Mahomes hasn't played since dislocating his right kneecap in an Oct. 17 game against the Denver Broncos. Mahomes hasn't missed a practice but returned as a full participant and as the starting quarterback for the first time this week. He said doctors told him at the start of the week he had a chance to play against the Titans.
"I knew I had a chance once I talked to those doctors and they said as long as I was functioning well, moving well, I could play this week,'' Mahomes said. "Coach [Andy] Reid still wanted me to take it day by day. I went out here in practice and took the reps and I haven't had any pain or any setbacks, and so as long as we keep going with that I'm glad to be back out there.''
Mahomes said he didn't feel he was at risk of reinjury by playing on Sunday.
"Hopefully it was kind of a fluke thing,'' he said. "I'll always be I guess a tad bit higher [at risk] than the regular person, but whenever you're out on the football field, there's always a chance of injury.''
He also said he felt he wouldn't be limited physically on Sunday.
"That's what we tested out this week especially,'' Mahomes said. "We put me on the run, and I threw it across my body and did all the stuff I've grown to do as I've been in the NFL and my whole career. I didn't have any pain. I was still able to do it. I wanted to make sure I was able to do that before I got back on that field.''
Without Mahomes, the Chiefs went on to beat the Broncos. With veteran Matt Moore starting at quarterback, they've split their two games since, losing to the Green Bay Packers and beating the Minnesota Vikings.
"We need him back,'' wide receiver Sammy Watkins said. "His energy affected all of us. Him being on that field has definitely been needed. All week we've been practicing hard. Every practice has been perfect.
"For us, it's just to play fast, be in the right area and literally for our offensive line to let nobody touch him. I think that's going to happen this week. He had a great week of practice. He's been practicing well and we've been looking really good with him.''
Titans coach Mike Vrabel said earlier in the week he expected Mahomes to play after seeing Mahomes celebrate the Chiefs' winning field goal last week against the Vikings.
"That was a pretty good jump there at the end of the game,'' Vrabel said. "He got pretty good air.''
Said Mahomes, "I went out there and I saw the whole team coming behind [kicker Harrison Butker] and I kind of realized I was going to be at the bottom of the pile if he got tackled, so I got out of the way as quickly as I could.''
After placing offensive tackle Trent Williams on the non-football injury list, the Washington Redskins have elected not to pay his remaining $5.1 million base salary for the 2019 season, league sources tell ESPN.
This is a voluntary decision, within Washington's rights, but is not consistent with how other teams have operated. Other notable players on the NFI list this season have included Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Russell Okung, but each were paid roughly 35-40% of their salaries while unable to be on the field.
The Redskins opted for a different approach, choosing not to pay Williams for the remainder of this season after paying him last week when he returned to the team. Williams last week revealed a cancer diagnosis that played a part in his lengthy holdout and distrust of the Washington medical staff and organization.
The decision not to pay Williams is the latest chapter in a messy situation between the player and the team that will continue to play out this offseason. Williams, 31, has one year remaining on his contract after this season and was the object of teams' attention prior to the trade deadline.
Kyle Allen has not, historically, been the guy who gets the job.
Sure, five years ago he was a red-hot quarterback recruit out of Scottsdale, Arizona, who signed to play at Texas A&M and looked to have it all set up in front of him. But from that point, it has not been the smoothest of rides. Let's recap:
Allen lost a competition for the Aggies' starting job to Kenny Hill at the start of 2014, got the job back later that season, opened the 2015 season as the starter but lost the job to Kyler Murray, transferred to Houston, sat out 2016, opened the 2017 season as Houston's starter, lost the job to Kyle Postma, went undrafted in 2018 and got cut from two different practice squads -- the Panthers' and the Jets' -- before landing back on the Panthers' practice squad a little over one year ago.
This time he stuck. Allen was elevated to Carolina's active roster last December and started the Panthers' final game of the season. He played well enough to return this season as Cam Newton's backup and assumed the role of starting quarterback in Week 3 after Newton reinjured his foot. This week, the Panthers put Newton on injured reserve, which means, at long last ... Allen has the job.
"I told him after the Arizona game [in which Allen threw four touchdown passes to lead the Panthers to their first win of the season], 'I'm glad I was smart enough to re-sign you after I was stupid enough to cut you off the practice squad,'" Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said.
The 5-3 Panthers are trusting Allen with a lot of responsibility the rest of the season. They believe they can be a playoff team. And while, yes, the main keys to their success will be their defense and their Christian McCaffrey-based running game, they need only cast their eyes to Chicago to be reminded that poor quarterback play can sink an otherwise solid roster. Allen might not need to be Patrick Mahomes, but the Panthers need him to be much more Jacoby Brissett than Mitchell Trubisky.
If he pulls this off -- if Allen establishes himself as a viable and successful NFL starting quarterback -- that's huge for Carolina not just this year but next year and in the years to come. The Panthers can release Newton in 2020, eat only $2 million in dead money and save $19.1 million against next year's salary cap. That money can be put to good use as part of McCaffrey's inevitable mega-extension as well as other deals the Panthers have coming up for guys such as linebacker Shaq Thompson and cornerback James Bradberry.
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1:11
Williams mad at Panthers' coaching staff for treatment of Cam
Former Panther DeAngelo Williams is angry at the team's coaching staff for asking Cam Newton to do too much, while it asks Kyle Allen only to be a game manager.
Now, financially, Allen is most definitely not Brissett, who got the Colts' starting job after Andrew Luck retired and received a sparkly new contract because he was a season away from unrestricted free agency. He's closer to being Dak Prescott, the fourth-round pick who got the job as a rookie because of a Tony Romo injury. But the undrafted, twice-cut Allen -- who is at least three seasons away from unrestricted free agency -- is in a far different category than either of those guys. As it pertains to the NFL's economic system, the category in which Allen finds himself could be labeled "Out of luck."
Allen's contract expires at the end of the year, but that won't put him in position to hit the market and score big in free agency, no matter how he plays over the next couple of months. Players whose contracts have expired but have not yet reached three years of service time are, under NFL rules, "exclusive rights free agents." This is a misleading term, because they are not free agents in any meaningful way. The team has the right to tender an exclusive free agent at a very low number -- often the league minimum -- and the player then either has to accept that offer or sit out the season. He is in no way "free" to sign with any team if his current team still wants him.
For this reason, regardless of how Allen performs, the Panthers will have the right to hold him in place for 2020 on a one-year, $585,000 contract. Assuming the same or similar rules under the new CBA, they also would -- regardless of how he performs -- have the right to hold him in place for 2021 on a one-year, $675,000 contract. If he were to complete that season with Carolina, he would be eligible for restricted free agency in 2022, which means the team could give him a first-round tender for something like $5.5 million and still hold him in place unless another team came with a big contract offer and a willingness to give Carolina a first-round pick for him.
So unless the Panthers hypothetically just decided to do the right thing and pay Allen like a starter, he could start all of their games for the next three years and earn less than $7 million total. Then and only then, in time for the 2023 season, would he be eligible for unrestricted free agency.
Now, if the Panthers decide, at the end of this season, that they're moving on from Newton and Allen will be their starter moving forward, they could offer him a three-year, $7 million deal, guarantee a portion of it and pack it with incentives that pay out if he starts and wins and has success throughout the deal. But they are in the driver's seat here, and they also have third-round rookie Will Grier as a possible option if Allen flops.
If Carolina makes the difficult decision to move on from its franchise icon quarterback in the offseason, part of the upside could be the ability to move forward with a significant cost-control advantage over the rest of the league at the most important position.
Some other thoughts from around the league this week:
A lot of people have had a lot of negative things to say about Newton since before he was even drafted. He has contributed to some of it with his own mistakes and missteps, no doubt. Please do not think I'm here to defend things like "It's funny to hear a female talk about routes."
But Newton also has been the subject of a mountain of unfair and unsubstantiated criticism on other matters. In 2011, around the draft, there was a debate about the sincerity of the young man's smile. Come on.
Personally, I've loved watching him play and sincerely hope we all get to see it again -- whether in Carolina or elsewhere. This is a completely unique player in NFL history who started setting records in his rookie year and, I firmly believe, is three or four more years' worth of high-level production away from a legitimate Hall of Fame case. I wish he were more open and accessible because (a) I want to know more about him, and (b) I think it would broaden the deserved appreciation of him. But he is who he is, and the brilliance of who he has been as a player shouldn't be lost in the injury cloud under which his 2019 season never got going.
The I-told-you-so-ers who revel in believing they were right that the way he played would cut his career short are missing the point. Even if he never plays again, this is a tell-your-grandkids-about-him player.
Another impact Cowboys deadline deal?
A year ago, right before the trade deadline, the Cowboys traded a first-round pick to the Raiders for wide receiver Amari Cooper. This trade revitalized the Dallas offense and propelled the team to an NFC East title. The Cowboys were 3-4 when they made the deal and ended the season 10-6. The Cooper deal was ballyhooed, picked apart, criticized and analyzed at the time because it was the Cowboys and everything they do is.
This season, the Cowboys were 4-3 at the deadline and made only one move -- a 2021 seventh-round pick (that could turn into a sixth-round pick) to the Patriots for defensive end Michael Bennett. This trade was far less ballyhooed, picked apart, criticized and analyzed because they basically gave up nothing and we haven't thought much about Bennett in a while. He didn't make much of an impact in New England.
But he made a heck of an impact Monday night in his first game as a Cowboy. Bennett took apart the (admittedly overmatched) Giants, rebounding from an early offside penalty to record a sack, a couple of tackles for loss and a whole bunch of general disruption behind the Giants' offensive line. He did a lot of his damage as an interior pass-rusher, demonstrating the kind of versatility the Cowboys believe will help free up DeMarcus Lawrence and Robert Quinn on the outside.
Ahead of the deadline, Cowboys decision-makers were concerned that their pass rush hadn't been as consistently good as they'd expected it to be. New England was giving away Bennett, so they took a shot. If his Dallas debut was any indication, he has a chance to pay off in a big way.
Think again. One of the many quirky, surprising things I learned about the Giants in the time I spent covering them was how much it means to ownership to beat the Jets. I swear, I had members of the coaching staff tell me ownership was more keyed up during Jets weeks than in the time leading up to big division games against the Cowboys or Eagles. The only time I remember owner John Mara addressing the media after a game was when the Giants beat the Jets on Christmas Eve 2011. It's a rivalry that goes beyond the field, and it matters to these guys on non-football levels.
The Giants enter Sunday's game with a 2-7 record and a five-game losing streak. The Jets are 1-7 and have lost their past three. The two New York teams have been outscored by a combined total of 194 points this season. This is not a game, ladies and gentlemen, with postseason implications. But I promise you it matters to the people who own the teams -- especially to the ones who own the Giants.
I absolutely do not think the Giants will make a move with coach Pat Shurmur in season, if they do at all. But a loss this weekend would not help his case in January if ownership is trying to decide whether he's the right man for the job. And defensive coordinator James Bettcher might not be on the most solid ground, since I've been told by several people that the Giants expected their defense to be better than it has been this season (though I still don't know why they thought that). I'm not saying, but I'm just saying: Don't think this is a meaningless game Sunday in East Rutherford. There's a ton of pressure on the Giants to win.
The Week 10 NFL slate is stacked with great matchups. Our NFL Nation reporters bring us the keys to every game, a bold prediction for each matchup and final score predictions.
Additionally, ESPN Stats & Information provides a stat to know for each game, and the Football Power Index (FPI) goes inside the numbers with a matchup rating (on a scale of 1 to 100) and a game projection. ESPN Fantasy's Kyle Soppe and ESPN Chalk's Mackenzie Kraemer hand out helpful nuggets as well. It's all here to help get you ready for a loaded weekend of NFL football.
Let's get into the full Week 10 schedule, including a battle atop the NFC West on Monday night.
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET | CBS Matchup rating: 72.0 | Spread: KC -6 (48)
What to watch for: The Chiefs' run defense is subpar (139 yards against per game), which is perfect for the run-oriented offensive identity the Titans say they want to have. Derrick Henry got only 13 carries last weekend in a loss to Carolina, another team that has struggled to stop the run this season. It will be imperative for Tennessee to get Henry touches to keep the ball away from the Kansas City offense as much as possible. -- Turron Davenport
Bold prediction: The Chiefs will hold the Titans to fewer than 100 rushing yards and less than 4.0 yards per carry for the third time in four games. Kansas City is improving defensively to the point that Tennessee's Henry won't be much of a factor. -- Adam Teicher
Stat to know: Since making a quarterback switch from Marcus Mariota to Ryan Tannehill, the Titans' offense has averaged 5.7 yards per play compared to 4.8 yards per play before the change under center.
What to know for fantasy: When a running back gets at least 14 carries against the Chiefs this season, he averages 109.4 rushing yards. Henry is averaging 18.2 carries per game this season. See Week 10 rankings.
Betting nugget:Patrick Mahomes is 9-3-1 against the spread (ATS) on the road in his career, and the over is 10-3 in those games. Read more.
Teicher's pick: Chiefs 30, Titans 20 Davenport's pick: Chiefs 28, Titans 20 FPI prediction: KC, 59.1% (by an average of 3.1 points)
1 p.m. ET | Fox Matchup rating: 60.7 | Spread: NO -14 (51)
What to watch for: The Saints are rolling with six consecutive wins, while Atlanta is off the rails with six consecutive losses. It's hard to imagine the Falcons throwing Drew Brees off his game, since they rank last in the NFL with seven sacks, four takeaways and an opponents' Total QBR of 66.6. -- Mike Triplett
Bold prediction:Deion Jones, a New Orleans native, will pick off Brees for the fourth time in five games and for the third time in his hometown. -- Vaughn McClure
Stat to know: Brees is 2-0 with an 86.3 QBR in his past two games against the Falcons, throwing seven touchdowns and just one interception. The Saints averaged 37 points in those games.
What to know for fantasy: The Saints are allowing the sixth-most yards per tight end target this season, and Austin Hooper ranks second among qualified TEs in yards per target this season. See Week 10 rankings.
Betting nugget: New Orleans has covered in six straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL. Meanwhile, Atlanta is 7-17 ATS over the past two seasons, the worst mark in the NFL (2-6 ATS this season, tied for worst in the NFL). Read more.
McClure's pick: Saints 35, Falcons 21 Triplett's pick: Saints 33, Falcons 23 FPI prediction: NO, 77.0% (by an average of 9.9 points)
1 p.m. ET | CBS Matchup rating: 48.1 | Spread: CHI -2.5 (41.5)
What to watch for: How will each of the offenses execute? The Bears average 266.8 yards per game (29th in the NFL) and 4.5 per play (30th), but Chicago's defense gives up an average of only 18 points (sixth). Detroit is the exact opposite. The Lions' offense is fifth in yards per game and seventh in yards per play, but they have the league's 31st-ranked defense. Something has to give on Sunday. -- Jeff Dickerson
Bold prediction:Matthew Stafford puts up his fourth consecutive 300-yard game with three touchdowns, continuing a low-key MVP-level season most won't pay attention to because Detroit's defense continues to struggle. -- Michael Rothstein
Stat to know: Chicago running back David Montgomery has 223 scrimmage yards and three scrimmage touchdowns on 48 touches over the past two games. He began the season with just 316 scrimmage yards and two scrimmage touchdowns on 82 touches in his first six games.
What to know for fantasy: Stafford ranks third in fantasy points per pass attempt this season (behind only Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson), but his point total has declined in three consecutive games against the Bears. See Week 10 rankings.
Betting nugget: Detroit has failed to cover three straight games, and Chicago has failed to cover four straight. In the past 20 years, the team with the better season ATS record is 23-4 ATS in matchups in which both teams enter the game with at least three-game losing streaks ATS. So far this season, Detroit is 4-4 ATS and Chicago is 2-6. Read more.
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Ninkovich: Stafford has been lights out
Victor Cruz and Rob Ninkovich both expect the Lions to have no problem with the struggling Bears.
Rothstein's pick: Lions 28, Bears 17 Dickerson's pick: Lions 20, Bears 19 FPI prediction: CHI, 60.1% (by an average of 3.5 points)
1 p.m. ET | Fox Matchup rating: 38.7 | Spread: TB -4.5 (52)
What to watch for: The Bucs' defense surrendered 399 total yards last weekend to Russell Wilson, including 378 passing. This weekend, it faces Kyler Murray, whom Bucs coach Bruce Arians called "a real fast Russell Wilson." But the Cardinals haven't fared much better on defense, either, and they'll face the league's only pair of 700-plus-yard receivers in Mike Evans (842 yards) and Chris Godwin (766 yards). -- Jenna Laine
Bold prediction:Kenyan Drake and David Johnson will each run for at least 75 yards and a touchdown as the Cardinals figure out that they have one of the best two-headed running back situations in the NFL. -- Josh Weinfuss
Stat to know: Per Elias Sports Bureau research, Murray has thrown 172 consecutive passes without an interception, the third-longest streak by a rookie in NFL history (176 by Derek Carr in 2014 and 176 by Dak Prescott in 2016).
What to know for fantasy: This one features two of the four worst defenses in terms of limiting fantasy QB production and two quarterbacks who have not one but two games of 25-plus points this season. See Week 10 rankings.
Betting nugget:Jameis Winston is 4-11 ATS and 7-8 straight up as a favorite in his career. And he is 1-7 ATS and 3-5 straight up as a favorite of at least three points. Read more.
Weinfuss' pick: Buccaneers 42, Cardinals 31 Laine's pick: Buccaneers 31, Cardinals 21 FPI prediction: TB, 71.8% (by an average of 7.8 points)
1 p.m. ET | CBS Matchup rating: 32.2 | Spread: BAL -10.5 (44.5)
What to watch for: Bengals rookie quarterback Ryan Finley will make his NFL debut. But all eyes will be on the Baltimore offense. The division-leading Ravens have the best rushing attack in the league, and Cincinnati has the worst rushing defense. -- Ben Baby
Bold prediction: The Ravens will run for 360 yards, the highest total for any team this decade. How's that for bold? Baltimore leads the NFL in rushing and gained 269 yards on the ground against Cincinnati earlier this season. The Bengals have allowed 1,421 yards rushing, over 200 more than any other team in the league. -- Jamison Hensley
Stat to know: Speaking of the Ravens' run game, their 1,639 rushing yards are the most by any team through eight games since the 2006 Falcons (1,641). The most through nine games since the 1970 merger is 1,958 by the 1975 Bills.
What to know for fantasy: Ravens receiver Marquise Brown ranks 16th in yards per catch this season (minimum 20 receptions), and the Bengals are allowing a league-high 16.9 yards per deep pass attempt. See Week 10 rankings.
Betting nugget: Baltimore is 33-0 all time as a double-digit favorite, the only active franchise to never lose such a game. However, over the past 10 seasons, Baltimore is just 3-10 ATS in those games (0-2 this season). Read more.
Hensley's pick: Ravens 26, Bengals 10 Baby's pick: Ravens 24, Bengals 14 FPI prediction: BAL, 76.4% (by an average of 9.7 points)
1 p.m. ET | CBS Matchup rating: 27.8 | Spread: CLE -2.5 (40.5)
What to watch for: The Bills own the NFL's top red zone offense, while the Browns have one of the worst. Star wideout Odell Beckham Jr. has only three red zone targets the entire season. After going 1-of-5 in the red zone last weekend, will Cleveland finally be able to get OBJ involved near the end zone? -- Jake Trotter
Bold prediction: Bills wide receiver John Brown will finish with a game high in receiving yards. Brown is quietly on pace for a career-high 1,200 receiving yards and is Josh Allen's unquestioned top target. -- Marcel Louis-Jacques
Stat to know: Buffalo running back Devin Singletary had a career-high 140 scrimmage yards vs. the Redskins in Week 9, the most by a Bills player in the past two seasons and the most by a Bills rookie running back since Marshawn Lynch in 2007. He is seeking to become first Bill with 140-plus yards from scrimmage in consecutive games since LeSean McCoy had two separate two-game streaks in 2016.
What to know for fantasy: Cleveland's Nick Chubb has been responsible for 82.4% of Cleveland's rush attempts this season, putting him on pace for the highest rate since Rudi Johnson in 2004 (82.6%). See Week 10 rankings.
Betting nugget: This is the seventh time in the past 25 seasons that a team with a .250 or lower winning percentage is favored over a team with a .750 or better winning percentage in Week 6 or later. The favorite is 6-0 ATS in the previous six games. And it's just the third time in the Super Bowl era it's happened in Week 10 or later (2-0 ATS previously). Read more.
Louis-Jacques' pick: Bills 17, Browns 14 Trotter's pick: Bills 21, Browns 20 FPI prediction: CLE, 59.3% (by an average of 3.2 points)
1 p.m. ET | Fox Matchup rating: 3.4 | Spread: NYG -2.5 (44.5)
What to watch for: It's a battle of 22-year-old quarterbacks in Sam Darnold vs. Daniel Jones -- only the 13th matchup in the Super Bowl era between quarterbacks 22 or younger. They've combined for 17 interceptions, so this could get sloppy. The Giants, heavily criticized for passing on Darnold in the 2018 draft, can claim validation if the rookie Jones outplays Darnold and leads them to victory. -- Rich Cimini
Bold prediction: New Giants defensive tackle Leonard Williams gets two sacks against his former team. That's significant because he has two sacks in his past 20 games. Then again, he has never been able to face this bad Jets offensive line in anything other than a practice. -- Jordan Raanan
Stat to know: Entering his 23rd NFL game, Giants running back Saquon Barkley stands 51 receiving yards shy of 1,000 for his career. Per Elias Sports Bureau research, the fewest games needed to reach 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in NFL history are Alvin Kamara (20), Herschel Walker (22) and Charley Taylor (23).
What to know for fantasy: Jets wide receiver Jamison Crowder owns a 26.9% target share from Darnold this season, and the Giants are allowing the third-most wide receiver PPG (41.6). See Week 10 rankings.
Betting nugget: In the past five seasons, there have been 15 matchups in Week 6 or later between two teams with winning percentages of .250 or lower. In all 15 games, the underdog covered, going 14-1 straight up. Read more.
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0:52
Cruz: Giants have enough talent to edge the Jets
Victor Cruz and Rob Ninkovich expect the Giants to have no problems with the Jets this weekend.
Raanan's pick: Giants 26, Jets 25 Cimini's pick: Giants 24, Jets 17 FPI prediction: NYJ, 56.2% (by an average of 2.1 points)
4:05 p.m. ET | CBS Matchup rating: 40.6 | Spread: IND -12.5 (44)
What to watch for: It'll be all about the Colts' offensive line vs. the Dolphins' defense. The Indianapolis O-line should be able to regain any confidence lost of late because Miami has only 12 sacks, 30th in the NFL. The Colts gave up an NFL-low 18 sacks in 2018 but have given up nine in the past two games (Denver and Pittsburgh). -- Mike Wells
Bold prediction: Indianapolis' Marlon Mack rushes for 150 yards. The Dolphins are allowing 150.8 rushing yards per game, and although they've improved a bit defensively, they are still susceptible to getting thrashed in run game. -- Cameron Wolfe
Stat to know: The Dolphins snapped a 10-game losing streak last weekend against the Jets, but they have not won back-to-back games since December 2018 (vs. the Bills and Patriots, respectively, in Weeks 13 and 14).
What to know for fantasy: Miami's DeVante Parker ranks 11th among receivers with at least 25 catches this season in terms of points per reception, and he should see a spike in target share with Preston Williams out for the season. See Week 10 rankings.
Betting nugget: Miami has covered four consecutive games after starting the season 0-4 ATS. It's the second-longest active cover streak in the NFL behind only New Orleans (six straight). Read more.
Wolfe's pick: Colts 30, Dolphins 17 Wells' pick: Colts 31, Dolphins 14 FPI prediction: IND, 89.5% (by an average of 16.8 points)
4:25 p.m. ET | Fox Matchup rating: 59.2 | Spread: LAR -3.5 (43.5)
What to watch for: The Steelers' offensive linemen have done a solid job protecting Mason Rudolph, giving up a league-low eight sacks this season. But Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is a wrecking machine who will challenge that low number. His sacks were down earlier in the season, but over the past three weeks, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year has racked up four sacks and two forced fumbles. -- Brooke Pryor
Bold prediction: Rams running back Todd Gurley has yet rush for 100 yards in a single game this season, but coming off a bye week and with the Rams needing a spark to climb back into the playoff picture, look for Jared Goff to hand off to him early and often. The Steelers' run defense has allowed an average of 107.5 yards per game, 16th in the league. -- Lindsey Thiry
Stat to know: Pittsburgh receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is the first player in NFL history to record 200 career catches (202) before his 23rd birthday (won't turn 23 until Nov. 22).
What to know for fantasy: Gurley is averaging just 2.9 yards per carry in the Rams' past three true road games, and the Steelers are allowing the seventh-fewest running back PPG this season. See Week 10 rankings.
Betting nugget: Sean McVay is 10-0 straight up and 7-2-1 ATS against AFC teams in regular-season games. Read more.
Thiry's pick: Rams 28, Steelers 21 Pryor's pick: Rams 21, Steelers 17 FPI prediction: LAR, 61.8% (by an average of 4.1 points)
4:25 p.m. ET | Fox Matchup rating: 55.9 | Spread: GB -5.5 (46.5)
What to watch for: How in the world will the Packers stop Christian McCaffrey? The Packers have allowed 39 gains of 20 yards or more this season (including 13 of 40-plus), and McCaffrey is an explosive gain waiting to happen. Green Bay defensive coordinator Mike Pettine will have to devise something different for the NFL's leader in yards from scrimmage and touchdowns. -- Rob Demovsky
Bold prediction: The Panthers, who lead the NFL in sacks with 34, will sack Aaron Rodgers at least four times and rattle him enough to make this one closer than most expect. Carolina edge rusher Bruce Irvin said, "You rush and get on their ass early, they'll be thinking about you the rest of the game.'' -- David Newton
Stat to know: The Packers' offensive line has been strong in the pass-protection game. The unit has posted a 65.9% pass block win rate this season, the third-highest in the league. The team's two losses this season have been in games where it has posted two of its three worst pass block win rates.
What to know for fantasy: The Panthers are allowing the sixth-most running back points per game this season, and Aaron Jones ranks behind only McCaffrey among qualified running backs in points per touch. See Week 10 rankings.
8:20 p.m. ET | NBC Matchup rating: 89.3 | Spread: DAL -3 (48)
What to watch for:Kirk Cousins' history against the Cowboys is not good. He is 1-6 against his former NFC East rival, and although he has thrown at least one touchdown pass in his seven starts against them, he has been intercepted in five. The Cowboys have picked off a pass in three straight games, their longest streak since intercepting at least one pass in four consecutive games in Weeks 10-13 last season. They want to slow down the league's leading rusher, Dalvin Cook, and put this game on Cousins' arm. -- Todd Archer
Bold prediction: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott throws for three touchdowns. The Vikings' defense has allowed 66 points in Minnesota's past two road games and ranks 10th in opponent yards per play (5.2). It's the big plays and yards after the catch to be concerned with here, as Amari Cooper, Blake Jarwin and Michael Gallup demonstrated against the Giants. -- Courtney Cronin
Stat to know: Cook's 1,232 yards from scrimmage is the second-most through nine games in Vikings history (Adrian Peterson had 1,301 in 2007). The most through 10 games is 1,347 by Chuck Foreman in 1976.
What to know for fantasy: Cousins has completed over 80% of his passes or thrown three-plus touchdown passes in five straight games. See Week 10 rankings.
Betting nugget: Minnesota is 0-7-1 both ATS and straight up in Cousins' starts on the road against teams that entered with winning records. Read more.
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1:01
Cruz: Cook is the key for Vikings
Victor Cruz considers Dalvin Cook the key for the Vikings to get a win over the Cowboys.
Cronin's pick: Cowboys 24, Vikings 20 Archer's pick: Cowboys 26, Vikings 17 FPI prediction: DAL, 54.4% (by an average of 1.6 points)
Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN App Matchup rating: 69.9 | Spread: SF -6 (47)
What to watch for: These are two of the top five rushing teams in the league, and both have run defenses allowing 4.7 or more yards per carry. Getting the run game going will be important for both sides, but especially for the 49ers -- a strong ground game can be the most effective way to slow Russell Wilson by keeping him off the field. -- Nick Wagoner
Bold prediction: The Seahawks will hold the 49ers' second-ranked rushing offense to under 125 yards as they try to make Jimmy Garoppolo beat them instead. The matchup suits Seattle's defense in one respect: San Francisco has run the second-fewest offensive snaps with at least three receivers on the field, which will allow the Seahawks to run their preferred base defense without as many linebacker-on-receiver mismatches. -- Brady Henderson
Stat to know: The 49ers have 303 rushing attempts this season, the most by any team through eight games since the 2008 Ravens. And they are calling a designed run play 54% of the time, the highest rate by any team through eight games since the 2010 Chiefs (54%).
What to know for fantasy: Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett already has 14 red zone targets this season, the second-most in the NFL and nine more than he had all of last season. See Week 10 rankings.
Betting nugget: Wilson is 12-3 ATS and straight up in his career against San Francisco. However, San Francisco is 2-3 ATS in his past five games. Read more.
Henderson's pick: 49ers 28, Seahawks 26 Wagoner's pick: 49ers 34, Seahawks 24 FPI prediction: SF, 75.4% (by an average of 9.2 points)
Rui Hachimura made history before ever stepping on an NBA court.
The 6-foot-8 forward became the first player born in Japan to be drafted when the Washington Wizards selected him with the No. 9 overall pick this June. His popularity in his home country is unmatched, making him unique among this year's rookie class.
"I hope to continue to be the face of the sport in my home country," Hachimura told ESPN this week.
Hachimura's status as the favored son of an entire nation made him stand out among the crowd as potentially one of the most impactful rookie endorsers. The Japanese market remains relatively untapped, for both sneaker companies and the NBA as a whole. Hachimura represented a way for one lucky company to make inroads across the Pacific.
As he plays his first season in the NBA, a large contingent of Japanese media follows him around the league, tracking his every move -- all while he sports the famed Jordan Brand Jumpman logo from head to toe.
"You're going to see some things that you've never seen from an athlete before, with respect to developing and selling in a new country," said Hachimura's agent Jason Ranne.
While the NBA and sneaker companies have worked to make inroads in China for years, the Japanese market presents a different scale and opportunity.
Industry analysts and company projections anticipate that Nike Inc.'s footwear and apparel business in China could outpace the U.S. marketplace within the next 10 years. The sheer size and population difference -- 1.4 billion in China versus 128 million in Japan -- will always maintain a gap in the markets, with several thousand Nike stores already embedded in mainland China.
Japan, by comparison, currently features only Jordan products in several hundred stores, and Jordan's overall revenue in Japan is just a fraction of what it is in China or the United States. The company hopes Hachimura can change that, becoming an icon in his homeland who also transcends throughout Asia.
"I think he's going to take it to another level," said Gentry Humphrey, Jordan's VP of footwear. "He's a perfect complement, and he's going to help us grow our business internationally."
Part of that growth is tied to the NBA's ongoing efforts to grow basketball in Japan, an effort that should be boosted by next summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo.
According to research by the Statista group, basketball participation over a 20-year period has shown only gradual growth in Japan. In 2011, 3.5% of the nation played the sport. The group found a "slight increase" in 2016 to 4.3%.
"During the exhibition games in Japan preparing for the World Cup this summer, I saw a lot of young fans," Hachimura said. "That made me excited to see that basketball is growing in my home country."
The NBA has rapidly ramped up activations, partnerships and events in the region. For the first time in 16 years, Japan hosted a pair of NBA preseason games this fall. Rather than rely on YouTube videos, as Hachimura did as a child, young fans have access to live games thanks to the NBA's partnership with Rakuten, which has been streaming games in the country since 2017.
"I see enormous opportunity in this market," Adam Silver said during his press conference last month.
Over the past two years, retired players have visited Japan for viewing parties, skills clinics and community events, helping increase subscribers in the NBA's streaming package sevenfold over the past two years.
"Promotion of the NBA in Japan is expanding the fanbase of basketball as a whole," Makoto Arima, president of Rakuten's Media & Sports Company, said. "It's also contributing to a leveling up in the quality of play -- being able to see live action from some of the best teams in the world."
As Hachimura found, the media frenzy now following his every move comes with an expected payoff. This season, the Wizards launched their own dedicated Japanese website, Twitter account and podcast for the region.
During the 1990s, the popular anime series "Slam Dunk" introduced the game to a generation of young players throughout the region. Now Hachimura hopes to be the real-life version of that, sparking interest in basketball for the next generation of young players in Japan as he continues to succeed at the highest level of the sport.
"He is literally educating an entire country about basketball," Ranne said. "From facilities, to coaching, to the rules. The phrase 'double-double' wasn't really a recognized or known term in Japan until after his first regular-season game. That little example alone is the microcosm of what we're experiencing here. It can be mind-blowing at times."
Because of Hachimura's status as a national icon, there was a unique competition to land him as a sneaker endorser. It was a process that began long before Hachimura walked across the stage at Barclays Center on draft night, and it's one he took seriously.
"I was looking for a unique and special partnership that was true to my background," Hachimura said.
Initially, seven companies presented to Hachimura, including basketball staples like Nike subsidiary Jordan Brand and multiple China-based companies. But, because of Hachimura's background, that group also included a pair of basketball outsiders.
Both Asics and Mizuno, who don't currently sponsor any NBA players, presented extensive marketing plans, product concepts and pitches around making Hachimura the face of their company.
Hachimura wore Mizuno sneakers throughout high school, and Ranne said the company "made a really great presentation." Based a little over 200 miles south of his hometown of Toyama, the company presented the potential for him to put a Japanese brand on the map in the sport, a compelling premise for the 21-year-old.
However, Hachimura decided to sign with Jordan Brand, which offered a blend of proven performance products, marketing ability around the world and an opportunity to join a smaller stable of players within the larger Nike umbrella.
"They were making him the first and only Japanese Jordan athlete," Ranne said. "They were focused on making him a global ambassador, and not just a Japan or North America ambassador."
They also had an ace in the hole: Michael Jordan himself.
In addition to highlighting the company's upcoming designs, innovations and marketing ideas in store for Hachimura during their May 10 pitch meeting, the Jordan team pulled out a mid-presentation surprise. "The Boss" was calling in to personally express his desire for Hachimura to join his Jordan Brand family.
"I could not stop thanking him for the opportunity," he said. "It was really impressive."
Through seven games this season, Hachimura is averaging 12.6 PPG (seventh among rookies) and 6.0 RPG (fourth). He's done so while lacing up his own red and navy colorways of the new Air Jordan 34, accented by the flags of both Benin and Japan on the underside of each tongue, representing the native countries of his father and mom.
"It shows who I am," he said. "It shows my unique background, which is important to me."
In addition to the player exclusive sneakers, Hachimura was also featured in Jordan's new "UNITE" commercial, alongside fellow newcomers Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum and WNBA player Kia Nurse. Clad in a Jumpman logo shirt reading "TOKYO," he's flanked by a diverse young mix of multi-racial and Asian descent players in the spot.
"UNITE celebrates a generation coming together to create impact that goes beyond the game," said Sean Tresvant VP of Global Brand Marketing, Jordan Brand. "He's uniting a country and generation around basketball culture and inspiring them to believe in their uniqueness and the power of coming together."
While having Hachimura wearing the Jumpman is important to Jordan Brand throughout this NBA season, the bigger moment for the company -- and for Hachimura himself -- will come next summer, when Tokyo hosts the Summer Olympics.
The addition of the new 3-on-3 event in tandem with the traditional 5-on-5 basketball tournament is expected to escalate interest in the game among Japanese youth. As the host, Japan will be participating for the first time since 1976. Hachimura, who played for Japan at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, is expected to be the star attraction, and making the most of that Olympic spotlight was one of the priorities of his new deal with Jordan.
"They had a very good plan for me in Japan and internationally," he said.
While exact details are still under wraps, the brand is planning out a variety of product capsule launches, experiential pop-up locations for consumers, and unique ways to tell Hachimura's story in conjunction with the Olympic timeline in Japan.
"Obviously, we create great shoes that perform, but people respect those shoes when you have great stories," said Humphrey. "He's going to have some phenomenal stories for us to veneer on a product that people I think are going to love."
While there's expected to be tangible signs of Hachimura's impact throughout the early stages of his career, the real imprint of his potential might not be fully realized until the close of his NBA journey.
"It'll be something to look at two years from now, and then 15 years from now," Ranne said. "I'm a firm believer that when you see a player like this, there's a generation of future players that happens, solely because of this moment. Because of him, they'll focus on basketball."
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB PERCHES on the edge of the charcoal chenille couch, scooching so her Cleveland Cavaliers players can squeeze in their lanky frames. Brandon Knight lowers himself to her left, 7-footer Tristan Thompson nestles in on her right and veteran Kevin Love plops down next to him.
The team has gathered at the Michigan home of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert for a Saturday afternoon visit before jetting off to Boston for an exhibition game with the Boston Celtics.
As they cram into the elegant, well-appointed living room, a big-screen television directly in front of them, head coach John Beilein addresses the group with the promise of a film session.
The session was a last-minute request by the owner, and Gottlieb was assigned the task. She reviewed her presentation with Beilein on the 45-minute bus ride to the tony suburb of Franklin. Now, in a wing of his mansion, which includes a replica of the court on which the Cavaliers won their one and only title, an attentive Gilbert, still recovering from a stroke, sits less than 10 feet away, waiting expectantly.
"Now we're going to break down Boston's offense," Beilein announces. "It's your show, Lindsay."
Gottlieb, 42, springs off the couch and plugs her laptop into the television. Four months earlier, she had been the coach of the California women's basketball team, a treasured icon with cushy job security, a stately home, a supportive husband and a young son. She stunned many when she left those comforts to accept a pay cut and take this leap of faith to become an assistant coach in the world's premier basketball league, where job security is an illusion.
"So," Gottlieb begins, smiling as she surveys the room, "this is my first ever NBA 'scout.' Nothing like doing it in front of the entire front office and our owner -- in his house. No pressure."
The owner chortles, and Gottlieb exhales. As images of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward flicker onto the screen, Gottlieb breaks down the complexities of a Boston offense that is essentially position-less, a plethora of wings masquerading as forwards, point guards, even centers. She isolates their tendencies, diagrams matchups that would favor the Cavs and introduces ways to disrupt the Celtics' flow. It is no different from anything she had executed as the head coach at Cal for her female players; educating athletes on how to stay ahead of the curve.
"Giving them the answers before they take the test," she'll later explain.
When Gottlieb finishes and retreats to her tiny piece of real estate on that chenille sofa, Thompson delivers an enthusiastic fist bump.
"She killed it," declares rookie Darius Garland. "She was on point with every single detail. It's crazy. I've never had a female coach before. I'm so amazed by her."
In some regards, the NBA is a foreign landscape that Gottlieb is learning to navigate without a compass, fraught with divergent rules, challenges, rhythms and intricacies that she had never experienced.
But there's absolutely nothing foreign to Lindsay Gottlieb about what she did in Dan Gilbert's home on Oct. 12.
"Truthfully?" Gottlieb says. "Of all the things that are new for me, and slightly uncomfortable, running a film session isn't one of them. I've run 9,000 of those in my career. That's my comfort zone.
"It's what I do."
THE LONG OVERDUE influx of female coaches into the NBA game has produced a surge of familiar ex-players with decorated careers: Becky Hammon, Kristi Toliver, Kara Lawson, Jenny Boucek.
Lindsay Gottlieb comes from a different space. A former Ivy Leaguer who played very little during her college career, she was already steeped in analytically based strategies and was drawing up plays on the whiteboard by the time she was 20. In that regard, she has more in common with Erik Spoelstra and Brad Stevens than with Hammon or Lawson.
Her lack of name recognition among the discerning NBA brethren could have been a hindrance -- except Gottlieb obliterated those doubts with her basketball acumen.
Garland recalls his first practice with the team, when Gottlieb asked what he looked for in a good offensive possession.
"She started rattling off some ball-screen reads, and I was like, 'Wait, what?'" Garland says.
During scrimmages, Garland initially struggled to create open looks for his teammates. Gottlieb quietly called him over to point out something he now admits he hadn't noticed: On a corner fill (when the ball handler drives baseline, drawing a help defender while a teammate drops into the opposite corner for a shot, making recovery for a defender difficult), the second look should be to the wing.
"She told me, 'It's always going to be there,'" Garland recalls. "So, the next time I ran it, I hit the wing and it was a wide-open shot. From that point, I said, 'OK, I understand.'"
Fellow rookie Kevin Porter Jr. says he and Gottlieb are "tied together like a knot." He bonded with his coach during preseason workouts when he labored to score.
"I'm a perfectionist," Porter says. "I want to make every shot, do everything right. I was getting frustrated. Lindsay was the one who calmed me down, kept me level-headed."
More seasoned vets such as Thompson and Love were amazed by how easily Gottlieb identified, by name, actions the Cavs had been using for years, along with sets that other NBA teams run. What they didn't know is that Gottlieb, a basketball junkie, had for years been watching NBA games and duplicating sets for her Cal players.
"None of this should be surprising," notes Cavs general manager Koby Altman, who hired Gottlieb. "Lindsay has an analytical background. She speaks our language. She's been at this a while."
And yet there was a time when she turned to coaching only because there was no other choice.
SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD Lindsay Gottlieb's headphones were soaked.
It wasn't perspiration from an arduous workout but rather was from a torrent of tears. Gottlieb, whose friends marveled at her self-control, assumed she could handle anything.
Anything but this.
She was a high school senior, part of the Fab Five, a Scarsdale, New York, quintet of basketball kids who were gunning for the state championship. Lindsay and her childhood friend Hilary Heieck (formerly Hilary Howard) had been prepping for this since they were 10, enacting dramatic game-winning shots in the backyard, putting a tick back on an imaginary clock when the shot didn't fall.
This was their year. Heieck, who had already committed to Duke, and Gottlieb, who was headed to Brown, lined up for their final preseason game against hoops powerhouse Christ the King and supernova Chamique Holdsclaw. On the second play, Gottlieb drove and planted -- then felt an eruption of pain in her knee.
"I knew right away it was probably something significant," she says. But after she dutifully iced it and took the requisite anti-inflammatories, the pain subsided later that night, and the swelling quelled. "I'm thinking, 'Maybe I dodged a bullet,'" Gottlieb recalls.
The next morning, the orthopedic specialist went to drain her knee and said offhandedly, "Oh, the fluid in here is blood. You probably have a torn ACL."
Gottlieb was stunned.
"I'm bawling the entire time during the MRI, and the technicians are asking me, 'What's wrong? Does it hurt?'" Gottlieb recalls. "I told them, 'You don't get it. My ACL is torn.' I don't think they realized how much it would crush me."
Her mom, Carol, always preached to her children that they could do anything. When Lindsay was young, she once watched the NBA draft and declared she would be a general manager someday. "You will," her mother assured her. When Lindsay wanted to play football, Carol signed her up as the only girl on the field.
But even Carol couldn't find the words to console her devastated daughter. Heieck called the doctor's office from school on a pay phone and sank to her knees upon hearing the diagnosis. The Fab Five was down to a Fab Four. Scarsdale coach Paul Celentano gave Gottlieb a whistle and a shirt with "Coach" emblazoned on it. What choice did she have? Gottlieb pulled it on and shelved her dreams of basketball greatness.
"I've often wondered, 'What if Lindsay hadn't gotten hurt?'" Heieck says. "Who knows how it would be different? The injury accelerated her interest in coaching."
A year later, Gottlieb joined the Brown basketball team, but her injury had changed her trajectory. She played sparingly in her freshman year, lacking the same explosion she once had.
That same season, Gottlieb's mother fell ill, with an initial diagnosis of a bad ear infection. Lindsay took a road trip with her team to Cornell, where her sister Suzie and former Scarsdale teammate Carolyn Janiak attended. Lindsay had lunch with them, shared some laughs and then went back to the team hotel where a message was waiting.
Call Mom.
There was no ear infection; it was cancer, a brain tumor.
"The memory never leaves you," Janiak says. "We were all in shock. I gave her a hug and told her, 'It will be all right.' But, unfortunately, it wasn't."
Carol Gottlieb died during Lindsay's sophomore year of college. Her daughter stumbled through the season in a haze. She still wasn't playing much, so she threw herself into her studies, looking for a way to distract from the sadness and the gaping hole in her life.
"It's a weird space when you lose a parent," Gottlieb says. "Even when something good happens, you don't totally feel comfortable being happy. Grief has its trajectory. You can't be sad all the time either.
"After my sophomore year, I told myself, 'I have to do something different.' I loved basketball more than anything, but I chose to go abroad."
She settled on Sydney, traveling to Fiji, Japan and Thailand on her weekends off. A solitary trek in the mountains surrounding the River Kwai when she came upon a remote hillside village remains most memorable. It was a small community of people who were citizens of neither Thailand nor Myanmar. "If they went either place, they were arrested," Gottlieb says. "They were literally in no man's land."
She spent hours watching a man coach a group of girls preparing for a dance performance. He pushed them, encouraged them, challenged them. Their affection for him was clear. Gottlieb was drawn to this man, returning each day to track his interactions with the girls.
"I'm watching him, and I'm thinking, 'This is what I want,'" Gottlieb says, "'to have an impact on young people like this.'"
She was so moved, she collected all of her Brown basketball gear and presented it to him. He looked at her quizzically.
"He didn't speak English," Gottlieb says. "I'm sure he was thinking, 'What am I supposed to do with this?'"
DURING HER SENIOR season at Brown, Gottlieb asked to remain on the team to also function as a coaching intern, to learn to draw up practice lessons, break down film and scout the opposition. She became so immersed in that role that her teammates nicknamed her "Coachie"; some 20 years later, her close friend Dr. Julie Amato still lists Gottlieb in her contacts under that moniker.
While her friends sent applications to medical and law school -- a path that once seemed reasonable, even likely, for Gottlieb -- she mailed résumés to every Division I coach in the country. She ended up with an offer from Syracuse after receiving encouragement (but not offers) from Tennessee coach Pat Summitt and Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, who penned her a note, "We don't have an opening, but the game needs you."
Fifteen years later, Lindsay Gottlieb upended Stanford and VanDerveer on the Cardinal's home floor as the upstart coach of the Cal Bears.
At each coaching stop in her college journey -- Syracuse, New Hampshire, Richmond, UC Santa Barbara and Cal -- Gottlieb collected tactics like souvenirs. But while she revered the women's game, she also became a regular at Golden State Warriors practices.
"I should have hired her," lamented Golden State general manager Bob Myers, after the Cavs did just that. Two years earlier, she had arranged a sit-down with NBA commissioner Adam Silver to solicit advice for a female coach hoping to join their ranks.
No wonder, then, that there was a clause in her Cal contract enabling her to opt out if the NBA ever came calling.
Cleveland wasn't the only team interested. Minnesota Timberwolves general manager Gersson Rosas invited Gottlieb to the team's free agent mini-camp last June. The camp was designed to evaluate players, but also to check out a handful of coaches as possible candidates for Ryan Saunders' staff. Brian Randle, a player development coach for the Wolves, was immediately struck by how deftly Gottlieb drew up ATOs (after-timeout plays).
"As soon as she took that board and started to speak, it was unbelievable how she commanded their attention," Randle says.
Gottlieb drew up seven or eight plays he had never seen before. "Each of them was unique and special," he says, "and it was all second nature."
Gersson was equally impressed with how Gottlieb was confident without being overbearing. "There's a certain aura connected to a coach," Rosas explains, "and Lindsay has it."
Rosas offered Gottlieb the head-coaching job of the Iowa Wolves, the Timberwolves' G League affiliate.
"We felt Lindsay had a real chance to be a head coach," Rosas says. "No knock on the Cavs, but we felt that with her breadth and knowledge, being an assistant instead of running her own team would let some of her talent go to waste. But she decided to go in a different direction, which of course I respect."
Gottlieb's inaugural season in the NBA will likely be daunting. The Cavaliers are young and rebuilding. Their future lies in their young players, and Gottlieb has spent countless hours with them, prepping them for what lies ahead. They are, she says, learning on the job together.
"With Lindsay, we're not looking for these 'high' moments," Altman says. "It's her consistency that stands out. She's prepared, organized, every day. It's very evident in our meetings."
Former Cal star Kristine Anigwe visited Gottlieb in Cleveland and recognized some plays the Stanford women use, which Gottlieb tweaked and offered as part of the Cavs' arsenal. Anigwe says Gottlieb used to run two-man actions and iso plays at Cal that were straight out of the Milwaukee Bucks' playbook for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Basketball is basketball, Anigwe says, and what will set Gottlieb apart is how she treats the players.
"Lindsay comes from a place of honesty," Anigwe says. "I never once doubted her intentions. She never hides anything.
"That's very powerful to players. They don't want to play for someone they don't trust."
But will that be enough for this gamble to pay off? The NBA is a ruthless, transient and impatient business, and Gilbert's track record of extending his coaches and GMs is spotty.
Gottlieb is too busy to worry about any of that. She's immersed in the Cavs, in the game she loves, in a role that Carol Gottlieb -- and that breathless 10-year old forecasting her own triumphs -- would have heartily endorsed.
Wales start with new caps in full-back Kayleigh Powell and wings Paige Randall and Courtney Keight.
Rebekah O'Loughlin could also make her debut off the bench while Ireland have six uncapped players in their squad.
Coach Rowland Phillips remains absent as he takes time away from the programme while his daughter Carys' starting place in the front row is taken by Ospreys' Kelsey Jones.
Set-piece coach Chris Horsman says Wales are keen to develop strength in depth as they build towards the 2021 World Cup.
"Our ultimate aim as a performance programme is to close the gap between ourselves and the best teams in international women's rugby," said the former Wales prop.
"We are ninth at the moment and we are determined to climb the rankings.
"In terms of the autumn series, we have a chance to develop our strength in depth given we are already qualified for the Rugby World Cup.
"However, at the end of the day it's a Test match and that will bring the challenges you'd expect from a Six Nations side."
Wales: Kayleigh Powell (Ospreys); Paige Randall (Cardiff Blues), Alecs Donovan (Ospreys), Robyn Wilkins (Cardiff Blues), Courtney Keight (Ospreys); Elinor Snowsill (Ospreys), Ffion Lewis (Scarlets); Gwenllian Pyrs (RGC), Kelsey Jones (Ospreys), Amy Evans (Ospreys), Natalia John (Ospreys), Gwen Crabb (Ospreys), Alex Callender (Scarlets), Bethan Lewis (Scarlets), Siwan Lillicrap (capt, Ospreys).
GLENDORA, Calif. – The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series returns to action next year to compete at premier racing facilities across the country.
The action-packed series kicks off at Orlando Speed World Dragway, in Orlando, Fla. on Jan. 31-Feb. 2.
New this season, National Trail Raceway will feature double the sportsman racing action as it hosts a Division 3 points meet July 16-17 directly followed by the iconic JEGS NHRA SPORTSnationals, July 18-19.
The season will conclude for the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series in Las Vegas, November 5-8.
The upcoming schedule includes 44 divisional events with a minimum of six in each of the seven divisions. Additionally, there will also be 26 regional events featuring the 260-mph Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car classes during the 2020 campaign.
2020 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Schedule
Division 1
Atco Raceway (Regional) May 1-3 Maple Grove Raceway (Regional) May 22-24 Numida Dragway June 5-7 New England Dragway (Regional) June 19-20 Lebanon Valley Dragway (Regional) July 3-5 Cecil County Dragway Aug. 14-16 Virginia Motorsports Park (Regional) Oct. 9-11
Division 2
Orlando Speed World Dragway Jan. 31-Feb. 2 South Georgia Motorsports Park Feb. 21-23 Gainesville Raceway (Regional) March 5-8 Atlanta Dragway May 1-3 GALOT Motorsports Park Sept. 18-20 Rockingham Dragway Oct. 2-4
Division 3
Summit Motorsports Park (Regional) May 15-17 Route 66 Raceway (Regional) May 29-31 National Trail Raceway (Regional) July 16-17 Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis (Regional) Aug. 7-9 Beech Bend Raceway Park (Regional) Aug. 28-30 World Wide Technology Raceway (Regional) Oct. 9-11
Division 4
No Problem Raceway (Regional) Feb. 28-March 1 Houston Raceway Park March 20-22 Texas Motorplex (Regional TAD/TAFC ONLY) March 27-28 Texas Motorplex April 2-3 Texas Motorplex April 4-5 Alamo City Motorplex May 15-17 Tulsa Raceway Park June 5-6 Thunder Valley Raceway Park Oct. 9-11
Division 5
Bandimere Speedway (Regional) June 19-20 Heartland Motorsports Park July 23-24 Heartland Motorsports Park (Regional) July 25-26 Brainerd International Raceway Aug. 8-9 Tri-State Raceway (Regional) Sept. 11-13 SRCA Dragstrip (Regional) Sept. 25-27
Division 6
Firebird Raceway May 1-3 Mission Raceway May 28-29 Mission Raceway (Regional) May 30-31 Woodburn Dragstrip (Regional) June 26-28 Pacific Raceways (Regional TAD/TAFC ONLY) Aug. 7-8 Pacific Raceways Aug. 14-16 Yellowstone Dragstrip (Regional) Aug. 29-30
Division 7
Tucson Dragway February 28-March 1 The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Regional) April 9-11 Auto Club Dragway May 16-17 Sonoma Raceway (Double Regional) July 16-19 Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park Oct. 9-11 The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Regional) Nov. 5-8
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Foundation announced the four finalists for the Ninth Annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award on Friday, initiating a month-long online fan vote to determine the award winner.
The finalists were introduced during a news conference at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., prior to Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500.
The award, named in honor of the foundation’s late founder and chairwoman, is presented to a NASCAR fan who has done exceptional volunteer work on behalf of children in their community. Results of the fan vote – which begins today and runs through Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. (ET), conducted at NASCARfoundation.org/Award – will be announced on Dec. 5 during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Awards at Music City Center in Nashville. The NASCAR Foundation will donate $100,000 to the charity represented by the award winner and $25,000 to each of the other three finalists’ charities.
Those finalists:
Bob Behounek of Berwyn, Ill., a NASCAR fan for 56 years representing Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. Behounek, an artist, has volunteered for 13 years, raising funds to help families of hospitalized children with housing needs during extended hospital stays.
Angela Hamby of Locust, N.C., a 40-year NASCAR fan representing the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Charlotte. She has volunteered for 12 years as head nurse for Camp Horizon, which serves children with Down syndrome.
Todd Smith of Perris, Calif., a NASCAR fan since 2007 (when he attended his first race at Auto Club Speedway) who represents Fuel for Success, a national organization founded by Smith. He has volunteered for 12 years, introducing at-risk students to NASCAR while fostering better relationships between students and police officers.
Joe Vaughn of Woodruff, S.C., a NASCAR fan of 45 years representing Project HOPE Foundation of Greenville, South Carolina. Vaughn is the chairman of Project HOPE, which serves children with autism.
“Avid NASCAR fans; that’s the best way to begin when describing this year’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award finalists,” said The NASCAR Foundation Chairman Mike Helton. “Each one represents what Betty Jane France stood for and what she wanted this award to be: a recognition of people who love our sport but also love the charities they are passionate about.
“These finalists are folks who root for their favorite drivers on race day but every day – 365 days a year – they’re out there rooting for the children in their community, working hard to better children’s lives. This year’s group of finalists is exceptional. Picking one to vote for will be tough for our fans.”
Since the award’s inception, The NASCAR Foundation has impacted the lives of more than 300,000 children by providing nearly $1.5 million in contributions to charities represented by finalists for the award.
SPEED SPORT’s Jacob Seelman caught up with Big Game Motorsports driver Kerry Madsen during the Can-Am World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, who recaps his 2019 season and looks ahead to 2020.
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