NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Lions drop to bottom third of the NFL

The Lions (3-5-1) continue to fall in NFL Power Rankings, the loss of quarterback Matthew Stafford surely impacted their status in Week 11.

The Lions (3-5-1) continue to fall in NFL Power Rankings and the loss of quarterback Matthew Stafford surely impacted their status in Week 11 more than the loss to the Bears did.

Let’s take a look at where the Lions stand in the national eye.

USA Today: 27 (Previous: 18)

“Is Kenny Golladay most dangerous deep threat we don’t discuss? Back to those Next Gen Stats, no player averages more targeted air yards than his 16.5.” — Nate Davis

Touchdown Wire: 23 (Previous: 20)

“It’s going to be easy to blame Matthew Stafford’s back injury for Detroit’s 20-13 loss to the Bears, as Stafford had to sit while backup Jeff Driskel took the field. But Driskel wasn’t horrible; he completed 27 passes in 46 attempts for 269 yards, with one touchdown and one interception against one of the NFL’s most formidable defenses. When assigning blame for this loss, and for the collapse that has seen the Lions lose five of their past six games, one must look squarely at a defense that allowed four touchdowns to Oakland rookies in Week 9 and followed that up by making things all too easy for Mitchell Trubisky on his three touchdown passes. This looked like one of the NFL’s better pass defenses at times early in the season, but that narrative has completely fallen apart. Per Pro Football Focus, Detroit’s secondary has allowed 15 touchdowns to just three interceptions this season. No team is going to win that way consistently, no matter who their quarterback is.” — Doug Farrar

NFL: 24 (Previous: 19)

“Here’s a hot take: The Lions really need Matthew Stafford. The quarterback, whose iron-man starting streak ended on Sunday due to a back injury, was sorely missed in a loss to the Bears that put Detroit’s playoff hopes on life support. Jeff Driskel stepped in for Stafford and had a few moments — his best being a pretty, 47-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Golladay that gave the Lions a spark in the fourth quarter — but this simply isn’t a balanced enough team to survive the absence of its best player. The typically overmatched Lions defense started off well, holding the Bears to just 20 yards on four fruitless drives to start the game. But Mitch Trubisky threw touchdown passes in the next three Bears possessions, putting Detroit in a 20-6 hole that was simply too deep with Stafford on the sideline. Now we wait to see how long the quarterback has to stay there.” — Dan Hanzus

ESPN: 21 (Previous: 18)

“Most important game left: Sunday vs. Cowboys. It’s cliché to say the next game is the most important because it’s the next one, but based on what’s happening with the Lions, it really is. Detroit has lost five of six games. Its defense doesn’t appear to be improving, and its offense might or might not have Matthew Stafford. The Lions get the Cowboys at home, and if they can’t beat Dallas, their season will be all but over considering the state of the NFC and that of the NFC North.” — Michael Rothstein

CBS Sports: 23 (Previous 20)

“If Matt Stafford is out for a while they are done. They are probably done anyway.” — Pete Prisco

Sports Illustrated: 24 (Previous: 16)

“Matthew Stafford has been this team’s most important player since Megatron pulled the plug, and predictably the Lions couldn’t squeeze enough out of Jeff Driskel to take advantage of two late fourth quarter drives. Detroit has underdelivered on the early season promise they flashed in those tight losses to the Chiefs and Packers.” — MMQB staff

Sporting News: 22 (Previous: 18)

“The Lions did their best to hang with the Bears, with Jeff Driskel doing his best Matthew Stafford impression at times. But the injury-related uncertainty of their usually durable leader during his best NFL season has to be a big emotional blow.” — Vinnie Iyer

3 years ago, Conor McGregor reached the pinnacle. Can he rise from the depths?

Conor McGregor reflects on the anniversary of his most iconic moment, but can he return to glory?

Three years ago today, [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] became the first fighter in UFC history to capture two belts simultaneously, but he hasn’t won a fight since.

On Nov. 12, 2016, then-featherweight champion McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) defeated then-lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez via second-round TKO in a flawless performance at UFC 205. McGregor then went on to box undefeated Floyd Mayweather in August 2017, putting on a valiant effort in a 10th-round TKO loss. McGregor reportedly made over $100 million and was later stripped of his 155-pound title because of inactivity.

In October 2018, McGregor returned to action after almost two years away from the octagon and took on undefeated lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. McGregor was submitted in the fourth round, and since then has been involved in an array of legal issues.

Many questioned McGregor’s motivation after making so much money, as his issues outside the octagon began to pile up. From smashing a fan’s phone to sucker-punching a man in a pub to being the subject of two sexual assault investigations in the last year, McGregor has found himself battling many legal issues. But it appears he has diverted his attention back to fighting.

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He recently announced a Jan. 18 return, with all signs pointing to Donald Cerrone, but can McGregor climb back to the dominant and focused force he once was? He took to Instagram to reflect on his special night three years ago at Madison Square Garden, an iconic moment in his career.

3 years ago today I became a multiple time, multiple-weight World champion at Madison Square Garden, New York City.
What a moment in my life.
To capture the double once. Wow!
To do it twice.
Lord have mercy 🙏
I often look at this second picture and imagine how trippy that view must be for my father. Looking up at his son after doing exactly shot for shot what I told him I would do.
I even done it no hands the second time.
I will credit hard work for this moment but it’s not just that.
Hard work alone is not enough.
We can all work hard for a minute. It’s the consistency to do it over and over and over again that will lead you to these iconic moments.
Year after year of focused work!
I worked hard my last two fights. No doubt. But without consistency, I fell short.
All amazing and valuable lessons going forward on this journey that is Martial Life!
Onwards we go…
Happy Tuesday everyone.

View this post on Instagram

3 years ago today I became a multiple time, multiple-weight World champion at Madison Square Garden, New York City. What a moment in my life. To capture the double once. Wow! To do it twice. Lord have mercy 🙏 I often look at this second picture and imagine how trippy that view must be for my father. Looking up at his son after doing exactly shot for shot what I told him I would do. I even done it no hands the second time. I will credit hard work for this moment but it’s not just that. Hard work alone is not enough. We can all work hard for a minute. It’s the consistency to do it over and over and over again that will lead you to these iconic moments. Year after year of focused work! I worked hard my last two fights. No doubt. But without consistency, I fell short. All amazing and valuable lessons going forward on this journey that is Martial Life! Onwards we go… Happy Tuesday everyone.

A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Nets part ways with David Levy, name Oliver Weisberg interim CEO

David Levy only lasted two months as the CEO of the Brooklyn Nets.

Less than two months ago, David Levy was named CEO of the Brooklyn Nets, replacing Brett Yormark, who departed when Joe Tsai took over as Nets governor after Mikhail Prokhorov sold the rest of his stakes in the team.

On Tuesday, both the Nets and Barclays Center had a mutual separation with Levy. In his place, Oliver Weisberg will serve as the organization’s interim CEO.

Weisberg had been serving as the NBA alternate governor of the Nets and the CEO of J Tsai Sports.

With the announcement, Weisberg released the following statement:

I want to thank David for his collaboration over the past several months and wish him well in his future endeavors. As we enter an exciting next chapter of our organization, it’s important that ownership and management are completely aligned on our go forward plan. We are proud of the culture of the Brooklyn Nets under the leadership of general manager Sean Marks and head coach Kenny Atkinson, and we look forward to continue bringing the best experience to our fans.

Joe Tsai took to Twitter to release his own statement:

Power rankings: Bills losing stronghold on top-10 placement

Buffalo Bills in national power rankings polls heading into Week 11.

The Bills couldn’t muster up enough positive plays and point on the board against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday in Week 10. Buffalo lost 19-16.

Because of that, the Bills aren’t moving up in power ranking polls around national media outlets. The Bills are starting to fall out of the top-10, a place they’ve been hanging around the past few weeks.

Here’s a look around those national polls and where the Bills sit, heading into Week 11:

USA Today

17. Bills (15):

Their play is getting incrementally worse, and schedule forecasts incrementally harder with Miami, Pittsburgh among opponents that no longer project as lay-ups.

Touchdown Wire

11. Buffalo Bills

(6-3. Last week: 9)

One of the reasons — perhaps the primary reason — the Bills selected Josh Allen with the seventh pick in the 2018 draft, despite serious concerns about his accuracy to all levels of the field, was Allen’s howitzer of an arm. Buffalo’s coaching staff surely thought it would be relatively easy to correct this. Not so, and it really showed in the Bills’ 19-16 loss to the Browns, in which Baker Mayfield made a few more plays than Allen did. Buffalo’s defense allowed a crushing 82-yard drive late in the fourth quarter, but it was Allen’s inability to respond that should really concern the team. Per Pro Football Focus, Allen was 0-for-5 on passes of 20 or more air yards in this game, and for the season, he’s completed just 12 of 43 such passes for 350 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions and a passer rating of 39.7. Only Carolina’s Kyle Allen has a worse passer rating on deep balls among quarterbacks who have taken at least 50% of their team’s snaps this season, and Kyle Allen was nobody’s idea of a franchise quarterback when the season began.

NBC Sports

10. Buffalo Bills (6-3)
Last week’s rank: 11

Bills lose and move up? Outside a few teams, this league is falling toward the mean. Bills are in line for a tumble. There are plenty of good teams left on the schedule.

CBS Sports

9. Bills (9)

At 6-3, they are still the Wild-Card leader. But they’ve lost two of the last three games and haven’t looked good doing so. They need more offense.

ESPN

13. Buffalo Bills (6-3)

Week 10 ranking: 13

Most important game left: Dec. 15 at Steelers

The Steelers have been resurgent over the past few weeks, winning four of five games to vault into AFC wild-card contention. With the Colts, Raiders and Titans all jockeying with Buffalo and Pittsburgh for the conference’s two wild-card spots, this late-season matchup will go a long way toward deciding who gets it — and establishing a tiebreaker.

Sporting News

15. Buffalo Bills, 6-3 (13)

The Bills have been good at winning battles of attrition, but you knew they were due for that method to fail on the road against a desperate Browns team that tried to give away the game several times. Josh Allen is simply not playing well enough for them to feel comfortable about their wild-card status.

Bleacher Report

High: 11

Low: 23

Last Week: 11

Week 10 Result: Lost at Cleveland 19-16

The shine is coming off the Buffalo Bills.

After starting the 2019 season 5-1, the Bills have no lost two out of three after falling to the Browns in Cleveland. The reason for that mini-slump isn’t hard to pinpoint.

While the Bills remain a stout defensive team, the offense is sputtering.

Despite facing a Browns run defense that entered Week 10 allowing the third-most yards per game in the league, the Bills managed just 84 rushing yards Sunday—and a third of those came courtesy of quarterback Josh Allen. Allen didn’t do the Bills many favors throwing the ball, hitting on just 22 of 41 throws and missing open receivers on multiple occasions.

“Given their record, schedule and the fact that this isn’t the best year for the AFC, the Bills are probably going to make the playoffs in 2019,” Davenport said. “But Sunday’s loss showed why I can’t take Buffalo seriously as a contender. The Bills just don’t have the offense to hang with the Patriots in a playoff game. Or the Chiefs. Or the Texans. One and done, anyone?”

Gagnon is not sure they’ll even get that far.

“Josh Allen was again useless on deep throws and useless under pressure as a bad Bills offense cost Buffalo the game in Cleveland,” he said. “That unit just isn’t good enough, and the defense doesn’t make enough plays. With a tough schedule coming, Buffalo will be lucky to finish with a winning record despite its 6-2 start.”

Yahoo! Sports

11. Buffalo Bills (6-3, LW: 7)

By now we kind of know the deal with the Bills. They’re not bad but not as good as their record. They shouldn’t have lost to the Browns, but it wasn’t a shock. They are 6-3 and in almost no danger of missing the playoffs because their schedule still lines up well. You can practically pencil them in for a game at the No. 4 seed on wild-card weekend, and nobody outside of Buffalo will be too excited to watch.

NFL.com

16. Bills (6-3)

Previous rank: No. 13

The Bills looked like a middle-of-the-pack team on Sunday against the Browns, hence their placement on the Power Rankings. We saw a breakdown in three phases in Cleveland: On offense, Josh Allen sailed a couple deep balls past open receivers (sound familiar?), and Buffalo was held under 20 total points for the fifth time this season. On defense, the Browns were able to march 82 yards on 10 plays for the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter. On special teams, kicker Steven Hauschka missed two-field goal attempts, including the 53-yarder that sealed Buffalo’s fate in the final minute. At 6-3, there’s no need to panic. The schedule stays light, with winnable games against the Dolphins and Broncos over the next two weeks. Take care of business there, and a playoff ticket is close to punched. But can this team be trusted right now?

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Week 2 College Football Playoff Rankings: How To Watch, Stream, TV Schedule, Predictions

This week’s rankings are going to be released at 7 p.m. ET, which is two hours earlier.

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Week 2 College Football Playoff Rankings: How To Watch, Stream, TV Schedule, Predictions

A new time for the second week release of the playoff rankings.

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

Get your schedule adjusted.

The second week of the College Football Playoff rankings are being released on Tuesday night and at an earlier time so be prepared for the latest top 25 to be announced two hours earlier at 7 p.m. ET.

The latest playoff projections are not going to impact the Mountain West all that much as we peg Boise State at No. 20 and third in line for the Group of Five with Cincinnati being 17th and Memphis at No. 18.

The rankings themselves do not matter all that much as there are still a handful of games left and the two AAC teams ahead of Boise State play each other in the final week and possibly again in that league’s title game.

All the Broncos need to do is keep winning to stay in the race. The top of the rankings do not matter for our purposes but it will be interesting to see how much Minnesota will rise after its upset win over Penn State.

How To Watch

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 12
Start time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Stream: WatchESPN or SlingTV

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Mayakoba Golf Classic odds, predictions, picks and PGA Tour best bets

Analyzing the 2020 Mayakoba Golf Classic and which golfers are the best options for the event. Who will win at El Camaleon GC? We break it down within.

The PGA Tour returns to North America this week for the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleon Golf Club in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The course measures 6,987 yards and plays as a par 71 under tournament conditions.

Courtesy of historical data from Fantasy National, the stats best associated with success at this venue are:

  • Strokes Gained: Approach
  • Strokes Gained: Ball Striking
  • Opportunities Gained
  • Greens in Regulation Gained

My model looks at the most recent 36 rounds for each golfer in the field.

Mayakoba Golf Classic – Tier 1

Photo Credit: Rob Kinnan – USA TODAY Sports

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Viktor Hovland +2000

Hovland, 22, is tied with Jason Day, Matt Kuchar and Tony Finau as the tournament favorite, according to the sportsbooks. He is ranked 97th by the Official World Golf Ranking and is still looking for his first career win after turning pro in the summer. Hovland leads the field in each of the four key stats.

Emiliano Grillo +3300

Grillo is a course horse. He finished 15th last year, T-9 in 2017 and T-10 in 2016. He’s coming off a T-30 in a much stronger field at the Zozo Championship in Japan, and he placed T-26 at The CJ Cup the week before. He ranks second to Hovland in most key stats and shares the lead in SG: Approach.

Mayakoba Golf Classic – Tier 2

Photo Credit: Butch Dill – USA TODAY Sports

Chez Reavie +5000

Reavie participated in all three events the PGA Tour just played in Asia. His best result was a T-46 at The CJ Cup in South Korea. The 33rd-ranked golfer by the OWGR ranks sixth by the stat model and is in the top five of the field in SG: Ball Striking, SG: Approach and Opportunities Gained.

Looking to place a bet on this tournament? Get some action on it at BetMGM.  Sign up and bet at BetMGM now!

Kyle Stanley +8000

Stanley plummeted down the OWGR last season while missing the cut in 10 of 25 events and picking up just one top-10 finish with a T-8 at the Wells Fargo Championship. He was ranked as high as 26th at the conclusion of the 2018 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Mayakoba Golf Classic – Longshots

Photo Credit: Ray Carlin – USA TODAY Sports

Charley Hoffman +10000

Hoffman was the 2014 champion at El Camaleon. This number is too great for a winner from just five years ago as a $10 bet returns a $1,000 profit. He hasn’t made the cut in his last four appearances at this event, but he finished T-36 at The CJ Cup and certainly has experience on the course, even with the poor recent results.

Keith Mitchell +12500

Mitchell ranks just 73rd by the stat model, but he’s an excellent value as he has typically been priced much lower than this in more competitive fields. He made the cut here in each of his last two tries.

2019-20 winners: Joaquin Niemann – A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier (+2800)

Get some action on this tournament by signing up and betting at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @EstenMcLaren and @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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1972 Dolphins will remain as only undefeated Super Bowl champions

The 1972 Miami Dolphins’ record will remain intact for another year, as the San Francisco 49ers fell last night to earn their first loss.

Here’s to perfection! The 1972 Miami Dolphins will see their status as the NFL’s only undefeated Super Bowl Champions live on for yet another season. Miami’s long standing record has been tested to varying degrees over the years, but thankfully 2019 will be a fairly uneventful season as far as undefeated threats go. The NFL’s final undefeated team, the San Francisco 49ers, fell last night in overtime on Monday Night Football to fall to 8-1 on the season, marking the end of an impressive run to start the season after finished the last two seasons under coach Kyle Shanahan a combined 10-22.

San Francisco’s comeback attempt at home against Seattle fell short, as kicker Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard attempt in overtime sailed wide and the Seahawks went on to kick a game winner of their own from 42-yards at the end of the overtime period.

For the ’72 Dolphins, life is good. They’ve seen the New England Patriots finish the season 16-0 before losing in miraculous fashion in the Super Bowl to the New York Giants to preserve the record. And the 1985 Bears were turned away from perfection thanks to a late season loss to Dan Marino and the Dolphins in primetime as well.

Without a serious contender to threaten the undefeated record, long-time Miami Dolphins fans (and player/coaching alumni) can kick their feet up and enjoy what remains of the 2019 season — perhaps even with a few more Dolphins victories along the way.

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Kawhi Leonard acted like he didn’t know Kyle Lowry during their postgame handshake

He’s already moved on.

Kawhi Leonard had his first of two regular season games against the Raptors as the Clippers hosted Toronto at Staples Center on Monday.

Normally, a player in Kawhi’s position — playing his first game against the team he just won a championship with — might find such a matchup particularly emotional. He spent one season in Toronto but presumably built relationships with those players and the city.

But all you have to do is check out the postgame handshake following the Clippers’ 98-88 win to know that Kawhi is just different. Leonard gave Kyle Lowry a handshake as if the two had never met before. Like, did he just not recognize Lowry in a suit? What was going on here?

Even Lowry looked a bit confused by Kawhi’s notably brief handshake.

In all likelihood, though, Kawhi was just messing around with his former teammate. Before the game, they were seen joking together. Kawhi didn’t forget about Lowry.

He’s a fun guy, after all.

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