Believe it or not, we're more than a quarter of the way thru the NFL season. And we still don't really know that much. We know the Rams, Chiefs, Patriots and Saints are good, but that's about it. And we still get at least one random result (on each side of the spectrum) every week. Like who saw a 40-7 Dallas win over Jacksonville coming? Or the Jets putting up 42 points, regardless of who they were playing?
So, what surprises are we in for this week? The Thursday night game doesn't qualify, even though I'm not sure how many people expected that 45-point explosion by the Broncos, but Arizona is so bad it couldn't have been too much of a shock that Denver blew them out. Which means Week 7 probably has another trick or two up its sleeve.
Thursday Night: Denver (Win)
Titans (3-3) vs. Chargers (4-2): Chargers-This will be the Chargers' best-attended home game of the year. It's sad that they had to go all the way to London to do it. Very interesting comments that came out this week. Although, it's not exactly surprising to find out no one actually wants the Chargers in LA. The NFL wanted a team back in LA and LA wanted the Rams back. They said nothing about a second team. And they really didn't want the Chargers. So, to sum up, LA doesn't want the Chargers, the Chargers don't want to be there, and the NFL doesn't really want them there, either. Yet here we are. And simply moving back to San Diego (where they belong) isn't as easy as it sounds. After all, the main reason they moved north is because San Diego refused to build them the stadium they need (and they did build for the Padres). A messy situation to say the least. A messy situation that heads Across the Pond, where they'll move to 5-2 in front of a crowd that isn't 80 percent fans of the other team for a change.
Patriots (4-2) at Bears (3-2): New England-New England needed that win against Kansas City last week. Because they face another tough one this week against the surprising Bears. A task that'll get even tougher without a tight end. I locked in my pick before all of the Patriots' injuries were announced, so I'm officially going with New England. But I wouldn't be surprised by a Chicago victory here at all. In fact, if I could change my pick now, I'd definitely be considering it.
Bills (2-4) at Colts (1-5): Buffalo-Frank Reich faces his old team for the first time as a head coach. There aren't many winnable games on the Colts' schedule, but this definitely is one. It really depends on which Bills team shows up, though. Nathan Peterman isn't starting, so Buffalo knows that at least all of the quarterback's passes will be thrown to the right team. If they get the defense, too, this should be a victory for the Bills.
Lions (2-3) at Dolphins (4-2): Miami-Miami really showed some character in last week's overtime win against the Bears. And they're looking like a legitimate contender in the AFC. Detroit, meanwhile, had last week off after Mason Crosby gifted them a victory in Week 5. So we still don't know where the Lions stand. Are they the team that beat the Patriots or the team that got smacked by the Jets? I think it's probably somewhere in between. Either way, I don't think it translates to Miami. The Dolphins go to 5-2.
Vikings (3-2-1) at Jets (3-3): Minnesota-Suddenly we're talking about the New York Jets as one of the hottest teams in football. They've won two straight, averaging 38 points, and look to finish off a sweep of their three-game homestand. Of course, Minnesota's better than both Denver and Indianapolis, but the Vikings know they've got a battle on their hands. Minnesota has enough weapons to hold off Darnold and Co. enough to get the win. But this is the same Vikings team that was held to six points at home against the Bills, so they'll need to get some sort of offensive production.
Panthers (3-2) at Eagles (3-3): Philadelphia-The Eagles finally looked like the defending Super Bowl champions last week. Although, how much of that had to do with the fact they were playing the Giants? Even still, their offense appears to finally be clicking. And the 10 days off since that Thursday night game can only have helped. Carolina, meanwhile, concludes a three-week tour of the NFC East that has had mixed results. They beat the Giants on a 62-yard field goal, then got badly outplayed in Washington. I think they get outplayed in Philadelphia, too.
Browns (2-3-1) at Buccaneers (2-3): Cleveland-Cleveland played its first bad game of the season last week. Their first five games were competitive, but they just didn't have it last week against the Chargers. Fortunately, Tampa Bay is a good team to face when you're looking for whatever it is you're lacking. The Bucs are a completely different team than the one that started 2-0. If this is a shootout, which it probably will be since, let's face it, we're talking about an NFC South defense, it should be advantage Cleveland. As long as Baker Mayfield remembers which color his team is wearing.
Texans (3-3) at Jaguars (3-3): Houston-After two games, the Jaguars were undefeated, had just beaten the Patriots, and looked like they might be one of the best teams in the NFL. The Texans, meanwhile, were in last place and two games back. Fast forward four weeks and a lot has changed. Jacksonville has dropped three out of four and Houston is rolling, having won three straight (including one that actually didn't go to overtime!). I'll stick with the one that's trending up.
Saints (4-1) at Ravens (4-2): New Orleans-If not for the Rams, we might be talking about the Saints as the best team in the NFC. That offense is no joke. The Saints scored 40 points in a Week 1 loss (their only loss of the year), and they've gone 43, 33, 43 in their last three games. Baltimore shut out the Titans last week, but this New Orleans offense is on a whole different level. Can they hold the Saints in check enough? I don't think so.
Rams (6-0) at 49ers (1-5): Rams-NBC flexed this one out of Sunday night, which is somewhat surprising since the Rams are still undefeated. But I guess a Garoppolo-less 49er team isn't really appealing enough to warrant keeping this game in prime time. Especially since it looks like the Rams are going to easily move to 7-0. The 49ers have been competitive against good teams, but it hasn't been enough to get a W. Should be the same deal here.
Cowboys (3-3) at Redskins (3-2): Dallas-A Cowboys-Redskins national late game on CBS! Is it 1985?! It's just odd to see a marquee NFC matchup on CBS. Especially one that's usually showcased in prime time. (They don't meet in prime time at all this year; the rematch is on Thanksgiving.) After that impressive performance last week, Dallas is in a position to move into first place. As long as they play like that again. The Redskins have been schizophrenic all year, too. They got embarrassed in New Orleans, then bounced back with a very solid effort against the Panthers. So, it'll really depend on which team shows up. As if they need any more motivation to get up for a Cowboys-Redskins game.
Bengals (4-2) at Chiefs (5-1): Kansas City-After dropping from the ranks of the unbeaten, Kansas City makes its second consecutive Sunday night appearance. They play a surprising Bengals team that also lost last week...to the thorn in their side known as the Steelers. A win here would make a big statement for Cincinnati, though, and it would give them the tiebreak over the Chiefs for playoff positioning. I don't think it'll come to that, though. The Chiefs should rebound.
Giants (1-5) at Falcons (2-4): Atlanta-Is Week 7 too early to call a game a must win? I know I've been saying that about the Falcons all season, but this time I really mean it. They can't lose at home to Saquon Barkley and those 52 other guys. And I thought the Giants were bad last year. But I'm beginning to think the Eli Manning haters are on to something. Odell Beckham really needs to just shut up and play, too. Like I said, the Giants are a mess. The Falcons can't lose to them if they have any hope of hanging with New Orleans in the NFC South.
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 11-4
Overall: 55-37-2
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