Sports
First bets for Week 7: Buccaneers’ luck runs out vs. Lions, Giants cover in Denver
Week 7 gets underway with a matchup of AFC North rivals, as the Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Cincinnati Bengals on “Thursday Night Football.”
Sunday’s slate begins with the Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars meeting at Wembley Stadium in London, and the Indianapolis Colts visiting the Los Angeles Chargers highlights the late afternoon window of games.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions get together in a battle of offensive juggernauts to kick off a “Monday Night Football” doubleheader, and the night wraps up with the Houston Texans visiting the Seattle Seahawks.
Eric Karabell, Pamela Maldonado, Matt Bowen, Eric Moody, Joe Fortenbaugh and Seth Walder looked at the early Week 7 odds and identified which ones are worth jumping on now before potential shifts later in the week.
Note: Odds at time of publication, courtesy of ESPN BET Sportsbook
Miami Dolphins–Cleveland Browns total points UNDER 40.5 (-115)
Bowen: Cleveland is averaging only 13.7 PPG this season, the second fewest in the league. And when you watch the Browns on tape, with Dillon Gabriel at quarterback, they aren’t built to create explosive plays at a high rate. This feels like a game (based on the matchup) where rookie running back Quinshon Judkins is featured. Control tempo while leaning on your defense to limit Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami pass game. The game is in Cleveland, too. Take the under.
Last week: Buccaneers -2.5 vs. 49ers (Buccaneers won, 30-19)
Detroit Lions to cover -4.5 (-110) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Fortenbaugh: This luckbox Buccaneers run is coming to a screeching halt at some point in the near future, so we might as well lean into the projected regression with a Lions team playing at home off a loss. Tampa Bay is now 5-1 on the season with a point differential of +14. To put that into perspective, the Seahawks are 4-2 with a point differential of +49 and the Texans are 2-3 with a point differential of +47. Throw in the myriad injuries to the Tampa receiving unit and you’ve got Detroit covering the 4.5 and restoring order to the NFC.
Last week: Steelers -4.5 vs. Browns (Steelers won, 23-9)
Cincinnati Bengals to cover +5.5 (-105) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Karabell: Let’s stop a bit short of expecting Joe Flacco and the Bengals to win the game, but it is a home game against a heated rival on a short week, and the addition of Flacco does change things. It’s not like Pittsburgh’s QB is some young fellow. Flacco should keep this game close in the fourth quarter, at the least. I would not take the Steelers in pools. This is a field goal game at the end.
Last week: Ravens-Rams over 45.5 (Rams won, 17-3)
New York Giants to cover +7 (Even) at Denver Broncos
Maldonado: The Giants are quietly figuring it out with Jaxson Dart. You can feel the shift. They finally have an identity. Run the ball, control the clock, make the other team uncomfortable. Dart isn’t putting up video game numbers, but he’s doing exactly what this offense needs: extending plays. The defense is starting to look nasty too, especially up front with Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux collapsing pockets. It’s not flashy, but it’s effective. Going into Denver, this feels like another one of those ugly, grind-it-out games. The Giants are now built for that.
Last week: Eagles-Giants under 42 (Giants won, 34-17)
Carolina Panthers to cover -1.5 (+105) at New York Jets
Moody: The Panthers have won two straight and scored 27 or more points in three of their last four games. Rico Dowdle erupted for 234 total yards two weeks ago and piled on 239 more in a Week 6 win over Dallas, and Carolina’s defense shut down Javonte Williams and Cowboys’ running game. The Jets, meanwhile, managed just 82 total yards against the Broncos in London, the third-lowest single-game total in franchise history. With momentum on their side and New York reeling, this is a great spot to back Carolina. The Panthers are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games.
Last week: 49ers +2.5 at Buccaneers (Buccaneers won, 30-19)
Baltimore Ravens to MISS the playoffs (Even)
Walder: I’ll be the first one to say throw out any historical stats about how often 1-5 teams make the playoffs when it comes to the 2025 Ravens. Most 1-5 teams are simply bad, and despite whatever we have seen from Baltimore thus far, I don’t think anyone expects that this is a bad team going forward. And almost none of those teams have a perennial MVP candidate like Lamar Jackson, either. And rarely have those teams faced the hardest schedule in the NFL (as the Ravens have) and will face the 27th-hardest schedule going forward (as the Ravens will). It’s because all of that that I was perfectly prepared to argue for Baltimore’s chances to make the playoffs — and then I saw the odds. The 1-5 Ravens are even money to miss the playoffs? They certainly could come back, but 50/50? That surprised me, and it certainly would shock FPI. The model, which assumes Jackson returns after the team’s Week 7 bye, gives the Ravens only a 25% chance to make the playoffs. The Ravens will need a lot to go their way to play playoff football again.
Last week: Steelers -4.5 vs. Browns (Steelers won, 23-9)
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced that the 11th season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will kick off on Thursday, March 26, featuring eight teams following the inclusion of two new franchises.
The date was decided during the meeting of PSL Governing Council convened at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore on Friday evening to finalise preparations for the upcoming season, according to a press release issued by the cricket board.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi chaired the meeting, which was attended by representatives of all eight PSL franchises, along with PCB and PSL officials.
The council welcomed the new team owners of Sialkot and Hyderabad to the PSL family and congratulated the board and league officials on the successful conclusion of the new teams auction.
The two new PSL franchises were acquired by FKS Group and OZ Developers for a whopping Rs1.75 billion and Rs1.85 billion, respectively.
Detailed discussions during the meeting covered the schedule of PSL 11, player retentions, the adoption of the player auction or a hybrid format called ‘drauction’, and the option of opening direct signings.
It was confirmed that PSL 11 will kick off on Thursday, 26 March, ushering in a new era for the league.
The meeting concluded with the formation of a working group set to convene on Saturday to deliberate further on remaining agenda items. The governing council will reconvene immediately as required to finalise decisions.
The PSL, which began in 2016 with five teams and expanded to six in 2018, further grown with the addition of two new franchises in its 11th edition.
PSL 2026 matches will be hosted in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, and, for the first time, Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, marking the venue’s debut as a PSL host city.
Amid the wild west of NIL money and transfers, college football is attracting viewership unmatched in its history.
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Sports
Patrick Mahomes says he has to be held back from pushing so hard in injury rehab, shares hopes for Week 1
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Patrick Mahomes said Thursday the doctors have been holding him back a bit in his rehab because he’s been pushing hard as he recovers from the knee injury he suffered late in the season.
The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback set a hopeful timeline for when he’ll be ready to go as he addressed reporters while he continues to work on getting back to full strength.
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) throws a pass during the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 14, 2025. (Jay Biggerstaff/Imagn Images)
“First off, rehab is going great so far. I’ve been hitting all the checkpoints that the doctor wants you to do and getting the strength and the range of mobility back,” Mahomes said. “So, that’s been going great. I’ve been doing all of it here in Kansas City so far. (Assistant athletic trainer) Julie (Frymyer) has been crushing it, pushing me. The doctor kind of gives you goals to get to, and I just try to maximize those, and they hold me back because I always want to go a little bit further. It’s been going great.
“I think the long-term I want to be ready for Week 1. The doctor says that I could be, but I can’t predict what’s going to happen throughout the process but that’s my goal, so I’ll try to prepare myself to be ready to play in that Week 1 and have no restrictions. You want to be out there healthy and giving us the best chance to win. Obviously, I hope to be able to do some stuff in OTAs and get to training camp and hopefully be able to do a lot there. I’m excited for the process. It’s a long process, but I’m excited for it.”
Mahomes had 3,587 passing yards and 22 touchdowns in 14 games during the year, but Kansas City’s season was a bit unusual.
Patrick Mahomes watches the action from a suite during the third quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 25, 2025. (Jay Biggerstaff/Imagn Images)
FOX SUPER 6 CONTEST: CHRIS ‘THE BEAR’ FALLICA’S NFL DIVISIONAL ROUND PREDICTIONS
The one-score games they won in 2024, which helped them to a Super Bowl appearance, turned out to be defeats in 2025. Too many dropped passes and other silly mistakes cost the team multiple times.
“I think just compounding mistakes,” Mahomes said when asked what went wrong in 2025. “You make mistakes throughout a game. For myself, I look at some of the red zone interceptions I threw in kind of bigger moments in the third and fourth quarter of games. That’s stuff that I haven’t done in the past, and so speaking for myself, just trying to be better in those moments. I think offensively we weren’t consistent enough throughout games. We had stretches in games where we played good, we had stretches in the season where we played really good.
“We’ve got to be better and that starts with me and then it kind of has to feed throughout the entire offense. So, I think like I said, guys are motivated, coaches, players, we’re all motivated to be better this next year. Like I said, it sucks watching these games. I want to be out there playing football, especially this time of year, it’s the best time of year to play football. It’ll give us the motivation, hopefully, for us to come back stronger next year.”
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) lowers his head during the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 7, 2025. (Denny Medley/Imagn Images)
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The Chiefs finished 6-11 and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2014 season.
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