In today’s newsletter…

1. Leading Off: Five things we learned in NFL Week 7 (so far)

2. Bets to Watch: The WR that could surprisingly earn the most yards in the Texans/Seahawks matchup

3. Game of the Day: Lions are favored against injury-plagued Bucs

4. Public Money: Bettors are with the home team in Game 7 of the ALCS

5. Overtime: The college football coaching carousel keeps spinning

1. Leading Off

Yesterday’s NFL slate might have not been the most interesting of the season (minus a 33-point fourth quarter comeback), but that doesn’t mean this week’s matchups didn’t have a major early impact. Here’s what we’ve learned so far from Week 7 in the NFL:

1. Indianapolis is the best, and most surprising, story in the NFL so far this year. After blowing out the Chargers in Los Angeles, the Colts are now 6-1 in a very mediocre division — so their playoff hopes are already sky high. Quarterback Daniel Jones is living up to what the Giants thought he could be, as he is a tidy 152-214 for 1,790 yards with 10 TDs, 3 interceptions and a 105.9 rating.

2. The Rams are real contenders. Los Angeles completely shut down the better-than-average Jaguars in London yesterday in a 35-7 win. Their two losses are by 7 (Eagles) and 3 (49ers), and the Rams have have a win over the Colts.

3. It’s not time to panic in Philadelphia. But there aren’t a lot of Eagles fans celebrating their 28-22 win over the Vikings. Philadelphia is obviously a top Super Bowl contender, but they simply just don’t look nearly as good as last season.

4. It might be time to panic in Washington. The Commanders looked out of sorts against the Cowboys from the start, losing 44-22 and falling to 3-4 on the season and behind Dallas in the division. To make matters worse, quarterback Jayden Daniels is due for an MRI today after injuring his hamstring in the third quarter.

5. The Dolphins are bad. Miami has talent, but they’re 1-6 and got blown out by a directionless Browns team with a rookie quarterback. The optimistic case for the Dolphins is that they started 2-6 a year ago but ended up 2nd in the AFC East for the third straight season at 8-9. But they still missed the playoffs, and another miracle comeback just doesn’t look in the cards after yesterday.

Not making the list: Not only are Giants fans seeing Jones finally thrive but in another uniform, they witnessed two records yesterday in New York’s historic collapse against the Broncos, who scored 33 points in the fourth quarter to win 33-32.

There’s another Monday Night Football doubleheader tonight, with the 5-1 Buccaneers taking on the 4-2 Lions before the 2-3 Texans face the 4-2 Seahawks. We have insights on both matchups in today’s newsletter.

—Abe Rakov

P.S. The NBA season kicks off tomorrow, and we’ll have a full betting preview for you in the newsletter.

2. Bets to Watch

Lions are Heavy Favorites as Bucs Deal With Injuries Across Their Offense

By Craig Williams

Lions -5.5 (-120 at FanDuel)
Bettors more bullish on the Lions can consider laying the points in this matchup as well. The Lions are…

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3. Game of the Day

Bucs Have Been Proving Doubters Wrong All Season, But Face Big Test on MNF

With pundits saying Tampa Bay could be the NFL’s best team and calling quarterback Baker Mayfield a possible league MVP, Detroit would like nothing more than to prove their own preseason hype right in front of a national audience. Neither team has beaten a top-tier opponent yet, so this will be the best win of the season so far for whoever wins.

Buccaneers (5-1, 3-0 Away) vs. Lions (4-2, 2-0 Home)
7pm ET on ABC

• Spread: Detroit (-6, -110), Tampa Bay (+6, -110)

• Moneyline: Detroit -285, Tampa Bay +230

• Total (53.5): Over -108, Under -112

Public Money

• Spread: 68% of the money is with Detroit by 57% of the bets are with Tampa Bay

• Moneyline: 52% of the money is with Tampa Bay but 67% of the bets are with Detroit

• Total: 80% of the money and 76% of the bets are on the over

Players to Watch

Buccaneers

• QB Baker Mayfield: 129-195 (66.2%), 1,539 yards, 12 TD, 1 INT, 10 sacks, 108.5 rating

• WR Emeka Egbuka (questionable): 27 receptions (42 targets), 469 yards, 17.4 average, 5 TD, 18 first downs, 0 fumbles

• S Tykee Smith: 45 tackles (27 solo), 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, 7 pass deflections

Lions

• QB Jared Goff: 132-174 (75.9%), 1,390 yards, 14 TD, 2 INT, 9 sacks, 120.6 rating

• RB Jahmyr Gibbs: 87 carries 390 yards, 4.5 average, 4 TD, 22 first downs, 0 fumbles

• WR Amon-Ra St. Brown: 44 receptions (51 targets), 452 yards, 10.3 average, 6 TD, 28 first downs, 1 fumble (0 lost)

4. Public Money

Bettors Are Backing No. 1-Seeded Blue Jays to Win Game 7 in Toronto

5. Overtime

In the News 

• Another rookie pitcher stole the spotlight in the MLB playoffs, as Toronto’s Trey Yesavage helped force a Game 7 with a dominant performance against Seattle.

• Indiana moved up to No. 2, Texas A&M is 3rd, Georgia Tech is 7th and Vanderbilt climbed 7 spots to No. 7 in the latest AP college football poll.

• Florida fired head coach Billy Napier after a win but a 3-4 start to the season (22-23 in four seasons). Could he be replaced by Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin or recently fired James Franklin?

• After a loss to the struggling, rookie QB-starting Browns, the Dolphins are 1-6 and coach Mike McDaniel’s job is very much on the line.

• Before he played a regular season game for the Rockets, 37-year-old Kevin Durant signed a two-year, $90 million contract extension.

What to Watch (times are ET)

• 3pm: West Ham vs. Brentford on USA

• 7pm: Buccaneers vs. Lions on ABC

• 7pm: Wild vs. Rangers on NHL Network

• 8:08pm: Mariners vs. Blue Jays in Game 7 on FOX

• 10pm: Texans vs. Seahawks on ESPN