After this week a full quarter of the season will be done! If the rest of the year went as fast as football season it would be scary.
We start off this week with the marquee Thursday night battle that could be a playoff preview of two of the top teams! Ha! Just kidding! It's the Jets and the Broncos. The Jets seem to be playing for that first overall draft pick in 2021. They've cleverly scored the fewest points in the AFC and have given up the second-most points. As recipes for success goes, that's not a good one. The Broncos aren't much better, but they can blame part of their woes on injuries. I guess someone has to win so I'll take the Broncos. I don't think they're trying to lose and I can't say that about the Jets.
The Ravens go to the WFT. It's quite the road trip for the Ravens but I suspect they'll adjust to the travel without a lot of trouble and swat aside the pesky Redskins.
The Steelers go to the Titans in a game that could really be a playoff preview. Both teams are 3-0 and playing well. The Titans do have the teensiest little handicap of Covid-19 hitting three players and five staffers forcing everyone else to work from home this week. How do you practice football from your home? Both teams have scored 80 points through three games, but the Steelers defense has been stronger giving up just 58 to the Titans 74. I'm taking the Steelers in this one.
The Chargers go to Tampa Bay. Tom Brady versus whichever QB the team doctor of the Chargers hasn't tried to kill this week. I'll take Brady and the Bucs.
Seattle goes to Miami. Seattle tends to have issues flying east. Ryan Fitzpatrick is either insanely good or insanely bad. Russell Wilson is always insanely good. I'll take Seattle, but this could be one of those weird upsets if Fitzpatrick is having one of his good days.
The Vikings (assuming they're allowed to play with Covid) go to Houston. The Texans were so desperate they brought in Earl Thomas for a look this week, then decided they weren't that desperate and sent him on his way. The Vikings are essentially practicing at home this week due to the Covid-19 issues of the Titans who they played last week. With neither team having a win, I'm thinking the Texans are due. I'll take the Texans.
New Orleans goes to Detroit. Well, one of these two teams will be 1-3 after this week. For those who watched the Saints game the other night and heard the announcers raving about Malcolm Jenkins and the Saints defense might be surprised to learn that the Saints have given up the fourth-most points in the NFC so far this year at 94. When you're averaging giving up 31.3 points per game, it's kind of tough on your offense. Detroit however has given up 92 points so far, so they're pretty evenly matched in that regard. I'll take the Saints in this one.
Cleveland goes to Dallas. That Dallas defense has given up 97 points so far this year. The Browns have all kinds of offensive weapons but have only scored 75 points so far. This could be the week where Baker Mayfield explodes. Who knew letting an all-pro corner, a quality safety, your best defensive end, and a good defensive tackle all leave in free agency could make your defense worse? Clearly no one in the Cowboys organization. JJ in an effort to annoy Dak reportedly said that Mahomes or Lamar Jackson would have won the game for them the other day while Dak came up short. Yeah. Not necessarily the best idea for team chemistry there JJ. The Cowboys have scored 88 points while the Browns have given up 88 points. I think the Browns will score a lot on Dallas this week. I'm taking the Browns in this one. That Dallas defense is a mess. OBJ, Landry, and the rest of the Browns should have a field day.
Jacksonville goes to Cincy. This figures to be a close game. It's kind of a coin toss to me. I think the Bengals will have some confidence after getting the tie last week. I'm taking the Bengals.
Indy goes to Chicago. Nick Foles is now the QB of the Bears for better or worse. Nick was hot last week. Will he be hot this week? Probably. He tends to stay hot for four to five weeks then go cold, really, really cold, for four or five weeks. When Nick is hot he's hard to beat. I'll take the Bears in this one, but that Colts defense will really test him.
The Cards go to the Panthers. I think the Panthers rebuild is going well, but they're about a year behind the Cards. I'll take the Cards in this one.
The Giants stumble out to the West Coast to lose to the Rams. The Giants aren't the worst team playing in their stadium, but that's not saying much. Suffice to say the Joe Judge experiment may not last very long. I'll take the Rams in this one and it could get ugly.
The Bills go to the Raiders. The Bills are among the best teams in the NFL right now. The Raiders are getting better. I just don't think they're at the level of the Bills just yet. I'll take the Bills.
The Patriots go to KC. The Chiefs could look at this game as a way to knock the Patriots out of the playoff hunt early. A Patriot loss would drop them to 2-2 and possibly two games behind the Bills. It's kind of hard to see any team beating the Chiefs these days. I'll take KC in this one. In their next five games after the Chiefs, the Patriots play the Broncos, Niners, Bills, Jets, and Ravens. They should crush the Broncos and Jets, but the other three could pretty easily be losses. That could put them at 4-5 after nine games. A KC win really puts pressure on the Patriots to win some of those tougher games.
The Eagles go to San Francisco to take on the Niners on Sunday night. (The night game schedule this week is pretty awful with all three games less than ideal.) The good news is both teams are injury-ravaged, so there's that. The Niners are playing well despite the injuries while the Eagles aren't. Could the Eagles win? Yes. Will the Eagles win? Probably not. As much as it pains me to say this I'm picking the Niners to win, but I'll be cheering for the Eagles and hoping for a miracle.
And our Monday night massacre has the Falcons staggering into Green Bay to get crushed by the Packers. The Falcons are finding interesting ways to lose games this year. They let the Cowboys recover an onsides kick. They give up a gazillion points to Nick Foles to lead the Bears to a comeback victory. It looks like they're in "Let's get Dan Quinn fired" mode again this year. I'll take the Packers in this one.
Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
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