In today’s newsletter…

1. Leading Off: What we learned in NFL Week 8

2. Bets to Watch: Chiefs defense has held five opponents to under 202 passing yards

3. Game of the Day: Commanders vs. Chiefs on Monday Night Football

4. Public Money: 78% of the spread money is with the Dodgers in Game 3

5. Overtime: Did the Tush Push finally cross the line? 

1. Leading Off

Quarterback Drake Maye led the Patriots to their fifth straight win after a 1-2 start, and the 2nd-year signal caller even heard MVP chants during a clinical win over the Browns. Maye was 18-24 for 282 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception, good for a his third straight game with a 135+ rating. New England hasn’t played the most difficult schedule during this run, as only one of the five teams are currently over .500 — but that one was a huge victory over the Patriots’ AFC East rival Bills.

New England only faces one more team with a winning record (Tampa Bay) in its next five games before hosting Buffalo on December 14th. That’s one reason why the Patriots currently have the 7th-best odds to make the playoffs (-700).

Here’s what else we learned in Week 8 in the NFL:

• Two teams with injured quarterbacks, the Falcons and the Bengals, suffered surprising losses to two AFC bottom-feeders, the formerly 1-6 Dolphins and previously winless Jets, respectively. Backup Kirk Cousins didn’t give the Falcons any kind of spark, while Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa quieted the doubters for at least one week with a 20-26, 205-yard day, throwing four touchdowns and no interceptions. And after Jets quarterback Justin Fields was reportedly set to be benched before an injury to backup Tyrod Taylor stopped that plan, Fields managed the game with a 21-32 day — throwing for 244 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions — to help give first-year head coach Aaron Glenn his first win.

• The Bears still haven’t turned the corner to be a playoff contender, as they lost to the seemingly going nowhere Ravens, who had just one win before yesterday. After falling behind in the first quarter, Baltimore scored 16 straight points and never looked back.

• Denver and Buffalo, on the other hand, made big statements against mid-level teams: The Bills demolished the upstart Panthers 40-9, while the Broncos picked apart the Cowboys. Denver has now won five straight games and is atop the AFC West, while Buffalo ended its two-game losing streak and quieted the panic that had begun in upstate New York. The Bills have a visit from the Chiefs next week.

• Packers quarterback Jordan Love picked apart the Steelers defense and showed he can lead Green Bay to a deep playoff run. At one point, Love completed 20 passes in a row — he threw for 360 yards and had three touchdowns to no interceptions. At 5-1-1, the Packers are one of only two teams with a lone loss, as the Colts are 7-1.

—Abe Rakov

2. Bets to Watch

Chiefs Defense Held Opponents to 15.4 Points per Game Over Past 5

By Craig Williams

Chiefs -4.5 first half (-180 at Fliff)
The Commanders have to try to keep pace with the Chiefs with Marcus Mariota under center, and naturally, we don’t like their chances — especially on the road, where they’re allowing 10 more…

3. Game of the Day

Chiefs Look to Continue Progress Against Injury-Marred, Daniels-Less Commanders on MNF

Quarterback Jayden Daniels is out again for the Commanders, giving the Chiefs one more advantage they probably don’t even need on Monday Night Football. The spread has ballooned to 11.5 points for suddenly much-hyped Kansas City, the current Super Bowl favorites who are going for their third straight win after a 2-3 start.

Commanders (3-4, 1-3 Away) vs. Chiefs (4-3, 3-1 Home)
8:15pm ET on ABC/ESPN

• Spread: Chiefs (-11.5, -108), Commanders (+11.5, -112)

• Moneyline: Chiefs -720, Commanders +520

• Total (47.5): Over -115, Under -105

Public Money

• Spread: 76% of the money and 66% of the bets are with Kansas City

• Moneyline: 80% of the money and 93% of the bets are with Kansas City

• Total: 65% of the money and 64% of the bets are on the over

Players to Watch

Commanders

• RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt: 73 carries, 377 yards, 5.2 yards/carry, 4 TD, 7 receptions, 60 yards, 2 fumbles (2 lost)

• LB Bobby Wagner: 73 tackles (33 solo), 2 sacks, 5 stuffs

• CB Mike Sainristil: 35 tackles (21 solo), 2 interceptions, 6 pass deflections

Chiefs

• QB Patrick Mahomes: 164-248 (66.1%), 1,800 yards, 14 TD, 2 INT, 102.9 rating

• TE Travis Kelce: 31 receptions (40 targets), 375 yards, 12.1 yards/catch, 2 TD, 20 first downs, 0 fumbles

• LB Nick Bolton: 55 tackles (29 solo), 1 forced fumble, 2 pass deflections, 4 stuffs

4. Public Money

Bettors are Heavily Behind Big Favorite Dodgers to Take Control of World Series in Game 3

5. Overtime

In the News 

• The Tush Push was back in the spotlight yesterday after Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts clearly fumbled while attempting the controversial play on a 4th-and-1 in the second quarter. The officials said Hurts’ forward progress had been stopped so the play couldn’t be challenged, and Philadelphia went on to score at touchdown on the drive to get ahead of the Giants — and never looked back.

• Another college football coach is getting a huge payday to stay off the sidelines, as LSU’s Brian Kelly was fired after Saturday’s blowout loss sent the Tigers to 2-3 in the SEC and out of the Top 25. The school owes Kelly about $54 million as part of a 10-year contract he signed in 2021 and is still trying to negotiate a buyout.

• The SEC has five top-10 teams in the latest college football poll (and nine teams total), while the Big 12 has a season-high five ranked teams — led by No. 10 BYU (8-0). The top six remained the same, while Tennessee, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Michigan had the biggest jumps, and Oklahoma and Missouri had the biggest drops of teams still ranked.

• Lando Norris won the Mexico City Grand Prix and took a one-point lead in the drivers’ standings after his teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri struggled to a fifth-place finish. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc held on for 2nd, just ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who is now 36 points Norris.

What to Watch (times are ET)

• 6:45pm: MLS Playoffs doubleheader on FS1 starting with FC Cincinnati vs. Columbus then Minnesota vs. Seattle

• 7pm: Cavaliers vs. Pistons on Peacock (followed by Nuggets vs. Timberwolves at 9:30pm)

• 7pm: Blues vs. Penguins on NHL Network

• 8pm: Blue Jays vs. Dodgers for Game 3 (1-1) on FOX

• 8:15pm: Commanders vs. Chiefs on ABC