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By Marc Lawrence
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Tuesday, Dec 9 |
Oh brother. The Cleveland Browns have designated quarterback Deshaun Watson for return from the Physically Unable to Perform list.
When will they ever learn?
This activates a 21-day window for Watson to be activated from the PUP list. Watson will be a limited participant in practice today with the Browns, the first time he has taken the field since tearing his achilles against the Cincinnati Bengals a year ago.
There is a chance that Watson does not make it off of PUP still, as we saw with running back Nyheim Hines a year ago. Hines had his window opened to return to practice, but was never healthy enough to return to the active roster and never played a down in a Browns uniform.
If Watson were to return to the field for the Browns, he would mark the fourth different quarterback to start a game for the franchise in 2025. We'll see if he makes it off of PUP, but for now, the Shedeur Sanders era is still underway.
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ON TODAY'S SCORECARD
That Was Then
Anyone who had the Denver Broncos as a 7.5-point favorite on Sunday wasn't sweating it most of the day. The Broncos were clearly better than the Las Vegas Raiders and comfortably covering most of the day.
Then it became a near lock on what should have been the last play of the game. With less than 10 seconds remaining the Raiders got tackled in the field of play with no timeouts left. Broncos’ bettors were finally ready to officially cash the ticket.
Then came one of the most bizarre, baffling bad beats of this or any other NFL season.
The Raiders trailed 24-14, meaning the Broncos were covering the spread by 2.5 points. Tyler Lockett caught a 26-yard pass to the Broncos' 33-yard line. No big deal because Lockett was tackled in bounds. But then, inexplicably, Broncos’ safety Brandon Jones wouldn't let Lockett get up after the tackle. Instead of the clock running out, a flag was thrown. It was a delay of game on the Broncos and most importantly it stopped the clock with five seconds left.
And still, Broncos’ bettors shouldn't have been that worried. The Raiders had little reason to kick a field goal, and a Hail Mary is a low-percentage play. But then, the Raiders decided to kick a field goal, on the very, very low chance that the kick would be good and there would be a second left for an onside kick and then a Hail Mary.
The Raiders made the field goal as time expired. The only people happy with that were those who have Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson on their fantasy teams, those who had Raiders +7.5 bets and those who wagered on Over 40.5 points in the game. The Raiders lost 24-17 and covered the spread, somehow, by a half of a point. The game also went over the total, somehow, by half a point.
The Broncos took a 21-7 lead in the third quarter. Las Vegas saw quarterback Geno Smith leave the game with an injury after the third quarter. There was seemingly no way for the Raiders to cover the spread. Until they did on the game’s final play.
Sheesh. |
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GRINDING OUT THE PROFITS
The Shell Game
From the 2025 PLAYBOOK BOWL GUIDE
Three bowl teams, Appalachian State (0-7), Central Michigan (0-4), and Cincinnati (0-5), each failed to beat a fellow bowl team this season, going 0-16 combined. They were also 3-13 ATS collectively in the same games.
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TRENDING TODAY
From First to WTF
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With Chicago’s loss to Green Bay on Sunday, the Bears went from being the No. 1 seed in the conference to being the No. 7 seed.
A brutal fall in the standings that showcases how close things truly are in the NFC, with four games now remaining in the regular season.
Meanwhile, the Packers jumped the Bears for the NFC North lead and moved up to the No. 2 seed in the conference, chasing the 10-3 Los Angeles Rams.
The Bears and Packers will face off again in 13 days at Soldier Field, and if you thought this game had massive playoff implications, just wait.
The Packers absolutely needed this win to regain some real confidence heading into the stretch run, and this could be a good wake-up call for Chicago. Next week, the Packers will travel to face the Denver Broncos, who have won 10 consecutive games. The Bears will host the three-win Cleveland Browns team, and Chicago will be looking to shake off this close loss back at home.
The way things are looking, that Dec. 20 matchup at Soldier Field between the Packers and Bears could easily decide the NFC North and be the difference between hosting a playoff game and potentially missing the postseason entirely.
It certainly looks like a matchup of two teams willing to fight until the final seconds to keep their Super Bowl hopes alive.
And remember this though: Chicago is 4-27 SU in the last 31 game in this series. |
QUOTE OF THE DAY |
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"Your destiny is not cancelled because of a mistake,
because of a failure.
Get back up and go again.”
- Joel Osteen |
STAT OF THE DAY
5 |
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The 2025 Playbook College Bowl Guide reports that 5 bowl teams outgained
their opponents by over 200 yards
per game this season. One of them
is a double-digit underdog.
See the
2025 Playbook Bowl Guide to find
the answer. Prepare to be surprised.
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BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW
Welcome to the Hall
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Jeff Kent was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday by the 16-member Contemporary Era Committee. Candidates needed 12 votes for election, and the five-time All-Star second baseman received 14.
Who missed the cut? Carlos Delgado got the second-most votes with nine, followed by Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy with six.
Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela all got fewer than five votes, which means they'll be ineligible for the next Contemporary Era ballot in 2028.
Kent played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1992 to 2008, primarily with the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He is the all-time leader in home runs by a second baseman (351) and won the 2000 National League MVP award with the Giants. He was a five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger winner.
He hit .290 with 2,461 hits, 377 HRs, and 1,518 RBIs. |
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