I sputtered to a 10-6 record in Week 3, bringing my cumulative year-to-date total to 28-20 (.583). It’s time for the season’s second month and another full 16-game slate of action. Onward and (the only option) upward!
NOTE: All games on Sunday afternoon unless otherwise noted.
Cincinnati 27, Jacksonville 10 (Thursday night) – The Bengals have to travel back home on a short week to play the Thursday-night special, but in the wake of winning at Pittsburgh, they could probably fly home without a plane. That had to be as uplifting a win for that franchise as it has had since 2015, the last time they won the AFC North Division. Not coincidentally, it was also the last time Cincinnati won at Heinz Field. Now, it’s up to them not to stumble at home against the luckless Jaguars, who had the unbeaten Cardinals on the ropes before finally losing. It was Jacksonville’s 18th straight regular-season loss since winning its Week One game in 2020.
Minnesota 29, Cleveland 24 – It’s a second straight road trip to an NFC North Division team for the Browns, who showed off their newly-rebuilt defense in a dominating nine-sack effort in Chicago (Myles Garrett got four-and-a-half on his own). But they’ll have their hands full against a Viking team that got a win when it absolutely needed one, scoring 23 unanswered points in a home win over Seattle (their first win over the Seahawks in 12 years). I genuinely feel the Vikings could be ready to get on a bit of an early-season roll here. That said, will they self-destruct again as they near the finish line? Minnesota is the pick her for now.
Kansas City 30, Philadelphia 20 – Kansas City coach Andy Reid was rushed to the hospital after last Sunday’s game. He’s going to be fine, fortunately, but it puts a bit of a pall on his team’s visit this week to his former team’s home. The Chiefs haven’t been 1-2 in six years, but the Eagles and their fans don’t care about that. The Chiefs– surprising occupants of the AFC West cellar–should win if they take care of the ball.
Tennessee 37, New York Jets 12 – Since the beginning of the 2017 season, the NYJ are tied with the NYG for the league’s worst record. Both teams have gotten off to 0-3 starts this year, making the tabloid headline-writers explode with sadistic glee. Even if they weren’t, I wouldn’t pick them to win this home game against the Titans, a team that got a badly-needed win at home against division rival Indianapolis. (A history note: when the Jets franchise was born at the AFL’s 1960 beginning, it was called the Titans.)
Miami 34, Indianapolis 17 – Miami lost a tough overtime game in Las Vegas last week, but it returns home to face the winless, luckless Colts. Jacoby Brissett did a fine job filling in at quarterback for the injured Tua Tagovailoa and nearly pulled off a big win over the Raiders. But even the addition of Carson Wentz hasn’t revived the Colts’ offense…at least, not so far.
Buffalo 30, Houston 10 – The Texans were predicted to flounder this year, and, for the most part, they have in a 1-2 start. Their lone win was against Jacksonville in Week One, but, just as the Jags lost 15 straight in 2020 after winning their opener, Houston might be poised to go on the same kind of slide. The Texans got the perk of a mini-bye after a Thursday-night game, but a home loss to Carolina means they will need more rest than just ten days.
Dallas 27, Carolina 13 – The Panthers are going through a classic good news-bad news situation. The good news is that they are 3-0 for only the fifth time in the franchise’s 27 seasons, and they are coming off a solid road win at lowly Houston–with a mini-bye after a Thursday-night game to boot. The bad news? Dual-threat running back Christian McCaffery strained his hamstring in that game, while rookie corner Jaycee Horn incurred a broken foot. Both could be missing for a while. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are running the ball quite well with both Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, and the team is getting just enough out of an improved defense to be successful.
Washington 23, Atlanta 17 – Washington is coming off a comprehensive butt-whipping at the hands of the Super Bowl-contending Buffalo Bills. The Falcons, the home team for this one, are fresh off a road win against the luckless New York Giants. That should make for an entertaining game. Well, I say not necessarily, because teams that are even in talent don’t necessarily make for good watching if you’re not a big fan of either squad. Despite what happened last week, I’ll take Washington’s defense to pave the way to a win.
Chicago 13, Detroit 9 – These two teams, part of the so-called “Black And Blue Division,” don’t care for each other. This should be an old-fashioned physical donnybrook, and I’ll take the Bears only because they’re at home and are the slightly better team. There’s no way rookie quarterback Justin Fields gets held to one net passing yard again…right?
New Orleans 29, New York Giants 15 –New Orleans had a solid, complete effort in beating a declining New England team on the road last week, and it should be more than well-equipped to take care of a Giants team that isn’t nearly as good as the Patriots are right now.
Baltimore 27, Denver 23 – These two teams have met 12 times in lifetime regular-season play and are tied, 6-6. The way the host Broncos have started the season, many observers might think they are even with the Ravens these days, too. But I’m not so sure about that. After all, Denver has played Jacksonville, the New York Giants, and the Jets – teams that are a combined 0-9. On top of that, the Broncos are riddled with injuries at wideout, corner, and offensive line. Denver will have a good home crowd on its side, but the Ravens are 14-4 in their last 18 road games, and they’ve also managed to be competitive away from home without playing their best football. If Baltimore needs another record Justin Tucker field goal, it could get one in the thin Denver air. Seventy yards, anyone?
Green Bay 30, Pittsburgh 13 – Two of the league’s most storied, iconic franchises will get together at one of the NFL’s most hallowed shrines, Lambeau Field. But only one of these teams is playing even close to a legendary level. After its spine-tingling road win at San Francisco last week, I see the Packers winning this rather anticlimactic matchup.
Seattle 27, San Francisco 17 – San Francisco has fielded one of the league’s better defenses recently, coordinated so well by Robert Saleh that he got a head-coaching job with the New York Jets. Former veteran linebacker DeMeco Ryans took Saleh’s place, and even though the defense is healthier than it has been, it isn’t playing nearly as well. Any above-average quarterback is going to have success against that unit. Aaron Rodgers did last week and the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, coming off a loss, will be eager to do that, too. The Seattle defense, for its part, has blown double-digit leads the last two weeks, and they don’t figure to do that again.
Los Angeles Rams 31, Arizona 26 – SoFi Stadium, host to this season’s Super Bowl, will also be the setting for another highly-spotlighted game. Last week, the Rams came through in fine style in thoroughly dominating the defending Super Bowl champs. This time around, it’s an NFC West contest, the division that I feel is the NFL’s best. Arizona had to wake up a bit before winning at Jacksonville and, now, must go on the road to face a Ram squad fresh off demolition of Tampa Bay. If this game was in Glendale, I’d take the Cardinals, but the Rams seem to be in a slightly better rhythm. In a great matchup for the neutral fan, remember that the Cardinals are 3-0 for the first time in six years.
Tampa Bay 34, New England 23 (Sunday night) – Well, this one should garner plenty of attention–and not just because it’ll be the only game going on at the time. The first “Brady Bowl” will feature lots of nostalgia at what used to be for the Patriots. However, it appears clear that even though both of these teams are coming off losses, it’s Tampa Bay that’s closer to being on top of its game. Let’s not forget that TB won a club-record ten in a row before last week’s loss. I’m sure Tom Brady will get more cheers than boos, at least at the beginning of the night, but the Foxborough crowd will revert to form and hope Mac Jones can come through. Last week, Jones was victimized by butter-fingered receivers, but even glue-like hands won’t make a difference this Sunday.
Los Angeles Chargers 30, Las Vegas 27 (Monday night) – Thanks to a pair of home overtime wins, the Raiders are 3-0 for the first time since 2002–a season that saw the then-Oakland-based team reach Super Bowl 37, only to lose to Tampa Bay. Now, they are back on the road against a Chargers squad that has played well but didn’t win against Dallas as they did in KC. The Raiders’ luck has to run out sometime, and that’s what I think will happen Monday night.
