The Sportsletter - Weekend to Watch 📺

BY JEFF YODER

NOV. 8, 2024 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Happy Friday 🙌

Last night was another quiet sports evening, aside from an AFC North shootout in Baltimore. But don’t let this week’s (temporarily) slow sports schedule fool you. The weekend is here, and it’s full of must-watch moments. One of college football’s most critical Saturdays awaits, and we’re crowning a champion on the NASCAR circuit Sunday afternoon. Whether you had a stressful week (or a positive one), it's a good weekend to let sports bring us together.

📺 Cue the multi-view... 

Letter Rip!

  NFL PICKS  

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  NFL  

Ravens Rally in AFC North Shootout

Photo: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images

Despite Big Bengals Lead & Career Day for WR Ja’Marr Chase (264 yards, 3 TDs), Ravens Rally to Win TNF Shootout (35-34)

A barn-burner in Baltimore! Endless stats and storylines from this one. The Ravens entered Thursday Night Football donning some fresh new threads, but the Bengals needed a road win to keep pace in the division. Cincinnati started hot, jumping out to a 21-7 lead and marching towards a fourth touchdown, but a fumble flipped the momentum. The Ravens scored 21 unanswered to take the lead as both teams combined for 34 points in a fourth quarter shootout. The Bengals scored on a late drive with a fourth-down TD to Chase — we’ll get to his day in a second — but they failed on the two-point conversion for the win (lot of could-be penalty flags on that play, too). Both QBs — Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson — threw four TDs, but Jackson was 11/13 for 197 yards and 3 TDs in the fourth. MVP chants?

Ja’Marr Chase’s Historic Night

Chase’s 264 yards and 3 scores made him the first receiver in NFL history with multiple games of 250 yards and 3 TDs. He leads all NFL receivers in catches (66), yards (981) and touchdowns (10) this season. No one else is all that close in any category.

QB Comparison

L. Jackson (BAL): 25/33, 323 yards, 4 TDs

J. Burrow (CIN): 34/56, 428 yards, 4 TDs

Top Performers

WR J. Chase (CIN): 11 catches, 264 yards, 3 TDs

WR T. Wallace (BAL): 3 catches, 115 yards, 1 TD

RB C. Brown (CIN): 22 touches, 94 yards, 1 TD

RB D. Henry (BAL): 17 touches, 71 yards, 1 TD

AFC North Standings: Steelers (6-2), Ravens (7-3), Bengals (4-6), Browns (2-7)

Watch: Ravens Rally to Beat Bengals in 4th-Quarter Shootout (35-34)

Read More

B/R: Lamar Jackson & Joe Burrow Put on a Show in TNF Thriller

CBS Sports: Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase Sets NFL Records on TNF

  NASCAR  

Champ 4: 1 Race for Glory 🏁

Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images

NASCAR’s Season Finale is Winner-Take-All Between 4 Drivers at Phoenix Raceway (Sun. 3:00 pm ET, NBC)

Strap in! The NASCAR Cup Series finale is ready to kick the tires this Sunday in Phoenix. It’s a winner-take-all showdown among the Championship 4 — Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and William Byron. All 40 drivers will still compete, but the top-placed finisher of the Champ 4 will win NASCAR’s Cup Series crown. Blaney looks to defend his title from 2023, but Logano won it twice in recent years (2022 & 2018). No points, stage wins, or funny business. The top finisher of these four gets the Cup and roughly $3 million in team bonuses.

The Champ 4 Breakdown

Joey Logano: 3 Wins | 307 Laps Led

Tyler Reddick: 3 Wins | 597 Laps Led

Ryan Blaney: 3 Wins | 555 Laps Led

William Byron: 3 Wins | 338 Laps Led

All four drivers have three wins apiece, and none of them have led more than 600 laps this year. Ironically, the three drivers who combined to lead 40 percent of the NASCAR laps this season (3,632 laps) were all eliminated in Martinsville. Those three were Kyle Larson (6 wins), Christopher Bell (3 wins) and Denny Hamlin (3 wins).

🏁 NASCAR’s Season Finale

Phoenix Raceway (Sun. 3:00 pm ET, NBC)

Read More

NBC Sports: What Cup Title Would Mean for Championship 4 Drivers (Video)

FOX Sports: 2024 NASCAR Championship Predictions: This Could Be William Byron’s Year

  HIGHLIGHTS   🎥

🏀 NBA

T-Wolves def. Bulls (135-119)

Anthony Edwards (33 pts, 8 rebs, 6 ast)

Bucks def. Jazz (123-100)

Giannis & Dame Combine for 65 Points

Full NBA Scoreboard

🏒 NHL

Flyers def. Lightning (2-1, S/O)

Owen Tippett Scores Shootout Winner

Jets def. Avalanche (1-0)

Connor Hellebuyck Notches 35-Save Shutout

Panthers def. Predators (6-2)

Champs Stay Hot With 6th Straight Win

Full NHL Scoreboard

  STORYLINES   

🏀 Bilas Index: The 68 Best Teams

It can be daunting to determine the best of the 300+ teams in Division I. That is where The Bilastrator comes in. These are Jay Bilas’s 68 best teams in college hoops. (ESPN+)

🏈 NFL Midseason Awards

With nine weeks of the 2024 NFL season wrapped up, we're officially halfway through the regular-season schedule. It's the perfect time for a midyear assessment. (CBS Sports)

🏒 NHL Power Rankings

It’s been exactly one month since the NHL season began in earnest on October 8 with a banner-raising in South Florida. There have been some big surprises so far. (SportsNet)

  NEWS   📰 

🏀 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey to Miss ‘A Couple of Weeks’ With Hamstring Injury (B/R)

🏈 Billy Napier to Return as Florida’s Head Coach in 2025 (SI)

🏈 Panthers Reach 4-Year Contract Extension With RB Chubba Hubbard (ESPN)

🏈 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey Expected to Start Sunday Against Bucs (NBC Sports)

🏀 Lakers Rookie Bronny James to Make G-League Debut With South Bay Lakers on Saturday (CBS Sports)

  SCHEDULE   🗓️

The Weekend Must-Watch List

Another doozy! This weekend features must-see college football games from top to bottom with CFP implications across the board. The MLS playoffs kick into the next phase, and the NASCAR season finale crowns a champion in Phoenix. Let's do it!

🏈 College Football (Saturday)

Purdue at #2 Ohio State (Noon, FOX)

#4 Miami at Georgia Tech (Noon, ESPN)

Florida at #5 Texas (Noon, ABC)

#3 Georgia at #16 Ole Miss (3:30 pm, ABC)

Michigan at #8 Indiana (3:30 pm, CBS)

Maryland at #1 Oregon (7:00 pm, BTN)

Miss. State at #7 Tennessee (7:00 pm, ESPN)

Florida State at #10 Notre Dame (7:30 pm, NBC)

#11 Alabama at #15 LSU (7:30 pm, ABC)

Washington at #6 Penn State (8:00 pm, Peacock)

#9 BYU at Utah (10:15 pm, ESPN)

Full College Football Saturday Schedule

🏈 NFL Week 10 (Sunday)

49ers at Buccaneers (1:00 pm, FOX)

Steelers at Commanders (1:00 pm, CBS)

Eagles at Cowboys (4:25 pm, CBS)

Lions at Texans (8:20 pm, NBC)

Full NFL Week 10 Schedule

⚽️ MLS Playoffs

LAFC vs. Vancouver (Fri. 10:00 pm)

FC Cincinnati vs. NYC FC (Sat. 4:00 pm)

Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC (Sat. 6:00 pm)

Inter Miami vs. Atlanta Utd. (Sat. 8:00 pm)

*All Games on AppleTV

⚽️ Other Soccer

EPL: Chelsea vs. Arsenal (Sun. 11:30 am, NBC)

🏁 NASCAR Cup Series Championship

Phoenix Raceway (Sun. 3:00 pm, NBC)

🏀 NBA

Suns at Mavericks (Fri. 7:30 pm, ESPN)

76ers at Lakers (Fri. 10:00 pm, ESPN)

Celtics at Bucks (Sun. 3:30 pm, NBALP)

Full NBA Schedule

🏒 NHL

Rangers at Red Wings (Sat. 7:00 pm, ESPN+)

Hurricanes at Avalanche (Sat. 9:00 pm, ESPN+)

Oilers at Canucks (Sat. 10:00 pm, ESPN+)

Full NHL Schedule

🏀 NCAA Basketball

M: #9 UNC at #1 Kansas (Fri. 7:00 pm, ESPN2)

M: #8 Baylor at #16 Arkansas (Sat. 7:30 pm, ESPNU)

M: #11 Auburn at #4 Houston (Sat. 9:30 pm, ESPNU)

W: #11 Duke at #18 Maryland (Sun. 1:00 pm, FS1)

W: #9 NC State at #1 S. Carolina (Sun. 3:00 pm, ESPN)

*All Times ET

  THE TEAM  

Writer & Editor: Jeff Yoder

Assistant Writer: Marissa Kasch

Social Media: Aaron Yorke

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