NFL Picks Against the Spread: Week 12, 2020
- NFL Picks Against the Spread: Week 12, 2020
- NFL Pickwatch - Upset Watch Week 12 2020
- NFL picks, predictions against spread Week 12: Chiefs edge
- NFL Pickwatch - Week 12 2020 Against the spread NFL picks
- NFL Week 12 odds and point spreads - Distinct Athlete
- Week 12 NFL Picks Against the Spread - Sports Betting Dime
- NFL Spreads Week 12: Point spreads and odds this week | PFN
- NFL odds, lines, spreads, picks, predictions for Week 12
- NFL Week 12 ATS Best Picks: Against the Spread Predictions
- 2020 NFL Week 12 picks against the spread - Niners Wire
nfl spread week 12 2020
nfl spread week 12 2020 - win
Official r/NFL Week 14 Power Rankings
Welcome to the week 14 Official NFL Power Rankings! With circus catches and beatdowns alongside great games, there was plenty to discuss even before a MNF Scorigami that might already be airing on ESPN classic.
32/32 Reporting | # | | Team | Δ | Record | Comment |
| 1. | | Chiefs | -- | 12-1 | The Dolphins gave the Chiefs all they could handle in the first quarter of Sunday's game, but the Chiefs once again proved that when they are focused, they are the most dangerous team in the NFL. Travis Kelce, the NFL's leading receiver currently, had another monster game showing why he's a future hall of famer. However, after having five 10+ point wins in the first eight weeks of the season, the Chiefs last five wins have all been won by one score. Will this trend ultimately matter come playoff time? It's hard to argue with results, as the Chiefs 12-1 record is the best record through 13 games in franchise history. The ultimate barometer for the Chiefs is this week as they travel to play the Saints, hopefully with Drew Brees. Many questions will be answered in this clash of two top five teams. |
| 2. | | Packers | +2 | 10-3 | There always seems to be one Lions-Packer game a year that ends up being some kind of adventure. Rodgers and Adams were as good as ever but the Lions kept on lingering throughout the game. Mason "Silver Fox" Crosby nailed an insurance 58 yard field goal with 3:30 to play and made a touchdown-saving tackle on the immediate kickoff. Aside from Crosby, the special teams really leave a lot to be desired, especially after the hands team almost allowed a onside kick recovery (c'mon y'all I don't need Bostic flashbacks). Packers officially won the division game and are now the projected 1 seed, which is pretty neat ngl. Onto a Saturday game I guess? |
| 3. | | Bills | +2 | 10-3 | For a team that was searching desperately in 2019 for a signature win, the 2020 Bills have found them everywhere they turn. This team has had one of the toughest schedules in the league, but except for a couple games they've shown up every time they've had to. This is the second-best team in the conference. The Bills bandwagons are circling now. Josh Allen's extending his baseball glove-sized hand. He says "get in nerds, we're goin' to the Super Bowl." |
| 4. | | Saints | -1 | 10-3 | This loss = Hurts. Dennis Allen seemingly had no answers for the rookie QB and then Miles Sanders piled on as well. "All the things we didn't want to allow happen, happened in that game." This was Sean Payton's post-game assessment and it's fair. Taysom Hill had an acceptable statline but it hides how sloppy he looked on the field. The defense struggled with its assignment to contain Hurts and keep him from getting outside the pocket - a worrying sign considering the next QB on the schedule. |
| 5. | | Steelers | -3 | 11-2 | The Steelers schedule has been insane. 6 days between NYG and DEN. 14 days between HOU and PHI. 10 days between JAX and BAL. But with that BAL game, the Steelers played them, WFT and BUF in 12 days. 3 games in 12 days. The team is out of LBs and OL. This has been a challenging season for everyone, but this is unprecedented. The Steelers have 8 days until CIN, then 6 days until IND. 10 out of 16 games played with an irregular schedule? You can argue the drops are kicking their ass, but this schedule has been brutal. No wonder they've lost 2 straight. |
| 6. | | Rams | -- | 9-4 | Imagine only scoring 3 points in a game. |
| 7. | | Colts | +1 | 9-4 | Kenny Moore is a player underrated by national media but massively valuable to the Colts. GM Chris Ballard made re-signing him a priority after his breakout 2018 season. Moore has been a reliable performer throughout his tenure as a Colt and added an exclamation point with his insane one-handed interception on Sunday. |
| 8. | | Titans | +1 | 9-4 | Derrick Henry had his second 200+ yard 2 TD game against the Jaguars on Sunday. The performance made Henry the 7th player to rush for 1,500+ yards and 14+ TDs through 13 games. |
| 9. | | Seahawks | +1 | 9-4 | Nothing cures suicidal thoughts losing like playing the Jets, baby. Sunday was never much of a game, as it was all Seahawks all day. Russell Wilson threw for 4 touchdowns, Jamal Adams broke the single season sack record for defensive backs, and Geno Smith got to play a full quarter against the team that drafted him. What a way to get over a bad loss to the Giants. Up next the Seahawks will take on their final NFC East opponent of the season; Football Team. |
| 10. | | Ravens | +2 | 8-5 | This ranker is a brown man, writing about how Lamar Jackson lost 20 pounds dropping some brown, dropping a TD to Brown, to go ahead against the Browns. They go for two. So in response, K-hunt ties the game, 42-42. In response, the Llama sets up the GOAT to nail a 54-yarder, 16th game winner of his career! To say nothing else of the game -- 9 total fucking rushing touchdowns, tying a record held since two defunct teams played each other before anyone on reddit was born... and Jackson runs for a MNF QB record 124 yards -- but still gets all the clutch plays done with his arm, with this middling group of receivers. The even greater news amidst all this is that the schedule doesn't look so bad in the closing stretch, and inspired play like this past Monday from the offense will ease the burden of the Ravens' gradually depleting secondary. Best wishes to Trace McSorely who made an extremely commendable effort to set them up for Lamar's return. |
| 11. | | Browns | -4 | 9-4 | Did you bet the over? The Browns and Ravens combined for 89 points in an absolute rollercoaster of a game. While they did not win, the Browns have shown they are contenders. With two games to go a real shot at the playoffs is on the table. The Browns will face the Giants in another prime time game. |
| 12. | | Buccaneers | -1 | 8-5 | The Buccaneers pulled off a 26-14 win over the Vikings, bringing their playoff chances to 94%. Vikes kicker Dan Bailey channeled his inner Gary Anderson to win the Bucs' game ball on an 0/3 kicking performance with an additional missed XP. Rookie Antoine Winfield Jr. played a disruptive game against his dad's former team and is looking like he has the potential to be one of the league's next great safeties. With only interim coaches to close out the remaining three games of the season, the Bucs should have smooth sailing into the Wild Card round. |
| 13. | | Dolphins | -- | 8-5 | There are no consolation prizes in the NFL, but a single score loss to the best team in the league while the backup waterboy is lining up in the slot is about as close to a one as you'll ever get. While he was able to pull off the win, even Patrick Mahomes couldn't keep this ball-hawking defense from getting a hold of the ball, often. And at some point, if people don't start talking about Xavien Howard in the DPOY conversation, he's just going to go intercept the damned award himself. Hopefully, the long, long list of injured Dolphins get well soon. |
| 14. | | Cardinals | +1 | 7-6 | A monster day from Haason Reddick and the defense finally put the Cardinals back on the winning track. Breaking a franchise record with 5 sacks was one thing, but getting all the turnovers was huge. Hopefully the offense feeds off of it and has a good week in preparing for a big game with Philly that has huge playoff implications. It will take a complete team effort to beat Philly with Jalen Hurts starting fresh of a win against the Saints. |
| 15. | | Raiders | -1 | 7-6 | The Raiders looked really bad against the Colts, just like they have for the better part of the last 6 weeks. Luckily Gruden finally made the call to fire Pauly G, something fans have been calling for for the past 2 seasons. Only time will tell if it's too little, too late. Every game from here on out is a must win if the Raiders want to make the playoffs. |
| 16. | | Washington FT | +3 | 6-7 | Washington is finding ways to win instead of finding ways to lose. The offense was not able to score a TD so the defense went ahead and spotted them 14 points. Chase Young notches his first TD and continues to prove his worth as the 2nd overall pick as a game wrecker. |
| 17. | | Vikings | -- | 6-7 | Dalvin Cook became the first back to rush for over 100 yards against the Bucs in over 20 games, but the Vikings were unable to convert long drives into points as Dan Bailey went 0/4 on field goals and extra points. Couple that with some questionable officiating, the Vikings' banged up front seven generating zero pressure on Tom Brady and plenty of self-inflicted wounds and it all adds up to a real tough loss that knocks the Vikings down from wild card favorites to playoff long shots. |
| 18. | | Bears | +5 | 6-7 | The Bears finally snapped their six-game losing streak by rolling over the Texans without much difficulty. Trubisky attempted one throw longer than 20 yards. |
| 19. | | Patriots | -3 | 6-7 | Los Angeles, is a land of contrasts - In a span of four days the Patriots' hopes for a postseason were revived and then unceremoniously squashed. Run Defense, Offensive Line, Cam and the Receivers, There just are too many holes to cover up with week to week coaching, this team needs some reworking over the offseason. The Pats end the season with the division as always, lets hope to fuck someone’s season or seeding up. And also the Jets. |
| 20. | | 49ers | -2 | 5-8 | The 49ers defense did their job, holding the Washington offense to a total of 9 points, but the offense had two takeaways brought back for touchdowns and could not recover. The team looks to right the ship this week against the Cowboys. |
| 21. | | Broncos | +5 | 5-8 | Drew Lock put up the third-highest passer rating in team history — behind a couple guys you may know. In the battle of 4-8's, the Broncos somehow managed to not blow a sizeable fourth-quarter lead and emerge victorious. Winning the game but losing The Hunt for a Better Draft Pick. Will the team remain in purgatory? Stay tuned. |
| 22. | | Giants | -2 | 5-8 | It’s a real joy to watch the rest of the teams in the up-for-grabs NFC East secure wins, with one being against a top-5 team, all while watching your team play so poorly they start setting franchise records. At least we can say the hype was fun while it lasted, right? |
| 23. | | Falcons | -1 | 4-9 | Outplayed by a team whose most impressive win is a tossup between the Bengals, Jaguars, and Jets? Check. Outcoached by special teams ace Anthony Lynn? Check. Ten point lead blown, two interceptions with under five minutes left, double check. Good thing age is just a number for the 32nd youngest team in the league. |
| 24. | | Panthers | -3 | 4-9 | I'm not sure where the Panthers go from here. Coach Rhule has said that he isn't going to do the team and fans a disservice by beginning to evaluate players, which means that we're going to see more of Teddy Bridgewater (who is 0-7 in one score games this season) crumble at the end of the game. Playing at Lambeau in primetime in December is one of the hardest things a team can do, and it's not going to be an easy test for the Panthers, who so far have shown that they can't win close games, nor can they defend the pass (23rd in passing defense). It's going to be tough sledding, but hopefully Jeremy Chinn can continue his torrid pace and run his way into DROY. |
| 25. | | Eagles | +3 | 4-8-1 | Jalen Hurts delivered the spark the Eagles needed to upset the Saints and spread 'quarterback controversy' all over the city of brotherly love. While the season remains a disappointment, the dual running threat of Hurts and Sanders could be interesting to watch going forward, and the NFC Least remains wide-open with 2 divisional games left on the 2020 menu. |
| 26. | | Lions | -1 | 5-8 | Even with a loss, Interim HC Darrell Bevell showed that his Lions are here to compete. This game was never out of hands, and the Lions kept it close the entire time. There are still plenty of woes on Defense, but the Offense continued to ball out as expected. With two TD's coming from the run game (Swift and Kerryon), there is already something to look forward to next year. Lately the team has been able to trust the run on short yardage and redzone carries and it has helped the team with consistency in the red zone. Unfortunately, Aaron Rodgers is a QB that can carve up a weak secondary... so that didn't go great. There's around a 1% chance of the Lions getting a playoff spot, not unheard of, but it'll be tough if Stafford's injury progresses and we lose him for the season. #DefendTheDen |
| 27. | | Chargers | -- | 4-9 | First of all, props to Falcons Twitter for this gem before the game, and it played out exactly as expected. Both teams did their best to try giving it away at the end, but the Chargers ended up on the winning side this time around. The Chargers had their hiccups again but there were improvements across the board; Justin Herbert's 81.8% completion percentage is his highest of the season, the defense came away with 3 INTs, and special teams probably had their best day. The Chargers get a short week before a Thursday Night tilt in Las Vegas. |
| 28. | | Texans | -4 | 4-9 | The Texans are lucky that Paxton is the Texas AG, otherwise they would have had the biggest blowout loss in the state this past week. |
| 29. | | Cowboys | -- | 4-9 | The Red Rifle won his revenge game, the defense forced multiple turnovers, and the Bengals were held to 3.4 yards per carry. All that, and the Cowboys still come out of the week with a top 5 draft pick. Honestly, Sunday couldn't have gone better. Now, the only question is whether this was the team turning the corner and the beginning of a strong finish to the season, or this was just a perfect moment of the Cowboys finding a shittier team with serious injuries issues and just doing what should happen in that scenario. |
| 30. | | Bengals | -- | 2-10-1 | Giovani Bernard hadn't fumbled since 2013 before his 1st quarter fumble on Sunday. So what does he get for his troubles? A spot on the bench thanks to Zac Taylor. Giovani was one of the only veterans who spoke out in behalf of Taylor and the current coaches when multiple articles were released with "sources" saying that Taylor had lost the locker room last month. You have to question the benching for multiple reasons as the directionless Bengals continue to flounder to blowout losses. Just another reason why this should be Zac Taylor's last season as head coach in Cincinnati. |
| 31. | | Jaguars | -- | 1-12 | This one felt more as expected. Perhaps it was in former GM Dave Caldwell's plans— no, wait, hear me out. Adjusting tinfoil hat; Based on the moves taken this offseason to seemingly dump talent from the Jaguars in attempt to amass more draft picks, perhaps the former front office of the Jaguars were banking on this season not being played, due to pandemic reasons. Sure, this may sound farfetched, but I'd like to hear a more reasonable explanation for fielding such a disaster as this team, this season. |
| 32. | | Jets | -- | 0-13 | The Jets have now scored on 7 consecutive opening drives, the longest streak in the NFL. After climbing to an early 3-0 lead, I watched Peter Sawkins make an excellent cranachan custard slice on The Great British Bake Off. |
Capital One Orange Bowl Match-up Preview Thread: #17 North Carolina Tar Heels vs. #6 Texas A&M Aggies
#17
North Carolina vs. #6
Texas A&M When: Saturday, January, 2, 08:00 PM Eastern
Where:
Hard Rock Stadium - Miami Gardens, FL Watch:
ESPN Odds:
Texas A&M by 7.5 pts.
Total Points: 65.5
All-Time Series : North Carolina vs. Texas A&M
According to Winsipedia these teams have never met.
Through Week 16
All rankings reflect the current /cfb poll
North Carolina Injury Report
Data Scraped: 2020-12-30 20:00:03
| Player | Position | Status | Reported | Notes |
| Bryce Watts | DB | Out For Season – Personal | Tue, Aug 25 | Watts has informed the program that he will not take part in the 2020 season due to a personal reason. |
| Triston Miller | OL | Out For Season – Personal | Tue, Aug 25 | Miller has ruled himself out of the entire 2020 campaign after letting the program aware of his reasons. |
| Javon Terry | DB | Out For Season – Personal | Tue, Aug 25 | Terry has announced that he will not be a participant in the 2020 season due to a personal decision. |
| Ethan West | LB | Out For Season – Upper Body | Sat, Oct 10 | West will miss the remainder of the 2020 season with an upper-body injury. |
| Kedrick Bingley Jones | DL | Out Indefinitely – Lower Body | Sun, Oct 11 | Bingley-Jones is recovering from surgery to fix a lower-body injury. It is undetermined if he will make his season debut. |
| Ty Murray | OL | Out For Season – Undisclosed | Wed, Nov 11 | Murray sustained an unspecified season-ending injury. |
| Beau Corrales | WR | Out For Season – Lower Body | Tue, Dec 8 | Corrales is out of commission due to a lower-body injury, and has been shut down for the remainder of the season. |
| Michael Carter | RB | Out For Season – Personal | Mon, Dec 21 | Carter has opted out of the remainder of the 2020 season to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft. |
| Dyami Brown | WR | Out For Season – Personal | Mon, Dec 21 | Brown will sit out of the remainder of the 2020 season to prepare for the NFL Draft. |
| Javonte Williams | RB | Out For Season – Personal | Sat, Dec 26 | Williams has opted out of the rest of the season to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft. |
| D.J. Jones | RB | Out Sat – Lower Body | Sun, Dec 27 | Jones will not be available for the Orange Bowl versus Texas A&M due to a lower-body injury. |
| Obi Egbuna | DB | Ques Sat – Undisclosed | Mon, Dec 28 | Egbuna is hindered by an unknown ailment, and it is unclear if he will take the field against Texas A&M in the Orange Bowl. |
| Storm Duck | DB | Ques Sat – Lower Body | Mon, Dec 28 | Duck is tending to a lower-body, and it remains to be seen if he will partake in the Orange Bowl versus Texas A&M. |
| Chazz Surratt | LB | Out For Season – Personal | Mon, Dec 21 | Surratt has opted to sit out the 2020 postseason as he prepares for the NFL Draft. |
Injury data lifted from: boydsbets.com
Texas A&M Injury Report
Data Scraped: 2020-12-30 20:00:03
| Player | Position | Status | Reported | Notes |
| Blake Smith | TE | Out For Season – Knee | Thu, Sep 10 | Smith suffered a season-ending knee injury. |
| Baylor Cupp | TE | Out For Season – Shoulder | Thu, Sep 10 | Cupp had surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder, signalling the end of his season. |
| Grayson Reed | OL | Out For Season – Leg | Tue, Oct 6 | Reed is projected to miss the remainder of the season due to a leg injury. |
| Caleb Chapman | WR | Out For Season – Lower Body | Mon, Oct 12 | Chapman is likely to miss the remainder of the season due to a knee injury. |
| Micheal Clemons | DL | Out Indefinitely – Ankle | Tue, Nov 10 | Clemons will miss an undetermined length of time after undergoing ankle surgery. |
| Myles Jones | DB | Ques Sat – Foot | Sun, Dec 27 | Jones is dealing with a foot injury, and his status for the Orange Bowl versus North Carolina is unknown. |
| Devin Morris | DB | Ques Sat – Undisclosed | Sun, Dec 27 | Morris is battling an unspecified injury, and it is unknown if he will line up against North Carolina in the Orange Bowl. |
| Dylan Wright | WR | Ques Sat – Undisclosed | Sun, Dec 27 | Wright is hampered by an unspecified injury, and it is unclear if he will play in the Orange Bowl against North Carolina. |
Injury data lifted from: boydsbets.com
What are your "Keys to the Game"?
Who do you think wins?
Do you think the favorite will cover the spread?
Which player(s) are you most interested to watch?
Let's talk football!
To vote in the matchup "who will win poll" simply include the name of the team you think will win enclosed by {} as part of your TOP LEVEL comment discussing the matchup. To change your vote just edit your initial comment to bracket the other team. You can change your vote as often as you like until the GAME THREAD is posted
A full listing of accepted FBS team aliases can be found here.. For FCS teams you will need to use the full name as it appears in the post title.
A listing of links, and live vote totals, to all Match-up Preview threads for the current week can be found HERE.
Like this format? Generate your own "Match-up Discussion Thread" with the Match-up Discussion Thread Generator. Please DM dupreesdiamond with any issues/suggestions regarding this template
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Match-up Preview Thread: #12 Oklahoma Sooners vs. #11 Florida Gators
#12
Oklahoma vs. #11
Florida When: Wednesday, December, 30, 08:00 PM Eastern
Where:
AT&T Stadium - Arlington, TX Watch:
ESPN Odds:
Oklahoma by 7.0 pts.
Total Points: 64.5
All-Time Series : Oklahoma vs. Florida
Oklahoma and Florida have met 1 time since 01/08/2009.
These teams last met 4,374 days (~12 years) ago on 01/08/2009.
Series Wins: Oklahoma 0-0-1 Florida†
Longest streak of continuous meetings: 1 (2008-2008).
Florida has won the most recent meeting (2008) in this series.
Last 1 Meetings
Series Comparison Data via Winsipedia
Through Week 16
All rankings reflect the current /cfb poll
Oklahoma Injury Report
Data Scraped: 2020-12-30 10:00:03
| Player | Position | Status | Reported | Notes |
| Austin Stogner | TE | Out Indefinitely – Leg | Fri, Dec 4 | Stogner is out of commission with a leg injury, and he will miss an undetermined length of time. |
| Jadon Haselwood | WR | Out Wed – Undisclosed | Tue, Dec 29 | Haselwood is dealing with an unspecified ailment and will not suit up against Florida in the Cotton Bowl. |
| Justin Broiles | S | Ques Wed – Lower Body | Sat, Dec 26 | Broiles is dealing with a lower-body injury, leaving his status for the Cotton Bowl versus Florida hazy. |
| Tre Brown | CB | Out For Season – Personal | Tue, Dec 22 | Brown has opted out of the remainder of the 2020 season to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft. |
| Kendall Dennis | CB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sun, Nov 22 | Dennis has been sideliend with an undetermined injury, and his status moving forward is up in the air. |
| Greydon Williams | WR | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 7 | Williams has been sidelined with an unspecified injury, and it is unknown when he will play again. |
| Obi Obialo | WR | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sun, Nov 22 | Obialo has been sidelined with an unspecified ailment, and it is unclear when he will line up next. |
| Caleb Kelly | LB | Out Indefinitely – Knee | Tue, Aug 25 | Kelly sustained a knee injury that will keep him out of the lineup for an unknown length of time. |
| Finley Felix | OL | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sun, Nov 22 | Felix has been sitting out due to an unspecified ailment, and it is unknown when he will suit up next. |
| Justin Harrington | DB | Out For Season – Knee | Thu, Aug 27 | Harrington tore his ACL, signaling that he will miss the entire season. |
| Marcus Hicks | DL | Out Indefinitely – Achilles | Thu, Aug 27 | Hicks is sidelined after undergoing surgery to fix a left Achilles injury, and the severity of the ailment is unknown. |
Injury data lifted from: boydsbets.com
Florida Injury Report
Data Scraped: 2020-12-30 10:00:03
| Player | Position | Status | Reported | Notes |
| Hayden Knighton | OL | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sun, Dec 20 | Knighton has been out due to an undeclared reason, and his availability is unknown moving forward. |
| Jacob Copeland | WR | Out Wed – Illness | Mon, Dec 28 | Copeland has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be available for the Cotton Bowl versus Oklahoma. |
| Marco Wilson | DB | Out For Season – Personal | Mon, Dec 28 | Wilson has decided to opt out of the remainder of the 2020 season to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft. |
| Kadarius Toney | WR | Out For Season – Personal | Mon, Dec 28 | Toney has made a personal decision to sit out of the remainder of the 2020 season to prepare for the NFL Draft. |
| Trevon Grimes | WR | Out For Season – Personal | Mon, Dec 28 | Grimes has opted out of the remainder of the 2020 season to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft. |
| Rashad Torrence | DB | Ques Wed – Undisclosed | Sat, Dec 26 | Torrence is tending to an unspecified injury, and it is uncertain if he will be available against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. |
| Kyle Pitts | TE | Out For Season – Personal | Sun, Dec 20 | Pitts has opted out of the remainder of the 2020 season to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft. |
| Kamar Wilcoxson | DB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sun, Dec 20 | Wilcoxson has been sidelined due to an undeclared ailment, and it is unknown if he will line up going forward. |
| Lucas Alonzo | DL | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sun, Nov 1 | Alonzo has been absent from the lineup due to an unknown ailment, and it is unclear when he will return to the field. |
| Jeremiah Moon | LB | Out Indefinitely – Foot | Sun, Dec 13 | Moon has been on the sidelines due to a foot injury, and it is unknown when he will return to the fold. |
| Jaelin Humphries | DL | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sun, Dec 13 | Humphries has been absent from the lineup with an injury to an unlisted location, and it is undetermined when he will return to action. |
| Kevin Johnson | UT | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sun, Nov 1 | Johnson has been sidelined due to an unspecified ailment. It has yet to be determined when he will return. |
| Ethan Pouncey | DB | Out Indefinitely – Hip | Thu, Sep 24 | Pouncey will miss an extended period due to hip surgery. |
| Lamar Goods | DL | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sun, Nov 1 | Goods has been sidelined due to an injury to an unlisted area. It has yet to be established when he will next be available. |
| Joshua Tse | UT | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sun, Nov 1 | Tse has been sidelined due to an unspecified ailment, and it is undetermined when he will return to the lineup. |
| Quincy Lenton | DB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sun, Nov 1 | Lenton has been inactive due to an injury to an unlisted area, and it is unknown when he will next become available. |
| Kahleil Jackson | UT | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sun, Dec 20 | Jackson has been sidelined due to an unknown ailment, and it remains to be seen if he will step on the field moving forward. |
Injury data lifted from: boydsbets.com
What are your "Keys to the Game"?
Who do you think wins?
Do you think the favorite will cover the spread?
Which player(s) are you most interested to watch?
Let's talk football!
To vote in the matchup "who will win poll" simply include the name of the team you think will win enclosed by {} as part of your TOP LEVEL comment discussing the matchup. To change your vote just edit your initial comment to bracket the other team. You can change your vote as often as you like until the GAME THREAD is posted
A full listing of accepted FBS team aliases can be found here.. For FCS teams you will need to use the full name as it appears in the post title.
A listing of links, and live vote totals, to all Match-up Preview threads for the current week can be found HERE.
Like this format? Generate your own "Match-up Discussion Thread" with the Match-up Discussion Thread Generator. Please DM dupreesdiamond with any issues/suggestions regarding this template
Official r/NFL Week 11 Power Rankings
Welcome to the week 11 Official NFL Power Rankings! It was an eventful weekend, all that fans (of most teams) could reasonably ask for. Whose top 15 are upside down? Is any team more PFF than substance? Happy 2 million, Discuss!
31/32 reporting | # | | Team | Δ | Record | Comment |
| 1. | | Steelers | +1 | 10-0 | Going into Thanksgiving after a solid win against the hopeless Jaguars, if the Steelers win vs the Ravens, they're in. That's right, if they beat Baltimore, the Steelers clinch a playoff spot by Week 11. Meanwhile, the Ravens know their back is against the wall after losing a tough one against the Titans and being outside of the cutoff line for the postseason. A loss against the Steelers takes their playoff odds down to 50-50, while a hot Browns team beating the same reeling Jaguars team brings their playoff chances to 75%. Expect the Ravens take their frustrations out on the Steelers in what will be both teams biggest test this season. The Ravens are desperate now and that makes them even more dangerous. Even more dangerous if they have the beerbug. If the game is postponed, disregard all of this. |
| 2. | | Chiefs | -1 | 9-1 | The Chiefs have some soul searching to do on defense after another abysmal performance against the Raiders. Unlike the first matchup against the Raiders, the Chiefs offense was able to bail out poor performances from the defense and special teams this time thanks to the usual suspects on offense. Travis Kelce continued his otherworldly year. Tyreek Hill was as great as always. Patrick Mahomes made a game-winning drive with only 1:43 look way too easy. Even if the Chiefs defense has off days the Chiefs are always going to be competitive due to those 3 guys. They might have to lean on them, even more, when the Chiefs go to Tampa Bay next week. |
| 3. | | Saints | +1 | 8-2 | |
| 4. | | Rams | +6 | 7-3 | Jordan Fuller is the superior 199th pick. |
| 5. | | Packers | -2 | 7-3 | "MVS giveth, MVS taketh away" |
| 6. | | Colts | +7 | 7-3 | The Colts drive to close the game after stopping the Packers on a late 4th and 1 was the most poorly executed drive this ranker has ever seen. It's a testament to this team's heart and talent that they still pulled out a W after that debacle. Sunday's game was one of the biggest in recent Indy football and the Colts look to surge into the back stretch of the season. |
| 7. | | Seahawks | +5 | 7-3 | The Seahawks defense won the game on a Carlos Dunlap sack on a three man rush against Kyler Murray. This team is provocative.... gets the people goin. And the fans are here for it (RIP blood pressure). A long break between Thursday night and the game Monday night should mean the returns of Chris Carson, Shaquil Griffin, and Ethan Pocic. After a bit of a slump, the Seahawks next 4 opponents consist of the NFC East (minus the Cowboys) and the Jets. It's all comin' together, baby. |
| 8. | | Bills | -- | 7-3 | The Dolphins, Patriots, and Jets all lost this week, which is about as good of a bye week as the Bills can ask for. This has been a very weird season with a lot of flukey wins and losses. Despite losing to them (and getting their teeth kicked in by one), it’s hard to say the Bills are objectively worse than Arizona or Tennessee. A Hail Mary ended one, and there was a whole string of strange, confusing events leading up to the other that made it a tough game to prepare for. This isn’t to say Buffalo didn’t deserve these losses, but in such an up-and-down year around the whole league, 7-3 feels pretty damn good. Now, it’s time to make the final push for the division. |
| 9. | | Buccaneers | -4 | 7-4 | He was excessively loyal to his coordinators. No matter their follies, no matter the incompetence on full display, and no matter the need for change, he insisted they continue in their duties. He refused to step in to call plays until it was too late, and by that point, the writing was already on the wall for his job. This of course references former Buccaneers Head Coach Dirk Koetter. The parallels are there in the present, and after last night's Rams game (which included a rollout from Tom Cement Shoes Brady), OC Byron Leftwich has little confidence from Bucs fans. They better wake up, because Patrick Mahomes is next. |
| 10. | | Titans | +4 | 7-3 | The Titans were able to once again slow the Ravens offense enough to keep pace through the first three quarters and set up an eleven-point fourth quarter to take the game to overtime. In overtime, Derrick Henry became the first player in NFL history to score a second walk off touchdown in the same season. |
| 11. | | Ravens | -5 | 6-4 | This ranker would opt to write a blurb, but Greg Roman forced him to write a message to Hollywood instead. Can the Steelers be beaten without a DL? What about with two running backs on the COVID list? Asking for a friend. |
| 12. | | Cardinals | -5 | 6-4 | Leading the league in penalties (now 9 more than the next most penalized team) was bound to factor into a loss at some point. The offensive line also had their worst game of the season as Seattle's pass defense looked elite. Hopefully the teak used the extended time to work on some things and Murray's shoulder had enough time to heal. Sunday's game against the up and down Patriots will be absolutely critical. |
| 13. | | Raiders | -- | 6-4 | Bad officiating, bad defense, and scoring 30+ points and losing. Sunday night was exactly what you expect when you watch a Raiders game. The bright side for Raiders fans, they dominated KC on the road and barely scraped out a win after coming off a bye in Vegas. The Raiders can beat any team in the league, unfortunately their defense makes it so any team can beat them as well. |
| 14. | | Browns | +1 | 7-3 | The Browns are just two wins away from the first winning season since 2007 and third winning season in TWENTY YEARS. The Browns will face the struggling Jaguars next week. |
| 15. | | Dolphins | -6 | 6-4 | After a few weeks of glorious hope, Dolphins fans are welcomed back to the standard mood. Though the team's future still looks bright, this game was a hard reminder that the team is not yet all the way complete, and still has some glaring holes. Now the Dolphins travel to the winless Jets to see if they pull off the easy win, or if the long history of odd games in this rivalry continues. |
| 16. | | Bears | +2 | 5-5 | The bye week featured the most watchable performance from the Bears' offense all season. |
| 17. | | Panthers | +3 | 4-7 | The first shutout in five years was exactly what P.J. "Matty Ice" Walker and his two end zone interceptions needed. Even if this game was somehow closer than the end result, the defense really stepped up. A perfect 52 yard bomb to DJ Moore deserves specific recognition, as well as Brian Burns' overall game film. |
| 18. | | 49ers | +1 | 4-6 | Bye Week- Hopefully it allows enough time to get players off the Covid list. |
| 19. | | Vikings | -3 | 4-6 | Dalvin Cook leads the league in rushing touchdowns, Adam Thielen leads the league in receiving touchdowns, Justin Jefferson is on pace to break Randy Moss's rookie receiving record, Kirk Cousins ranks 6th in PFF grade... and yet none of it matters because half of the Vikings' defense is on IR. |
| 20. | | Patriots | -3 | 4-6 | Pass protection and defensive secondary struggled. Run game disappeared in the second half. lost Rex. Not Good! |
| 21. | | Broncos | +4 | 4-6 | Tua learned a very important lesson on Sunday. No matter how good your team is, no matter how hapless the Broncos appear to be, the power of Mile High bullshit will break you. Despite having an awful start after game after game of awful offensive play, the Broncos strung together just enough yardage to complement an amazing defensive performance to squeak out a win. Ultimately meaningless except for one point — Vic Fangio has now won as many games as Vance Joseph. |
| 22. | | Chargers | +1 | 3-7 | This game had all of the hallmarks of Chargers football: inconsistent and mistake-prone offense, a defense that only lasts 30 minutes, and incompetent special teams play. However, the Chargers hung on to win the game, probably because the other team was the Jets. Keenan Allen had a career day, as his 16 receptions in a game is a franchise record. The Herbert-Allen connection continues to grow stronger and will hopefully be a focal point of the offense for years to come. The Chargers will don the navy unis again in a cross-country tilt against the Bills next week. |
| 23. | | Falcons | -1 | 3-7 | Thank you @Saints for the opportunity to realize a top ten draft/pick. And thank you to the fans and the city of Atlanta for putting up with the Falcons... |
| 24. | | Texans | +4 | 3-7 | Every win against the Pats feels like a gift, even when they're as garbage as they are this year. Seeing Bill Belichick scowl at his team's loss never fails to brighten the spirits of all other football fans. |
| 25. | | Lions | -4 | 4-6 | The offense was actually terrible. This Lions team is a shell of the offensive strength it had last year. After being shut out by an XFL QB, Patricia's seat must be scorching. Technically still in the playoff hunt, but unless the Lions blowout the Texans on thanksgiving.... don't count on it. |
| 26. | | Giants | +1 | 3-7 | If you're going to have a Covid outbreak you might as well do it on your bye week. Here's hoping everyone makes a quick recovery and limits the spread to family members. The NFC East now has an entire division of 3-win teams, which means this dumpster fire of a division is more up for grabs than it's been all year. Big Blue heads to Cincinnati to take on the Burrow-less Bengals next. |
| 27. | | Washington FT | +2 | 3-7 | And here we are. Come Thanksgiving, The Washington Football Team and Dallas Cowboys will battle it out for 1st place in the NFC LEAST. The winner standing tall at checks notes 4-7... This division is a toss up and we're really looking at a 5-11 or 6-10 team hosting a wildcard playoff game. |
| 28. | | Eagles | -2 | 3-6-1 | Real talk. Carson Wentz is among the worst, if not the absolute worst, starting quarterback currently in the NFL. Doug Pederson's magic from the 2017 season is dead and buried in a 50 foot deep hole in the Vet graveyard. Jason Peters is the worst overall player in the entire league. It is time for Doug to give up playcalling to someone with an iota of common sense. It is time to bench Wentz in favor of Jalen Hurts, if only to keep Wentz healthy for next season. It is time for Eagles' fans to accept the fact that being 1st in a division while 3-6-1 is not a "positive takeaway." |
| 29. | | Cowboys | +1 | 3-7 | Winners? For the first time in a while, Cowboys fans feel hope. |
| 30. | | Bengals | -6 | 2-7-1 | The Bengals were never going to make the playoffs in 2020, they only had one goal for a successful season, keep Joe Burrow healthy. The front office and coaching staff failed to do that. Because Mike Brown won't step down or move aside, the changes need to start with Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin, Head Coach Zac Taylor, Offensive Coordinator Brian Callahan, and offensive line coach Jim Turner. All four have contributed towards the catastrophic failure that is the Bengals in 2020 and need to be let go. For the remainder of the season the only goal is to land a top three pick and draft Penei Sewell. |
| 31. | | Jaguars | -- | 1-9 | It was not a trap game. It was, however, Shad Khan's 100th loss since buying the Jaguars. That doesn't count for much, but... no. No it's all just terrible. Send help. |
| 32. | | Jets | -- | 0-10 | The Jets have become the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention, considerably hurting their chances at making the playoffs. |
Here's an in-depth breakdown of Super Bowl LV:
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We have made it! All 256 regular season and – since this year – twelve playoff games are in the books and there is just one matchup left to decide who will be crowned NFL champions. There are so many storylines leading up to the big game – the GOAT Tom Brady versus the kid Patrick Mahomes, two of the all-time great tight-ends on either side of the ball wearing number 87, the Buccaneers becoming the first ever team to host a Super Bowl in their home stadium, Andy Reid after all this time of coming up short, potentially winning back-to-back titles, while Bruce Arians is looking to finally get his first ring as a head coach and potentially becoming the oldest one to earn one in history, and many others.
As I do every year, I wanted to give a detailed look ahead to the big game, where I break down who these teams are, kind of how they got here and how they match up against each other. To do so I put together analysis of each offense and defense, plus where each could have the advantage, then I take a look back at when these two teams first met back in week 12, explain what they have and/or should have learned from it, give you an X-factor on either side of the ball for both and finally hand out my score prediction, while explaining what I believe will happen.
Let’s dive into it!
Buccaneers offense vs. Chiefs defense:
The Tampa Bay offense has been transitioning throughout the season. Early on it was Bruce Arians’ system with a lot of 12 and even 13 personnel, trying to establish a gap-scheme power run game and taking play-action shots off it from under center. And then a second offense was kind of implemented, which was more suited to what Tom Brady was used to in New England, where they spread the field and attack defenses with the quick game. However, it really was two separate playbooks almost, that they worked in. I think we have seen a little more of a symbiotic relationship, which I believe Byron Leftwich has had a big role in putting together. They motion their backs in and out or use their receivers as pre-snap coverage indicators at a much higher rate, letting Brady be surgical in the quick passing game, but still attacking vertically and using Gronk and the tight-ends as that extra in-line blocker to get enough time, because Brady still more than enough juice in his arm to push the ball down the field. Since week ten, Cameron Brate has also played about 41 percent of the snaps and I believe he gives them more versatility in what they can be from two tight-end personnel, since he can basically be a big slot for them. Their receiving corp as a whole offers a lot of versatility, whether it’s Mike Evans moving more into the slot this season, Antonio Brown being able to line up at any of the receiver spots or specialists like Scotty Miller to attack down the field.
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It’s a well-established narrative that if you can get to Tom Brady early, he becomes a much less effective passer and if you look at the five games, that they have come up short in 2020 (Saints twice, Bears, Rams and Chiefs), they have lost the battle up front offensively. Since their week 13 bye, following their last loss to Kansas City (including the playoffs), they have gone undefeated whilst averaging 34.3 points per game, with at least 30 in all three postseason battles. Looking at those games in particular, the defense was dominant at New Orleans and set up scoring opportunities directly, but against Washington and Green Bay, they completed a combined 11 passes of 20+ yards. So it is still very much about the big plays through the air (finished top three in 20+ and 40+ yard passes), but the efficiency of this offense has really gone up to a different level. At Detroit they were so dominant that Brady sat out the entire second half, then they scored on all but one of their possessions against Atlanta and now over this three-game road playoff run, they have had only three combined three-and-outs and turnovers in each of them. A big key to that has been the Bucs offensive line keeping Brady clean, as he has gotten sacked only 11 times over their active seven-game win streak and just once in all but two of those contests. To go with having better solutions to beat the blitz in their system.
https://reddit.com/link/lcn8vq/video/5o8inlufbif61/player
Unlike a lot of modern NFL offenses, that have incorporated more RPO elements and try to create numbers advantages in the run game with spread sets, Bruce Arians still brings that old-school flair with multiple tight-end sets and the power run game. There’s not a lot of wide zone blocking, but rather they create vertical movement at the point of attack with a heavy dose of duo, get those big offensive linemen on the move on toss plays and then I love watching those receivers get involved as blockers in the box – especially Chris Godwin, who they seriously have leading up in the hole or trapping three-techniques. When they run play-action off those looks, they use a lot of seven- and eight-man protections and try to hit defenses over the top, whether it’s deep crossers and posts or straight go routes down the sideline. As much success as they have with that recipe, when you look at the analytics, their tendency to run the ball on early downs shows there’s plenty of improvement in terms of efficiency, which is something I want to see them do in this game, to not get behind the chains and allow the Chiefs defense to be as creative on third down. When they go into shotgun and spread the field more, they look for ways to attack the middle of the field with their inside receivers primarily and when they see one-on-one on the outside with Mike Evans or Antonio Brown, they will take their shots. Double-moves are a large ingredient to what they do, especially out-and-up routes.
For the Chiefs defense, they looked like they had carried over that momentum from last year’s Super Bowl run into 2020, not giving up more than 20 points in any of their first four games. In week five, the Raiders out of nowhere exploded for 40 points and handed them their only loss outside of week 17, when they rested several starters, before having three more great showings at Buffalo, Denver and then hosting the Jets. But since then, they have allowed at least 24 points in six of their final eight games. Part of that negative turnaround was the injuries they have had in the secondary and the lack of takeaways (one per game). The biggest piece however has been their inability to keep teams out of the end-zone when they got close. Looking at the whole regular season, no other team has allowed their opponents to create a higher rate of their red-zone trips into touchdowns (74.1%). That’s why so many of their games stayed close deep into the fourth quarter, which I’ll get to more in a little bit. When you look into play-calling, you can see that they played a lot more zone-coverage and rushed only four or five, because they simply didn’t have the guys their could trust to cover in man. Outside of one game, where they felt like they had a great feel for the opposing route-patterns, which I’ll get to soon.
https://reddit.com/link/lcn8vq/video/kab5kwvkbif61/player
Yet, once again, that unit has stepped up in the postseason and the two things that stand out to me are defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s brilliant game-planning and their ability to stop one-dimensional offenses. When I look at what they did against the Browns, if you take away one 23-yard burst from Nick Chubb, Cleveland’s elite running back duo was held to 78 yards on 18 carries, as Spagnuolo gave their opponents a lot of looks that they didn’t want to run into and then had a safety drop out of the box late. Then in the AFC title game, to take away Buffalo’s dynamic passing offense (which ranked top three in all major categories), they played a lot of cover-two and two-man, where their DBs pressed the hell out of the Bills receivers and then they played a lot of different versions of those two-high shells, like invert cover-two or bringing Tyrann Mathieu down as the MIKE in Tampa-two basically, which forced Josh Allen to hold onto the ball. What I can promise you is that they aren’t afraid of bringing heavy pressure and then having their coverage defenders well-schooled in the concepts they should focus on taking away primarily while the Honeybadger is often allowed to move pretty freely as the robber. Frank Clark hasn’t quite lived up to his contract, but he has had big moments in the playoffs these last two years, Chris Jones is one of the most disruptive interior D-linemen in the game, who they can move all over the line, and they have several big bodies they can rotate through to stay fresh and eat double-teams.
Chiefs offense vs. Bucs defense:
As much as we all love the Kansas City offense and we see them as this unit that blows us away with flashy play-designs and throws over the top, they have really been alternating their approach over the course of the season as well. When you go all the way back to their season-opener against the Texans, you see that they used more of a West Coast and RPO-oriented attack to punish a defense that played a lot of soft zones and invited them to throw the ball short. However, two weeks later at Baltimore, they were destroying the Ravens’ single-high safety and man-coverage principles by letting their speedy receivers streak down the field and call double-moves at 15+ yards of depth. Then three weeks after that, when they found themselves in a rainy setting at Buffalo against a soft interior run defense, they pounded the ball 46 times for almost 250 yards on the ground. So they have shown the ability to adapt to their opponents. However, with several injuries on the offensive line – most notably a turnstile at left guard and those two tackles, which will now both be out for the Super Bowl – and opposing defenses taking the approach of using a lot more split-safety looks and trying to take away the big play, they have turned back into being more methodical in their plan and putting together long drives. In the AFC Championship game in particular, with Patrick Mahomes coming off a turf toe injury, their gameplan and drive charts look almost like what they used to with Alex Smith, in terms of the West Coast designs and those glance or slant routes on the backside of RPO concepts.
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When you look at this KC offense, they have had large stretches of getting static in games and as great as they are at moving the ball between the 20s, they are only 14th league-wide in red-zone touchdown percentage (61%). Some people may not realize this, but since their week eight blowout win over the Jets, they had not won a game by more than six points until the AFC title game. That is due to a combination of tendency to start slow, their poor red-zone efficiency and the inability to run the ball consistently with all the movement they have had on the O-line, having rushed for 135+ yards just three times all season. With that being said, Darrell Williams has been a big factor as a power runner these playoff and rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire should be back to full health. In addition to that, they find other ways to put the ball in the hands of their skill-players quickly, using the speed of their receiving crew on bubbles and speed sweeps, to go along with well-designed longer-developing screens, such as the double swing-fake and then middle screen to Travis Kelce. They also use their star tight-end quite a bit on those power shovels in short-yardage situations and I believe their most effective run play is the speed option, because of the way Mahomes can manipulate that end-man at the line.
https://reddit.com/link/lcn8vq/video/eopgbempbif61/player
While I have seen them run anything from 23 personnel to going empty with Kelce detached from the line (so basically a five-wide situation), there are a few things the Chiefs love to run. Their go-to formation is a three-by-one set with Kelce as the single receiver, mostly flexed out wide, but also in-line. In 2019 they ran three verticals from that trips side and then had Kelce on a shallow crosser over and over again. This year they still run it quite a bit, but they let the tight-end run more corner or curl routes, to allow inside receivers from the other side attack the middle of the field and isolate their backs against the linebackers, in addition to running power that way. And then they motion someone like Tyreek Hill or Mecole Hardman across, which for the most part gets opposing defense to move into two-high coverages and play off. So if KC runs either one up the seams, there’s usually a ton of space underneath. The two things that take this offense to the next level however, are trick plays and off-script production. What makes Andy Reid and Eric Bienemy great is not only their ability to exploit defensive schemes, but they are so creative and don’t shy away from throwing reverse passes, underhand shovels to their fullback or digging up tape from the 1948 Rose Bowl. And then there’s all the thing Mahomes can do off script. That guy is so slippery to extend plays while continuing to look downfield and his pass-catchers are so adept at adjusting on the fly and finding the open areas, especially that sixth sense-like connection he has with Kelce.
I have been higher on the Bucs defense for pretty much the entire year, which was really up and down for them as a unit. They have had moments of dominance, like keeping three straight opponents to under 50 rushing yards each or holding Green Bay’s number-one ranked offense to just 10 points in their regular season meeting, but they also gave up a combined 72 points in their first two meetings with the Saints and got lit up for over 450 yards through the air when hosting these same Chiefs back in week 12 (I’ll analyze that matchup in detail in our next segment). During this playoff run however, they have really stepped up in big moments to get them to this point. Whether it’s forcing four turnovers at New Orleans or sacking Aaron Rodgers five times and making a historically great red-zone offense settle for a couple of chip-shot field goals at Green Bay. When you look at their duo of edge rushers, Shaq Barrett is tied for the lead-league in QB hurries (24) and only three players in the NFL (all DBs) have forced more turnovers than Jason Pierre-Paul (six). Then they have the most dynamic linebacker tandem in all of football, which are heavily involved in their pressure packages and make it nearly impossible to get outside the tackle box in the run game, and now with Vita Vea back in the lineup, they have a wall on the inside that nobody can run on consistently. That’s how they finished the regular season as the clear number one run defense in the league. The secondary has been the problem child at times, especially when defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has put them in pure man-coverage, but by moving their safeties around more to bracket and help in certain areas of the field, they have really improved in that department.
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Bowles is an aggressive play-caller by nature and they have created a lot of problems for opposing offenses by bringing one more than you can block (blitzed on 39% of plays). It has bitten them in their behind at times as well, but from what I have seen on tape, they have been more strategic in how they use it. Especially on third downs, I love how they have used their safeties as moving pieces, having them key on certain areas of the field or defending the sticks. In the NFC Championship game for example, one of the biggest plays of the afternoon was that Aaron Jones fumble at the start of the second half, when the Packers thought they had defeated the man-coverage with a shallow crosser to Jones whilst picking the underneath coverage, but Jordan Whitehead raced up from the other side of the field and jarred the ball loose just as the RB tried to turn upfield and convert on third down. That willingness to drive on routes is also apparent when they run quarters coverage and you see Whitehead and rookie Antoine Winfield Jr. break on the ball, looking to take somebody’s head off, while they are also heavily involved in their blitz packages. That combined with those guys coming off the edges, Ndamokung as a bully on the inside and a pretty unknown contributor in William Gholston has them ranking in the top five in sacks, pressure percentage, turnovers and tackles for loss.
Examining the first matchup:
Like I already mentioned, these two teams met back in week 12. The Chiefs jumped out to an early 17-0 lead in the first quarter, with Tyreek Hill racking up over 200 receiving yards over those 15 minutes already and the Bucs offense having just one combined first down over the first four possessions. Kansas City was in the red-zone once more mid-way through the second quarter, but a Shaquille Barrett strip-sack gave Brady & company the ball with some life and they were able to go on the board. That really got things to click and they fought their way back to being down only three, despite a couple of interceptions for Tampa Bay’s QB killing drives, because after scoring a touchdown on their initial try for the Chiefs, the Bucs defense really stepped up and held their opponents scoreless the rest of the way. However, Mahomes and Hill were able to run down the final four minutes and close the game, not giving Brady’s troops another chance, as they were coming off consecutive TD drives at the end, to secure a 27-24 victory.
While the Chiefs certainly took their foot off the gas pedal and tried to run the ball more, which KC outside of what Mahomes did, rushed for only 59 yards on 16 carries, I really thought this was a breaking point for Tampa Bay as a team. The offense started finding a groove and the only two drives that didn’t result in points from that final first half possession on, ended in picks. The defense on the other hand adjusted what they were doing in coverage and held that explosive KC attack to just ten points through the final three quarters. So while I think the result may be a little deceiving and the Chiefs could have easily won by double-digits, I look back at this as more of a launching pad for a team that has been the best in the NFC from that point on and now represents that conference in the big game, with a chance to learn from their early mistakes. Here are a few things that really stood out to me when they first met:
When you look back at the ridiculous first quarter Tyreek Hill had at Tampa Bay, what really stands out is how much he was left one-on-one in coverage, often times with Carlton Davis, who has had a good season in general, but is a bigger corner who ran in the low 4.5s at the combine – no way can he keep up consistently against the fastest man in football. Davis did follow Tyreek for the most part, in particular when he was the single receiver or the #3 in that trips set with Travis Kelce soloed up on the opposite side. And the Chiefs did a great job of creating those one-on-ones with motions, where they moved Kelce in line or forced Davis to trail Hill, when he came across the formation from that trips alignment. Tyreek’s two long touchdown came on a subtle double-move after they motioned Kelce in and then on a streak across the field as the #3 from trips. That opened up the middle of the field later on for Kelce on hook and dig routes. Something else Kansas City did in the first half particularly was using more 12 and even 13 personnel than I had seen from them all season long. They still couldn’t run the ball a lick out of those sets, but they were effective in the passing game when used, especially chipping both those guys off the edges for Tampa, with one of the TEs and the running back.
https://reddit.com/link/lcn8vq/video/8b7dchqzbif61/player
Tampa Bay called a lot of passing concepts with five-man protections early versus Kansas City bringing an array of blitzes (18 on 42 drop-backs). Especially on third downs, they were able to create at least one free rusher and then they had one or two defenders bailing out to take away the middle of the field. However, the Bucs made some very effective adjustments in the second half with hot-route to defeat those blitzes and putting that “bail defender” I will call it here in a bind, with a seam and spot route underneath for example. Of course the Chiefs still got two interceptions off Brady, that stopped promising drives, but when you look at what went wrong on those plays, first Ronald Jones overset to the outside trying to pick up Tyrann Mathieu off the edge, which led to an underthrown deep ball by Brady that was brought in by Bashaun Breeland along the sideline, as Scotty Miller got pushed out wide on his release, and then Mathieu got an INT of his own, as Mike Evans didn’t recognize the pressure and the ball went off the helmet of a blitzing Daniel Sorensen. In general, they were able to get the ball out quickly – especially to their tight-ends – to take advantage of limited resources in coverage and on the final two drives, when KC brought heat almost every single snap, they were punished for it.
What each team can take away:
A couple of adjustments that I already saw in the first meeting or that I would like to see for each team would be:
For the Bucs, the one thing I want to see most is using more dummy counts to show pressure pre-snap and give Brady a clear picture. Whether they try to block it up with the tight-ends and backs in protection or alert the hot read, the more information they can get from a Spagnuolo defense that prides itself on disguising pressures and coverages, they more adept they will be at defeating those. Once they do that, this could turn into a chess match, where the Chiefs show something different intentionally to make Brady kill the original play and then have to pull the ball down anyway, as the picture changes once the snap is off. And something else they should take advantage of is isolating what is a below-average group of linebackers in the passing game. Their RB core isn’t overly impressive in terms of their receiving abilities, especially when you look at the amount of drops we have seen from Leonard Fournette, but maybe they dig LeSean McCoy out more for this matchup and see if he can win on option routes and Tampa actually put AB in the backfield a couple of times in the backfield in their prior meeting, only they ran him downfield on wheel routes.
Defensively I already saw some stuff that I really through quarters two to four, in terms of using their safety tandem to bracket Hill and Kelce on a lot of snaps and on key downs in particular, forcing the ancillary pieces of that offense to beat them. I will mention one of my X-factors and his role in how that “gamble” could end up in the next segment, but those two guys accounted for 55.5 percent of Kansas City’s total passing yardage. So it’s certainly a chance worth taking and if you go with a game-plan, where your two stand-up guys on the second level are more involved in covering space underneath, as Tyreek may be utilized as more of a decoy that runs off the deep coverage, you can eliminate a lot of yardage after the catch, since teams that rush four and play coverage have been the ones giving the Chiefs some issues at times. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t want the Bucs to not use their linebackers as blitzing threats. They should try to cover up the open gaps with those guys and create one-on-ones across the board, to enable their edge rushers to dominate against KC’s backup tackles. And something the Browns against them a few times, which I really liked, was rushing four or five, but not giving up assets in coverage, as they had somebody drop out to replace those blitzers and still create a free rusher.
https://preview.redd.it/enx2gsi8eif61.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=1de643c848aefd212231c5e7a3059c580c0967b7
On the Chiefs’ side, I really liked the plan of chipping those two guys off the edges, as I already discussed, with an extra tight-end on the field, and while they are a spread-oriented offense, they had a lot of success when they used 12 personnel and threw the ball out of those looks. Because you can’t cover the whole field and have to take away what Kansas City sends vertically, those TEs and backs are often times all by themselves as they release into the flats. If that happens, like it did in their prior meeting, Mahomes has to take the free yardage and open up the deeper areas of the field again, as the Bucs have to re-adjust. The other thing I can tell you for sure is that the Bucs are obviously terrified of Tyreek burning them deep again and I’m sure there won’t be many chances to just attack their corners in man-coverage for big plays. So if they give Hill a lot soft cushions, they have to repeat what did to the Bills’ Tre’Davious White in terms of getting him the ball quickly on smoke routes and forcing those guys to tackle their electric receiver. While vertical prowess has to be used as a decoy, in terms of putting him in the slot of those three-by-one sets and having him run up the seam, while you attack underneath that. If you get Mecole Hardman one-on-one with their third-best CB on a post-corner route, while the flanker runs a hitch or square-in to bind the guy on the outside, that could be free money.
When I switch to defense, they had a ton of success bringing the blitz and not allowing Brady to step into throws. I would certainly say they were happy with that game-plan and they have reason to feel confident in the guys they have on the back-end, with the way they have showed out so far in the postseason. However, I have now talked about this at length and the Bucs have watched that tape over and over again. There is no way, those guys will be as ill-prepared to counter those pressure packages as they were back in November. Hell, Brady was dicing them up in the fourth quarter and I just detailed how those two picks came about. So Steve Spagnuolo can still bring the heat in certain situations and test Tampa Bay in their ability to pick up the blitz, but he has to be more strategic in how he uses it. The second thing to consider here is how you mask those linebackers, when you decide to utilize them more in coverage. Those players can be very effective as downhill thumpers in the run game, taking on pulling guards and filling holes, but they aren’t great in space. The Raiders in their two matchups against Kansas City had a lot of success attacking that area of the field with crossing routes. Chris Godwin and Gronk would be guys for that task, so maybe if you have them to one side, the opposite linebacker is the one you blitz and you bring down Sorensen or Mathieu to replace him in that hook-area, while looking to pick up anybody working across the field.
X-factors:
https://preview.redd.it/3hthyyz2cif61.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=05ce975ec5a0319694f3e404cce356c9e82c60c4 Buccaneers – Aaron Stinnie & Jamel Dean
I’m not going to give you a name like Scotty Miller here, because at this point, he is more likely to catch at least one deep ball than not. Ronald Jones’ health will be key as well, to give the Bucs that physical one-two punch out of the backfield. However, I’m going with their starting right guard Aaron Stinnie, who just got his first two starts of the year during these playoffs. The Bucs O-line has been dominant over the course of this seven-game win streak, like I already mentioned, holding opponents to just 11 sacks combined in those games and an average of 115 rushing yards during these playoffs, despite some tough competition. Alex Cappa was one of the road-graders on the interior for Tampa and only missed three total snaps throughout the regular season, before fracturing his ankle mid-way through their Wildcard game at Washington. Stinnie has since stepped since then and played pretty well, but he was also responsible for the only sack on Brady in the NFC Championship game at Green Bay, when Kenny Clark went right through him on a bull rush. Well, the challenge will not get any easier, as I’d expect the Chiefs to line up Chris Jones in the B-gap as much as possible and try to exploit that matchup, on passing downs in particular. That’s why it will be crucial for Tampa Bay to stay ahead of the chains, unlike they did in the first matchup, and slow the rush down a little bit. Good thing Stinnie is lined up in-between arguably the top rookie right tackle of 2020 in rookie Tristan Wirfs and one of the better centers in Ryan Jensen, who will be looking to land a rib-shot on the guy over Stinnie, on the snaps that he is uncovered for.
As for the Bucs defense, that whole group of corners will have to step up in a major way, as they hope to slow down this explosive KC passing attack. Obviously, Carlton Davis’ name will come up a whole lot early on during the broadcast, as Tony Romo and Jim Nantz show what Tyreek Hill did to him early on in that week 12 meeting, and I could see Hill be matched up with Sean Murphy-Bunting in the slot a whole lot as well, but since I expect the safety to that side to keep his eyes constantly on him, when he lines up inside and makes it easier to bracket to some degree. Instead, I’m looking at Jamel Dean, who primarily is Tampa Bay’s field-side corner, unless they have Davis travelling with the opposing team’s number one receiver in certain matchups, which I wouldn’t expect, as the Bucs coaches go back to the tape of that first matchup. If Todd Bowles is smart – and from what I’ve seen from his as a coach, as much as aggressiveness may have hurt him at times, he is – he will build on what they did in the second half of that last game, when he used his two safeties to bracket Hill and Kelce almost every snap and forced the rest of that receiving corp to beat them. That puts the spotlight on guys like Sammy Watkins if they line him up more at Z, Demarcus Robinson and others, as those guys will pretty much be one-on-one with Dean. While the coverage numbers would indicate otherwise – in part because he draws the easiest assignments – to me he is the weakest link of this secondary and has been highly vulnerable to double-moves. The Chiefs might be burn him once more on Sunday.
https://preview.redd.it/tof7xfc4cif61.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=acd57311d38bd8217491b102f927017514a6b1bd Chiefs – Andrew Wylie & Juan Thornhill
I thought about going Sammy Watkins here for the Chiefs offense, because he hasn’t suited up for them since week 16 and he hasn’t caught at least five passes in a game since week three, but averaged almost 100 receiving yards during last year’s playoff run. And you should also get accustomed with who wears number 48 for them, because Nick Keizer may have only caught six passes through the regular season, but he has become KC’s TE2 on the depth chart, playing just over a quarter of the snaps, and he could have a key role as an extra protector or chipping those edge rushers. Instead, I’m going with KC’s new starter at right tackle, who was slotted in at RG for all but one game so far. With blindside protector Eric Fisher unfortunately tearing his Achilles late in the AFC title game, Mike Remmers – who originally replaced Mitchell Schwartz on the right end of the line – is now switching sides and Andrew Wylie is sliding one spot outside. And he will face a tough task, after only having started one game on the edge against the Saints and now getting a heavy load of Shaq Barrett, who primarily rushed off that side. Let’s see if Wylie has the quickness in his kick-slide to counter Barrett’s speed and if the latter can get him on a dip-maneuver, like he beat Eric Fisher for a strip-sack on when these two teams last met. Steven Wisniewski will step in at Wylie’s original spot, but he has been one of the most dependable veteran linemen of the last decade in my opinion.
Defensively, I’m looking at the guy who missed Kansas City’s Super Bowl run last year, after an excellent rookie campaign. Their secondary was the star of the show against Buffalo, to send them to the Super Bowl, by disrupting route patterns at the line of scrimmage and not allowing receivers to separate late. A big reason they felt comfortable doing that was their safety tandem, with Tyrann Mathieu being in more of a robber role and dropping down in Tampa-2, to go along with the rangy Juan Thornhill, who broke up four passes and nearly picked off two of them. Steve Spagnuolo has those safeties doing a ton of late rotations, bailing Daniel Sorensen out for two-high shells, Honeybadger turning into a freely roaming robber and often times Thornhill ending up as the deep middle safety. As a single-high defender, he makes it almost impossible to push the ball down the hashes and he has the ability to make plays outside numbers. That will be crucial against all the deep balls Tampa Bay attempts and if one of those corners loses Mike Evans or Antonio Brown off the line by lunging in press, he could be the guy who decides if there will be a 40+ yard gain or maybe even an interception, if Brady puts too much air under the ball and tries to give his receiver time to track it. I can’t wait to watch that chess game between the Chiefs’ second-year safety and the ultimate student of the game in Brady, who will try to manipulate him with his eyes and body language, in order to keep the defender away from where he wants to go with the ball.
Prediction:
On paper, the Bucs have the better and healthier roster at this moment. You look at the offensive line in particular, where they still have four of their day one starters, while the Chiefs’ only full-time starter at his original position is center Austin Reiter and they will have two guys at those tackle spots, that have barely never played there for Kansas City. In terms of pass-catchers, it’s hard to argue that you could put anybody above the Chiefs group of track stars, but you don’t need a full hand to count off the teams that you would put ahead of the Bucs. There is also a pretty clear advantage on the defensive line for the home team, when you look at them being top three in pressure percentage, while KC is outside the top ten. And while I would give the Chiefs the nod in terms of the back-end, seeing how they have stepped up so far this postseason at full health, the Bucs’ group has made plenty of plays to take them to the Super Bowl and linebacker is not even a competition, watching Devin White and Lavonte David fly around the field. And of course, they have the number one rush defense, while the Chiefs rank 21st, and they are both average at running the ball themselves.
Schematically, Tampa certainly has to make some adjustments, as I have already discussed in length, having solutions for the blitz packages Steve Spagnuolo will throw at them and not allowing the Chiefs two main weapons to beat them. Right now, I give the clear advantage to the reigning champs when it comes to the coaching staffs and as great as Brady has been for two decades now and the how clutch he has been on the game’s biggest stage, we may be witnessing the one guy, who has a chance of dethroning him one day as the GOAT. Spags has a proven track record of success against Brady and I’m sure Andy Reid and Eric Bienemy have been in the lab, cooking up new things to throw at the Bucs defense, figuring out ways to score points all four quarters, but in the end it comes down to Patrick Mahomes being able to make plays nobody else in football can. Shaq Barrett and JPP could have a field day against these two backup tackles and I think Todd Bowles will also have a couple of things up his sleeves that the Chiefs haven’t seen, but last year’s Super Bowl MVP is the ultimate equalizer. He will shake out of a sack and find Kelce for a huge third-down conversion and he will have another like twelve-step drop and fire a deep ball off his back-foot to break Tampa’s neck.
https://preview.redd.it/njt5v586cif61.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=2c20c0b875bf0f9fb7d19841500f93ec8ad78f42
Chiefs 34 – Bucs 28
So give me the Chiefs here and I’ll take the chalk with Mahomes earning MVP honors, winning back-to-back titles and setting the foundation for a potential dynasty in Kansas City.
If you enjoyed this breakdown, I would really appreciate if you could
visit the original piece!
Also make sure to check out my video on the
ten biggest questions heading into Super Bowl LV!
NBA Owners' net worth (Dan Gilbert's net worth rose from $7.5 billion to $45.3 billion this year)
...
After his company went public. I had to include that in the title. Maybe now he won't be such a cheap bastard with his GMs. I had no idea Gilbert was now the second richest owner in the league.
Which made me wonder what other owners are worth (the title of this post was almost "why is Tilman Fertitta such a cheap bastard while
Joe Lacob spends money like he thinks the shit's gonna rot?").
Which brings us to
this handy Forbes list from March:
1. Steve Ballmer (Los Angeles Clippers): $51.4 billion
Ballmer scored a huge win this week for his dream of building a new arena. He bought the Forum for $400 million from the Madison Square Garden Company, which tried to block a new Clippers arena near the Forum in Inglewood, California.
2. Philip Anschutz (Los Angeles Lakers): $11.2 billion
Anschutz owns one-third of the Lakers, plus the arena in which they play, the Staples Center, in addition to the NHL’s Kings.
\For those wondering, it's hard to find a reliable source on Jeanie's net worth but according to unreliable sources it's in the ballpark of $500 million*
3. Stanley Kroenke (Denver Nuggets): $10 billion
The real estate and sports mogul owns teams in the NBA, the NHL, the NFL, MLS and the Premier League.
4. Joseph Tsai (Brooklyn Nets): $9.9 billion
The cofounder of Alibaba Group completed his purchase of the Nets last year for $2.3 billion and bought the Barclays Center for an additional $1 billion.
5. Robert Pera (Memphis Grizzlies): $7.1 billion
Pera owns nearly three-quarters of wireless equipment maker Ubiquiti Networks. He was the lead investor in the Grizzlies purchase in 2012.
6. Daniel Gilbert (Cleveland Cavaliers): $6.2 billion
Gilbert made his first fortune from Quicken Loans, the largest online mortgage lender, which he cofounded in 1985 at 22 years old.
*List is from March, before the IPO 7. Tom Gores (Detroit Pistons): $5.7 billion
Gores and his brother Alec are both private equity billionaires. The Pistons opened a new $90 million headquarters and training facility in September.
8. Micky Arison (Miami Heat): $5.3 billion
Arison’s net worth plummeted 33% over the past six weeks with the collapse in the stock price of Carnival Corp. The world’s largest cruise ship operator was founded by Arison’s father in 1972.
9. Tilman Fertitta (Houston Rockets): $4.4 billion
Fertitta furloughed roughly 40,000 employees at his casino and restaurant empire to curb the economic impact caused by coronavirus-induced shutdowns. His fortune is derived from his ownership of the Golden Nugget Casinos and Landry’s, a Texas-based restaurant and entertainment company.
10. Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks): $4.3 billion
Cuban was one of the first sports team owners to commit to paying hourly arena workers for games missed during the coronavirus crisis. He’s invested more than $20 million as a “shark” on ABC’s popular
Shark Tank show.
11. Joshua Harris (Philadelphia 76ers): $3.7 billion
Harris cofounded private equity powerhouse Apollo Global Management in 1990 with fellow billionaires Leon Black and Marc Rowan. He remains a managing director there.
12. Gayle Benson (New Orleans Pelicans): $3.2 billion
Benson inherited the Pelicans and the NFL’s Saints when her husband, Tom, died in 2018.
13. Glen Taylor (Minnesota Timberwolves): $2.8 billion
His printing firm, Taylor Corp., generates more than $2 billion in revenue annually. Taylor also owns stakes in Minnesota’s MLS and WNBA teams.
14. Herb Simon (Indiana Pacers): $2.6 billion
The real estate mogul bought the Pacers with his since-deceased brother, Melvin, in 1983, for $10.5 million. Simon Property Group is one of the world’s largest real estate investment trusts, with 206 properties in the U.S.
15. Antony Ressler (Atlanta Hawks): $2.4 billion
Ressler cofounded private equity firm Ares Management in 1997. He owns a small piece of the Milwaukee Brewers, in addition to his controlling stake in the Hawks.
16. Michael Jordan (Charlotte Hornets): $2.1 billion
The NBA’s GOAT sold a minority stake in the Hornets in September in a deal that valued the team at $1.5 billion. Nike pays Jordan more than $100 million annuallybased on growing sales for the company’s Jordan Brand.
17. Marc Lasry (Milwaukee Bucks): $1.8 billion
Lasry, a hedge fund titan, joined Wes Edens to buy the Bucks in 2014 for $550 million. He was born in Morocco and moved to the U.S. at age 7 with his family.
18. Gail Miller (Utah Jazz): $1.7 billion
Miller transferred ownership of the Jazz in 2017 to a family legacy trust to deter her heirs from selling or moving the team. Gail and her since-deceased husband, Larry, bought the team for $22 million in 1986.
19. Jerry Reinsdorf (Chicago Bulls): $1.5 billion
Reinsdorf led a group of investors who bought a controlling stake in the Bulls for $9.2 million in 1985. Good timing. It was one year after the team drafted Michael Jordan, who led the Bulls to six NBA titles. The team is now worth $3.2 billion.
20. Theodore Leonsis (Washington Wizards): $1.4 billion
Leonsis initially built his fortune as a senior executive at AOL, before investing in sports teams like the Wizards and the NHL’s Capitals.
*Not included on the list but googled for your edification: DeVos Family (Magic): $5.4 billion
James Dolan (Knicks): $2 billion
Joe Lacob (Warriors): $1.2 billion
Vivek Randive (Kings): $700 million
Robert Sarver (Suns): $400 million
Jody Allen (Trail Blazers): The sister of Microsoft cofounder, Paul G. Allen, took control of the team after his death. At the time her brother was worth $20 billion though he intended to give most of his fortune away...
Boston Basketball Partners LLC (Celtics): An American local private investment group formed to purchase the Boston Celtics
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (Raptors): The Raptors are a subsidiary of MLSE
The Professional Basketball Club, LLC (Thunder): A group of OKC businessmen "who represent a wide variety of local and national business interests" owns the Thunder
Spurs Sports & Entertainment LLC (Spurs): An American sports & entertainment organization, based in San Antonio, Texas owns the San Antonio Spurs
Trey Lance versus Zach Wilson
Setting the Stage for the 2021 Draft
It's time to start looking forward to the 2021 NFL Draft now that we are officially eliminated from the postseason AND are picking at #4 (as of right now. I don't expect that to change much, especially given our final two opponents, the Washington Football Team and New Orleans, will be looking for either a division crown or an outside shot at the #1 seed in the playoffs). The big question surrounding who we should pick will be swirling for a while, with people throwing out Micah Parsons or Pat Surtain II. I don't think, however, that we will be picking anything other than a QB. Coach Rhule has already
criticized Teddy
a couple of times already.
As I've said before, I believe the plan all along was to let Teddy take the reins this year so that the team would have some veteran leadership, and then see where he guided us. Then, in 2021, the plan was always to take a QB in either the 1st or 2nd round, and let that QB sit behind Teddy for the majority of the 2021 season, and then cut ties with Teddy at the end of 2021 and let the drafted QB take over going into the 2022 season. (This is why Teddy's
contract has a $21m savings if we release him after the 2021 season.)
The 2021 Draft Forecast
The 2021 Draft is unique because it is
THE QB Draft. Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields have always been the two favorites going into season, much the same way Andrew Luck and RGIII were obvious #1 and #2 in the QB prospect rankings in 2011. But beyond that, this year there is a load of talent in the 2nd and 3rd tiers of QBs that could all make franchise QBs. Trey Lance was always considered the "third wheel" of the group, and Zach Wilson was seen as the back-end of the 1st round guy. He's obviously moved up with stellar play, but so have guys like Mac Jones.
Now that we're picking 4th, I've noticed some posters say we should try and trade up to #2 and get Fields. This, should be, out of the question. The
Draft Trade Value Chart is still very much a baseline for teams to use, even though it is now over 3 decades old. Looking at the Draft Value Chart, the #2 pick is worth 2649 points. That is our destination. Our #4 pick is worth only 2297, which puts us almost 400 total points behind the #2 spot. To make up that ground, we would need to likely give up our 3rd round pick to move up as well. Normally that's not a huge deal, but the problem here is that this Draft is incredibly lopsided towards QBs, which pushes every other position down the board. There are LOTS of LT prospects in the Draft that can be had in the 30-38 range (Leatherwood, Radunz, Christensen, Little, etc.) and even more LB prospects to be found in the 50-70 range (Werner, Surratt, Collins, Robertson, etc.). We can't risk that range of picks moving up when there's so much other value on the table later on.
With all of that being said, the focus here is on Trey Lance versus Zach Wilson. My guess is that most of you have only heard the name or saw highlights of Trey Lance, and possibly even Zach Wilson. I've been fortunate enough to watch a ton of NDSU games, and have been able to watch Zach Wilson play this year since the FCS has taken the Fall off, and Lance is preparing for the NFL Draft (sans one showcase game, but we'll get to that).
The Prospects: Trey Lance
Height: 6'4 (listed, will probably be closer to 6'3 1/2)
Weight: 225lbs (listed, though he'll probably weigh in around 220)
Age: 20 (will turn 21 right after the Draft)
2020 Stats: 15-30/149 yards/2 TDs/1 INT | 15 rushes/143 yards/2TDs
Highlights: Here you go Pro Comparison: Deshaun Watson
(
Before I start, here's a cool little video from College Gameday that ESPN did earlier this year.)
The numbers for Trey Lance seem weird when looking at them objectively. Only played in one game this year, and played an extremely odd game. But there's more to Trey than just his numbers this season. First, NDSU only played one game this Fall, due to the FCS sitting out the Fall sports program and moving to Spring. His 2019 numbers are eye-popping, however.
192-287/2786 yards/28 TDs/0 INT | 169 rushes/1100 yards/14 TDs
Those numbers are absolutely insane. Sure, they come against FCS teams, but even still, he's a man amongst boys.
There are times when it looks like Trey Lance is already an NFL QB. He calls his plays from the huddle, he calls his own protections from under center at the LoS, and then takes his snaps from under center and operates out of either an I-formation or a single back set a majority of the time. In fact,
read this excerpt from ESPN about how Lance approaches the gameplan of football.
During game weeks, Lance studies hours of tape in preparation. On Mondays, he reviews the opponents' overall schemes; Tuesdays are for third down; Wednesdays for red zone; and Thursdays for two-minute offense. On Fridays, after cutting film the previous day, Lance presents the game plan to his receivers, telling them where they need to be in particular concepts.
That's right, Lance draws up his
own gameplans for his receivers and their routes. So, yes, the NDSU offense does, at times, look like guys are being schemed just absolutely wide open, while Lance just throws strike after strike down the field. But it's
Lance who is drawing up those concepts to get those guys free. He understands football at a level that most 20 year olds cannot even begin to process. Not even looking at his raw, God-given talents and athleticism, he
understands football. A lot of the questions for players when they come out of college is: "can this guy operate in the NFL from a spread offense?" Even one of the major questions about Cam was, has he ever called plays in the huddle? Well, that didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but it is
a question. Lance not only calls the plays from the huddle, he's responsible for concepts in each phase, whether it be their hurry up offense, their red zone offense, etc.
This is where the comparison to Deshaun Watson comes in. Yes, he's a mobile QB with a massive arm that can throw the ball anywhere on the field. But it's more about how intelligent he is as a QB, understanding the flow and motion of a game better than his peers.
There are obviously negatives to his game. He's not the perfect, polished QB that Trevor is, obviously. Sometimes Trey tries to rely on his athleticism to make big plays. Whether that's heaving the ball downfield off his back foot or throwing while fading to his right (something Cam had significant problems with throughout his career), Trey will need to learn to set his feet and not rely on being more athletic than everyone because, honestly, he's not more athletic than everyone in the NFL. This also comes into play when he's running the ball. Yes, Trey is fast. Like, VERY fast. I would say he ends up running a 4.5 - 4.6 40 time. But there are times when he lowers his shoulder for a boom to truck players. And he does! At least, in the FCS he does. In the NFL, he's going to have a rough time if he tries to just bulldoze someone like Lavonte David, for example.
All-in-all, Trey is my favorite QB for us in the NFL Draft. I think he has skills that are far beyond his years. He's smart, athletic, and knows football. He doesn't rely on a spread to just dominate FCS teams with up-tempo. Instead, he can slow the game down, then just accelerate past you once you've fallen into a lull. But he does need work, and I think sitting behind Teddy for a year will give him insight into the game of football that would be invaluable. And I don't mean this negatively: Teddy could teach him how to be a pro and take what is given to you, even if that means passing for 3 or 4 yards at a time. Not every play has to be a 40 yard moon shot.
Trey is also young enough that he could be our starting QB for the next 15 years if it turned out right. Think about this: Trey won't be 21 until after the Draft. That means in a decade, he'll only be 31. That's insane.
The Prospects: Zach Wilson
Height: 6'3 (listed, though he may be a true 6'3)
Weight: 210lbs (listed, though I'm not sure how I feel about that. He could bulk up for the Draft to around 215 or 220.)
Age: 21 (will turn 22 right after before the preseason begins)
2020 Stats: 221-302/3267 yards/30 TDs/3 INTs | 65 rushes/242 yards/8TDs
Highlights: Here you go Pro Comparison: A much better Jimmy G
Zach Wilson is someone you've definitely heard of by this point. He has risen up the Draft boards, and, before the loss to Coastal, was rising up as a Heisman dark horse. Before this season, there was talk about Zach possibly hitting the back end of round 1, maybe even early round 2, but there were also some serious questions about his health, which I feel like we should start out with.
Zach has had shoulder surgery on his throwing shoulder from an injury sustained in high school.
He said that the injury would feel horrible on Mondays after games. The surgery could help clear that up, and there's obviously no signs of any injuries when he's throwing quick strikes down the field. But, however, even bigger than that is that he has a torn labrum in his left shoulder that will need to be worked on. From that same interview:
Wilson, in his interview with BYU Sports Nation, added that he also has a torn labrum in his left shoulder that will eventually require surgery. He said he has been limited in his workouts, including not being able to bench press, but does a lot of workouts with dumbbells and resistance bands, typical to the routine of a healthy quarterback.
Not being able to lift is a big deal, though not terrible for a QB. As long as he is doing resistance training, he should be good. There's still some chances that he won't be able to participate in the bench press workout at the Draft, which could see some teams waver on him.
What does Zach do well to make up for the injury concerns, though? Well, for one, he throws at almost every arm angle. He has the ability to lower his shoulder and throw those weird, quick strike, side-arm pitcher style throws. He can move in the pocket while throwing accurately downfield. The "Moving Parallelogram" is a hard concept for QBs to run often, because it requires great feetwork and accuracy on the move.
Zach Wilson does it with ease, and does it consistently. This is where the big comparison to Jimmy G comes from. Jimmy is great at shuffling his feet, moving out into space, and getting the "Moving Parallelogram" concepts to work to his advantage.
Here's the thing with Zach Wilson versus Trey Lance in the grand scheme of things. Trey is a dominant force athletically, being able to do everything and see everything... but the knock is it's against FCS teams. Zach has been doing this against the P5 teams consistently. He's played against Washington, USC, Utah, etc., and, though he does struggle in some of those games, he still has shown that he's tough and can play through pain and injury to get the job done. That's something that Coach Rhule has expressed happiness with, especially when it came to DJackson this year. Being tough and fighting through injury is laudable.
Will Zach need to sit for a half a season/a season to prepare like Trey? Yeah, I think he will. I think that Zach needs to learn how to make progressions from an NFL offense. It's important to note here that BYU runs a variant offense, running through the spread with motion, under center, 4 right sets, etc. And while Zach's mechanics are very good, I think that he needs to learn how to be consistent against some of the top level teams from an NFL offense. Make reads out of the spread and understand coverages and concepts.
Here's a really cool video featuring Zach's family, interviewing him on toughness and how determined Zach is to succeed. One thing that I really took away from this is that Zach has taken the time to consistently work with John Beck on his mechanics, and John Beck is a great example to follow. He's someone who has taken a path through the NFL, to the CFL, and has seen a myriad of offenses come and go. That's awesome to see that he's taking it seriously, and not just saying "well, I'm the starting QB of BYU, so I've got this in the bag."
A Guide To The Carson Wentz Situation
I’m seeing a lot of misinformation about Wentz on this sub, so I thought it would be useful to provide some clear, concise, unbiased, data-driven information about Wentz’ contract and play this season. Hopefully this helps users be more informed about the situation when forming their opinions.
- - - - - What is left on Wentz’ contract? - - - - -
For simplicity, I will be rounding off all the numbers.
Here is a breakdown of Wentz’ contract.
There are three main elements to understand about his contract: his yearly salaries, his signing/option bonus, and his upcoming roster bonus.
Salaries: 15M in ‘21, guaranteed. 22M in ’22; most of this guarantees on March 19, 2021; the rest guarantees at the start of the ’22 season. Salaries in '23 and '24 are not guaranteed. Guaranteed salaries cannot be removed from the cap via a cut, but can be removed from the cap via a trade, as the new team takes on the salaries.
Signing/Option Bonus: 33M. The actual money has already been paid, which means there is no way for the Eagles to remove it from their cap(s). Currently, the cap charges are spread out 9M/9M/9M/6M over ’21-’24. If Wentz is cut or traded after ’20, all of this money goes onto the ’21 cap. Likewise, if he is cut or traded after ’21, the remaining money (24M) goes onto the ’22 cap. There are ways to spread it out over two years instead of one, but no matter what happens, this 33M is going on the Eagles' cap eventually.
Roster Bonus: 10M, guaranteed, paid on March 19, 2021. The Eagles can remove this from their cap by trading Wentz before this date (the new team pays it instead). If he is on the roster on this date, or cut, this 10M counts on their ’21 cap. Wentz does not have a roster bonus in ’22.
If the Eagles keep Wentz in '21, his cap charge is 34M.
Finally, Wentz is scheduled to make an additional 26M in each of ’23 and ’24, but since none of that money is guaranteed, it’s not relevant to the current cap situation. If Wentz is traded or released, all that money goes poof.
- - - - - What happens if the Eagles trade or cut Wentz? - - - - -
It depends on when it happens.
Scenario One: If Wentz is traded before March 19, 2021, he will have a dead cap hit of 33M in ’21, slightly less than his cap charge if they keep him (the actual difference is about 800k). He will be off the books in ’22 and beyond.
Scenario Two: If Wentz is traded after March 19, 2021, but before the season starts, he will have a dead cap hit of 43M in ’21. He will be off the books in ’22 and beyond.
Scenario Three: If Wentz is traded after the ’21 season, he will have a dead cap hit of 24M in ’22. He will be off the books in ’23 and beyond.
Scenario Four: If Wentz is cut before March 19, 2021, he will have a dead cap hit of 49M in ’21. He will be off the books in ’22 and beyond.
Scenario Five: If Wentz is cut after March 19, 2021, but before the season starts, he will have a dead cap hit of 59M in ’21. Also, Howie Roseman will be publicly executed for his crimes against the Eagles salary cap.
Scenario Six: If Wentz is cut after the ’21 season, he will have a dead cap hit of $39M in ’22. He will be off the books in ’23.
NOTE: There are ways to spread out these cap hits over two seasons instead of one. There are also ways to restructure Wentz’ contract prior to a trade, which would change these numbers. For simplicity, I’m not going to cover all those scenarios.
- - - - - What is Wentz’ contract for an acquiring team? - - - - -
It’s important to understand that Wentz' contract is far more palatable to any team that acquires him via a trade, since that team would not be responsible for his signing/option bonus money.
An acquiring team is only responsible for his ’21 salary, his ’22 salary (because it guarantees in '21), and his ’21 roster bonus (assuming the trade is made before March 19, which is likely). That means they would be paying Wentz 25M in ’21, and 22M in ’22. Those are very affordable numbers for a decent starting QB; for comparison, Carolina will pay Bridgewater 23M next season. Cousins’ cap number is 31M next season. Brisett is eating 21M while sitting on the bench this season, and the Colts guaranteed 25M to 39-year-old Rivers.
Further, if the trade works out, an acquiring team could keep Wentz for around 26M in ’23 and ’24, with none of it guaranteed. Those are attractive numbers.
Essentially, an acquiring team is gambling 47M on Wentz. If it works out, they have him on a very reasonable contract for four years. If he plays at '18-'19 levels, his contract would be around market value. If he plays at '17 levels, he would be a bargain, especially in '23 and '24 when the cap will be much higher.
- - - - - How badly has Wentz played this season? - - - - -
I will be using statistics from
Football Outsiders. The relevant statistics are DVOA and DYAR. DVOA “represents value, per play, over an average quarterback in the same game situations.” DYAR “gives the value of the quarterback's performance compared to replacement level, adjusted for situation and opponent and then translated into yardage.” In other words, DVOA is value per play, and DYAR is total accumulated value (basically DVOA times the number of plays).
I will be rounding numbers for simplicity. Rankings are out of the number of QBs who threw at least 200 passes in the given season. These numbers are for passing only; Wentz does add some value with his running, but it’s not a huge amount (average around 40 DYAR per season).
Here are Wentz’ numbers for the past four seasons: 2017: 24% DVOA (ranked 6/35), 1047 DYAR (8/35).
2018: 8% DVOA (13/34), 545 DYAR (14/34).
2019: 0% DVOA (20/34), 476 DYAR (17/34).
2020: -38% DVOA (33/34), -831 DYAR (34/34).
How about some context? Here are the QBs over the past 10 seasons who posted -30% DVOA or worse. Yes, that’s an arbitrary cutoff, so be it.
2016 Goff: -75% (rookie)
2018 Rosen: -54% (rookie)
2011 Gabbert: -47% (rookie)
2012 Quinn: -44%
2019 Haskins: -42% (rookie)
2014 J.McCown: -42%
2020 Darnold: -41%
2014 Bortles: -41% (rookie)
2020 Wentz: -38%
2018 Allen: -36% (rookie)
2013 Weeden: -36%
2017 Kizer: -35% (rookie)
2012 Skelton: -35%
2014 Griffin: -34%
2020 Smith: -33%
2011 Painter: -33% (2nd year, first year starting)
2013 Pryor: -32% (2nd year, first year starting)
2011 Ponder: -32% (rookie)
2012 Cassel: -30%
Only two of those players, Goff and Allen, ever had productive seasons afterwards.
But only three of those players, Wentz, Smith, and Griffin, ever had productive seasons beforehand. Smith is 36 years old and coming off a catastrophic injury, so he’s not a great comparison. The best comparison is Griffin, who was excellent for a rookie in 2012 (17% DVOA), got injured and became average in 2013, and has barely seen the field since 2014.
Other than that, it’s hard to find adequate comparisons for Wentz. It’s unprecedented for a productive 5th year starting QB to suddenly become this bad, this fast. Outsiders wrote about this
here, so please read that article if you want more comparisons.
I’m going to stray from my unbiased, data-driven approach for a moment. One thing I’ve noticed on this sub (and the internet in general) is that while everyone realizes Wentz has played poorly this season, a lot of people don’t seem to grasp
just how poorly he’s played. A common opinion seems to be, “it’s one bad season, he can bounce back.” And while that is possible, I think it’s important to understand that this is not a routine bad season. Through 12 games, Wentz was on pace to break the all-time record for negative DYAR in a season, set by Josh Rosen. The only players who have seasons this bad are rookies, veterans who are over the hill, and random back-ups who end up starting for whatever reason. The vast majority of QBs who play this poorly are never productive starters again. Wentz’ collapse, from proven starter in his prime to this, is unprecedented.
- - - - - What will happen? - - - - -
Because Wentz' career arc is unique, it's very difficult to predict his future. It's possible Wentz rebounds and becomes a productive starter again. It's possible he is out of the league in 2023. And of course, every outcome in between those extremes is possible as well.
It's important to think about this situation probabilistically. It's fallacy to say, "Wentz will rebound." It's fallacy to say, "Wentz is finished." The truth is
we don't know, and even assigning rough probabilities to those outcomes is extremely difficult.
As such, it's also difficult to predict what the Eagles will do. As detailed in the contract section(s), Wentz' contract is tradable; a trade helps the Eagles' cap in '22, and his contract his affordable to an acquiring team.
The core question behind a possible Wentz trade is this: what is more valuable to the Eagles, the unknown chance that Wentz regains his form, or the known cap space in '22 plus any pick(s) they get in a trade?
It's up to Lurie, and/or Roseman, to answer that question.
NFL Wild Card Weekend Predictions Thread (2021 Playoffs)
Happy Wild Card Week,
/NFL! I hope everyone had a great 2020 playing along and continue with us into the 2021 postseason. We're in playoff territory now, with Wild Card weekend coming up. For the regular season, Week 17 gave me a 12-4 result, bringing me to 166-90 out of 256 games (64.84% correct). I would love to hear everyone else's final results if you all want to post them.
Saturday, January 9th
| Matchup | Time/Network | Winner | Comments |
| Colts @ Bills | 1:05p ET on CBS | Bills | The Bills have a their first home playoff game since 1996, congrats to them. The Colts can cause them some offensive problems with Taylor against a shaky run D. Indy can also force Allen to try and sustain drives instead of getting big pass plays. Allen is playing well and is capable of spreading the ball around, working the middle of the field to WR Beasley and getting help from TE Knox. The Colts also don't have a true shutdown corner for Diggs. It's easier to expect Allen over Rivers to make the clutch throws to win a game this season. |
| Rams @ Seahawks | 4:40p ET on FOX | Seahawks | The Rams have it tough this week. They're in a situation right now at QB, going with either a banged-up Goff or a guy who only has one career start under his belt (Wolford). On one hand, you could say it would be smarter to start Goff if he's healthy enough to play, but Goff is coming off thumb surgery and I would definitely have to rank the thumb as the most important finger for a QB. Although Wolford had a solid debut in Week 17, he only led the Rams to nine points. The Rams are playing a Seahawks team that has never lost a home playoff game under Carroll and are expected to have their starting O-line on the field. |
| Buccaneers @ Washington | 8:15p ET on NBC | Buccaneers | The Bucs hope to have Evans healthy to help red-hot Brady along with Godwin, Brown, Gronk and the running game. As well as Brady is playing, this isn't the greatest spot for his pass protection against Young and Washington's front four. The Bucs' defense will contain the run, but Smith has three dangerous receiving weapons in McLaurin, Thomas and McKissic to have success moving the ball on short-to-intermediate throws. Ultimately, Tampa Bay wins comfortably as expected, but Washington works the number and keeps it to a touchdown loss with inspired play for Rivera. |
Sunday, January 10th
| Matchup | Time/Network | Winner | Comments |
| Ravens @ Titans | 1:05p ET on ESPN/ABC | Ravens | Toss up pick for me. Jackson is still looking for his first playoff win after two home losses. He's relaxed and revved up as a passer, and he keeps running at a high level, sparked by Dobbins sharing the backfield with him. Look for the Ravens to get aggressive passing with him to build a lead, and limit Henry from being a consistent gateway to Tannehill's play-action downfield passing. The Ravens and Titans are playing similar offensive games at the moment, but the Titans' defensive woes catch up to them here. |
| Bears @ Saints | 4:40p ET on CBS/Nickelodeon/Amazon Prime | Saints | The Saints are the biggest favorites of WC Weekend with a double-digit projected lead over the Bears. They have owned this matchup rather easily the past two seasons, with both games being played in Chicago. The Saints will have a rested backfield with Kamara and Murray not playing in Week 17, and they will pound away often at the Bears with them. The Saints won't sleep against another NFC North visitor like they did against the Vikings. NOLA can contain the running of Montgomery and put the game in the hands of Trubisky, which won't end well against the Saints' pressure on the road. Food for thought; Brees, Kamara, and Thomas were on the field together for only two games last season. This will be the first time since September the Saints will be at fully power offensively. |
| Browns @ Steelers | 8:15p ET on NBC | Steelers | The Browns got their needed win over the Steelers in Cleveland in Week 17 to make the playoffs and force this rematch, but it took everything from them defensively and offensively to survive against a resting team not starting Big Ben. Pittsburgh will show their stouter run D and that will set them up to put consistent pressure on Baker, who doesn't respond well when throwing at a high volume with guys in his face. Big Ben will go to work on a Browns' secondary that has plenty of coverage holes away from Ward. Losing Vernon up front to flank Garrett also hurts. The Steelers ended up making a wise decision to not show the Browns much in way of a real game plan. The Steelers' defense reasserts itself with more offensive help than usual to win comfortable against a COVID-depleted Browns team. |
Those are my predictions, let's hear yours. Keep it civil and fun. Best of luck!
Update: 4-2, on to the Divisional Round.
Divisional Round based off current predictions.
Vrbo Citrus Bowl Match-up Preview Thread: #15 Northwestern Wildcats vs. Auburn Tigers
#15
Northwestern vs.
Auburn When: Friday, January, 1, 01:00 PM Eastern
Where:
Camping World Stadium - Orlando, FL Watch:
ABC Odds:
Northwestern by 4.0 pts.
Total Points: 43.5
All-Time Series : Northwestern vs. Auburn
Northwestern and Auburn have met 1 time since 01/01/2010.
These teams last met 4,017 days (~11 years) ago on 01/01/2010.
Series Wins: Northwestern 0-0-1 Auburn†
Longest streak of continuous meetings: 1 (2009-2009).
Auburn has won the most recent meeting (2009) in this series.
Last 1 Meetings
Series Comparison Data via Winsipedia
Through Week 16
All rankings reflect the current /cfb poll
Northwestern Injury Report
Data Scraped: 2020-12-31 10:00:03
| Player | Position | Status | Reported | Notes |
| Hunter Renner | P | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Renner has been sitting out due to an unlisted issue, and it is unknown how long it will keep him from being available. |
| Marcus Cisco | RB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Cisco has been out for reasons that have not been disclosed, and it is unknown when he will return to the lineup. |
| William Halkyard | LS | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Halkyard has been inactive due to an unlisted issue, and his status remains unclear for the foreseeable future. |
| Zac Krause | QB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Krause has been held out due to an undisclosed issue, and it is unknown when he will next be on the field. |
| Maxwell Skidmore | OL | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Skidmore has been sitting out due to an unlisted issue, and it has yet to be established for how long he will be prevented from playing. |
| Luka Trifunovic | DL | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Trifunovic has been held out of action due to an undisclosed reason, and it is unknown when he will be permitted to suit again. |
| Jaiden Cameron | DE | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sun, Dec 20 | Cameron has been unavailable due to an unknown injury, and it remains to be seen when he will next be on the field moving forward. |
| Greg Newsome Ii | DB | Out For Season – Lower Body | Mon, Dec 21 | Newsome II has opted out of the remainder of the 2020 season to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft. |
| Will Lansbury | WR | Ques Fri – Undisclosed | Sat, Dec 26 | Lansbury is dealing with an unlisted issue, and his status against Auburn in the Citrus Bowl is unknown. |
| Trevor Kent | DE | Ques Fri – Undisclosed | Sat, Dec 26 | Kent is bothered by an unlisted issue, and his status against Auburn in the Citrus Bowl is hazy. |
| Conrad Rowley | OL | Ques Fri – Undisclosed | Sat, Dec 26 | Rowley is nursing an injury to an unspecified area, and it remains to be seen if he will take on Auburn in the Citrus Bowl. |
| Berkeley Holman | WR | Ques Fri – Head | Sun, Dec 27 | Holman is battling a head injury, and it is unclear if he will take the field in the Citrus Bowl versus Auburn. |
| Grayson Metz | LB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Metz has been unavailable due to an unlisted injury, and it has yet to be established when he will be ready to return. |
| Michael Jansey Jr. | LB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Jansey has been sidelined due to an unspecified issue, and it remains to be seen when he will be in uniform again. |
| Nigel Williams | DB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Williams has been sidelined due to an unknown issue, and it is unknown how long it will prevent him from competing. |
| Payne He Bert | OL | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | He’Bert has been missing time with an unknown issue, and it is undetermined how long it will prevent him from taking the field. |
| Carl Richardson | QB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Richardson has been sitting out due to an undefined ailment, and it is unknown when he will suit up next. |
| Connor Newhouse | RB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Newhouse has been sidelined with an injury to an unlisted location, and it is unclear if he will be available moving forward. |
| Braeden Heald | WR | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Heald has been sidelined with an injury to an unannounced area, and it is undetermined when he will line up next. |
| Trey Pugh | TE | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Pugh has been out due to an unspecified reason, and it has yet to be determined when he will return to the fold. |
| Jake Arthurs | RB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Arthurs has been sitting out with an unspecified ailment, and it is unknown how long it will continue to impede his status. |
| Jack Moses | WR | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Moses has been sidelined with an injury to an unknown area, and it is undetermined when he will take the field next. |
| Hunter Welcing | TE | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Welcing has been sidelined by an unspecified injury, and it has yet to be established when he will return to the lineup. |
| Willy Boatman | DL | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Boatman has been sitting out with an undisclosed injury, and it is up in the air when he will take the field next. |
| Cullen Coleman | LB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Coleman has been sitting out with an unspecified ailment, and it is unclear if he will be good to go moving forward. |
| Joe Dehaan | LB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Dehaan has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury, and it remains to be seen how long he will be out. |
| Connor Foster | OL | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Foster has been sidelined with an unlisted injury, and it is unknown how long he will miss game action. |
| Jason Gold Jr. | DE | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Gold Jr. has been out with an unlisted ailment, and it is unknown how much time it will force him to miss. |
| Jake Genyk | P | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Geneyk has been sitting out due to an unknown issue, and it remains to be seen how long it will prevent him from playing. |
| Jj Jefferson | WR | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Jefferson has been missing from the lineup due to an undefined ailment, and it remains unclear when he will be activated. |
| Garnett Hollis Jr. | DB | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Nov 28 | Hollis Jr. is sidelined due to an undisclosed issue, and it is unknown how long it will impede his availability. |
Injury data lifted from: boydsbets.com
Auburn Injury Report
Data Scraped: 2020-12-31 10:00:03
| Player | Position | Status | Reported | Notes |
| Jamien Sherwood | DB | Out Fri – Undisclosed | Wed, Dec 30 | Sherwood will not be active for the Citrus Bowl against Northwestern due to an injury to an unlisted location. |
| Christian Tutt | DB | Out Fri – Undisclosed | Wed, Dec 30 | Tutt has an undefined injury, and he will not line up against Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl. |
| Anthony Schwartz | WR | Out Fri – Undisclosed | Wed, Dec 30 | Schwartz is battling an unannounced injury and will not participate in the Citrus Bowl against Northwestern. |
| Brodarious Hamm | OL | Ques Fri – Undisclosed | Sat, Dec 26 | Hamm is battling an unannounced injury, and it is unclear if he will line up against Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl. |
| Tyler Fromm | TE | Ques Fri – Undisclosed | Sat, Dec 26 | Fromm is managing an injury to an unlisted location. It has yet to be determined if he will play against Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl. |
| Tank Bigsby | RB | Ques Fri – Undisclosed | Wed, Dec 30 | Bigsby is managing an unlisted injury, and it is unknown if he will take part in the Citrus Bowl versus Northwestern. |
| Devan Barrett | DB | Out For Season – Personal | Sun, Dec 6 | Barrett has made a personal decision to opt-out for the remainder of the 2020 season. |
| Brandon Council | OL | Out For Season – Knee | Mon, Oct 26 | Council is sidelined with a knee injury, and he is expected to miss the remainder of the 2020 season. |
| Daniel Foster Allen | DE | Out Indefinitely – Undisclosed | Sat, Oct 24 | Foster-Allen has been sidelined due to an undetermined injury. It has yet to be established when he will make his first appearance of the season. |
| Jay Hardy | DE | Out Indefinitely – Foot | Sat, Oct 24 | Hardy has been sidelined with a foot ailment, and it is unknown when he will suit up for his season debut. |
| Chandler Wooten | LB | Out For Season – Personal | Tue, Aug 25 | Wooten has informed the program that he will not take part in the 2020 season due to a personal decision. |
| K.J. Britt | LB | Out For Season – Thumb | Fri, Dec 11 | Britt is recovering from surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right thumb, and he will miss the remainder of the season. |
Injury data lifted from: boydsbets.com
What are your "Keys to the Game"?
Who do you think wins?
Do you think the favorite will cover the spread?
Which player(s) are you most interested to watch?
Let's talk football!
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nfl spread week 12 2020 video
NFL Week 11 ATS Best Picks: Find out how to line-up against the spread for each and every single game in week 12 of the 2020 NFL season. NFL injury updates: Latest injury news on top fantasy stars for Week 12. NFL Week 12 Sunday games Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills. Chargers-Bills Week 12 point spread: Bills -5.5 (over/under 54.0) Following their blowout Week 11 win over the hapless Jets, these Chargers are 5-2 in games decided by more than one score since the start of NFL odds, lines, spreads, picks, predictions for Week 12, 2020: Proven model loving Giants, Colts SportsLine's computer model simulated every Week 12 NFL game 10,000 times with surprising results Last Week's Prop/ML/Teaser/Parlay Picks (Week 21, 2020 plus 2020 props): +$4,735 2020 NFL Picks of the Month: 3-2, 60.0% (+$665) 2020 Season NFL Picks Against The Spread: 138-124-7, 52.7% (+$9,350) Upset Watch Week 12 2020 Last week was tough, but we're going to rebound big time on Thanksgiving week. Here's which underdogs we're picking to win in week 12. Upset Watch 25 Nov, 2020 For those joining up recently, Upset Watch is our weekly ranking of all of the teams this week and their chances of an upset. The idea is that you can find 1-2 upsets to be really confident in and maximize your In our picks and predictions against the spread for Week 12 of the 2020 NFL season, Patrick Mahomes keeps beating Tom Brady, the Eagles get key playoff revenge and the Raiders recover from a tough Jessica’s Week 12 NFL Odds & Points Spread Lean: Rams -6.5. This is an example of one team rising the NFL’s rankings and another falling to the basement. When healthy, both of these teams are equally dangerous, but with the 49ers flailing and looking towards 2021, the Rams present the better opportunity to win and take a firm hold of the lead in the NFC West. This is a divisional game and Pickwatch tracks NFL expert picks and millions of fan picks for free to tell you who the most accurate handicappers in 2020 are at ESPN, CBS, FOX and many more are, straight up and against the spread. Week 12 of the 2020 NFL season continues Sunday, November 29th; Our Best Bets were 0-3 in Week 11 (15-18 overall, -4.39 units) Read below for analysis on the Week 12 NFL slate and our favorite ATS picks 2020 NFL Week 12 picks against the spread. Share this article 24 shares share tweet text email link Kyle Madson. November 29, 2020 9:00 am. Another bad week in Week 11, and it looks like I’ve
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