AFC Playoff Picture Getting Clearer – November 16

Tonight’s Thursday Night Football matchup between Cincinnati and Baltimore will have a huge impact on the AFC playoff picture. The Ravens host the Bengals tonight as 3.5-point favorites. Both teams enter tonight’s game having won four straight before losing last week. Both Cincinnati and Baltimore lost on last-second field goals in Week 10. The Ravens maintained their lead in the AFC North Division, despite the loss. The Bengals, even though they are 5-4, are now last in the division.

The AFC playoff picture got a little clearer after last week’s games. Kansas City and Baltimore are the top two seeds right now. Jacksonville, Miami, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland are all 6-3 and own the No. 3 through No. 6 seeds. Surprising Houston actually owns the No. 7 and final seed in the AFC playoff picture right now. What’s possibly more surprising is that Cincinnati is not among the top-7.

Bengals Need Win to Get Back in AFC Playoff Picture

At 5-4, Cincinnati is on the outside looking in. The Bengals are No. 8 in the AFC playoff picture right now. They are a half-game ahead of the Colts and Bill, who are both 5-5. A loss does Cincy no good and makes things more difficult for QB Joe Burrow and the rest of the Bengals. 

The Bengals have yet to win a division game, going 0-2 so far this season. Cincy has an extremely difficult remaining schedule with the Steelers twice, Cleveland, Jacksonville, and the Chiefs in the season finale. That makes tonight’s game even more important if the Bengals are going to stay alive in the AFC playoff picture. 

Packed Full of Sports Hub Experts at the Top of the Leaderboard

While the Bengals need a win to stay in the AFC playoff picture, the expert cappers here at Sports Hub do not need wins. They just keep popping them out. Wins, wins, and more wins. That’s what our guys do here at Sports Hub and yesterday was no exception. 

The top-5 yesterday all won at least $300 and the top four on that list were all exclusive Sports Hub handicappers. That means you won’t find them anywhere else. Only Sports Hub members could have accessed and used their picks on games last night to go 14-1 and win $1300! 

Here’s a look at that top-5.

• Top Jimmy: Maybe Van Halen was singing about Jimmy Liu. The guy has been on a roll over the past week. Last night, Jimmy went 4-0 and won $400. Over the last three days, Top Jimmy is 10-0! That’s $1000 added to the bankroll. Jimmy is also No. 1 on our 7-day NBA leaderboard. You might want to see if Jimmy has any picks for today’s games.

• Sports Hub connection: Spots 2, 3, and 4 on yesterday’s leaderboard were occupied by three more Sports Hub experts: Logan Wilson, Seth Cohen, and Evan Lewis. Logan went 4-1 while Seth and Evan each went 3-0. All three cappers pocketed $300 for the day. Seth is up $1950 over the last 30 days. Evan has had a strong last three days. He’s gone 7-1 and won $645. He has picks for today’s games in the system already.
• Ralphie: Rounding out our top-5 yesterday was Ralph Michaels from our friends at WagerTalk. Ralph went 3-0 and earned $300 on three hoops picks, two college basketball and one NBA pick. 

Suspensions, Awards & Booker’s Back

After the NBA’s fight night on Tuesday, a few players will be missing some games and opening up their wallets to pay some fines. Major League Baseball handed out a few end-of-season awards yesterday. The NCAA was busy doing what it does best – not care about student-athletes – and Devin Booker returned to the Suns lineup.

Check out what’s trending.

• Draymond gets five-game ban: Green got hit with a five-game suspension for his role in an altercation in Tuesday night’s Golden State-Minnesota game. Green grabbed TWolves C Rudy Gobert around the neck. He has a history of unsportsmanlike conduct. Green will miss two games against the Thunder and one each against Houston, Phoenix, and San Antonio. He’ll lose $769,970 in salary as a result.
• Cy Young Award winners: Blake Snell was virtually unhittable over the latter two-thirds of last season. Snell struggled early but wound up 14-9 with an MLB-leading 2.25 ERA. For his efforts, Snell was awarded the NL Cy Young award yesterday. It was the second of his career. Gerrit Cole, who went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA, won the AL Cy Young. It was the first of his career. 

• Gestapo NCAA: The governing body of college sports, the NCAA, denied James Madison’s waiver to play in a postseason bowl game. The Dukes are 10-0 and in their second season in FBS. It’s all about the student-athlete, right?
• Booker is back: While the AFC playoff picture is working itself out in the NFL, Phoenix star Devin Booker returned to the lineup last night after missing five games with a strained right calf. Booker poured in 31 points as the Suns beat Minnesota 133-115. Kevin Durant also had 31 points and the Suns have yet to unleash the trifecta of Booker, Durant, and Bradley Beal.

NFL Thursday Affects AFC Playoff Picture

The Thursday Night Football matchup between Baltimore and Cincinnati will have an impact on the AFC playoff picture. The Bengals have a chance to get themselves back into the top-7 with a win. Cincinnati has won 4 of the last 6 games against the Ravens. Make yourself a winner with our Thursday Night Football picks page. Every week, our experts break down the game and offer up the best picks.

There is also a college game tonight as well as a ton of other sports action today. That means all sorts of betting opportunities for bettors. Sports Hub handicappers have been busy and will continue to stay busy providing picks for today’s action.

Here’s what’s on the schedule.

1. Thursday night CFB: It’s an ACC clash between Boston College (6-4) and the team known as the former ACC champions, the Pitt Panthers (2-8). After two nights of MAC-tion, this is the only game on the schedule.
2. NFL Thursday: The AFC playoff picture is on the line tonight. A Cincinnati win gets them right back into the AFC playoff picture. Baltimore is in the picture no matter what.
3. Golf: The RSM Classic starts today at the Sea Island Resort on Saint Simons Island in Georgia. On the LPGA Tour, the CME Group Tour Championship begins today at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, FL.
4. NBA: There are only two games in the NBA tonight and they make up NBATV’s doubleheader. Brooklyn (6-5) is at Miami (7-4) and Oklahoma City (7-4) plays at Golden State (6-6). Stephen Curry is out for the Warriors and Green will serve the first of his five-game suspension.
5. NHL: There is plenty of action on the ice tonight with nine NHL games. Boston leads the Eastern Conference and the NHL with 26 points. The Bruins are off tonight. In the West, defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas is 12-3-1 and has 25 points. Tied with the Golden Knights are the surprising Vancouver Canucks. Vegas plays in Montreal tonight while Vancouver is in Calgary.

6. World Cup qualifiers: The CONCACAF Nations League plays today and there are World Cup qualifiers all over the globe. There is qualifying play for CONMEBOL, AFC, and CAF. Our cappers have nearly a dozen soccer picks in the system already. Check throughout the day for more.
7. NCAAB: These early season college basketball games are addicting. There are another two or three dozen games on tonight’s schedule. Only one ranked team – No. 6 Houston – plays tonight. 
8. Tennis: Top-seeded Novak Djokovic plays today in the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. On the women’s tour, more second round action at the LP Open by IND is on tap for today.

It’s a huge game tonight in the NFL. The outcome will greatly affect the AFC playoff picture. Sports Hub has you covered for tonight. Don’t forget to visit our Thursday Night Football picks page and then head over to the members’ area for picks from our expert cappers. There are about a dozen picks in the system right now and that number is sure to rise before game time.

Come back tomorrow to see how you stacked up against the best of our handicappers. We’ll also get you ready for a big weekend of college football and share a secret from sharp bettors.