Tim McManus, ESPN Staff WriterJan 19, 2025, 03:20 PM ET
Close
Tim McManus covers the Philadelphia Eagles for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2016 after covering the Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine’s Birds 24/7, a site he helped create, since 2010. You can follow him on Twitter @Tim_McManus.
PHILADELPHIA — Running back Saquon Barkley is not the only dangerous player in the Philadelphia Eagles’ run game.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts broke off a 44-yard run on Philadelphia’s first possession to stake the home team to an early lead over the Los Angeles Rams in their divisional-round playoff game Sunday. Kicker Jake Elliott missed the extra point to make it a 6-0 advantage.
Operating from the shotgun, Hurts faked a handoff to Barkley before finding a seam on the right side of the formation. He escaped a leg tackle before racing down the sideline for the score. It was the longest run of his NFL career.
Barkley went off for a franchise-best 255 rushing yards Week 12 against L.A. He understandably has the Rams’ attention in the rematch, but the Eagles have other options.
Everything that happens in sports has additional context when viewed from a sports betting perspective. From season-changing injuries to record-setting moments and so much more, the sports news cycle will constantly and significantly affect the sports betting industry.
Our betting buzz file, with contributions from David Purdum, Doug Greenberg and others, aims to provide fans a look at the sports betting stories that are driving the conversation.
Key links: Sports betting home | NFL odds page |College football odds page| ESPN BET
Jan. 18: Kansas City Chiefs’ cover problem might not matter in playoffs
Doug Greenberg: For over half of the 2024 regular season, the Kansas City Chiefs did not look like the back-to-back Super Bowl champion juggernauts everyone expected them to be: The Chiefs were winning almost every game but weren’t doing so in convincing fashion.
From Weeks 1 through 14, Kansas City went 4-9 against the spread, which included an ATS losing streak of seven games from Weeks 8 through 14. The team’s eight outright victories without covering the spread tied for the most in the Super Bowl era, according to ESPN Research.
Patrick Mahomes is the only quarterback in the Super Bowl era with a straight-up winning record (35-24) in games where his team does not cover (minimum five games); just behind him is the great Roger Staubach (32-33).
The Chiefs are nine-point favorites against the visiting Houston Texans to kick off the NFL divisional round, a fascinating number given that KC has not covered a spread this large all season: The Chiefs are 7-0 SU but 0-7 ATS when laying at least six points this season, the longest such streak in the Super Bowl era.
And yet, despite all the ATS inadequacy from the regular season, Kansas City has been gaining steam in the betting markets, as the game opened at a consensus Chiefs -7.5, but by Saturday morning, all major sportsbooks had come up to at least -8.5, with ESPN BET getting up to -9.5.
The sportsbook reported 68.2% of money backing KC’s spread compared to 57.3% of the tickets, with other major books similarly reporting positive handle splits supporting the Chiefs. FanDuel’s trading team says that the early action had been “surprisingly” more split than expected, but the book will still “be cheering for the Texans.”
There’s some logic behind the money. Besides Kansas City (7-10), there was only one other playoff team that had a losing ATS record in the regular season — the Texans, who also went 7-10 against the number.
The Chiefs’ championship pedigree is also likely playing a role in attracting big money. Dating back to 2022, KC has covered the spread in six straight playoff games, tied for the fifth-longest such streak in the Super Bowl era. The 2022 team that won it all was similarly poor ATS in the regular season.
Mahomes always seems to step up his game in the postseason, as his 13-5 ATS record is the third-best among quarterbacks with at least 10 playoff starts since 1966; only Jim Plunkett (8-2) and Eli Manning (9-3) have been better.
Travis Kelce also elevates come January, posting higher receiving yards per game in the playoffs compared to the regular season every year since 2020. He has gone over his receiving yards prop in 13 straight playoff games, and his number for Saturday is set at 49.5 (juiced to -135) on ESPN BET, his lowest in any playoff game in that span.
Essentially, even though the Chiefs garnered an underperforming reputation throughout the regular season, the betting public is ready to back them in full force now that their playoff run has arrived.
“It’s the same old song and dance for the NFL,” BetMGM trading manager Christian Cipollini said via email. “The sportsbook needs the underdogs to cover and is hoping for one of the dogs to win outright to break up parlays.”
The other juggernaut
At ESPN BET, the Chiefs’ moneyline represents the second-most selected bet in parlays, behind the Detroit Lions’ moneyline.
On Saturday night, Detroit begins its quest to bring home the franchise’s elusive first Super Bowl with a showdown against the red-hot Washington Commanders. As of Saturday morning, the Lions are 8.5-point favorites at ESPN BET and have been getting plenty of support from the betting public market-wide.
Between the explosive offenses and Detroit’s banged-up defense, sportsbooks and bettors alike are expecting fireworks, as the game’s 55.5-point over/under — up from 54.5 at open — is the highest total in any playoff game since Super Bowl LV (2020) between the Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It’s nothing new for this iteration of the Lions, who have played in the five highest-total games in the NFL this season, including Saturday’s contest; the previous four games have seen an even split in overs vs. unders at 2-2.
Jan. 14: Bettors fade Ohio State as CFP title game spread moves toward Notre Dame
A “steady stream of action” on Notre Dame has caused the spread in the CFP title game to move toward the Fighting Irish with less than a week to go until kickoff. Rich Storry/Getty Images
DJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets. He’s a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville. You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show, “Talkin’ Texans.”
HOUSTON — The Texans on Thursday listed running back Joe Mixon as questionable with an ankle injury ahead of their divisional-round playoff matchup Saturday against the Chiefs.
Mixon did not practice Thursday after being limited in Wednesday’s practice.
This isn’t the first time he has had ankle issues. Earlier in the season he missed Week 3 through 5 after suffering an ankle injury in Week 2 against the Bears. He returned for a matchup against the Patriots in Week 6.
Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff WriterJan 15, 2025, 06:00 AM ET
Close
Previously covered the Kansas City Chiefs for the Kansas City Star and Oklahoma University for the Oklahoman.
PITTSBURGH — To Mike Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t stuck.
To be stuck, he said Tuesday, would insinuate the organization is helpless, and he doesn’t feel that.
So does that mean he’s optimistic about the direction of the team after a fifth consecutive one-and-done postseason foray?
Not quite.
“I don’t know that I’m ready to be overly optimistic or sell optimism to you, either,” Tomlin said. “I’m just acknowledging what transpired and what has to happen and what is beginning to happen. And acknowledging the complexity and the amount of work that’s ahead of us.
“Certainly feel capable, but definitely don’t feel in the mood for optimism or the selling of optimism. I don’t know that that’s appropriate.”
Where the Steelers are, in the head coach’s own words, is caught between helplessness and optimism.
The Steelers have won 80 regular-season games in the past eight seasons. They haven’t won a playoff game in that same stretch, going 0-5. Tomlin said Tuesday his players frequently joke with him about one of his favorite cliches: “Two is a pattern.” What about five?
The Steelers’ current system is designed to help them maintain stability. Under Tomlin, they’ve maintained a pristine 18-season stretch of non-losing seasons. Yet, those regular-season wins haven’t brought them closer to the upper echelon of the AFC — teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills. Because of those non-losing seasons, the Steelers consistently draft in the second half of the first round. This year, they have the No. 21 pick. And though third-year general manager Omar Khan has shown a willingness to be more aggressive on the trade market, an organization married to precedent has rarely shown a willingness to move the kind of capital needed to acquire a top-10, franchise-altering pick.
Tomlin vowed Tuesday there would be change, the kind inevitable after a 10-3 start collapsed into a 10-8 season and another first-round playoff exit.
“Although we’ve had similar results, rest assured that we’re not doing the same things and hoping for a different result,” he said. “We have adapted. We have altered our approach and we will continue because we’re not getting what we seek — and that’s the confetti game, is to be world champs.
“Our goals are really clear. It’s also really clear that we’re falling short of it, and we’re falling short of it in a consistent way. We’re still going to be open to adapting.”
In part because he signed a three-year extension before the 2024 season and told teams who might consider inquiring about his availability in a trade to “save your time,” Tomlin isn’t going anywhere. Still, there are other changes he and the organization can make to get the Steelers dislodged from a cycle of above-average — but not good enough — NFL seasons. Here are three to consider.
Coach Mike Tomlin and the Steelers lost to the Ravens 28-14 in the AFC wild-card round. AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough
Trade an impact player — or two
Tomlin is off the trade market, but the Steelers have a handful of other valuable options that could be turned into premium draft picks. Linebacker play
From the time the Steelers acquired Fields and Russell Wilson last offseason, Wilson was the organization’s understood QB1. Though he jump-started the passing game once he finally returned from his calf injury, Wilson’s play dropped off down the stretch.
“Obviously it didn’t end the way we wanted it to, and I think there’s a lot more to do,” he told reporters Monday.
Wilson wants to be back in 2025, but the Steelers should be wary about committing resources toward a 36-year-old quarterback who was inconsistent and made questionable decisions in the most critical moments.
Though Fields’ time as the starter was brief, he showed promising signs as a mobile, dual-threat quarterback. Giving him a full offseason in “pole position,” to borrow Tomlin’s offseason phrase that described Wilson’s previous standing, could further develop him and give the offense a chance to mold around his skills.
“The way that he managed his professional circumstance was really impressive,” Tomlin said of Fields’ potential to be the Steelers’ 2025 starter. “I thought he brought an urgency to his day-to-day work regardless of his role. I thought he got continually better within our system of ball throughout the process. I thought the way he conducted himself makes that a legitimate thought or idea at this juncture.”
The Steelers should also explore the free agent and trade market — hello Sam Darnold, Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers — and they should also exercise caution and patience in the 2025 NFL draft. The Steelers reached for Kenny Pickett by taking him No. 20 in the 2022 NFL draft — one pick earlier than their slot this season. Not only did he not pan out, but it created an awkward situation with free agent acquisition — and immediate lame duck starter — Mitchell Trubisky. This quarterback class is arguably worse. The Steelers won’t land Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders unless they make a move to trade up into the top five.
