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NY Giants 24, Baltimore 10 - The two New York teams keep surprising people. They keep winning. The G-Men were down by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter. This was precisely the kind of game that Big Blue would have given up on and lost in recent seasons. But this season, they keep fighting, keep making things happen when they absolutely need to. The offense played solidly and scored a touchdown to close within a field goal. The defense then stepped up in a big way, pressuring Lamar Jackson and forcing him into a huge mistake, as he threw an ill-advised pick, giving the G-Men the ball. Once again, they capitalized and managed to score a touchdown, this time taking the lead. Then, the defense stepped up in a huge way once again, forcing another Jackson turnover after he bobbled the snap. The Giants recovered and were able to milk the clock to ice the win, which is their third straight to improve to 5-1 on the year. They are one of only four remaining franchises with a record of 5-1 or better! Unbelievable! As for the Ravens, this loss drops them to 3-3, and they are in a first place tie with Cincy, and a game ahead of both the Steelers and Browns in the AFC North. My pick: Inaccurate
NY Jets 27, Green Bay 10 - New York football teams surprising the league with impressive wins, part two. Like the G-Men, Gang Green also once again pulled off a huge win. This time, they did it by knocking off Aaron Rodgers and the seemingly elite Packers at Lambeau Field, which is not easy to do. Not only did they win, but they dominated, particularly in the second half. Solid running, tough defense. What a team, and what a win! The Jets earn their third straight win and look like serious playoff contenders at the very least. As for the Packers, they have lost two straight and now fall to 3-3. And at the moment, their play has left more questions than answers, because they look suspect. My pick: Inaccurate
New England 38, Cleveland 15 - Belichick and his new Pats keep finding ways to remain relevant. They lit up the Browns in Cleveland, earning an important road win, and improving to 3-3 on the year. They are still quite behind Buffalo, and a game behind the Jets for second place, even, in the AFC East. Yet, they are doing better than I expected them to, and that is a testament to their preparation and persistence. As for the 2-4 Browns, these are the kinds of losses that make me suspicious that we might just be in the middle of another disappointing season in Cleveland. This was their third straight loss, and they have to sting, these kinds of losses early in a once promising season. Yet, they are still only one game out in the AFC North, surprisingly. My pick: Inaccurate
Pittsburgh 20, Tampa Bay 18 - Maybe I was wrong about Tom Brady and the Bucs. They have not looked anywhere near as good as I had predicted at the beginning of the season. Indeed, they played flat again. Maybe they just need time to adjust. maybe they will come alive later in the season, when they finally gel and start producing more efficiently. As of right now, though, this team hardly looks like a serious title contender. They are not exactly lighting up the scoreboard, and they probably cannot afford too many more losses, which they have been accumulating at a fast pace in the past month or so. As for the Steelers, this was a solid win for them, as it ends the bleeding after losing four straight. And they are very much still in the mix in the AFC North. My pick: Inaccurate
Cincinnati 30, New Orleans 26 - This one was a difficult one to pick. I liked the Bengals as the better team overall, but they were on the road, and the Saints still feel like a decent team to me. However, the Bengals proved to be good enough to survive in a back and forth game. A dangerous game for them, and this win keeps them very relevant in the AFC North, where nobody seems capable of pulling away, and where also, surprisingly nobody seems to have been knocked out of contention to win this division. The Bengals improve to 3-3 and are tied with the Ravens atop the AFC North, with both Cleveland and Pittsburgh only one game behind. As for the Saints, this was a disappointing loss, but they also are only one game out from the division leaders in the NFC South, despite their rather dismal 2-4 record. My pick: Accurate
Indianapolis 34, Jacksonville 27 - The Colts looked very shaky to begin this season. Matt Ryan suddenly looked like an aging star who was well past his prime, and Indy looked like they might be in another season destined for disappointment. But man, they have recovered, and in a big way! Ryan is looking a bit more like his old self, showing veteran leadership that the Colts needed. And while they flirt with losing at times, they seem to come up with the answers when needed, like they did at Denver, and like they did in this one against the Jaguars. A solid win that keeps them very much in the mix in the AFC South. They improve to 3-2-1, and are in a sort of first place tie with Tennessee. The Jaguars, meanwhile, have lost three straight after an impressive 2-1 start to the season, and need to stop the bleeding. My pick: Accurate
Atlanta 28, San Francisco 14 - The Falcons have surprised me numerous times this season, but never as much as they did with this one. I had expected the Niners to dictate the tempo and pound Atlanta. Instead, the Falcons jumped out to an early lead, withstood the 49ers answering comeback attempt, and then scored a touchdown in the third quarter to put themselves back up by two touchdowns. They were able to hang on from there fr a huge win, and with Tampa Bay also losing, the 3-3 Falcons are tied for first in the NFC South with Brady and the Bucs. Who saw that coming? As for the 49ers, they also are 3-3, and also tied for first in their division, although it is a three-way tie in the NFC West. My pick: Inaccurate
Minnesota 24, Miami 16 - The Vikings did what they had to do. They went on the road and took care of business, taking advantage of Miami's unraveling during this losing streak that has now reached three games following what felt like a suspect 3-0 start to the season. They are not obliterating teams, not overwhelming them or anything. But they keep winning, and in this year's NFC North, with the Lions being...well, the Lions, and the Bears doing their normal amount of struggling, and now the Packers suddenly dropping two straight and showing signs of serious problems, that means that the now 5-1 Minnesota Vikings feel like they are far and away the best team in this division. If things keep going the way that they have been going, they might just run away with this division. Now, they have some winnable games against Arizona and Washington coming up, before they have to go up to Buffalo. But if the other teams in the division don't improve, and in a hurry, the Vikings might have this thing all but wrapped up before Thanksgiving rolls around. My pick: Accurate
Seattle 19, Arizona 9 - Okay, I can admit when I am wrong. And while I did predict Seattle to win this one, my expectations for how they would be doing at this point in the season, and what kind of a team they would be, were admittedly entirely wrong. I fully expected them to rank among the worst teams in the NFC, and indeed, the NFL. But they have played very well. Geno Smith has stepped up in a big way and filled the shoes that Russell Wilson once filled here in Seattle. And more importantly, they keep winning just enough to be very relevant in the NFC West this season. My pick: Accurate
LA Rams 24, Carolina 10 - The Rams got the win, and this game was pretty much as we could have expected. It surely feels good for the Rams to earn this win, and to pull even. Surprisingly, their 3-3 record is good enough to pull them into a three-way tie for first in the NFC West with San Francisco and Seattle. The defending champs still have their share of problems, however. And the Panthers were, frankly, a relatively weak opponent. My pick: Accurate
Buffalo 24, Kansas City 20 - Everyone will most likely remember this game for Josh Allen leaping over the defender. Indeed, if he becomes a lasting superstar, especially a champion, then that one play in particular will always be part of his lasting legacy. However, far more importantly for the Bills, they earned the win. Now it should be noted that the Bills also beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead in the regular season last year as well, only to lose the playoff meeting. That is why it is more important than ever for them to try and earn home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Buffalo area is not a region that any visiting team wants to have to play in come January. Remember, when this team went to four straight Super Bowls, they enjoyed home field advantage most of the time in those playoff games. Right now, having just won this game, the Bills have the best record outright in the AFC. They cannot afford to have the losses that they had last year. This time, if they want to reach the Super Bowl, they really need to secure home field advantage, because that will be significant. A huge win for the Bills, one that feels like an important step. As for the Chiefs, this was a disappointing loss, but they are still more or less where they could have expected to be. Still 4-2, and still at least tied atop the AFC West, and in good shape to win another division title. My pick: Accurate
Sunday Night Football: Philadelphia 26, Dallas 17 - The Eagles came out swinging, showing why they are the league's only undefeated team, and played well both on offense and on defense. They were winning 20-0, and appeared to be running away with this one. Then Dallas started to make adjustments, and the momentum completely switched in favor of the 'Boys. They climbed back into it and even made it a close game. It appeared that they might mount a very impressive road comeback and notch an important road win within the division. Finally, the Eagles did just enough towards the end to secure the win. For the third time in franchise history (1981, 2004, and now this season), Philly has started a season with an impressive 6-0 start. The Cowboys, meanwhile, lose only their second game of the season. Yet surprisingly, in this year's NFC East, that at least temporarily puts them in third in the NFC East, behind 6-0 Philadelphia and the 5-1 New York Giants. My pick: Accurate
Monday Night Football: LA Chargers 19, Denver 16 - Okay, let me just say it: I was wrong about Denver being a serious playoff contender, and possibly among the elites in the league with Russell Wilson at the helm. Now, I actually did not predict that they would be an elite team, but certainly, my assumption was that they would be better than they have been. After all, they clearly have a solid defense. But that offense? Just awful! Russell Wilson actually was a very solid quarterback while in Seattle. He led the Seahawks to two consecutive Super Bowl appearances, and was very close to winning back-to-back titles. He was good enough to warrant some discussion of being an MVP candidate, and ranked among the elite quarterbacks for a number of years. But if you take all of that away, if you strip the quarterback credentials from his playing days in Seattle and look strictly at what he has done and who he has been on the field at Mile High, and you take away the huge contract and all of the headlines, then you would not be wrong to wonder why this guy is still the starter. He has looked subpar at best. Now to be fair, neither team looked spectacular last night. But for Denver, this rough start to the season feels like it is an unraveling at this point, and that their season is unofficially over. At least on offense, that is how it feels. They started off fairly hot early on, and then did almost nothing the rest of the way. And unless the offense kicks it into higher gear and starts really scoring points and putting this team in position to win games, indeed, their season might already be over, realistically. The defense cannot do this alone. This loss was their third straight, and drops them to 2-4 on the year. A few more losses like this, and they will have dug themselves simply too deep a hole to realistically get out of. As for the Chargers, a solid win, even if it was not pretty, as they now improve to 4-2, and into a first place tie with the Chiefs. My pick: Accurate
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