My football picks this season, especially over the past few weeks, have been horrible. It's just been that kind of a year in the NFL. I did say it would be a Dodgers-Astros World Series, though. So at least there's that.
Also, one comment on that ridiculously good Thursday night game. They really need to revisit the rule about the 10-second run off after booth reviews. It was the right call on that first touchdown to move the ball to the 1-yard line, because he was clearly down. But the Raiders had done nothing to deserve a 10-second run off. The officials were the ones who stopped the clock. Yes, it was supposed to be running, but it should be treated like when they do a review to check the spot on a running play. They stop it for the review, then start it immediately. That should be the rule on late game scoring plays, too. Fortunately for the Raiders, it didn't cost them. But the Lions lost a game earlier this year (literally) because of the application of this rule, so I know they'd be in favor of a change.
Buccaneers (2-3) at Bills (3-2): Tampa Bay-Hey, look, the Bucs are actually playing in Buffalo! This is just the second time that's happened in the 40 years Tampa Bay's been in the league. In fact, that was one of the reasons the NFL adopted its current scheduling format. Because at that time, the Bucs had never played in Buffalo, which is just insane. Anyway, I can see this one going either way, but I'm gonna go with Jamies Winston and Co.
Panthers (4-2) at Bears (2-4): Carolina-Chicago is evidently the best team in the AFC North. Unfortunately for the Bears, they play in the NFC North. And their matchup this week is with a Panthers team that might've lost to the Eagles last Thursday, but did nothing to disprove that they're one of the best teams in the NFC. They're certainly better than the Bears.
Titans (3-3) at Browns (0-6): Tennessee-This is a good week for the Titans to be playing the Browns. Who knows what kind of a shape Mariota's in? But Cleveland followed by the bye week means the Titans get two weeks to figure some things out. Cleveland will keep it close, just like they have in each of their home games this season, but the Titans should come away with a win.
Saints (3-2) at Packers (4-2): New Orleans-Oh man. There's never a good week to lose your All-Pro quarterback for the season. But losing him when you've got a matchup with the Saints coming up is even worse. Because the Packers are gonna need to score a lot of points, and I'm not sure Brett Hundley can keep pace with Drew Brees. Things aren't gonna be easy for the Rodgers-less Packers. Especially this week. At least next week they've got their bye, which will give them some time to figure things out.
Jaguars (3-3) at Colts (2-4): Jacksonville-Ah, yes, AFC South division games! Gotta love em! I'm still not ready to call the Jaguars "good," but they are in a three-way tie for first place. I think they'll still be in that first-place tie after this week. Because they're less bad than the Colts, who simply aren't a good team (with or without Andrew Luck).
Cardinals (3-3) vs. Rams (4-2): Rams-Game three in London, and the only one that's not at 9:30 a.m. Except, since both teams are on the West Coast, it still is for them (but at least it's not a 6:30 a.m. local time start). And we move from Wembley Stadium to Twickenham Stadium for the Rams' annual London home game. Will their high-flying offense still be as high-flying across the Pond. I bet it probably will. They go to 5-2.
Jets (3-3) at Dolphins (3-2): Jets-Why is this game on FOX? I still don't understand this whole cross-flexing thing. The Jets won the first game pretty badly, and that wasn't too long ago. As a result, I'm picking them again...even though I think it'll be a much better game in Miami.
Ravens (3-3) at Vikings (4-2): Baltimore-I don't understand the Baltimore Ravens. At all. They go into Oakland and crush the Raiders, the lose at home to the Bears! And let's not forget they got smoked by Jacksonville in London! From what I can tell, they play better against better teams. And Minnesota definitely qualifies as one of the better teams. Thus, Baltimore's the pick.
Cowboys (2-3) at 49ers (0-6): Dallas-Back in the 90s, this was a can't-miss matchup. But, things, of course, have changed. Dallas has done a weird win-loss alternating situation this season. And they're technically coming off a loss, although I'm not sure how their bye week affected that. San Francisco, meanwhile, probably shouldn't be 0-6. They've just been unlucky. But they're definitely a better team than they were last year. They'll win soon. Just not this week.
Seahawks (3-2) at Giants (1-5): Seattle-Alright, where did that come from? Just when we all started to come to terms with the fact that the Giants are terrible, they go into Denver and win! I don't get it. Then you've got Seattle, a notoriously bad road team. Can they make it two in a row? I have no idea. But it seems just as likely they'll lay another egg in a game that CBS wanted so badly they made it a national game, only to change it to a regional game because the Giants suck.
Bengals (2-3) at Steelers (4-2): Pittsburgh-Typical Steelers. They play an absolutely horrible game (losing to the Bears in overtime), then turn around and dominate the last remaining undefeated team. And, as a result of that Kansas City win, they're currently the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Now they're back in their comfort zone with a division game against a Bengals team that won two straight before its bye. Those games were against the Browns and Bills, though. Going into Pittsburgh is a different story.
Broncos (3-2) at Chargers (2-4): Denver-Despite losing to the Giants, the Broncos caught a major break when the Chiefs lost to Pittsburgh, then Oakland. As a result, they're even in the loss column as they head to Southern California, where the "home" team isn't really that welcome. There will be a lot of Denver fans at the Stub Hub Center. And they'll see the Broncos put on a much better performance than they did last week.
Falcons (3-2) at Patriots (4-2): New England-Everyone loves a Super Bowl rematch! This could've been the season opener, but NBC and the NFL decided that it would be New England-Kansas City instead and they'd save this one for mid-October. Has there been some Super Bowl hangover on the Atlanta side? Probably. I'm still not sure how they blew a 17-0 lead at home! against Miami. But this is also a team that blew a 28-3 lead in the third quarter in February. You know watching the game tape of the Super Bowl had to be hard for the Falcons' coaches this week. Anyway, New England's starting to play like New England again. You know the Falcons have to be up after they should've won the Super Bowl. But the Patriots should remind them that they're the Super Bowl champions in what I think will be a terrific Sunday night game.
Redskins (3-2) at Eagles (5-1): Philadelphia-When last they played, the Eagles were one of five one-loss teams and Kansas City was undefeated. Now they have the best record in football (and for a lot of that time, they didn't even do anything). NFC East division games are always battles, and this one should be no different. Especially because Washington, which for some reason is already playing its third prime time game of the season, has played well under the lights. I think the Eagles are the better team, though, and they're playing at home.
Thursday Night: Kansas City (Loss)
This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 6-8
Overall: 53-39
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