The Jacksonville Jaguars have had some very good players in their history – although it is the only franchise to never have had a future Hall of Famer (so far) play for the team – in the likes of Mark Brunell, Tony Boselli, Jimmy Smith and others. However, the Jaguars have never really had that guy who drew national attention and helped lure fans to what is often a partially empty stadium in Jacksonville.
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It seemed the franchise finally stumbled on such a player in sixth-round rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II, what with his unique mustache and style of dress. Minshew led Jacksonville to a 4-4 record as a starter after replacing an injured Nick Foles in Week 1 and Minshew Mania was born in Jacksonville, but the Jags have decided to hand the starting job back to a now-healthy Foles as they come out of the bye Sunday at the Indianapolis Colts.
Foles got an $88 million free-agent contract to come to Jacksonville so perhaps the team wants to get some return on that money. The Colts are 3-point betting favorites and should get back starting QB Jacoby Brissett from a one-game injury absence. Jacksonville is 7-0-1 ATS in the past eight in this series.
Likely to be plenty of empty seats at FedExField in Maryland on Sunday as the New York Jets visit the Washington Redskins. The only thing these teams are playing for is perhaps the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft – the winner here might lose in the long run because it would then be tough to get that pick. The Redskins are out of their bye and will stick with rookie quarterback Dwyane Haskins as their starting quarterback. He struggled in his starting debut in Week 9, a 24-9 loss in Buffalo. At 1-8, the Redskins might as well let Haskins learn on the job the rest of the way. The Redskins are 1-point betting favorites. New York has lost and failed to cover nine straight November road games.
The New Orleans Saints continue their push for the NFC South title and perhaps the top seed in the conference as Drew Brees & Co. visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints were the biggest upset losers of Week 10 as their six-game winning streak was snapped by Atlanta, which was a 14-point underdog. Still, the Saints essentially have the division won and are battling the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers for the NFC’s top spot.
Tampa is just playing out the string and looking to avoid the season sweep. The Bucs lost 31-24 in New Orleans in Week 5 when Brees was out injured and Teddy Bridgewater threw for 314 yards and four touchdowns. New Orleans is -5.5 and has won 12 of the past 16 in this series.
