Buccaneers-Saints early odds: New Orleans road favorite vs. Tampa Bay

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are home dogs when they host the New Orleans Saints in Week 11.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6) host the New Orleans Saints (7-2) in a NFL Week 11 matchup Sunday, Nov. 17th, at 1:00 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium. The game can be watched on FOX and NFL Redzone. The Saints, coming off their second loss of the year, enter as the solid favorite, according to odds from BetMGM.

The Saints (-250) are favored by 5.5 (-115) points against the spread (ATS) over the Bucs. New to sports betting? With a spread of -5.5, that means the Saints need to not only beat the Buccaneers, but they need to win by at least six points for an ATS wager on them to cash. That half-point is referred to as a hook.

Looking to place a bet on this game or others? Get some action in the game at BetMGM. Sign up and bet at BetMGM now!

Feeling a upset? A $10 wager on the Buccaneers (+185) would pay $18.50 in profit should they win outright. Meanwhile, a $10 wager on the Saints to win outright returns a profit of just $4.00.

The Over/Under on the Saints/Buccaneers game has been set at 51.5, which is one of the higher early lines of the week. Both sides of the O/U are -110 for this Week 11 NFL matchup.

Want to get some action on this game? Place a sports bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and tips, access SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Studs and duds in Cardinals’ 30-27 loss to Bucs

Christian Kirk had a huge game. David Johnson struggled in his return.

The Arizona Cardinals had some solid performances from players on Sunday when they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-27. Some players did not perform as well.

Who were the studs and duds in the game?

Stud: WR Christian Kirk

Kirk was huge. He had six receptions for 138 yards and three touchdowns. It was the first time a player had three receiving touchdowns since Larry Fitzgerald did it in 2015. He had not had a touchdown all season. He doubled his career touchdown total. Based on his production in his seven games played so far this season, he is on pace for 75 catches and 867 yards. Not bad for a 13-game season.

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Why Dolphins’ hopes of drafting Tua Tagovailoa are alive and well

The Dolphins have high hopes of drafting a top quarterback this offseason – namely Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa. Those hopes are alive and well.

The Miami Dolphins’ search for the heir to Dan Marino in South Florida has been a long and labored one. Miami has kissed a lot of frogs while searching for its prince — many of whom didn’t last more than just a handful of games as the starting quarterback. The closest Miami has come to replacing Marino over the last 20 years was Ryan Tannehill, a former top-10 draft selection who showed promise over his first three seasons before failing to further develop as a player — ultimately leading to the Dolphins’ decision to part ways with him this past offseason.

Tannehill is now in Tennessee, quarterbacking the Titans. And the Dolphins are once again looking for the answer. The popular pick for Miami’s next move is Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa, who has been widely considered the country’s top QB prospect and a shoo-in to be the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

But with the Dolphins now two games ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals in the win column, landing the No. 1 overall pick now seems like a pipe dream. And with it go the chances of drafting Tagovailoa — right?

Wrong.

Miami’s hopes of drafting Tagovailoa are still very much alive and well, thanks to two developments since the summer. Miami deserves credit for one, while the other is a gift from the football gods.

The Dolphins’ massive pooling of draft capital, specifically first-round picks, has put them in position to bend the draft order to their will — short of pulling Cincinnati off of holding the top pick. If Washington or either New York team ends up in the No. 2 hole, Miami can easily swing a deal. Is that ideal? No, of course not. But if this is the price to pay for positive momentum and player development, so be it. This isn’t a luxury the vast majority of NFL teams can afford in rebuilding years. But it is for the Dolphins because of the arsenal of picks they have at this disposal via their trades of Minkah Fitzpatrick and Laremy Tunsil.

The other development is the arrival of LSU’s Joe Burrow on the scene. Do not dismiss the possibility of the Cincinnati Bengals opting to target Burrow, given his status as a two-year starter, his growth over two years at LSU, his origins as an Ohio prep prospect and his eligibility to participate in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, which will provide him with a huge opportunity to make a strong impression on a Bengals coaching staff who will get first crack at coaching the game.

If Cincinnati drafts Burrow, Miami can make its move for Tagovailoa. And if Cincinnati drafts Tagovailoa, Miami should gladly make its move for Burrow.

The “gloom and doom” of Miami being out of position to fix the quarterback position over two wins is misplaced and, most importantly, inaccurate.

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FiveThirtyEight gives Vikings 87 percent chance to make playoffs

The Vikings are coming off an impressive 28-24 road win over the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.

The Vikings had themselves a statement win on Sunday night against the Cowboys in Dallas, winning 28-24.

That win moved the Vikings to 7-3 and in pretty good position for the postseason.

Per FiveThirtyEight, the Vikings have an 87 percent chance to make the postseason. Minnesota has a 34 percent chance to win the NFC North, a 25 percent chance to get a first-round bye and a (wait for it . . . ) seven percent chance to win the Super Bowl.

Up next for the Vikings are the 3-6 Denver Broncos in Week 11 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings should win that game and move to 8-3 going into their Week 12 bye week.

This is how the rest of Minnesota’s schedule shakes out:

Week 13 at Seattle
Week 14 vs. Detroit
Week 15 at Chargers
Week 16 vs. Packers
Week 17 vs. Bears

There is plenty to like about how the Vikings are playing right now, but there’s still a lot of football to be played. We’ll see if they can keep it going.

Super 25 Football: Week 12

The latest Super 25 Football Rankings are out… Nothing out of the ordinary at the top. There were no changes in the ranks among the first 15 teams this week. However, two new teams still entered the ranks. One of those teams is St. Joseph’s Prep, which has started the year 8-2. It was ranked 25th this week. The other team to make it was McEachern, which came in ranked No. 24. The team has notched its record to 10-0 so far. There were also some teams that moved up a spot, like Muskegon. North Shore went from 18 to 17. Carroll went from 19 to 18. Archbishop Rummel went from 20 to 19. Want to see what else happened? Go to usatodayhss.com for more.

Super 25 Football: Week 12

NFF Super 16 poll is out. Ohio State loses first place votes to LSU

The latest NFF Super 16 College Football Poll is out. Ohio State moved up, but it lost almost all of its first place votes to LSU.

The new NFF Super 16 College Football Poll is out and Ohio State has risen one more spot, and now sits just one place below the top at No. 2.

As with most other polls, LSU has secured the overall No. 1 ranking by way of its win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa over the weekend. The Tigers have put together more top-end wins than anyone else in the country, and it has been enough to be an almost unanimous choice across the major polls.

Also of note, Ohio State has lost almost all of its first place votes to LSU. It has gone from receiving 11 in the last release to just 3 in this one. Again, it’s hard to argue why, but all the metrics seem to feel Ohio State is still the clear No. 1 team in the country. It’s all really about the resume for LSU.

But, it is a good one, and it’ll all sort itself out as the last few games of the year take place. If you’re Ohio State, all you need to do is keep winning and finish in the top four of the College Football Playoff Rankings.

.@OhioStateFB (9-0) gains a spot in #Super16Poll after dominating performance in a 73-14 victory over Maryland at Ohio Stadium.

Next up for the #Buckeyes, Rutgers on the road. #GoBucks https://t.co/wEs9tjQimU #WinTheMoment #DevelopedHere pic.twitter.com/0jcX3sRnkb

— Football Foundation (@NFFNetwork) November 10, 2019

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The next release of the CFP Rankings comes out Tuesday. Don’t be surprised if the Buckeyes fall from No. 1 to No. 2 in that one because of same reason.

NFL tanking rankings: Which teams are in best position for the No. 1 pick after upset-filled Week 10?

A lot of bad teams won on Sunday.

Whoa, what a Week 10 in the NFL.

You thought some of the tanking teams would deliberately try to lose (and some did!). But three of the franchises on our initial edition of the Tanking Rankings (Tank for Tua! Be Bad for Burrow!) won on Sunday.

That makes the path to the top two picks a little clearer for this week.

With that in mind, let’s rank each team based on its record, remaining schedule and just how bad their rest-of-season prospects are (e.g. did the team bench its starting QB for a rookie?). We’ll start from the top … er, bottom:

8. Arizona Cardinals (3-6-1)

Remaining schedule: @ SF, vs. LAR, vs. PIT, vs. CLE, @ SEA, @ LAR

They’ve proven they can beat mediocre teams, so there might be a win or two more left on the schedule.

7. Atlanta Falcons (2-7)

Remaining schedule: @ CAR, vs. TB, vs. NO, vs. CAR, @ SF, vs. Jax, @ TB

Whoa. They beat the Saints. In the Superdome. Whaaa? Is this the sign that they’ll bounce back a little the rest of the way? I’ll buy it.

6. Detroit Lions (3-5-1)

Remaining schedule: vs. DAL, @ WSH, vs. CHI, @ MIN, vs. TB, @ DEN, vs. GB

This all depends on Matthew Stafford’s back injury. If the Lions decide to shut him down (and I think they should, especially given how their playoff hopes are slim to none) and start Jeff Driskel, Detroit might lose the rest of the way.

5. New York Jets (2-7)

Remaining schedule: @ WSH, vs. OAK, @ CIN, vs. MIA, @ BAL, vs. PIT, @ BUF

Would it be shocking if they beat the Redskins, Bengals and Dolphins and ended up at 5-11? Nope.

4. New York Giants (2-8)

Remaining schedule: @ CHI, vs. GB, @ PHI, vs. MIA, @ WSH, vs. PHI

Of the games left, I see two they could win.

3. Miami Dolphins (2-7)

Remaining schedule: vs. BUF, @ CLE, vs. PHI, @ NYJ, @ NYG, vs. CIN, @ NE

After beating the Colts on Sunday, I suddenly see a few winnable games on this schedule (the two New York games, at home against the Bengals). Maybe they’ve taken themselves out of the running for the top two?

2. Washington Redskins (1-8)

Remaining schedule: vs. NYJ, vs. DET, @ CAR, @ GB, vs. PHI, vs. NYG, @ DAL

The bye week proved to be a win — they moved up two spots by doing nothing.

1. Cincinnati Bengals (0-9)

Remaining schedule: @ OAK, vs. PIT, vs. NYJ, @ CLE, vs. NE, @ MIA, vs. CLE

The last winless team in the NFL proved it’s heading toward clinching No. 1 overall with Ryan Finley at the helm.

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Smith-Schuster: Jalen Ramsey said ‘so many cuss words I’ve never heard of’

Jalen Ramsey introduced a new vocabulary of curse words to JuJu Smith-Schuster.

It’s widely known that Jalen Ramsey likes to talk trash on the field. He’s a player with a lot of confidence in himself, and rightfully so. He’s one of the best cornerbacks in the league and lets people know about it.

JuJu Smith-Schuster has faced Ramsey in the past and did so again on Sunday in the Steelers’ win over the Rams. He heard an earful from Ramsey throughout the game as the two were matched up throughout the game, and afterwards, Smith-Schuster shared some insight on what Ramsey said.

Well, he said as much as he could, at least.

“It was cool, man. He talks a lot. He talks so much. He said so many cuss words I’ve never heard of, and I’m 22 years old. But he’s a good player,” Smith-Schuster told reporters.

JuJu on Jalen Ramsey: “He said so many cuss words I’ve never heard of.” #Steelers pic.twitter.com/hQ6OumGiKm

— Josh Rowntree (@JRown32) November 11, 2019

Ramsey had some success against Smith-Schuster, but he was also called for two pass interference penalties and was beaten a few times for receptions by Smith-Schuster. The two lined up across from each other all game long, and Smith-Schuster finished with three catches for 44 yards on six targets.

He also mentioned how Ramsey is forced to follow the Rams’ scheme more closely than he had to in Jacksonville.

“It’s a lot different than him being in Jacksonville where he was able to do whatever he wants. Over here, he has to pretty much do what he’s told … so it’s different. But it was a great experience, wish we got more balls thrown at us, but it’s hard when you’re double-teamed.

Leading up to the game, Ramsey said he was “not really worried” about covering Smith-Schuster and was focused more on himself. He also said Smith-Schuster is “not Antonio Brown,” which the young receiver agreed with after the game.

“He’s right, though, I’m not Antonio Brown,” Smith-Schuster said. “I will never be Antonio Brown. I am myself. I’m JuJu Smith-Schuster. I’m not as good as him yet. I think I still have time to proceed to get to his level.”

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Good, bad, and ugly as the Jags return from bye week

The Jags will get Nick Foles back after the bye week, but the question remains as to if he’ll be able to step in and have success right away.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t have a game this week but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to talk about.

As of now, the Jaguars currently sit in fourth place in the AFC South due to the Tennessee Titans’ victory against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Jaguars will get the chance to improve on their standing in the division when they take on their AFC South rivals in the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 17 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

As the Jaguars prepare for their matchup, here are some good, bad and ugly tidbits as the exit their bye week.

The good: So you’re saying there’s a chance?

If the Jags want to make a playoff push, they have the schedule to do it.

The Jaguars’ opponents have a combined record of 29-36, which is good for a .402 win percentage. The Jaguars have not lost to a team with a win percentage below .500 this year, going 4-0 in those specific meetings. The three teams who they will face after the bye week with losing records include the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Los Angeles Chargers and the Atlanta Falcons.

This could be a prime opportunity to make a run for the postseason.

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