NFL

NFL News: Monday Safety Swings Millions of Dollars

The spread in the Monday Night Football game was Baltimore -3 in most places, -3.5 in others. The Ravens led 45-42 after Justin Tucker drilled a 55-yard field goal with two seconds left.

Baltimore kicked off, and Cleveland took a touchback leaving them time for one play.

Baker Mayfield threw a pass to Kareem Hunt, and the Browns then completed seven laterals trying to find a way down the field. Eventually, Rashard Higgins tried to lateral again to Jarvis Landry and threw the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

As a result, the Ravens won 47-42, covering the spread instead of a push or Browns cover.

While the money at PointsBet was nearly 75% on the Browns, books FanDuel, William Hill and BetMGM said the result was bad for them. William Hill reported a $126,000 bet on the Ravens -3 that took a significant swing on the final play.

At one point, the Browns were +980 in live betting as they trailed by 14 points. Then the hosts took the lead in the fourth quarter and moved to a -420 favorite before Lamar Jackson returned from the locker room to put the Ravens on top.

NFL Injury Recap

Week 14 saw some significant injuries, and other players looking to return may not do so. Tampa Bay running back Ronald Jones II had a pin inserted into his left pinkie finger on Tuesday after suffering a fracture on Sunday.

He returned to the game after the injury Sunday but is a game-time decision for this week’s game against Atlanta. Jones has 900 rushing yards on the season, fourth in the NFL.

Speaking of running backs, the Carolina Panthers were hopeful to see Christian McCaffrey back in action this week. But now it sounds like his thigh injury will keep the star out for a fifth straight game.

Head coach Matt Rhule said McCaffrey was limited at practice Tuesday, and with a Saturday night kickoff in Green Bay, if McCaffrey can’t run and block at Wednesday’s practice, he will be held out.

The New Orleans Saints have a potential Super Bowl matchup with Kansas City at home this week, and it appears to be a long shot that quarterback Drew Brees is back for the game. The future Hall of Famer suffered broken ribs and a collapsed lung against San Francisco last month and has not yet returned to practice.

In his place, Taysom Hill has gone 3-1, with a loss last week in Philadelphia knocking the Saints down to the No. 2 spot in the NFC playoff race.

COVID-19 Impacts Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders rookie wide receiver Henry Ruggs III is the latest player to test positive for COVID-19 and miss a game. He will not be available for the Thursday Night Football game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Ruggs has 23 catches for 414 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games after being selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2020 draft. He ranks first among all rookies in yards per catch (18.0) but is 11th in yards and 13th in catches among rookies.

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