Category: NFL News

You know what goes great with some turkey? Football! The NFL has a tripleheader on deck for Thanksgiving and, for the first time ever, will treat us to a Black Friday game as well. That’s four games over the two-day holiday stretch before we kick things into full gear on Sunday and Monday. Every one of those games is a division rivalry showdown, so the competition should be at an all-time high and will feature a number of Super Bowl contenders. 

As we do every week for the entire slate, we’ve collected all of the best Thanksgiving and Black Friday picks and gambling content from CBSSports.com and SportsLine. We’ve put them all in one place, so you can get picks against the spread from our CBS Sports experts as well as additional featured content for each game, including plays from top SportsLine experts and the SportsLine Projection Model, best bets from our staff, survivor picks and more.  

All NFL odds via SportsLine Consensus Odds.

Which picks can you make with confidence in Week 12? And which Super Bowl contender goes down hard? Visit SportsLine, as its incredible model simulates every NFL game 10,000 times and is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception.

Time: Thursday, 12:30 p.m. ET (Fox), stream on fubo (try for free) 
Open: Lions -7, O/U 45.5

Featured Game | Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers

The SportsLine Projection Model has cooked up a Thanksgiving parlay that you’ll definitely want to feast your eyes on. The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks…

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In Roob’s Eagles Stats: The shocking Patrick Mahomes numbers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Usually, the games that generate the most interesting stats are the highest-scoring games. The more points, the more stats.

But when it’s the Eagles and Chiefs, when the Eagles rebound from a double-digit deficit, when Patrick Mahomes is uncharacteristically ineffective, there’s certainly no shortage of stats.

So here’s our Week 11 edition of Roob’s Eagles Stats, with a look at turnover margin, 1st-quarter scoring, Jalen Hurts rushing touchdowns and the rarity of beating the Chiefs at Arrowhead after trailing by double digits at halftime.

1. The Chiefs’ longest pass play Monday night went for 17 yards. It was the first time in 190 games that Andy Reid has coached the Chiefs that they didn’t have a pass play of at least 18 yards. Last time they didn’t have an 18-yard reception was on the last day of the 2012 season in a 38-3 loss to the Broncos in Denver – the last Chiefs game Reid didn’t coach. Their longest reception that day was a 16-yarder from Brady Quinn to tight end Tony Moeaki. The Chiefs’ longest catch in that game by a wide receiver went for just six yards – to Devon Wylie. Their wide receivers coach was Nick Sirianni.

2. Patrick Mahomes threw 43 passes Monday night but for only 177 yards. That 4.1 yards per pass attempt is the lowest of his career – by far. His previous low was 4.5 yards in a win over the Packers in 2021 (37 attempts, 166 yards). That 4.1 figure is the lowest by a Chiefs QB in 12 years, since Matt Cassel threw 28 times for 93 yards for 3.3 yards per attempt in a 17-10 loss to the Broncos in 2011. In Eagles history, only two other opposing quarterbacks have thrown 40 or more passes for 180 or fewer yards: Matt Robinson of the Broncos in the 1980 opener (41 attempts, 178 yards) and Jay Cutler of the Bears in 2009 (43 attempts, 171 yards).

3. Jalen Hurts’ two rushing touchdowns against the Chiefs gave him 10…

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Ultimately, Barry Sanders’ reasoning behind his shocking retirement was as simple as the fax he sent the Detroit Lions to inform them of his plans to hang up his cleats. 

Sanders, who stunned everyone when he retired just as the Lions were going into training camp in the summer of 1999, recently opened up on his decision to walk away while still in the prime of his career. 

“For me, just that thing that drove me to play, which is that passion, just wasn’t there,” Sanders said in Amazon’s new documentary on the Hall of Fame running back. “There was nothing really left to play for. I didn’t see us as any kind of a serious Super Bowl contender. … I felt like I was making a pretty clear decision. I just felt like, in my mind, this is pretty much it.” 

Sanders’ comments on the matter in 2023 are similar to the ones he penned in the article announcing his retirement 24 years earlier. 

“The reason I am retiring is simple: My desire to exit the game is greater than my desire to remain in it,” Sanders wrote. “I have searched my heart through and through and feel comfortable with this decision.”

As discussed in the documentary, there were factors that ultimately led to Sanders no longer having the drive to continue playing. The main reason was that the Lions were 5-11 in Sanders’ last season and appeared to be light years away from being a legitimate contender. The fact that the team had parted with several of the team’s core players during Detroit’s more successful years during Sanders’ tenure didn’t help matters. 

The Lions made it to within a game of the Super Bowl during Sanders’ third season but did not win a playoff game in any of his final seven seasons. While Sanders stayed, he watched as several of the team’s better players during those years left town. Pro Bowl center Kevin Glover’s departure after the 1997 season, for example, had a profound impact on Sanders, who would retire…

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Syndication: Palm Beach Post

One week after nailing eight of the top 10 defenses, we hit on six of ten this week with a few others (Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, and Kansas City) finishing just one point out of the top 10. The recent shift in weekly formula to double the emphasis on opponent and also factor in the last four weeks performance of each defense to highlight recent performance seems to have helped the overall weekly accuracy.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling that Week 12 is going to bring us more chaos than we anticipate. We have the weird holiday slate that takes players away from their families and has way more teams than usual playing on short weeks. Then we also have lots of injury questions around players like Kenneth Walker, Geno Smith, David Carr, Cooper Kupp, and more. We also have major turnover at the quarterback position with Joe Burrow out for the season, and the Jets finally benching Zach Wilson.

There are just tons of variables that we don’t yet have a firm grasp of, and we have way less time than normal to let those situations play out. As a result, I might be leaning towards those safe floor defenses rather than the risky upside ones this week.

BOD Formula and Philosophy

Just a quick reminder of the BOD formula:

(Pressure Rate) + (Knockdowns) + (Pass Defense Rate) + (%Drives ending in a Turnover x2)

Minus

(% Drives ending in a Score) + (Explosive Plays Allowed Per Game)

It’s important to clarify that the BOD rankings ARE NOT to be treated as weekly rankings. BOD is meant to tell us who the best fantasy defenses are, but depending on the matchup, they might be ranked differently in a given week. That’s why we have this column where I will be breaking down my rankings for each week and an explanation of why I have the defenses ranked the way I do. The rankings will take into account their BOD ranking, opponent, injuries, weather, etc., but I hope my explanation will help make sense of each ranking.

Special shoutout to Arjun Menon, who calculates the…

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This week’s edition of “Monday Night Football” is a Super Bowl rematch. The last time we saw the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on the field together, it ended with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Co. emerging victorious and being crowned champions. Jalen Hurts had arguably the best game of his career in defeat, but did lose a crucial fumble that turned into a Kansas City touchdown. 

Each of these teams has changed quite a bit since that last matchup, but what hasn’t changed is that they still look like two of the best squads in the league. It should be fascinating — and hopefully exciting — to watch them square off once again. 

Will the Chiefs defend their title, or will the Eagles take a measure of revenge? We’ll find out soon enough. Before we break down the matchup, here’s a look at how you can watch the game.

How to watch

Date: Monday, Nov. 20 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, Missouri)
TV: ABC/ESPN | Stream on fubo (try for free) 
Fubo’s holiday offer just kicked off! For a limited time, new subscribers can save $40 on Fubo’s Pro, Elite and Premier plans ($20 off the first and second months).
Follow: CBS Sports App 
Odds: Chiefs -2.5, O/U 45.5 (via Sportsline consensus odds)

When the Eagles have the ball

Unlike the Super Bowl, the matchup with elite units on both sides is actually this one. 

Kansas City’s defense has been one of the best in the NFL this season, with Steve Spagnuolo’s unit ranking fourth in yards and first in points allowed per game, as well as third in FTN’s defensive DVOA and fifth in TruMedia’s version of EPA/play. The Eagles, despite often looking off-kilter, still check in fifth in yards and third in points, as well as seventh in offensive DVOA and third in EPA/play. So yeah, this should be fun! 

The strength of Kansas City’s defense is its work against opposing passing attacks. Chiefs…

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Subscribe to Zero Blitz

Jason Fitz and Frank Schwab join forces to recap NFL Week 11 and get ahead of the biggest storylines to come out of a bizarre Sunday slate. The dynamic duo start by highlighting a few of the bigger outcomes, including the Broncos crawling out of the grave and putting the league on notice against the Vikings, the Lions proving to us all that these aren’t your grandpa’s Detroit Lions (and the Bears choking historically), the Browns continuing to pull out ugly wins and the Jets once again falling short because of lackluster quarterback play (the Zach Wilson era might be over).

Later, Fitz and Frank discuss each and every game from the Sunday slate and give their instant takeaways. They address whether or not Brandon Staley should still have a job, the wheels falling off in Tennessee, the Raiders keeping it close and more before they finish off the show with a preview of Monday night’s huge matchup between the two best teams in the NFL in the Chiefs and Eagles.

1:20 – Minnesota Vikings @ Denver Broncos

6:50 – Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions

12:50 – Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns

19:20 – New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills

25:30 – Los Angeles Chargers @ Green Bay Packers

29:40 – New York Giants @ Washington Commanders

31:55 – Dallas Cowboys @ Carolina Panthers

33:05 – Las Vegas Raiders @ Miami Dolphins

40:50 – Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars

43:55 – San Francisco 49ers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

47:50 – Arizona Cardinals @ Houston Texans

53:05 – Seattle Seahawks @ Los Angeles Rams

54:45 – Philadelphia Eagles @ Kansas City Chiefs preview

Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3) scrambles against the Minnesota Vikings during the first half on an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey) (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

📺 Watch This Full Episode On YouTube

Zero Blitz would be nothing without the impact of our beloved Terez Paylor, who was a pillar of Yahoo Sports’ NFL editorial and podcast coverage. We will continue to produce…

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The Detroit Lions look to continue their ascent towards the top of the NFC as they host division rival, the Chicago Bears, on Sunday afternoon. The Lions (7-2) enter off a thrilling 41-38 victory at the Chargers, while the Bears (3-7) defeated the Panthers last Thursday night, 16-13. Detroit swept both meetings in 2022, 31-30 and 41-10. Detroit is 7-2 against the spread, while Chicago is 3-6-1 ATS in 2023.

Kickoff from Ford Field in Detroit is set for 1 p.m. ET. Detroit is a 8-point favorite in the Lions vs. Bears odds via SportsLine consensus, while the over/under is 48. Before making any Bears vs. Lions picks of your own, you need to see the NFL predictions and betting advice from the computer simulation model at SportsLine.

The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception. The model enters Week 11 of the 2023 NFL season on an incredible 174-125 run on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season. It is also on a 28-17 roll on top-rated NFL picks since Week 7 of last season.

The model also ranked in the top 10 on NFLPickWatch four of the past six years on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 94% of CBS Sports Football Pick’em players four times during that span. Anyone who has followed it is way up.

Now, the model has set its sights on Bears vs. Lions and just locked in its picks and NFL Week 11 predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several NFL odds and betting lines for Lions vs. Bears:

Lions vs. Bears spread: Lions -8Lions vs. Bears over/under: 48 pointsLions vs. Bears money line: Lions -415, Bears +321Lions vs. Bears picks: See picks at SportsLineLions vs. Bears live stream: fubo (try for free)

Why the Bears can cover

Chicago welcomes back starting quarterback Justin Fields, who likely has much to prove in terms of his long term future with the franchise. Last season,…

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Halfway through the NFL season, fans are still working to evaluate the field. But Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward has a message for those who have deemed the Steelers as “fraudulent.

The critique seems to be that head coach Mike Tomlin’s ability to lead his team to a 6-3 record is a fluke that won’t withstand the playoffs. That perspective could potentially be supported by Pittsburgh’s offense, which is ranked 28th in the league. Through the first nine games of the season, they had a minus-26 point differential.

On his “Not Just Football” podcast, Heyward fired back:

“Who are they judging?” Heyward said. “They’re not in this. Smoke and mirrors? Screw you. We worked too hard for this. These guys dedicate their lives. We try to be a good defense. Smoke and mirrors, I think that’s a cloud of smoke.”

His defense began with a response to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who compared his team to the Steelers after a 120-101 loss to the Orlando Magic earlier this month.

We’re like the Pittsburgh Steelers right now,” James said. “The Pittsburgh Steelers, right now, have not out-gained or out-scored any of their opponents in this season right now and yet they’ve got a winning record.”

The NBA star was attempting to cite Elias Sports Bureau, which said the Steelers’ 20-16 win over the Tennessee Titans marked just the 34th time in the NFL’s history that a team was out-gained in each of the first eight weeks — the first time that one of those teams has had a winning record.

“I love LeBron but man, stay away from football, my guy,” Heyward said. “6-3 is 6-3.”

Heyward, a six-time Pro Bowler, also refuted the idea that the Steelers are cranking out ugly wins.

“What is pretty? For me personally, ‘pretty’ is overrated,” he said. “People say ‘pretty’ is scoring a lot of points, right? Isn’t ‘pretty’ a defense dominating and making sure we can make the right plays at the right time? And your offense makes plays accordingly? I hate that…

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