Sports
MNF Week 2: Falcons-Eagles Preview, Props, Prediction
May 30, 2024; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) hands off to running back Saquon Barkley (26) during practice at NovaCare Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images The Atlanta Falcons will be hoping for a dramatic turnaround from their Week 1 debacle with a visit to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.
Philadelphia has had Atlanta’s number in recent years, winning four of the last five against the Falcons.
But new Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins has a winning record against the Eagles (6-5). Cousins has struggled on “Monday Night Football” with a record of 3-10. On the other hand, Jalen Hurts is 4-4 on MNF, including a 24-7 win over Cousins when he was with the Vikings (Week 2, 2022).
Odds and Trends
Philadelphia opened as just a 4.5-point home favorite despite their strong performance in Week 1 vs. the Packers. But it didn’t take long for the line to move. Bettors can still find the Eagles at -5.5, while Atlanta’s supporters can find the Eagles at +6.5.
The Eagles and Falcons last met in Week 1 of the 2021 season, a game Philadelphia won 32-6. But Hurts and Cousins last faced off in 2023 when Cousins was with the Vikings in Week 2 (Thursday Night Football). Cousins threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns, but Hurts got the win 34-28.
Given how games unfolded Week 1, it comes as no surprise that the public is getting behind Philly. At BetMGM, 82 percent of the point spread tickets, and 88 percent of the money is on the Eagles.
But, according to an industry average, 47 percent of spread tickets are on Philadelphia and 53 percent on Atlanta. Moneyline bets heavily favor the Eagles, with 92 percent of the handle and 95 percent of tickets.
However, bettors are relatively split regarding the total: 56 percent of the money and 48 percent of tickets on the OVER (44 percent and 52 percent on the UNDER).
Recent history has favored the home team on MNF, 59-43, over the last five years. However, betting on the visiting team wasn’t a bad idea; they went 53-45-4 ATS. Favorites have gone 67-37 SU and 45-55-4 ATS since 2018.
Prop Picks
–Saquon Barkley, 2+ Touchdowns, +270 at FanDuel: He had three against the Packers in Week 1, two rushing and one receiving. It seemed like new OC Kellen Moore will make the most of his running back (while he’s healthy), especially near the goal line. There is no value in betting on his anytime odds, but it would not be shocking to see him get two vs. the Falcons.
–Jalen Hurts, O/U 39.5 Yards Rushing, -113/-113 at FanDuel: Running the ball is part of the reason Hurts is such a dangerous QB. But Kellen Moore seemed reluctant to call designed runs for Hurts in Week 1. On several of his 13 carries did not go for much since he looked for someone to throw to as long as he could.
With Barkley available to do the dirty work in the run game, expect less from Hurts. Take the UNDER.
Key Stats
Cousins is 12-20 in primetime games and 3-10 on MNF. However, while his win-loss record is not good, he has been. He ranks 12th in passer rating out of the 64 quarterbacks that have attempted 500+ passes in primetime games.
The News
Expectations were high for the Atlanta Falcons coming into the season. With skill position players like Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, and Drake London, many viewed them as a team that needed competent quarterback play to succeed.
Enter Kirk Cousins.
While his teams have not seen much postseason success, his ability to get the ball moving on offense is undeniable, especially in the passing game. He played six seasons with the Vikings, starting 15+ in his first five. In those five, he threw for 4,000+ yards in four.
His best season may have been his first. He made history by becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to complete 70 percent of his passes for 30 touchdowns and 4,000+ yards with ten interceptions (or fewer).
Fans in Atlanta probably hoped that would be the guy they’d see in Week 1. The offense sputtered as Cousins completed 16 of 26 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked twice and threw two interceptions as the Falcons lost to the Steelers 18-10.
While it is no consolation, there were several mitigating factors. Week 1 was his first game back after missing the second half of the 2023 season with a torn Achilles. It was his first game on a new team, in a new offense with a new offensive coordinator, a new center, and new skill position players.
Thanks to his recovery, he did not have enough time to develop the level of familiarity necessary to play well on Sunday. But there is a bright side for Falcons fans — Cousins and the offense can only get better.
Can they improve enough to be competitive with the Eagles tonight?
Injury Report
Both teams have ruled out players for Monday night’s tilt. Hurts will be without his No. 1 wide receiver, A.J Brown (hamstring). Atlanta will not have cornerback Antonio Hamilton Sr. (groin) and linebacker Nate Landman (calf, quadriceps). Eagles receiver Johnny Wilson is listed as questionable.
Prediction
If Cousins and the Atlanta offense were clicking on all cylinders, this could be a competitive game. However, growing pains are expected, which should keep expectations low for the Falcons’ offense.
Without the offense giving them a break, the defense will get worn out after getting a heavy dose of Saquon Barkley. Hurts will miss Brown, but the Eagles have plenty of talented weapons at his disposal.
Prediction: Eagles 28, Falcons 13
–Field Level Media
Sports
Knicks and Nuggets Blow Big Leads: What Went Wrong in Game 2?
Roughly 5,000 feet of elevation separate Denver and New York City.
Still, gravity works the same regardless of where one stands. Just ask the NBA teams in both towns.
“You get too high, and you get, I don’t want to say cocky, but feeling yourself,” Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. said.
That sensation went south on either side of the country Monday night.
After squandering sizable leads that would have cemented commanding 2-0 advantages in their respective first-round playoff series, the Nuggets and Knicks now find themselves bracing for a fight.
Should their opponents ultimately have their number, Denver and New York will look back with disdain on 19 and 14. Those were the Game 2 cushions the teams coughed up as the No. 3 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference.
“It’s a game we should’ve won,” Knicks guard Josh Hart said. “In the playoffs, we can’t give away games.”
Be that as it may, the Knicks did just that against the Atlanta Hawks. They controlled the outcome for much of the night and took a 12-point edge into the fourth quarter after leading by as many as 14.
Then New York shot 5-for-22 from the floor in the final 12 minutes compared to 10-for-15 for Atlanta. Fighting through vulgar chants from the Madison Square Garden faithful, Hawks star CJ McCullom scored six straight points down the stretch during one key sequence on the way to a game-high 32.
“In that fourth quarter, you could tell [the Hawks] were playing with a level of desperation,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “There were four 50-50 balls, and they got three of the four. We always use that stat to gauge the level of aggression in a game. In that fourth quarter, their aggression stepped up.”
New York’s melted at the same time. How many late possessions saw the Knicks pass or hold the ball around the perimeter before settling for subpar looks from 3-point range? The Knicks went 3-for-11 from deep as part of their flop.
Denver led the Minnesota Timberwolves by 19 points early in the second quarter before crumbling. The Nuggets still were ahead by three points to start the fourth quarter but a combined 2-for-12 shooting effort from pillars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in the final 12 minutes took a toll.
“I feel like we had the game in hand, and then we just didn’t make our shots,” Murray said.
As with the Knicks and Hawks, the reversal of fortunes stemmed both from the hosts’ miscues and an outstanding effort from a visiting player, as Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards had 30 points.
“Great leadership, positive,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “He recognized he needed to get into attack mode and get downhill a little bit more. He did that.”
The Knicks and Nuggets no doubt sensed the need to amp up their own urgency as things started slipping away Monday.
That neither could act upon it didn’t signal the end for either New York or Denver, of course. But now there’s unnecessary added weight for the climb back to the top.
Sports
Pistons seek return to identity vs. Magic after Game 1 shocker
Apr 19, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) is defended by Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane (3) in the second half during the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images After an exceptional regular season, this wasn’t the start to the NBA playoffs that the Detroit Pistons envisioned.
Reeling from a stunning Game 1 loss in which only two players reached double figures, the Eastern Conference’s top seed heads into Game 2 Wednesday against the visiting Orlando Magic facing early pressure to reset the best-of-seven series.
The eighth-seeded Magic controlled the opener from the start, never trailing and leaning on a balanced offensive attack. Paolo Banchero led the way with 23 points while Franz Wagner scored 11 of his 19 in the fourth quarter to help close out the 112-101 win.
For Detroit, the issue wasn’t just the loss — it was how it happened. The Pistons never established their defensive identity and struggled to find consistent offense beyond star guard Cade Cunningham, two areas that will be central entering Game 2.
“It starts, always, with us defensively,” said Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “When you go back and watch the film of that (game), we weren’t ourselves defensively. The telling tale is typically when we play them, they go to the free-throw line a ton.
“… We went 38 (times) but they went 19. So that means we weren’t playing our brand of basketball, being physical, being handsy, being aggressive. That kind of sets the tone for us.”
Offensively, the Pistons leaned on Cunningham, who scored 39 points, but got little other support — scoring their fewest points in nearly three months, since a loss to the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 29. Detroit will need more help from All-Star center Jalen Duren, who was held to just eight points and seven rebounds in Game 1.
“They came out ready from the jump,” Duren said. “We didn’t really meet their intensity. They’ve been playing with their backs against the walls the last few weeks, so they were already kind of already rolling. I think we just got to do a better job meeting that intensity.”
Duren said the Pistons remain confident despite the loss, which extended their home playoff losing streak to 11 games, the longest in NBA history.
“We know the type of team we are,” Duren said. “We feel like we’re the better team. We know that we’ve just got to make adjustments and come out smarter, come out playing harder.”
Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said he has talked to his team about not becoming too overconfident coming off Sunday’s win.
“It’s one game at a time,” Mosley said of his message to the team. “It’s the reality that, yeah, you did get the Game 1 win, but now you have to go and figure out how to get a Game 2 (win). There’s going to be, obviously, the positive talk about what you’ve done, and thinking there’s reasons to celebrate, but at the end of the day, it’s one game, and that’s the most important piece that we’ve talked about: just taking it one game at a time.”
Banchero said the team has received the message, and he believes the key for the Magic is to play defense like they did in the opener.
“I thought we were on a string, just communicating, talking out coverages,” Banchero said. “I think it’s just going to continue to take that, being aggressive, being the aggressors on defense and just not trying to give them much. Obviously they’re going to make shots, but just not trying to give them any free looks.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lynx star Napheesa Collier (ankle) targets June for on-court work
Mar 2, 2026; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Unrivaled Co-founder Napheesa Collier at Barclay’s Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images The Minnesota Lynx said Tuesday that star forward Napheesa Collier’s rehab from left ankle surgery is “progressing as expected,” and she could resume on-court activities in early June.
The team plans to release updates on Collier’s progress when available.
The timeline means Collier will miss, at minimum, the first month of the WNBA season, which begins May 10 for the Lynx.
Collier underwent surgery on her ankle on March 24 after sustaining a severe injury during the 2025 playoffs. Per reports at the time, she sustained a Grade 2 tear of three ligaments in the ankle and a muscle in her left shin on a collision during Game 3 of the playoff semifinal series vs. Phoenix.
Collier, 29, averaged a career-high 22.9 points and shot 40.3% from 3-point range to go with 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game last year. The back-to-back WNBA Most Valuable Player runner-up, Collier is a five-time All-Star and earned MVP honors in the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup final and the 2025 All-Star Game.
–Field Level Media
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