TNF Could Be Last for Belichick – December 7

Who would have thought at the beginning of the 2023 NFL season that Bill Belichick and his New England Patriots would be 2-10 at his point? It seems so hard to believe that a Belichick-coached team could do so poorly. Then again, when you look at the Patriots roster, it doesn’t seem so far-fetched.

Tonight, New England and Belichick will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the 7-5 Steelers. The two teams have one thing in common. They both lost their maps to the end zone. New England is now dead last in the NFL in scoring, averaging a measly 12.3 points per game. The Patriots have lost five in a row and the garbage can fire is now a raging dumpster inferno. The last three weeks, New England has scored 6, 7, and 0 points. 

The Steelers aren’t much better, scoring 10, 16, and 10. While Pittsburgh has had trouble finding the end zone, at least they have managed double digits in each of the last three weeks. The Steelers are just four spots ahead of New England, scoring 16 points per game. Pittsburgh does not want to duplicate the city’s Penguins who saw how the Tampa Bay Lightning crashes parties. The Penguins lost to Tampa Bay 3-1 last night at home.

Belichick & His Legacy

Belichick has been the head coach of the Patriots since 2000. He’s responsible for building one of professional sports biggest dynasties. That dynasty has become tarnished over the last few years. It all started when Belichick was very young. His father, Steve, was a football coach at the Naval Academy.

The young Belichick learned how to break down game film, among other things, from his father. He went on to play high school and college football and upon his graduation from Wesleyan University, Belichick took a job as a special assistant with the Baltimore Colts in 1975. He’s been in professional football ever since.

Belichick was the Giants defensive coordinator when New York won two Super Bowls between 1985 and 1990. His defensive acumen earned him his first NFL head coaching job – the Cleveland Browns. Belichick coached five seasons with the Browns and went 36-44 before getting fired.

Belichick then followed his former head coach Bill Parcells to New England and to the New York Jets before becoming the Patriots head coach in 2000. Belichick has won a record six Super Bowls. Between 2003 and 2019, Belichick-coached Patriots teams won 17 AFC East titles, including a run of 11 straight from 2009 to 2019.

Why Belichick Needs Tonight’s Game

The Patriots have five games remaining this season. After tonight, New England will face the Chiefs next week and a resurgent Denver (6-6) the week after. Belichick and company then finish the season with division games against the Bills and Jets. It’s hard to say whether it’s a must-win for Belichick, but it sure seems like it is tonight.

Getting a win over the Chiefs would seem almost impossible, but the game is at home. They have to play at Denver, but New England does have wins over the Bills and Jets already. A win tonight could trigger some momentum and possibly help Belichick get three or four wins over the final five weeks of the season. That might take some of the heat off the Patriots head coach and allow him the opportunity to continue coaching in 2024. 

New England will have to do it tonight on the road in Pittsburgh, which is exactly what they did last year. The Patriots rolled into the Steel City last September and beat the Steelers 17-14. Unlike that game, the starting quarterback tonight will not be Mac Jones. Jones has been benched in favor of Bailey Zappe. Keep that in mind when betting this game tonight.

Another Strong Day for Sports Hub Handicappers

One day after our top-3 went 11-1 and won $1010, they upped their game. Yesterday’s top-3 was once again made up of exclusive SportsHub handicappers who combined to go 17-1 and earn $1571. Seven of the top-10 cappers were Sports Hub experts and the entire top-10 made at least $200 yesterday. Business as usual for the world’s best! They are why every bettor should have a Sports Hub account.

Let’s look at yesterday’s results.

• 10-piece nugget: If you tailed Randall Dickelman yesterday, you got a 10-pack of winning picks. Randall went 9-1 and took home $771 to earn the top spot on yesterday’s leaderboard. 
• Double trouble: Jhon Walsh and Logan Wilson are a pair of Sports Hub experts who are no strangers to this area of the leaderboard. Yesterday, both went 4-0 and earned $400 in profits. Logan went all basketball with two NBA pick and two CBB picks. Jhon hit both of his CBB picks too along with an NHL and soccer pick.
• The Insider: The Sports Hub Insider was back in the top-5 again after going 4-2 and winning $333. Over the last seven days, the Insider has won 59.4 percent of his picks and collected $626 in winnings. The Insider is up $1184 over the last 30 days.
• Sports Hub Free Picks: You gotta love free picks! Our own free picks got in on the action last night and went 2-0 to win $200. 
• Three amigos: Robert Ferguson, Hunter Price, and Ross Walker – all Sports Hub experts – made the top-10 as well. Robert went 3-0 and won $300, Hunter hit his only pick – a world soccer pick – and earned $242, while Ross went 2-1 and took home $232.

MLB Moves Among Biggest Trends Today

A former San Diego Padre has a new home and the Red Sox and Mets are courting another Japanese superstar. The MLB offseason is heating up and Shohei Ohtani still does not have a new team yet. 

Let’s see what’s happening.

• Soto to the Yankees: Yep, you read that right. The San Diego Padres are trading Juan Soto to the New York Yankees. The transaction involved seven players total. The Yankees also acquired OF Alex Vergugo yesterday to give the team two left-handed hitting outfielders.

• Yamamoto: No, we’re not talking about Admiral Yamamoto who 82 years ago today led the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. We are talking about Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a 25-year-old pitcher who both the Mets and Red Sox would love to have next season. Yamamoto is a three-time Pacific League MVP and a three-time Triple Crown winner. He has a career 1.82 ERA.
• Pistons: While you may have been following the NBA’s in-season tournament, you might not have realized the plight of the Detroit Pistons. Three games into the new 2023-24 NBA season, the Pistons were 2-1. They are now 2-19. They haven’t won since October 28 and have lost 18 games in a row after last night’s 116-102 loss to the Grizzlies.

Belichick, Patriots in Pittsburgh Tonight

Tonight’s Thursday night NFL game might look like a dud on paper, but it’s an important one for both teams. The Steelers own the No. 5 spot in the AFC playoff race right now. A loss combined with wins by Cleveland and Indianapolis this week could send Pittsburgh out of the top-7. Belichick needs a win to gain some momentum heading into the final weeks of the 2023 season. 

Tonight also brings us the NBA in-season tournament semifinals. The IST seems to be a hit so far. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday. There’s an NHL TNT doubleheader and more on the schedule.

Let’s take a look.

1. Thursday Night Football: It could be a dud just like the Patriots 2023 season. Another New England loss is another nail in the Belichick coffin. Don’t kid yourself though. The Patriots aren’t firing Belichick. They’ll allow him to resign gracefully. Regardless, did you see tonight’s total? Check out our NFL picks to see how our experts see this one.

2. NBA in-season tournament semifinals: Indiana faces Milwaukee starting at 5:00 p.m. ET and New Orleans will take on the Los Angeles Lakers at 9:00 p.m. Both games are being played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The winners will play each other on Saturday.
3. NHL Thursday doubleheader: Dallas is at Washington and then New Jersey plays in Seattle in the NHL’s Thursday night TNT doubleheader. The two games are part of 13 total on the ice tonight.
4. NCAAB: It’s the calm before the weekend storm. There are only 10 games on tonight’s college basketball schedule. None of the AP Top 25 plays tonight. This weekend will be chock full of college basketball. Sports Hub has all the best CBB picks to get you through this weekend with a bunch of wins.
5. World soccer: There are two more Premier League matches today. Ligue 1 has Brest hosting Strasbourg as part of a pretty slow international soccer schedule.
6. PGA Tour Champions: The World Champions Cup starts today at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. It’s a team event that kicks off today with Thursday six-ball.

There you have it. Today’s schedule features a little of everything. As always, your go-to, one-stop resource for all things related to sports betting is right here – Sports Hub. Our world-class expert handicappers provide bettors with the best picks in all sports. Looking for specific picks in different sports? Use our searchable leaderboard to find the best cappers in any category. Get yourself on the right track using expert Sports Hub handicappers to guide you to more wins!