This week features one of the true rarities in the history of the National Football League: a game taking place on a Wednesday afternoon. On December 2, the Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Baltimore Ravens at 3:40 Eastern time, on a national NBC broadcast that will pre-empt the likes of afternoon talk shows and run through the national newscast. COVID-19 has galloped through the Baltimore locker room, forcing three postponements of the game.
Let’s take a look at some of the changes for this game as part of our NFL betting rundown of this week in the NFL.
NFL News: Weekly Rundown after Week 12
Who will Appear for Baltimore on Wednesday Afternoon?
Well, Lamar Jackson won’t — he’s still in quarantine after a positive test. Neither will wide receiver Mark Andrews. Instead, the likely starter at quarterback is Robert Griffin III, and one of his targets will be Dez Bryant, who has come out of retirement to play for the Ravens. Overall, there are 16 Ravens on the reserve/COVID-19 list, including Jackson as well as six other Pro Bowl players. At tailback, it is not likely that J.K. Dobbins or Mark Ingram II will play, although they will be activated. Instead, look for Gus Edwards to get most of the carries. In the Ravens’ last two games against the Steelers, Edwards has run for 217 yards. Baltimore has also lost its top two tight ends, top two centers, and three starting defensive linemen, including Calais Campbell. So it will be interesting to see how the Ravens fare against the NFL’s last unbeaten team.
Is Doug Pederson on the Way Out?
The only head coach who has led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl title could be on the way out. The Eagles have dropped three in a row and sit at 3-7-1 — still in contention in the dreadful NFC East. However, quarterback Carson Wentz has regressed significantly this year, leading sports commentators all over the nation to wonder if the quarterback who was on his way to an NFL MVP before an ACL tear in 2017 has lost it mentally, based on his pocket presence. In his press conference on Tuesday, Pederson indicated that he might give up play calling on a temporary basis. The offense has become stagnant since the departure of Frank Reich for Indianapolis, leading to frustration for owner Jeffrey Lurie.
The Seattle Pass Rush may have Saved the Team’s Season
Against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, the Seattle Seahawks sacked Carson Wentz six times. They’ll need to keep that group effort going if Carlos Dunlap’s foot injury causes him to miss more time. He had an MRI on Tuesday, and the findings are pending. He came from Cincinnati in a trade in October, and he had a half-sack of Wentz. It is true that Philadelphia’s offensive line has had problems and that Carson Wentz holds onto the ball way too long. However, this wasn’t just one game in which the improvement that Seattle fans were seeing. Through the first six games, the Seahawks had only posted nine sacks, which was even worse than their 2019 pace. They had picked up Bruce Irvin in free agency, but he blew out his ACL in Week 2. In Week 8, though, the Seahawks put up three sacks against San Francisco, and from Week 9 going forward, they have posted 19 sacks, five more than the next-best team. The defense is playing with swagger now, and another bit of good news is that Seattle has not needed to blitz a whole lot to get pressure on the quarterback. If this trend holds, the Seahawks could be ready for a deep playoff run.
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