Believe it or not, the Saints still have a path to the playoffs. Various projections updated their chances after sweeping the Falcons amid a floundering NFC South:
Believe it or not, the New Orleans Saints still have a path to the playoffs. They’ll need a lot of help from other teams, and they need to help themselves by winning more games, but they have a better chance now than they did a week ago.
Various projections updated the Saints’ playoff chances after they swept the Atlanta Falcons amid a floundering NFC South. On a Sunday in which every team but New Orleans went home with a loss, the Saints kept their playoff window open ever so slightly. Their fortunes hinge on winning the division rather than claiming a wild-card spot.
Now, they’re far from favored to reach the postseason. We’re just saying there’s a chance. See for yourself where the Saints stack up against the other NFC South teams, and the r:
Do you think Travis Etienne Jr. scores a touchdown today against the Cowboys?
The Dallas Cowboys are set to play in Jacksonville, Fla. for the first time in 16 years and they come with a 10-3 record and no shortage of impressive statistics.
Dallas has scored the third most points in the NFL this season and it has allowed the second fewest. On paper, that means the Cowboys should run through the 5-8 Jacksonville Jaguars with ease.
But oddsmakers have set the Jaguars as just a four-point underdog in Week 15, due mostly to the excellent play of Trevor Lawrence as of late. The No. 1 pick of the 2021 NFL Draft has thrown 10 touchdowns with no interceptions in his last five games and the Jaguars somehow find themselves in the postseason hunt with four weeks left in the regular season.
Two teams are playing with a whole lot at stake and the oddsmakers at BetMGM have offered plenty of player prop bets Sunday. Here are five that look like winners for the meeting of the Cowboys and Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field:
We have five ranked-ranked matchups in men’s college basketball this Saturday. Let’s take a look at the action.
This Saturday is chock full of high-quality, NCAA tournament caliber matchups between a handful of teams that have legitimate title aspirations. There are five — yes, FIVE — ranked-ranked matchups on Saturday, with the first tipping at noon and the last getting underway at [groans in East Coast] 10:30 p.m.
We are getting a top-5 matchup when the No. 5 Houston Cougars travel to Charlottesville to face No. 2 Virginia, a top-10 meeting with No. 6 Tennessee at No. 9 Arizona and two top-15 matchups. It’s about as perfect of a men’s college basketball weekend as you can ask for in mid-December.
Let’s take a look the lines and who you should bet. All odds courtesy of BetMGM.
Only days after watching starter Jacob deGrom—arguably the greatest pitcher of his generation—leave for the Texas Rangers, the New York Mets added reigning Cy Young-winner Justin Verlander on a two-year, $86 million deal.
As far as the argument for which pitcher means more for their team, it appears the Mets and Verlander have the edge.
Over at BetMGM, the Mets’ 2023 World Series odds went on a rollercoaster ride, moving from +1100 before deGrom left for Texas, to +1700 after he signed with the Rangers and then back up to +900 on Monday following the acquisition of Verlander.
Yes, that’s correct. Oddsmakers believe Verlander provides more value to the Mets than deGrom.
Verlander missed two seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery and all he did was come back in 2022 to win the American League Cy Young, a World Series title and pitch likely the best season of his life.
The Mets are banking on him being able to replicate that for at least two more years as he joins a rotation with former Detroit Tigers teammate Max Scherzer.
Oddsmakers certainly believe it’s possible. But the Mets haven’t won the World Series since 1986 and the National League East is reloading up and down the division once again.
Either way, it’s a positive sign for New York given how the offseason started out.
Hoping for big things from the new dad and the newlywed.
If we’re being honest with ourselves, the 2022 Hero World Challenge got a whole lot less interesting Monday when tournament-host Tiger Woods withdrew from the field due to plantar fasciitis. This week was going to be the first time Woods has stepped on a golf course on national television since the 150th Open Championship, where a tough Thursday led to a missed weekend.
Despite the injury, Woods’ plan is to play in the Match VII and the PNC Championship.
All is not lost, however, as many of the world’s best are teeing it up in Albany, The Bahamas, including Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas. Viktor Hovland, who won in 2021, is also in the field.
Tony Finau looks on during the second round of the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Course on Dec. 3, 2021 in Nassau. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Data Golf Information
Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. Port Royal Golf Course, 2. Detroit Golf Club, 3. PGA West
Trending (the players’ last three starts): 1. Jon Rahm (1, T-4, 1), 2. Tony Finau (9, MC, 1), 3. Max Homa (1, T-20, T-23)
Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Jon Rahm (13.9 percent), 2. Scottie Scheffler (12.8 percent), 3. Tony Finau (8.5 percent)
Each week this college football season, BetFTW will take a look at the 2022 Heisman Trophy race and break down the contenders. Check back each Monday as the best college football players in the country jockey for position with both oddsmakers and bettors. Preseason odds can be found here and Week 12 here.
All year long we waited for C.J. Stroud to go out and make his Heisman Trophy statement with a signature performance. The betting favorite for the majority of the year just had to do something—anything—to justify his credentials and show voters his odds were based on more than his potential.
On Saturday, in a primetime game against Notre Dame, USC’s Caleb Williams went out and made himself the easy choice to win this year’s award in spectacular fashion. He may have lifted the Trojans into a College Football Playoff spot in the process.
Before we get to this week’s odds, a quick reset. Here’s a blind look at the resumes for the top Heisman contenders:
Williams has the “It Factor”. When you watch him scramble, extend plays and make a laser pas on the run, you know you’re watching a player operate at his peak. The USC star has been showing it all year. Saturday’s statement performance against Notre Dame was more about cementing his status than proving he deserved to be in New York. And Williams did just that.
After going virtually stride-for-stride with Stroud all season long on the Heisman board, Williams’ regular season finale extinguished whatever hope the Buckeyes star still had of winning the award.
One week left in the regular season, see which teams have the best odds to win the College Football Playoff.
Everyone’s favorite part of the college football season has arrived: rivalry weekend. For some schools bragging rights are at stake, while others like Ohio State and Michigan are playing in a de facto College Football Playoff quarterfinal game. Other sides like TCU and USC just hope to get through the weekend unscathed.
As for the Crimson Tide, this will be the first time the team enters the Iron Bowl without legitimate national title odds in some time. The Tide enters the showdown with Auburn as a three-touchdown favorite, which does not mean much in a rivalry game.
Bet MGM has released its updated odds for which program will win the national championship for the 2022 season.
Here are the few teams with the best odds of winning it all, via Bet MGM Sportsbook.
Cincy may have lost, but the Bearcats still pulled off one of the best comebacks in college (betting) history.
Arizona bettors watched a surefire win get snapped out of existence late Monday night as the No. 14 Wildcats defeated Cincinnati, 101-93, at the Maui Invitational.
The Bearcats closed as an 8.5-point underdog in Hawaii and trailed 101-83 with 1:34 remaining in regulation. Yes, you read that right. Cincy went on a 10-0 run over the last 94 seconds to pull off a stunning backdoor cover.
It’s an absolutely miserable way to lose a bet—and considering the majority of bettors were on Arizona, that misery was spread far and wide.
According to Action Network, 80 percent of the bets placed on the spread and 70 percent of the money wagered was on Arizona to cover. The Wildcats had numerous chances to hang on until giving up a deep three-pointer with 10 seconds left, killing whatever hope Arizona bettors had left.
While most people slept we had one of the worst bad beats you will ever see occur!
Arizona (-9.5) led 101 to 83 with 1:30 to play. They proceeded to allow a 10-0 Cincinnati run to win by 8 and blow the cover 😳 pic.twitter.com/ieR8P1KSA4
Over the final 94 seconds Arizona missed a jumper, a layup and a three-pointer while Cincy grabbed three defensive boards and made three three-pointers.
Via Action Network
That’s about as painful a bad beat as you’ll see all season. Absolute nightmare fuel.
The 7-3 Ravens are favorites against the 3-7 Jaguars, but the line isn’t very wide.
To nobody’s surprise, the Jacksonville Jaguars are underdogs for a Week 12 home game against the Baltimore Ravens. But the line isn’t as wide as you might expect for a game between a 3-7 team and a 7-3 division leader.
The oddsmakers at Tipico Sportsbook have the Ravens as four-point favorites against the Jaguars with the total set at 43.5.
There are much wider lines in Week 12, including the Kansas City Chiefs set as 14.5-point favorites against the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. There’s also the 7-3 Dallas Cowboys as a nine-point favorite over the 7-3 New York Giants.
While Jacksonville is well below .500, the team has also shown more competency than the record shows. The Jaguars are one of the healthiest teams in the NFL and have managed to keep almost all of their games close.
Still, Baltimore comes to TIAA Bank Field on a four-game win streak and boasts the ninth ranked scoring offense and has allowed the 10th fewest points.
The Packers are 7.0-point underdogs to the Eagles in Week 12.
The Green Bay Packers have lost five-straight games as betting favorites and are now big underdogs in Week 12 against the team with the best record in the NFL.
Tipico Sportsbook has the Packers as 7.0-point underdogs to the Philadelphia Eagles on “Sunday Night Football” this week.
The over/under is 46.5 points.
The Packers were favored to beat the New York Giants, New York Jets, Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans after a 5-1 start but lost all five.
The good news?
The Packers have been underdogs four times in 2022. Matt LaFleur’s team has covered the spread in three straight games as an underdog, including straight up wins against the Buccaneers and Cowboys.
The Eagles will be comfy in this spot. Philadelphia has been a favorite of at least 5.5 points in eight straight games and is 7-1 overall in those games.
