Case of the Mondays: Elliott Still Not Suspended, But He Might as Well Have Been

by Ricky Dimon - 9/18/2017

It's looking like a Tom Brady situation could be in the cards for Ezekiel Elliott, and not in the department of winning MVP awards or Super Bowls. Elliott's pending suspension may end up rolling over to the following season, just as Brady's did from 2015 to 2016. Even though the Cowboys' running back was on the field for Week 2, it hardly mattered because his team got clobbered at Denver 42-17. It was also a rough Sunday for the Jets, who fell to 0-2 after getting blown out at Oakland.

Odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook unless otherwise indicated.

Ezekiel Elliott . How bad was Elliott's day? Well, he had fewer rushing yards (eight) than carries (nine). His 0.9 yards-per-rush average, of course, was by far the worst of his young NFL career. Dallas' entire offense struggled as quarterback Dak Prescott threw for just 238 yards despite attempting 50 passes (completed 30), and he was picked off twice to go along with his pair of scoring strikes. The Cowboys rushed for a grand total of 40 yards, with Prescott leading the way in that department (24 yards on three keepers). They are +600 to win the NFC.

New York Jets . How bad were the Jets on Sunday? Well, Raiders' running back Marshawn Lynch was dancing on the sidelines with more than 12 minutes still remaining until his team officially finished off its 45-20 rout. New York trailed 35-13 at the time and was seconds away from falling into an insurmountable 42-13 hole. "It irks my ever-living nerves," Jets' linebacker Jordan Jenkins admitted. "When I saw it happening, it was infuriating.... That pissed me off. I'm an old-school guy. I don't like when things like that happen. That was embarrassing; losing like that and having Marshawn dance like that." The Jets are now an unsurprising 0-2, having opened their season with a 21-12 loss at Buffalo. They are +6 home underdogs against Miami in Week 3.

Lamar Jackson . Jackson has a chance of becoming the second player (first since Archie Griffin, 1974-75) to win the Heisman Trophy twice. Right now it's looking like he will have to return to college for his senior season in order for that to happen. Louisville's quarterback saw his bid take a blow when they Cardinals got manhandled by Clemson 47-21 this past Saturday night. Jackson's numbers (317 passing yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and 64 rushing yards) were stellar, but most of his productive work came in garbage time after the Tigers had built a 33-7 lead through three quarters. Louisville is a -39.5 home favorite over Kent State this week.

Nebraska . The Cornhuskers paid Northern Illinois $820,000 to come into Lincoln and upset them 21-17 this past weekend. It does not take a genius to figure out that a payment of $820,000 followed by a humiliating loss is not a good return on investment. Head coach Mike Riley, who recently had his contract extend, has also provided a less-than-stellar ROI. Riley is just 16-13 in two-plus seasons at Nebraska, including 1-2 in 2017 with setbacks against Northern Illinois and Oregon. "I'm angry; I'm frustrated; I'm disappointed," athletic director ShawnEichorst said. "At the end of the day, we have to stay together. It's still early in the season, and we need to find ways to win games like this. I want to continue to show our support (for Riley), but I also understand there is a lot of frustration out there when you don't win games like today." Nebraska is a -14 home favorite over Rutgers on Saturday.

St. Louis Cardinals . A sweep is what the Cardinals needed against the Cubs this past weekend. In fact, it's exactly what they needed. Winning three in a row in Chicago would have put St. Louis tied with its biggest rival atop the National League Central. Instead, the opposite happened. It was the Cubs who did the sweeping, taking all three contests to widen the gap between the two teams to a massive six games. The home team dominated 8-2 on Friday and 4-1 on Saturday before pulling off a 4-3 victory in the finale. St. Louis is also 4.5 games out of the NL's second wild-card spot, while Milwaukee is four games behind Chicago in the division and 2.5 games short of a playoff position. The Cardinals are +2000 to win the NL Pennant.

Watford . Watford was hanging in there quite nicely in the English Premier League through four matches, with two wins, two draws, and no losses for eight points. But reality set in quickly this past Saturday, when the Hornets had to go up against powerhouse Manchester City. Having previously given up only three total goals en route to its 2-0-2 record, Watford watched its defense implode throughout a humiliating 6-0 home defeat. That being sad, it was not quite as bad as New England's performance in a history-making Major League Soccer match last Wednesday. The league's single-game attendance record was broken in Atlanta as the home team spanked New England 7-0 and did not allow a single shot on goal. Man City is an even-money favorite to win the Premier League.

Hideki Matusyama . A spot in the top five is paramount-or at least it can be-heading into this week's Tour Championship. Those five control their own destiny at East Lake, in that a tournament victory would also guarantee the FedEx Cup championship. Anyone outside the top five pretty much has to win the Tour Championship and get help in order to have chance of lifting the FedEx Cup. Matusyama was fourth in the standings prior to the BMW Championship, but a T47 finish dropped him to seventh. Jon Rahm's T5 performance kept him in fifth, Rickie Fowler's T2 left him in sixth, and Marc Leishman surged into the top five (fourth) by winning the event. Jordan Spieth is a +500 favorite to win the Tour Championship ( Bovada Sportsbook ).

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Case of the Mondays: Elliott Still Not Suspended, But He Might as Well Have Been

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