Big Al's Daily Angle: MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA Preview

by Big Al Staff

Thursday, Sep 17, 2020
All four major sports return to action on Thursday after MLB monopolized the card on Wednesday.

Week 2 of the NFL kicks off tonight at 8:20 PM ET on the NFL Network with the Cincinnati Bengals traveling to Cleveland to face the Browns. The Bengals come off a 16-13 loss on Sunday at home to the Chargers after kicker Randy Bullock missed a game-tying 31-yard field goal as time expired that would have sent the game into overtime. The bright side for Cincinnati was the play of their rookie quarterback Joe Burrow. While he only passed for 193 yards on a 23 of 36 passing day, it was his composure and efficiency in operating the two-minute drill to put the Bengals in the position to win or send the game into overtime that gives the Cincinnati faithful excitement for his bright future. Cleveland got punched in the mouth to quote Baker Mayfield on Sunday in a 38-6 loss at Baltimore. The Ravens raced out to a 24-6 lead by halftime to control that game.

Both teams are already dealing with a bevy of injuries so checking on the status of the injury report for both teams will be worthwhile. Cincinnati may be without defensive tackles Geno Atkins and Mike Daniels, strong safety Shawn Williams, and right guard Xavier Su’a File. Cleveland has an injured secondary with cornerbacks Greedy Williams, Kevin Johnson, and Robert Jackson dealing with injuries along with linebackers Mack Wilson and Jacob Phillips, and wide receiver Jarvis Landry questionable for this game on a short week. BookMaker lists the Browns as a 6-point favorite with the total set at 43.5.

The Eastern Conference finals continue tonight in the NBA with the second game of the Miami/Boston series. The Heat upset the Celtics in the opening game of this best-of-seven affair on Tuesday with their 117-114 victory as a 1.5-point underdog (the total closed at 208 at BookMaker). Miami trailed by 14 points early in the 4th quarter but outscored the Celtics by a 35-23 margin to steal that game. Tip-off is set for 7:15 PM ET on ESPN. BookMaker has Boston as a -2.5-point favorite with the total set at 209.

The Stanley Cup playoffs return this evening with Tampa Bay and the New York Islanders playing the sixth game of the Eastern Conference finals. New York extended this series to a sixth game on Tuesday when Jordan Eberle scored at the 7:30 mark of the second overtime period to give the Islanders a 2-1 victory. The puck drops at 8:10 PM ET on the NBC Sports Network. BookMaker has the Lightning a -160 money line favorite with the over/under set at 5.

Major League Baseball has a twelve game card on tap for Thursday. Three double-headers will be taking place starting with Boston’s game at Miami which begins the MLB card at 1:10 PM ET. San Francisco and Seattle’s twin bill starts at 4:10 PM ET while the Tampa Bay-Baltimore set of 7-inning contests starts at 4:35 PM ET.

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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