Is Dallas giving up already? They traded defensive lineman Everson Griffen to Detroit for a fifth- or sixth-round draft pick. Which team will be next to shut down because of a COVID-19 pandemic? Will the Super Bowl take place during MLB’s spring training? We’re seven weeks into the 2020 NFL regular season, and questions like those are swirling around the 32 teams.
As you plan your NFL betting for the coming weekend, take a look at some of the latest league updates.
NFL News: Weekly Rundown after Week 7
Watch Those Stats
On Monday Night Football, the Los Angeles Rams shellacked the Chicago Bears, but one tiny statistical correction made for a huge change for a sports bettor. Rob Huntze, a 41-year-old insurance agent from St. Louis, thought that the $1 million first prize from a DraftKings contest was his. Huntze had posted a lineup that had the Ram and Bear defenses, and he had earned 92.79 points, the best total out of over 176,000 entries. On his computer, the screen indicated that he had won the cool million.
He celebrated by calling and texting family and friends, and then he took his dog for a walk. When he came back, a play on which Rams quarterback Jared Goff had taken a three-yard loss was changed from a sack to a tackle for loss. That change in the calculations moved Huntze from first to sixth place, tied with 18 other players. Instead of a $1 million check, his winnings were now $3,078.94. The official scorer had gone back and looked at the play, and since wide receivers were blocking down the field, the play looked like a designed run….which would keep the tackle from being credited as a sack. Huntze has qualified for DraftKings’ world championship three times — and he plans to play again on Thursday night.
The Dallas Cowboys added a punter to their practice roster and traded Everson Griffen to the Detroit Lions on Tuesday. Those are the only changes the team is making ahead of their Sunday night matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. This will save Dallas $3 million+ against the salary cap. This should make more playing time for Randy Gregory on the Dallas D-line, but he hasn’t been particularly productive in the past. At least Dallas is saving some money.
The Cleveland Browns now have more challenges after losing Odell Beckham Jr for the season due to an ACL tear. Beckham suffered the injury chasing a defender after Baker Mayfield threw an interception. Mayfield rebounded from a tough start to the game with 21 consecutive completions and five touchdown pass, including a strike to Donovan Peoples-Jones in the waning seconds. Mayfield expects to see teams keying more on Jarvis Landry, which means that Peoples-Jones, Rashard Higgins and KhaDarel Hodge will have to step up. Nick Chubb is not likely to return before November 15 from his knee injury.
The Seattle Seahawks sent offensive lineman B.J. Finney and a seventh-round draft pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for Carlos Dunlap, a veteran defensive end. Seattle’s defense has permitted more yards through six games than any team in the history of the league, and the pass rush has been particularly stagnant, with only nine sacks in six games. On Sunday night, the pass rush didn’t hit Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray once in the Seahawks’ overtime loss. The team hopes Dunlap can contribute as soon as he clears the COVID-19 protocol for trades.
The Baltimore Ravens have reached a point of desperation in their passing game, with the team signing Dez Bryant to the practice squad. Bryant made the Pro Bowl three times as a wide receiver, and quarterback Lamar Jackson told the press, “It’s tremendous. We just got to see what he’s capable of. We’ll go from there.” Bryant has 73 career touchdowns, 44 more than the combined total that Baltimore’s wide receiving corps has in their career. He last played in a game, though, in December 2017, so we’ll see what he can bring in workouts.
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