Sports

[teganslaw]

This game was too close. Colts15-Broncos 13.   Denver had more offensive drives than Indy (partly because of defensive penalties on the Colts), but the defense stepped up and stopped Denver from scoring touchdowns. Good red zone defense by Indy despite their penalties. 

Vinatieri missed a 45 yard field goal and an extra point, but connected on 51 and 55 yarders. 

Next week the Colts to to Pittsburgh, where they've had a lot of trouble in the past. With the changes in Pittsburgh, I'm not sure what to expect. 

[emmysmom]

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@gardenman wrote:

We will now be ending the first half of the season for those teams that haven't had a bye yet and next week every team will be at least at the halfway mark. Lots of player movement this past week as teams shuffle their rosters to either get stronger for a playoff run, or sell off unwanted assets after a disappointing start to the year.

Our first game this week is the Redskins at the Vikings. YIkes! I've got a bad feeling about this one for the Redskins. Kirk Cousins has been playing very well lately and will likely want to destroy the Redskins who are pretty easy to destroy right about now. I'm taking the Vikings in this one and it could get ugly early.

The Giants go to the Lions in a battle of two-win teams that will likely play a role in the draft positions of both teams. Whoever wins could find themselves falling five to ten spots back in the draft. There are a lot of bad teams this year and getting one extra win could make a big difference in where you pick. I'm taking the Lions in this one.

The Seahawks go to the Falcons. Normally a west Coast team flying east for an early game is at a disadvantage, but Dan Quinn is still the Falcons head coach, despite the players' attempts to get him fired, so the Seahawks should win this one to help push Dan Quinn to the unemployment line. I'll take the Seahawks in a romp.

The Chargers are at the Bears. What the heck happened to the Chargers? They were supposed to be good this year, but have imploded. I'll take the Bears despite their QB issues. (I wouldn't be shocked to see the Bears try to trade for a QB before the trade deadline. Marcus Mariota might be available at the right price and he'd likely be an upgrade over Trubisky.)

The Cardinals are at the Saints. Drew Brees is expected to be back and playing in New Orleans is always tough. I'll take New Orleans. 

The Jets are at the Jaguars. I expect to see the Jets rebound a bit after getting their tails whooped by the Patriots. I'm just not sure it'll be enough. I'm taking the Jags but an upset wouldn't shock me.

The Broncos are at the Colts. Frank Reich is milking the Colts for all they've got and doing a great job. I'll take the Colts. The Broncos are lost until they find a QB someplace. Flacco is not the answer for them.

The Eagles are at the Bills. The Eagles desperately need the win and the Bills are beatable. But there's something off with the chemistry of this Eagles team. This is the Eagles third straight road game and they're 0-2 so far. I'm thinking they'll be 0-3 after this game, but I'm picking the Eagles anyway in the hope they prove me wrong. I'm counting on Josh Allen making a mistake or ten to keep us in the game and Wentz pulling out the win.

The Bucs are at the Titans in the disappointing QB Bowl. Both teams thought they'd drafted their franchise QB's one and two a few years back. Both were wrong. Neither team is likely to finish high enough in the draft to get a top QB this year, so they're trapped in QB limbo for at least one more year. I guess I'll take the Titans since they're playing at home.

The winless Bengals are at the Rams in what should be something of a bye game for the Rams. I expect the Rams to win easily as the Bengals look to lose to stay tied for the lead in the Tanking for Tua sweepstakes.

The Panthers are at the Niners in what could be a pretty good game. Cam Newton is ready to come back, but the Panthers are sticking with Kyle Allen instead. (Cam to the Bears perhaps?) The Niners are on a roll and playing at home, so I'll take the Niners in this one.

The Browns are at the Patriots in what looked like it might be a preview of the AFC Championship game in the preseason. Yeah, not so much now. The Browns have excelled at underperforming this year. They're one of the more talented teams in the league, but have only managed to get two wins. They won't win this week. The Patriots will roll over them like they have pretty much everyone else.

The Raiders are at the Texans in what could be a pretty good game. Jon Gruden has actually got the Raiders playing decent football. I'll take the Texans at home, but it should be a pretty fun game to watch.

The Packers are at the Chiefs in what should have been a showdown between two of the league's best QB's. Sadly, Mahomes is out with an injury, so it'll be Aaron Rodgers against Matt Moore, who I wasn't sure was still in the league. I've got the Packers winning this one even though they're playing in KC.

The good news is we can all skip the Monday night game as the Dolphins lose to the Steelers to keep their spot tied for first in the Tanking for Tua sweepstakes. Kudos to the Dolphins for having a plan and sticking to it. They made it pretty clear way, way back in the offseason that they were tanking for Tua this year and by God, they're doing it brilliantly. I'm guessing the NFL schedule maker had plans for this Monday night and decided to put a meaningless game here so he wouldn't miss anything by skipping it. Smart man. It's about the only way to explain putting the Dolphins on a primetime game.

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I hope you're wrong about the Packers!!!...praying the KC Chiefs win...we really miss Mahomes but we want him to be healthy! 

[RetRN]

Seems to be lots of issues with the refs this season. Some really bad calls have hurt teams. 

I am hoping the Packers win tonight, hope they perform up to their potential. I think the new coach this year was a good move for them.  

[Greeneyedlady21]

Patriots beat Cleveland 27-13, they're now 8-0. 300th career win for Belichick. 300 wins in 434 games.

[teganslaw]

Frank Reich threw the challenge flag on a non-call for pass interference. Sensabaugh committed the interference on Hilton  and the refs missed it. After the flag was thrown, the refs reviewed the play and reversed the call. Denver was called for pass interference, and the Colts got a first down. 

PI plays are never reversed, so this was a break for the Colts. I would have been upset Reich had lost the challenge because the penalty was obvious. The refs finally got one right. 

[gardenman]

I'm not sure how much the "experts" know, but nearly everyone seems to think the Eagles will do something "fun" before the trading deadline. What the heck is "fun?" OBJ? I don't know, but they all seem to think they know something that the Eagles have in the works. It won't be a quarterback, running back, offensive lineman, or tight end. We're set at those positions. Would adding a defender be "fun?" The Browns aren't getting a lot from OBJ. The Eagles could certainly use him. We'll have to see what happens, but a lot of people seem to think they know something. AJ Green? DeAndre Hopkins? Von Miller? Could be.

I could see the Eagles sending Josh McCown to the Bears, but not the week we're playing the Bears. He'd be an upgrade for the Bears though. I wouldn't be shocked to see the Bears look into Cam Newton, Marcus Mariota, or Jameis Winston to try and improve their QB situation. It's going to be an interesting week.

[Greeneyedlady21]

JJ Watt season ending injury ☹

[Spurt]

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@Greeneyedlady21 wrote:

JJ Watt season ending injury ☹

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@Greeneyedlady21 

I feel so bad for JJ Watt.....such a good guy!!! 

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

I'm not sure how much the "experts" know, but nearly everyone seems to think the Eagles will do something "fun" before the trading deadline. What the heck is "fun?" OBJ? I don't know, but they all seem to think they know something that the Eagles have in the works. It won't be a quarterback, running back, offensive lineman, or tight end. We're set at those positions. Would adding a defender be "fun?" The Browns aren't getting a lot from OBJ. The Eagles could certainly use him. We'll have to see what happens, but a lot of people seem to think they know something. AJ Green? DeAndre Hopkins? Von Miller? Could be.

I could see the Eagles sending Josh McCown to the Bears, but not the week we're playing the Bears. He'd be an upgrade for the Bears though. I wouldn't be shocked to see the Bears look into Cam Newton, Marcus Mariota, or Jameis Winston to try and improve their QB situation. It's going to be an interesting week.

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@gardenman 

CONGRATS on the Eagles win!

I wish my Redskins would do something FUN....like fire our GM!!! 

BTW local DC/MD/VA columnist Rick Snider agreed with you he said the Redskins should trade away Josh Norman, Kerrigan () and Trent Williams and get some draft picks while we can......

[Spurt]

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@Greeneyedlady21 wrote:

Patriots beat Cleveland 27-13, they're now 8-0. 300th career win for Belichick. 300 wins in 434 games.

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@Greeneyedlady21 

CONGRATS!  And do you think this will be Tom's last season??