Let me be clear about something. As long as they have peak Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs will always be all-in. Trading away a conditional fourth-round pick isn’t exactly “pushing all your chips to the middle of the table.” But bolstering their receiver room by adding a past-his-prime but still productive DeAndre Hopkins is exactly the kind of move a team makes to shore things up before a playoff run when they’re already going for broke. In honor of Kansas City confirming what we already know, here are my top “all-in” sports movie moments.

Tier 1: Michael Jordan Bets On Himself (Season Record: 8-6)

49ers -4.5 over Cowboys

Was MJ being tongue-in-cheek or just doing some method acting when in the crux of his acting debut he raises the stakes in a basketball game by gambling on himself against the villain, Mr. Swackhammer? I choose to think this was MJ’s subtle little eff you back to the NBA for suspending him for gambling and driving him out of basketball for a year-and-a-half not providing him high enough stakes for his competitive overdrive and cajoling him into playing minor league baseball for a year-and-a-half.

There’s only one game that I feel comfortable enough putting in the top spot this week. Dallas is a team in sharp decline. They can’t run the ball, and the passing game is in decline. Defensively, they’ve been without Micah Parsons for weeks, and even with him they couldn’t stop the run for anything. This game should be a playcaller’s delight for Kyle Shanahan where he can pound the rock again and again to set up some exotic playaction opportunities. The 49ers did use Brandon Aiyuk to a nasty knee injury last week, but they have already shown this season they have skill players ready to step up in a star’s absence. Given Dallas’s run defense, I also like Jordan Mason as my “Gronk Spike Profit Boost Anytime TD” scorer on FanDuel.

Tier 2: Mike McD Doubles Up (Season Record: 15-5)

Falcons -2.5 over Bucs

Seahawks +3 over Bills

Steelers -6.5 over Giants

Cardinals +3.5 over Dolphins

There’s potentially a lesson in quitting while you’re ahead in most of these scenes, but it was a good think Mike McDermott never learned his lesson. Sure, he could have quit after settling worm’s debt and gone back to being a grinder and unreliable law student after cleaning Teddy KGB’s clock, but he doesn’t. He let’s Teddy goad him into a double or nothing head’s up game. Mike McD not only comes out victorious, but even gets his stake back and a one-way ticket to Vegas for the World Series of Poker. That’s doubling down done right.

Tampa Bay suffered two gnarly injuries on Monday night late against the Ravens losing both star receivers: Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Evans will miss multiple weeks with a hamstring injury and Godwin will likely miss the rest of the season with a dislocated ankle. I have been vocal in my assertion that this Atlanta team isn’t very good, but they are good enough to be a one-arm-behind-his-back Baker Mayfield, especially after they just busted him on Thursday night with a full deck a few weeks ago.

Seattle is one of the most confusing teams to try to pick week in and week out, and that’s even more true as we don’t know D.K. Metcalf’s status after spraining his MCL against Atlanta last week. However, I like Seattle as a home underdog against a decent but unspectacular Buffalo team this week. I also like the Geno Smith or Josh Allen to pass for 350+ yards prop at +380.

We still don’t know if Pittsburgh will hand the reins to Russell Wilson or go back to Justin Fields, but for this week I don’t think it really matters. After a couple of weeks of competent play, New York has turned back into a pumpkin and the Steelers defense will put Daniel Jones in a blender.

Even with the imminent return of Tua and Tyreek Hill’s proclamations that they are back, I will trust this Miami team when I see it. Let’s not forget that they were playing poorly even before Tua got concussed against Buffalo in week two. Arizona is a decent team and I’m a little surprised they are getting so many points even if they are on a short week following a Monday night game.

Tier 3: Coach Yoast Gives Up the Hall of Fame (Season Record: 11-14)

Packers -4.5 over Jaguars

Colts +5.5 over Texans

Chiefs -9.5 over Raiders

We had to have at least one football movie in our tiers this week. While the first two examples were actual gambling examples of going all-in, this is more of a life example. In “Remember the Titans”, we see a beautiful journey of two communities coming together and relative rates of transition to accepting this. Bill Yoast seems to take a moral high road earlier on in the film accepting Herman Boone taking his place as head coach, but we really see his buy-in later in the film when he stands to benefit by standing aside and letting his team lose a fixed game, in order for him to replace Boone as head coach next season and secure his spot in the Virginia High School Hall of Fame, instead he stands up for what is right and threatens the officials into calling a fair game and urges his team to blitz all night paving the way to victory but jeopardizing his Hall of Fame chances in the process.

Jacksonville continues to employ Doug Pederson a week after beating up on the hopeless Patriots across the pond. I am steadfast in my conviction: Green Bay to cover. I think Jordan Love can throw all over this Jacksonville defense and an opportunistic Packers defense forces at least one Trevor Lawrence turnover.

Indianapolis might get Jonathan Taylor back this week, but even so Houston has been a win-but-don’t-cover team all season. I expect that to continue this week. Indianapolis is a decent team and good enough to at least make this a once score game.

We’ve already discussed Kansas City, but this would feel like a trap game if it weren’t for the fact that the Chiefs lost in Las Vegas just last year. Instead, this is going to be a Kansas City revenge game against the spiraling Raiders.

Tier 4: The Iron Lotus (Season Record: 12-12)

Bengals -1.5 over Eagles

Lions -10.5 over Titans

Bears -2.5 over Commanders

Vikings -3 over Rams

What could be more all-in than a male-male figure skating duo attempting a routine that will either end with a gold medal or certain death?

I’m not sold on either Cincinnati or Philadelphia this season, so I’m just going to take the home team here. I also have more faith in Joe Burrow week-to-week than I do Jalen Hurts.

Tennessee is an objectively terribly football team and Detroit might be the best team in the NFL outside of Kansas City. The Lions only Achilles’ heel is their man-to-man defense being torn apart by a precise passing game, which will matter immensely come playoff time but won’t matter at all against a Tennessee team that just traded away it’s only remotely frightening receiving option.

The only reason I’m taking Chicago here is because I expect them to have their rookie quarterback available on Sunday. With Jayden Daniels likely out, I don’t have confidence in Marcus Mariota’s ability to attack a Bears passing defense that is the best in the NFL currently by EPA.

The Thursday night skids are over! The Broncos dismantling the wounded Saints ended my long string of starting weeks 0-1 last week. I fully expect to return to that this week and I’ve waffled on my Thursday night pick a few times, but I’m rolling with the Vikings. Even with Cooper Kupp’s return, I don’t think this Rams defense can slow down the Minnesota rushing attack.

Tier 5: Roy McAvoy’s Hubris (Season Record: 12-12)

Jets -7 over Patriots

Browns +9.5 over Ravens

Saints +7.5 over Chargers

Broncos -9.5 over Panthers

Sometimes you go all in and things don’t work out, like when Roy McAvoy chooses to try to go for the green instead of laying up…again and again and again. Now, because “Tin Cup” is a movie it ends up working out for him and he eventually holes out to avoid disqualification, get the girl and qualify for next year’s U.S. Open, but this is the dark side of “going for it.” This is hubris personified.

The Patriots have now firmly placed themselves on the “Do Not Bet” list, and I expect another week of Davante Adams in house to improve the Jets’ passing attack.

I hate to say this about a guy who just got hurt, but let’s be honest it would be hard to be saying it about a worse guy, Deshaun Watson’s injury will do nothing but improve Cleveland’s week-to-week play. That paired with Baltimore’s aversion to covering huge spreads makes me go with the Browns to cover this week.

New Orleans had devolved into a bad football team even before Derek Carr’s injury, but without him they have been completely lost. I’m still not convinced the Chargers should be trusted with a spread this large though. This is probably a stay away but if you’re forced to pick, I’d take the points.

Carolina is also rapidly entering “Do Not Bet” list territory. The only saving grace last week was Chuba Hubbard making good on my anytime TD bet late. Bryce Young takes back over the offense after Andy Dalton injured his thumb in a car accident on Tuesday. It doesn’t seem like the injury will cost him much time, but at least Bryce Young gets one more opportunity to see if he’s made any progress since going to the bench after week two. I just wouldn’t bet on that.

Last Week’s Record: 11-4

Season Record: 58-49

Cover Photo Courtesy of USATSI