Here in New York, virtually everyone has gotten swept up in Mets Fever. So much so that I haven't heard a peep about the first-place Giants, who've won three in a row, or the 3-1 Jets. But, alas, they're both in action this week. And unlike last week, one of the two New York teams is playing on Sunday afternoon, albeit on the off network (Jets-Redskins on FOX).
Neither New York team is undefeated, but there are five teams that are. The week started with six, only to see that number drop by one when the Falcons lost to the Saints on Thursday night. Regardless, that number is remarkable. We entered Week 6 with six undefeated teams, and you've got to figure at least one is going to survive until next week. Last year, the final undefeated teams--Cincinnati and Arizona--both suffered their first loss in Week 4. I've really got a feeling that we're gonna see a 14-2 or 15-1 this year. Maybe multiple.
One of the reasons I think that is because this season has been awfully top-heavy. There are a lot of mediocre/bad teams in the NFL this season, and the handful of good teams are taking advantage of that. With an exception here or there, the good teams are probably only gonna lose to each other, which is why I think we're also looking at some 2-14s and 3-13s.
As for this week's picks, I suffered my first Thursday night loss of the season with the Falcons. Will any of the other five join them in the once-defeated club? Probably. Cincinnati, Carolina and New England all have tough road games.
Thursday Night: Atlanta (Loss)
Bengals (5-0) at Bills (3-2): Cincinnati-The Bengals got their signature win last week, coming back to beat the Seahawks in overtime and stay undefeated. Now they have a difficult game on the road against a good Buffalo team. Rex's guy gutted out a one-point win in Nashville last week to get back over .500, and they've got a long trip to London after this. The Bills have been consistently inconsistent, though. Thru their first five games, it's been win, loss, win, loss, win. Both of those losses came at home to teams currently in first place (Patriots and Giants). Make it three. Bengals win and go to 6-0.
Broncos (5-0) at Browns (2-3): Denver-Things haven't been pretty in Denver thus far. I don't know what's going on with the Broncos' offense. That defense is outstanding, though, and the Broncos are in a position many expected them to be in at this point in the season: 5-0. They'll have a tough test this weekend on the road against a Cleveland team that's better than many people give them credit for. But the teams the Browns have faced this season are nowhere near Denver's caliber. The Browns will give the Broncos a game, but Denver will once again find a way to pull it out.
Bears (2-3) at Lions (0-5): Detroit-On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the two teams at the bottom of the NFC North. The Lions are the only winless team left, but they've had a brutal schedule the last couple of weeks. The Bears, meanwhile, have won back-to-back games. By a combined three points. Against teams in the AFC West. The Lions will welcome the break and knock off their division rivals to finally put a "1" in the win column.
Dolphins (1-3) at Titans (1-3): Tennessee-Let's see if things get any better for the Dolphins now that Joe Philbin is out (I'm assuming they let him come back to the U.S. and didn't just leave him in London, but I have no way of confirming that). It's not like they could get much worse, so I'm going to assume there's at least marginal improvement. Lost in all this is that the Titans haven't won a game since Week 1, either, so something's gotta give here. I'll say Miami looks a lot better than it did during the final weeks of Philbin, but Ken Whisenhunt's crew gets the victory.
Chiefs (1-4) at Vikings (2-2): Minnesota-Last week, we didn't have any Super Bowl rematches. This week we've got three, including a look back at the final game in AFL history. I still say the Chiefs are better than their record suggests, but they had a chance to snap their losing streak last week, only to drop a home game against a Bears team they're better than. That was KC's fourth straight loss. I don't see how it doesn't get to five. The Vikings aren't as good as they think they are, but they've also proven to be very difficult to beat at home.
Redskins (2-3) at Jets (3-1): Jets-I'm still not sure what to make of either one of these teams. Are the Jets as good as their record indicates? Maybe not. But this is another winnable game before they go to New England next week. The Redskins' first visit to Met Life Stadium this season didn't go so well, but they've had a win and an overtime loss since that loss to the Giants two weeks ago. I can easily see them pulling the upset here. I'm not sure it happens, though.
Cardinals (4-1) at Steelers (3-2): Pittsburgh-Another one of this week's Super Bowl rematches is of more recent vintage--the classic between Pittsburgh and Arizona seven years ago. That was quite a game on Monday night, huh? I agreed with the call to go for the touchdown, but it could've proved incredibly costly if they'd been able to see on the video if his knee was down or not. And if it's overturned and the Steelers are 2-3 instead of 3-2, this becomes a must game. As it is, they still can't afford to lose it and let Cincinnati create even more separation.
Texans (1-4) at Jaguars (1-4): Houston-Remember when everybody in the AFC South was tied for first at 1-2? Yeah, that's certainly changed, hasn't it? But they still all play each other twice a year, which means the Texans and Jaguars can't both lose this week. If J.J. Watt can't play, that changes things. But overall, the Texans are a better team.
Panthers (4-0) at Seahawks (2-3): Seattle-In my opinion, Carolina is absolutely the most vulnerable undefeated team this week. They go to Seattle, where the Seahawks are incredibly difficult to beat. Add to that the sense of urgency Seattle must feel after last week's loss in Cincinnati. This could really be a long trip for the Panthers. In more ways than one.
Chargers (2-3) at Packers (5-0): Green Bay-Along with New England, Green Bay is probably the one undefeated team you haven't thought has even come close to losing so far this season. The Packers won't finish undefeated, but that says something about how good they are. This week they take on San Diego, which might be the best opponent they've faced since Seattle, but with the game in Lambeau, you can expect to see the same result as every other Packers game so far this season.
Ravens (1-4) at 49ers (1-4): San Francisco-Oh, how these two teams have fallen since the Har-bowl, which was only three years ago. As it stands, they both need a win--bad--to avoid this becoming a lost season (if it's not already). Adding to Baltimore's fun is the fact that this is their third game out West already this season, with a Monday night matchup in Arizona in store for them next week. All of this travel took its toll on the Ravens when they lost on the East Bay, and things won't go much better in Santa Clara against a 49ers team that finally started to figure things out offensively last week.
Patriots (4-0) at Colts (3-2): New England-A lot has happened in the 10 months since these two rivals last met, hasn't it? All of the stuff that's been put out about this game throughout the week has emphasized the fact that these two franchises legitimately do not like each other. Which is what makes it so great when they play. It's also worth keeping in mind that this is New England's fifth game. If Brady's suspension hadn't been overturned, this would've been his first game of the season. Against the whistleblowers that got him in trouble in the first place. We've already seen what happens when you piss Tom Brady off. I'm not sure if the Patriots can whoop the Colts' butts all over the field as badly as they did in the AFC Championship Game, but they're sure gonna try. This might not be pretty.
Giants (3-2) at Eagles (2-3): Giants-Remember when the Giants were 0-2 and everyone was freaking out that their season was over? What a difference a month can make! They have to keep their momentum, though, because they lost their only other division game and really can't afford to be 0-2 in the division with the second Dallas game coming up next week. A loss would also mean the Eagles technically take over first. The Eagles are a team that confuses me. They beat the Jets, lost to the Redskins, then beat the living crap out of the Saints last week. You don't know what team you're gonna get from one week to the next. But if the cycle holds, we'll see the Bad Eagles this week.
This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 11-3
Season: 53-25
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