NFL 2020, Week 6

The COVID-related schedule adjustments have gone from ridiculous to absurd.  Thanks to the Patriots-Broncos game being moved AGAIN, six other teams had games and/or bye weeks moved.  I give the NFL credit for figuring this all out on the fly, which can't be easy, but this is really screwing with other teams now.  The Jets went from playing the Chargers this week to playing the Dolphins.  The Chargers had four games changed...and found out last Sunday that they were suddenly on their bye week.  It's a mess!

And I don't think we've seen the last of games being rescheduled, either.  They're even talking about adding a Week 18 in case they run out of bye week buffers.  Which is beginning to look more and more likely.  But that's an issue for the end of the season.  As for this week...

Texans (1-4) at Titans (4-0): Tennessee-I'll admit it.  I was shocked by what the Titans did on Tuesday.  They weren't even able to practice, yet they went and dominated a good Bills team from the start.  How will they back it up now that they've actually had a normal week (albeit a short one)?  As for the Texans, it was only one game, but the post-Bill O'Brien Era is off to a good start.  Although, they were playing Jacksonville, so this will be a much more telling test.

Bengals (1-3-1) at Colts (3-2): Indianapolis-Indianapolis saw its three-game winning streak snapped last week by the Browns.  Cincinnati, meanwhile, was all kinds of embarrassed in Baltimore.  The Bengals are still leaps and bounds better than they were last year, but they've still got a ways to go.  As for the Colts, I don't know what type of team they are.  I'm not sure if they do, either.  One week they look great, the next week they look terrible.  Which team will show up against the Bengals?

Falcons (0-5) at Vikings (1-4): Minnesota-My prediction about Dan Quinn turned out to be correct.  I just didn't think it would happen this quickly.  But, then again, the Falcons had been going downhill ever since their Super Bowl collapse, so it was only a matter of time.  And, fun fact, Atlanta is the only non-New York winless team in the NFL!  It should stay that way against the Vikings, who should've kicked the field goal to finish off the upset in Seattle last week.

Broncos (1-3) at Patriots (2-2): New England-Let's try this again.  Also, I've gotta say that the two teams screwed the most by this whole COVID situation are Denver and Pittsburgh.  First, the Steelers effectively lost their bye.  Now the Broncos have, as well.  And they're still not even sure if they'll play this week since there are evidently still positive tests on the Patriots.  But let's assume they do play.  And if they do, it seems likely that the Patriots will do what the Titans did on Tuesday.

Washington (1-4) at Giants (0-5): Giants-An NFC East division game!  Which means one of them definitely has to not lose!  And I actually think there's a good chance that'll be the Giants.  They actually resembled an NFL team last week!  Will they be able to keep it up this week?  If they don't, I don't know when they'll get a win.  Because this is one of those rare times they'll actually be the better team on the field.

Ravens (4-1) at Eagles (1-3-1): Baltimore-Apparently the Ravens weren't very happy that the Bengals kicked a field goal at the end of the game to avoid a shutout last week.  Maybe you should look in the mirror and put some blame on yourselves for even setting up that situation.  If you want the shutout, earn it!  And, frankly, it doesn't really matter how many points the defense gives up when the offense is scoring 30 a game!

Browns (4-1) at Steelers (4-0): Pittsburgh-Browns-Steelers is the No. 1 game on CBS!  When was the last time that happened?  And it should be!  Pittsburgh might be the best team in the AFC (although Kansas City would have something to say about that), while Cleveland is playing like that team we thought we'd see last year.  Hopefully this one lives up to the hype and isn't marred by a brawl like the last time they met!  I doubt it will.  Not just because that was an ugly situation, but because the stakes are much higher, even in Week 6.

Bears (4-1) at Panthers (3-2): Chicago-Believe it or not, the Panthers are in a three-way tie for first place in the NFC South!  It's made even more impressive when you consider how low the expectations were entering this season, and Carolina lived up to them in the first two weeks!  But now they've won three in a row and play the equally surprising Bears, who need to keep winning if they want to keep pace with the Packers.  This should actually be a pretty entertaining game.  And one I think the Bears will win.

Lions (1-3) at Jaguars (1-4): Jacksonville-Who do you think would win a fight between an actual jaguar and an actual lion?  It would be a pretty cool fight, wouldn't it?  As for the football teams with those names, not so much.  Jacksonville hasn't won since upsetting the Colts in Week 1, while the Lions had two solid efforts against Arizona and New Orleans before their bye.  Which all points towards a Detroit victory.  For some reason, I think Jacksonville wins, though.

Jets (0-5) at Dolphins (2-3): Miami-At least we don't have that stupid Jets-Dolphins back-to-back on the schedule anymore!  But this game will likely be a difficult one for both teams.  The Jets were supposed to be across the country, while the Dolphins were supposed to be in Denver.  Instead, they're playing each other in South Florida.  And, let's not forget, Miami was in San Francisco last week.  That's a big shock on the body!  Fortunately, the Dolphins are a better team than the mess that is the Jets.

Packers (4-0) at Buccaneers (3-2): Green Bay-FOX didn't even schedule another late game, so it's a full national audience for the Battle of the Bays.  Brady had his first real stinker as a Buc last week in Chicago, and they still could've won that game had he remembered what down it was!  I expect him to bounce back this week.  He'll need to for them to have any chance against the Packers, who also had an extended break since their bye was last week.  Hopefully the week off didn't mess with the offensive mojo they had over their first four games.

Rams (4-1) at 49ers (2-3): Rams-San Francisco's streak remains in tact!  The 49ers are still undefeated in New York and winless in San Francisco.  And it's not just that they haven't won a home game, it's how bad they've looked doing it.  The Eagles came in winless and outplayed them the entire game.  Then they get crushed by the Dolphins.  Neither of those teams is anywhere near as good as the Rams.  (Also, I know Al Michaels lives in LA, but why did they schedule two Sunday night games in San Francisco three weeks apart?)

Chiefs (4-1) at Bills (4-1): Kansas City-Thursday Night Football on Monday afternoon/evening!  It's the Chiefs' second last-minute Monday night game of the season, while the Bills are coming off a short week.  I do expect them to put forward a better effort than they did against the Titans, though.  I think the circumstances surrounding that game really affected them.  Fortunately, they'll enter this game with a lot more certainty.  Unfortunately, their opponent is the Kansas City Chiefs.

Cardinals (3-2) at Cowboys (2-3): Dallas-Was last week a turning point for the first-place Dallas Cowboys?  That's right--the first-place Dallas Cowboys.  As bad as the Cowboys have been over the first five weeks of the season, the rest of the NFC East is even worse, so they're still sitting in a pretty good position.  Imagine what'll happen when they actually start playing well!  Although, they're, of course, without Dak Prescott after he suffered that gruesome ankle injury.  But that's why you sign a seasoned veteran like Andy Dalton to be your backup.  Losing Dak obviously hurts, but having Dalton softens that blow tremendously.  They'll be just fine with him under center.

Last Week: 10-4
Overall: 54-22-1