7 Thursday Night Football Bets to Watch + NFL Coaches on the Hot Seat

The Ravens and Dolphins are a combined 10-5 to the over this season

In today’s newsletter…

1. Leading Off: Dolphins’ McDaniel is in the spotlight and on the hot seat

2. Bets to Watch: Ravens will likely rely on Henry, who has opportunities against struggling Dolphins defense

3. Thursday Night Football: Lamar Jackson is back for the 2-5 but still AFC North favorite Ravens

4. Public Money: A look at where bettors have money in today’s 4 NBA games

5. Overtime: The governor meddling in a college football coaching search

1. Leading Off

Thursday Night Football puts Mike McDaniel in a spotlight he probably doesn't want. The Dolphins coach might have the hottest seat in the NFL right now, and he gets to defend it on national television against the Ravens. Miami is 2-6.

Fifteen coaches have been fired mid-season since 2020, with Brian Callahan becoming the latest earlier this month when Tennessee let him go after a 1-5 start. The trend is clear: NFL teams don't wait around hoping things turn around.

McDaniel has plenty of company. Brian Daboll's Giants, who host the 49ers on Sunday, are also 2-6. New York upset Philadelphia three weeks ago and looked like it might save its season. Two straight losses later, owner John Mara is running out of patience.

Monday night brings Jonathan Gannon's Cardinals to Dallas. Arizona has lost five straight, including three games where they held fourth-quarter leads. Gannon was fined $100,000 for a sideline confrontation with a player. His three-year record sits at 14-27.

The Browns are on bye, giving Kevin Stefanski time to reflect on his own 2-6 start. Stefanski has won Coach of the Year twice. Those awards only buy so much patience when the losses pile up.

A win Thursday won't save McDaniel's season. But it would quiet the questions for another week. In the NFL, that's all some coaches can hope for right now.

— Abe Rakov

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2. Bets to Watch

Dolphins Have One of NFL’s Worst Defenses, Ravens Henry Should Take Advantage

By Chris Farley

Ravens RB Derrick Henry over 87.5 rushing yards (-130 at Bovada)
If there was ever an opportunity for King Henry to explode, it’s Thursday night. The Dolphins bring one of the worst running defenses in the NFL (five yards per carry allowed), and lately Henry…

3. Thursday Night Football

Jackson Set to Return to Ravens’ Lineup After Missing 3 Games Due to Injury

Amazon probably didn’t think tonight’s matchup would feature teams with a combined 4-11 record when Prime got the Ravens vs. Dolphins on the schedule. But the good news? Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson is expected to play after missing the team’s past three games. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is coming off his best game of the season, a four touchdown, no interception day after throwing a total of one touchdown and six interceptions in his two previous starts. Despite their 2-5 record, the Ravens are still favored to win the AFC North (-125), but a loss to the Dolphins would likely eliminate any confidence — even in a remarkably mediocre division.

Ravens (2-5, 0-2 Away) vs. Dolphins (2-6, 1-2 Home)
8:15pm ET on Prime

• Spread: Ravens (-7.5, -115), Dolphins (+7.5, -105)

  • Baltimore 3-4, Miami 4-4

• Moneyline: Ravens -420, Dolphins +330

• Total (51.5): Over -105, Under -115

  • Baltimore: 5-2, Miami 5-3

Public Money

• Spread: 78% of the money and 58% of the bets are with Baltimore

• Moneyline: 77% of the money and 85% of the bets are with Baltimore

• Total: 79% of the money and 66% of the bets are on the under

Players to Watch

Ravens

• QB Lamar Jackson: 68-96 (71.6%), 869 yards, 10 TD, 1 INT, 15 sacks, 130.5 rating

• RB Derrick Henry: 109 carries, 510 yards (4.7 average), 6 TD, 5 receptions, 44 receiving yards, 3 fumbles (2 lost)

• CB Nate Wiggins:

Dolphins

• QB Tua Tagovailoa: 159-231 (68.8%), 1,518 yards, 15 TD, 10 INT, 16 sacks, 90.4 rating

• RB De'Von Achane: 107 carries, 539 yards (5.0 average), 3 TD, 37 receptions, 235 receiving yards, 4 receiving TDs, 1 fumble (0 lost)

• LB Jordyn Brooks: 85 tackles (53 solo), 2.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 8 stuffs

4. Public Money

Bettors Have No Confidence in Home Underdogs in NFL Week 9

5. Overtime

In the News 

• Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has a lot of opinions about LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward — and none of them express any confidence. The Governor, who doesn’t supervise the athletic director, said Woodward isn’t picking the school’s next football coach.

• No. 8 Georgia Tech might be a good team, but the Yellow Jackets are also an example of the perils of conference expansion: They won’t play any of the ACC’s other top schools until potentially the ACC Championship Game. The College Football Playoff committee will have a better idea of their talent before then, however, as Georgia Tech plays rival No. 5 Georgia in the last game of the regular season.

• Former Pirates manager Derek Shelton has been hired as the Twins next manager. Shelton, who served as Minnesota’s bench coach in 2018 and 2019, was fired by Pittsburgh in May after a 12-26 start to the season — he was 306-440 in 5+ seasons. And the Associated Press is reporting that the Nationals are still looking for their next manager, as the club isn’t giving the job to interim manager Miguel Cairo.

• Jordon Hudson, UNC coach Bill Belichick's girlfriend, has amassed a portfolio of 18 LLCs related to business ventures with and without the Hall of Fame coach, according to Defector. The outlet reported that she created “Belestrator Bills Version. This one said it would ‘handle all business and bank operations regarding the production of the Bill Belicast & Belestrator (Bills Version).’”

• CBS Sports made its picks for midseason NFL awards, naming Colts tight end Tyler Warren and Giants EDGE Abdul Carter the offensive and defensive rookies of the year — so far.

What to Watch (times are ET)

• 7pm: Stars vs. Lightning on TNT

• 7:30pm: Tulane vs. UTSA on ESPN

• 8pm: Warriors vs. Bucks on NBA TV

• 8:15pm: Ravens vs. Dolphins on Prime