Tuesday Night Football Galore, Plus Bowl Game Update

Betting preview for Seahawks-Rams and Washington-Eagles, plus NBA injuries, NFL news and bowl game breakdowns.

Tuesday usually signals the beginning of a new NFL week. But this week is most unusual.

COVID-19 outbreaks among several teams forced postponements which dragged out the opening round of fantasy playoffs an extra day, only adding to the suspense and stress of this wacky weekend. So instead of welcoming you to a new week, like I usually do on Tuesdays, I welcome you back to Week 15.

Let’s do some Tuesday Night Football, folks.

Seattle Seahawks (5-8) vs. Los Angeles Rams (9-4)

7 p.m. ET, Fox

These NFC West rivals each have won their last two games following lengthy losing streaks. The Rams can tie the Cardinals for the best record in the division with a win and the Seahawks can avoid a sweep and stay alive in the playoff race if they are victorious. L.A. is a seven-point home favorite and the Rams won, 26-17, in Seattle earlier this year.

Washington Football Team (6-7) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (6-7)

7 p.m. ET, Fox

A 7-7 record is good enough for a playoff spot in the current NFC standings. That’s what Philadelphia and Washington are both vying for in their first meeting of the season. The Cowboys put an end to Washington’s four-game win streak last week, but the team is still very much alive in the postseason race. Philadelphia gets quarterback Jalen Hurts back from a one-game absence. The Eagles, winners of three of their last four, are 6.5-point favorites.

NFL and Fantasy Football

Both Monday night games were ugly. They did matter a great deal for playoff seeding, though. Thanks to a Daniel Carlson game-winning field goal, the Raiders’ playoff hopes are still alive following a 16-14 win over the Browns. And the Vikings won an especially ugly game in Chicago, 17-9. But Minnesota wasn’t going for style points. The victory moved it into the seventh seed in the NFC, the last playoff spot in the conference in the expanded postseason.

Fantasy Players React to Brutal Week: Aside from the Thursday Night Football game between the Chiefs and Chargers, Week 15 was brutal for fantasy football. The same stars who brought your team to the playoffs likely sunk your chances of moving on over the weekend. Craig Ellenport documented the frustration as managers took to Twitter to air their grievances.

Week 16 IDP Players to Add: Matt De Lima is taking a look ahead to next week in the latest iteration of his IDP waiver wire report. De Lima is recommending Dolphins safety Brandon Jones and Steelers defensive end Chris Wormley again after great performances. See which other players need to be picked up.

Chris Godwin Done for the Year: Tampa Bay’s leading receiver, Chris Godwin, is out for the season with a torn ACL. He suffered the injury in an embarrassing shutout loss to the Saints during which Leonard Fournette and Mike Evans also left early with injuries.

Antonio Brown Rejoining Buccaneers: Tom Brady and Co. will get some reinforcements when Antonio Brown, who last played in Week 6 and missed time due to a suspension and ankle injury, rejoins the team this week. Brown’s suspension was the result of him submitting a fake vaccination card.

NBA Action

There are five games around the league Tuesday after Wizards-Nets was postponed due to positive COVID-19 cases. Two-time NBA SO/UP guest picker Doug Vazquez rejoins me to make bets for Timberwolves-Mavericks and Lakers-Suns.

SI Betting will release an in-depth NBA Christmas piece later in the week with picks for all five games for the league’s stacked slate.

Anthony Davis Out At Least Four Weeks: Lakers star Anthony Davis is set to miss around a month with an MCL sprain. The Lakers are already dealing with a rash of COVID-19 cases and Davis’ injury only worsens the blow.

New NBA COVID-19 Protocols Introduced: The league and players association agreed on new protocols that involve increased testing and mask use in light of a rising number of cases of the virus around the NBA.

College Football

There’s a pair of bowl games on the docket Tuesday: The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET between Kent State and Wyoming and the Tropical Smoothie Frisco Bowl between UTSA and San Diego State begins at 7:30 p.m. ET. Both games are on ESPN.

College Football Composite Bowl Game Picks: Looking to bet those two games? Richard Johnson’s composite model has picks for dozens upon dozens of bowl games to keep things interesting before the College Football Playoff begins on New Year’s Eve.

Bowl Game Watchability Rankings: Ross Dellenger presents one reason to watch every game of bowl season. See where Tuesday’s games rank and plan out the rest of your week accordingly with a loaded bowl schedule in mind.

Players to Watch for in Every Bowl Game: If the reasons Dellenger provided weren’t enough for you to tune in, Johnson is highlighting one player on each bowl team worth watching.

SI Sportsbook Bowl Game Spreads: Visit SISB to get the latest odds and spreads for every bowl game.

That's all for today. Good luck closing out your fantasy matchups. I'll talk to you again on Thursday.