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London Game - Jacksonville 25, Buffalo 20 – The Jaguars surprised me, jumping out early over Buffalo, then hanging on. I had expected the Bills to win, thinking that they are one of the elites. But these are the kinds of losses that the Bills suffer too often, and which hurts their chances at the top seed in the AFC, which would really help them to finally get through in the AFC playoffs. They've got to start winning games like this one. As for the Jaguars, two wins in Britain seems to mean that their adapting London as a de facto second home appears to be a good move. My pick: Inaccurate
Miami 31, NY Giants 16 – The G-Men kept it a bit closer than I expected them to. Still, at the end of the day, they could not generate enough offense to keep up, nor could their defense prevent the Dolphins from scoring over 30 points, as they now fall to 1-4 on the season. Next up, a game up in Buffalo, with the Bills smarting from a loss in London. Yikes. The G-Men are digging themselves a very deep hole, and this season feels almost lost already. As for the Fins, this was a solid bounce back after that loss to the Bills, as they return among the elites in the AFC. My pick: Accurate
Pittsburgh 17, Baltimore 10 - Yes, I picked the Steelers. But I find it just so boring that they won. The AFC North seems to be the same thing, year after year. The Steelers are the only consistently successful team, with the Ravens flirting with greatness, then collapsing somewhere along the line. And the Bengals, who were among the playoff elites - but not the regular season elites - for the past two seasons seemingly, once again, not living up to the level of talent on the team so far this season. And the Browns disappointing, as they so often do. So this was expected, but I'm tired of expecting this kind of thing with this division. It's just not interesting. Would have preferred the Ravens breaking out and making themselves appear interesting. But losses like this clearly indicate that they have not broken from the pack. My pick: Accurate
New Orleans 34, New England 0 – I did not expect the Saints to win, let alone humiliate the Patriots at home in Foxboro the way that they did. Bill Belichick is suffering through possibly his worst ever year as head coach, and the Pats are not showing many signs of life. As for the Saints, what an impressive execution of what proved to be a brilliant game plan. Wow! My pick: Inaccurate
Indianapolis 23, Tennessee 16 – The Colts definitely appear much better, and much more stable, this season than they did last one. They outlasted the Titans, who seem to have moved from a relative elite team just two seasons ago (and through the first half of last season) and become...well, just another team, it appears. My pick: Accurate
Detroit 42, Carolina 24 – The Lions finally may appear to be enjoying the kind of season that their fans have long dreamed of, but rarely seen. True, we have not yet even reach the midpoint of the season. Yet, Detroit jumped out ahead in this game and took care of business, and have now won three straight to get off to an impressive 4-1 start. Granted, this one was at home against the only winless team left in the league, but hey, the Lions did not create their schedule. They still look surprisingly good, and their offense looked hot and dangerous in this one. Also now, with this win coupled with losses by the Vikings and the Packers this past weekend, the Lions enjoy a two-game comfort margin over Green Bay, and a three-game margin of comfort over Minnesota. So they appear to be firmly in control of their own destiny at this point. My pick: Accurate
Atlanta 21, Houston 19 - The Falcons finally managed to outlast the Texans in a tough, back and forth affair. This was a game that could have gone either way, and which stayed close throughout. The Texans had looked good, but the Falcons still remain unbeaten at home. The Falcons sure look tough when they play in Atlanta, don't they? Solid win for them, and it breaks a two-game skid. My pick: Inaccurate
Philadelphia 23, LA Rams 14 - Philly hardly looked overwhelming in this one. Yet, they did what the truly best teams manage to do when they don't play their best: namely, they still managed to win. The rams are not what they were a couple of seasons ago. For the Rams, they just cannot seem to get back to winning. Then again, they won't play a team of this caliber every week My pick: Accurate
Cincinnati 34, Arizona 20 - The Bengals will eventually look solid at some point, I kept figuring. They can't keep looking like the Bengals of just a few years ago, when they had one losing season after another. This weekend, they finally began to show signs of what they are actually capable of. This was the team that went to the past two AFC title games, and pushed the Chiefs to the edge both times. What a solid win! My pick: Accurate
Kansas City 27, Minnesota 20- The Chiefs keep on winning, throughout everything. Being defending champs and having the target on their backs, seeing key injuries and holdouts. The whole Taylor Swift distraction. They have not played overwhelmingly good in any game save against Chicago. Yet, they keep finding ways to win, even when they do not play their best. My pick: Accurate
NY Jets 31, Denver 21 - Not saying that the Jets saved their season with this win. After all, they still have a losing record, and are behind both the Bills and the Dolphins in the AFC East. But they absolutely needed this win, and they came from behind and earned it. Denver seemed to hold the early advantage, but Gang Green kept fighting back, and eventually took control of the game. Zach Wilson and the Jets offense looked decent, and were not their own worst enemy. And the defense played solidly. A good win! My pick: Accurate
Sunday Night - San Francisco 42, Dallas 10 - While I picked San Francisco to win, I did not know that they would embarrass the Cowboys the way that they did. Dallas was touted as a serious championship contender in the preseason, and through the first four weeks of the season. Perhaps I was half-convinced that maybe they were, even though I picked the 49ers. After all, to me, the proof falls on Dallas to show that they are ready to be taken seriously. But not only losing, but getting absolutely hammered and blown out by the 49ers? They lost a lot of esteem in my eyes. I no longer believe that they can do much more than they have in recent seasons, and am beginning to believe that Dak Prescott will only take them so far, and that, most likely, it won't even be to the NFC Championship. A very bad loss for the 'Boys, who were truly embarrassed. A solid win for the 49ers, who sure look like one of the elites in the league at this point. Feels like in the NFC, it will either come down either to them or the Eagles, barring some unforeseen circumstances. My pick: Accurate
Monday Night - Las Vegas 17, Green Bay 13 - The Raiders pulled off a tough win in a back and forth game, in terms of momentum, even though both teams really struggled to score. Neither team looks like a serious playoff contender at the moment. Both teams are mistake prone. The Packers are particularly prone to mistakes, particularly turnovers. Jordan Love has thrown multiple interceptions in consecutive games, which is something that Aaron Rodgers never had during his storied career in Green Bay. The Raiders hardly looked dominant or explosive on offense, but they did just enough to earn themselves a pretty ugly win over the Pack. My pick: Accurate
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