Primetime Preview: Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams (SNF Week 14)

Primetime Preview: Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams (SNF Week 14)

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by | Dec 8, 2019 | Featured, NFL

For tonight’s Sunday Night Football we have a game in Los Angeles as the 7-5 Rams look to keep their playoff hopes alive as they face the 10-2 Seahawks. The Rams are coming off of arguably their best performance of the year as they took down the Cardinals in Arizona 34-7. Seattle took down the Vikings at home last week in a 37-30 thriller. These two NFC West rivals battled in out in week 5 with the Seahawks taking the victory 30-29.

The Seahawks have been remarkable on the road so far this season, boasting a 6-0 record. They have also been excellent in close games, going 9-1 in one possession games. Russell Wilson has been putting together an MVP season, helping the Seahawks to the 3rd best offense in terms of yards per game, and 5th in points per game. Seahawks top receiver Tyler Lockett has been battling a shin injury along with an illness. Lockett could very well see a lot of coverage from Jalen Ramsey which should be an exciting match up. 

Jared Goff has experienced quite the roller coaster of a season so far, but is performance last week in Arizona could have been his best of the year. He tossed for over 400 yards and two touchdowns while the offense finally looked at full strength. Reports have come out this week that Todd Gurley will be heavily featured in the game plan as the Rams probably need to win out to secure a wild card spot in the packed NFC. 

This game will come down to which team can get successive stops at the defensive end. Both offenses are playing at their best so expect Sean McVay and Pete Carroll to be aggressive in their play calling. The Seahawks have been so good on the road this year, and the Coliseum in Los Angeles won’t present any issues for Russell Wilson changing plays at the line of scrimmage. Wilson and Seattle will prove to be too much for the Rams, pulling away in the 4th quarter of a close game. 

Prediction: Seahawks 28, Rams 24

 

Dec 8, 2019 No Comments
SR NFL Week 14: Preview and Predictions

SR NFL Week 14: Preview and Predictions

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by | Dec 8, 2019 | Featured, NFL

1:00 PM EST

Indianapolis Colts at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The 6-6 Colts head south for a match up with the 5-7 Bucs in Tampa Bay. Both teams look to keep their playoff hopes alive, although they both still face uphill battles. After starting the season 5-2, the Colts have quickly lost four of their last five games. They have seen key offensive players such as Jacoby Brissett, Marlon Mack and T.Y. Hilton miss time with injury. Marlon Mack will be back from his hand injury but they will be without T.Y. Hilton. The Buccaneers are coming off a good victory in Jacksonville against the Jaguars. Back home with their season the line, the Bucs get it done with an overall team effort. 

Prediction: Bucs 24, Colts 21

Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills

One of the best games in the 1:00 PM EST time slot, the current first and fifth seeds in the AFC playoffs battle it out with many implications to follow. The Bills are coming off an impressive Thanksgiving day blowout of the Cowboys, and the Ravens just outlasted the 49ers in a game played in heavy rain in Baltimore. Buffalo looks to be clear of any precipitation today but heavy winds are expected to be present. With two of the best running games in football, expect to see a whole lot of yards on the ground for both squads. The Ravens have been on an incredible run this last month, but the Bills are no easy opponent. The Ravens great run comes to a stop here, as the Bills outlast the number 1 seed Ravens. 

Prediction: Bills 23, Ravens 20

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings

An NFC North division battle between two teams trying to rebound from tough losses. The Lions will still be without their leader Matthew Stafford as he is battling back/hip issues. It seems as though Stafford won’t play again in 2019, especially due to the Lions being out of playoff contention. The Vikings desperately need this game if they want to win the NFC North, as they remain 1 GB of the Packers. In Minnesota, expect the Vikings defense to step up and play well, while their offense can rely on Dalvin Cook and the play action passing game that it develops. 

Prediction: Vikings 31, Lions 17

Washington Redskins at Green Bay Packers

Dwayne Haskins and the Washington Redskins are feeling themselves as they pulled off an impressive road victory in Carolina, causing the firing of Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera. Now they head to Lambeau Field to face off with Aaron Rodgers who is coming off of a great performance in the snowy Meadow Lands. Rodgers has always been good in the cold, as he holds the NFL’s best passer rating of 111.2 in regular season games played in December and January. Rodgers will get the job done at home today.

Prediction: Packers 27, Redskins 17 

Denver Broncos at Houston Texans

Rookie QB Drew Lock looked good in his first start last week as the Broncos held off the Chargers 23-20 at home. This week in Houston will be a much more difficult task. Even though Denver won’t be in the AFC playoffs this year, they seem to keep every game competitive, even against more talented opponents. Deshaun Watson will prove to be too much even for the talented Denver defensive unit.

Prediction: Texans 24, Broncos 17

San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints

The other prime time game of the 1:00 PM EST games is here in New Orleans, as the NFC South leading Saints look to keep pace at the top of the NFC playoff picture. The visiting 49ers are coming off a tough loss in Baltimore, but have been playing great football over the last month. The big question of this game will be the match up of Drew Brees versus the 49ers elite secondary. The 49ers have only allowed 134 yards/game through the air this year, and Brees and the Saints have been quite inconsistent in terms of their play. Both teams desperately need this win, and the winner will be the team who can consistently move the ball and chew clock. The crowd noise of the Super dome will be a factor here, as the Saints will barely get the win with a late field goal. 

Prediction: Saints 24, 49ers 23

Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns

The Bengals captured their first win of the season last week against the Jets, avoiding the dreaded 0-16 season. Rookie Head Coach Zac Taylor made the decision to hand the ball back to the Red Rocket on offense, and he looked pretty good in doing so. The Jets aren’t the most formidable opponent, but they had been playing very solid football winning their last three games before that. This week, the Bengals won’t have enough to win a close divisional game.

Prediction: Browns 20, Bengals 17

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons

It’s been a hectic week for Panthers fans as they had to watch their beloved Head Coach Ron Rivera get canned after a despicable effort at home versus Washington. The Falcons have been mathematically eliminated from the playoff picture, but Carolina still holds a less than 1% chance of making it. In Atlanta though, with Julio Jones and Austin Hooper primed to return from injury, the Falcons get it done today. 

Prediction: Falcons 27, Panthers 24

Miami Dolphins at New York Jets

The last 1:00 PM EST game of the week is in New York as the Jets look to bounce back from a defeat against the Bengals. The Dolphins are coming off their best week of the year in which they Ryan Fitzpatrick dismantled the Eagles healthy secondary, in route to a 37-31 victory. The Jets will be without star running back Le’Veon Bell and safety Jamaal Adams,  potentially their two best players. The Dolphins may have found something special in Wide Receiver Devante Parker. The 5th year wideout always had all the tools to become an elite receiver, and this year he is finally putting it all together. Expect for Fitzpatrick and Parker to connect on some deep balls again today in a victory over the Jets.

Prediction: Dolphins 23, Jets 20

4:05 PM EST

Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars

The only 4:05 kickoff today features two teams coming off of bad losses. The Chargers dropped one to Drew Lock in his first NFL start and the Jags got pummeled versus Tampa. This week marks the return of Minshew Mania, and the Jaguars have decided to bench their $88 million dollar off-season acquisition Nick Foles for the rookie QB. With the inconsistent play of Philip Rivers, the Chargers should look to attack on the ground against Jacksonville. The Jags rank 31st in the league in yards allowed per rush at 5.1, and have allowed three teams to compile 200 yard games on the ground. 

Prediction: Chargers 24, Jaguars 21

4:25 PM EST

Tennessee Titans at Oakland Raiders

Ryan Tannehill has proven to be a revelation for this Titans as they have won 5 out of their last 6 games with him under center. With both teams in the playoff hunt, the winner of this game could very well decide who gets to keep playing football into January. This should be another game that heavily features both teams stud running backs, as both Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs will be in line for major workloads. 

Prediction: Raiders 27, Titans 24

Pittsburgh Steelers at Arizona Cardinals

The Steel City takes a trip to Arizona to fly with the birds as the Cardinals seek to bounce back after their worst performance of the year. Even with the early season injury to Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers have managed to win close games, as they sit in second place in the AFC North at 7-5. This is largely due to their stellar defense, which has held six of their last nine opponents to 20 points or less. The Cardinals have shown glimpses of a bright future, but the consistency has not been there. This seems like a trap game though, as Arizona is due to play well – especially at home.

Prediction: Cardinals 20, Steelers 17

Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots

America’s game of the week comes to you from Foxborough Massachusetts as the 10-2 New England Patriots look to rebound from a tough loss courtesy of Deshaun Watson and the Texans. The Chiefs are looking to keep their offense rolling after dropping 40 on the Raiders last week. Winning in Foxborough is no easy task, but the Chiefs have the star-power to do so. The big question is which Patriots defense will show up today? After allowing 65 total points in the first 8 weeks, the Patriots gave up 65 points to the Ravens and Texans alone. If the Patriots want to win they must get off the field on third down and control time of possession with long methodical drives. Don’t bet against the Pats at home after a loss, it usually doesn’t work.

Prediction: Patriots 30, Chiefs 27

 

Dec 8, 2019 No Comments
SR – NBA Primetime Preview: Los Angeles Lakers Vs. Portland Trail Blazers

SR – NBA Primetime Preview: Los Angeles Lakers Vs. Portland Trail Blazers

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by | Dec 7, 2019 | Featured, NBA

It’s another battle of the 2003 Draft Class as LeBron James visits his old buddy Carmelo Anthony in Portland as the Lakers play a road game against the Trail Blazers in the second slot of the weekly Friday ESPN Doubleheader.

The Los Angeles Lakers are experiencing the most euphoric high that just keeps elevating the more they make eye-opening statements across the league, dominating and leaving waste to anyone that stands in their way. With the Bucks, they still possess the best record in the NBA (19-3) and are absolutely looking the part of the most mammoth team in the West to go up against at the moment.

I guess adding LeBron and AD to a team mixed with veterans and youth boded well, after all.

Winning has become a regulatory thing for these Lakers, and as of the moment, they’re looking like the ultimate aggressor. What’s been rather sluggish, however, is last year’s Western Conference Finals-visiting Portland Trail Blazers and their abhorrently peculiar 9-13 record. Of course, injury to their core awash with forwards has been the most plaguing demerit, but you add in the inconsistency of the Blazers’ backcourt of McCollum and Lillard and you get a team that’s identity is yet to be discovered. It’s only December and we’re only a month in, but these Blazers can figure it out, or so Terry Stotts can hope.

Tonight’s matchup features a bunch of high-energy scorers on both sides of the floor, and during this one, besides LeBron and Melo dueling with one another all night, the continuous emergence of Anthony Davis’ potential as this year’s standout MVP candidate will probably be shown even more tonight as he goes against a team that’s dangerously anemic at the Center spot.

Davis hasn’t taken any sort of backseat to his new point guard in LeBron James, a 3-time champ and 3-time MVP himself that is also gunning for that MVP spot as he’s also leading the league in assists (10.8) in his 17th year. No big deal. Davis’ fit has been seamless, averaging 26 ppg. off 49 percent shooting and has been instrumental in navigating the Lakers to the top spot in the East.

Tonight’s game will be broadcasted at 10:30 p.m., EST on ESPN.

Dec 7, 2019 No Comments
SR – NBA Primetime Preview: Boston Celtics vs. Denver Nuggets

SR – NBA Primetime Preview: Boston Celtics vs. Denver Nuggets

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by | Dec 7, 2019 | Featured, NBA

Heading into tonight’s set of games, we have 20 teams going into action. One of the more notable match-ups we have going tonight is the current second seeds in their respective conferences in the Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets.

The 15-5 Celtics have been off to a great start this season, winning their last game against the Heat in a convincing 112-93 win.  Their young core has been on a tear, with five players averaging double-digit points.  With this roster, anyone is capable of leading the team in scoring, with Jaylen Brown leading the team with 31 points in their last game.  It is also worth noting that the Celtics are currently 8-0 at home, hoping to continue that trend and defend home court against a strong Denver team.

The Nuggets just came off a Thursday win against the New York Knicks, and hope to get a win streak going tonight with this match-up in Boston.  Within their last win, they had an even distribution of scoring, with 8 of the players scoring double digits.  This 14-5 Nuggets team has been a tough team to deal with, despite being ranked 21st in scoring throughout the entire league.

Within the game we should be looking into the match-ups between the guards and the bigs.  Kemba Walker and Jamal Murray should be particularly interesting to watch, but another point of emphasis is Nikola Jokic.  Containing Jokic is no easy feat, but the Celtics do seem up to the task to try and stop the all-around Center.

Going into tonight, the injury report shows that Gordon Hayward and Romeo Langford of the Celtics will be ruled out for the game, while Marcus Smart is ruled as questionable with an oblique injury that was suffered last Sunday in their game against the Knicks.  Forunately enough for the Nuggets, they currently have nothing to report in regards to injuries on their roster.

We’ll see if the absences of some key Celtics players will be enough for the Nuggets to pull out a win in the hostile territory of Boston tonight.

Celtics and Nuggets tip-off at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Dec 7, 2019 No Comments
Primetime Preview: Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears (TNF Week 14)

Primetime Preview: Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears (TNF Week 14)

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by | Dec 5, 2019 | Featured, NFL

Week 14 is here as Dak, Zeke and the Dallas Cowboys (6-6) take a trip on the road to Soldier Field to face off with Khalil Mack and the Chicago Bears (6-6) at 8:20 p.m. EST. Although both teams stand at 6-6 on the season, the Cowboys are in a prime position to win the NFC East while the Bears are stuck at 3rd place in the NFC North. Both teams are still alive in the playoff hunt and both teams are still loaded with talent on each side of the ball. 

This is a classic matchup of a great offense going against a great defense. The Cowboys offense ranks 1st in the league in yards, accounting for over 432 per game. Meanwhile, the stingy Chicago defense ranks 7th in the league in scoring, giving up only 17.4 points per game.

As the weeks wind down in the 2019 regular season, Jason Garrett’s seat is officially on fire. After starting 5-3, the Cowboys have lost three of their last four, and there has definitely been questionable decision making down the stretch of a few of them. Jerry Jones doesn’t seem to be ready to make a change at the moment, but mediocrity will not keep Garrett his job with so much talent on the roster. Bears QB Mitch Trubisky faces a similar dilemma, as he may be playing for his career as the Bears QB in these next four weeks. All of his numbers are down from last season, and the offense just isn’t the same. Trubisky is coming off of his best performance of the year as he diced up the weak Lions defense for 338 yards and 3 TDs, posting an impressive 118.1 Rating. 

The Bears will look to establish a presence on the ground early, as the best way to slow down the Cowboys offense is not let them touch the field. Both teams will come out with lots of passion and energy as their seasons depend on it. Expect to see a lot of Ezekiel Elliott as well for Dallas, as the star running back will look to be fed as he only received 12 carries in their Thanksgiving day home loss to the Bills. 

It looks to be a clear night in the low 40’s tonight in Chicago, but don’t expect to see tons of scoring here. With the struggling Bears offense and the great defense they have to match the Cowboys skill players, no team will top 25 points in this game. The Cowboys have been exactly what their record says they are this year, they beat teams who are below .500 and they lose to teams with winning records. The Bears have a tremendous defense, but they aren’t quite an elite team. Because of this, Prescott and company manage to squeak out a victory to keep their 1st place position alive in the NFC East.

Prediction: Cowboys 21, Bears 17

Dec 5, 2019 No Comments
OKC Thunder Lose Close Game Down The Stretch To Indiana Pacers (107-100)

OKC Thunder Lose Close Game Down The Stretch To Indiana Pacers (107-100)

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by | Dec 5, 2019 | Featured, NBA

Coming into this game the Thunder already lost one to the Indiana Pacers this season. The OKC Thunder had to make some adjustments in this game if they wanted to pull the victory out at home. The last meeting the Pacers and Thunder had Myles Turner didn’t play. This go around the Pacers had Myles Turner and they looked extremely good. Steven Adams started the game off strong with 10 points and was able to set the tone for the Thunder. The last couple of games Steven Adams has been very aggressive and he’s shown that when healthy this type of play is what we could expect. Tonight the Pacers had no answer for “Big Kiwi” as he was able to dominate the paint with ease. Adams finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds on the night to lead the Thunder. All of Steven Adam’s teammates have seen a difference in his game as he’s finally getting over battling those injuries. We have yet to see what the Thunder team can look like with a fully healthy squad. The Thunder had 4 players in double figures tonight against the Pacers. Danilo Gallinari helped out tonight as he finished with 18 points from the field. When Gallinari is able to create space for his jumper it’s hard for any other team to stop him. Gallinari started off the 3rd quarter with back to back 3 pointers and was able to get the good looks he’s needed. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was able to add 16 points on the night as it took him a little while to get into his scoring mood. Both Shai and CP3 struggled from the field tonight but their teammates have helped them out big time.

Dec 5, 2019 No Comments