Aided by the presence of pop superstar Taylor Swift, the NFL Week 4 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets was the second-most watched television program in 2023 behind only the Super Bowl, which also involved the Chiefs.
So what happens when you keep the two most exciting elements of that Week 4 game — the Chiefs and Swift — and sub in the Super Bowl runner-up Philadelphia Eagles for the Jets? Fireworks, folks. That’s what. Fireworks.
Now, look, I’m not trying to break news here. I have no clue if Swift is actually attending the Monday night game in Kansas City. But it’s probably safe to assume she will considering the Swift family are Eagles fans and things seem to be going pretty well between Swift and Travis Kelce.
That all adds to the spectacle of what should be a pretty good game too, in a rematch of Super Bowl 57, which came down to the wire. The Chiefs (7-2) and Eagles (8-1) are again the two best teams in their respective conferences and arguably the entire league. Early odds at BetMGM favor the home-team Chiefs by 3 points, but the Eagles are definitely coming in with revenge on the brain.
There aren’t many great games in Week 11 between Thursday and Monday, but having this game to close out the week will definitely make up for a lackluster Sunday.
Ravens and Bengals can't both bounce back
OK, so when I said there aren’t many great games in Week 11 between Thursday and Monday night, I lied. I should have said there aren’t any. Like, at all.
The closest thing to a good matchup is the Cleveland Browns hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers, but nothing about that game screams exciting. The best we have to look forward to are the bookends, and the first of those is Bengals at Ravens on Thursday night.
Both teams suffered brutal letdowns in their Week 10 games, though for different reasons. The Ravens blew a late double-digit lead to lose as favorites to the Browns, and the Bengals were simply outplayed from start to finish by the underdog Houston Texans — and couldn’t capitalize on chances at the end.
Now, both look to bounce back in an important AFC North battle, with the Ravens favored by 3.5 points at home, but they both can’t win. The game is especially crucial for the Bengals, who are in last place at 5-4 and already have a loss to the Ravens earlier in the year.
Victor Wembanyama vs. Chet Holmgren, Round 1
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The biggest threat to Victor Wembanyama as the NBA’s Rookie of the Year has long been thought to be the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chet Holmgren, who had the advantage of being drafted a year earlier and spending an entire season with an NBA staff. And through 10 games for each, that thinking has held up pretty well.
Wembanyama remains a big betting favorite for the award at -350 odds, but Holmgren is the next closest at +350 and nobody else has shorter odds than 35-1 at BetMGM. It’s Wembanyama and Holmgren, then everyone else. And the numbers bear that out.
Wembanyama: 19.7 ppg, 44.7% FG, 8.8 rpg, 2.5 ast, 2.4 blk
Holmgren: 16.4 ppg, 54.9% FG, 7.6 reb, 2.6 ast, 2.3 blk
To help bring clarity to the award race, the two 7-footers will get a chance to match up head-to-head for the first time on Tuesday when the San Antonio Spurs visit OKC.
The Thunder are obviously a better team at 6-4, but the 3-7 Spurs have beaten teams they weren’t supposed to beat before and Wembanyama was a big reason why. So, this game will definitely be one to watch.
State Farm Champions Classic
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The Champions Classic is always a fun early-season tournament to give fans a taste of what they might be able to expect from a few blue blood programs later in the season, and that’s no different this year with Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and Michigan State all ranked in the AP top 25 going into Tuesday’s games and all holding top-six national title odds.
The headlining game this year will no doubt be the matchup between No. 1 Kansas (-5.5) and No. 17 Kentucky, who are both still undefeated at 2-0.
But No. 9 Duke (-2.5) against No. 18 Michigan State might end up being the better game, with both teams trying to avoid falling to 1-2 on the season.
