Cover photo taken from NFL.com.
Last Week: 6-8
Season Total: 43-35
Chiefs 24-13 Broncos 
Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video
The Broncos haven’t beaten the Chiefs since Peyton Manning was at the helm, Adele’s ‘Hello’ was atop the charts, and the whole wide world was excited for the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Also, I was fresh off my 14th birthday party.
I am now 22 years old.
That streak isn’t being broken under the lights in Arrowhead against Patrick Mahomes. Even with Travis Kelce being banged up, there is no conceivable way that Denver can rise to Kansas City’s level, especially not with their atrocious defense.
Titans 20-17 Ravens 
Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network
As I said last week with the Titans, I’m going to keep riding the trends until they stop trending. To reiterate, their season has gone loss-win-loss-win-loss. So gear up for a Tennessee dub in London!
In all seriousness, I actually feel like the Titans are going to win this game regardless of trends. Games between these two teams are always close, and the Titans really had their number for a couple of years. The Ravens are the far better team in this game with vastly better units on both sides of the ball, but their offense is really struggling, and their defense can only carry them for so long. This feels like a weird spot for them.
Falcons 23-17 Commanders 
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Not talking about that team in burgundy and gold until they show me they deserve to even be thought about.
But more than that, the Falcons are a very solid team all around with the better defense in this game. At home, I think they pick up a second consecutive win as their season continues to get back on track.
Vikings 23-20 Bears 
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Without Justin Jefferson on the field, this game figures to be a comedy of errors. But that should be entertaining.
I wanted to pick the Bears here as they’re coming home off last week’s huge win — their first in nearly a full year. Justin Fields has played consecutive great games, and D.J. Moore just had a historic outing. Meanwhile, the Vikings have no idea how to win and just lost the best wide receiver in the league.
But something tells me that the Bears we saw in the nation’s capital aren’t the real Bears. Even if they put up some more offensive fireworks, I think they’re going to find a way to lose. Even without Jefferson, I think Minnesota has the offensive talent to put up enough points to win this game.
Seahawks 24-23 Bengals 
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
In a week that severely lacks a “big game”, I see this matchup as the premier one of the day. That’s largely thanks to the implications of this game. The Seahawks are in a good enough position where the outcome won’t make or break their season, but the Bengals need every win they can salvage at this point to continue turning their season around.
Last week’s offensive explosion in Arizona was inspiring, but I have no idea if it was a one-off thing or if they’re actually back to form. This will be the litmus test. And honestly, I don’t know if they’re up for it. Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and company are obviously great, but so is this Seattle defense. I’d still like to see better performances out of the Seahawks offense, and this will certainly be a tough position to make that happen. But I think that burgeoning young defense is going to be the differentiator on Sunday in the jungle. (Side note: how fun is Chase vs. Devon Witherspoon going to be?)
I could also very well see it going the other way. The Bengals have much more to play for, after all. But, like I said yesterday, I need to see more consistency out of them before my faith is fully restored.
49ers 23-10 Browns 
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
I think people are really overthinking this one. Yes, the Browns are a solid team with an elite defense. Yes, they are coming off a bye. But they might not be without Deshaun Watson in this game. If he plays, he won’t be 100%, which means e won’t be effective. If he doesn’t play, then Dorian Thompson-Robinson will get the start, and we saw how disastrous that was two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, the 49ers are the 49ers. They’re going to dominate no matter where or who they play. I understand this sentiment that they just came off a huge, emotional win and might crash. But I think this team is far too talented to have that happen to them.
Dolphins 34-13 Panthers 
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
This might be too nice to the Panthers. This is going to be ugly.
By the way, is it not crazy that the Dolphins have gotten the Giants and Dolphins in consecutive weeks? They should be thanking their lucky stars. It’s like having three bye weeks. And they certainly need it ahead of clashes with the Eagles and Chiefs in their next three games.
Jaguars 23-20 Colts 
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Just six games into the year, the Jaguars and Colts are finishing up their season series, becoming the first teams to do so.
As I said yesterday, the Colts strangely haven’t lost under Gardner Minshew. But I don’t think that trend is going to continue against a team as solid and as hot as the Jaguars currently are. They’re coming off back-to-back huge wins across the pond, including a dismantling of the Bills a week ago. The level of competition isn’t exactly as high here.
The Jags did struggle during the game in Indianapolis, but back at home, I think they’ll be just fine. It’ll be close, but the better team will pull it out late.
Saints 20-16 Texans 
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
I feel like this is rather straightforward. The Saints are coming off a monstrous win over the Patriots in which their defense returned to form and their offense flashed. That defense is the type to eat up rookie quarterbacks, especially with the secondary playing like it is.
C.J. Stroud is as good as rookie quarterbacks come, but this is going to be a very, very tough test that I’m not sure if the rest of that offense is up for. I think this is just going to be a worse version of the Falcons game a week ago for them. I wouldn’t be surprised if C.J. threw his first pick in this game. He’ll keep the team hanging around, but the Saints defense is going to make the plays at the end of this game to come away with another win.
Raiders 24-17 Patriots 
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS
Remember what happened the last time the Patriots were in Las Vegas? Good times.
The good news for the Patriots is that Chandler Jones is no longer a part of this picture. The bad news is that Mac Jones is still their quarterback and they are still one of the worst teams in the NFL.
The Raiders are nothing special, but their offensive talent dwarfs that of New England, and they should win by a comfortable margin at home on Sunday.
Rams 30-17 Cardinals 
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX
The wheels are starting to come off the Cardinals a bit as their defense has regressed and they’re now without James Conner for the next month or so. The Rams, meanwhile, are back to full strength with Cooper Kupp back, and their offense looks primed to feast on a struggling defense.
The game might be closer than I’m expecting, but I really don’t see how the Rams lose this game. Their defense isn’t great, but I don’t see Arizona doing much on offense without its best player. Plus, LA desperately needs this win to get back to .500 and stay afloat in the wild card race. The Cardinals don’t have much to fight for.
Eagles 26-14 Jets 
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX
It’s possible that New York’s defense keeps this game close enough that maybe, maybe Zach Wilson and the offense can pull off a miracle.
It’s also theoretically possible for me to fly.
Lions 23-20 Buccaneers 
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX
I believe that this game was flexed to a late afternoon slot for two reasons. First, these are two seemingly overachieving teams in the NFC that are apparently a lot of fun to watch. Second, there’s not many good games on Sunday.
Whatever the rationale was, I think it was a good choice, because this should be a good game. I think the Lions are much better than the Bucs are, but they’re dealing with some offensive injuries while Tampa is coming off a bye and will be sporting the beautiful Creamsicles for the first time in over a decade. So this’ll be a close one.
I actually think the Bucs match up well here, especially with their run defense against a potent Detroit rushing attack that could be getting Jahmyr Gibbs back. But the Lions will also get Amon-Ra St. Brown back to elevate the passing game. That certainly gives them the advantage.
Most importantly, at the end of the day, I never feel comfortable picking Baker Mayfield, no matter how good he has looked to start this season. I was impressed with what I saw two weeks ago in New Orleans, and if he replicates that performance here, I’ll be on board.
Bills 29-12 Giants 
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Dear NFL,
Be embarrassed for scheduling this game. It was awful in the first place, since anyone with a brain knew the Giants would not be good this year. It’s even worse now. I can’t wait to waste three hours of my life watching this terrible product. Please learn your lesson next year.
Sincerely, the entire world.
Cowboys 27-24 Chargers 
Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
I know a lot people are selling low on the Cowboys, and I get it. You don’t see many performances as bad as theirs in San Francisco last week. This is also a trendy spot to pick the Chargers, who are coming off a bye and probably getting Austin Ekeler back. But something just tells me the Cowboys are going to bounce back here.
For starters, SoFi Stadium will be at least 95% Cowboy fans, which could make things hard on Justin Herbert and the Bolts offense. I also think the Cowboys will be desperate to redeem themselves, especially in front of another national TV audience. LA doesn’t have the best defense, so Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense can put up some numbers while the defense shows what they’re capable of once again.
Granted, I did call them out for dominating against terrible teams and falling apart against competent ones, and the Chargers offense is more than competent. But again, something is whispering in my ear that this the Cowboys’ bounce-back spot.
All stats taken from ESPN.
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