Biggest Winners and Losers from Week 15 Monday Night Football
The Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears were supposed to be the sole NFL game on Monday night in Week 15, but COVID-19 caused a handful of games to be delayed. One of those was the Las Vegas Raiders vs. Cleveland Browns game, which was moved to Monday night instead of its original spot on Saturday.
Because of that, our weekly winners/losers article will feature two separate games.
Let's take a look at the biggest winners and losers on Monday night. Any odds listed are via WynnBET Sportsbook.
Monday Night Football Week 15 Winners
Raiders and Vikings Playoff Hopes
The Raiders season would have effectively been over with a loss tonight, but last minute heroics by Derek Carr and kicker Daniel Carlson kept their postseason hopes alive. They're still on the outside looking in, but at least they have a chance to go on a run and make the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Vikings did what they had to do to help their playoff chances as well. They are now going to be one of three teams in the NFC with a 7-7 record heading into Week 16, with one playoff spot to grab between them. The Saints and the winner of Tuesday night's Eagles/Washington game will be the other two NFC teams with a 7-7 record.
Nick Mullens
It's a little bit strange to call the quarterback of the losing team a "winner", but when you're a third string quarterback being asked to play in a big game on Monday night, you're not expected to throw for 300 yards and four touchdowns. Mullens went a respectable 20-for-30 for 147 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions and a lot of his incompletions were due to drops by his receivers.
That performance should be enough to extend his NFL career a little bit longer, which is all a third string quarterback can hope for.
UNDER Bettors
If you've been betting on the UNDER recently, you're one happy bettor. Not only did they hit in both games tonight, but it wasn't a sweat in either one, which is extremely rare to say about an UNDER. Even better if you were on the UNDER in Sunday night's game between the Bucs and Saints as well.
If you've been wagering on high-scoring affairs, you're probably feeling some winter blues right about now.
Monday Night Football Week 16 Losers
Matt Nagy
How is Matt Nagy not fired yet? If there's ever been a season where Bears ownership should break their rule of not firing a head coach midseason, it's now. Matt Nagy's offense continues to be almost unwatchable.
If there's been about 10 final nails in his coffin, then this was the 11th.
Browns and Bears Fans
Is there a more tortured franchise in the NFL than the Cleveland Browns? After finally making the postseason last year and getting a playoff win, expectations couldn't have been hire for them heading into the 2021 season.
Then, in pure Browns fashion, they went on to have a heartbreaking season barred by injuries, close losses, and now their playoff hopes have dwindled. They still have a chance, but it's hard to feel optimistic at this point.
Then there's the Bears, who have had to watch Matt Nagy gut this storied franchise. Yes, Matt Nagy has effectively made this list twice.
Us, the Viewers
You would think that in Week 15 of a season where there's been a ton of parity, that it'd be almost impossible to have a boring Monday Night Football double-header, but we just witnessed one. In fact, the entire Week 15 slate was a snooze-fest outside of the electrifying Thursday night football game between the Chiefs and Chargers.
That's why we bet on these games. It helps make these boring games just a little bit more tolerable.