Another weekend, and :some more clarity. Some of the weaker teams are being weeded out, while the stronger ones are rising. The Rams remain unbeaten, at the expense of the Packers this time. The Chiefs keep on winning, while the Broncos have dug themselves into a hole that they likely will not be able to climb out of. The Saints are emerging as a clear elite in the league, and especially in the NFC. They knocked off another NFC hopeful, the Vikings, in Minnesota, which means that the Vikings now lost their position as division leaders, at least for now. Seattle continues to surprise with how strong they look, and their win over Detroit might reveal that the Lions are closing in on the end of their serious hopes for this season, although they are in a weak division, so there may still be a chance. The Browns are in a free fall, while the Steelers are establishing themselves as the team to beat in the AFC North, which is really no surprise. And speaking of no surprises, the New England Patriots earned a decisive victory that moves them now solidly in first place in the AFC East, with a two game lead over their closest division rivals.
Let's take a closer look at the games that were this past weekend:
Let's take a closer look at the games that were this past weekend:
Philadelphia 24, Jacksonville 18 (at Wembley Stadium, London, UK) - The Eagles took care of the Jaguars, mostly relying on their defense to contain the struggling Jax offense from posing a serious threat. Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles did not have a horrific day statistically, completing 24 of 41 passes for 286 YDS and one touchdown. But Jax kept having to settle for field goals when they needed touchdowns for any realistic chances to win this one. For Philly, QB Carson Wentz completed 21 of 30 passes for 286 yards, with three touchdowns to one interception. Both teams now get to enjoy a much needed bye. For the Eagles, it is a chance to rest, get healthy, and load up for the remainder of the season, enjoying the high from this overseas win. For the Jaguars, it is a chance to take a breather and hopefully, for them, to stop the bleeding of this atrocious losing streak that they are currently on, which is threatening to take them right out of playoff contention. My pick: Accurate
Chicago 24, N.Y. Jets 10 - This is more or less how most people would have expected this game to go. Sam Darnold, in a losing effort for Gang Green, completed 14 of 29 passes for 153 yards, with one touchdown. Mitchell Trubisky continues to get better with each passing week for the Bears, as he completed 16 of 29 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears went from alone in first place two weekends ago to last place last weekend, and back to first place this weekend. What a crazy roller coaster ride! My pick: Accurate
Seattle 28, Detroit 14 - Another intriguing game. Seattle is better than most expected them to be this season, while Detroit has bounced back from a humiliating loss and an overall bad start to become a factor once again. Both teams started off 0-2, but have each has won three of their last four games. The Lions look good on offense with Stafford in charge, but their defense leaves something to be desired. That said, they will not be facing the most explosive offense in the league, as the Seahawks generally are a pedestrian team on that end. Their defense is no longer close to being on the level that they were during the "Legion of Boom" days. Also, home field advantage should really help the Lions here. My pick: Inaccurate
Kansas City 30, Denver 23 - A week after the Broncos earned an impressive blowout win on the road to keep their flickering hopes for the season alive, they lose a heartbreaker in Kansas City, and their season is, once again, in peril. KC's offense just keeps on rolling, as young Patrick Mahomes completed 24 of 34 passes for 303 yards, with four touchdowns and one interception. For Denver, Case Keenum completed 23 of 34 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. Denver played well in both games against the Chiefs, but could not produce the win. The AFC West, for all intents and purposes, has become a tag team between the two top teams and the two bottom teams, with the Chiefs and Chargers dominating, and the Broncos and especially the Raiders reeling. Denver might still have a chance, but they are getting dangerously close to irrelevance. My pick: Accurate
Cincinnati 37, Tampa Bay 34 - The Bengals capitalized on some big mistakes by the Bucs offense, yet still had to hang on for the narrow win. Tampa's Jameis Winston went 18 of 35 for 276 yards, with one touchdown and a staggering four interceptions. Andy Dalton completed 21 of 34 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns. The Bengals, at this point, are just happy for the win, and the chance to rest up with their upcoming bye, as they were coming dangerously close to losing their grip on this season. For Tampa Bay, they already have pretty much reached that point, as they are basically hopelessly behind not just one, but two teams in the NFC South. My pick: Accurate
Washington 20, N. Y. Giants 13 - Washington has looked incredibly impressive so far this season. Of course, it does not take much to look impressive against my Giants these last two seasons, but that is another issue. The O-line once again failed in a spectacular way, and Eli Manning found himself hitting the turf by way of sack seven times yesterday. He also threw two picks, and the Giants offense just never looked capable of much. Overall, Manning completed 30 of 47 passes for 316 yards and one touchdown, although there were those two INT's. Washington basically wore the Giants down, particularly behind the running of Adrian Petersen, who picked up 146 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Alex Smith completed 20 of 32 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown, enough to help his team pick up a solid divisional road win to stay comfortably ahead in the NFC East. My pick: Accurate
Carolina 36, Baltimore 21 - Not sure what is happening to the Ravens right now. One week they are up, and the next, they are down. They were down this week again, although that as to be expected on the road against a tough Panthers team. Joe Flacco completed 22 of 39 passes for 192 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Cam Newton was stellar for the Panthers, completing 21 of 29 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers stay on the heels of the Saints in the NFC South, while the Ravens continue to slip farther back in the AFC North race, with both the Bengals and especially the Steelers winning. My pick: Accurate
Pittsburgh 33, Cleveland 18 - I would have loved to see the Browns win this, but my guy told me that it was not going to happen. Sure enough, it did not. Baker Mayfield completed 22 of 36 passes for 180 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. One of those touchdown passes happened late in the fourth, when the outcome was long since decided. For Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger completed 24 of 36 passes for 257 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. Now, Cleveland has fired their coach, and a season that, not long ago, seemed a promising sign of improvements to come, is beginning to spiral out of control, as the all too familiar losing is back. My pick: Accurate
Indianapolis 42, Oakland 28 - This was a real shootout. Not surprising, since both defenses are pretty bad. but the end result was not surprising, either. The Colts are the better team, and so they won. The Raiders are increasingly looking like the worst team in the AFC, and perhaps a contender for worst in the NFL, although my Giants are certainly in serious contention for that, as well. Andrew Luck completed 22 of 31 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns, while in a losing effort, Oakland quarterback Derek Carr completed 21 of 28 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns. My pick: Accurate
Arizona 18, San Francisco 15 - The Cardinals have now swept their division rivals, the 49ers. That might be it for wins this season, though, because the Cardinals are a very bad football club. San Francisco seemed to be dominating most of the game, taking a 15-3 lead early in the fourth quarter. But that was when the Cardinals suddenly came alive. Larry Fitzgerald in particular came up big for Arizona, catching a 15-yard touchdown pass from Josh Rosen just two and a half minutes after the 49ers took a 12-point lead to get Arizona back in it. Then, Rosen completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Christian Kirk with just 34 seconds remaining to give the Cardinals the lead, and Fitzgerald ran in the two-point conversion for the three-point margin, ultimately giving Arizona the 18-15, come from behind win. My pick: Accurate
L.A. Rams 29, Green Bay 27 - The Rams are 8-0 for the first time since 1969, when this team started off 9-0. Indeed, the Rams remain unbeaten at least until the start of November, and once again, they looked impressive. Jared Goff has now become only the second quarterback in NFL history under the age of 25 to lead his team to an 8-0 start to a season. Of course, those of us old enough could hardly forget that incredible 1984 season for Dan Marino, when he led his Miami Dolphins to a 14-2 record and the Super Bowl. That is not to say that these Rams have secured their place in the big game. Far from it. They may be the team's only remaining unbeaten team, but they have a brutal stretch coming up, with games against the 6-1 Saints, the 7-1 Chiefs, the red hot Seahawks, and the defending champion Eagles all still coming up. Also, while the Rams managed to win, they struggled a bit against the Packers, and were actually down by halftime. But they played well enough to win in the second half, taking over the game, and securing the win. Now, some are speculating about the chances that this team will finish 16-0. While I would love to see a team (other than San Francisco, Washington, or Pittsburgh under Roethlisberger) finish a season 16-0 and win the Super Bowl, that is very unlikely to happen for the Rams this season. Their offense still looks hot, like one of the best units in the league. But their defense has looked suspect, and that might hurt them when they take on some of those high octane offenses, particularly New Orleans and Kansas City in the coming weeks. But for now, the Rams keep winning, and they simply look amazing at the moment. They have virtually locked up the NFC West already by the mid-season, and have looked great doing it. The best thing that they could do is avoid any of the hype about how great they are. They cannot believe that, and need to do whatever it takes to stay focused and understand that they can, and probably will, be beaten at some point this season. But the talent is there for this team to potentially go very far this season. Whether or not they barely beat Green Bay, they won, and this was a tough challenge for them. This is the type of game that could have eluded them, but they won on a day when they did not play at their best. But they will need to up their performance if they hope to remain undefeated when they start taking on some other elite teams in the coming weeks. My pick: Accurate
Sunday Night Football
New Orleans 30, Minnesota 20 - Something just told me that the Saints were going to win this game. There is something particularly impressive about them right now, and they may very well be the best team in the NFC, and not the Rams. New Orleans took the 7-0 early lead, but the Vikings came back to take a 13-7 lead. From that point on, it seemed that the Saints just kind of took over the game, scoring the next 23 points, and allowing the Vikings only one final touchdown late in the fourth quarter, when the outcome really was no longer in any doubt. This might not have exactly been revenge for the playoff debacle for the Saints last January, but it is a stinging defeat for the Vikings, who lose their hold on first place in the division, while it keeps the Saints flying high atop the NFC South, and with one of the most impressive records in the league. Drew Brees completed 18 of 23 passes for 120 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Minnesota's Kirk Cousins, in a losing cause, completed 31 of 41 passes for 359 yards, with two touchdowns and one very costly interception. Stefon Diggs, the hero of last year's playoff game, had a huge game this time again for the Vikings, with 119 yards and a touchdown on 10 receptions. But it was not enough to derail the New Orleans steam train on this night. My pick: Accurate
Monday Night Football
New England 25, Buffalo 6 - The New England Patriots did not play their best game, yet they still managed to win. And win convincingly, at that. They scored their first defensive touchdown in 40 games, the longest such drought in the league, which seems amazing. That last touchdown iced the game for the Pats, who struggled with a very stingy and tough Bills defense. But New England did just enough on offense to keep the game from being in reach for Buffalo late, and that final touchdown secured the fifth straight win for the Pats. Now, those questions that were swirling when they lost two in a row and were two games back to 3-0 Miami are long gone. New England is now two games ahead in the AFC East race, and look very hot once again. They will next host Green Bay, which is not an easy game, but one that this team could win. But they are looking solid once again, and looking to secure the division if the next few weeks continue to play out the way that recent weeks have gone within this division. It seems safe to say that both the Jets and especially the Bills are already out of the running, and that the Dolphins are teetering and looking extremely vulnerable once again. For the Bills, a tough defensive performance seems wasted with an inept offensive one. My pick: Accurate
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