I almost forgot that tomorrow was Sunday and football. That's what happens when you get absorbed in the strange wonderfulness that has been the first three days of the Division Series. (Royals and Angels, 1:30 is past my bedtime!) But it is a football Sunday, and the NFL's got nearly a full slate in store for us. And I'm going to go out on a limb and say there won't be anymore undefeated teams by the end of Sunday. That's what happens when the only two left play road games against division winners from last year (who both lost their last game).
Thursday Night: Green Bay (Win)
*A note about how crappy the Thursday night games so far this season have been. I flipped it on for a couple minutes while the baseball game was at commercial...Just in time for Jim Nantz to point out that the three biggest blowouts in the history of Thursday Night Football have taken place in the last three weeks. Great job on the scheduling, NFL and CBS!
Now on to Sunday and Monday...
Texans (3-1) at Cowboys (3-1): Houston-Speaking of blowouts, did anybody see the Cowboys dismantling the Saints coming? I sure didn't. But more power to them, now we've got Dallas at 3-1 and in first place in the NFC East. First place is a theme in Texas. That's where Houston sits in the AFC South, too. These two are only meeting for the fourth time, and they only play once every four years, so there's not much history to the rivalry. With that being said, I think J.J. Watt is going to introduce himself to Tony Romo over and over again. I don't know why. I just have a feeling the Texans are going to win.
Bills (2-2) at Lions (3-1): Detroit-This game will probably be especially emotional for the Bills. Ralph Wilson lived in Detroit and was a minority owner of the Lions before founding the Bills. And they go into Detroit sitting in first place in the AFC East. The Lions are a first-place team, too, and they're coming off a pair of impressive victories over the Packers and Jets. It'll probably be close, but I give the edge to the home team.
Browns (1-2) at Titans (1-3): Cleveland-The Cleveland Browns have been a very pleasant surprise this season. Almost beat the Steelers, beat the Saints, almost beat the Ravens. Now they come off their bye against the Titans, by far the weakest team they've faced this season. Does that mean a drop off? It'll be interesting to see. Because the Browns are better than the Titans. That's why I'm picking them to win.
Ravens (3-1) at Colts (2-2): Indianapolis-One of a number of intriguing matchups between good teams this week. Baltimore seems to have fully moved on from Ray Rice, and the Ravens look no worse for the wear. In fact, they've won three in a row and looked very impressive last week against Carolina. The Colts have recovered from their 0-2 start, but those wins were against Jacksonville and Tennessee. Now they go back to facing actual NFL teams. Even still, I think Indy pulls it out.
Buccaneers (1-3) at Saints (1-3): New Orleans-It seems silly to call this a "must-win" game for the Saints, but it really does feel like one. New Orleans was supposed to be a Super Bowl contender. Instead they find themselves staring at potentially starting 1-4. The good news is that, even at 1-3, they're only a game out of first right now. The Bucs looked totally clueless. Then they go and shock everyone by beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh. This week, reality sets back in.
Falcons (2-2) at Giants (2-2): Giants-Remember the beginning of the season? Atlanta was going to the Super Bowl and the Giants were going to finish 0-16. Oh, how the times have changed. The Falcons haven't just come back down to earth. They looked downright bad last week in Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Giants won twice in five days to even their record. And they've had a nice long break since their Thursday night dismantling of Washington. I wonder if that messed with Eli's groove. My guess is it probably hasn't.
Rams (1-2) at Eagles (3-1): Philadelphia-After their trip to Santa Clara, the Eagles are no longer undefeated. That was actually the only game involving an NFC West team last week, as the Rams, Cardinals and Seahawks were all off. In its last game, St. Louis blew that big lead in a loss to Dallas. I can't really say much more than I think the Eagles will win.
Bears (2-2) at Panthers (2-2): Carolina-Here's a real test to gauge where these two teams stand at the quarter pole. I thought Chicago and Carolina might both be playoff teams. But the Bears have been shaky and inconsistent, while the Panthers have looked utterly terrible while losing two straight. Fortunately, this week they don't play an AFC North opponent. I think the Panthers rebound.
Steelers (2-2) at Jaguars (0-4): Pittsburgh-I don't get the Pittsburgh Steelers. They've played four games this season and only looked like the Steelers in one of them. They almost lost to Cleveland, got slaughtered by Baltimore and inexplicably lost at home to Tampa Bay. The good new is this week they play the Jaguars. The only team in the league more pathetic than Jacksonville is the Raiders. This should be one that the Steelers can use to right the ship.
Cardinals (3-0) at Broncos (2-1): Denver-Since Bengals-Patriots is the Sunday night game, Cincinnati will technically be the last undefeated team. Because I don't see the Cardinals winning in Denver. I didn't look it up, but I'm pretty sure the Broncos haven't lost two straight since Peyton came to Denver. Arizona's proven that they belong in the discussion among the best teams football. The win over the 49ers took care of that. But winning in Denver is a different animal entirely.
Jets (1-3) at Chargers (3-1): San Diego-Ah, the Jets. They're slowly and surely turning back into their dysfunctional selves. Woody Johnson said this week that (a) Rex Ryan's job is safe and (b) Geno Smith can be an elite quarterback. Oh, Woody. You're so delusional. This team isn't very good and the schedule isn't exactly helping. The 1-4 Jets will soon be 1-5. Because they're not flying cross country and beating the Chargers in San Diego.
Chiefs (2-2) at 49ers (2-2): San Francisco-Alex Smith's first game against his former team is the national late game. It's been quite a week in Kansas City. First that Monday night shocker against the Patriots, then that incredible Wild Card Game on Tuesday night. You can forgive Kansas City fans for being distracted this week. Especially since the Royals play at home with a chance to clinch immediately after the Chiefs game ends (maybe the Giants-Nationals game will be over before then, too). I like the 49ers to pick up a second straight win in their pretty new home.
Bengals (3-0) at Patriots (2-2): New England-Question: will Bob Costas be there? He's in LA for the Dodgers-Cardinals game right now. Anyway, this is a rough matchup for the Patriots after last Monday night's shockingly thorough dismantling at the hands of Kansas City. All we've heard since then are questions about Tom Brady. I think the answer is somewhere in the middle. It's not Brady. It's the entire offense. The entire team simply isn't as good as it used to be and has become expected to be. However, it's still rare to see the Patriots lose back-to-back games, and that's still the case. Especially after last week's embarrassment, they're even more eager to prove it was a fluke, so getting a good team at home might've actually been a blessing. Nobody has any questions/curiosities about the Bengals anymore. I think everyone understands how good they are now. If Denver beats Arizona, they'll be the last undefeated team. Unfortunately, I don't see them staying undefeated beyond Sunday night. Because I just don't see the Patriots losing again. This is the type of game they usually win.
Seahawks (2-1) at Redskins (1-3): Seattle-It's been a long time since either one of these teams played. The Seahawks were off last week and when we last saw the Redskins, they were getting rolled by the Giants on Thursday night. Seattle's a different team on the road than they are at home, but Washington's not a good team period. Especially without Griffin (although Kirk Cousins might actually be better). And, technically, the game is being played in Washington (I know, it's actually Landover). All of that should combine for a Seahawks victory.
BYE: Miami (2-2), Oakland (0-4)
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 8-5
Season: 38-24
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