Category Archives: NFL

NFL odds roundup: Week 16 lines & trends

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Presumably because it’s Christmas Eve, there is no NFL game on Thursday this week … or the rest of the season. However, there is a game on Christmas on Friday, meaning the unique 2020 season will be even more unique in one regard. It’s the first season at least one NFL game has been played every single day of the week. A few games earlier in the year were moved to Tuesday and Wednesday due to COVID-19 postponements.

The Christmas game, which goes up against the NBA’s loaded five-game slate in that league’s marquee regular-season day, features the Minnesota Vikings at the New Orleans Saints. It has potential playoff ramifications for both – the Vikings are barely alive, while the Saints could clinch the NFC South with a victory. The teams met in the Wild-Card round in January in the Big Easy and the Vikings pulled off a 26-20 overtime walk-off stunner on a controversial TD pass. New Orleans is -7 this time, and the favorite has won seven of the past eight in the regular-season series.

There are three Saturday games in Week 16, and the marquee matchup is the primetime affair between the Miami Dolphins and Las Vegas Raiders from Sin City. That has potential playoff ramifications for both and is Miami’s first-ever trip to Las Vegas. It could be an all-Hawaiian QB matchup between Dolphins rookie Tua Tagovailoa (who will start) and the Raiders’ Marcus Mariota (who probably starts with Derek Carr injured). Miami is -3 and 9-1 ATS in its past 10 games.

As the NBA season preps to start, Bodog sees b-ball gambling action

As the NFL regular season starts to wind down, the NBA is beginning to get its regular season wound up. The official start of the season is today, after only about two months since the LA Lakers were crowned champions in the previous season, and basketball players are already out on the courts participating in preseason matches. The Bodog sportsbook is still seeing most of its action on football games, but the NBA is going to give the NFL and college football some competition.

This past weekend, the NFL and the NCAA Football (NCAAF) program accounted for just over 70% of the wagers on Bodog – 48.54% and 21.54%, respectively. NCAA Men’s Basketball (NCAAB) came in next, grabbing 18.08% of the action. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) took fourth with 3.08% and the NBA’s preseason weekend action pulled down 2.01% of all the wagers placed on the sportsbook. Soccer games continue to find a lot of interest, with the Bundesliga, the Premier League, Spain’s La Liga and E-Soccer combining for 5.4% of the bets. Sandwiched between the Premier League and La Liga, the Chinese Basketball Association picked up 1.36%.

As far as which games saw the most action, the NFL and the NCAAF controlled the board. The postseason for both starts in a few weeks and there will still be a lot of wagers going their way, but gamblers will undoubtedly be looking more and more at the NBA and NCAAB as these seasons get cranking. As far as which football games were the most attractive this weekend, the winner of the top spot might be a surprise.

The Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants faced off this weekend, and the Browns walked away with a 20-6 victory. Gamblers who backed them also enjoyed the win, as long as they didn’t take the Over of 44.5. This game saw 20.2% of the wagers on Bodog, making it the weekend leader on the sportsbook.

NFL Enters Week 16 on Historic Scoring Pace, According to TheLines

The NFL will offer plenty of offense this Christmas, with two of the top offenses in the league set to square off and four games with an over/under set at 51.5 points or more in Week 16. So many high point totals shouldn’t be a surprise, according to analysts from TheLines, which tracks odds in U.S. regulated sports betting markets. In fact, the NFL is on a historic scoring pace.

Sunday night’s game between the Tennessee Titans, which leads the NFL with 31.1 points per game, and Green Bay Packers, which is third at 31 points per game, promises two of the most prolific scoring teams in the NFL. Total points for the game as of Monday morning is 56, according to a consensus of the nation’s largest legal online sportsbooks — including DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet, PlaySugarHouse, BetMGM, Unibet, and William Hill. No game has offered more points this season.

But games offered at 50 total points or more have not been uncommon this year. In fact, there were five such games in Week 15 alone. Points have been up significantly all year. Through the first 15 weeks, NFL teams are averaging 24.8 points per game, up dramatically from 22.8 points per game in 2019. Barring a points outage over the season’s final games, it should break the scoring average record of 23.6 points per team per game, set in 1948.

“In a season of anomalies, we may never see so many high point totals again,” said Brett Collson, lead analyst for TheLines.com. “There are so many reasons why scoring is up, and many of them are related to the pandemic, from fewer distractions with teams being in relative isolation to quiet stadiums helping road teams stay in sync. Regardless, oddsmakers continue to do well in making adjustments.”

The consensus point spreads for Week 16 and remaining Week 15 games, as of Monday, Dec. 21:

Pittsburgh Steelers (-14.5) at Cincinnati Bengals; over/under 40.5
Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints (-7); over/under 51.5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-9) at Detroit Lions; over/under 53.5
San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals (-3.5); over/under 49.5
Miami Dolphins (-2.5) at Las Vegas Raiders; over/under 47.5
Carolina Panthers at Washington Football Team (-1.5); over/under 44.5
Chicago Bears (-7) at Jacksonville Jaguars; over/under 47
Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans (-8.5); over/under 45
Cleveland Browns (-10) at New York Jets; over/under 44.5
Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers (-3); over/under N/A
New York Giants at Baltimore Ravens (-10); over/under N/A
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers (-3); over/under 48.5
Atlanta Falcons at Kansas City Chiefs (-10.5); over/under 53
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks (-1.5); over/under 46.5
Philadelphia Eagles (-1.5) at Dallas Cowboys; over/under 49.5
Tennessee Titans at Green Bay Packers (-4); over/under 56
Buffalo Bills (-6.5) at New England Patriots; over/under 45

To access the updated futures lines for every NFL team, and for more analysis, visit TheLines.com/odds/super-bowl. To access Week 16 odds, visit www.thelines.com/nfl-week-16-lines-2020.

Weekend Sports Appreciation Post

by Alex Perel, Special to The Daily Payoff

Nothing major to report in the sports and entertainment today, but we wanted to draw attention to the major upswing in games coming to the forefront. Going into the weekend, the first this year to feature Saturday NFL games, and the 2020-21 NBA season starting on Tuesday, we suddenly have a lot to look forward to in the sports world.

This weekend marks the final Thursday night game of the season as the NFL shifts into its weekend heavy schedule. The Los Angeles Chargers (+ 3 1/2) took down the Las Vegas Raiders in that matchup last night on Fox and NFL Network. The Thursday game will shift to a Friday matinee for Week 16. Both Week 15 and Week 16 will feature multiple Saturday games as well, with both having day and night matchups. Monday Night Football, however, remains on ESPN over the next two weeks. Finally, Week 17 hosts its full schedule on Sunday, as the league traditionally closes the season the same day for all teams.

Of course, Wild Card Weekend and the Divisional Round subsequently follow, both having Saturday and Sunday games. Point being, the NFL is mixing up its schedule to spread games across the next few weeks, so chances are when you flip on the TV any given weekend, you will have an NFL game to watch.

College Football sees a transition from conference championship games to bowl match ups next week, so NCAAF is there as well. The Power Five championships are as follows:

Pac-12: Oregon vs. 13-USC – 12/17 at 8PM EST

Big Ten: 14-Northwestern vs. 4-Ohio State – 12/19 at 12PM EST

Big 12: 10-Oklahoma vs. 6-Iowa State – 12/19 at 12PM EST

ACC 3-Clemson vs. 2-Notre Dame – 4:00PM EST

SEC 7-Florida vs. 1-Alabama – 8:00PM EST

All the great football leads into our biggest development: the NBA regular season’s return this coming Tuesday, December 22. Opening night features a Warriors vs. Nets early contest, followed by the Lakers and Clippers. With the league trying to cram a 72-game schedule into the coming months, we will see more back-to-back sets of games as well as “baseball series.”

In the latter format, teams will play each other multiple nights in a row. This style is uncommon in a normal NBA season, but the new schedule promises an abundance of NBA games throughout the week while you wait for football. Wednesdays and Fridays will be particularly packed with the requisite ESPN/ABC nationally televised packages.

And similar to football, the NBA is piggybacked by the college schedule, which is now entering its full swing of conference play. Check for those games to be typically packed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays on ESPN, FS1, and regional conference networks.

TL;DR: We shoot into the new year with a very healthy dose of live sporting events. Before you look up, we will have hockey and later baseball back, returning to a full slate of the four major American team sports. Get excited for the action packed weeks to come.

The Raiders get handed devastating OT loss in Thursday Night Football

The house always wins in Las Vegas unless that house belongs to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders. On track for a playoff appearance this year, the team hosted the LA Chargers at its brand-new Allegiant Stadium for Thursday Night Football last night and to say that things didn’t go as planned would be an understatement. On both sides, errors and miscues mounted until the game was forced into overtime, and it was the LA squad that managed to squeak by to take the win.

The Chargers set the pace of the game initially, moving out in front as they shocked the Raiders and football fans alike. However, with the Raiders turning to backup quarterback Marcus Mariota to replace an injured Derek Carr, Las Vegas bounced back late in the game to tie the score at 24. Carr had left earlier due to a groin injury and Mariota gave everything he had, completing 17 of 28 for 226 yards and even scoring a touchdown. His coup de grace was a 75-yard touchdown drive that forced the tie and took 11 minutes off the clock.

With only about six minutes left in regulation, the Chargers electrified their bolts and mounted an offensive rebound to try for the go-ahead score. However, rookie quarterback Justin Herbert couldn’t quite get it done as the lightning dissipated and an attempted field goal by Marcus Badgley went wide left. That drive would later be completely overshadowed by Herbert’s OT performance.

As the Raiders looked to lock up the game in regulation, Mariota was back in action. However, an interception in the red zone forced the Raiders to draw up short, giving the Chargers one more shot at taking the victory in regulation. That shot missed its mark, though, as a clumsy offense and poor clock management stopped the team from reaching the end zone. Having to try once again to rely on Badgley’s foot for a field goal, the Chargers were, once again, left hanging.

NFL odds roundup: Week 15 lines & trends

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The NFL usually schedules Saturday games in Weeks 15 and 16 because the college football regular season is over and there’s no football competition on those Saturdays other than some lower-tier bowl games.

However, because the coronavirus pandemic pushed back the start of the 2020 NCAA season, Saturday is when the Power 5 conference championship games will be played (except for the Pac-12). Thus, the two NFL games will have huge competition in terms of TV ratings and betting action at the various sportsbooks.

Neither Saturday NFL game is very attractive as it features a playoff-bound team looking to get the highest seed possible against a club playing out the string. At 4:30 p.m. ET, the Buffalo Bills visit the Denver Broncos. Those teams played an ugly game in Buffalo in Week 12 of the 2019 season, a 20-3 Bills win. Buffalo, which is on the verge of clinching the AFC East for the first time since 1995, is -7 and has covered six straight in the series.

Week 14 games in the NFL shake up the playoff picture

It would be an understatement to say that things didn’t go as planned in Week 14 Sunday in the NFL. The New Orleans Saints and the Pittsburgh Steelers were handed defeats that no one, even sports gamblers, would have expected, and even the Kansas City Chiefs came close to losing against the Miami Dolphins. Maybe the top-ranked teams this year simply used up all their energy and talent early in the season and, if that’s the case, the postseason games are going to be a lot different than previously thought.

The Green Bay Packers pulled out a win over the Detroit Lions as quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a pretty good day. He threw for three touchdowns on the way to a 31-24 victory, but it wasn’t until the third quarter that Green Bay moved ahead, a hint at how the top-seeded teams performed yesterday. With that win, and with a loss to be discussed down the page, the Packers are now the champions of the NFC North. It also, because of another unexpected upset yesterday, gives the Packers the top spot in the conference. This game was pretty much on target in terms of scoring, with the final score missing the Over/Under by just half a point.

The Washington Football Team (WFT) can now claim four straight victories after getting off to a slow start earlier in the season. They took down the San Francisco 49ers, who are not showing any resemblance to the Super Bowl-bound team of last year, 23-15 and are now on top of the NFC East. Two defensive touchdowns clinched the win and put the WFT in a good spot for the postseason. The Over/Under had been set at 43.5, and the outcome fell short by 5.5 points.

The Atlanta Falcons have once again proven that they can’t hold up for four quarters. However, they at least forced the game against the LA Chargers down to the wire, only losing after Chargers kicker Michael Badgley nailed a 43-yard field goal as time ran out. Neither team is too concerned about the loss, though, as they’re not looking at a postseason appearance unless a miracle happens. Still, oddsmakers had expected a better result and the 20-17 score fell short of the predicted Over/Under by 12 points.

Going Beyond a Comeback with Alex Smith

by Alex Perel, special to The Daily Payoff

As the second half of the NFL season progresses, many pundits will be releasing their predictions for the end-of-season awards. But one award race sticks out of particular interest this year: the Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Conventional wisdom may point to a candidate such as the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger or the Texans’ JJ Watt. Both are perennial stars returning to form after injuries last year. However, Alex Smith of the Washington Football Team has redefined what it is to be a “comeback player.”

A catastrophic injury in Week 10 of the 2018 season left Smith with spiral and compound fractures to both his fibula and tibia, ultimately resulting in infections and sepsis that became life threatening. Doctors sought amputation as an option to ensure the virus did not infect his whole body, before several surgeries and skin graft procedures could be used to save the leg. Smith is now not only starting at quarterback in the NFL, a ridiculous thought considering where he was a year ago, but has the Redskins in first place in the NFC East.

On Monday night, he faced Roethlisberger’s undefeated Steelers and dealt them their first loss of the season. The game was expected to be a Steelers route and appeared so with the Washington Football Team losing 14-3 at the half. Smith extended the game play by play, drive by drive, until eventually taking a three point lead as the two minute warning approached. Smith’s simple resilience is ultimate inspiration. Winning and losing do not matter any more in Smith’s story, not as much his pure fight to keep going. And yet, Smith unwilling to settle, is in fact winning. He has now won four in a row.

Smith’s journey over the last 24 months was captured in the E60 documentary Project 11 which aired on ESPN in May. The documentary opens its story February 11, 2019, less than three months after the injury. Smith had incredible persistence that we was going to pursue an immediate comeback attempt, allowing ESPN to document this effort as a show of his confidence in himself.

Project 11, like the CC Sabathia Documentary we highlighted last weekhttp://www.thedailypayoff.com/sabathia-documentary-to-debut-december-22/, is an example of the transcendent power of athlete media. Much of athlete media is filled with podcasts and short form content concerning players’ opinions on everyday news in the sports world and beyond. This content is incredibly insightful, and a component of athlete media involves getting an insight into the minds of our heroes.

But heroes also go beyond to show us how to overcome battles in our daily lives. Both Sabathia, with his fight against alcoholism, and Smith overcoming devastating injuries are inspirations to people every day. Athlete media is meant to do exactly that: inspire people to be the best versions of themselves, to do what they think they cannot.

Watch Project 11 now on the ESPN app or ESPN+.

The Rams get revenge against the Pats in Thursday Night Football

It might rub some football fans the wrong way, but it has to be said. This could be the end of the Belichick era in the NFL. Bill Belichick has been a coach in the league since 1975, most recently as the head coach of the New England Patriots, a position he has held for 20 years. He has won six Super Bowls and has been named the AP NFL Coach of the Year three times, and will always be known as perhaps the greatest coach ever in the NFL. However, even greatness comes to an end. The Pats have not had a very good season this year, and last night’s loss to the LA Rams could signal the beginning of the end.

Belichick can’t take all the blame for the team’s poor performance this year, but it simply might be time to make some changes. Perhaps even he knows it, which is about the only explanation for allowing Tom Brady to head down south to Tampa Bay. Maybe he’s preparing the Pats organization for a little housecleaning. That’s just speculation, of course, but it’s something to think about. New England’s performance on Thursday Night Football was, in a word, embarrassing, and there has to be a reason.

The Pats were held to a single field goal, which they scored as the first half was coming to an end. Apart from that, the team was sloppy on both offense and defense, and Cam Newton, brought in on a one-year contract (fortunately) to replace Brady, only lasted three quarters before being pulled. Even he must realize that there isn’t much of a future with the Pats for him. Newton only completed one of four passes in the second half and added a 79-yard pick-six to his record of non-achievements.

The Rams dominated right out the gate and walked all over the Pats. Their defense penetrated time and again, sacking Newton and his replacement, Jarrett Stidham, numerous times – six, to be exact. On offense, running back Cam Akers was, once again, the driving force behind the team’s success, racking up 29 carries for 171 yards. Wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods and tight end Tyler Higbee each had over 30 yards as the Rams cruised to a 24-3 win.

NFL Odds Roundup: Week 14 Lines & Trends

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

It’s an interesting Week 14 schedule around the NFL because there are only three intradivsional matchups and two of them are essentially meaningless with one team in the game playing out the string on a lousy season.

The Tennessee Titans visit the Jacksonville Jaguars and should have little trouble sweeping the season series and continue a push to a possible AFC South title. The Jaguars might be as bad as the atrocious Jets at this point, although Jacksonville did play pretty well in Week 2 at Tennessee. The Titans rode four Ryan Tannehill touchdown passes and a Stephen Gostkowski 49-yard field goal with 1:36 left to win 33-30. Tennessee is -7.5 this time and 5-2 ATS in the past seven in the series.

The Green Bay Packers are going to win the NFC North perhaps as soon as this week and look to sweep the Detroit Lions, who will have a new head coach next season. In Week 2, the Packers handled the visiting Lions 42-21 behind 168 yards rushing and three total touchdowns from Aaron Rodgers. Detroit actually led 14-3 early but then was steamrolled. Green Bay is -7.5 on Sunday but 1-6 ATS in the past seven in the series.

Mahomes headlines the updated NFL MVP odds list

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes won the NFL MVP award two seasons ago, but lost out to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson last season. With his team on an 11-1 start to the year, though, Mahomes is back as the betting favorite to win the MVP again.

Mahomes is the clear -450 favorite on the NFL MVP odds at sportsbooks as the NFL closes in on the final stretch of its 2020 regular season. Mahomes has posted a quarterback rating of 113.8 in the Chiefs’ dozen games with 31 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Back in the 2018 season when he won the Most Valuable Player award Mahomes also had a 113.8 quarterback rating with 50 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, throwing for over 5,000 yards.

Aaron Rodgers has won the NFL MVP award twice in his career – back in 2011 and 2014 – and he’s sitting behind Mahomes at +400 odds. Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers are 9-3 on the season, and trailing the New Orleans Saints by just one game in the race for the top overall seed in the NFC. Rodgers has a rating of 118.5 with 36 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Steelers take a shocking hit in one of the two NFL games yesterday

This has been probably one of the oddest, clumsiest NFL seasons in recent memory. Week 13 hasn’t been the exception, with the New England Patriots taking a 45-0 win against the LA Chargers and the Cleveland Browns taking out the Tennessee Titans 41-35 in a game that was predicted to be a “blowout” for Tennessee. Yesterday’s Monday Night Football (MNF) action didn’t break the odd streak and the results have some football fans – and definitely some gamblers – still shaking their heads.

The Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers met yesterday in a game that most expected to go to the Bills. The 49ers, who had a superb year last year, have been hobbled due to major injuries that started as the season was getting underway, and they haven’t been able to recover since. The only out the Niners had last night was the knowledge that the Bills had lost seven straight MNF games. That, coupled with the fact that San Fran got a boost by defeating the LA Rams a week earlier, gave the team a little extra motivation. But, it wasn’t enough.

The Bills stayed in control for most of the game, as wide receiver Cole Beasley ran for 130 yards, the most in a single game in his career. 113 of those came in the first half and it was almost like everyone on the Bills offense was in sync. Quarterback Josh Allen completed 32 of 40 passes to rack up 375 yards, adding four touchdowns in the mix to secure the win. By the time the fourth quarter came around, the Bills were in complete domination of the game on the way to a 34-17 victory. With that, they maintain control of the AFC East, one game ahead of the Miami Dolphins. They have the chance to show off once again next week when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

Speaking of the Steelers, there will forever be questions about what happened last night. Did they screw up plays or screw up plays on purpose, did they think they should give the Washington Football Team (WFT) a break, did they not care – the list goes on. No matter the reason, the Steelers are no longer undefeated this year after dropping the ball against Washington. No matter the reason, the WFT will forever be able to brag about the time they kept the Steelers from having a perfect, 17-0 season.

Brawls and busts in NFL Week 13 football action

Many people had expected Week 13 in the NFL to offer some additional excitement over previous weeks, and they weren’t disappointed. From games that had five players ejected to final scores that still have some football fans scratching their heads, yesterday’s lineup kept sports fans and gamblers on the edge of their seats. With the week almost over, though, the playoff picture continues to come into focus and several teams have secured their spots in the postseason.

The Kansas City Chiefs had more difficulty taking down the Denver Broncos than they would have liked. Still, they got the job done, with Patrick Mahomes throwing for 318 yards and a touchdown and Harrison Butker going five for five on field goals. It was just enough to keep the Broncos down, but the Chiefs will need to shape up in the postseason. They won yesterday’s game 22-16 and secured a playoff berth, but the win against a weaker team didn’t come easy.

The Seattle Seahawks fell apart yesterday against the New York Giants. This game didn’t go at all the way the Seahawks had planned and the frustration continued to rise as their quarterback, Russell Wilson, was sacked again and again – five times in total. The Giants defense did their job and are now on top of the NFC East, the weakest division in the league, with their surprising 17-12 upset win. With the loss, Seattle is close to losing its position atop the NFC West.

Aaron Jones gave the Green Bay Packers the win that almost wasn’t. The running back had an impressive 130 yards on the ground, but it was his 77-yard TD run with just over two minutes left in the game that gave his team the 30-16 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles had started to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, down 23-3, that looked like it would threaten the Packers, but QB Aaron Rodgers kept his cool, found his receivers and backs and got the job done.

Conscious Gaming hires former Caesars and NFL Executive to Senior post

December 4, 2020, Vancouver, Canada: Conscious Gaming announced today the hiring of sports and gaming industry stalwart Seth Palansky as its new Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility & Communications.

Palansky comes aboard after more than 17 years with Caesars Entertainment and the National Football League (NFL), to spearhead Corporate Social Responsibility and Communications efforts for the recently established Conscious Gaming, a philanthropic organization committed to utilizing advanced technology to propel social responsibility initiatives.

Conscious Gaming works with gaming operators, regulators, suppliers, responsible gaming advocacy groups, sports leagues, academics and treatment professionals to better protect consumers and enhance responsible gaming.

Just last week Conscious Gaming announced a partnership with GVC Holdings and BetMGM, who have agreed to deploy PlayPause, a multi-state digital self-exclusion tool for the gaming industry to support responsible gaming.

The Steelers still undefeated, but record ugly win against the Ravens

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens finally got on the turf last night, facing off in an NFL game that was initially meant to be played on Thanksgiving Day. Because the Ravens couldn’t remain disciplined enough to minimize the team’s COVID-19 risk, which ultimately resulted in over ten players and staffers testing positive for the virus, the game had to be rescheduled to Sunday, then Tuesday and, finally, to last night. The Steelers are happy to finally get it over with, especially since they have had to change their schedule more than once this season because of other teams’ coronavirus problems, and they walked away with yet another win to remain undefeated this year. However, even the team’s own head coach, Mike Tomlin, thinks it was an ugly win.

No decent coach in any sport will ever be satisfied with his or her team’s performance, always looking for ways to improve and make the team better. After logging a 19-14 win in a game that was full of turnovers and clumsy plays, Tomlin told reporters, “It was really junior varsity, to be quite honest with you. It was in all three phases. We couldn’t run the ball effectively when we needed to. We dropped too many significant passes, very catchable, makeable passes. We didn’t make significant plays in the special-teams game. Our kickoff coverage unit wasn’t good enough. We turned the ball over. We gave up big plays in critical moments on defense. Can’t have it.”

The Ravens had to bring in quarterback Robert Griffin III to replace Lamar Jackson, out due to COVID-19. In the first quarter of the game, he threw a pick-6 right to Steelers cornerback Joe Haden. The team’s troubles continued throughout the first half, including up to the very last seconds when they were denied a chance to get into the end zone from the one-yard line. If they had gotten in, the Ravens would have been in the lead; however, Baltimore made a few poor judgment calls that cost the team precious seconds and ended their chances.

The Steelers found a stronger Ravens defense than they had anticipated and struggled to move the chains down the field. QB Ben Roethlisberger threw a season-high 51 passes and racked up 266 yards; however, there were a number of dropped passes that made the game more difficult for Pittsburgh. Across the first half, the Steelers were held to just 12 points – six in each quarter – and didn’t add any points in the third. Only off a clutch grab by James Washington on third down on their last possession was Pittsburgh able to ensure the win by keeping the clock running and denying Baltimore a chance at a return.

NFL odds roundup: Week 13 lines & trends

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Good news for NFL fans: Barring coronavirus postponements, Week 13 will be the last this regular season where every team is not in action. Tampa Bay and Carolina are on the bye and then off weeks are finished … we hope.

There doesn’t appear to be one matchup Sunday that screams must-see TV. Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans with a 1 p.m. ET kickoff is very important in the AFC playoff race and in theory could be a postseason preview if the Titans win the AFC South and the Browns slot into the right Wild-Card slot (both would be the case right now). A lot has changed for both clubs from Week 1 of the 2019 season when Marcus Mariota and the Titans blew out the Browns 43-13. Baker Mayfield was picked off three times. This time, the Titans are -6 and Cleveland is 1-10 ATS in its past 11 road games.

Athletes First and EVERFI Unite to Launch Nationwide Interactive African American History Education Program

Athletes First (“A1”), the world’s largest and most powerful NFL agency, announced a strategic partnership with EVERFI Inc., the leading social impact education provider, to deliver one of the most comprehensive African American History learning opportunities to thousands of students across America. The program will launch in 30 schools across the greater Los Angeles and New York City areas in the coming weeks, with Athletes First Partners (A1’s sister agency), rolling out the New York initiative. The goal is to present the program to thousands of young students, many mentored by Athletes First athletes and coaches, in the next year.

EVERFI’s interactive 306 – African American History™ course will introduce students to important historical events and leaders and will be inspired by the leadership, strength, intellect, and creativity of the women and men that shaped African American History. The goal of the initiative is for students to use these learnings and inspirations in striving to discover their own personal motivations and work toward their own individual successes.

“Discrimination and systemic racism have for far too long sown division in our communities and created social and economic inequities that are unjust and simply unacceptable,” said Brian Murphy, Athletes First CEO. “Our Athletes First family – including our players and coaches – cannot simply stand on the sidelines, but instead must act now. To do so, we decided to start with our country’s younger generation who have little to no bias as they begin their education process. 306 – African American History will enhance and augment the student’s current curriculum, and members of the A1 family will also interact with the students to bring this education to life.”

306 – African American History offers five interactive lessons framed to teach the importance of civic engagement so that students may develop into future community leaders. This digital course is designed to address the skills and proficiencies outlined in the Common Core State Standards for writing and literacy in History and Social Studies, as well as individual states’ standards for US History.

“African American influence can be found at the core of American life and communicating these stories is foundational to building shared values and inspiring today’s youth to become tomorrow’s leaders,” said EVERFI Co-Founder and President, Jon Chapman. “Together with Athletes First, we have the opportunity to advance and expand upon African American history education across the country and provide students with more accurate, balanced, and comprehensive accounts of Black experiences.”

At launch, players involved in the program will include: David Long (L.A. Rams), Anthony Barr (Minnesota Vikings), Matthias Farley (N.Y. Jets), Derwin James (L.A. Chargers), and Casey Hayward (L.A. Chargers), with the plan to expand names and engagement into 2021 and beyond. They will be able to include commentary in the digital course, and also through virtual and in-person student engagement events.

“I am excited to support this project and am hopeful that it will create positive changes in the education system of our youth,” said Derwin James, All Pro safety who was a Chargers first round pick from Florida State University in 2018. “I’m proud to be a part of Athletes First, an agency that sees the value and importance of educating our next generation in this way.”

JD Duarte sees a big future for NFL in Latin America

The gambling industry has been a driven fan engagement in new markets for global brands, and the NFL is no exception. Betcris CEO JD Duarte is excited by the future of the NFL in the Latin American market, and he sat down with our very own Becky Liggero Fontana to share his excitement of giving America’s favourite past time exposure into South America.

While Latin America is still considered to be an emerging market by most major sports brands and gambling operators, it continues to show massive potential for engagement. Duarte believes that sports betting has yet to fully explode in the region as people consider sports betting still to be a novelty for entertainment in the region.

Duarte believes that the NFL is the perfect product to change people’s perceptions of sports betting. “The NFL is probably one of the most entertaining sports to watch on TV,” he said. “The whole situational aspect of what’s going to happen next makes it a really great sport for live betting.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IetJvfX1cVc&feature=youtu.beVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: JD Duarte sees a big future for NFL in Latin America (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IetJvfX1cVc&feature=youtu.be)

Seahawks take down the Eagles as DK Metcalf has best game ever

There were several takeaways from the Monday Night Football (MNF) game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles last night, but one will stand out among the rest for the next several seasons. Don’t make DK Metcalf angry – you won’t like him when he’s angry. The Seahawks wide receiver had the best night of his career last night and was a definite factor in his team’s win over the Eagles. His personal best performance came off of a single comment he received before the game, which apparently was enough to get him fired up.

Metcalf, in his second year in the NFL, recorded ten passes for 177 yards, beating his previous 160-yard game last January. That was an NFL rookie record, and everyone’s eyes are now clearly focused on the 6’4” big man. Prior to the game, he reportedly had a little pow-wow with Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz that didn’t please Metcalf, prompting his outstanding performance. The receiver explained after the game, “[Schwartz] came up to me and made me mad that he was like, ‘I was in Detroit with Megatron [receiver Calvin Johnson], but you aren’t there yet.’ In my mind, I am not trying to be Megatron. I am trying to be me. I had a little chip on my shoulder the whole game.”

Partly because of that chip, Seahawks QB Russell Wilson ended the night with 230 yards in the air, connecting with, in addition to Metcalf, Tyler Locket, Chris Carson, Jaco Hollister and Carlos Hyde for positive yardage. On the ground, Carson and Hyde helped push the chains down the field, with Carson adding a touchdown to his credits. Wilson is now 29-8-1 in primetime games and 10-2 on MNF. According to ESPN, that’s the best record for any starting QB with at least 20 starts since 1950.

The Seahawks defense was on fire, as well. It took out the Eagles series after series, sacked QB Carson Wentz six times and wouldn’t allow Philly to put more than nine points on the board until the team finally went for, and completed, a Hail Mary to add another score. It wasn’t enough, though, and the Eagles fell 23-17. With that, the Seahawks are in great shape in the NFC West, taking a one-game lead over the LA Rams, who just lost to the then-4-6 San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday. The NFC postseason race is heating up as Week 13 begins, and the playoff picture is going to prove to be hot.

NFL Week 12 action leads to more uncertainty in the playoff race

The NFL made it through 11 weeks of football with only minor problems from COVID-19. The Tennessee Titans suffered an outbreak earlier in the season that forced a few changes to the schedule, but everything was relatively smooth since then – until last week. The Baltimore Ravens have seen a major outbreak that led to their Thanksgiving game against the Pittsburgh Steelers to be postponed until tomorrow, but that is now in jeopardy, as well. While this important game will have to sit on the back burner, the rest of the Week 12 action found a few surprise outcomes that are making sports fans, and gamblers, question their predictions on who will land where in the newly-expanded playoffs.

It looked like the New England Patriots were going to go down once again. They got off to a very slow start against the Arizona Cardinals, with quarterback Cam Newton held to less than 40 yards passing in the first half. He didn’t get much better in the second half and ended the day with no touchdowns and two interceptions, connecting with receivers for only 84 yards. The Cardinals had the better stats throughout the game, but the Pats still managed to pull off the win. It took a 50-yard field goal by Nick Folk with four seconds on the clock to break the 17-17 tie, but it was enough to keep the Pats alive for the postseason. Gamblers who backed the Pats scored, as well, as the +100 moneyline at BetRivers.com gave them some extra holiday spending money.

The Carolina Panthers were able to get QB Teddy Bridgewater back in the game following an injury that kept him out for a couple of weeks and he gave everything he had to try to beat the Minnesota Vikings. He had a lot of help, too, as safety Jeremy Chinn picked up two fumbles on two consecutive series, running them both back for touchdowns. It wasn’t enough, though, and the Panthers lost 28-27 after the Vikings came from behind with less than a minute on the clock to move ahead. For Vikings backers, they did well, with their team sitting on a moneyline of -157 ahead of the game.

Someone forgot to tell the Las Vegas Raiders they had a football game yesterday. That’s about the only explanation for the horrible performance they gave against what, by all accounts, is a massively inferior team. However, the Atlanta Falcons found their stride and dominated in almost every stat. The Raiders recorded four lost fumbles and one interception and allowed their QB to be sacked five times as the Falcons walked away with a 43-6 win. The Raiders were getting -175 ahead of the game and most of the money was put on them to win, but the few diehard Falcons fans who took their team at +150 picked up a nice payday.