Tag: Bets

Ravens’ Marcus Williams made absurd pick while lying on his back and NFL fans were amazed

It never hit the ground???

One of the more common ways NFL players and coaches sometimes characterize losses is by saying, “the ball didn’t bounce our way.” Or “luck wasn’t on our side” on a few plays that turned the game’s tide.

Judging by the way their matchup with the Dolphins started, the Ravens (-3.5) and safety Marcus Williams will probably find it hard to say they didn’t get the bounces. After Devin Duvernay gave Baltimore an early 7-0 lead on a kickoff return, it was on Miami and Tua Tagovailoa to answer. The quarterback would try to thread the needle on a pass to Tyreek Hill, but Williams broke on the ball for an easy deflection when there wasn’t enough mustard on it. Alright, next play. Moving on.

Well, except for Williams making a ridiculous show of concentration while lying on the ground for an incredible interception:

Aside from general laws of physics, I still don’t know how that ball landed perfectly in a spot for Williams to keep it from hitting the ground. The ball did, indeed, bounce in favor of the Ravens.

Still, it’s not a pick if Williams doesn’t stay alert even while seemingly out of the play. A big-time, heads-up takeaway and a sparkling effort for Williams in the Ravens’ secondary.

NFL fans couldn’t believe Saints’ Jameis Winston would play with 4 back fractures

A broken back for a football game doesn’t seem ideal!

By taking advantage of their usually hapless rival Falcons, the Saints and Jameis Winston started the 2022 season with a bang. After the game, a post-game interview with Winston about “pain everywhere” went viral following the 27-26 win. That victory came at a cost, as it seems Winston might have indeed been playing with more pain than we thought.

According to a report from FOX NFL Sunday’s Jay Glazer, Winston will play against the Buccaneers (-2.5) with four fractures in his back down his lumbar spine. All it will take to get Winson on the field in the Superdome — again, with four (!) back fractures — is some extra padding (?).

Uh, that doesn’t seem comfortable or ideal in the least:

Winston playing with a very injured back raises another question: Does Saints head coach Dennis Allen not trust his backup quarterback, Andy Dalton … at all? I know Dalton isn’t the best option, especially against a swarming Buccaneers defense, but it doesn’t seem worth potentially risking Winston’s health even further.

Kudos, I suppose, to Winston for the toughness and trying to come through for his team, but the Saints’ decision-makers should really be doing to protect their starting quarterback.

A clearly injured Justin Herbert led the Chargers to a backdoor cover and bettors went nuts

Evidently, nothing will stop Herbert from covering.

It wasn’t the best night for Justin Herbert and the Chargers (+4) in Kansas City.

After holding the Chiefs in check for much of the night in a tense Thursday Night Football affair, Kansas City would pull away for a 27-24 win thanks to timely 99-yard pick-six heroics from Jaylen Watson. And, of course, trademark greatness from Patrick Mahomes played a role, too.

But before the Chargers fell to their AFC West rival, Herbert was apparently very hurt during the fourth quarter. The injuries seemed to be so serious that Herbert was getting X-rays on his ribs in the post-game.

And yet, Herbert was able to throw a late touchdown for a backdoor Chargers cover anyway:

Talk about being clutch. Imagine having potentially seriously hurt ribs and throwing some late big-time strikes through the heart of a defense anyway. To his teammates, to bettors, Herbert’s a hero in more ways than one.

NFL fans turned Roger Goodell and Jeff Bezos sitting together during ‘Thursday Night Football’ into an instant meme

Fans had LOTS of jokes about Bezos-Goodell.

During the Chiefs (-4.5) and Chargers matchup on Thursday night, the NFL made its formal debut on a streaming service. With the first edition of Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime, it was certainly a different experience for Al Michaels and some fans.

One of the more notable moments from the streaming broadcast was NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sitting and having a conversation with Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos in a suite at Arrowhead Stadium. (Note: Amazon was part of a major broadcast rights shuffle when it paid for exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football in the spring of 2021.)

You just knew that Goodell and Bezos would eventually be seen together after that agreement:

Whatever those two are talking about, it definitely doesn’t all have to do with the thrilling action on the field.

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NFL fans thought Kirk Herbstreit announcing Chiefs-Chargers on ‘Thursday Night Football’ was so strange

Herbstreit working NFL games full-time doesn’t feel right yet.

With NFL broadcasts experiencing a game of musical chairs before the 2022 season started, some new TV partnerships and booth assignments will take some time for fans to get used to. Take Joe Buck and Troy Aikman calling games on ESPN for Monday Night Football as one example.

A completely fresh and new pairing for the 2022 season is Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit working Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime. Michaels had previously been the long-time play-by-play for Sunday Night Football, while Herbstreit still works for ESPN as their lead color commentator for college football games.

Thursday night saw Michaels and Herbstreit make their respective debuts on Amazon together for a huge matchup between the Chiefs (-4.5) and Chargers:

Phew, man. Now that I think about it seeing Michaels and Herbstreit in the booth for an NFL game together is indeed kind of weird. I’m sure it’ll take no time for Herbstreit to ingratiate himself as a full-time NFL analyst, but it’s just not something you’re used to at first watch.

The 2022 Chargers were built to dismantle Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs

The Chargers have been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Everything the Chargers have done in the last two years has been about a mission to beat the Chiefs. The roadmap to their matchup on Thursday Night Football in Kansas City (-4) has more than a few stops.

When the Chargers drafted Justin Herbert in the top-six of the 2020 draft, they hoped he would be The Man to match the incomparable Mahomes shot for shot soon enough. To many, after throwing for over 9,000 yards and almost 70 touchdowns in his first two seasons, Herbert’s now considered one of the best players — let alone quarterbacks — in professional football.

When L.A. fired Anthony Lynn and brought in Brandon Staley, it was about finding someone who coached the game a little bit more aggressively. This was so the Chargers would be ready to go full-tilt against the high-flying Chiefs. Staley now seemingly puts the pedal to the metal in every favorable fourth down and/or clutch situation the Chargers find themselves in.

When the Chargers gave Mike Williams $40 million guaranteed, he would be Herbert’s long-term, big-play, big-target safety blanket in big games — such as every matchup where the Chargers face the Chiefs. With a hamstring injury to Keenan Allen sending parts of the L.A. skill groups into flux, the veteran Williams will now be Herbert’s primary downfield weapon against the Chiefs on Thursday night.

When they made the industrial pick magnet J.C. Jackson one of the wealthiest cornerbacks in NFL history, it was about finding a worthy partner for the all-world Derwin James. After all, James can’t give Mahomes headaches on his own, and someone’s gotta role play football air traffic controller with some clutch interceptions when No. 15 in red throws up a golden opportunity.

And when they traded for future Hall of Famer Khalil Mack, everyone knew why the living, breathing Star Destroyer (pun intended) would call Los Angeles home. Mack is a Charger expressly because he’s there to bully and harass Patrick Mahomes off his game. Sure, L.A. will take other exemplary performances — his explosion against the Raiders in Week 1 is one example — but make no mistake. Mack is wearing the glorious powder blues expressly so he can repeatedly drive Mahomes into the turf before the quarterback gets an inevitable chance to drive a dagger into the heart of the Chargers’ defense.

On paper, the Chargers might have the best team they’ve had talent-wise in years. But we saw L.A. slay Goliath last season in an early-year 30-24 stunner. Unfortunately for the Chargers, a tense mid-December matchup saw the Chiefs do Chiefs things, and Travis Kelce run around the L.A. defense like he was doing warm-up laps around the track, and it was back to Square One. Kansas City was on top of the AFC West again, and the Chargers were in the middle of a spiraling collapse.

The more things changed, the more they stayed the same in this heated rivalry.

Khalil Mack wasn’t a part of last year’s Chargers squad. So he doesn’t understand their past failures against their red white whale. As the defender told reporters in the Chargers’ locker room earlier this week, the pass rusher isn’t in Southern California for opening week moral victories over non-Chief entities like Las Vegas. He’s there essentially for two reasons. 1) To win the Super Bowl and 2) To beat Patrick Mahomes.

Those two goals go hand-in-hand:

“Nah, it doesn’t matter at all,” Mack said of what the Chargers’ opening weekend win means in relation to their visit to Kansas City. “You gotta understand that who you’re going up against is a championship-caliber team. You gotta bring your A-game every time. Looking forward to the challenge.”

The pick: Chiefs 35, Chargers 31

While I speak glowingly of the Chargers and genuinely think they can win the Super Bowl this year, the Mahomes-Chiefs are different animals to tackle. Even with some retooling, I think we’re talking about a Kansas City squad that could certainly make it five straight AFC title game appearances. They have a blue-blood track record, and the top player in the sport plays for them. Until further notice, the Chargers do not. On both counts. Mahomes and Co. are a proven battle-tested hypothesis. Herbert and the Chargers are a still-developing experiment.

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The Red Sox could not stop making errors on a wild Yankees’ little league homer

What an unreal sequence!

Whenever the Red Sox and Yankees (-1.5) get together, you know something wild might happen. With New York trying to solidify itself as AL East champion during the stretch run of the season, Wednesday night’s matchup at Fenway Walk held even more weight in this rivalry.

And boy, did we get a great treat at the top of the fifth inning. Gleyber Torres was at the plate against Brayan Bello with two players on base. When Torres hit a line drive into right field, for whatever reason, the Red Sox made a few extremely regrettable errors. Because of this, what should’ve been a routine single turned into a three-run little league homer for Torres.

Oh yeah, it was as wild as it sounds:

By my count: That’s a bad throw from the outfield, then a bad throw to first base, followed by a sad throw to home as Torres came around the diamond. See, I told you Red Sox-Yankees usually delivers.

Erling Haaland beats former team Borussia Dortmund with ridiculously acrobatic Champions League goal

The star striker made his former team PAY with this finish.

There was a lot of anticipation surrounding Erling Haaland’s addition to Manchester City this past string. The 22-year-old superstar Norwegian striker is one of the best pure finishers in the world and has one of the brighter futures of any young player in soccer.

In just his ninth official appearance with Manchester City during the Champions League group stage on Wednesday, Haaland was up against his former team Borussia Dortmund (+1400). He showed why the powdered-blue soccer power made a move to acquire his incredibly talented services.

In the 84th minute of a tense 1-1 affair, Haaland completed a perfect run toward the goal box and a positively ridiculously acrobatic goal in mid-air:

Just … how? Haaland is almost entirely flat in the air when he gets a touch on that pass. Just ridiculous.

In reaction, Haaland notably declined to celebrate the goal against his former teammates. Nonetheless, the striker’s goal ended up being the game-winner for Manchester City. And as a result of the play, the soccer world was reminded about what unique ability the talisman brings to the table.

Aaron Rodgers is understandably bummed the Bears didn’t trade Roquan Smith during training camp

Life could’ve been so much easier for the Packers QB.

After the Bears’ upset of the 49ers in The Rain Bowl and the Packers’ listless defeat at the hands of the Vikings last Sunday, Bears-Packers on Sunday Night Football is a lot more interesting all of a sudden.

Chicago has lost six straight to their rivals up North and hasn’t beaten Green Bay (-10) since a matchup late in the 2018 season. But if Justin Fields can continue to play hero, and the Bears’ defense can get a few timely stops, then perhaps the “Baby Bears” can pull off the upset.

One of the players who will undoubtedly be critical for Chicago to leave Lambeau Field with the win is Roquan Smith. And for a while during this past training camp, it was unclear whether the star linebacker would still be a factor in this game amidst reportedly heated contract negotiations. While it was never apparent the Bears actually aimed to trade Smith; he ended up staying in Chicago.

On Wednesday, Aaron Rodgers said he was kind of hoping the strange Smith situation would’ve ended differently in Chicago:

There you have it. If the star quarterback who has tormented the Bears for the better part of 15 years says he was hoping a field-tilting linebacker like Smith would’ve left, then Chicago has one of the best possible endorsements to keep Smith around for the long run.

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Umpire couldn’t believe how Guardians’ Steven Kwan’s single ridiculously toed the infield foul line

That’s not something you see everyday!

As one of the hotter teams in baseball of late, the Guardians have won seven of their last eight games to maintain a division lead in the AL Central.

And while Cleveland’s been pitching well and hitting well and, you know, doing all the good things you’d want the diamond — we got an excellent example of “everything come up Guardians” on Tuesday night against the Angels (-1.5).

In a tie 1-1 game at the bottom of the fifth inning, Cleveland’s Steven Kwan was at the plate to face L.A.’s Joe Suarez. When Kwan created contact on a soft chopper to the right, all weirdness and chaos broke out around the foul line.

You see, Kwan’s ball landed perfectly and was quite literally just fair. When Angels’ catcher Matt Thaiss and an umpire watched it roll and stop perfectly, the latter couldn’t believe it before pointing “fair.”

Oh yeah. You probably haven’t seen a better-placed hit all MLB season than Kwan’s. Of course the Guardians would go on to win 3-1. And the reaction from everyone involved is very appropriate for this very fair ball.