Halloween is nearing, and the football spirits have already put the fright in me. My three-week run (33-13, 72%) ended in Week 7 (7-6, 54%), bringing my year-to-date record to 68-39 (.635). The schedule grows from 13 to 15 games this week; Baltimore and Las Vegas have the week off.
NOTE: All games played on Sunday afternoon unless otherwise noted.
Green Bay 27, Arizona 26 (Thursday night) – There are a lot of fans I know who’ll watch any old Thursday night matchup because that’s how hungry they are for football. But this game will be worth it–for them and the rest of us. That’s because it features one of the league’s great franchises/constant contenders against the league’s only remaining unbeaten squad. If the game were being played in Lambeau Field, I’d take Green Bay, but it will be in State Farm Stadium – home of Super Bowl 57 (February 2023). I’m thinking this one will be close all the way through, but in the end, quarterbacks do make the difference. While Kyler Murray has made a strong impression on the league, I’ll take Aaron Rodgers to pull this one out for a seventh straight Packer win, meaning that the 1972 Dolphins’ record stays intact (kids, ask your parents). That said, let’s recognize these Cardinals. They are 7-0 for the first time since 1974, capped off in Week 7 by scoring 31 unanswered points against the Texans. Let’s call this Week 8’s Game of the Week.
Pittsburgh 23, Cleveland 16 – The Browns are home again, coming off a win and on the heels of a mini-bye to boot. But the archrival Steelers are one better–fresh from a whole week off. And, if there’s any game this team would be primed for, it’s this one. The Steelers’ only real hope to salvage the season is to make a difference in the AFC North Division. Yes, first place is likely out of the question, but not a wild-card berth. With Baker Mayfield iffy for this game, longtime NFL backup Case Keenum may have to do what he has done repeatedly over his career, that is, carry a team for a short period of time. That said, even with a hobbled Ben Roethlisberger, I’ll take Pittsburgh’s revived run game over the battered-but-resilient Browns in this latest edition of “The Turnpike Bowl.”
Cincinnati 40, New York Jets 10 – The Bengals’ third straight road game is the easiest of the three … at least on paper. One can only imagine the horrors that await the Jets after the Bengals rang up 28 unanswered points last Sunday against the Ravens. NYJ, on the other hand, hasn’t scored a first-quarter point all year and gave up 54 points to the Pats last week. To make things worse, quarterback Zach Wilson incurred a knee injury in last week’s blowout loss. The Bengals keep rolling.
Tennessee 27, Indianapolis 17 – The Titans, winners of five of their last six, are not interested in being lumped with their brethren in the AFC South. With big wins over Buffalo and Kansas City, both at home, they are interested in being considered a peer of higher-level teams. On Sunday, Tennessee goes on the road to face a division foe they know well, a squad that weathered (literally) a road game By the Bay. I don’t think playing at home will be enough to derail a Tennessee bunch that has found another gear. But know that the Colts lead the NFL in fumble recoveries–a trait that serves any team very well.
Buffalo 33, Miami 19 – Buffalo is coming off its bye, and it has had two weeks to stew over its nationally-televised loss in Tennessee. Miami is the perfect opponent to salve that wound. The Dolphins haven’t won since Week One, and this game will be played on Lake Erie’s, not the Atlantic’s, shore. Buffalo must win to keep its aspirations alive, but Miami’s situation is quite different. The Dolphins are facing the prospect of a lost season unless their fortunes turn soon. While there’s still hope for 2021, if there’s a turnaround to be had, it won’t start Sunday.
Los Angeles Rams 41, Houston 13 – There are certain games about which not much should be said. Houston is home, but it won’t help. Moving on….
Atlanta 19, Carolina 17 – The Panthers are still working without dual-threat Christian McCaffrey, and they benched QB Sam Darnold mid-game last week. Combo outcome? They were blown out by the Giants … yes … the Giants. Now they head south to take on a Falcons team that is buoyed by its win over the Dolphins last weekend. Neither team is very good, but (I will say) that head-to-head this could be an entertaining game. I’ll take the home team–a 3-3 squad with some momentum–over the visitors that have lost four straight after starting 3-0.
Detroit 20, Philadelphia 12 – I’ve always said that whether a team is on the path to go undefeated or winless, either outcome is very difficult to achieve. The breaks of the game make it so. Look at what happened last Sunday in LA. In a game they had no business being in, the Lions led by two points going into the fourth quarter before losing, 28-19. Now, Detroit returns home to face the Eagles, a team that got hammered in Las Vegas. The Lions haven’t lacked effort all year, and my take is this is their week to finally win. Then, they’ll have a bye week to relish a victory.
San Francisco 26, Chicago 16 – Chicago deserves credit for finally putting rookie quarterback Justin Fields behind center. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Fields is a rookie, and he’s going through normal rookie growing pains. In other words, indecision is helping Chicago waste its season. (That said, it wasn’t likely to be a promising season, anyway.) So, now, coming off a 38-3 drubbing at Tampa Bay, the Bears return home to face a 49er team that is still drying out from that monsoon-like loss to the Colts. San Francisco isn’t a perfect team by any means, but it is better than Chicago right now. Is a quarterback switch to Trey Lance in order?
Los Angeles Chargers 33, New England 23 – Last week’s Patriot blowout win over the Jets doesn’t tell us whether New England has finally turned its season around (there you go, the same word three times in a row). They beat the Jets, after all. The Chargers, on the other hand, are also searching for an answer. Are they the solid team that went into Baltimore? Or were serious flaws unearthed in Baltimore? Well, this week’s game won’t provide definitive evidence for either team, but for LAC (at least) it had a bye week to reflect and prepare. The Chargers’ goal is straightforward–to re-establish their contender status. They should be able that at home on Sunday in what stacks up to be one of the better games of the week.
Denver 17, Washington 13 – These are perplexing teams. I do like the host Broncos in what should be a less-than-compelling game. As for the Football Team, it is another week on the road after having to endure the nearly-impenetrable cauldron that is Lambeau Field. Denver is a tough place to play as well, albeit a step down from Green Bay. Still, as it did last week, Washington can’t go into another game with ten starters missing.
Seattle 23, Jacksonville 20 – Most of you are not into Barry Manilow, but he once recorded a song called Two Ships That Pass In The Night. That’s a perfect tune for this game. Jacksonville is coming off its post-London bye, while Seattle is heading for an idle week after this game. The Seahawks’ stock has fallen precipitously in recent weeks, but they’ll be at home to face the well-traveled Jaguars, a team that got its first win v. Miami (a victory predicted here, by the way, and practically nowhere else). I see the Jaguars stringing together a few wins down the stretch, but one of them won’t come on Sunday. The Seahawks should have enough to win, but keep in mind that Seattle is 0-3 at home for the first time since 1992.
Tampa Bay 34, New Orleans 20 – The Buccaneers are off to their best seven-game start (6-1) in franchise history, having won four in a row. They will be on their bye week after this game, so I figure they can play at the Superdome, stay at their hotel, then hit the French Quarter all weekend after a few light practices. But winning this game is a much more heavy proposition, considering how well these NFC South Division rivals know each other. It won’t be the comfortable, five-touchdown win TB had against Chicago, But the Bucs are champions because they have just a little more than every team they play. And one reason they have more is Tom Brady, the only quarterback in NFL history to have thrown more than 600 touchdown passes.
Dallas 31, Minnesota 17 (Sunday night) – Not that I needed any more evidence, but this game is the poster child for why the league wants the TV-viewing public to focus on Sunday rather than Monday night. Consistently, the league schedules better matchups for Sunday, and it has been that way since 2006. Now that I’ve got that off my chest, let me get vocal about another matter that’s personal. The Vikings have been a pain in my predictive neck all year long with their inconsistency and baffling form. Yes, Minnesota is at home for this one, but that won’t mean much in the face of another variable that’s in the mix. This is the first of consecutive games where opponents have two weeks to prepare to play the Vikings (Dallas bye Week 7, Baltimore bye Week 8).
Kansas City 37, New York Giants 16 (Monday night) – The downtrodden Giants are getting a national-TV appearance solely because New York is the most extensive media market in the country. Good news there, but bad news that they are up against the Chiefs, a team that unexpectedly has its back against the wall after having lost two of its last three games. The bright spot for KC is that Patrick Mahomes has cleared concussion protocol. Advice to channel clickers: add spice to this game by watching the ‘other channel’ with the Manning Brothers. Advice to those who had a rough weekend: it might be a good time to get some extra sleep.
