Sports

Titans interim HC Mike McCoy sees Cam Ward's work "starting to pay off"

The Titans fell to 1-10 with Sunday's 30-24 loss to the Seahawks, but there will be a major silver lining to their losing season if it ends with quarterback Cam Ward on an upward trajectory.

Interim head coach Mike McCoy believes that Ward is heading in that direction. Ward threw for 256 yards and a touchdown against the Seahawks while avoiding an interception for the third straight game. Ward also ran for a season-high 37 yards and his first NFL touchdown while taking the Titans from being down 20 points to a one-score loss.

Ward was sacked four times, but they're coming at a lower rate than they did early in the season and he didn't fumble the ball. He also showed a knack for making throws on the move that fits with McCoy's belief that the first overall pick in the 2025 draft is making real progress.

“It’s taking that next step, and that’s what he’s done,” McCoy said, via Teresa Walker of the Associated Press. “We’ve been saying it from day one, the way he competes, the way he works every day. When we first came in in the offseason program, the early mornings, staying late, things like that, it’s starting to pay off.”

Given the overall makeup of the roster, the Titans might not win another game this season but more outings like Sunday for Ward should make for interest in their coaching job once the team's search really gets going in January.

After foul on one-point try, Panthers missed opportunity for favorable field position

The new kickoff formation introduces a factor that seems to be overlooked, by many. The Panthers seemed to completely disregard it last night.

After the 49ers took a 17-3 lead in the third quarter, the Carolina offense emerged from hibernation. The Panthers drove 68 yards in eight plays, capping it with an impressive 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bryce Young to receiver Tetairoa McMillan.

With the score 17-9, the Panthers could have attempted the analytics-driven move that plenty of teams do after scoring a touchdown when down by 14 points: Go for two. Make it, and the lead is down to six. Miss it, and it's still a one-score game.

The Panthers opted to kick. It was good. 17-10. But an unnecessary roughness foul on the defense for hitting the snapper in the head/neck area gave the Panthers two options: Move the ball from the two to the one for a two-point try, or kick off from the 50 instead of the 35.

The Panthers didn't hesitate. They went for two, even though the play they called took no advantage of the shorter proximity to the goal line. They threw a pass into the end zone. If anything, snapping from the one instead of the two packed everyone together more tightly. Basically, the extra yard made no difference to the play. (And, as the attached photo shows, it failed.)

Consider what the Panthers could have done instead. Although a shift in the kickoff spot does not change the configuration of players at or around the landing zone, a kick from the 50 would have allowed the Panthers to kick the ball out of bounds.

By rule (and if the kick had gone out of bounds inside the San Francisco 25), the next 49ers drive would have started 25 yards from the spot of the kick. That would have put the 49ers at the 25, 10 yards behind the new touchback point.

It's a loophole in the rules that teams should welcome. Put the offense at the 25. Force the 49ers, knowing their lead had been cut to seven, to move the ball — and to not cough up a fourth interception deep in their own end of the field.

The Panthers seemed to not even consider the alternative. It was a knee-jerk "go for two" decision, with the same play they would have run from the two. It's fair to ask whether teams are even factoring into this decision the quick and easy ability to put the opponent at the 25 after the next kickoff.

It's an important tweak to the rules that isn't commonly known or discussed. It wasn't mentioned during the broadcast. It needs to become mainstream thought if/when a 15-yard penalty happens after a successful one-point try.

Keep the point, and give the ball to the opposing offense at the 25.

Early Week 13 NFL bets to make right now: Back Jared Goff ... as a runner?

Week 13 of the NFL season is here with multiple short-week spots to wager on, which I believe provide some opportunities in the betting market.

There are three Thursday matchups, and one on Black Friday. The holiday slates always highlight marquee matchups with games that feature strong teams going against one another. – and the result is high game totals.

The three highest total games on the entire card for Week 13 are the Thanksgiving matchups. The Packers face the Lions with a total at 49, the Chiefs take on the Cowboys with a total at 52, and the Bengals go to Baltimore to play the Ravens, also with a game total at 52. Not a single other game on the Week 13 card is higher than 47.5. Games on a short week obviously mean less practice and game planning time specific to the matchup. It also means questionable injuries tend to lean towards doubtful rather than probable.

Here are three early Week 13 NFL bets to make right now.

Odds courtesy of BetMGM.

Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions (-2.5, 48.5)

The first early-week bet that I am making is on a player prop at a great price for the Thanksgiving slate. I am targeting Jared Goff … as a runner.

One of my most successful betting angles on NFL props is on quarterback rushing yards, so while this is right in my wheelhouse, I can definitely say Goff has never been one that I’ve bet before. However, in this game against the Packers defense we feature Micah Parsons who has ranks No. 1 most pressures in the NFL. The pressure generated by Parsons may force Goff to be more mobile inside the pocket and only one good scramble outside gets him to cover his prop line.

This is also a divisional matchup where the score is expected to be tight, and the game total is expected to be high, so the Lions may have to stay true to their style and go for it on plenty of fourth downs. These are also situations where Goff may find himself with a quick draw sneak, or escaping pressure and just making something out of nothing.

Most books are pricing this around +120, while BetMGM gives us +150 on Goff over 0.5 rushing yards, so I am taking it and will always be one play away from a player prop cash.

Bet: Jared Goff over 0.5 rushing yards (+155 BetMGM)

Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5, 52) at Dallas Cowboys

The first early week bet that I have already placed is in Chiefs-Cowboys. Kansas City’s games often feature a lack of explosive plays. The Chiefs rank outside the top 10 in explosive plays generated, and are seventh best on the defensive side of the ball limiting explosive plays. Look no further than last week when Patrick Mahomes racked up over 300 passing yards in an overtime game that resulted in a final score of 23-20.

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On a small two-game sample size, the Cowboys defense has certainly improved since the trade deadline and their acquisition of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. They have allowed a total of 37 points since acquiring Williams and are fifth-best in total yards allowed in that span. Limiting the Chiefs’ ability to run the ball could put them in frequent second- or third-and-long situations, creating more punts than long sustained drives.

The betting market has already indicated this to be an under spot as well. The opening line was a consensus 52.5, and those have pretty much all been taken out to the point where 52 and 51.5s are emerging. Both 52 and 51 are considered key numbers when betting high NFL totals because of the common score outcomes that land on these numbers. Securing the 52 as a push number and the 51 as a win number will be strong against the closing lines.

Bet: Chiefs-Cowboys under 52

Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts (-4.5, 44.5)

The Colts have been dominant at home this year, boasting a 6-0 straight-up record and going 4-1-1 ATS; Indy wins by an average of 12.4 points at home. The Colts have lost two of their last three games – to the Chiefs and Steelers – while the Texans have reeled off three straight wins with QB Davis Mills starting for the injured C.J. Stroud. Stroud is expected to return for this game from his concussion, and this provides the perfect opportunity to buy low on the Colts and sell high on Houston.

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The Texans are incredibly dominant defensively, mainly in the pass rush with plenty of sacks and interceptions forced. However, the Colts offense is predicted to establish a strong rush attack with likely Offensive Player of the Year Jonathan Taylor. I think the Colts will be able to put up more than 20 points – as they have in every game this season – and likely outpace the muddy offense that is the Texans.

The betting market has already seen this move from a -3.5/-4 on the Colts at the open to a -4.5 consensus line now, and the -185’s on the Indianapolis money line have been bet out to a -220. I am still comfortable laying the points, as the spread has not moved through any key numbers. Understanding market direction and increasing certainty with the sharp side can be an information gain in exchange for losing some value on the number. That is a trade-off I am often willing to take when games are not moving through key numbers.

Bet: Colts -4.5 (-110)

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