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STN Sports Weekly Rundown

November 24, 2021

Another week down, another week of WTF! The “Spaghetti Bowl” near downtown Las Vegas is less confusing than the NFL sometimes. On Nov. 21, underdogs went 7-6 against the spread with five outright upsets. Two of the perceived best teams in the AFC went down, and neither game was even close. “There is no dominant team in the NFL right now,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Sports Book Director. “There is just a tremendous amount of parity, and it’s shaking things up pretty dramatically from week to week.” They say the NFL stands for “Not For Long,” and that’s become evident. Let’s look back at what we learned from the past week in the NFL.

Remember The Titans
Everything’s bigger in Texas… including upsets! Just when you thought Tennessee was the only consistent winner in the NFL, the Titans lost big to the Texans on Sunday morning. Continuing the trend that we keep seeing week in and week out throughout the league, Tennessee lost outright (at home, no less!) as a double-digit favorite. That’s what five turnovers will do! Is it possible Tennessee was looking ahead to its matchup next week at New England, which could be an AFC Championship game preview? “They had to come down to Earth at some point,” Esposito said. “With New England on the horizon, this was just a bad look ahead spot for them. They didn’t disappoint. They let down.” Rest assured, that team you saw against Houston is not the real Titans team.

Return of the Pat
Just like Stella, Kansas City is officially getting its groove back. In the most noteworthy game of the week, the Chiefs knocked off the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon and easily covered the line. For a stretch this season, no one could tell if Kansas City was actually any good — kind of like Taco Bell after a late night bender. The Chiefs have now won four in a row, including wins against Green Bay and Dallas, both of whom are likely playoff bound. Three of their next four games are also at Arrowhead Stadium. For Esposito, it’s not Patrick Mahomes who’s really been impressive, but rather the KC defense. He noted, “The Chiefs weren’t even a playoff team and were in last place about a month ago, and now they look like maybe the best team of the AFC. They’re as good as anybody right now.” That, my friends, is bad news for the league… and if the Chiefs keep covering, as they’ve done the last two weeks, it’s bad news for the books.

Choose Your Favorite
Things that don’t happen often: Eclipses, politicians agreeing, your spouse telling you “you’re right,” and the Texans and Jaguars in good positions to win games! This upcoming week features Jacksonville at a near pick ‘em in their game against Atlanta (who is somehow not out of playoff contention.) And, Houston is actually laying points again the, who else, Jets. “Again, it just speaks volumes of the parody in this league,” Esposito said.

Sleep On Us At Your Own Peril
Don’t be fooled by the flash! There are three teams giving teams fits and doing it in workmanlike fashion. Now, that might not get you on SportsCenter, but it will get you wins. The Patriots (don’t @ me!) are one of them. “This is a prototypical Belichick team. They’re ugly. It doesn’t matter who they put in running the ball. Most people can’t name any other wide receivers. They play really solid defense. They have a young quarterback who not making any huge mistakes. This is the Hoodie’s kind of team, and they’re impressive,” Esposito proclaimed. Two other solid teams are somewhat mirror images of each other. Both have average records, but the multitude of the losses have come by a few points or in overtime. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Colts and Vikings. “The similarities are kind of uncanny a little bit. Both teams possess outstanding running games, but both teams have question marks at quarterback,” Esposito said. “But in the postseason, if they both make the postseason, I don’t think anybody wants to play either one of those two teams.” Teams that can run, play defense and win on the road, that has proven over time to be an effective recipe. Another team that fits the mold: Philadelphia.

It’s In The Game!
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You can’t spell Thanksgiving without STN! One of the marquee days of every NFL season is Thanksgiving. Turkey day football gives fans a needed distraction from cooking, kids or politically-opinionated family members. Thanksgiving football might be the only thing to give sports junkies solace in between the tryptophan and riveting table discussion. And if you have the STN Sports App, you could be stuffing more than just your face… you could be stuffing your wallet! Let’s take a look ahead at the NFL’s Thanksgiving offerings, shall we…

Those Lion Eyes
Turkey [tur-kee ] slang. Noun: a person or thing of little appeal; dud; loser. Here’s looking at you, Detroit Lions! The winless Motown men kick off the day as they host the Chicago Bears, who may be without stud quarterback Justin Fields. Watching an 0-9-1 team play against an Andy Dalton-led offense sounds about as exciting as Joe Biden’s colonoscopy last week, but that’s what we have to begin the day! Having said that, if Fields is indeed out, this might be the best chance for the Lions to not only cover, but notch that oh-so-elusive first win — hell, even with Fields, this is a good spot for Detroit. The Lions are short underdogs, so a win isn’t out of the question. “I expect some Detroit money in that game. I’m not sure that we won’t need Chicago on our side of the counter,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Sports Book Director. “This Lions team is playing hard. It’s kind of their Super Bowl. It’s on Thanksgiving, it’s tradition, they’re at home and they’re playing against a team that isn’t very good. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Lions win this game.” If not on Thursday, who knows when that win could come. After Thursday, the Lions remaining schedule includes three road games and two home games, but those are against the Packers and surging Vikings.

The ‘Boys Are Back
The second helping of Thanksgiving football gives us the Cowboys and Raiders. America’s Team has been installed as about a touchdown favorite, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland-Las Vegas Raiders have lost three in a row. Considering the last few weeks both on and off the field, the Raiders probably wouldn’t mind control-alt-deleting 2021. “They’re completely out of sorts,” Esposito said. “They still have time, but this team just looks like it’s totally in disarray right now.” While Dallas was served a nice big piece of humble pie at the hands of the Chiefs last week, they remain one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. Keep an eye on the injury report if you’re backing Big D. Amari Cooper is out for the game, and Ceedee Lamb might join him in street clothes. You could make an argument that those two men are Dak Prescott’s biggest weapons. “With all that and the local bias here, it wouldn’t surprise me if we still see some Raiders action come in,” Esposito said.

Bill Crap
The nightcap of the evening features the New Orleans Saints taking on the Buffalo Bills, two teams who have been more disappointing of late than the green bean casserole your aunt made for the family. The Saints have lost three in a row but are still in contention for the division thanks to a fast start to the season (with a different QB than they now have.) Buffalo… What has happened to Buffalo?!?! This team looked like world beaters to begin the season, but they now look about as trustworthy as gas station sushi. Over the last three weeks, they got throttled by Indianapolis (at home!) and lost the Jaguars. Their lone November victory was against the lowly Jets with a backup QB. Also, Buffalo is now looking up at New England in the division, something that doesn’t surprise Esposito, as he predicted last week the Pats would win the AFC East. If the Bills lose against the Saints, they might fall out of the wildcard hunt, which is hard to believe. Having said that, Buffalo is a decent favorite in this game, particularly because of the Saints’ depressing offense, which is being led by Trevor Siemian. “I don’t think they are very good with Siemian,” Esposito said. “That offense got a lot of points in garbage time against the Eagles when they were way behind.” The offense could get a jolt, though, with star running back Alvin Kamara potentially returning for this game. Also, it will be an emotional night in The Big Easy, as the Saints are retiring Drew Brees’ number. This is a huge game for both teams.

In Closing…
Some things in life just go together: peanut butter and jelly, football and Thanksgiving, Las Vegas casinos and free parking (yeah, I said it!) Parking is free at Station Casinos.

Bets To Know

Be on the lookout for:
– “Player To Score First TD”
– “Team To Score First”
– “Team To Score Last”
– Team Totals
– Total Field Goals Made
– Alternate Totals
– “1st Score of Game” (TD, FG, Safety)
And many, many more.

STN Sports Weekly Winners

This guest bet $20 to win $5,200.

What a win!