FAVORITE TEAMS

BYE WEEK: FALCONS, COLTS, PATRIOTS, SAINTS

What’s up everyone? Hope I’m not the only one who felt a little disappointed in the past weekend’s primetime games. Bears/Panthers, Colts/Patriots in Germany, Jets/Raiders, and Broncos/Bills (to an extent)? Are you kidding me? I wasn’t paying much attention to the Thursday night game, I went grocery shopping during all of the third quarter and parts of the fourth quarter for the Germany game, I was half asleep during most of Sunday Night Football, and I didn’t focus on two and a half quarters of Monday Night Football. Honestly, the Steelers/Packers game was more entertaining, and both offenses aren’t the best.

However, this weekend’s primetime games should be promising, and God help me they are because I can’t beat my head against the wall on boring primetimes. I just…I just can’t! Also, the Bills have a problem, and the writing is on the wall. The Ravens are slowly but surely suffering from injuries and it’s a matter of time before Lamar’s affected again. CJ Stroud is from a different world and Josh Dobbs is from a different planet. The 49ers looked like a dominant force again and hopefully they stay consistent the rest of the way. The Chargers/Lions game was a classic, and the Commanders gave the Seahawks such a scare with Sam Howell. Howell is the guy for dang sure! I hope we have some good football from start to finish. That’s all I’m asking for.

In week one when both teams collided, we all remember when Geno Smith yelled, “oh s***!” when Aaron Donald beared down on him. It’s unclear if Smith is still intimidated or if he’ll respond with at least some help and improvement from his offensive line. Since that matchup, Seattle won six of the last eight games trying to stave off rebuild mode as much as possible. Meanwhile, the Rams lost six of their last eight with injuries happening again while facing some challenging teams with a good defense. Matthew Stafford’s injury and struggles in the run game plagued the Rams’ hope for any bounce back to contend for the playoffs. In his likely return, the Rams should compete with Seattle again. Since I’m unfortunately posting this by Thursday, I’ll bank on Stafford’s return helping the team defeat Seattle again. Stafford’s currently 3-0 against them since becoming a Ram.

MY PICK: RAMS

The Vikings won six of the last seven games after starting 1-4 while the Broncos won four of the last six after starting 0-3 in some zany, weird event. The Vikings once again handled business but managed to stave off New Orleans’ comeback opportunity with Jameis Winston. Somehow, someway, Denver won again thanks to their defense. I’m not saying Russell Wilson and the offense didn’t look great, but their defense may have returned to Top 5 form after a few struggling weeks. However, last week is something that needs to be mentioned. While Denver won, they should’ve lost at least in five or more instances with how talented Buffalo was. Also, I hope to God this game’s not boring. We all know how exciting Josh Dobbs the Passtronaut was, but Denver will find a way to make this game drag if nothing breaks open. Denver got lucky in their last primetime game, but I doubt they’ll get lucky again despite being at home for the second straight week.

MY PICK: VIKINGS

Last time both teams met, the entire state of New York and the NFL were still shook over Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles injury. Since then, there’s been some odd, zany stuff happening with both teams in West and East New York (which could lead to burning down the entire state of New York…). The Jets relied on their defense and special teams a lot hoping that Zach Wilson could finally decipher a way to run the offense. It’s more ebb than flow, but it did them enough to keep whatever hope they have alive for playoff contention. Meanwhile, why are the Bills struggling despite having a playoff caliber roster? Let me think…it’s the MADDEN FREAKING CURSE!!! If you don’t know what that means, look it up because it’s plaguing the team. Last week, the Bills had every opportunity to come back and easily defeat the Broncos with a quarter and a half to go, but they shot themselves in the foot too many times and kept Denver alive to the end. Between Josh Allen’s turnovers and Buffalo’s late, late, late miscues, it eventually punished the team altogether. However, I wouldn’t give up on Buffalo. I feel Buffalo will return the favor and make the Jets’ offense’s lives a living heck.

MY PICK: BILLS

We finally have THE Thursday Night Football game since the Chargers/Chiefs in Week 2 of last season. What’s even better is that Burrow and Jackson will both be available! Hooray!!!! Anyway, this should be a bounce back matchup for the Bengals after struggling mightily against their defense with an injured Joe Burrow. Burrow’s back at 100% and should give the Ravens’ defense some pause. Here’s where things get weird during the matchup: Tee Higgins isn’t available and that led to some struggles in the receiving core. There was enough dropped passes that cost them a comeback win against Houston. I think the backups learned from their mistakes and should help Burrow this time. Sam Hubbard’s also out, so how will this affect Cincy’s defense? As for Baltimore and I can’t say this enough, the injuries are slowly plaguing the Ravens again, but in a way where Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King know how this all plays out if they cooperated together in Maryland. Defensive back Marlon Humphrey might not play, but the main guy to focus on is left tackle Ronnie Stanley (of course!). This man has yet to stay healthy for an entire season since the Bengals new left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. left the Ravens. Stanley’s absence has been a constant problem that has caused fits for Lamar Jackson’s protection for two seasons. I would love to pick the Ravens, but Stanley’s absence is a concern to the pass protection despite Hubbard’s absence. I’m picking the Bengals in a close one.

MY PICK: BENGALS

The moment we’ve all been waiting for. The Eagles/Chiefs Super Bowl rematch should be one of the best games of the season, if not the year. Both had odd situations happen during the season prior to this matchup. The Eagles have the best record this season, but it didn’t come without some complications. Defensive injuries and Jalen Hurts’ inconsistencies left some scratching their heads. Both is a glaring reminder of what the 2021 Philly team was, but they still looked good with their iconic Brotherly Shove. The Chiefs, however, looked anything but like the championship team of year’s past to an extent. The receivers aren’t all-world or exciting outside of Travis Kelce, but they do whatever they can to get the job done. The running backs led by Isaih Pacheco are the strength of the skills position. The whole offensive production this season led to Patrick Mahomes’ up-and-down performances, but we all know the ball will still start and end with him. Kansas City’s defense deserves plenty of credit for how well they’ve played this season. They are hard to score on, and good luck trying to top 30 against them. They’re one of three teams to not allow 30 points this season (Bills, Titans). I doubt this will be a high scoring game this time. The Chiefs shored up their defense while the Eagles offense struggled at times. Philly’s plan is to run clock to keep Mahomes on the sidelines. However, the only advantage is that Kansas City’s at home and will pester Philly’s receivers to force Hurts’ hand in the turnover department.

MY PICK: CHIEFS

TOP 5 WEEK 10 RESULTS: 3-2

WEEK 10 TOTAL – 29-19

OVERALL WEEK 10 RESULTS: 8-6

TOTAL RESULTS – 111-49

OTHER GAMES

GIANTS AT COMMANDERS

STEELERS AT BROWNS

BEARS AT LIONS

CHARGERS AT PACKERS

RAIDERS AT DOLPHINS

COWBOYS AT PANTHERS

TITANS AT JAGUARS

CARDINALS AT TEXANS

BUCCANEERS AT 49ERS