The NFL’s stretch run begins annually after the American Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and that’s where we are this Sunday in Week 14. With no bye weeks or multiple games on Thursday as last week, there are 14 games on Sunday, the most in weeks.
Will the Atlanta Falcons have superstar receiver Julio Jones for their game against the visiting Carolina Panthers? The Falcons didn’t have Jones last Thursday night in a loss to the New Orleans Saints and Matt Ryan certainly missed him. Jones was a game-time call so he seems more likely than not to play in this NFC South matchup.
Carolina has been eliminated from the division title race and fired coach Ron Rivera on Tuesday, the second head coach fired in the NFL this season. The Panthers were upset at home in Week 11 by the Falcons, 29-3. Jones had six catches for 91 yards, but the Atlanta defense was the story in intercepting Kyle Allen four times. This time, the Falcons are 3-point favorites. They are 0-4 ATS in their past four games as favorites.
Players in the NFL despise Thursday night games because their bodies (and minds to some degree) just aren’t physically ready that soon after playing on a Sunday. It’s part of the reason why Thursday games often are rather sloppy. This Thursday night’s Week 14 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears at Soldier Field won’t be an issue in that regard because both teams are on “normal rest” after playing on Thanksgiving. The Cowboys are 3-point favorites and have covered their past three on the road.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
Chicago got back to .500 for the first time since October 20 with a 24-20 comeback win at the Detroit Lions last Thursday to sweep their NFC North rivals for the second year in a row. Embattled quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was outplayed by Lions third-stringer and former undrafted free agent David Blough for the first half of that one, but Trubisky shined in the second half.
The former No. 2 overall pick led a nine-play, 90-yard drive in the fourth quarter, capped by hitting tailback David Montgomery on a 3-yard game-winning touchdown pass with just over two minutes left. Trubisky’s 338 yards were by far a season high and his only 300-yard game this year, while his three TD passes tied a season best. Anthony Miller had his best game of the year as well with nine catches for 140 yards. He had two crucial grabs on that fourth-down scoring drive. Chicago didn’t cover the spread and is 1-7 ATS in its past eight games.
The National Football League’s first betting ‘scandal’ in decades took another turn Monday on news that Arizona Cardinals cornerback Josh Shaw bet against his own team.
On Monday, ESPN scribe David Purdum reported that Shaw, who was indefinitely suspended by the NFL on Friday “for betting on NFL games on multiple occasions,” had wagered against the Cardinals as part of a three-team parlay.
ESPN’s sources claim Shaw made the parlay wager on November 10 at a Caesars Entertainment sportsbook in Las Vegas. The wager involved second-half results of three games, including the Cardinals game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were up 17-13 heading into the second half.
The Bucs prevailed in the game but failed to cover the second-half spread, making Shaw’s wager a loser. The NFL previously stated that there was no evidence that Shaw relied on any inside info in making his wagers.
Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack today announced that they have signed a marketing deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. The deal, which includes in-stadium signage and branding, Eagles Legends appearances, email and direct mail marketing, will further enhance Caesars Entertainment’s already existing exclusive marketing deal with the National Football League. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Harrah’s Philadelphia prides itself on partnering with organizations that share our same core values and the Philadelphia Eagles are the gold standard in terms of customer service, community engagement, and on-the-field product,” said Chris Albrecht, SVP & General Manager of Harrah’s Philadelphia. “We each have passionate and loyal fan bases and we look forward to connecting with them in new and innovative ways and providing them with exciting experiences through this partnership.”
Harrah’s Philadelphia will serve as the presenting sponsor of the Eagles “Drive Summary” videoboard feature as well as the team’s “Scratch and Win” game in its mobile application. The casino will also have a branding presence in select email campaigns to the Eagles fanbase, as well as in the Eagles Pro Shop located at Lincoln Financial Field. In addition to branding opportunities, Harrah’s Philadelphia will host Eagles Legends at its entertainment complex. Casino guests will also enjoy commemorative Eagles Caesars Rewards cards, co-branded apparel and gifts and Philadelphia Eagles branded table games.
“World-class entertainment and a strong commitment to the customer experience are synonymous when you think of Harrah’s Philadelphia,” said Catherine Carlson, Philadelphia Eagles Senior Vice President, Revenue and Strategy. “This new partnership will enable us to work creatively with Harrah’s through innovative ways to further engage with Eagles fans. We look forward to offering special Eagles experiences and co-branded touchpoints with Harrah’s Philadelphia year-round.”
Earlier in 2019, Caesars Entertainment, Harrah’s parent company, inked a multi-year sponsorship deal with the NFL that allowed Caesars to provide unique experiences for fans by using its casino properties, celebrity chefs, premier music artists and a wide range of entertainment options. Caesars had the exclusive right to use NFL trademarks in the United States and the United Kingdom to promote Caesars casino properties and activate at key NFL events including the Super Bowl and NFL Draft.
Are you still drowsy from a big Thanksgiving feast? Maybe a big win over the weekend, either by your favorite team or on a big bet might have helped. We heard once again from our Bodog bookie to give us the inside dirt on what went down in the NFL this past week, and how it affected the house.
Biggest Liability
If you bet big on Green Bay to beat the Giants, then you part of the crowd that helped make Bodog’s oddsmakers regret their choices. “Not to be deterred from the humbling they received at the 49ers last weekend bettors overwhelmingly backed the Green Bay Packers (-7) against the Giants in snowy conditions,” our insider told us. “The Giants were able to move the ball but couldn’t get past 3 interceptions from QB Daniel Jones, ultimately falling 31-13.”
While the bye weeks are complete for the 2019 NFL season, this Sunday is still a bit light in terms of games played because there were three matchups on the American Thanksgiving holiday per usual.
Expect the league office to issue some pre-game warnings to both teams when the Cleveland Browns visit the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday; the officials also likely will be told to keep things from getting out of hand in this one. That’s because in Week 11 on a Thursday night in Cleveland, a nasty brawl at the end of the Browns’ 21-7 win against the Steelers overshadowed everything. Star Browns defensive end Myles Garrett hit Steelers QB Mason Rudolph over the head with his own helmet, which would be assault anywhere else.
Garrett was suspended indefinitely and that stands following his unsuccessful appeal last week. Steelers Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey was suspended three games for retaliating on Garrett, but that was lowered to two – no way the NFL was going to allow Pouncey to play against Cleveland again. Rudolph has been benched for rookie Devlin Hodges. It’s an important game in the Wild-Card chase and Cleveland is a 2.5-point favorite despite having lost its past 15 games in the Steel City.
Week 1 is obviously huge in the NFL because it’s the start of the season, and Week 17 is when playoff spots can be decided and the season ends for many teams, but in the United States no day of the regular season compares from a football perspective to Thanksgiving, which is this Thursday. Turkey and football – and perhaps a nap in between – are a match made in heaven.
For decades, there were just two games on the holiday, with the Detroit Lions hosting the early game and the Dallas Cowboys the mid-afternoon matchup. In 2006 in an effort to boost interest in the relatively new NFL Network, the league added a prime-time game on the holiday and it has been played ever since. It’s no longer on the NFL Network and there are no set teams for that game.
No club has played more on Thanksgiving than the Lions, and they kick things off as 3-point underdogs against the NFC North rival Chicago Bears. Detroit hasn’t had starting quarterback Matthew Stafford the past three games, all losses, due to fractured bones in his back and probably won’t the rest of the season. The first game Stafford missed was Week 10 in Chicago, a 20-13 Bears win. Jeff Driskel started that and will again Thursday. Detroit has failed to cover its past six games overall.
Every now and then, it can be pretty handy to get the bookies side of things. To better understand how the house is faring week to week this NFL season, we got insights from Bodog’s own Pat Morrow on the biggest games and betting outcomes.
Biggest win and liability
The Green Bay Packers moneyline (ML) was terrible for the books, losing to the 37-8. But not as bad as the Seattle Seahawks ML and spread (closed -1.5), which Morrow comments “was our biggest loss of the day. But they made up for it with “a rare surprise the Patriots ML over the Cowboys was one of our biggest win of the day,” he notes.
Overall, favorites won the weekend, going 10-2 straight up, but struggled against the spread, going 5-6-1.
One piece of good news for NFL bettors regarding Week 12 as it’s the last week this regular season where all 32 teams aren’t in action. The teams on the final bye week of 2019 are the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
Many in the New York media were surprised that the Giants didn’t fire embattled coach Pat Shurmur during the team’s Week 11 bye after they were embarrassed the previous Sunday in a loss at the equally-struggling New York Jets. Shurmur almost surely will not be back in 2020 but apparently will be allowed to coach the rest of this season with only six games remaining – if the team didn’t fire him with a week off, there’s no point doing it until the season is over now. The Giants visit the disappointing Chicago Bears, whose playoff hopes are essentially over at 4-6 following last Sunday night’s 17-7 loss at the Los Angeles Rams. Chicago is a 6-point favorite for this one at betting sites but has covered just one of its past six overall.
Are you one of those NFL fans who likes low-scoring defensive battles? Then Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills should be right up your alley with a total of only 37. Two teams that rarely score 20 points but also are very good on defense and led by head coaches who were former top-flight defensive coordinators in Denver’s Vic Fangio and Buffalo’s Sean McDermott. While the Broncos are playing out the string, the Bills are in playoff contention. They are -4 and have won 10 of their past 12 games as home favorites.
This decade, either the Indianapolis Colts or Houston Texans have won the AFC South every season except 2017 when the Jacksonville Jaguars did. With all due respect to the Jaguars and Tennessee Titans (last won division in 2008), the winner of Thursday night’s Colts at Texans matchup is likely to be crowned South champion again in 2019. Houston is a 4-point favorite but has failed to cover the past seven at home in the series.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
When judging just by the quarterback talent, the Texans should run away with the division. After all, they have rising superstar and MVP candidate Deshaun Watson, who hasn’t missed a game this year. The Colts had a superstar quarterback as well in former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck, but he shockingly retired this preseason. Former backup Jacoby Brissett has played very well in his place but missed Week 10 and Indy was stunned at home behind a terrible effort from No. 2 Brian Hoyer.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars have used Nick Foles and sixth-round rookie Gardner Minshew under center this season, while Tennessee has gone with Marcus Mariota and Miami Dolphins castoff Ryan Tannehill.
The Baltimore Ravens have turned up the heat on their NFL performance this year and are quickly moving into position to make a run on the Super Bowl. It’s an idea that may not have had much support at the beginning of the year, but sportsbooks and oddsmakers have taken notice, even putting their odds higher than the San Francisco 49ers, one of only two teams to have suffered just a single defeat this season. The latest odds at several sportsbooks have the Ravens as the second-highest in futures bets for a Super Bowl win.
Baltimore has been on top of its game, securing massive wins against division-leading teams. The Ravens easily took down the Houston Texans, the leader in the AFC South, this past Sunday in a blowout that saw their opponents only put seven points on the board. That was a far cry from the 41 the Ravens managed, and came just two weeks after they defeated the New England Patriots, who, along with the Niners, were undefeated until that point. The final score of that game showed how powerful the Ravens are as they cruised to a 37-20 victory.
Add on a victory against the Seattle Seahawks and a clear picture emerges. Against these three opponents, the Ravens have a point margin of 108-43 and are proving indominable on both offense and defense. Quarterback Lamar Jackson is on track for a possible MVP nod, thanks to 19 touchdown passes and an incredible 788 rushing yards, including six touchdown runs. The rest of his line is holding its own as well, putting the Ravens second overall in the league with 426.8 yards a game. The offense is also number one in scoring offense, as well as rushing offense.
The team has become a powerhouse on defense, as well, with contributions from linebacker Josh Bynes and cornerback Marcus Peters. The Ravens defense is now seventh in scoring defense and has managed to steal the ball nine times in four games – five of these went all the way to the end zone for touchdowns.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have had some very good players in their history – although it is the only franchise to never have had a future Hall of Famer (so far) play for the team – in the likes of Mark Brunell, Tony Boselli, Jimmy Smith and others. However, the Jaguars have never really had that guy who drew national attention and helped lure fans to what is often a partially empty stadium in Jacksonville.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
It seemed the franchise finally stumbled on such a player in sixth-round rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II, what with his unique mustache and style of dress. Minshew led Jacksonville to a 4-4 record as a starter after replacing an injured Nick Foles in Week 1 and Minshew Mania was born in Jacksonville, but the Jags have decided to hand the starting job back to a now-healthy Foles as they come out of the bye Sunday at the Indianapolis Colts.
Foles got an $88 million free-agent contract to come to Jacksonville so perhaps the team wants to get some return on that money. The Colts are 3-point betting favorites and should get back starting QB Jacoby Brissett from a one-game injury absence. Jacksonville is 7-0-1 ATS in the past eight in this series.
The vast majority of Thursday night games this season have been intra-divisional matchups and that’s the case again to kick off Week 11 as the Pittsburgh Steelers visit the AFC North rival Cleveland Browns, who are 2.5-point favorites. Cleveland is 3-10 ATS in its past 13 home games against AFC North opponents.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
Browns players and coaches probably aren’t all that upset that they won’t be facing Steelers quarterback and future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger at all this season. Of course, he was lost in Week 2 to injury. Big Ben grew up in Lima, Ohio, as a Browns fans and had a terrific college career at Miami of Ohio.
In the 2004 NFL Draft, the Browns could have taken Roethlisberger with the No. 6 overall pick but instead took Miami (Florida) tight end Kellen Winslow II. Pittsburgh snapped up Roethlisberger at No. 11 and he’s now a legend in that city with a couple of passing titles and Super Bowl rings. Big Ben essentially never forgave the Browns for that slight and has taken out his frustrations on Cleveland with a 23-2-1 record against the team.
We all know how tough Pittsburgh can be; we have heard the talk about the Steel City; grit 101. However what’s even more impressive is when the talk gets backed up with the walk, and this week, two Pittsburghers who have a national footprint have come together in a business deal to change the lives of millions of kids.
The duo are former Pitt hoops captain turned entrepreneur Pat Cavanaugh and former Panther and now NFL star for the Los Angeles Rams Aaron Donald, who have teamed up to help Cavanaugh’s fast growing company, Ready® Nutrition, impact the lives of young people across the country.
Donald, fresh off his game against the Steelers Sunday, announced that he has joined on as Cavanaugh’s first ever investor in the health and wellness business, especially tied to the promotion and development of their Protein Water line. While Donald has some big name endorsement deals, it is the first time he has ante’ed up as an investor in a company, one which he is taking so seriously he spent time during his bye week back in Pittsburgh with Cavanaugh and his team learning and developing the next level of brand strategy for the products.
“I’ve looked at hundreds of brand partnerships over the past couple years and have found very few that match my standards and interests in making a difference in a global community,” Donald said. “The fact that Pat, also a Pitt guy, shares the same mindset about hard work and helping others, and runs the business with that mindset every day, made Ready the perfect fit for me.”
The two will focus on high school and youth athlete platforms such as Ready’s Mobile Training Table Program and Ready Talks with Aaron that give advice to athletes, and extensive donations of Ready product to select high school and youth programs nationwide. The goal is to impact one million athletes by 2025 with a healthier lifestyle on and off the field.
Ready Water is an all-natural, premium sports hydration drink featuring 15 grams of protein, NO Sugar and five natural electrolytes.
“Aaron is a caring person who likes to help others. We’re excited to partner with someone who is so engaged in helping young people and at the same time is known to be a relentless worker, on and off the field,” Cavanaugh added. “ We LOVE people who believe in our products and our philosophy that it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. Aaron epitomizes this.”
Tough folks, tough city, smart business. One partnership that goes beyond talk, with an impact beyond the legendary Three Rivers.
Jeff Bezos apparently has more money than he knows how to spend. He’s worth around $155 billion as the head of Amazon and the Washington Post, but has a hole burning in his pocket to spend some of the money. He reportedly now has his eyes on the NFL and is said to be considering the purchase of an NFL team.
CBS Sports brought the subject to light and Bezos has already received a lot of support from team owners, as well as the league. He was even with Commissioner Roger Goodell to watch the New England Patriots beat the LA Rams in Super Bowl LIII last February. Which team Bezos might ultimately purchase is up in the air, but the fact that his interest has now been made public could result in more than one franchise being made available.
Two of the most likely targets, for now, are the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. The Seahawks, who forced the end of the San Francisco 49ers perfect season last night, lost their former owner when Paul Allen passed away last year and the team is expected to be sold sometime in the next couple of years. The Broncos lost their former owner, Pat Bowlen, earlier this year, leading to internal fighting for control by his family members. That could also lead to the team being put on the market.
There’s also another possibility. Bezos, for some unknown reason (think big white house with a perfectly manicured lawn), has decided to relocate closer to his newspaper to live, which means the Washington Redskins could be a target. This would make current owner Dan Snyder happy, and might help him fulfill his dream of building a state-of-the-art stadium in the area.
In one respect, Week 10 is the worst week of the NFL season. Oh, there are some very intriguing matchups but the reasoning being that there are the fewest games on the schedule of any regular-season week: 13. That’s because there are a season-high six teams on the bye: New England, Denver, Jacksonville, Houston, Philadelphia and Washington.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
The most “polar opposite” game of Week 10 is easily the Atlanta Falcons at the New Orleans Saints in the first matchup of the year between the NFC South rivals with both coming off bye weeks. Quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Drew Brees usually have high-scoring duels but these teams are in very different situations currently.
The Falcons are 1-7 and on a six-game losing streak. Most around the NFL thought the team would fire lame-duck coach Dan Quinn during the bye, but apparently he will be given the rest of the season. Atlanta didn’t have Ryan for its Week 8 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks due to a sprained ankle, but he should return here. The Saints are 7-1 and on a six-game winning streak and got Brees back from thumb surgery for their Week 8 rout of Arizona. Brees didn’t look rusty whatsoever, throwing for 373 yards and three scores. The Saints are -13 but are 2-6 ATS in their past eight games as favorites.
