Forgive me for not being overly enthused about this week's NFL offerings. I'm chalking it up to a side effect of the Yankees playing the Red Sux in the playoffs.
Anyway, the little bit of the Thursday night game I did watch exposed one of the NFL rules I hate the most. Right up there with the 10-minute overtime is the 10-second run off when they go from a stopped clock to a running clock after replay reviews in the last two minutes. It happened again on Thursday. They took a touchdown away from the Colts, said the guy was down on the one and, since the clock should've been running, there was a 10-second run off.
I've always said that rule is ridiculous. The clock wasn't running because you stopped it! Why are you penalizing the Colts because you made the wrong call by stopping the clock?! The Lions lost a game on that last year. There were only eight seconds left in the game, so they never even had a chance to run another play! The rule on plays like that should be the clock starts as soon as the ball is spotted. Because it's ridiculously unfair to the offense that they're getting 10 seconds taken off the clock because an incorrect call on the field was overturned.
Thursday Night: New England (Win)
Titans (3-1) at Bills (1-3): Tennessee-A pair of playoff teams from last season headed in vastly different directions. It's still somewhat shocking that the Bills won--convincingly--in Minnesota. But it was back to reality last week at Lambeau. The Titans, meanwhile, beat the Eagles in overtime, and they sit in first place in the AFC South. They've proven they can win defensive struggles and they've proven they can win shootouts. Tennessee is an impressive team.
Dolphins (3-1) at Bengals (3-1): Cincinnati-When the schedule came out, who had this pegged as a showdown of first-place teams? But here we are at the quarter-pole and that's the exact situation we find ourselves in. Yes, Miami got whupped in New England. But that was an impressive performance by the Bengals in that shootout in Atlanta. This one should be fun. With the game in Cincinnati, I'm going with the Bengals.
Ravens (3-1) at Browns (1-2-1): Baltimore-Let's call a spade a spade. The Browns got screwed last week. Frankly, Cleveland should be entering this game at 3-1 at the very least. Instead, they're 1-2-1 and taking on a Ravens team that's tied for first place after that dominant win in Pittsburgh last Sunday night. I do know this--it's going to be competitive. The Browns have shown that they're no longer a pushover. Baltimore has found a way to get it done all season, though.
Packers (2-1-1) at Lions (1-3): Green Bay-The Packers may have gotten their groove back. At least it sure looked like it while they were crushing the Bills last week. This is Green Bay's third division game already, and they've looked vulnerable against their division foes. They ended up beating the Bears and tying the Vikings, though. I understand neither of those games was pretty and they were both at home, which would give me plenty of reason to pick Detroit. I just can't go against the Packers, though.
Jaguars (3-1) at Chiefs (4-0): Kansas City-This might be the best game of the week, as we've got the two best teams in the AFC facing off. And the winner will have the tiebreaker, which could be huge come December. The Jacksonville defense is better than any Patrick Mahomes has seen so far. But after what he did on Monday night in Denver, how can you pick against him? This guy's the new Aaron Rodgers!
Broncos (2-2) at Jets (1-3): Denver-Denver's been looking for a franchise quarterback ever since Peyton Manning retired. I think they've found their man in Case Keenum. The Jets have also found their man at QB in Sam Darnold. How will he handle Von Miller's defense, though? Especially after that rude awakening from Jacksonville. This week won't be nearly as bad, but I still think his inexperience will show.
Falcons (1-3) at Steelers (1-2-1): Pittsburgh-Can Week 5 really be a must win? Wasn't I saying the same thing about these two teams last week? They're definitely starting to feel the heat in both Atlanta and Pittsburgh, as these thought-to-be Super Bowl contenders have combined for just two wins this season. And that urgency is definitely showing. We're gonna see two desperate teams in this one. The last time we saw the Steelers have a sense of desperation, they crushed Tampa Bay on a Monday night.
Giants (1-3) at Panthers (2-1): Carolina-Giants Head Coach Pat Shurmer said earlier this week that the team's struggles this season are due to lack of execution, not lack of heart. I'd agree with that. Last year's Giants were completely disinterested by midseason. This year's team has battled in every game. And, keep in mind, two of those losses are to 2017 playoff teams Jacksonville and New Orleans. Things don't get any easier with another 2017 playoff team, Carolina, on tap this week. A rested Panthers team will pose another challenge for Big Blue.
Raiders (1-3) at Chargers (2-2): Chargers-Oakland finally got a "win," but it was essentially gift-wrapped for them with those bad calls against Cleveland in the fourth quarter and overtime last week. Anyway, now they head down the California coast to face the Chargers, whose 2-2 record is deceiving, seeing as their losses are to the Chiefs and Rams. They're a better team than Oakland. They'll go to 3-2.
Vikings (1-2-1) at Eagles (2-2): Philadelphia-Personally, I thought this one should've been the season opener. Instead, FOX gets it as the Week 5 national game, and the Vikings come into it on a three-game winless streak. The Eagles, meanwhile, have alternated good and bad over their first four games. Last week was one of the bad ones. They lost to the Titans in another overtime game that could've ended up a tie (10-minute overtime is awful!). But, back at home in an odd week, this should be one of their good ones.
Cardinals (0-4) at 49ers (1-3): San Francisco-After looking outright pathetic in the first two games, the Cardinals have only lost their last two by a combined five points. Nevertheless, they were still both losses. If Arizona is going to turn that 0 into a 1, this might be the week to do it. The 49ers are confident in C.J. Beathard, though. And they should be. He looked perfectly capable last week against the Chargers. And the Chargers are better than the Cardinals.
Rams (4-0) at Seahawks (2-2): Rams-There's a great piece in this week's Sports Illustrated about the Seahawks' "Dynasty That Never Was." It basically confirms what we all pretty much already knew...that the idiotic play call in the Super Bowl that led to New England's game-clinching interception was the beginning of the end of Seattle's window. That window has all been slammed shut by the Rams, who are more than just the class of the division. They're perhaps the best team in the NFL. They're certainly the most fun to watch. And they'll be 5-0 come Sunday evening.
Cowboys (2-2) at Texans (1-3): Dallas-They don't play in the regular season very often, but when the two Texas teams get together it's usually a pretty good matchup. This year should be no exception, as the Cowboys, who are still trying to find their offense, will look to do so against the Texans' defense. Houston's sense of desperation is much less than it would've been had they not picked up that overtime win (with a little help from Frank Reich) last week. Dallas has won the last three regular season meetings, so I'm going with them. But what I'm excited to see is Zak & Deke vs. DeShaun Watson for the first time.
Redskins (2-1) at Saints (3-1): New Orleans-Drew Brees should become the NFL's all-time leader in passing yardage in this one. That's the only reason I can think of why it was scheduled for Monday night. OK, not the only reason. But it does seem like an odd opponent to choose for the Saints in their annual home Monday nighter. Especially with Washington coming off a bye week. It's been so long since they've played that people might forget the Redskins are in the league. Well, they still are. Do you really think the Saints are going to let them ruin Brees' big night though? Didn't think so.
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 9-6
Season: 35-27-2
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