Thursday, November 19, 2020 – 8:20 PM ET at CenturyLink Field
NFL Betting Odds and Lines
For the second time in 2020, the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks are set to feature in primetime NFL football action. In week 7, the Cardinals eked out 37-34 victory over the Seahawks in overtime, coming from behind deliver the upset in the NFL odds as the +3.5 home underdogs.
For a second time in this matchup, the Cardinals are tipped as the underdogs, catching 3.5 points at early doors with multiple top-rated betting sites, despite coming off a stunning victory in week 10 over the Buffalo Bills. The Cardinals emerged triumphant in a 32-20 win to improve to 6-3-0 SU in the NFC West. The Seahawks, by contrast, are coming off a lacklustre 23-16 loss to divisional foes, Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, marking their second loss in as many weeks to slip to a 6-3-0 SU record.
For the second time this season, the Cardinals are sat pretty at the top of the NFC West table. As it is, the NFC West features a three-way tie between the Cardinals, Seahawks and Rams with the former holding first-place by virtue of a 2-0 SU record in division action. The Cardinals beat the Niners 24-20 in week 1 and the Seahawks 37-34 in week 7. The Seahawks are 1-2 SU in division action with losses to the Cards and Rams and a win over the Niners, a run of form that has Pete Carroll’s side in third place.
[embedded content]
Cardinals Top NFC West Division After Week 10
Kyler Murray’s Hail Mary pass to DeAndre Hopkins in the final seconds to clinch the improbably 32-30 win over the Buffalo Bills is the most talked-about highlight of week 10 NFL betting, setting the sports world on fire. However, the unreal 43-yard touchdown thrown by Kyler Murray – and somehow caught by DeAndre Hopkins in the melee with three Bills defenders to deliver the miracle 32-30 win – was not the only highlight for the second-year quarterback on the day.
Not only did Murray throw THE Hail Mary pass of the season thus far, but he also became only the second player in the history of the NFL to reach 10 rushing TDs in his first ten games of the season (since 1950 when Johnny Lujack accomplished the feat). He also became the first quarterback in history to rush for a TD in five straight games.
It’s fair to say, Murray and Co. had a banner game against the Bills. The Cardinals rallied from a 23-9 deficit in the game with a solid second half in which offense, defense, and special teams rose to the occasion. Then, with less than 50 seconds left on the clock, they flipped the script on the Bills, who were up 30-26 on the Cardinals and looking all but assured to the victory.
Murray finished with 2 rushing TDs, Kenyan Drake cracked 100 yards rushing and Hopkins totted up 129 yards receiving. After the game, Murray admitted he’d never thrown a Hail Mary pass before, while DeAndre Hopkins said he’d never caught one, making it the best catch of his career. An emotional Kliff Kingsbury claimed he’d never been part of such a stunning play either.
Russell Wilson – Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images/AFP
Seahawks On Two-Game Losing Streak
Seahawks succumbed to their second straight loss of the season and third overall in their last four games, losing to the Los Angeles Rams on the road in week 10 – a game that was nowhere nearly as close as the NFL odds would have it. The upshot of which has the Seahawks slipping from top spot in the NFC West to third place, leaving many scratching their heads over a midseason slump that has come seemingly out of nowhere.
Merely a couple of weeks ago, the Seahawks looked to be amongst the top Super Bowl LV contenders going into the second half of the season. Similarly, Russell Wilson was a certified MVP frontrunner, one of the best bets on offer in the market.
That was two weeks ago, a lifetime ago in sports where a player and a team are only as good as their next game. In the last two laps around the league, the Seahawks have lost to both the Bills and Rams, both times by significant margins and with questionable play from its talisman, Russell Wilson.
The Seahawks closed as the 3-point road underdogs on the NFL odds board, but they weren’t as crisp in a 23-16 loss that saw the Seahawks score merely 3 points in the second half. Wilson, weighing in on the game in his post-game zoom presser, offered up his thoughts: “Sometimes you go up to the plate and you don’t have your way. That’s what it was today.”
To say the Seahawks didn’t get their way is an understatement. The Rams rendered Wilson a moot point, holding the Seahawks to just a field goal after the first-half ended 17-13 and forcing Wilson to cook up 3 turnovers in the process.
As it stands, Wilson has 2 TDS and 4 INTs in the last two games and he has committed 3-plus turnovers in back-to-back games, which is a first for the quarterback. He is more often credited with carrying the offense rather than sinking it. In the last four games, Wilson has 9TDs to 7 INTs, which includes 3 INTS in the overtime loss to the Cardinals.
Not only is Wilson showing strain under the weight of expectation, but compounding matters for Seattle is the fact that the defense remains the worst in the league, leaking points like a sieve.
Quarterback Kyler Murray #1 of the Arizona Cardinals on November 15, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona. Christian Petersen/Getty Images/AFP
NFL Betting Verdict:
It’s a quick turnaround for the Seahawks this week, meaning they don’t have a lot of time to figure out why their mired in a slump. Similarly, the Cardinals will need to come down from their high on Sunday quickly to refocus themselves for the task on hand.
Sports betting sites are taking an interesting stance by unanimously cornering this game with the hosts, despite the Cardinals coming off a winning deposit and the Seahawks coming off a losing account last week.
Instead of form, it is experience and homefield advantage that appear to be given deference on the NFL odds board, in a game that puts the NFC West title on the line. The Seahawks are typically a solid bet at home (they’re 4-0 SU at CenturyLink Field this season), while Wilson generally is the sort of quarterback in which NFL bettors have built trust.
That said, the Cardinals have enjoyed their fair share of success in Seattle, including a 27-13 win at CenturyLink Field last season. In their last five meetings with the Seahawks, the Cardinals are 4-1 SU on the road. As well, the Cardinals are 5-1 ATS in their last six meetings with the Seahawks and 5-0 ATS in their last five trips to CenturyLink Field.
To all intents and purposes, this game is a right coin-toss for NFL picks. It’s a divisional clash with a premium on the win. Seahawks have the pedigree and home-field advantage, but form and recent betting trends tip the scale towards the Cardinals. Push comes to shove, grabbing the points, and shading the Cardinals for NFL picks is the recommended play. However, if the Seahawks bounce back, it wouldn’t be surprising at all.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
