Both the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers won on Sunday, but neither team came out of those games feeling great after losing their quarterbacks to injuries.
San Francisco’s injury was more devastating as Jimmy Garoppolo is set to miss the rest of the season with a broken foot. Already having lost Trey Lance for the season, the Niners are down to third-string option and Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy. They still have the third-shortest odds to win the NFC at BetMGM, and they can survive with Purdy at QB, but it’ll be hard to trust them to go very far without starting-caliber QB play.
For Baltimore, a timeline on Lamar Jackson’s knee injury is unclear, but he is expected to return at some point. The issue is how much they could potentially slide without him. Baltimore’s offense has struggled in recent weeks. Now, they’ll potentially turn to backup Tyler Huntley for a stretch run, only holding on to first place in the AFC North by virtue of tiebreaker over the Cincinnati Bengals. Their -250 odds to win the division are still the shortest by a lot, but I don’t love Baltimore’s chances if Jackson misses any time.
We aren't talking about the Cincinnati Bengals enough
Last week’s recap was about how the Bengals appear to be the best team in the AFC North despite the Ravens still clinging to first place. This week, it’s time to start discussing Cincinnati among the best teams in the entire conference — right along the Chiefs, Bills, Dolphins and whoever else you want to put in the conversation.
With a win over the Chiefs on Sunday, the Bengals have extended their winning streak to four games. It’s the second-longest active streak in the NFL. And their +600 odds to win the AFC at BetMGM still hold great value compared to the Chiefs and Bills.
The Bengals always should have been in the best-teams convo after winning the AFC last year. A slow start to the season casted doubt on whether they could get back to that level, however.
After Sunday’s win, which included a superstar performance by quarterback Joe Burrow and another solid effort from the defense against Patrick Mahomes, it’s clear they remain a team nobody wants to see in the playoffs.
Commanders-Giants tie was a devastating bad beat (with playoff implications)
The over/under on the total for Washington Commanders at New York Giants was 40.5 points. Over bettors sat confidently after two quarters, as the teams combined for 26 points in the first half. However, things slowed down from there. Each team scored just one touchdown in the second half, and the game was tied 20-20 after four quarters.
This certainly wasn’t ideal, but over bettors still had to feel pretty good. A field goal in overtime would clinch the win.
Unfortunately, that made field goal never came.
Graham Gano misses the potential game-winner and the Commanders and Giants tie 20-20…
Pain for Over 40.5 bettors 😓pic.twitter.com/IGWzRWgj1I
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) December 4, 2022
If you took the under, this game made you sweat until the final seconds.
The result also kept the Giants ahead of Washington and Seattle in the NFC playoff picture. That’s not to say they’ll remain there for long with Philadelphia coming up on the schedule, but the Commanders needed the win more.
Keep an eye on the Detroit Lions
Any fire the Jacksonville Jaguars gained from last week’s win over the Ravens was emphatically extinguished Sunday by the Lions. Detroit’s 40-14 victory was the team’s fourth win in its last five games. Up next on the schedule is the 10-2 Minnesota Vikings.
If the Lions can beat the Vikings — Minnesota beat Detroit 28-24 in Week 3 — they’ll improve to 6-7 with a slate of very winnable games left on the schedule. Three of their last four games are against losing teams. The one team with a winning record is the Jets.
The Giants and Commanders, who both sit ahead of Detroit in the Wild Card standings, have two of the toughest schedules remaining in the NFL. Despite this, Detroit’s odds to make the playoffs are still very long — +750 at Tipico Sportsbook.
