Odds and Bets: NFL and CFL Thursday Night Football
Today’s Sports Betting Picks – Thursday, August 17, 2023
Elks at Tiger-Cats: Rock bottom in the Hammer
Hamilton has won seven of the last 10 games in this head-to-head series, including a 37-29 victory in Edmonton in Week 6 this year. The games have been generally high scoring, with the Over hitting in three straight games and eight of the last 10.
The Elks sit dead last in the CFL with an 0-9 record. They’re likely thankful to be out of Edmonton this week as they are currently riding a ridiculous 22-game home losing streak, a record among North American professional sports leagues. The Elks are getting some help this week, however, as receiver Eugene Lewis is returning to the lineup for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury against Toronto in Week 3. Lewis, playing in his first season in Edmonton, was an All-Star with Montreal, recording 4,347 receiving yards and 28 touchdowns over 69 games in five seasons with the Als.
Canadian quarterback Tre Ford will start for the second week in a row. The Elks, who have a CFL-worst 134 total points this seasion, have shuffled between Ford, Taylor Cornelius and Jarret Doege under centre. Ford, the eighth overall pick in the 2022 CFL draft, finished 12-of-16 passing, for 189 yards, one touchdown and one interception in last week’s 38-29 loss against Winnipeg.
The Ti-Cats, who are third in the East Division with a 3-5 record, will also get a boost to the lineup this week as defensive lineman Dylan Wynn is set to make his season debut. Wynn has been sidelined since Sept. 17 with a knee injury. The 30-year-old collected 31 tackles and four sacks in 12 games last year, his sixth season in the CFL.
Taylor Powell will lead the offence at quarterback. Powell has completed 49 of 76 pass attempts for 532 yards and one touchdown this season. He finished with 202 passing yards and two interceptions in a 27-14 home loss against Montreal two weeks ago. Veteran quarterbacks Bo Levi Mitchell and Matthew Shiltz remain out of the lineup long-term due to injury.
CFL best bet: Game total Over 44.5 points (-110)
Browns at Eagles: Thursday Night Football
The Browns and Eagles both come into Thursday Night Football fresh off losses in Week 1 of the pre-season. Cleveland lost 17-15 at home against Washington, while Philadelphia fell 20-19 in Baltimore. Last week was actually the second pre-season game for the Browns after they beat the Jets 21-16 in the annual Hall of Fame game.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson saw some game action for Cleveland last week, going three-of-three for 12 passing yards. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Joshua Dobbs and Kellen Mond split the rest of the game under centre. Thompson-Robinson finished nine-of-10 for 102 passing yards and a touchdown. Dobbs was eight-of-16 for 77 yards and an interception. Mond was seven-of-12 for 79 yards and a TD. Head coach Kevin Stefanski announced Watson and the rest of the team’s established starters will not play on Thursday.
There’s still been no word on whether starting quarterback Jalen Hurts will see any action on Thursday, but even if he does get into the game, it will be in a very limited role. Tanner McKee (10/20, 148 yards), Marcus Mariota (7/11, 58 yards) and Ian Book (1/4, 11 yards) split quarterback duties last week.
NFL best bet: Cleveland covers as 4.0-point underdogs (-110)
Liberty at Aces: Best of the West vs. Beast of the East
New York has won two of three meetings between the teams this season, including an 82-63 blowout victory in the Commissioner’s Cup on Tuesday. The game also marked Las Vegas’ first home loss in 2023, although the in-season tournament championship game doesn’t count in the regular season standings.
The Aces have dominated the WNBA this season and sit first overall with a 27-3 record. Las Vegas is averaging a league-best 94.0 points per game, in large part thanks to to the trio of A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young. Wilson is averaging 21.2 ppg (fourth-most in WNBA), Plum is averaging 19.0 ppg and Young is 18.6 ppg. Wilson’s 2.2 blocks per game leads the WNBA, while Young (47.4 per cent) and teammate Chelsea Gray (45 per cent) have the best three-point shooting percentage in the league.
The Liberty lead the Eastern Conference with a 24-6 record they are currently riding a six-game win streak (seven, if Tuesday’s game counted in the standings). Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu have been the biggest contributors for New York this season. Stewart is second in the WNBA in points per game (23.3), fourth in rebounds (9.2) and fifth in blocks (1.5). Ionescu has hit a league-high 101 three-pointers and ranks third in the WNBA in three-point percentage (44.7).
The Liberty also downed Las Vegas 99-61 on August 6, while the Aces won 98-81 on June 29. The teams will meet once more in the regular season after Thursday’s game, at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn on August 28.
WNBA best bet: Game total Under 176.5 points (-110)