We've reached the midway point of the NFL season, and the following teams are currently in position to make the playoffs--the Bills, the Jaguars, the Titans, the Saints, the Rams. The following teams would currently be out of the playoffs--the Broncos, the Raiders, the Cowboys, the Packers, the Falcons. And the team with the best record in football? The Eagles! Needless to say, the 2017 so far has been a tad on the unexpected side.
And I don't see the second half of the season being anymore predictable. It's just been one of those years in the NFL. I do know this, though. It's gonna be an interesting final two months.
Ravens (4-4) at Titans (4-3): Tennessee-Once again, I have no idea what to expect from the Baltimore Ravens. They crushed Miami last week despite losing Joe Flacco to concussion protocol after that vicious hit by Kiko Alonso. Flacco evidently is good to go for this week, but you still have to wonder if he's 100 percent. The Titans also have a chance to make a statement. They're 4-3, but their last two wins are over Indianapolis and Cleveland. Beating the Ravens will show that you need to watch out for Tennessee the rest of the way.
Buccaneers (2-5) at Saints (5-2): New Orleans-While no one has been paying attention, the New Orleans Saints have quietly been putting together a five-game winning streak and taking the lead in a very good NFC South. And they've got a chance to pick up another win this week against a Bucs team that has been struggling. Tampa Bay couldn't get anything going offensively last week against Carolina. If they don't bring it against the Saints, it could be a long day for the Bucs.
Rams (5-2) at Giants (1-6): Rams-If I told you that when the Rams and Giants met, one of the teams would be tied for first and the other would only have one win, most people would've assumed those roles would be reversed. But here we are with the Rams coming in looking to take advantage of the Giants' lost season. The Giants have already lost at home to one LA team, and the Rams are better than the Chargers.
Broncos (3-4) at Eagles (7-1): Philadelphia-Things have come full circle, as Brock Osweiler isn't just back in Denver, he's the Broncos' starter once again. So, the post-Peyton plan goes into full effect a year and a half later than originally planned. Denver needed to do something, though. Because their offense has just been bad. The Eagles' offense? Not so much. Carson Wentz is right at the top of the list of MVP candidates, and Philly's been flying high, which helps explain why they have the best record in football. That mark should go to 8-1 this week.
Falcons (4-3) at Panthers (5-3): Atlanta-Both of the NFC South favorites find themselves looking up at the Saints, putting the urgency on a win here that much higher. Perhaps a little less so for Carolina, which plays five of its next seven games at home before ending the season with the rematch against the Falcons. Interestingly, though, the Panthers are 1-2 at home, and the win was that thrilling 9-3 barn burner against the Bills in Week 2. They'll need a little more offense to win this week, but that's been hard for them to come by this season.
Bengals (3-4) at Jaguars (4-3): Cincinnati-Cincinnati has done a good job of salvaging it season after that terrible start. Meanwhile, the Jaguars are in a very unfamiliar position. They're going to be playing games that matter over the final nine weeks. How will they handle that? Also, they'll need to start winning games in Jacksonville if they want to be taken seriously as a contender. Their only "home" win this season was their London game.
Colts (2-6) at Texans (3-4): Houston-Andrew Luck is on IR and DeShaun Watson is also out for the season. So, basically, neither team has a quarterback. Which means either the Titans or Jaguars is likely going to win this division. Because of the defense, I think Houston is better equipped to be without its QB. And the Colts are just bad. Thus, the Texans are the pick.
Cardinals (3-4) at 49ers (0-8): Arizona-Perhaps the most interesting trade deadline move we saw this season was the 49ers going out and getting Jimmy Garoppolo, who finally gets to a starter instead of waiting for Tom Brady to retire (which I think will actually happen at some point in the future). That definitely stabilized the quarterback position, which has been an area of great weakness for San Francisco in recent years. Garoppolo will make them better, but it's a lot to ask to think he'll make them competitive this season. Although, if he had more than a week in the system, this would be one where the 49ers could pull the upset.
Redskins (3-4) at Seahawks (5-2): Seattle-Don't look now, but the Seahawks are thisclose to being in the exact position they want to be heading into the stretch run. Seattle is always tough at home, and they'll be there a lot the rest of the season. They're positioning themselves well to be playing even more games there in January. The Redskins don't have the firepower to stop them. At least not in Seattle.
Chiefs (6-2) at Cowboys (4-3): Kansas City-The judge's stay allowing Ezekiel Elliott to play is a game-changer for the best matchup of the week. Because suddenly Dallas is back to having a really good chance of pulling the upset against Kansas City. Without Zeke, I don't think they would've had a chance. As it is now, this game will probably be much closer than I originally thought. I'm not changing my pick, though. I'm sticking with the Chiefs.
Raiders (3-5) at Dolphins (4-3): Oakland-Yet another random Sunday night game. Although, this one isn't interconference, so I'll give them that. And they were both playoff teams last season, so I can see where this was a worthwhile choice on paper. The Raiders are getting sent east for the second straight week, while the Dolphins were embarrassed in every possible way against the Ravens. Speaking of embarrassing, we all knew that Ndamukong Suh was a dirty player already. But it's a joke that he wasn't suspended! I hope the Raiders do the same thing to them that the Ravens did.
Lions (3-4) at Packers (4-3): Detroit-This one's going to be interesting. The Packers are coming off their bye, which gave them an extra week to figure out life without Aaron Rodgers. They might need a little more time, though. Because they're playing a Lions team that isn't just familiar with them, they're desperate after dropping three straight (although, they could've won last week against Pittsburgh). It'll be tight, but I think the Lions pull this one out.
Thursday Night: Buffalo (Loss)
This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 10-3
Overall: 72-48
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