Well, the final weekend of NFL play for September is now almost in the books. Once the dust settled, almost shockingly, there were only two undefeated teams left standing. Indeed, the Buffalo Bills for the AFC and the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC are the last two remaining unbeaten teams. That is because the 49ers and the Chargers lost in surprising upsets. Meanwhile, the Colts were bested by the Rams in Los Angeles, and the Tampa Bay Bucs lost the battle of unbeatens to the Eagles.
Let's take a look at all of the games played this weekend a little bit more closely:
Pittsburgh 24, Minnesota 21 - Well, I kind of figured that this was going to be a close one, and could be anybody's game. But it seemed like Pittsburgh dominated most of this game, and Minnesota just was never able to close the gap. My pick: Inaccurate
LA Chargers at NY Giants - As a Giants fan, maybe I was just getting used to them losing all of the time. They played well overall, and managed to pull off a pretty big surprise by topping the previously undefeated Chargers. A solid win for Big Blue. My pick: Inaccurate
Atlanta 34, Washington 27 - The Falcons jumped out early in this one, but the Commanders battled back and made a game of it. Still, it seems that Atlanta is tough at home, as they pick up 435 total yards of offense against Washington's normally tough defense. My pick: Inaccurate
Buffalo 31, New Orleans 19 - The Bills remained undefeated by beating the the Saints. But they struggled a bit more than expected. Buffalo picked up way too many penalties, and seemed unable to close this one out until fairly late in the fourth. Still, the Bills continue scoring a lot of points, as they have scored at least 30 points or more in every game that they have played so far this season. Buffalo improves to a perfect 4-0 start, while the Saints fall to 0-4. My pick: Accurate
Detroit 34, Cleveland 10 - Cleveland managed to jump out ahead early with a touchdown. From that point onward, this game belonged to Detroit. They had this game pretty well in hand by the second quarter, and mostly coasted to a convincing win. Don't look now, but after a poor showing in the season opener, the Lions have gotten hot, winning three straight and scoring 124 points in those three games, which means that they are averaging over 40 points in that stretch. My pick: Accurate
Houston 26, Tennessee 0 - No major surprises here. Both teams entered this game with identical 0-3 records, yet you definitely got the impression heading into this one that the two teams were not equal. The Texans took care of the job and won convincingly, shutting out the Titans and leaving no doubt in picking up their first win of the year. My pick: Accurate
New England 42, Carolina 13 - The Panthers scored early, and then hardly scored or did much of anything again in this one. The Patriots routed the Panthers in a game that looked reminiscent of the salad days of that dynasty a few years ago in New England. Drake Maye appears to be the answer at quarterback for the Pats. My pick: Accurate
Philadelphia 31, Tampa Bay 25 - The defending champion Eagles seemed to be dominating and had this game well in hand throughout the first half. They were leading 24-3 before the Bucs managed a field goal just before the half to close to within 24-6. Tampa Bay did mount a comeback, but they just did not have enough to finish the job, as Philly wins the battle of the unbeatens on this day. My pick: Accurate
LA Rams 27, Indianapolis 20 - The Colts were tough, and this game was back and forth. Still, playing the Rams in Los Angeles is not going to be easy. So it is not surprising that the Colts fell just a bit short. An impressive win for the Rams, who are now in a three way tie atop the NFC West at 3-1, with a big showdown against the Niners to come. My pick: Accurate
Jax 26, San Francisco 21 - One of those games when you don't see the final result coming. With the seemingly superior team and home field advantage, and with a big showdown against the Rams coming, I was pretty sure that the 49ers were going to win this one. Did they overlook the Jaguars? My pick: Inaccurate
Chicago 25, Las Vegas 24 - Da Bears wound up just getting by with the win in this back and forth game. Caleb Williams looked decent, while Geno Smith three three picks and the Raiders had four turnovers. My pick: Inaccurate
Kansas City 37, Baltimore 20 - Admittedly, I was kind of hoping that the Ravens would pull this one off. But to their credit, the Chiefs took over the game and never let go. They rolled from there. That's why KC are presently the standard for everyone in the NFL. My pick: Accurate
Sunday Night Football: Green Bay 40, Dallas 40 - In fairness, who ever predicts a tie game as a final result in an NFL game? But the Pack and the 'Boys managed it. This was probably the highest scoring tied game that I can remember, too. Not sure if it's a record, but it surely has to be up there somewhere. My pick: Not Accurate
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