NFL 2020, Week 10

I've never seen an NFL schedule like the one we have this week.  Because of the Masters, CBS doesn't have any early games.  OK, that makes sense.  Then they took one of the early games (Pittsburgh-Cincinnati) and moved it to the 4:25 window, so now there are six late games and only five early games.  More late games than early games.  I'm not sure that's ever happened before.

Thursday Night: Tennessee (Loss)

Texans (2-6) at Browns (5-3): Cleveland-Don't sleep on the Cleveland Browns.  They may be in third place in the AFC North, but they're a legit playoff contender.  And they'll be a tough opponent for anybody in the second half of the season.  The Texans are playing for next year.  Houston entered the season with such high hopes, but it never came together.  Kinda like last year's Browns, who weren't able to overcome a brutal starting schedule.  This year's Browns need to take advantage of that.  If they still want to be relevant in December, they need to win games they should win.

Washington (2-6) at Lions (3-5): Detroit-Alex Smith is once again Washington's starting quarterback!  That really is an incredible comeback story!  They're not suddenly gonna turn into a playoff team, but it's still great seeing him back on a football field.  As for the Lions, they had their chance last week and blew it.  If Detroit was 4-4, they'd be just one game out of a wild card with all the NFC West teams still having to play each other.  Instead, they're 3-5 and looking at another losing season.  Although, with Washington and Carolina, they have a chance to put together a nice little winning streak heading into Thanksgiving.

Jaguars (1-7) at Packers (6-2): Green Bay-Remember when Jacksonville beat Indianapolis in Week 1 and we all thought "Hey, maybe the Jaguars aren't so bad?"  Well, we were wrong.  They've lost seven straight since then and have to be thankful for the existence of the New York Jets (who could prevent them from getting Trevor Lawrence).  I think the extra rest after playing on Thursday night was good for the Packers, but they can't get caught looking ahead to Indianapolis next week.  However, even if they are, they still have Aaron Rodgers.  He won't let them lose at home to the Jaguars.

Eagles (3-4-1) at Giants (2-7): Philadelphia-Whenever the Giants play Washington, they actually look like a legitimate professional football team.  Unfortunately, they don't play Washington again this season.  And, as much crap people have been talking about the NFC East this season, there's that realization that the Eagles are the best of the four teams.  Philadelphia's the most likely to actually challenge teams from outside the division.  They need to make sure they take care of business in division games first, though.

Buccaneers (6-3) at Panthers (3-6): Tampa Bay-It hasn't been a good week for the Bucs.  First they get utterly destroyed by the Saints, then their plane to Charlotte sits on the tarmac for six hours.  Fortunately, the trip is short, so the travel delay shouldn't have too much of an impact.  Saints hangover, however, might.  It isn't the first time Brady's team got blown out, though.  Remember that "On to Cincinnati" thing?  So, yeah, I think they'll be fine.

Broncos (3-5) at Raiders (5-3): Las Vegas-Here come the Raiders!  Back-to-back road wins have put Las Vegas in the AFC playoff mix.  Now they play the first of consecutive home division games against Denver.  I must admit, I don't quite understand the Broncos.  They're so inconsistent.  They play a really good game one week, then lay an egg the next.  Last week was a bad one, so you'd think the good Broncos will show up this week.  The Raiders have to be invigorated after pulling out that game against the Chargers last week, though, and they should be able to ride that wave to 6-3.

Chargers (2-6) at Dolphins (5-3): Miami-Maybe it's time for us to all start taking the Dolphins seriously.  Miami has won four straight after starting 1-3 and is part of that jumbled mess of teams in the mix for the AFC wild cards.  The poor Chargers, on the other hand, find new ways to lose close games every week.  That was especially brutal against the Raiders, thinking they won only to have it overturned on replay (which was the correct call).  They're 2-6 but could easily be 4-4.  It'll be 2-7 after another close loss.

Bills (7-2) at Cardinals (5-3): Buffalo-Now THAT was a statement win last week!  The Bills didn't just beat the Seahawks, they dominated them!  Yes, they allowed 34 points, but they were in control the whole time against one of the best teams in football.  Now they take the show on the road for another tough test against a good NFC West foe.  The Cardinals, who haven't left Phoenix in a month, benefited from that Bills win, staying one game behind Seattle despite losing a tight one to Miami last week.  If they win and the Rams beat the Seahawks, it could be a three-way tie.

Seahawks (6-2) at Rams (5-3): Seattle-With the way things are going in the NFC West this season, every division game will take on extra importance.  That's especially the case in this one, as Seattle looks to strengthen its grip on first place.  The Rams have actually never lost at SoFi Stadium, but the Seahawks are significantly better than their first three home opponents.  Seattle had an early kickoff in Buffalo last week and is on the road again, while the Rams are coming off their bye.  We'll see if that makes an impact, but I doubt it will.

49ers (4-5) at Saints (6-2): New Orleans-Go ahead and tell me New Orleans isn't the best team in the NFC!  They sure looked like it last week!  That was sheer domination from start to finish.  Now the challenge is to keep it going, especially with the Packers and Seahawks right there in contention for the 1-seed.  Tough run for the 49ers, having to face all three of them in a row.  New Orleans played a perfect game last week.  They probably won't again.  The good news is they don't need to.

Bengals (2-5-1) at Steelers (8-0): Pittsburgh-The most incredible thing about the Steelers' 8-0 start is that it's never happened before.  For all those great teams they've had in their storied history, the Steelers have never been 8-0 until 2020.  Now they can just keep adding on to that franchise record.  With the Bengals and Jaguars as their next two opponents, it should get to 10-0 before that Thanksgiving night matchup with the Ravens.  I'm not saying they should take the Bengals lightly.  I just don't think Cincinnati has enough fire power to stay with them for 60 minutes.

Ravens (6-2) at Patriots (3-5): Baltimore-You can't blame the NFL or NBC for picking this one for Sunday night.  On paper, it looks like a good matchup.  Obviously, things haven't gone the way Patriots fans hoped they would this season.  They barely beat the Jets last week!  So, while Baltimore is the clear favorite, it's also a bit of a must-win for the Ravens.  They can't afford to let the Steelers get too far ahead, and that wild card race is tight.

Vikings (3-5) at Bears (5-4): Chicago-These teams are heading in opposite directions.  The Vikings seem to have gotten their act together after their miserable start, while the Bears have come back to Earth after that strong start that critics (correctly) were calling mirage.  Will those trends continue when they face each other?  For some reason, I think it will.  Sweeping through all three of their divisional opponents in consecutive weeks seems like a tall order for Minnesota.

This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 10-4
Overall: 88-45-1