Editor's note: picks for every game are coming once our model goes live. For now, only the marquee carries a Vegas line. Full slate and where to stream it lives at watch.uristocrat.com.
Monday belongs to the NFL. The Giants fly west 1-0 and feeling good, the Rams come home 0-1 and embarrassed. Around it you get a WNBA doubleheader, a thin three-game baseball card, and the first real week of NHL preseason.
Marquee: Giants at Rams, Monday Night Football (8:15 PM ET, ESPN/ABC)
The Rams spent the offseason loading up and then got run 27-7 by the 49ers in Melbourne. Matthew Stafford, last year's MVP, went 60% for 155 yards and a pick, and the offense only had the ball twice in the first quarter. The Giants were the opposite: John Harbaugh's team held the ball for 21:33 of the second half and kept Dallas' offense on the sideline. The number tells you the market still believes in Los Angeles. The Rams opened -8.5 and have come down to -6.5, so money has been showing up on New York. ESPN Analytics gives the Rams a 66.9% win probability. The question is simple: does Stafford look like himself at home, or was Week 1 a real problem?
Vegas line (via ESPN Odds): Rams -6.5 (-115), Giants +6.5 (-105). Total 47.5. Moneyline Rams -290, Giants +235.
Also tonight
- Atlanta Dream at New York Liberty (8:00 PM ET, Peacock/NBCSN). Overlaps with the Monday night kickoff, so have a second screen ready. Two East teams in a late-September regular-season game at Barclays.
- Dallas Wings at Phoenix Mercury (10:00 PM ET, USA Network). The nightcap. Once the football is settled, this is your West Coast late window.
- Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles (6:35 PM ET, MLB.TV/MASN/Sportsnet). Toronto is 77-79, Baltimore 75-81. Neither is chasing much this late, but it's the earliest first pitch on the board.
- Washington Nationals at Detroit Tigers (6:40 PM ET, MLB.TV). Two 73-83 teams at Comerica Park playing out the string.
- Minnesota Twins at San Francisco Giants (9:45 PM ET, MLB.TV/NBC Sports Bay Area). Late one from Oracle Park. The Twins are 73-83, the Giants 64-92.
- New York Rangers at New Jersey Devils (7:00 PM ET, ESPN+/MSG). Preseason, but it's still Rangers-Devils. Good first look at both rosters.
- Ottawa Senators at Montreal Canadiens (7:00 PM ET, NHL Network). This is the Kraft Hockeyville game, so expect a small-town crowd that's louder than the stakes.
The whole night runs through SoFi. If the Rams cover, Week 1 was a blip. If the Giants keep it close again, New York is 2-0 in spirit and the Rams have a real Stafford conversation on their hands.
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