2020 NFL Season

[SeaBreeze341]

I wonder if Fanduel or Draftkings had a bet available on their app on whether the Jaguars & Jets would have fewer or more combined wins than the total number of Ravens/Steelers schedule changes

[moneygamelover]

I've just learned some bad news, at least for myself. Apparently, the December 26th 49ers-Cardinals game will not be on TV and will be a streaming only game. I'm very disappointed at not being able to see my hometown team's last home game of the season vs a division rival on TV.  Le Sigh.

[pricefan18]

I've just learned some bad news, at least for myself. Apparently, the December 26th 49ers-Cardinals game will not be on TV and will be a streaming only game. I'm very disappointed at not being able to see my hometown team's last home game of the season vs a division rival on TV.  Le Sigh.

Why are they doing this? That's a BS move......and unprecedented to be stream only isn't it?

[SeaBreeze341]

Why are they doing this? That's a BS move......and unprecedented to be stream only isn't it?

The NFL had an agreement prior to the start of the season where 1 of those 5 games that were flexed to Saturday would air exclusively on Amazon.  So, it isn’t something the league create on the fly.

I have no idea why moneygamelover would be unable to view the game.  If anything, Arizona & San Francisco fans should be able to watch on television, not the other way around.  In the past, the only time people would have their games blacked out in their area is if there wasn’t a home game sellout.  That wouldn’t make any sense this season, obviously.

You would think that the other games (that feature the Browns, Jets, Chargers, and Broncos) would get the streaming only treatment.  Out of respect, I guess the league didn’t want to have Amazon streaming a disaster of a game featuring disaster teams

[moneygamelover]

I managed to find an article explaining it in more detail. Fortunately, there will be a local TV broadcast here in Atizona as well as in San Francisco.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2020/11/30/21726810/nfl-amazon-cardinals-49ers-prime-video-twitch-exclusive-saturday-football-game

[Ccook]

The Steelers remain undefeated, but HC Mike Tomlin said his team's efforts against the Ravens yesterday was like "junior Varsity." They have Washington next Monday (no line, O/U is 44).

[SeaBreeze341]

Yesterday's game might have been the first time I felt worse than I normally would after a loss.  One of the lines Coach Tomlin gave, however, were more to the point.  In answer to one of the questions, he kept it simple: "Us sucking."

Then earlier this hour (Noon EST during his press conference), He topped that with "We were sucking all game well before Bud Dupree went down".  While the Steelers held Baltimore to 14 points, half of those came because someone didn't know about the importance of fair catching.  FWIW, the Ravens were missing a ton of people, so that was more likely the case for a bad game than Pittsburgh's defense playing well.

Washington is not going to be an easy game.  That what I assumed even before all the schedule changes.  However, it's the most affordable loss the Steelers can take (assuming they take care of business against Cincinnati)

[Ccook]

Pittsburgh is now giving 8 and their FPI is 74%.

[SeaBreeze341]

Now it's down to -7

[JayC]

You would think that the other games (that feature the Browns, Jets, Chargers, and Broncos) would get the streaming only treatment.  Out of respect, I guess the league didn’t want to have Amazon streaming a disaster of a game featuring disaster teams

I'm sure the deal wasn't cheap, and if they stuck Amazon with a bad matchup they would be less likely to do it again next season. Out of the matchups that were available to them, 49ers-Cardinals was the best draw.

I really can't see Washington beating Pittsburgh, even with Pittsburgh on short rest. The rest could hurt rather than help Washington too, they're going to have quite a long time between games and could very well suffer from rust. The Steelers will be extra motivated too given their performance against the Ravens.

[SeaBreeze341]

I'm sure the deal wasn't cheap, and if they stuck Amazon with a bad matchup they would be less likely to do it again next season. Out of the matchups that were available to them, 49ers-Cardinals was the best draw.

I really can't see Washington beating Pittsburgh, even with Pittsburgh on short rest. The rest could hurt rather than help Washington too, they're going to have quite a long time between games and could very well suffer from rust. The Steelers will be extra motivated too given their performance against the Ravens.

The good news for Washington is that the Steelers have yet to sweep all four of their interconference opponents since Mike Tomlin took over as head coach.  The bad news for Washington is that the Steelers haven't lost to the former 3-time Super Bowl champion since 1991.  Other than that, I can see this game going either way.  As it relates to Kansas City, this is the one game the Steelers can afford to lose in the event that both KC & PITT are 15-1.  The Steelers can't lose to Buffalo, and a loss to Cleveland, Indianapolis, or Cincinnati isn't ideal either.

Washington is playing much better.  They started off real bad before making changes to become a better football team.  The issue is that they're playing games against the two best divisions in football (AFC North & NFC West).  What helps Washington, especially their QB, is that Bud Dupree is done and the Steelers defense isn't going be as dynamic as before.

Kansas City has a tough game in the Superdome later on.  Other than that, I don't see where another loss is coming from as it relates to the defending Super Bowl champion

Kansas City has a tough match-up later on in the Super Dome

[therealcu2010]

I'm sure the deal wasn't cheap, and if they stuck Amazon with a bad matchup they would be less likely to do it again next season. Out of the matchups that were available to them, 49ers-Cardinals was the best draw.

If anything, choosing that game to be streaming-only likely increased possible viewership. It was an NFL Network exclusive originally, meaning only those with said Network (which isn't everyone) could watch it. By streaming it via Amazon's platforms (which includes Twitch), it suddenly becomes available for more people to watch, including those of us who don't subscribe to the NFL Network. As always with cable-exclusive games, the NFL's broadcast contracts require games to be available over-the-air on free TV in each team's local markets.

I personally think it's a great experiment. This is 2020, distribution methods have changed, and with an increasing number of "cord-cutters" cutting cable and satellite TV because it's just becoming too damn expensive, providing an alternate method, one widely available to the masses, is a great idea. The NFL is easily the most intelligent of the major American sports leagues when it comes to webcasts... they realized that trying to shut down all of the bootleg streams was a waste of time, so why not do it themselves and make a profit off it, and in higher quality to boot? If you have a smart TV or streaming player (like Roku) you can easily get the game through the Twitch or Amazon Prime video apps...and having watched some of the Thursday night games on Twitch versus Fox, I find the video quality of the stream superior... when my internet connection doesn't take a dump, that is.

[SeaBreeze341]

I wonder if it would it be a record if the NFL on CBS moved to a more competitive game in the first half of a game scheduled within one's region.  For example, moving from Cleveland at Tennessee to Las Vegas at New York Jets.


In my area, I usually get two early games, with the late game being the national game on either CBS or FOX (both in Week 17).  This week, two late games, the national game of the week on CBS and one on FOX.  One early game on CBS: Cleveland vs Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee

[bigblue999]

Derek Carr and the Raiders pull a miracle against the Jets, who are now 0-12.

[moneygamelover]

Several teams had opportunities to pull out late wins but couldn't (Bears, Falcons, Texans) Only the Raiders made the clutch play.

With their own win and the Bears, the Saints clinched a playoff berth.

How bout those Browns! Just wow!