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Good morning! So much football.
While You Were Sleeping: Ravens oust Bengals in barnburner
This is what elite Thursday football looks like: two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, trading highlight-reel touchdowns in the final minutes of a game that could help decide either team’s playoff outlook. Add in a two-point conversion to decide it, and we have a pièce de résistance.
Ravens 35, Bengals 34. Whew. Quickly:
- This was essentially three games in one. For two and a half quarters, Cincy produced its best football of the season, taking a 21-7 lead late into the third against an elite Baltimore offense. Then the Ravens reeled off 21 straight points. They traded touchdowns in the final two minutes, and the Bengals’ ballsy move to go for two with 38 seconds left failed. Chef’s kiss.
- The quarterbacks combined for 718 yards passing, eight touchdowns and zero interceptions. Three of those TD throws were 67 yards or longer; Jackson’s 84-yard connection with Tylan Wallace was the longest of his career, and Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase for the other two. Chase had 264 yards receiving alone, which made history.
- For the 7-3 Ravens, it was a necessary victory to keep pace in one of the NFL’s best divisions, where they still trail the Steelers. The 4-6 Bengals have a favorable schedule the rest of the way, too, and if they can keep playing like this, we should expect a wild-card spot. But the margins are thin, and it must sting to see an 0-2 record against Baltimore. Combined margin of victory? Four points.
I think that’s the best game I’ve seen this season. Moving on:
Pulse Polls: Is new good?
It has been a busy autumn, so it’s understandable if we sort of forgot about the whole entirely-new-college-football-reality update that officially happened Tuesday, when the new era’s first rankings arrived.
I want to open up a bigger discussion, which we’ll touch on next week: How has the 12-team College Football Playoff era changed your viewing experience? We’ve talked plenty about the changes themselves, but do we like how the season is playing out? Is there a different feeling?
Your options are simple:
- It’s better. More teams in the mix, more fun.
- It’s worse. The stakes are gone.
- It’s about the same. Some games aren’t as big, but so many more games matter at least a little bit, so it all washes out.
Make your voice heard here.
News to Know
Cohen to meet with Soto
Mets owner Steve Cohen will fly to California next week to meet with top free agent Juan Soto, sources confirmed to The Athletic’s Will Sammon yesterday. It’s an expected yet tantalizing update for what could be a long courtship this winter. Scott Boras, Soto’s agent, said this week that his client enjoyed playing in New York this year. I just can’t wait to see what the number is.
McCaffrey returns
Yesterday, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said star running back Christian McCaffrey is expected to finally make his season debut this weekend against the Buccaneers, a welcome sight for a 4-4 San Francisco team (and fantasy managers everywhere). McCaffrey has dealt with Achilles tendinitis since training camp and returned to practice just last week. See our full update here.
UF sticks by Napier
Billy Napier will remain as Florida’s head football coach, Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin announced yesterday, a mild surprise, considering Napier’s rocky start in Gainesville. He is 15-18 in two-plus seasons, including 4-4 this year, though Florida has shown signs of life as this season has progressed. His buyout, $26 million if they fired him after the year, could be a big reason to stick with the status quo.
More news
The Good Bets: One win, please
Oh, baby. I went 0-4 last week in Pulseland. Rock bottom is somewhere. Just don’t ask me for that fake money right now. We’re bouncing back here (odds via BetMGM):
College
- No. 3 Georgia (-2.5) at No. 16 Ole Miss
Am I avoiding the LSU game? Yes. Do I feel confident about this bet? Also yes. The Dawgs have looked iffy this year, but I am trusting them here against a Rebels team that might be overrated. Georgia by a TD. - Michigan (+14) at No. 8 Indiana
I don’t expect the Wolverines to win this game, but I also suspect this might be the best roster the Hoosiers have faced this year. A 14-point spread is massive.
Read more: Expert picks | Best bets
NFL
Read more: Expert picks
Pulse record overall: 17-20-1
Watch and Listen
📺 NCAAM: No. 9 North Carolina at No. 1 Kansas
7 p.m. ET on ESPN 2
An extremely fun early top-10 matchup between two of the bluest bloods we have. Allen Fieldhouse should be rocking.
📺 NBA: Suns at Mavericks
7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Phoenix has been the Western Conference’s best team thus far, and Kevin Durant has been superb in his 17th season. We talk about LeBron James’ longevity, but the Slim Reaper must be included in that conversation. Tune in tonight and join the movement.
Get tickets to games like these here.
🎧 “The Athletic Football Show” is always a must-listen after games, and the Week 10 preview is pristine. Catch it here.
Pulse Picks
In high school, Jordan Hawkins‘ jersey read “NO-WHERE” because when he first showed up at a practice, no one knew where he came from. Now he’s a senior at Ole Miss setting records. His path between those points was unbelievable.
Our NFL staff took a stab at NFL midseason awards here. Kirk Cousins is getting flowers.
B-R heads, assemble: Baseball-Reference has entered a new age, where WAR is now a standard batting metric on each player page. It’s a minor change with a major impact.
There may be some lingering hard feelings, but Sam Amick has a great column on why the Clippers were right to let Paul George walk.
A follow from yesterday’s newsletter: Marcus Thompson II on how these refreshed Warriors are winning, with defensive tweaks and new life.
I loved this intro to FC Noah, a small Armenian soccer team that borrows its name from biblical lore and fought its way into the Europa Conference League to face mighty Chelsea. The match didn’t go well — an 8-0 loss — but the journey was incredible nonetheless.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on Travis Kelce’s defense of his brother, Jason, over that phone-slamming incident.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Nick Baumgardner’s latest NFL mock draft.
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(Top photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
