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NFL Week 5 Predictions: Our Picks for Each Game
NYTimes Oct. 6, 2022
Note: All times are Eastern.

Thursday Night Football: Indianapolis Colts 12, Broncos 9

NY Giants (3-1) at GBay Packers (3-1)
9:30 a.m., NFL Network
Pick: Packers
This is the first time in 31 games over 15 years that the NFL has sent two winning teams to play each other in London. It’s also the first time they have sent the Packers. They face the Giants and the league’s top RB, Saquon Barkley, who stepped up last week and took snaps late in the game when both Giants QBs went out with injuries. The Giants have said they are “optimistic” Daniel Jones will be ready to play in London. There is also hope that WRs Wan’Dale Robinson and Kadarius Toney will come off the injury list this week. If all of them play and are healthy, the Giants will be more than capable of a win. If none of them play, the Giants will need Barkley to do a lot more than take a few snaps.

Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) at Baltimore Ravens (2-2)
8:20p, NBC
Pick: Ravens
The Ravens have two close losses against good teams and trailed for a total of 14 seconds in those two games. Last week, they went for it on fourth and goal from the 2-yard line rather than kicking a FG, a decision that frustrated fans but was statistically the correct play, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Ravens Coach John Harbaugh is known for aggressive plays like this because he has confidence in his team. The Bengals are coming off a prime-time win against the Dolphins, a game that will most likely buoy their own confidence.

Miami Dolphins (3-1) at NY Jets (2-2)
1p, CBS
Pick: Dolphins
Tua Tagovailoa’s ugly injury last week in Miami’s loss to the Bengals has sparked a lot of necessary discussion about concussions and the dangers that players in the NFL face. It’s unclear when he might play again. Miami’s backup QB, Teddy Bridgewater, is no rookie. He’s an eighth-year veteran with over 14,000 passing yds. The Jets are also getting used to a new QB. Zach Wilson got his first start of this season for the Jets last week in their win against the Steelers. In addition to throwing for 252 yds, he also managed to catch a TD pass. We know a lot about what Bridgewater can do. We don’t know quite as much about Wilson yet.

Pittsburgh Steelers (1-3) at Buffalo Bills (3-1)
1p, CBS
Pick: Bills
Rookie QB Kenny Pickett took over for Mitch Trubisky last week during the Steelers’ loss to the Jets. Despite throwing three interceptions in his debut, Pickett gets the starting job this week. The market is not yet convinced that Pickett is much of an upgrade — the Bills are currently 14-point favorites. The Bills are coming off back-to-back closely fought games that may have taken a lot out of them. The Steelers are 0-7 without TJ Watt in the lineup.

Philadelphia Eagles (4-0) at Arizona Cardinals (2-2)
4:25p, Fox
Pick: Eagles
The Cardinals are coming off a win on the road against the Panthers. This week, they try to get their first win at home, but they face the undefeated Eagles. The Eagles continue to score most of their points in the second quarter, then hang on through the second half. They’ve been outscored 36-23 in the second half through four games. Arizona, on the other hand, has outscored its opponents 66-37 in the second half. The Cardinals are a team used to playing from behind. If the Eagles try to chew the clock in the second half with a nice lead, don’t be surprised if Kyler Murray takes the Cardinals down the field for a late backdoor cover.

Dallas Cowboys (3-1) at LA Rams (2-2)
4:25p, Fox
Pick: Rams
In Week 4 the 49ers went up one side of the Rams and down the other on Monday night. The Rams OL added a fourth member to the IR when Coleman Shelton suffered a high ankle sprain on the team’s first drive of the night. The depleted line allowed Matt Stafford to be sacked seven times.

The Rams have to face another tough defense this week with the Cowboys. Their one weakness, however, is defending the run. That’s still not good news for the Rams, who are one of the league’s worst teams on the ground so far this season. The Rams can show this week if the dread Super Bowl hangover is afflicting them.

Detroit Lions (1-3) at NE Patriots (1-3)
1p, Fox
Pick: Patriots
The Lions have been an exciting team so far this season. They continue to lead the league in points scored per game, but have managed only a single win. That’s largely the fault of the defense, which last week helped the Seahawks not only win a 48-45 nail-biter, but also notch its first puntless game in team history. The Lions’ propensity is to score at will and let the other team do the same. The Patriots still don’t know who will start at QB this week, but against this defense, it may not make a difference.

Seattle Seahawks (2-2) at New Orleans Saints (1-3)
1p, Fox
Pick: Saints
Seattle put up 48 points in a wild game last week against Detroit. The Saints' defense is significantly better than the Lions’ defense and should make it hard for Geno Smith to repeat his NFL-leading stat line from last week. But injuries for the Saints are a major concern. The team still hasn’t decided if Jameis Winston or Alvin Kamara will play. If either of them goes, it should give New Orleans a boost.

Houston Texans (0-3-1) at Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2)
1p, CBS
Pick: Jaguars
The Jaguars turned the ball over five times in their loss to the Eagles last week, and four of those were Trevor Lawrence fumbles. One of those fumbles was during the Jaguars’ crucial final drive and sealed the game. The Texans lost to the Chargers, are now 0-3-1, and the fans are frustrated.

Atlanta Falcons (2-2) at TBay Buccaneers (2-2)
1p, Fox
Pick: Buccaneers
The Buccaneers’ box score from Sunday night is as strange as it gets: 31 points and only 3 rushing yds. Tom Brady handed off the ball only six times. The good news is, he threw for 373 yds and 3 TDs in the loss to KC. One thing the Buccaneers struggled with against KC was defending the run, giving up an average of 5.1 yds per carry and a total of 189 yds.

The Falcons are one of the top rushing teams in the league, getting an average of 168 yds per game. This week, the Falcons are without their lead rusher Cordarrelle Patterson, but last week the rest of the RB corps held its own against the Browns. The Falcons defense is the issue. They have already given up a lot of passing yds this season to teams who don’t have Tom Brady as their QB.

Chicago Bears (2-2) at Minnesota Vikings (3-1)
1p, Fox
Pick: Vikings
Justin Fields had only 11 completions and six sacks in the Bears’ loss to the Giants last week. They got to the red zone only three times and never scored a TD. Going into that game, the Bears were one of the NFL’s most efficient teams in the red zone. They’ll try to return to form against the Vikings, who have struggled in the red zone themselves and on both sides of the ball. The Vikings have one of the league’s worst red zone defenses.

LA Chargers (2-2) at Cleveland Browns (2-2)
1p, CBS
Pick: Chargers
Justin Herbert is still nursing a sore rib cage, but last week he did enough to get the ugly win against the Texans. He leads the NFL in passing yds and is on track to throw 5,300 yds this season. The Browns are keeping the ball on the ground, however. Browns RBs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are hard to stop. The second-best rushing team in the league is a home underdog this week.

Tennessee Titans (2-2) at Washington Commanders (1-3)
1p, CBS
Pick: Titans
The Titans have won two in a row after starting the season with two straight losses. They’re beginning to look like their old selves again, with Derrick Henry running for a season-high 114 yds and a TD last week. Ryan Tannehill threw for only 137 yds, but connected with six different receivers. The Commanders averaged only 3.6 yds per pass in their loss to the Cowboys on Sunday.

SF 49ers (2-2) at Carolina Panthers (1-3)
4:05p, CBS
Pick: 49ers
The 49ers looked resplendent in a dominating performance on Monday night against the Rams.5 points. On offense, they managed to turn short passes into long gains. On defense, they sacked Matt Stafford seven times, and Talanoa Hufanga got him with a pick 6 in the final quarter. The Panthers did not have their best game last week in their 26-16 loss to the Cardinals. The 49ers had a good game Monday, but can they do it again? All four teams in the NFC West are 2-2, so a win is important to the Niners.

Monday Night’s Game

LVegas Raiders (1-3) at KC (3-1)
8:15p, ESPN
Pick: KC
KC has won seven of the last eight meetings with the Raiders, and five of those games by double digits. Both teams are coming off a win. Josh Jacobs led the Raiders to a win over the Broncos by rushing for 144 yds and two TDs. KC caught one of the NFL’s top defenses on an off night in Tampa and put up 41 points. Raiders rusher Maxx Crosby is having his typical great year, but it may not be enough against KC's Mahomes and Kelce. QB Derek Carr is learning his sixth playbook in eight years, but he's starting to find the range with Davonte Adams, and that may create offensive fireworks at Arrowhead Stadium.
 

Shocker in London – Giants-Packers final score: New York stuns Green Bay, 27-22
Giants improve to 4-1 with massive comeback in Week 6
SB Nation Oct 9, 2022

The New York Giants improved to 4-1 with a stunning 27-20 upset of the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

The Giants stopped the Packers on fourth-and-1 at the 6-yard line when Xavier McKinney blitzed and batted down an Aaron Rodgers’ pass with 1:02 to play. The Giants also knocked down a Rodgers’ pass on third down. On the game’s final play, Oshane Ximines denied Rodgers a chance to throw a Hail Mary with a sack/forced fumble.

Coach Brian Daboll was fired up after the game. “I just appreciate all the support, the crowd support here,” Daboll said after the game. “It was obviously a lot of Packers fans, it felt like an away game. But at the end of the game, it felt like a home game.”

The Giants made that happen with the way they played. Trailing 17-3, the Giants scored on five straight possessions to pull off the upset. Daboll also offered unsolicited praise for quarterback Daniel Jones. “The quarterback had an excellent game. And he’s got a few of those,” Daboll said. “Maybe his stats don’t reflect it, but he’s led the team down to wins, played good in crunch time.”

The Giants tied the game at 20-20 with 10:08 to play, going 15 plays and 91 yards in 8:07 without Saquon Barkley, who left the game at the start of the drive with a shoulder injury. Gary Brightwell banged his way in for a game-tying 3-yard touchdown run. Jones went 7 of 8 for 55 yards and ran three times for 25 more yards.

Barkley returned when the Giants got the ball back with 8:07 to play. He caught a 40-yard pass from Daniel Jones and later ran 2 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 6:08 to play as the Giants took a 27-20 lead.

Stats
  • Daniel Jones completed 20 of 26 passes for 211 yards, his first 200-yard passing game of the season. Jones, playing a gutty game a week after an ankle injury, also ran six times for 37 yards.
  • Barkley had 68 yards rushing on 12 carries and three catches for 36 yards.
  • Darius Slayton had a huge game with six receptions for 79 yards.
Injury news
  • Star running back Saquon Barkley left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury. He was injured when tackled after catching a short pass. He returned in the fourth quarter.
  • Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson was questionable to return in the second half due to a knee injury. With starting cornerback Aaron Robinson already on injured reserve, that left the Giants with Fabian Moreau and Nick McCloud at cornerback.
  • The Giants’ defense took another hit when rookie defensive tackle D.J. Davidson was carted off in the third quarter.
What’s next?
  • The Giants return to East Rutherford, N.J. next Sunday to host Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens at MetLife Stadium. Game time is 1 p.m. ET. CBS has the broadcast.
  • The Packers visit the Washington Commanders at RFK Stadium, game time 1 p.m. ET. Fox has the broadcast.
Nice Twitter video of one of Saquon's runs: https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1579118292073078786
 
What We Learned From Week 5 in the NFL Pt 1 of 2
The Giants’ win revealed the depth of the Packers’ offensive troubles, Jacoby Brissett was more than just a placeholder for the Browns, and the Bills have two receivers defenses should respect.
NYT Oct. 9, 2022

After five games, teams are solidifying their identities, especially on offense. While early upsets and surprising records have pointed to a higher ceiling for some teams that had been expected to struggle (hi, Giants!), some projected contenders have bigger problems than first thought.

The Rams can’t protect Matt Stafford.
Pass protection and play under pressure are what separate the 2021 Rams from the 2022 Rams. Last year’s team scoffed at the idea of its QB being under pressure. Matthew Stafford never shied away from making a tough throw with bodies around him in the pocket, and he often beat blitzes before they arrived.

But two starters from that Super Bowl-winning OL are gone and the Rams’ receivers lack the speed to get downfield. No one feels the impact of those departures more acutely than Stafford, who was sacked five times and pressured on 20 of 47 drop backs in the Rams’ 22-10 loss to the Cowboys.

Besides one deep shot to Tutu Atwell and a Cooper Kupp catch-and-run TD, Stafford often threw under pressure or desperately hurried the ball out of his hands to a check-down option before pressure inevitably arrived. He finished 28 of 42 for 308 yds passing.

Stafford can still make heroic throws under pressure, but it’s not a reasonable way to run an offense. The Rams no longer have a second WR beyond Kupp for defenses to worry about, with Allen Robinson and Ben Skowronek, who is now effectively playing fullback, taking on Odell Beckham Jr.’s targets.

The rotten cherry on top of Sunday’s performance was that Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons was not even at full strength for parts of this game. Parsons suffered a minor groin injury toward the end of the first half, which limited his snaps and capacity. Parsons still led the team with nine pressures, according to Next Gen Stats, including a game-sealing strip sack.

Charvarius Ward has made the 49ers’ defense elite.
The first priority of the SF 49ers’ 2022 defense was getting better CB play. The 49ers had to get better at the position, and did when they signed Charvarius Ward from KC. Ward has been almost perfect for the 49ers: In Sunday’s 37-15 win over the Panthers, he allowed just one catch. According to Next Gen Stats, Ward has forced the highest tight window target rate (36.7 percent) since entering the NFL in 2018.

Though not quite among the Jalen Ramsey or Patrick Surtain II realm of elite corners, he’s a long presence at the line of scrimmage who never concedes ground without a fight, and who knows how to find the ball in the air when covering receivers on sideline routes.

Ward’s style can yield volatile returns in the wrong defense, but with the 49ers’ ability to generate pressure with just four pass rushers, he has been able to lock up opposing receivers. According to Next Gen Stats, Ward was targeted five other times and knocked away two of those passes with clear pass breakups, one in the end zone against Robbie Anderson. Moreover, Ward allowed an average of 1.0 yds of separation, giving Baker Mayfield very tight throwing windows to work with all game long.

Ward’s excellent coverage has pushed the 49ers’ defense from great to elite, even as the secondary’s injury woes struck again with Emmanuel Moseley (torn ACL; out for season) and Jimmie Ward (broken hand, surgery) out.

The Packers still need a big-play receiver.
The game footage and underlying data on the Packers looks conclusive. In shipping receiver Davante Adams to LVegas, GBay lost a crucial component of an offense that helped the Packers earn the NFL’s top seed last season.

Adams’s connection with QB Aaron Rodgers was such that the two could conjure explosive plays out of thin air, whether that was a route down the seam that targeted Adams in the slot, or a back-shoulder ball delivered toward the sideline. Those game-busting plays left with Adams' departure.

Now the Packers’ offense seems to move at a slow, methodical pace. Even with a patchwork line, the Packers use deception better than almost any other offense to open up jet sweeps, screens, run-pass options and other quick passes. When it works, it can be exhausting to defend. In the second quarter Sunday, for example, the Packers strung together a 13-play, 75-yard TD drive with various runs and quick throws to go up, 17-3.

But the Packers do not have another gear. The Giants responded with TDs on three of their next four possessions to take a 27-20 lead. As the Packers tried to keep pace, Rodgers desperately forced a number of unsuccessful downfield throws. GBay cobbled together a 69-yard drive with a minute remaining, but stalled at the Giants’ 6-yard line with no go-to receiver to breach the end zone. Rodgers’ final two passes were swatted down at the line of scrimmage along with belief that GBay’s offense still rates among the elite. With a win over Chicago, Minnesota has moved into first in the NFC North.

Jacoby Brissett has been impressive in a tenuous role.
During the Baker Mayfield era, Cleveland tried to maximize HC Kevin Stefanski’s offensive scheme without a QB who was willing to stand strong in the pocket and work the backside of a progression. It turns out all Stefanski needed to get his offense back on track was a passer who perform those skills at a baseline level. Five weeks into the season, Jacoby Brissett has done that and more. Brissett, who was thrust into the starting job as Deshaun Watson serves an 11-game suspension after he was accused of sexual misconduct, nearly led the Browns to an upset over the Chargers. The 30-28 loss was decided by a Cleveland missed FG.

Brissett’s booming arm strength is on display in an offense that relies heavily on play-action and downfield passing to accentuate what he does well. On the team’s second drive, Brissett, alongside receiver Amari Cooper, showed exactly why the passing offense is scarier now than it was with Mayfield. To open the drive, with 8 minutes 52 seconds left in the first quarter, Brissett found Cooper on a backside dig for 20 yds. That exact throw was one Mayfield often shied away from, even when Odell Beckham Jr. was the intended target. Brissett, by contrast, is more than willing to hang in the pocket and fire over the middle.

Brissett finished off the drive by hitting Cooper on a comeback route in the left side of the end zone. Brissett scanned the rest of the field at first, but returned his eyes to Cooper the moment he was ready to break and delivered him a strike past Chargers CB JC Jackson to go up 14-0. Brissett is far from perfect, as his Q4 interception during the comeback attempt may suggest, but he gives the Browns’ offense elements of QB play that it did not have under Mayfield.

Stefon Diggs isn’t the only Bills receiver defenses have to worry about.
Bills wideout Gabe Davis has been quiet since the team’s season-opening win against the LA Rams. He injured his ankle just ahead of Buffalo’s Week 2 matchup with the Titans and played at less than 100% in Weeks 3 and 4. Though Davis still caught a few passes (four of nine targets) in those games, it was clear on film he was slower and less explosive than usual.

Davis finally looked to be back in full health in a 38-3 win over the Steelers, giving the Bills a big-play receiver opposite Stefon Diggs. He lit up Pittsburgh’s defense, finishing with three catches for 171 yds and two scores.

Davis erupted on the opening drive, scoring on a 98-yard catch. He took off on a post route, clearing the safety’s aggressive leverage underneath, and won the foot race against the CB all the way to the end zone to put Buffalo up 7-0. In Q2, QB Josh Allen threw Davis another TD pass that made the score 17-3.

The cascading effects of having Davis at full strength does wonders for the Bills’ offense. More than giving a 6-foot-2, 210-pound deep threat, Davis’s elite ability down the field can force defenses to play conservative coverage across the board. As the Steelers found out on Sunday, focusing on stopping Diggs is not enough. Defenses have to put a roof over both of them, which opens up the Bills’ run game and devastating quick passing attack, and so goes the vicious cycle of trying to defend Allen and one of the most explosive receiver pairs in the league.
 
What We Learned From Week 5 in the NFL Pt 2 of 2

Ravens 19, Bengals 17: The Ravens nearly blew a double-digit lead for the third time this season. More upsetting, Baltimore Coach John Harbaugh made a bizarre fourth-down decision at the goal line with 9:42 left in the Q4 and the Ravens up, 13-10. After having fourth-and-short, and then fourth-and-5 after a delay-of-game penalty, Harbaugh opted to kick a FG and take a 6-point lead rather than try for a TD. The Bengals scored a TD on the following drive, forcing the Ravens to drive 50 yds with 1:58 left and set up a Justin Tucker game-winning FG.

49ers 37, Panthers 15: Jimmy Garoppolo did what Jimmy Garoppolo does: protected the ball, managed the clock and rode the 49er defense to a win (He was 18 of 30 for 253 yds passing, two TDs and no interceptions.). Matt Rhule and Baker Mayfield did what they do: confounded onlookers. Emmanuel Moseley returned an interception 41 yds for a TD in the second half but left the game with a knee injury.

The rout was real but so were the injuries for the Niners: with five first-stringers already out, this game felled four more starters, including the invaluable kicker Robbie Gould. For the fourth time in five years, they are leading the league in the undesirable WAR stat, which weights injuries and length of time with a player's team value. They are by far the NFL team with the most serious injuries to first- and second-string players.

Cowboys 22, Rams 10: Dropped passes killed a number of Dallas drives, keeping the score more respectable for LA. The Cowboys’ defense started the game with a scoop-and-score strip sack of Matthew Stafford and never let off the pressure. The Rams’ OL regularly let Dallas pass rushers loose and their skill players hardly did anything with the ball in their hands, save for one superstar play out of Cooper Kupp on a 75-yard TD catch in the second quarter. That’s a fourth straight victory for the Cowboys backup QB Cooper Rush.

Eagles 20, Cardinals 17: Arizona took away the middle of the field and forced Philadelphia to win with quick passing to the outside. The Eagles’ superior yds-after-catch threats eventually carried the team to its fifth win of the season, but it was an impressive effort from an otherwise floundering Cardinals defense.

Giants 27, Packers 22: The Giants (4-1) now have three wins by 5 points or less, so it’s hard to buy in on their success just yet, despite a compelling 27-22 win over the Packers on Sunday in London. The offense is being held together only by sticks and duct tape, but it turns out that HC Brian Daboll is one heck of a handyman. Down a number of receivers, Daboll turned to RB Saquon Barkley as the engine for the offense. On top of his typical rushing duties, Barkley took some wildcat snaps, including one that he bounced to the outside for a 41-yard gain. He was also regularly featured in the passing game.

The Packers’ offense did a fine job nickeling and diming for most of the game but, facing a 7-point deficit with a minute remaining, failed in a goal-to-go situation as Aaron Rodgers got both his third- and fourth-down passes swatted at the line of scrimmage.

Bills 38, Steelers 3: Josh Allen and the Bills’ receivers cooked the Steelers’ defense. Gabe Davis, who had been bugged by an ankle injury, burned Pittsburgh for a 98-yard score on the opening drive and found the end zone again on a 62-yard catch in the second quarter to put the Bills up, 17-3. The Bills were up 31-3 by halftime and coasted the rest of the way. In his much-anticipated debut as the Steelers’ starting QB, Kenny Pickett threw for 327 yds on 34 of 52 passing and was sacked three times.

Patriots 29, Lions 0: Leave it to Bill Belichick to put an end to the Lions’ brief run as the league’s highest-scoring team. Detroit’s run game and play-action passing had been effective for the first month of the season, but the Patriots’ defense held the Lions to 101 rushing yds while terrorizing Jared Goff with blitzes and funky coverage rotations. The Patriots’ third-string QB, Bailey Zappe, had 188 yds passing, a TD and an interception.

Chargers 30, Browns 28: The Browns’ offense stormed to a 14-0 lead, but no lead is safe against Justin Herbert. Herbert picked apart a Cleveland secondary that has been a mess all season. The Browns had a chance to win the game, but kicker Cade York pushed a 54-yarder to the right, his second miss on Sunday.

Jets 40, Dolphins 17: Miami turned to its third QB, Skylar Thompson, after Teddy Bridgewater entered concussion protocol following a tackle on the Dolphins’ first series. Unable to mount much offense, Miami surrendered prime field position to the Jets and Zach Wilson avoided mistakes. The Jets rookie RB Breece Hall averaged 5.4 yds per carry, and caught a wheel route down the left sideline for 79 yds with 52 seconds left in the first quarter, to set up a TD on the next play.

Saints 39, Seahawks 32: Both teams went shot for shot as the buzzer approached. Between 3:29 in the third quarter and 5:22 in the Q4, each team had two TD drives that took a combined 12 plays. All four TDs were scored from at least 20 yds out, and the last two were 69-yard and 60-yard runs from Seattle’s Kenneth Walker and New Orleans’ Taysom Hill. The Saints’ Hill and Alvin Kamara each rushed for more than 100 yds.

Vikings 29, Bears 22: For the first time all year, Justin Fields had to throw the Bears to victory and he almost did. Fields went 15 of 21 with 208 yds, one TD, and just two sacks while a typically dominant Bears rushing attack was ineffectual. Kirk Cousins opened the game with 17 consecutive completions, helping the Vikings put up 21 points by halftime. The Vikings’ offense slowed down in the second half, but their defense forced a fumble from Ihmir Smith-Marsette on the Bears’ final possession.

Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15: After being shut out for the first three quarters of the game, the Falcons closed to 21-15 with just over four minutes left to play. Atlanta’s defense sacked Tom Brady on a third-and-5 on the final possession, which should have given them the ball back, but an iffy roughing the passer call on Grady Jarrett allowed the Bucs to run out the clock.

Titans 21, Commanders 17: Carson Wentz had a quintessential Carson Wentz performance. The Commanders scored 17 points, but did not make it into the red zone until their final drive. Both of Washington’s TDs came on deep shots to Dyami Brown, vertical playmaking that the Commanders had hoped for in signing Wentz. However, he still took three sacks and threw a pick on the final play of the game. The Titans’ offense looked a bit disjointed, especially in pass protection, after a bounce-back performance last week, but even a halfway functional Titans team is enough to take down the Commanders.

Texans 13, Jaguars 6: Houston won the battle of ball control. The rookie RB Dameon Pierce finished the day a yard short of 100, flashing all the strength and balance that earned him predraft hype. The Jaguars ran the ball quite effectively themselves, but Trevor Lawrence had his worst game of the season, misfiring a number of times and throwing two interceptions, one of which was a forced pass in the red zone snagged by Texans CB Derek Stingley Jr. The Texans finally found their first win of the year as the AFC South again cannibalized itself.

KC 30, Raiders 29. The Raiders came sooo close...but lost. That 30-29 loss joins losses of 5, 6 and 2 points this season. Computer rankings put the Raiders as high as the 12th-best team in the N.F.L. Their point differential of minus-5 makes them about average. They rank 10th in yards per play. Derek Carr has a solid 6.8 adjusted yards per pass, not far off from Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson, and ahead of Joe Burrow.

During the game, they led KC by 17 points, yet blew that lead and lost when a 2-point conversion failed. The Raiders, a playoff team a year ago, are now 1-4 and the season seems to be slipping away.

Patrick Mahomes settled in the second half, hitting favorite target TE Travis Kelce. Kelce ended the game with four TDs. The Raiders came back with one last TD, Carr to Davonte Adams, but RB Josh Jacobs was stuffed short of the goal line to nix the tie.
 
NFL Week 6 Predictions: Our Picks for Each Game
KC and Buffalo get a long-awaited rematch of last season’s best NFL game before the Eagles and Cowboys fight for the top of the NFC East.
NY Times Oct. 14, 2022 (All times Eastern)

Sunday’s Best Games

Buffalo Bills (4-1) at KC (4-1), 4:25p, CBS
Pick: Bills
The week’s marquee matchup is a rematch of last year’s AFC divisional playoff thriller, in which KC managed to force OT with a final drive with only 13 seconds on the clock and win in OT. The Bills are favored to win this week, making this Patrick Mahomes’s first career game as a home underdog.

Last week, Buffalo beat up on the Steelers in a lopsided game in which Josh Allen passed for 424 yds, while KC came back from a three score deficit to trump LVegas — two very different performances but both confidence builders. This game will have major consequences for home-field advantage in the playoffs and could very well be a preview of the AFC championship game.

Dallas Cowboys (4-1) at Philadelphia Eagles (5-0), 8:20p, NBC
Pick: Eagles
Cooper Rush didn’t need to do much — just 102 passing yds — to keep the Cowboys unbeaten since Week 1 and win against the Rams last week. Dallas’s formula for going 4-0 without Dak Prescott has relied on running the ball ably and leaning on their monstrous pass rush. As long as they stick to their strengths and protect the ball, there are fewer opportunities for Rush to make mistakes.

The Eagles, however, are not an easy team to play safe against. Last week, Jalen Hurts passed for 239 yds and picked up two rushing TDs. Right now, the NFC East is the best division in the NFL, and this could be another preview of a big playoff matchup. There has been speculation that Prescott could play on Sunday, but the bettors are assuming Rush will be at QB.

Baltimore Ravens (3-2) at Giants (4-1), 1p, CBS
Pick: Ravens
The Giants were without their top four receivers in a win over the Packers in London, yet still scored on five consecutive possessions, including 17 unanswered points in the second half. The second-best rushing team in the NFL saw QB Daniel Jones get in on the act, running for 37 yds on 10 carries. With some of those injured receivers potentially returning this week against the Ravens, Jones could finally throw for a big number against a Baltimore team that is perpetually dealing with injuries to its secondary.

However, the Ravens enter as favorites after beating the Bengals with a late FG and riding Lamar Jackson’s MVP and contract campaigns. There is still doubt that the Giants are for real. This game should reveal some truth.

Sunday’s Other Games

SF 49ers (3-2) at Atlanta Falcons (2-3), 1p, CBS
Pick: 49ers
This is the second East Coast road game in a row for SF. They arrive in Atlanta as 5-point road favorites. The SF defense has been the team’s strong suit, but a slew of defensive players are on the injured list this week. Most important among them are CB Emmanuel Moseley, who tore his ACL last week; and Nick Bosa, who is questionable with a groin injury.

The Falcons lost to the Buccaneers last week on a questionable roughing the passer call against Grady Jarrett late in the Q4. But even without two key defenders, the 49ers should break that streak, provided QB Jimmy Garoppolo continues to throw to the red jerseys.

NE Patriots (2-3) at Cleveland Browns (2-3), 1p, CBS
Pick: Browns
After losing both the starting QB (Mac Jones, out with an ankle injury) and his backup (Brian Hoyer, out with a concussion), last week the Patriots saw top RB Damien Harris leave Week 5’s shutout of the Lions. He’s questionable for Sunday, but NE called up Kevin Harris from the practice squad to pair with Rhamondre Stevenson in the backfield, which has taken pressure off the rookie Bailey Zappe to run the offense.

Fortunately for NE, the Cleveland defense has struggled all year to stop the run. Last week, the Browns allowed the Chargers, who came into the game ranked last in the league in rushing, to hand the ball off to Austin Ekeler for a career high 173 yds. Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney returned to the Browns’ lineup last week, but they may have needed a game to knock the rust off.

Jets (3-2) at GBay Packers (3-2), 1p, Fox
Pick: Packers
The Jets are perhaps the NFL’s biggest surprise this season, and the team’s confidence showed, putting up 40 points — their highest scoring effort since 2018 — last week against a hobbled Miami team. In London the Packers loss to the Giants was the season’s biggest upset so far, and they may be looking to reassert themselves before rival Minnesota runs away with the division.

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-3) at Indianapolis Colts (2-2-1), 1p, CBS
Pick: Colts
When these two teams met in Week 2, Jacksonville’s defense handed Indianapolis a shutout. This week, they meet on the Colt’s turf, and the tables have turned. The Colts are 2.5-point favorites, coming off an ugly win in Denver, while Jacksonville handed the Texans their first win of the season. Despite the loss, the Jaguars put up 422 yds of offense, and their defense held the Texans to only 248. But the Jags never converted in the red zone in three trips, and a penalty at the end of the game by linebacker Travon Walker cost them a game they should have won. The Colts continue to have OL issues. Matt Ryan has been sacked 21 times, a tie for the most in the league.

Minnesota Vikings (4-1) at Miami Dolphins (3-2), 1p, Fox
Pick: Viking
The injuries keep piling up for the Dolphins, who have now lost two QBs to concussions. Tyreek Hill has an injured foot, one starting CB is out and the other is questionable.

The Vikings are sitting on a 4-1 record, but a few of those wins involved them struggling mightily against some pretty bad teams. But the Dolphins seem distracted by the Tua controversy, and might not be settled down yet.

Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) at New Orleans Saints (2-3), 1p, CBS
Pick: Bengals
Saints TE Taysom Hill ran for three TDs and threw for a fourth in a win over the Seahawks last week, and he joined Alvin Kamara with more than 100 rushing yds. But Kamara also led the team with 91 receiving yds on 6 catches, a big uptick from his slow start with Jameis Winston under center this season.

The Bengals’ defense is a far cry from the Seahawks’, however: No opponent has scored more than 23 points, and all three of Cincinnati’s losses have been by a FG or less.

TBay Buccaneers (3-2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (1-4), 1p, Fox
Pick: Bucs
After Pittsburgh was trounced by the Bills on Sunday, the betting spreads wavered considerably. Still, the Bucs offense seems stuck in low gear, and unless Brady can get it going, the Steelers could pull off a win.

Carolina Panthers (1-4) at LA Rams (2-3), 4:05p, Fox
Pick: Rams
Coach Matt Rhule was fired on Monday after the Panthers lost the tenth of their last 11 games. Steve Wilks stepped in as interim coach and immediately fired ST coach Ed Foley and DC Phil Snow, saying he wanted to get a “different approach moving forward.” Wilks will need one. Baker Mayfield is out for the near future with a high ankle sprain leaving PJ Walker to make his third ever NFL start.

Carolina’s one glimmer of hope lies with LA’s OL, which has been a revolving door all season. Their issues up front have been a major contributor to Matthew Stafford’s back-and-forth duel with Matt Ryan for the dubious honor of the most sacks and turnovers in the league.

Arizona Cardinals (2-3) at Seattle Seahawks (2-3), 4:05p, Fox
Pick: Cards
The Seahawks have one of the league’s worst defenses, giving up 30.8 points per game. The Cardinals are better than most of the teams that have rolled over Seattle, but they have yet to win a home game. Arizona enters the game as road favorites against one of the biggest home-field advantages in the NFL, a boost that could mean a lot.

Monday Night’s Game

Denver Broncos (2-3) at LA Chargers (3-2), 8:15p, ESPN
Pick: Chargers
Russell Wilson has a partially torn muscle affecting his throwing shoulder but plans to play after getting a plasma injection to relieve pain. But Denver lost at home last week to the Colts in one of the ugliest games of the season, a bad defeat that gives no indication the Broncos can challenge the Chargers, a top-10 scoring team.

Last week the run-heavy Browns gave the Chargers a battle, who give up more rushing yds per carry (5.8) than any other team in the league. This game may show if Denver rookie HC Paul Hackett can adjust his playbook to give Wilson some help.

Thursday Night’s Game
Washington Commanders 12, Chicago Bears 7
In a sloppy game with a missed FG attempt, several tipped passes and eight total sacks, Washington pulled out a win by recovering a muffed punt at Chicago’s 6-yard line, midway through Q4. Rookie RB Brian Robinson, playing in his second game since being shot in August by an attempted robber, punched in his first career TD run.

After the game Bears QB Justin Fields voiced his frustration. “We always get told that we’re almost there, we’re almost there,” Fields said. “Me personally, I’m tired of being almost there. I’m tired of being just this close.” Fields is a decent young QB, but the Bears FO hasn't surrounded him with an OL or receiving corps that can help. He may be doomed to a long period of angst.
 
Yes, the Bills/Chiefs will be well worth watching. NFL.com on Hulu yesterday replayed the 2021 Playoff game between those two teams where all those fireworks happened in the last 10 min. It was as thrilling to watch the second time around as it was the first time - great game!
 
What We Learned From Week 6 in the NFL
NY Times Oct. 17, 2022 Part 1 of 2

Josh Allen can handle a blitz.
Whether his team is behind, tied, or ahead, Steve Spagnuolo, KC’s defensive coordinator, loves to blitz or play aggressive man coverage. Or both. The tendency is especially glaring when his defense needs a play, for better or worse. It was for worse against Josh Allen and the Bills on Sunday.

Disclaimer: Plenty of offenses, and QBs, are not equipped to handle blitzes and man coverage consistently. But Allen isn’t any QB and he has plenty of Pro Bowl-caliber skill-position players to target when he is under pressure. As a result, all three of the Bills’ TDs featured Allen finding someone on the sideline against press man coverage, sometimes against pressure.

The Bills’ first two TDs were terribly similar. In both cases, Buffalo isolated a receiver on the right sideline, first Gabe Davis and then Stefon Diggs. On the final TD of the game, with the Bills down by 20-17 and just over a minute to go, KC again ran press man. Diggs and TE Dawson Knox aligned to the same side with Knox running a corner route and Diggs running a short route to the flat. The safety to that side of the field flew to the flat as if he was in a bracket on Diggs, however, and Knox had all the room he needed to make himself available to Allen for a 14-yard TD catch.

Even DeAndre Hopkins’s return might not fix the Cardinals’ offense.
It’s never been more clear how much the Cardinals’ offense needs receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Without Hopkins, who is scheduled to return in Week 7 from a suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, Arizona’s offense could muster only 3 points in the team’s 19-9 loss to the Seahawks, the second-worst scoring defense in the league.

The Cardinals’ only TD came when safety Chris Banjo recovered a fumble by the Seattle punter in the end zone.

Without Hopkins in the lineup, Coach Kliff Kingsbury’s shotgun-only Air Raid offense has devolved into a dink-and-dunk operation, one that relies solely on QB Kyler Murray. A majority of the team’s passing plays are screens, run-pass options, or basic concepts like Stick, a three-receiver set meant to stretch defenses horizontally and pick up 5 yds.

As a result, Murray entered Sunday with the fifth-lowest average intended air yds, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. The Cardinals’ offense is fit for an elite Texas high school, not an NFL team. Kingsbury’s schemes don’t place Murray under center for runs that would set up play-action — and potentially deep shots — and the team’s play-action menu from shotgun is not terribly convincing or effective. Murray instead has to hold the ball, scramble around, and pray Marquise Brown (and soon Hopkins) finds space somewhere. Brown left Sunday’s game with an injured foot on a play in which his target was picked off.

Even the burden of the rushing offense is on Murray, and Sunday’s game was a perfect example. The Cardinals earned 144 yds on 28 carries, which is a good day at the office, but Murray did most of that, with 10 carries for 100 yds. Some of those were scrambles, but Kingsbury often uses Murray as a designed runner and option threat, which is really the only tactic that consistently works for this rushing offense.

Maybe getting Hopkins into the lineup changes the offense. Hopkins is a legitimate X receiver on the outside, and Kingsbury’s offense always looks better with a capable target at that position. But in his fourth season as the Cardinals’ head coach, it’s glaring that the offense is still purely talent-driven.

The Jets ransacked the Packers’ defense.
The Packers’ run defense was supposed to be better this season. GBay drafted a DL, Devonte Wyatt, and a linebacker, Quay Walker, in the first round and signed the veteran DL Jarran Reed in the off-season. Well, Wyatt cannot see the field, Reed has not made an impact, and none of the Packers’ edge defenders or safeties have been useful at keeping teams from hitting the perimeter.

The Packers had given up the 13th-most rushing yds per game at 126.4 through the first five games, and the Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur (brother of Packers Coach Matt LaFleur) homed in on GBay’s issues defending the run by calling a couple of reverse plays that broke open the game. Will Parks’ big TD after recovering a blocked Packers punt came on the next drive, sending the Jets up by 17-3.

Mike LaFleur called a reverse to the opposite to open Q4, using different players. Half the Packers’ defense ran with the reverse and the other half overran their fits as they panicked at the sight of two pullers. As a result, Hall had all the room he needed to run up the middle for a 34-yard score, padding the Jets’ lead to 24-10.

The Packers’ run defense is bad, but Mike LaFleur and the Jets’ offense made them look more than bad. They made them look silly.

Tom Brady and his OL have issues.
All the inexperience along the Buccaneers’ interior OL is getting to Tom Brady. After spending his first two years in TBay with Ryan Jensen at center and Ali Marpet and Alex Cappa at the guard spots, the Bucs are now starting rookie Luke Goedeke at LG and the 2021 third-round pick Robert Hainsey at center. Not only are the two youngsters talent downgrades from their predecessors, but their inexperience and Brady’s lack of trust in them is evident.

From a broader perspective, Brady has been hesitant to hold the ball this season. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Brady’s 2.42 average time to throw was the lowest in the NFL heading into Week 6 and it is unlikely his performance against the Steelers on Sunday will alter that statistic much. Brady’s average intended air yds has also dropped from 8.0 in 2021 to 7.4 this year. Brady is getting the ball out quicker and throwing it shorter because he doesn’t want to get hit.

His distrust of the Buccaneers’ OL finally came to a boiling point Sunday as Brady went off on his teammates on the sideline right before halftime. With TBay trailing by 10-6, Steelers pass rusher Alex Highsmith strip-sacked Brady on first-and-10 at the Bucs’ 35-yard line with 1:41 to go in the first half. While the Bucs recovered the ball, it set TBay up for a second-and-19, all but ensuring the team would have to punt rather than try to squeeze in some points to close the quarter.

It would be foolish to count out the possibility of Brady and the guys up front sorting things out come December, but it looks uneasy right now.

The Ravens’ rushes showed how offenses around the league are countering defenses.
NFL rushing offense changes as defense changes. It’s a cardinal rule around the league. Whereas nearly every defense five years ago tried to mimic the Legion of Boom era Seahawks with an even-number front Cover 3, the proliferation of odd-number defensive fronts and two-high coverages has taken over the league the past two seasons.

The odd-front structure puts five players on the line of scrimmage with three down linemen and two outside linebackers, meaning those defenders can cover a ton of surface area against zone runs. The more gaps that are covered initially, the harder it is for the offense to find a natural crease. While that combination has been an effective formula for limiting explosive passing plays, rushing offenses have countered.

Now those rushing offenses create creases by force. Odd-front defenses tend to struggle against gap and pulling runs. Rushing offenses can often get a guaranteed double team on the play-side defensive linemen, and the units that move gaps around by pulling linemen make it harder for the defenses to fit the run because they have fewer bodies beyond the line of scrimmage to stuff those gaps.

The Ravens were able to run all over the Giants (211 yds to the Giants’ 83) for this exact reason. For example, on Kenyan Drake’s 30-yard TD run that put Baltimore up, 7-0, with 9:26 left in the second quarter, the Ravens powered into the Giants’ 5-1 odd-number front.

The guard and tackle buried the play-side defensive linemen, TE Mark Andrews climbed to cut off the inside linebacker, and fullback Patrick Ricard kicked out the outside linebacker on the edge.

On the very next drive, the Ravens again sprang Drake free for another 30-yard run with a counter play that featured a pulling center. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley buried the play-side defensive linemen, Ricard kicked out the end, and center Tyler Linderbaum led the way for Drake through the second level of defense.

A number of other things went wrong for the Ravens to lose, 24-20, but their performance as a rushing offense was a microcosm of what teams are doing against this new wave of defense.
 
What We Learned From Week 6 in the NFL
NY Times Oct. 17, 2022 Part 2 of 2

Around the NFL

Eagles, 26, Cowboys 17: The Cooper Rush Experience could last only so long. Rush tossed three interceptions, two of which in the first half, as the Eagles got out to a 20-0 lead. Rush’s third interception was a duck deep downfield in the fourth, dashing the Cowboys’ chance at a comeback. The Eagles saw their aerial attack continue to sputter a bit, but Jalen Hurts did enough in the quick-passing game to let A.J. Brown work his magic with yds after the catch.

Rams 24, Panthers 10: The Panthers’ spiral continued downward as Carolina played without starting QB Baker Mayfield (ankle) and the coaching staff kicked receiver Robbie Anderson out of the game in the second half after he and the staff went at it multiple times on the sideline. The bonus for LA was Allen Robinson finally came to life, earning a season-high 63 yds thanks in part to a fantastic back shoulder grab along the sideline.

Seahawks 19, Cardinals 9: The Seahawks got standout play from rookies, including RB Kenneth Walker III, who ripped off a 34-yard run and had an 11-yard TD early in the Q4. The rookie CB Tariq Woolen snagged two turnovers, a fumble recovery and an interception.

Bills 24, KC 20: Josh Allen turned around the snooze fest with the Bills’ last possession of the first half. He led Buffalo on a 96-yard TD drive that included a third-and-13 from the Bills’ 1-yard line. Both QBs showed their best traits in the second half — arm strength for Allen and masterful pocket management and creativity for Mahomes — until Mahomes got the ball back for one final drive at the end and immediately threw a pick at the nickel corner Taron Johnson.

Vikings 24, Dolphins 16: QB injuries keep on coming for the Dolphins. Skylar Thompson got the start for the Dolphins with Teddy Bridgewater having cleared concussion protocol on Saturday. Thompson injured his thumb midway through the contest, forcing the less-than-100-percent Bridgewater into the game, and the Dolphins’ offense just never found its footing. The Vikings won their fourth straight game behind another 100-yard-receiving game from Justin Jefferson.

Falcons 28, 49ers 14: It’s never fun for a team to be without its entire starting defensive line, as SF was – but it’s especially suboptimal against an offense concocted by Arthur Smith. The Falcons’ rushing offense has been a machine this season, blending traditional outside zone running schemes with QB runs and a handful of gap runs to keep defenses on their toes. It worked to perfection against a depleted 49ers front as the Falcons ran 40 times, providing efficient gains and opening up the play-action game to help Marcus Mariota go 13 for 14 for 129 yds and two scores.

Patriots 38, Browns 15: The Browns did not get gashed on the ground the way they normally do, but it did not matter. The Patriots rookie QB Bailey Zappe carved up a Browns secondary prone to coverage busts by rushing the ball out quickly to his playmakers and delivering a handful of clutch play-action passes. Additionally, the Patriots rookie receiver Tyquan Thornton finally saw game action, snagging a 2-yard TD over the middle of the end zone in the third quarter and running in a score in the fourth.

Jets 27, Packers 10: The Jets dominated the game up front on both ends. On offense, they relentlessly ran at the Packers’ feeble front, even hitting a couple of trick plays for TDs. Defensively, the Jets’ four-man pass rush ravaged the Packers’ OL. Simple stunts and twists regularly gave the Packers fits, forcing Aaron Rodgers to play while under siege all game.

Colts 34, Jaguars 27: It felt like a bad omen when the Colts shuffled their entire OL around. Tackle Matt Pryor started the game at right guard, Braden Smith moved back to tackle after playing guard last week, and left tackle Bernhard Raimann was pulled in the first quarter in favor of Dennis Kelly. None of that mattered as QB Matt Ryan delivered play after play, surgically dicing up the Jaguars’ secondary for nearly 400 yds and three TDs on 58 attempts. Ryan threw his third TD, the game’s decisive score, to the rookie Alec Pierce on a third-and-13 with 17 seconds left.

Bengals 30, Saints 26: Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase finally had one of Those Games, and what better place to do it than the stadium where they won a national championship together in college. The duo exploded in the second half. Burrow nailed Chase on a seam route in the red zone for their first TD and their second was classic Chase magic. He caught a simple curl route and broke multiple tackles on his way to a 60-yard TD with just under two minutes to go, giving the Bengals a 30-26 lead and, eventually, the win.

Giants 24, Ravens 20: The game ultimately came down to one mistake from Lamar Jackson with the Ravens leading, 20-17, with just over three minutes to go. Baltimore messed up its shotgun snap and Jackson scrambled around trying to pick up the ball and save the play. Instead of trying to kill the play, Jackson heaved a pass over the middle, gifting an interception to Julian Love. Saquon Barkley punched in the go-ahead TD a few plays later, one play after an interception scare that was negated by a defensive pass interference penalty.

Steelers 20, Buccaneers 18: Offensive-line woes continue to haunt the Buccaneers. Tom Brady was sacked only twice, but he regularly rushed the ball out too quickly to avoid being hit behind his inexperienced left guard and center. On the other end, the Steelers’ offense was forced to go back in time, and it somehow worked out for them. The rookie QB Kenny Pickett was knocked out of the game with a concussion, giving way to Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky went 9 of 12 for 144 yds and threw the game-winning TD to Chase Claypool, a performance that was far and away his best of the season.

Monday Night Football

Chargers 19, Broncos 16 (OT)
The Broncos stumbled into SoFi Stadium Monday night 2-11 in their past 13 division games dating back to the start of the 2020 season, 0-7 on the road. So, add another as rookie Montrell Washington muffed a punt at the Broncos' 28-yard line with 4:28 to play in OT to set up a 19-16 overtime loss to LAC.

The Broncos had a 10-0 lead after Q1 but then the offense essentially called it a night. In Q3 Denver mustered only 19 yards of offense. The Broncos OL is a mess and the D can't overcome the handicapped offense.

Biggest hole in the game plan: Hackett has spent plenty of time since he got the job talking about how important the run game is, and will be, in the team's offense. But when Denver has the ball, the run game seems ornamental at best. Granted, the season-ending injury Javonte Williams suffered in the loss to the Raiders will impact the Broncos' plan, but they ran the ball just seven times in the first half versus the Chargers, and one of those was a Wilson scramble.

This has led at times to short possessions in which the Broncos use up just over a minute on ill-timed three-and-outs before sending their defense back on the field. And the team's continued struggles on first down -- Denver faced second-and-18, second-and-12 and second-and-9 in the first half alone -- have pushed the Broncos away from a balanced offense.

Russell Wilson hit his first 10 pass attempts and looked far more comfortable overall. But without the benefit of much play-action and amid an ongoing disconnect with WR Jerry Jeudy that appears too often, Wilson completed only three of his next 11 passes.

He completed passes to nine different receivers, including the first touchdown for rookie TE Greg Dulcich. But the first-down woes won't be solved until the run game is used regularly.

Upcoming: 10/20 - Saints vs Cardinals, Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime to start Week 7.
 
I think someone just "pulled the chain" and flushed the Patriots down the drain, They used 2 QB's last night and were crushd by the Bears, 33 - 14. For longtime Pats fans it's kind of tough to watch. They've not always been on top but usually they stay in striking distance. Still a ways to go but I don't see a bright future this year.
 
I watched the highlights last night. I was surprised at how "bad" the Patriots were. I thought it would be a close game but the Bears are a better team, and walked right through them. The Patriots had their time in the sun.
 
Tempsontime65 said:
Well my home team[The Commanders]may have a ghost of a chance of beating[Green Bay]with the change at QB[Taylor Heineke] the game should be close at least!!
Click to expand...
And they did win! GBay looked terrible, didn't they?

Davante Adams (formerly Rogers' favorite receiver at GBay) is finally connecting well with his best friend QB Derek Carr of the Raiders, as they walloped the Texans 38-20 in Wk 7 with a big second half. Adams had 8 catches for 95 yds, many of which helped set up RB Josh Jacobs as he scampered for 3 TDs on the day. Safety Duron Harmon was a surprise start for LVR but proved his worth with a pick-6 late in Q4 that iced the win.

KC Chiefs stomped all over the SF Niners, who got some of their wounded D players back, but it was clear they weren't really 100%. Mahomes did his magical stuff, which is physically impossible for any other QB to do as consistently as he does. The Chiefs are a hollow shell of their Super Bowl-winning team, but as long as they have Mahomes and Kelce, one can't count them out of any game short of the apparently 2022 SB-bound Bills. The Niners offense sputtered and special teams were horrible (shades of 2021!), with the Niners putting up FGs as the Chiefs kept galloping into the end zone for TDs. Mercifully the game ended before the Chiefs put a three-figure total on their side of the scoreboard. Final score Chiefs 44, Niners 23.
 

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