This is a very strange week in the NFL. We're a third of the way through the season, yet the standings are a jumbled mess. Nobody has separated themselves, and a lot of teams think they still have a chance of doing something significant this season. Yet it also feels very lifeless. Maybe it's the Washington-Miami and Atlanta-Arizona games that are just sucking the life out of everything. Or maybe it's because neither New York team is playing an early game. That's really throwing me off, too.
Thursday Night: New England (Win)
Panthers (3-2) vs. Buccaneers (2-3): Tampa Bay-The Panthers and Bucs will make history during their London game. They'll be the first teams in NFL history to have two games shown exclusively on NFL Network in the same season! (Their Week 2 matchup in Charlotte was a Thursday night game.) Of course, that doesn't really mean much since most people get NFL Network. I just find it odd that the NFL would choose to put both matchups between division rivals on cable only. Anyway, this is essentially a home game for the Bucs (who are technically the "home" team), whose owner also owns Manchester United. So, they'll have the fan support as they complete their season sweep of the Panthers.
Seahawks (4-1) at Browns (2-3): Seattle-Cleveland is actually playing on a Sunday afternoon?! What's going on?! I'm almost imperative for the Browns to win this one with New England coming up after their bye, but Seattle won't make it easy. Neither will the short week. Especially since the Seahawks have extra rest after their Thursday night game. Cleveland will be happy when they finally stop playing NFC West teams. Because the Rams, 49ers and Seahawks will have accounted for three of their four losses.
Texans (3-2) at Chiefs (4-1): Kansas City-I'm not sure which was more surprising last week against the Colts--that the Chiefs lost (at home!) or that their offense was held to just 13 points. Now they face the Texans and their defense, which makes you think points will be hard to come by again. Regardless, I think last week was more a blip on the radar than anything else. It'll be competitive, but the Chiefs get back to their winning ways.
Redskins (0-5) at Dolphins (0-4): Miami-Tickets for this game are going for just $30 on StubHub. I'm not sure I'd want to pay that much. But fans of both these teams know there's a realistic chance they actually might not lose this week. Which is something they won't be able to say very often this season. There are other bad teams with terrible records, so I can't say for sure this one's for the No. 1 pick. But these are the two worst teams in the league. We'll get to see which one is less bad this week.
Eagles (3-2) at Vikings (3-2): Philadelphia-Both teams are 3-2, yet those records seem completely different. The Eagles are tied for first. The Vikings are tied for last. Their problem has been their own division, though. In their three games against non-NFC North opponents, they're 3-0, including a very complete performance against the Giants last week. Philadelphia had an even more complete performance against New York's other team. They're starting to find their groove. And we'll see how the Vikings do after all those comments about Case Keenum earlier in the week.
Saints (4-1) at Jaguars (2-3): New Orleans-They may not have the best record in the conference, but I still say the Saints are the best team in the NFC. And they've been proving that they're more than just Drew Brees, picking up wins over Seattle and Dallas without him. Last week was much more straightforward against Tampa Bay. This one should be straightforward, too. The Jaguars just aren't at the same level.
Bengals (0-5) at Ravens (3-2): Baltimore-All credit to Baltimore for taking advantage of a down year in the AFC North. As long as the Ravens win their division games, they've got a good shot at hosting a playoff game. And Cincinnati has done nothing to inspire confidence in their ability to win a game anytime soon. Baltimore can't lose this one at home. Not with a trip to Seattle next week, then a matchup with the Patriots after the bye.
49ers (4-0) at Rams (3-2): Rams-It sounds crazy to say it, but this is a must-win game for the Rams. They've lost two straight and suddenly find themselves in third place. And, if their losing streak reaches three, they'll be 2.5 games behind the 49ers with a loss to San Francisco. So, it's far more important for LA to get its groove back than for the 49ers to remain undefeated. The Rams have had plenty of time to fix things since that loss in Seattle. I think they right the ship and jump right back into the NFC West race.
Falcons (1-4) at Cardinals (1-3-1): Atlanta-Thankfully for the Falcons and Cardinals, there's a Redskins-Dolphins game this week. Because otherwise this would be the worst matchup of the week. I've officially given up on thinking Atlanta has any chance of being competitive in the NFC South. Not after allowing 53 points to Houston! Fortunately, Arizona's worse than they are.
Titans (2-3) at Broncos (1-4): Denver-Denver finally got its first win of the season last week against the Chargers. Now they take on a Titans team that's either really good and puts up a bunch of points or looks really bad with an anemic offense that does nothing. Which team will show up in Denver? More importantly, will the Broncos finally be able to play a whole home game instead of losing by two on a last-second field goal?
Cowboys (3-2) at Jets (0-4): Dallas-After back-to-back losses where their offense was barely present, a matchup with the Jets should be a welcome break for the Cowboys. The Jets welcome Sam Darnold back, so they should be more competitive than they were last week in Philadelphia. The result should be the same, though. This is the perfect bounce-back opportunity for Dallas heading into next week's first-place showdown with the Eagles.
Steelers (1-4) at Chargers (2-3): Chargers-Are there any two teams in the league more in need of a win than the Steelers and Chargers? This has the makings of a lost season in Pittsburgh, yet, remarkably, the Steelers are still in the thick of it in the AFC North. The Chargers, meanwhile, I don't know what's going on with them. They're too good to be 2-3! And, they're 1-2 at home, with the only win coming in overtime. So, basically, something's gotta give!
Lions (2-1-1) at Packers (4-1): Green Bay-Because of the Lions' tie (and the fact that they already had their bye), the NFC North standings are all screwed up. But, what we do know is that all four teams are over .500! Which puts extra importance on the division games. And, with a win, Green Bay would be 3-0 in division games, putting them in early control. A Detroit win, though. That would really show us that the Lions are for real and can't be taken for granted. After all, they've already won in Philadelphia and nearly beat the Chiefs.
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 7-8
Overall: 45-33-1
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