November 2020

It’s understandable why we want to apologize for Carson Wentz.

Wentz was a dynamic player for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017 before a season-ending knee injury. He was one of the main contenders for the MVP job. Patrick Mahomes was still at Texas Tech and Wentz was seen as the future of the NFL. It’s hard to believe the player we saw early in his career has fallen. We would rather blame his lack of a supporting cast.

But Wentz’s game has fallen. We’ve heard all about how his offensive line is crumbling and his receivers are poor, but that doesn’t totally absolve Wentz of blame. He and the Eagles, who sort of led the NFC East to 3-6-1 after Week 11, face the Seattle Seahawks in a game that can be streamed live on the Yahoo Sports app.

Instead of Wentz and Russell Wilson headlining a fun Monday game, we can prepare for a night of analysis on what happened to Wentz. If that goes bad enough, we might even wonder if it’s time to see what rookie QB Jalen Hurts has to offer.

Carson Wentz is having a tough season

What’s frustrating about Wentz is that the talent he showed in 2017 still surfaces on occasion.

We could see him when he led a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in October with a reduced crew around him. It manifested again when Wentz played to bring the Eagles to a wild comeback victory over the New York Giants.

It’s not like Wentz has completely lost him. He always throws big. It’s just that the mistakes overshadow the highlights.

The loss to the Cleveland Browns was a case in point. Wentz held the ball too long and was hit on a pass that was intercepted and sent back for a six pick. He took a sack in the end zone for safety. When the Eagles had some life in the dying minutes, Wentz threw another interception deep into Browns territory. And that came with the Eagles being as healthy as any NFL team at Week 11. There was no good excuse for his game this time around.

Wentz has 14 interceptions. He took 40 sacks, and it’s not entirely the offensive line’s fault. He leads the NFL with 10 fumbles, losing four.

The story continues

It’s no wonder Eagles fans are impatient and wanting a change.

Many Philly fans want Wentz to be benched

ABC 6 in Philadelphia released a poll this week: Should Carson Wentz be benched? Of those who responded, 89% said yes. Imagine seeing this in 2017.

The Eagles held off against Wentz bench. It must be hard. Partly because Wentz has these great games for short periods of time. But it’s also hard to admit that Wentz, once considered an elite NFL quarterback, may not be the guy anymore.

“I think if you get to that place, where you don’t start it, or put it on the bench, you’re sending the wrong message to your football team. That the season is over. That’s a bad message, ”Eagles coach Doug Pederson said via the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Eagles invited those questions when they weirdly drafted the Hurts in the second round. It shouldn’t be surprising that people want to see what Hurts can do with struggling Wentz.

Philly will continue with Wentz, at least for the time being. That won’t stop anyone from speculating on his benching if the turnovers continue. It’s just a matter of how close Pederson is to losing patience and making the change that most Eagles fans seem to want.

More from Yahoo Sports:

A new fantastic sports app wants to enable people to turn their digital spare part into a contest entry fee.

The said Hedge the application describes itself as the Tassels Where Hideout fantastic sports.

Spare currency from digital transactions is added to a pot, which can then be used to participate in fantastic contests. Users still define their rosters as traditional everyday fantasy sports.

Low cost lottery alternative?

Co-founder of Hedge Jackson fitzgerald said the app aimed to provide “the life-changing hope mechanism of the lottery, without the negative financial inconvenience.”

“We say our mission is to make the small change change someone’s life,” Fitzgerald said.

The company initially focused on fantasy contests, run with its own technology. However, it hopes to eventually expand into sports betting and casino games.

The company recently closed a $ 250,000 angel fundraising round, bringing his total raised to $ 350,000.

The company is based in Pennsylvania with investors based in Pittsburgh.

Complementary product

Despite DFS ’emphasis, Fitzgerald said Hedge’s biggest rivals were Acorns and Stash, rather than FanDuel and DraftKings.

“We see ourselves as part of the spare change economy,” Fitzgerald said. “We are complementary to DFS firms rather than a competitor.

He pointed out that 70% of Acorns users have some other form of investment or brokerage account.

Popular campaign for Hedge

Hedge currently has six full-time employees and plans to build an initial user base through college campus activations.

“None of these big operators have a significant university presence, so we’re going to launch a popular campaign, targeting users who love fantasy but may not have a lot of money,” Fitzgerald added.

Similar to financial aftermarket applications, Hedge users can set risk tolerance levels. A high risk approach would mean entries into guaranteed prize pool tournaments, while a lower risk tolerance would mean more cash games and double-ups.

The product is currently in “stealth mode” but plans to go into beta in early December, Fitzgerald said.

The product is the latest DFS start-up to attract funding, as investors seek a cheaper alternative to sports betting.

Philip Rivers has mostly appeared to be finished in points this season. In other games, he looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. This may change from week to week.

Rivers is interesting at least. When the Indianapolis Colts take on the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night, a game that can be streamed live on the Yahoo Sports app, the game will likely play out like Rivers. It has been the Colts’ model of the season.

What Indianapolis gets from Rivers in a crucial clash with AFC South is one to guess.

Philip Rivers starts over with Colts

Rivers has entered a new chapter in his career this season. He had spent his entire career with the Chargers. He was sometimes an MVP candidate. If he could have made it to a Super Bowl, he would have had a great Hall of Fame deal. But he also had a knack for turning around at the wrong time.

In 2019, Rivers looked to be at the end of it and the Chargers seemed to be okay with it. They left him in the last offseason, making Rivers a free agent for the first time. The Colts have given him enough thought to give him $ 25 million in a season, even though Rivers will be 39 in December.

This signing, at times, didn’t sound very good. Rivers threw two interceptions in a shocking Week 1 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He threw two more, including one that was brought in for a touchdown, against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5.

The reviews were out and Rivers was eager to see what was said about her.

“I made the decision last week, I’ll read. I want to read what they wrote, ”Rivers said, according to 107.5 The Fan in Indianapolis. “It comes with it. You stink, they better write: “The rivers had better put up with it”.

“Not to be motivating, I just wanted to see… I felt like you were all pretty honest.” “

After that Browns game, in which some wondered if it was time for the Colts to put Rivers on the bench and try Jacoby Brissett, Rivers had two comeback performances.

The rivers have been up and down

The story continues

Rivers played extremely well in a huge 31-27 comeback win over the Cincinnati Bengals, throwing for 371 yards and three touchdowns to save the Colts from a bad loss. The following week, he threw three more touchdowns in a win over the Detroit Lions. Rivers was back.

So he wasn’t. Last week against the Baltimore Ravens, Rivers had 227 yards, no touchdowns and one interception (although the call for pick is questionable). His attempt to tackle a Baltimore fumble has gone viral.

And after? Do we have the Rivers who sometimes watched the last two seasons during his 38 years, or the fearless playmaker who destroyed the Bengals as he led his team to victory? Nobody knows.

But it should be entertaining anyway.

More from Yahoo Sports:

There is no evidence that the 2020 New York Jets can win a game this season. And no, the Dallas Cowboys are not on their remaining schedule.

The Jets rank in the top 10 in just two regular categories: They are seventh in lost fumbles and 10th in rushing yards allowed per attempt. That’s it. It’s hard to do the same for a team whose greatest strength isn’t losing fumbles.

The 0-8 Jets face the New England Patriots on Monday night, a game that can be streamed live on the Yahoo Sports app. The Patriots are 2-5, in the kind of crisis they haven’t seen in two decades, and they’re still expected to blow up the Jets.

If the Jets don’t pull off this upheaval, it’s not like there’s another game on the schedule they should win. It’s not too early to start wondering about 0-16, especially with such a bad team.

Could the Jets go from 0 to 16?

There are only two 0-16 teams in NFL history. The 2008 Detroit Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns are the club.

It’s difficult to go 0-16. All NFL teams have talented players. Even bad teams face an opponent who is demotivated at the end of a season, ravaged by injury, or just having a bad game. While there is no clear hope for the Jets to secure a win, their odds of going 0-16 are only 8.8% according to Football Outsiders.

But it’s hard to look at the remaining schedule and believe there’s a 91.2% chance the Jets will win a game:

Week 9: against the Patriots
Week 10: Goodbye week
Week 11: at Chargers
Week 12: against dolphins
Week 13: against the Raiders
Week 14: to the Seahawks
Week 15: at Rams
Week 16: against browns
Week 17: at the Patriots

Even the week off is favored by a touchdown on the Jets.

There isn’t a game on this list that you would be confident the Jets would pick to win. Collectively, if you fire eight shots, one should hit. But that would require the Jets to play at least some decent football for three hours.

Perhaps the best chance will be against the Patriots, which shows how crazy the Patriots’ downfall has been this season.

The story continues

Could the Jets win either game against the Patriots?

The last time the Patriots won was September 27. They beat the Raiders to improve to 2-1. Four straight losses followed as the offense struggled and the defense slid due to massive staff losses since last season.

The Jets will have at least one outside shot on Monday night, being at home against a 2-5 team. Perhaps in Week 17 a Patriots team looking to start the offseason will sleepwalking against the Jets, if they are 0-15 at this point. Considering Bill Belichick’s long history of hatred against the Jets, a bad effort in Week 17 seems unlikely. But it could be the Jets’ best prospect.

The Jets are a mess. Adam Gase was a horrible hire. Sam Darnold has shown this season that, until further notice, he is not a starting caliber quarterback. Arguably the three most talented players in the Jets to start the offseason were safety back Jamal Adams, linebacker CJ Mosley and running back Le’Veon Bell. Adams was traded after the relationship with the organization broke, Mosley pulled out due to COVID-19 concerns, and Bell was cut off since Gase never kissed or used him properly.

What remains is a team that has been outscored 94-238 this season, has a coach who has become a running joke and could become the worst team in NFL history. At least the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the excuse of being an expansion team.

Half the season is over and the Jets don’t have a win. It is not too early to wonder if they will get one.

More from Yahoo Sports: