Colts Fire GM Ballard; Vikings Heavy Week 7 Favorites — SkimNews
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- Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard was fired after the team lost outright as a 7-point favorite to the Titans, per the article; Minnesota now sits as a 6.5-point Week 7 favorite with Brian Flores' defense leading the NFL in blitz rate (69.8%) and red-zone efficiency.
- Jets head coach Aaron Glenn drew heat from Patriots bettors after sending out the field goal unit while trailing 26-16 with 30 seconds left; Jason Sanders' 36-yarder cut it to 26-19 but the failed onside kick left New York short of the 7.5-point spread by the hook.
- Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is averaging 5.6 yards per attempt and 4.9 air yards — the shortest air-yards mark through six games in the past 20 seasons, per the article — as Denver's offense ranks 26th in points and 31st in total yards, fueling a Cardinals +4.5 home pick.
- Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has authored four game-winning drives this season (18-of-24, 75%, 2 TD, 0 INT in those stretches), helping Cleveland take a surprising AFC North lead heading into Week 7 as a 1.5-point road favorite at Tennessee.
- Steelers and Saints meet in Paris as part of the NFL's international slate, with Pittsburgh favored by 3.5; the column also takes Cowboys -4.5 on Monday night at Philadelphia, Chiefs +2.5 at Seattle, and Dolphins-based fade of the winless Jets by 4.5.
- Cross-coverage consensus: Prisco's companion CBS Sports Week 7 picks column agrees with this column on the Lions over the Packers but splits on Bears-Patriots, where Prisco backs a Patriots upset and this column lays 3 with Chicago.
Why it matters: The Ballard firing creates an immediate Indianapolis front-office vacancy less than a month into the season, with the Colts now road dogs in Minnesota against a top-ranked defense — a steep turnaround for a team that was a 7-point favorite a week ago. The Jets' late-game field goal decision also reignited a coaching-debate talking point that spread well beyond the betting sphere.
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