Monday?s 6-pack
Six interesting college games this week:
? Notre Dame @ Wisconsin (-6)
? Texas A&M (-6) @ Arkansas
? Clemson (-10) @ NC State
? UCLA @ Stanford (-4.5)
? Louisville (-2.5) @ Florida State
? Kentucky (-5) @ South Carolina
Quote of the Day
?Offensively, in particular, that?s as poor as we?ve been in a long time around here, and that starts with me. We?ve gotta do a better job going in. Our protection plan wasn?t good enough. But it had nothing to do with us being short-handed with coaches or us being away or the COVID [situation].?
Saints? coach Sean Payton
Monday?s quiz
Who was the Baltimore Ravens? coach before John Harbaugh?
Hint: He won a Super Bowl
Sunday?s quiz
In the TV show Magnum PI, Thomas Magnum grew up in Virginia.
Saturday?s quiz
Sun Bowl football game is played in El Paso every December.
************************
Monday?s Den: Wrapping up an NFL Sunday
Baltimore 36, Kansas City 35:
? Chiefs averaged 8.3 yards/play; only 6 of their 49 plays were on 3rd down.
? KC turned ball over on two of their last three drives.
? Chiefs were outgained by 68 yards/game in first two games.
? Kelce caught 7 passes for 109 yards and a TD.
? Jackson ran 16 times for 107 yards, threw for 239 yards.
? On their last six drives, Ravens scored four TD?s, kicked a FG.
? Last 5+ years, Baltimore is 5-1 ATS as home underdogs.
? Ravens snapped a 4-game skid vs Kansas City.
Arizona 34, Minnesota 33
? Vikings missed 37-yard FG at gun; they also missed a PAT.
? Vikings? first four drives: 23 plays, 242 yards, 20 points.
? Vikings? last seven drives: 40 plays, 176 yards, 6 points.
? Minnesota lost first two games by total of four points.
? Arizona scored 72 points in winning its first two games.
? Redbirds scored nine TD?s on 23 drives in two games.
? Murray threw for 400 yards and three TD?s.
? Matt Prater drilled a 62-yard FG for the Cardinals.
Tampa Bay 48, Atlanta 25:
? Falcons gave up 80 points in losing first two games.
? Atlanta has been outscored 44-15 in 2nd half of games.
? Tampa Bay had 13-yard edge in field position.
? Last 4+ years, Atlanta is 8-13 ATS as road underdog.
? Buccaneers won first two games, scoring 79 points.
? Brady threw for 276 yards, five TD?s in this game.
? Three of their five TD drives were less than 50 yards.
? Tampa Bay had two pick-6?s in 4th quarter.
Tennessee 33, Seattle 30, OT
? Tennessee outscored Seahawks 17-0 over final 17:32 of game.
? Henry ran ball for 182 yards, three TD?s.
? Julio Jones caught six passes for 127 yards.
? Last 6+ years, Titans are 15-10-1 ATS vs NFC opponents.
? Seattle lost its first home opener since 2008.
? Seahawks? last 3 drives in 1st half: 12 plays, 164 yards, 21 points.
? Seahawks rest of game: 24 plays, 150 yards, 6 points.
? Their last nine games vs Titans were decided by 7 or fewer points.
Dallas 20, LA Chargers 17
? Dallas ran ball for 198 yards, averaged 7.0 yards/play.
? Cowboys scored 17 points on three red zone drives.
? Two games this season, Dallas is 15-27 on 3rd down.
? Better balance this week; Cowboys ran ball 31 times, threw 27 passes.
? Chargers? 7 drives: one TD, four FG?s, two INT?s.
? Bolts scored only 14 points on four red zone drives.
? Herbert threw for 338 yards, also threw two INT?s.
? Last 3+ years, Bolts are 3-14-1 ATS as home favorites.
Las Vegas 26, Pittsburgh 17:
? Raiders outgained Pittsburgh, 425-331.
? Las Vegas kicked FG?s on three of four first half drives.
? Raiders have 782 passing yards in first two games.
? Raiders are 7-1-1 ATS in last nine road openers.
? Steelers have been outscored 19-7 in first half this season.
? Pittsburgh ran ball 14 times for only 39 yards.
? Steelers have been outgained by 106.5 yards/game.
? Under is 9-4 in their last 13 home openers.
San Francisco 17, Philadelphia 11
? 49ers? first four drives: 20 plays, 49 yards, 3 first downs, 0 points.
? 49ers? last four drives: 43 plays, 267 yards, 19 first downs, 17 points.
? 49er?s two TD drives were 97-92 yards.
? San Francisco has two road wins despite being minus-2 in turnovers.
? Up 3-0 in 2nd quarter, Eagles were stopped on downs on SF?s 3-yard line.
? Both teams average starting field position; their own 19-yard line.
? Hurts threw for only 190 yards, ran for 82 more.
? Last 5+ years, under is 29-12 in Eagle home games.
Chicago 20, Cincinnati 17:
? Total yardage: 248-206, Bengals.
? Cincy lost despite a 13-yard edge in field position.
? Bengals turned ball over four times (minus-3)
? Bengals are 8-14 ATS last 22 games vs NFC opponents.
? Roquan Smith had a 53-yard pick-6 to put Bears up 17-3.
? Rookie QB Fields was 6-13/60 passing, ran 10 times for 31 yards.
? Dalton got hurt; he started 133 games for Bengals (70-61-2, 2011-19)
? Under is 5-1-1 in Bears? last seven home openers.
LA Rams 27, Indianapolis 24:
? Rams drove 70 yards in four plays to take lead for good early in 4th quarter.
? Cooper Kupp caught nine passes for 163 yards, two TD?s.
? Rams averaged 11.6 yards/pass attempt last week, 8.7 this week.
? Under McVay, Rams are 5-0 SU in road openers (3-2 ATS).
? Wentz got hurt; backup QB Eason saw first NFL action in final 2:25 of game.
? Indy had two empty trips to red zone in their first three drives.
? Colts got gift TD in 3rd quarter when Rams screwed up snap on a punt.
? Indy starts 0-2 at home; their next three games are on road.
Carolina 26, New Orleans 7:
? Saints? only TD came on a 18-yard drive early in 4th quarter.
? New Orleans ran only 43 plays for 128 yards.
? Saints had only six first downs, threw for only 80 yards.
? Saints are 2-10 ATS in last 12 road openers.
? Carolina ran 73 plays, converted 8-15 on third down.
? Panthers allowed total of 93 YR in first two games.
? McCaffrey has 59 touches in his first two games.
? Carolina beat Saints for only 2nd time in last 10 meetings.
Cleveland 31, Houston 21:
? QB Taylor got hurt; rookie Mills was 8-18/102 passing.
? Houston?s first three drives: 20 plays, 155 yards, 14 points.
? Houston?s last six drives: 39 plays, 154 yards, 7 points.
? Last 3+ years, Texans are 10-6 ATS as road underdogs.
? Browns were +3 in turnovers, had 12-yard edge in field position.
? Mayfield completed 19-21 passes, for 8.7 yards/attempt.
? Cleveland is 0-8 ATS as a favorite in their home opener.
? Browns are 11-16-1 ATS in last 28 games as home favorite.
Buffalo 35, Miami 0:
? Last two meetings, Bills beat Miami 56-26/35-0.
? Buffalo outscored first two opponents 24-0 in first half.
? Last 3+ years, Bills are 6-3 ATS as road favorite.
? McDermott is 18-12-1 ATS as a favorite.
? Tagovailoa got hurt; Brissett was 24-40/169 passing.
? Miami got to red zone three times, but didn?t score.
? Dolphins were outgained 707-475 in first two games.
? Dolphins have lost six games in row vs Buffalo.
Denver 23, Jacksonville 13:
? Denver opens up 2-0, with pair of road wins.
? Broncos had 11-yard edge in field position.
? Denver outgained Jaguars 398-198.
? Broncos converted only 2-11 third down plays.
? Jaguars have now lost 17 games in a row.
? Rookie QB Lawrence was only 14-33 passing for 118 yards.
? Jaguars? second TD came on a 102-yard kick return.
? Jaguars are already minus-5 in turnovers this year.
New England 25, NJ Jets 6:
? Patriots had 15-yard edge in field position.
? New England has three TD?s on first 19 drives this year.
? Patriots outgained first two foes 653-495
? Belichick is 21-6 vs rookie QB?s.
? Rookie QB Wilson threw four INTs, three on first four drives.
? Jets started 0-2 four of last five years.
? Jets lost 11 games in row to New England.
? Jets ran ball for 152 yards, but minus-4 in turnovers is no bueno.