Tag: NFL

Week 10 Ballers & Busters for Raiders vs Chargers

Week 10 Ballers & Busters for Raiders vs Chargers

It was the final primetime NFL game ever at Oakland Coliseum. Befitting that it was between these two longtime AFC West rivals. Though it was a hard-fought game, it was far more sloppy than anyone would have liked.

Both teams hovered around 30 percent efficiency on third down. The Chargers were 3 for 10, and the Raiders were 4 for 12. It was also a flag fest out there with the Raiders being called for 12 penalties for 97 yards and the Chargers getting 8 flags for 70 yards.

The Chargers lost Russell Okung early in the game, so they were fielding two backup tackles. The Raiders took advantage to sack Philip Rivers five times and harass him enough to have him throwing up gift passes all day. He threw three interceptions, including the one that ended the game. But he could have easily thrown a couple more. And he fumbled the ball as well.

Then despite Melvin Gordon putting up 108 yards on the day, the Chargers decided Rivers should pass on every play on their final drive. Seven passes despite having over a minute and three timeouts to work with. It was just weird, and the Raiders just continued to get after him as he went 0 for 7 on the possession with the game-sealing interception.

It wasn’t the shootout like last week against the Lions. This time the defense had its day. Which, in its own way, was a breath of fresh air.

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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

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

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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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.

(AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

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.

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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Tunnel Vision of Week 10

Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks Yards TD
Lamar Jackson 223 – 63 4
Daniel Jones 308 – 20 4
Patrick Mahomes 446 3
Kyler Murray 324 – 38 3
Dak Prescott 397 3
Running Backs Yards TD
Derrick Henry 188 – 3 2
Aaron Jones 93 3
Christian McCaffrey 108 – 33 1
Melvin Gordon 108-25 1
Dalvin Cook 97-86 1
Wide Receivers Yards TD
Christian Kirk 138 3
Darius Slayton 121 2
Tyreek Hill 157 1
Golden Tate 95 2
Amari Cooper 147 1
Tight Ends Yards TD
Mark Andrews 53 2
Travis Kelce 75 1
O.J. Howard 47 1
Jack Doyle 44 1
Kyle Rudolph 14 2
Placekickers XP FG
Harrison Butker 2 4
Younghoe Koo 2 4
Matt Gay 3 3
Jason Sanders 1 3
Sam Ficken 4 2
Defense Sck-TO TD
Steelers 4-3 1
Ravens 2-3 2
Rams 3-2 1
Raiders 5-3 1
Jets 6-2 1

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

TE Trey Burton – Calf
RB Devonta Freeman – Ankle
RB Giovani Bernard – Knee
RB Ty Johnson – Concussion
RB Jordan Wilkins – Ankle
WR Ryan Switzer – Back
RB Saquon Barkley – Undisclosed

Chasing Ambulances

Devonta Freeman – This is the only injury likely to create new opportunities. The Falcons already placed Ito Smith on injured reserve last week and next up means Brian Hill. He ran for 61 yards on 20 carries mostly all after Freeman left by halftime. Hill also caught a ten-yard pass. Hill already has some value as the new No. 2 for the Falcons and will be the primary if Freeman misses any time. Next week, the Falcons play the Panthers that just let Aaron Jones score three touchdowns. At this point in the season, Hill is a worthy addition if you have the room.

Free Agents and Notable Performances

RB Melvin Gordon – Finally broke 100 yards for 2019 when he ran 22 times for 108 yards and a touchdown plus caught a pass for 25 yards. He ran for 80 yards on 20 carries in Week 9 versus the Packers. After six games back, he’s back in playing form with two straight games of 20 carries and 4.0 YPC.

RB J.D. McKissic – Ty Johnson left with a concussion so McKissic (10-36) and Paul Perkins (7-9) filled in. McKissic also caught six passes for 19 yards as the busiest receiver. He worth adding to a roster if there are reception points and the upcoming schedule (DAL, @WAS, CHI, @MIN) will need to use a running back as a receiver. That was with Jeff Driskell as the quarterback but Matt Stafford uses him a well.

TE Mark Andrews – Big game with six catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns. The notable part is that he’s only topped 50 yards in one other game since Week 2. He gained 99 yards on six catches in Week 6. Against the same Bengals team in their first meeting. They can’t always be the Bengals each week, but when they are, Andrews comes to life.

RB Joe Mixon – Okay, so he hasn’t rushed in a touchdown this year, but at least Mixon just turned in his first 100-yard rushing effort of the year. He ran for 114 yards on 30 carries and added 37 yards on two catches in the loss to the Ravens.

QB Ryan Finley – The rookie debuted with only 167 yards and one touchdown with one interception versus the Ravens which were not the best choice for a first game. Short of a catastrophic situation for your fantasy team, doesn’t look like he needs to be picked up. There is even game film on his this week.

Saints backfield – Sunday was a trash game for the Saints who never showed up. So it is hard to draw too many conclusions from what happened in the loss to the Falcons. Alvin Kamara returned from his ankle injury but only gained 24 yards on four carries. Latavius Murray ran five times for 12 yards so the Saints equally mixed the pair for at least this week. Kamara still caught eight of his targets while Murray only drew two passes. But the situation is more reminiscent of how the Saints used to mix Kamara and Mark Ingram.

WR Darius Slayton –  He only caught one pass for six yards in the Week 9 loss to the Cowboys but the fifth-round rookie just turned in his first game over the century mark when he caught ten passes for 121 yards and two scores on the Jets. He has a bye this week but his fantasy playoff schedule for Weeks 14 to 16 are @PHI, MIA, and @WAS.

RB Saquon Barkley – There are missing offensive linemen and a rookie quarterback, but that still doesn’t completely explain how one of the most talented running backs on the planet just rushed for a net of one yard on 13 carries in the loss to the Jets. Barkley still caught five passes for 30 yards but the first pick in most fantasy drafts was hoped to offer more than 31 yards. Barkley was reported to have gone to the x-ray room after the game but no word as to why.

Cardinals backfield – The return of David Johnson did not change much. He only ran for two yards on five carries and caught one 8-yard pass. Kenyan Drake rushed ten times for 35 yards and caught six passes for a net six-yard gain. And that is without Chase Edmonds eventually mixed back in. For now, the backfield is split and Drake is getting the bigger share.

WR Andy Isabella – The Cardinals rookie is becoming a common deep threat lately with a 55-yard catch this week and an 88-yard reception in Week 10. His 78 total yards against the Buccaneers was second highest for the receivers.

RB Ronald Jones – He’s recently been given over ten carries per game but he had never caught more than two passes. Against the Cardinals, Jones ran for 29 yards and a score on 11 carries and added eight catches for 77 yards. The Bucs had not used running backs much as receivers, so it is worth noting since Jones’s fantasy value would be much greater if he had more than two receptions per game.

RB Damien Williams – Nice development for Williams. After sharing with LeSean McCoy, he was allowed 12 carries in Week 9 and gained 125 yards with one score. On Sunday, he ran for 77 yards on 19 carries and added five catches for 32 yards. McCoy was a healthy scratch. He lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown which works against a running back. But at least the Chiefs turned him into a workhorse this week.

WR DeVante Parker – With Preston Williams on injured reserve, Allen Hurns filled in bot only caught two passes for 32 yards on his four targets. Parker saw more work with ten targets and five receptions for 69 yards. The Fins will need to throw and look like they only trust Parker now.

WR DJ Moore – Kyle Allen is connecting better with Moore in recent weeks and his seven-catch, 101-yard effort in Week 9 was followed up with nine receptions for 120 yards at Green Bay.

RB Aaron Jones – He ran for 93 yards on 13 carries and had no receptions. But he scored three touchdowns, giving him a total of 14 scores on the year. He’s scored in seven of his ten games and yet hasn’t rushed the ball more than 13 times in the last five weeks.

Huddle player of the week

Christian Kirk  –  The second-year receiver hadn’t scored a touchdown this year and was mostly held to moderate production each week while his rookie quarterback went through his learning curve.  Facing the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay was a great place for a career-best game. Kirk caught six passes for 138 yards and scored three touchdowns. It probably won’t be that easy next week in San Francisco. But he led the position for Week 10.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Comedy Yards TDs Tragedy Yards TDs
QB Mitchell Trubisky 181 3 QB Drew Brees 287 0
RB Brian Hill 71 1 RB David Johnson 10 0
RB Peyton Barber 47 1 RB Saquon Barkley 31 0
WR James Washington 90 1 WR Cooper Kupp 0 0
WR Mecole Hardman 63 1 WR Robby Anderson 11 0
WR Adam Humphries 23 1 WR JuJu Smith-Schuster 44 0
TE Anthony Firkser 36 1 TE Darren Waller 40 0
PK Younghoe Koo 2 XP 4 FG PK Steven Hauschka 2 XP
Huddle Fantasy Points = 106 Huddle Fantasy Points = 26

Now get back to work…

Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones offer hope for the future of New York football

Both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones showed everyone how they can be the next franchise quarterbacks in New York.

The future shined a little brighter for the Jets and Giants on Sunday.

It’s hard to see positives amid such a disappointing season for the Jets and the Giants, but Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones both showed their abilities to play competitive games. Darnold displayed all of his athletic mobility without any of his signature turnovers to throw for 230 yards and two scores on his way to the win, while Jones found holes in the Jets defense to finish with 303 passing yards with four touchdowns. 

Neither the Jets nor the Giants fielded even a remotely good pass defense, so this game won’t paint a perfect picture of either Darnold’s or Jones’ potential. But there were enough bright spots from both quarterbacks to give New York fans a glimmer of hope once the rest of the roster is fixed.

Darnold needed to have a good game after a horrendous three-game stretch, and he finished with his first turnover-less game since Week 1. He was in much better command of the offense and looked every bit as good a quarterback as he could be.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Darnold’s game – and the one that’s gotten him into trouble with turnovers as well – is his ability to go off-script and find his receivers by extending plays with his legs outside the pocket. Recently, those plays have resulted in costly turnovers for the Jets. But against the Giants, Darnold played mistake-free and led three touchdown drives by making throws you only see from the best.

Darnold didn’t back down from adversity and consistently poor pass blocking. He rebounded and didn’t change his game despite a month-stretch of mistake-ridden play.

Jones, meanwhile, went toe-to-toe with Darnold and matched him almost point-for-point most of the afternoon. He hit Darius Slayton on two second-quarter touchdowns to draw within one point and then found Golden Tate on back-to-back touchdown drives to take the lead. Jones continues to improve every week for the Giants and seemingly always finds ways to make the big play. Sunday’s loss was Jones’ second game with at least 300 passing yards and four total touchdowns.

Jones played well but also fumbled the ball three times – one of which resulted in Jamal Adams’ incredible strip-sack touchdown. He’s shown the ability to be the Giants’ franchise quarterback but, like all young quarterbacks, needs to hold onto the ball. Coincidentally, Darnold has the same problem for the Jets and has looked atrocious at times with inexcusable mistakes. Darnold corrected a lot of problems from the past three weeks to finish the game with a clean sheet – Jones just needs to do the same. 

Again, this isn’t a final judgment call on the abilities of Darnold and Jones. They bother played against very weak defenses. But even against bad teams, they performed well enough to give hope in a city that hasn’t seen much in recent years when it comes to competent quarterback play. Both quarterbacks obviously still have issues, primarily when it comes to holding onto the football. But this first duel between Darnold and Jones could signal a shift in New York football, one that could feature two long-term solutions at quarterback if each team learns from the mistakes of its past to build a solid roster around the two.

Rams open as 6.5-point favorites over Bears in Week 11

The Rams are home favorites over the Bears despite losing in ugly fashion Sunday.

There’s only been one game this season where the Los Angeles Rams were not favored at kickoff. Week 11 won’t be one of those games as they enter their matchup with the Chicago Bears as the favorites.

Despite losing a disappointing game to the Steelers on Sunday in which the offense scored zero touchdowns, the Rams are significant favorites over Chicago at home in Week 11. According to BetMGM, the opening line has Los Angeles favored by 6.5 points.

The fact that the Rams are at home definitely helps and pushes the line in their favor, but the home team typically only gets three points built in. So clearly the oddsmakers still view the Rams as the better team, even after that ugly loss in Pittsburgh.

The over/under line was set at 41.5 points, which is tied for the second-lowest total since Sean McVay joined the Rams. In Week 3 of 2017, the Rams-49ers game had an over/under of 40.5 points, which turned into a 41-39 shootout win by Los Angeles.

The season opener in 2017 between the Rams and Colts had an over/under of 41.5 points, and Los Angeles won that one 46-9.

This will be a prime-time matchup between the Rams and Bears with kickoff set for 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday night. The last time these two teams met, Chicago completely shut down the Rams offense, winning 15-6.

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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Rams-Bears early odds: Chicago big road dogs vs. Los Angeles Rams in Week 11

The struggling Los Angeles Rams are heavy favorites over the equally-struggling Chicago Bears during Sunday Night Football.

Sunday Night Football features the Los Angeles Rams (5-4) host the Chicago Bears (4-5) during Week 11’s NFL regular season matchup Sunday, Nov. 17th, at 8:20 p.m. ET at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The game can be watched on NBC. The Rams enter as the solid favorite, according to odds from BetMGM.

The Rams (-295) are favored by 6.5 (-115) points against the spread (ATS) over the Bears. New to sports betting? With a spread of -6.5, that means the Rams need to not only beat the Bears, but they need to win by at least seven 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 Bears (+230) would pay $23.00 in profit should they win outright. Meanwhile, a $10 wager on the Rams to win outright returns a profit of just $3.39.

The Over/Under on the Bears/Rams game has been set at 41.5, with a +105 line on the Over and an -125 on the Under 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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Sunday’s NFL upsets were a bloodbath for survivor pools

Week 10 destroyed survivor pools everywhere.

If you lost in your NFL survivor pool (in case you don’t know what that is: you enter a pool of contestants who pick one outright winner per week and can’t use that team again the rest of the season; the overall winner “survives” when everyone else is eliminated) this weekend, you already know about what an awful Sunday it was for entrants.

Perhaps if you picked the Baltimore Ravens to run all over the Cincinnati Bengals, you survived.

But let’s review: the Kansas City Chiefs had Patrick Mahomes return and lost to the Tennessee Titans. The New Orleans Saints put up a whole nine points against the woeful Atlanta Falcons defense. The Miami Dolphins won their second straight game (!) in a victory over the Indianapolis Colts, who were without their starting QB. You could even throw in the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Los Angeles Rams.

That was bad news for anyone who picked those favorites:

The Falcons leaned into it:

Brutal.

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