Today is the day. Todd Monken will name the Browns’ Week 1 starting QB at their noon press conference today. Neither quarterback will appear Thursday against New England, so whatever the staff has seen is all they are getting.

Deshaun Watson went 16 of 27 for 162 yards in preseason with no touchdowns, an interception, and a lost fumble. Against Chicago he did not attempt a single throw beyond ten yards. Against Buffalo he managed 36 yards on 12 attempts and heard boos from the home town fans. His postgame comments made it worse, saying the reaction was personal rather than performance related and pointing out that the same crowd cheered when he tore his Achilles on that field.

Shedeur Sanders finished 15 of 22 for 153 yards with a touchdown and two picks across the preseason games, completing 68.2% against Watson's 59.3%. His best work came against Buffalo, 9 of 11 for 74 yards and a score. Sanders’ misses came on aggressive downfield attempts while Watson's incompletions came on short, safe throws. Sanders defended Watson after the booing, saying that regardless of the competition they are both human and the fans should show respect.

The roster context favors Sanders. Cleveland rebuilt the receiver room around Jerry Jeudy with rookies Denzel Boston and KC Koncepcion, and Monken's system is built to attack vertically. A quarterback who can’t pose a threat with deep passes wastes that investment.

Watson has played 19 games in four years on a fully guaranteed $230 million deal signed in 2022. He turns 31 with a repaired Achilles behind him. Sanders was a projected first rounder who slid to the fifth in 2025, threw for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and ten picks as a rookie on a bad team, and has visibly improved since.

The Browns should take the loss on Watson and give Shedeur their full support for a real shot as a starter. If all else fails, they have two first round picks in the 2027 draft to try again.

🎲 Instant Parlay Generator

Stop building parlays from scratch. We'll do it for you. One click gets you:

• Smart leg selections based on current matchups

• Clear reasoning for every pick

• Direct betting links to lock it in before lines move

No prompting required. No conversation needed. Just instant action when you want a play but don't want to spend the time researching it.

⚾️ Bottom-Ranked Pitching to be Punished

Ten games on the board today, and three of them stand out for run scoring. At least one staff on the field is incapable of preventing runs, and in the other two cases the ballpark makes that worse.

🔥 Twins at Athletics Over 10.5

The highest number of the day, and it is earned. The A’s have allowed 749 runs and 198 home runs, both worst in baseball, with a 5.51 team ERA and 1.51 WHIP that rank 29th in each. Jeffrey Springs has actually handled Minnesota well historically, holding them to a .174 average across 49 plate appearances, but career splits mean less than a season of evidence that this staff cannot get outs.

The Twins rank ninth in runs with 599 and sit in the top dozen in OPS, wOBA, and wRC+. Minnesota is no better on the other side, ranking 26th in ERA at 4.65 with rookie Zebby Matthews starting. Both bullpens grade in the bottom tier, which is where this total gets blown open.

🔥 Rockies at Nationals Over 8.5

Colorado has surrendered 746 runs with a 5.53 ERA and 180 home runs allowed, ranking last or near it in every category. Ryan Feltner is one specific problem, carrying a 5.97 ERA with 1.9 homers and 3.8 walks per nine. Over his last seven starts he has given up four or more runs five times, totaling 33 runs and 10 home runs in 33 innings. He now faces the offense leading the majors in runs with 680 and home runs with 183, in a park ranking third overall with a 106 runs factor. Cade Cavalli is strong at 3.22, but he does not need to have a bad day for this total to hit.

🔥 Cubs at Diamondbacks Over 9

Chase Field owns the top runs factor in baseball at 108. Chicago brings the league's best wRC+ at 111.45 along with 665 runs, second most. They also posted 19 runs last night on the Mariners. Cubs' pitching has allowed 195 home runs, 29th in the league, and are playing inside a park where balls carry. Kevin Gausman has smothered this Arizona roster at .210 historically, which is the main caution for this one.

🌲 The Pine Line

🙈 Close your eyes Raiders fans. Heart-stopping moment in practice for this young star.

🏫 Imagine leaving the NFL to go play in college again. Now a precedent is set moving forward.

🏀 More drama in WNBA that has nothing to do with basketball. This time it led to a former NBA player getting tossed.

⛳️ LIV Golf is throwing a party. They don’t want you to know that almost nobody is showing up.

⚽️ A London Derby to Debut the Season

Chelsea head down the street to Fulham to start their season, and both teams feature a variety of new faces, including the managers. Álvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso were Liverpool teammates and later both managed at Real Madrid. Their new clubs finished level on 52 points last season, separated by goal difference to make Chelsea tenth and Fulham eleventh.

The squads have moved in opposite directions since. Chelsea spent £332.7 million and recouped £146.6 million through sales. Morgan Rogers arrived from Aston Villa for a club record £117 million, Maxence Lacroix came from Crystal Palace for £52 million, and the club added Jordan Henderson on a free plus Danny Welbeck for £5 million. Those last two may be the most impactful. Chelsea fielded the youngest average squad in the league at 23.5 years and showed a lack of maturity with 86 yellows and eight reds, four more than anyone else. Henderson and Welbeck bring a wealth of Premier League experience to a young and talented roster.

Fulham took a hit an lost their two leading scorers. Harry Wilson left for Leeds on a free after ten goals and seven assists, and Raúl Jiménez departed for Wolves. Gonzalo García arrives from Real Madrid for €40 million after topping the Club World Cup scoring charts, and Shea Charles came from Southampton in a deal reaching £30 million.

Chelsea -0.5

The Blues hold a 12-1-3 record across the last 16 meetings and have won 53 of 92 all time. Joao Pedro scored braces against Milan and Real Sociedad plus a hat trick against Western Sydney in preseason, and the bench includes Mudryk again now that his long term suspension is over. Enzo Fernández doubtful today, .

Over 2.5 Total Goals

I anticipate goals today. Three of the last four between these sides finished 2-1 and I expect this game to be more chaotic as both teams continue to figure things out with largely new teams. Chelsea put up three or more in each of their final three friendlies and have a significant amount of attacking power on the team sheet.

⚾ Chasing Home Runs Tonight?

Jaxon has projections, live odds, hit rates, and a confidence score for every player on the slate, so you're not just guessing who goes deep.

👉️ Click for the Home Run Sheet