committed the 3rd-most turnovers with 20. It’s just hard to see this matchup developing into a high-scoring or even medium-scoring affair. Something along the lines of their first head-to-head encounter is far more likely.

Panthers vs Saints prediction: Under 40.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to 39.5.

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Point Spread Pick

CLE Browns +7.5(-110)

Reasoning

How tight is the NFC? With just a single loss in Week 14, the Chicago Bears slipped from the #1 seed in the conference all the way down to the 7th and final playoff spot. They will try to get back on the winning track when they host the Cleveland Browns in Week 15 of the NFL season on Sunday afternoon. Chicago should be able to accomplish that feat, but covering a spread of more than a touchdown could be a different story. My Browns vs. Bears pick is the visitors against the spread.

In its last 7 games, head coach Ben Johnson’s squad has won by more than 5 points only once — even though this stretch includes opponents such as the Bengals, Vikings, Giants and the reeling Ravens.

Cleveland is obviously nothing special, either, but it could also be competitive. Since their Week 9 bye (a span of 5 games), the Browns have lost by more than a touchdown just once. Their defense always has a chance to keep them in games, and now they are even getting decent quarterback play. Shedeur Sanders delivered his best performance as a professional last weekend against Tennessee, throwing for 364 yards and 3 touchdowns while getting picked off once. Sanders may be an inconsistent rookie, but he makes this offense far more dynamic than it was when guys like Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel were running the show earlier this season. Give me Sanders and company to cover…maybe just by the hook.

Browns vs Bears prediction: Cleveland Browns +7.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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Point Spread Pick

LV Raiders +11.5(-110)

Reasoning

The Philadelphia Eagles will be eager to halt a 3-game losing streak when they entertain the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15 of the NFL season on Sunday afternoon. Why are the Eagles playing so poorly and showing the same signs as their second-half demise in 2023? Well, their offense is horrible right now. Since its Week 9 bye, head coach Nick Sirianni’s squad has posted 10, 16, 21, 15 and 19 points in its last 5 outings. Saquon Barkley finally heated up with 122 yards and a touchdown in Monday night’s 22-19 overtime loss to Chargers, but 52 of those yards — and the TD — came thanks to blatant hold by left tackle Jordan Mailata. Barkley now faces a Las Vegas defense that does 1 thing well: stop the run. The Raiders are holding opponents to 113.9 rushing yards per contest on 3.9 yards per carry (5th-fewest in the NFL).

Admittedly, there is not a whole lot of good to say about a 2-11 Las Vegas squad. To be exact, there are 2 bright spots on the roster. Tight end Brock Bowers comes in with 619 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns. Defensive end Maxx Crosby has 9 sacks, 25 tackles for loss, 1 interception and 2 forced fumbles. Philly is 0-3 ATS in its last 3 overall and 1-3 ATS in the last 4 head-to-head meetings. This is slightly too big of a spread for a matchup between 2 reeling offenses that could be low scoring.

Raiders vs Eagles prediction: Las Vegas Raiders +11.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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Point Spread Pick

HOU Texans -9.5(-110)

Reasoning

The Houston Texans will try to extend their winning streak to 6 games when they host the Arizona Cardinals in Week 15 of the NFL season on Sunday afternoon. Only the Patriots (10) have won more consecutive contests than the Texans. I expect that trend to continue, so my Cardinals vs. Texans pick is for the home team to win and cover.

Head coach DeMeco Ryans’ red-hot squad boasts an 8-5 record and has moved into AFC wild-card position — and in second place in the AFC South — ahead of Indianapolis. Houston’s defense is arguably the best in the entire league. The Texans are #1 in total defense, #1 in scoring defense, #4 against the pass and #5 against the run. Four straight opponents have stayed under 20 points, including the Bills, Colts and Chiefs.

Arizona, on the other hand, is a team in turmoil. It is 3-10 and has lost 5 games in a row. Quarterback Kyler Murray (foot) has not played since Week 5 and won’t play again this year — and probably not ever for this particular franchise. Jacoby Brissett has been solid in Murray’s absence, but this offense just isn’t dynamic. And when you face Houston, your offense better be electric if you want to have even a remote chance of success. On the other side of the ball, the Cardinals’ defense is 26th in scoring (26.8 ppg allowed) and their 24 sacks are among the worst in the NFL. The Cards are 1-4 against the spread in in their last 5 overall, while the Texans are 3-0 ATS in its last 3, 4-1 ATS in its last 5 on the road and 2-0 ATS in the last two head-to-head meetings.

Cardinals vs Texans prediction: Houston Texans -9.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -10.

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Point Spread PickBest Bet

CAR Panthers -2.5(-115)

Reasoning

It will be a showdown in the NFC South when the Carolina Panthers visit the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon. New Orleans did Carolina a solid by upsetting division-rival Tampa Bay in Week 14, but the Panthers won’t return the favor by playing nice this weekend. After all, they are now in the thick of a division race. The door is open for the Panthers and — at least for the time being — I expect them to walk through it. My Panthers vs. Saints pick is for the visitors to win and cover. This is a fantastic spot for the visitors. Carolina is coming off a bye and facing an opponent that just picked up its biggest win of the season, thus inflating its value.

The Saints are very bad — way worse than this 2.5-point spread indicates. Their season-long sample size confirms that this is a far inferior team compared to what was on display at Tampa Bay this past weekend. The Bucs really aren’t that good, either. In fact, they have been in shambles since a hot start to the 2025 campaign — their record since a Week 9 bye is 1-4. The Saints gained only 260 yards of total offense but still managed to prevail 24-20. Now they return to the Big Easy, but there is no home-field advantage for them these days. They are 1-5 at the Caesars Superdome this season, compared to 2-5 on the road. Meanwhile, the Panthers are 6-3 SU in their last 9 overall and find themselves tied atop the NFC South with the Bucs. Carolina most recently stunned the Rams in Week 13 as Bryce Young continued to heat up. Young has thrown at least 3 touchdown passes in 4 games so far in 2025.

Panthers vs Saints prediction: Carolina Panthers -2.5 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable to -3.

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