After over 6 long months of waiting, football is finally back. Christmas wishes it was as exciting as this. As promised, before the preseason kicks off, I’ll be previewing both conferences, starting here with the AFC. Here, I’ll give a short preview of every team in the conference, and how I think they’ll perform. Hopefully injuries and other extraneous factors don’t come back to make me look stupid here, but at least I’ll have an excuse if they do. With that being said, let’s get into it!

AFC East

1st: Buffalo Bills (15-2)

In my opinion, this is the best team in the AFC. It almost doesn’t make sense, seeing as though there are some gaping holes in this roster, such as a nonexistent run game and a below average pass rush. But that didn’t stop them last year, as they were easily the NFL’s hottest team in the last 10 or so weeks. They were shut down in the AFC Championship Game by the Chiefs, but that was to be expected for a team that hadn’t been in that big of a spot in literal decades. Now, everyone is back, led by star QB Josh Allen, who is poised to prove that last season was no fluke. The Bills clearly have that faith in him, as he just signed a 6-year extension worth over $250 million. While I really like Allen, I thought that was a bit much, but he’ll have every opportunity to silence all the doubters again this year. As long as him and superstar WR Stefon Diggs are clicking on all cylinders again, this team will breeze through their ridiculously easy schedule. This is my 1 seed, and barring something drastic, I think that Buffalo will clinch that first round bye with their eyes closed.

2nd: New England Patriots (11-6)

Whether you like it or not, the Patriots will be back this year. To me, it doesn’t matter who starts at QB. Cam Newton will get the job done; it’s simply too hard to assume that he’ll be so bad again in his second year in this system. It’s even harder to fathom a Bill Belichick team miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year. If the reins do get passed to rookie Mac Jones at some point, then I believe in his ability to game-manage this team to the postseason. He’s old enough, and had plenty of experience in college. New England underwent a compete overhaul this offseason, and improved at many lacking positions. The passing game will be rejuvenated with the likes of Nelson Agholor at WR as well as Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry at TE. Their RB room isn’t the best, but the Patriots have proven to us plenty of times in the past that it doesn’t need to be for them to win games. Their defense obviously speaks for itself, being one of the better units in football, especially in the secondary. The Patriots just have the right pieces to be a solid wild card team, but not much more. But hey, that’s still plenty better than last year.

3rd: Miami Dolphins (10-7)

This year’s Dolphins team might be even weirder than last year’s. I truly think this is the best roster, from top to bottom, in this division. Heck, it’s one of the best in the whole league. I think Miami is a classic case of a sad truth we find far too often in this league: amazing team with the only lacking position being the most important one. I still cannot put my faith in QB Tua Tagovailoa. Maybe his rookie year was so shaky because he was a rookie. Sure. Surely he’ll be better now that he’s the only guy worth starting in that QB room. Fine. But something is simply holding me back from accepting that. I would truly love to see Tua figure it out and succeed, and if he does, then this team’s ceiling is remarkably high. Every other position is nothing short of stacked, especially on defense. Star CB Xavien Howard finally came to a compromise with the front office and got the extension he wanted, and the Dolphins are infinitely better off for it. Listen, this team didn’t have solid QB play all year last year and still won 10 games. That’s why I’m giving them that this year as well. If Tua does just enough in the right amount of games, then this is a guaranteed playoff team. But, the way I see it, they’ll be just on the outside looking in.

4th: New York Jets (2-15)

I mean… what can I say about this team. They are HORRIBLE. All caps, bold, italicized, all the above. Put it on a damn Times Square billboard. For what it’s worth, I don’t think the Jets had the worst offseason ever. But… it wasn’t very good either. The problem started last season when they needlessly threw away the #1 overall pick. So, with their shiny #2 pick, they took… Zach Wilson. Their QB of the future is the more than unproven white boy wonder out of BYU, and I couldn’t feel any worse about it. I didn’t do any draft coverage, but anyone that knows me knows how I felt about Wilson during the draft process. I felt he was the 5th best QB available, but alas, he went 2nd overall, and now has to lead this dumpster fire of a team. I did like their other first round move, trading up for OL Alijah Vera-Tucker out of USC. Along with the addition of Morgan Moses and the return of Mekhi Becton, this team’s best unit is easily its offensive line. Not like that matters when there are barely any other players of note at any other position. This team is putrid with a capital p and a capital u, and nothing will change that. 2 wins might be a generous estimate. Yeesh.

AFC North

1st: Baltimore Ravens (14-3)

The Ravens are inevitable. This is easily one of the league’s best teams from top to bottom. There are no two ways about any of it. I’m not sure what the problem was with this team last year, but whatever it was, I’m more than confident that it won’t be a factor this season. Could it have been their passing game? Well, they splashed a bit to upgrade that position, drafting WR Rashod Bateman out of Minnesota in the 1st round as well as signing Sammy Watkins. Superstar QB Lamar Jackson will have a plethora of options for seemingly the first time in his young career, and I can’t wait to see it. He’s easily one of the most explosive players in football, and with a team as stacked is this, the sky isn’t even a limit. It’s the floor. The defense is back and ready to wreak havoc once again, led by stars at every position. It was a poor offense that stopped this team from getting to an AFC title game last year, and I truly think that with a much improved offense this year, they can finally get over the hump. With that being said… I don’t think they will. More on that later.

2nd: Cleveland Browns (12-5)

Now this… this is interesting. I feel something with this team. I don’t really get it, but I feel it. If you know me, or even read my content last year, you know that I am typically very, VERY hard on the Browns. I gave them no respect last year at any point in time, but they continued to shut me up en route to being a few plays away from a potential AFCCG appearance. That same team is back and even better this season, and I have higher hopes for Cleveland than I’ve ever had before. While I still think QB is this team’s weakest position, Baker Mayfield did undeniably take massive strides forward last year and established himself as a proper, solid starting QB. And that was after star WR Odell Beckham Jr. was lost for the year with a torn ACL. It wouldn’t be asinine to say that the OBJ era in Cleveland has been a failure, but I still have hope that Baker and Odell can make things work with one another. And if they do, the AFC better watch out. Mayfield already has great connections with the various other weapons on offense, and the incredible backfield of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt needs no introduction. The Browns defense, which was a nice surprise last year, underwent a lot of turnover this offseason, but I still really like the unit as a whole. This roster is just really, really solid, and like I said before, I have a really strange but strong feeling about this team. You might be shocked how strong that feeling is.

3rd: Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8)

One word comes to my mind when I think about the Steelers: meh. This is just the most meh team in football. This is pretty much just last year’s team looking to run back more mediocrity. I’ll give Pittsburgh credit, they did address their gaping hole in the backfield by drafting RB Najee Harris, Alabama’s finest statistical back ever, with their first round pick. But, Harris is 23 and coming off 4 years of hard work at Alabama. I really like him, and hope he succeeds, but with that kind of milage on you, I’m not sure what kind of impact you can make right out of the gate in the NFL. The rest of the Steelers offense is the same old same old, and it inspires no confidence whatsoever. Ben Roethlisberger is back once again, and if I have to hear one more time about how much “different” he is after a long offseason of work, I will rip out my ears with my own hands. Ben has tricked you all for long enough, and it’s hilarious how many people fall for it. Yes, if you look at the stats alone, then I suppose he does his job just fine. But every year, when the calendars flip to October and November, he becomes the living embodiment of his nick-namesake. Even with WR Juju Smith-Schuster back, I just don’t see this offense doing much of anything. That’s a shame, because this defense is still stacked across the board. But if the end of last year was any indication, maybe that’s not the case anymore. I just don’t know how this team will be anything but average. We’ll have to wait and see.

4th: Cincinnati Bengals (5-12)

I am so, so, SO mad at this team. They really had one job. Just one. Okay, maybe they had a lot of jobs to fill a lot of holes on this team, but one area was lacking in particular: the offensive line. It’s the reason Joe Burrow was the most sacked QB in football before that same offensive line let his leg get folded in on itself, ending his rookie season months in advance. So, how do we address this issue Cincinnati? Surely you pick the generational LT prospect who has fallen into your laps with the #5 pick! But no, let’s roll with Jamarr Chase because he was Burrow’s favorite receiver in college. Don’t get me wrong, Chase is an amazing talent that will have a great career in this league, but one question remains. Will he even get out of his break before Joe Burrow is on the ground in the backfield? This offensive line is still absolutely abysmal, and it wont do Burrow any favors coming off last year’s horrible injury. I understand drafting Penei Sewell wouldn’t have magically made all those problems disappear, but it would have been a huge step in the right direction. This team already has very good WRs in Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins, so they didn’t even need Chase necessarily. But, this was the decision they made, and they have to live with it. In any case, the Bengals would not have been very good this year. The defense isn’t much to look at, and the offense will be sputtering thanks to a line that can’t stop a nosebleed. We can only hope that Joe Burrow lives to see the full season.

AFC South

1st: Tennessee Titans (11-6)

Let me just start by saying this division will get eaten alive this year. It is going to be so ugly. The only hope outside of the Titans was Indianapolis, but I’ll get into their problems when it’s their time. Tennessee is the only team really worth a damn in the AFC South, but they’d be a playoff team in any division. They have all the offensive fire power in the world, led by last year’s Offensive Player of the Year, RB Derrick Henry. Trading for WR Julio Jones to go alongside fellow superstar A.J. Brown will make QB Ryan Tannehill’s life even nicer this year. This team does have many problems though, especially on the defensive end. Last year, the Titans had no pass rush whatsoever, and their secondary got abused on a weekly basis. Unfortunately for them, they did almost nothing to remedy either of those problems. They did draft CB Caleb Farley in the 1st round, but he has a nagging injury problem that caused him to slip in the draft and could very well hold him back in the pros. Other than that, there’s no one of note on that side of the football. I do think this team can win a lot of track meets, but that’s not a winning formula in this league, especially when you’re up against the elite defenses of the AFC. Tennessee has the benefit of being in arguably the worst division in football, but I think they’ll be a one-and-done team in January.

2nd: Indianapolis Colts (4-13)

Before you say anything, I’d like to establish from the jump that I have no earthly idea how to evaluate this team right now. As of today, both OG Quenton Nelson and newly acquired QB Carson Wentz are out for 5-12 weeks (I get the feeling it’ll be closer to 12 than 5) with foot injuries. So, that’s your starting QB and your best player out for, let’s face it, at least the first month of the season. Even if Wentz comes back early in the year, he will have missed training camp in its entirety, and he just feels like the type of guy who needs all those reps. Anyone would with their new team. So, the harsh reality for the Colts right now is that it’ll either be the second year man Jacob Eason out of UW or rookie Sam Ehlinger running the show for an indefinite period of time. That inspires little to no confidence. Indy obviously still has its blindingly bright spots, such as RB Jonathan Taylor, who looked like a bonafide stud in his rookie season in 2020. It helps when you’re running behind arguably the best offensive line in football, even without Quenton Nelson, although his absence will be felt. The defense is still as stacked as ever, headlined by names like DeForest Buckner and Darius Leonard. But without a QB and your generational offensive lineman, it just feels like this team will be headed for an early nosedive that could very well span the whole season. If everyone comes back in time, I don’t think this is a 4 win team. But if I’m evaluating them based on where they stand right now, then they are.

3rd: Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13)

The Jaguars might be the most exciting team on the come-up in the NFL right now. Feels like a fever dream. This is a completely different team after perhaps the biggest offseason in franchise history. Bringing in Urban Meyer, one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, to coach this football team is a very interesting move. If it goes well, then it’ll be heralded as genius, but if it doesn’t… that’ll be an interesting time in the media. Luckily for Meyer, the Jags were gifted the #1 pick in this year’s draft, and thus were gifted QB Trevor Lawrence out of Clemson, one of the best quarterback prospects we’ve ever seen. You know the deal with Lawrence by now. If he is even a fraction of the messiah that people have been making him out to be since he was 18 years old, then this team has a very good future ahead. Lawrence will have his college buddy behind him, as Jacksonville took RB Travis Etienne with their other first round selection this April. Pairing him with James Robinson, who was one of the more pleasant surprises of last year’s rookie crop, makes for one of the more dynamic RB duos in the NFL. The defense still has all of its nice young pieces as well, although there seems to be a rift between the front office and last year’s first round pick, CB C.J. Henderson. In any case, this team has all the makings of a future playoff team. This will be the “figure it out” year for them, but I have very high hopes for the Jags in the upcoming years.

4th: Houston Texans (1-16)

There are genuinely no words to describe the Texans, both as a franchise and as a football team. This is easily the worst of both of those things in this league. Even after firing HC/GM Bill O’Brien after his boneheaded decisions, everything this team has done has been mind-boggling. I could get into all of the awful front office decisions, but one story loomed all too large over Houston this offseason: Deshaun Watson. The young star QB was everyone’s favorite player to root for, and we couldn’t help but feel bad for him being on this dumpster fire of a team. This offseason turned that all upside down, as over 20 women came forward to accuse Watson of sexual misconduct. While nothing has come out of all of those accusations, it leaves such a sour taste in everyone’s mouths. Now that camp is underway, whether or not Watson practices is a coinflip, and nobody can get a reading on what the hell is going on. In the event that Watson doesn’t end up playing this year, which is what I think will happen, this team has approximately nothing to prove to me that they’re capable of winning even a single game. Even if Watson does play, he won’t be able to carry them to more than just a few wins. Just look at last year, when he had a fairly good season, but the team still finished 4-12. The only reason I’m giving this team a single win is because I truly believe it’s next to impossible to go 0-17. But if any team can prove me wrong, I promise you it’s this one.

AFC West

1st: Kansas City Chiefs (13-4)

It’s the Chiefs. It’s Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Tyrann Mathieu, Chris Jones, do I need to go on? Yes, this team got absolutely smothered in the Super Bowl. Yes, their offensive line was shambolic. Yes, their defense could not stop a nosebleed against the Bucs. But that was then, and this is now. The aforementioned offensive line was easily this team’s biggest issue, but they went out and patched it up with some great moves. Trading for all-pro Orlando Brown and drafting star C Creed Humphrey out of Oklahoma, among several other moves, has this offensive line rejuvenated. Mahomes can only hope that he won’t be running for his life for 60 minutes every Sunday like last year. The defense is still a bit of a weak spot, especially now that they’ll be without DE Frank Clark, who was recently arrested. But no team in football is more suited to win a track meet than the Chiefs. As long as #15 is throwing the football to #10 and #87, this team will be fine. I don’t think they’ll be the most dominant team in the conference, and I even think they’ll struggle a bit within the division, but they will be just fine for the most part. If there’s anything I am sure of among all these predictions, it is that.

2nd: Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)

There aren’t many teams in football that I’m more excited to watch this year than the Chargers. This team had a phenomenal offseason after ending last year on 4 consecutive wins. There are upward trends everywhere with this team, and while it’s hard to ever put faith in them, that definitely inspires a ton of confidence. This team should have won a lot more than just 7 games last season, but when Anthony Lynn is your head coach, you can kiss any sensible late-game decision making out the window. Now, former Rams DC Brandon Staley runs the show, and I personally love the hire. That unit was elite under him, and this team has plenty of defensive studs, such as Joey Bosa, Derwin James, and Kenneth Murray, to potentially establish another stellar D in Los Angeles. QB Justin Herbert needs no introduction after last year’s stellar rookie campaign in which he shattered all of the rookie passing records en route to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year. It helps when you’re throwing the ball to the likes of star WR Keenan Allen, who catches literally everything. Herbert also has the benefit of a brand new offensive line, highlighted by OT Rashawn Slater, the team’s first round pick this year, and newly acquired all-pro C Corey Linsley. There are simply too many reasons to feel good about this team, and I have the utmost faith in them to reach the playoffs this year. I truly believe that if they don’t, it’s a complete failure.

3rd: Las Vegas Raiders (8-9)

This team is so strange. I feel like that has been the case for so long, and certainly has been the case for all of Jon Gruden’s tenure as head coach thus far. There is certainly a great deal of talent across the board on this roster, but it has never translated into something worthwhile. They have still yet to make the playoffs under Gruden, and it’s hard to foresee them doing it this year. Like I said, there are great pieces in Vegas; QB Derek Carr has been a solid starter for his entire career, Josh Jacobs is a stud out of the backfield, and Darren Waller has established himself as one of the best tight ends in all of football. The defense isn’t exactly great, but there are definitely some bright spots, such as Clelin Ferrell and the newly-acquired Casey Heyward. But it’s so hard to see the Raiders as anything but a middle-of-the-pack team in the AFC. It feels like this is the case way too often, and I get the feeling that after another season of complete mediocrity, we could see come changes coming in Vegas.

4th: Denver Broncos (6-11)

Sometimes I feel like this team has no direction. It’s always one step forward, at least two steps back. This is genuinely a really good roster, but again, the biggest lack is the most important position. It has been two years now, and Drew Lock has still not established himself as a starting QB in this league. Sure, he shows flashes every now and then, but in between those flashes is nothing short of backup QB play. It’s not like he has no weapons offensively, as pieces like RB Melvin Gordon and WRs Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton are very good to have. Denver also has a great defense, as always, and it will keep them in almost any game. They even beefed up their secondary by taking DB Patrick Surtain II out of Alabama with their first round selection. But as long as this team doesn’t have serviceable QB play, they will not be going anywhere. I don’t have any faith in Drew Lock, and I can definitely see his time in Denver coming to a close this year.

Playoff Picture

1 – Bills (15-2)

2 – Ravens (14-3)

3 – Chiefs (13-4)

4 – Titans (11-6)

5 – Browns (12-5)

6 – Patriots (11-6)

7 – Chargers (11-6)

I feel very strongly about all of these teams making the playoffs this season. The only other team I think could sneak their way in is Miami, but again, I simply lack the faith in Tua Tagovailoa to get it done. With that being said, I’ll give my very brief playoff predictions based on this seeding:

Wild Card Weekend

In the 2v7 game, I’d easily take the Ravens to take down the Chargers. It would be the 1st ever playoff game for Justin Herbert against a far more experienced team in Baltimore, and being on the road wouldn’t help that at all.

The 3v6 game would be a revival of the Chiefs-Patriots rivalry, but without Tom Brady, it would likely be a Kansas City blowout. They have just been so good in the playoffs, and I don’t believe that Cam Newton or Mac Jones has what it takes to win a postseason game at Arrowhead.

The 4v5 game appears to be a rather ugly game on paper, but I think it could be a very fun shootout in Tennessee. In a game like that, I’d trust the better defense to win, and that is quite easily the Browns. There would be a lot of points scored, but when it comes down to needing a stop, I believe Cleveland could lock it up and move on. I certainly don’t believe the Titans can.

Divisional Round

The 1 seed Bills would get a matchup with the 5 seed Browns in a classic, old-school AFC playoff showdown. I told you earlier that you might be surprised with just how much faith I have in Cleveland, so don’t be too shocked when I say I’d pick them in this game. I think last year’s AFCCG set the blueprint on how to shut down the Bills in the playoffs: just make Josh Allen throw the ball every play. That is likely what will happen anyways, thanks to Buffalo’s nonexistent running game. On the other hand, Cleveland can run it all day long, and I think that run game, along with their defense, will get them to a title game.

The other divisional round game would be another matchup for the Chiefs with a nemesis, this time in the Ravens. While I would easily pick Baltimore strictly on paper, nobody has had Lamar Jackson’s number quite like the Chiefs. They have simply shut him down in every matchup with him, and I don’t think this would be any different, especially considering how well prepared Andy Reid is in the postseason.

AFC Championship Game

My prediction for this year’s title game is a rematch of last year’s divisional, where the Chiefs eeked out a win against the Browns after Patrick Mahomes was knocked out with a concussion. I can imagine Cleveland will be eager to get revenge, and considering my predicted trajectory for them, they’ll have all the momentum in the world on their side. In the playoffs, there are 2 major factors that I consider when deciding a winner: defense and run game. You know who dominates both of those factors in this matchup? The Browns. That’s right. I’m picking the Cleveland Browns to go to Super Bowl LVI. I just feel so strongly about them in so many aspects. Their roster is very deep, and if last year was any indication, this team has not even scratched the surface of their potential. I don’t know if they would dominate the Chiefs like Tampa Bay did in last year’s Super Bowl, but I certainly think they can defeat them, even on the road.

So, who will the Browns play in the Super Bowl? I’ll reveal that tomorrow with my NFC Preview, so stay tuned for that. As always, thanks for your time, and I’ll see you guys tomorrow.

Happy Wednesday! I know I’m late, and I’m really sorry. Things have been remarkably busy as the Fall semester winds down, so please try to forgive me. We are officially more than 50% done with the 2020 regular season. Where has time gone? Now that over half the season is done, we have a pretty good idea of where many teams stand, but there is still so much left to unpack and unfold in these final 8 weeks. That’s why they play the games. That was very apparent this week, as there was a bunch of awesome and unexpected things that took place. Let’s get into it.

Packers 34-17 49ers

There really isn’t a lot to take away from this game. The Niners were reduced to playing their C team against a Packers team that matches up against them so well that it was overwhelming. It was way too easy for QB Aaron Rodgers and WR Davante Adams once again because of course it was. Most teams would have blown out San Francisco on Thursday. Still, what they did was impressive, as Rodgers totaled 305 yards and 4 touchdowns on 81% completion, and Adams caught 10 balls for a whopping 173 yards and an impressive touchdown catch. The game was honestly over before it started, but it didn’t stop the Packers from pouring it on to the tune of a 34-3 lead in the 4th quarter. Nick Mullens and his 49ers were able to score a couple of consolation touchdowns in the final 5 minutes of the game, but it meant nothing. The Niners did have a standout performer, and it was WR Richie James. James, who doesn’t play much when the team is fully healthy, caught 9 passes for 184 yards and a score. Good for him to make the most of this opportunity. As predicted, it seems like the 49ers are headed downhill very fast. The Packers picked up a much needed win, but it doesn’t really tell us anything about them. The concerns are still very much apparent with Green Bay.

Falcons 34-27 Broncos

Thank God the Falcons didn’t blow it again. Atlanta dominated for almost this entire game, but still somehow almost found themselves losing… again. They had a 21 point lead in the 4th thanks to some very good play all day long from QB Matt Ryan, who threw 3 TDs, including some nice throws to WRs Olamide Zaccheaus and Julio Jones, and a pick. The Broncos offense simply could not get anything going as QB Drew Lock and company were completely stagnant against a subpar Falcons defense. Lock’s struggles continued again as he played quite poorly all game long with the exception of the last few drives against a Falcons defense that was simply being the Falcons 4th quarter defense. The Broncos statpadded to a respectable final score and statline, but anyone who watched the game knows that it was not close. The Falcons have now picked up back to back wins and are finally looking like the team that they were supposed to be. It’s hurting their chances at a top QB in April, but still, good for them. Meanwhile, Denver is really struggling against everyone, and their season is very much over. I wouldn’t be surprised if they start looking for Lock’s replacement. As I have been saying, he is not the answer.

Bills 44-34 Seahawks

As I predicted, there were lots and lots of points on Sunday in Orchard Park. There just happened to be way more than I anticipated. That is in large part due to the Seahawks defense being so appalling that it’s almost impossible to watch, mainly because it’s not possible to watch something that doesn’t exist. The Bills passing attack chopped up the Seattle secondary all game long, and the game was clearly over from the start. QB Josh Allen was leading touchdown drive after touchdown drive to the tune of 3 first half touchdowns with just 2 incompletions. It was easy pickings for Bills WRs all game long against the worst defense in football. Seattle tried to claw back in it and even cut the lead to as little as 7, but the Bills put the game away in the fourth quite easily. Allen finished the game with an insane 415 yards on 82% completion to go along with 3 touchdowns and no picks. Star WR Stefon Diggs also had another huge game with 118 yards on 9 catches. It wasn’t necessarily a struggle for Seattle on offense, but it wasn’t enough. Almost all of their points came at times where the game was already out of hand. The Seahawks were bound to lose a game like this. QB Russell Wilson had bailed them out so many times in games that they 100% deserved to lose. I’m almost glad they lost. They needed a reality check. Their grip on the 1 seed is loosening fast, and they need to wake up on defense if they want to have a shot to reclaim it.

Titans 24-17 Bears

This one was boring. As expected. I honestly can’t recall most things that happened in this game. Once again, the Bears offense decided that they wanted to stay home in Chicago for the week. They were held scoreless until the 4th quarter thanks to a surprisingly good performance by the Titans defense, which has struggled all year long until now. The trade for CB Desmond King is appearing to pay off in a big way, as the newcomer had a 63 yard fumble return for a touchdown to put Tennessee up 17-0 in the third quarter. The Titan’s offense also did its thing just as much as it needed to. WR A.J. Brown had himself another huge day, catching 4 passes for 101 yards and a score. Tennessee only put up 228 total yards, but their defense dominated the game for long enough to help them get a comfortable lead to the point where it didn’t matter. Chicago statpadded to make this game look closer than it was, but they were never really in it. It’s the 3rd straight loss for this team that once commanded respect and is slowly slipping out of the playoff picture. Once again, their glaring issue is their offense, which is going nowhere fast. I don’t think they’ll figure it out anytime soon, and because of that, we’ll be sticking a fork in them very soon.

Ravens 24-10 Colts

What do you know, the Ravens decided to win a big game. The win definitely belongs to one unit in particular: the defense. Baltimore’s D did huge things to help their offense, returning a fumble 65 yards for a score, and getting a very, very questionable interception that led directly to 7 more points from their offense. Much like Tennessee, the Ravens offense didn’t do anything flashy or amazing on Sunday. They simply capitalized on every opportunity they were given, and it helped them win. Their defense suffocated the Colts all game long, as they were held to just 3 points in the final 50 minutes of the game, and 0 second half points. This is the Ravens’ formula for winning games, but I just don’t think it will work against teams with dangerous offenses, which the Colts do not have. It’s a good win for a team that needed it badly, but I still have my questions and doubts about this team in big spots. They’ll have plenty of chances to prove me wrong. Meanwhile, I would say that Indy needs to figure out their situation on offense, but I believe in them against other teams. Baltimore just happens to have one of the best defenses in football. They get the Titans on Thursday in a game that will really dictate the rest of their season. They better hope they don’t mess it up.

Chiefs 33-31 Panthers

This one was surprisingly very fun. This game was an offense-fest and a shootout from the jump. Carolina actually dictated the game for majority of the first half, jumping out to 7-0, 14-3, and 17-13 leads in the first 30 minutes. The return of RB Christian McCaffrey paid huge dividends, as he reached the endzone twice in the game, and clearly gave the offense an extra gear that they had been missing for the previous 6 games. The Chiefs wouldn’t be held back for long, as they slowly got back into the game, and eventually put it away in the 4th thanks to more stellar play from QB Patrick Mahomes, who is the new MVP frontrunner in my eyes. The Panthers didn’t go away quietly at all, as they cut the lead to 2 twice in the 4th, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Kansas City’s passing attack. Mahomes finished the game with 372 yards and 4 touchdowns, 2 of which went to WR Tyreek Hill in the 4th quarter. Hill also had 113 yards on 9 catches. Despite the loss and now likely being out of playoff positioning, the Panthers should be proud of the fight they put up. QB Teddy Bridgewater had 310 yards passing and 2 touchdowns, and WR Curtis Samuel had another huge game with 105 yards and a score on 9 catches. McCaffrey ended up hurting his shoulder, and will likely be out again for at least another week. It’s a shame for one of the league’s best players and a team that once had a lot of promise. Meanwhile, the Chiefs continue to win game after game in pursuit of the 1 seed in the AFC. I’m sure they can’t wait for Pittsburgh to drop a game, but they’ll have to keep on waiting.

Vikings 34-20 Lions

Dalvin. Effing. Cook. That was the story of the game once again for Minnesota. Not much else needs to be said. The Vikings controlled this game from start to finish, and it was largely thanks to the performance of their star RB. Cook finished the game with 206 yards and 2 touchdowns on 22 carries, including a 70 yard sprint to the endzone in the fourth quarter. QB Kirk Cousins also had himself a nice game with 220 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. The Lions were able to produce offensively, but for most of the game, they simply struggled to put points on the board. They only scored 10 points through 3 quarters and were down by as much as 21 in the 4th. They were simply never in it in the second half. Once again, a team and a coach that prides themselves on defense was absolutely gashed. The Lions need to take a long, hard look at themselves and make some changes. This is going nowhere in Detroit. Meanwhile, the Vikings have to feel good about themselves, but they also need to remember where they are and who they played. Anyone can move the ball on Detroit. It is a good confidence booster for a team that needed it, but it doesn’t mean anything in the big picture. The team is still firmly out of any playoff or division race.

Giants 23-20 Washington

Sigh. It never ends. I don’t know what’s cursed… the team? The stadium? The owner? All of the above? Whatever it is, I am really just sick and tired of it. Washington got off to a very slow start, falling into a 10-0 hole thanks to a ridiculous hot potato fumble and a nonexistent offense. On the first real promising drive of the day, QB Kyle Allen was sacked on a low diving tackle by Giants S Jabrill Peppers and his leg was rolled up on. Replays showed how his leg bent inwards and he dislocated his ankle. That makes 3 Washington QBs in the last 3 years and 4 in the last 8 with gruesome, career-altering leg injuries. As I said, it never ends. You can’t help but feel awful for Kyle Allen, who was trying his hardest to prove himself as a starting QB in this league. I’m hoping for the best for him. Since the once-starter Dwayne Haskins was inactive for this game, Washington had to turn to Alex Smith once again, and… it wasn’t horrible? Not yet at least. The rest of the half played out very embarrassingly as the Giants took a 20-3 lead into the break thanks to a poor interception thrown by Smith deep in Giants territory. Washington stormed out of the gates in the 2nd half and took the opening possession for a touchdown. After a couple of field goals, Washington struck again, this time on a terrific catch and run for a 68-yard touchdown by star WR Terry McLaurin, who showed out once again in his first game as a captain. McLaurin finished with 7 catches for 115 yards and that touchdown. After forcing a punt, the WFT got the ball back with 5 minutes left with a chance to tie the game or take the lead. They got the ball into Giants territory, but in typical WFT fashion, Smith threw another pick on a poor, high throw that fell right in the hands of Jabrill Peppers. Washington forced another 3 and out, and thanks to having all 3 timeouts, got the ball back with 2 minutes left. But, it happened again, because of course it did. Smith threw another very bad interception to put the game away for good. I don’t want to knock Alex, because he had a very good game in relief outside of those pretty big mistakes. He finished with 325 yards on 75% completion, which is no small feat considering the Washington offense in 2020. His performance was good enough for him to be named the starter for next week, as the coaching staff still refuses to give Haskins another shot, for whatever reason. I suppose it doesn’t matter, since this team is now 2-6 and playing for a top QB in the upcoming draft. The Giants are now 2-7 with their only wins coming against Washington. QB Daniel Jones is now 4-0 in his career against the WFT and 1-17 against the rest of the NFL. Woof.

Texans 27-25 Jaguars

If there’s anything the Texans can do right in 2020, it’s beat the Jaguars. It wasn’t easy though, and that is largely because of the very impressive performance from Jags QB Jake Luton, a rookie taken in the 6th round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He came out of the gate firing, as just his 2nd throw of the day was a deep shot to WR D.J. Chark for a 73 yard touchdown. After that, the Texans were able to dictate the game for almost the rest of the way. They responded with a long touchdown of their own from QB Deshaun Watson to WR Brandin Cooks. With a 4 point second half lead, Watson found WR Will Fuller V for another deep touchdown throw to but Houston up 27-16. The Jags couldn’t get any offense going in the second half until the end of the game, just to make things spicy. Thanks to an earlier field goal, it was just an 8 point game, and Luton had the game in his hands. With just 90 seconds to play, he had a very impressive 13 yard touchdown run in which he spun past a defender to reach the endzone. All Jacksonville needed was a 2-point conversion to force OT, but they were stopped, and the Texans held on. It was a tough loss for a Jags team that is practically begging for a win at this point. I’m sure their fans are fine with this as they’re sitting comfortably in position to draft a top QB in April. The Texans are now 2-0 against Jacksonville and 0-6 against the rest of the league in 2020, but they’ll take any wins they can. They don’t even have a first rounder, so they can use any confidence boosters and as much momentum as possible.

Raiders 31-26 Chargers

Chargers gonna.. Charger? Charge? I don’t know. All I know is that they did it again. This was an entertaining, back and forth affair from the jump, as both offenses were able to move the ball with efficiency all game long. Los Angeles was able to take a 3-point lead into the halftime break thanks to more great play from QB Justin Herbert and WR Keenan Allen and a late fumble from Vegas. The 2nd half belonged to the Raiders, as they came out of the locker room on fire, scoring 2 touchdowns on their first 2 drives to take a 28-17 lead. In the 4th, the Chargers, now down just 8, were back in the endzone, but couldn’t punch in the 2-point conversion. After a Vegas FG, LA had a chance to go win the game. Herbert, who is never afraid of the moment, led a very impressive drive down the field and put the Chargers right on the goal line with a chance to win the game with a touchdown. With 5 seconds left, Herbert lobbed a pass to WR Mike Williams on a fade route, and Williams almost made a tough grab, but it was broken up and incomplete. 1 second was left for the Chargers, and they tried to do the exact same thing. This time, the fade went to TE Donald Parham who caught it after a bobble, and it was incredibly ruled a touchdown to win the game for the Chargers. However, upon review, it was clear that the ball touched the ground and was incomplete. The referees confirmed it, and Vegas won. For the 6th time this season, the Chargers lost a game by one possession. I don’t know how it keeps happening, but it does. Herbert had another great game with 326 yards and 2 TDs, and Allen added 103 yards and a touchdown on 9 catches, but once again, it simply wasn’t enough. You can definitely make the argument that LA was the better team in this game, but it didn’t matter. Vegas is now 5-3 and poised to make a playoff run. This team looks good, but once again, their defense is giving me a lot of concerns. They need to figure that out ASAP. Other than that, this team is very talented and very well-coached. I can definitely see them playing in January.

Steelers 24-19 Cowboys

What the hell was that, Pittsburgh? How on EARTH do you struggle all game long against some dude named Garrett Gilbert? The Cowboys started the 29-year old who nobody has ever heard of, but he did what he needed to do and then some on Sunday. Dallas somehow controlled this game through 45 minutes, leading by as much as 13 points in the first half, holding the Steelers scoreless through almost 29 minutes. It wasn’t until there was 70 seconds left in the first half that the Steelers had points. Entering the 4th quarter down 19-9, they finally decided to wake up and dominate the rest of the game. The first play of the 4th was an impressive catch and run for a touchdown by WR Juju Smith-Schuster. The Steelers would get a field goal on their next possession, and upon getting the ball back again, QB Ben Roethlisberger found his TE Eric Ebron for an 8-yard score to put Pittsburgh on top for the first time all game with just over 2 minutes to play. The Steelers defense forced a turnover on downs to seemingly end the game. However, in a very weird turn of events, Pittsburgh themselves turned the ball over on downs after electing to go for a 4th and 1 rather than kicking a field goal from the Dallas 15 yard line. Dallas got the ball right back and were actually able to drive it down to the Steelers’ 23 yard line. On the last play of the game, Gilbert chucked it to the endzone, but it was broken up by S Minkah Fitzpatrick, and the Steelers escaped with a win. It should have never been that tough, and it was rather embarrassing of the Steelers to put up such a dud. They won, but it was not convincing whatsoever. They may be 8-0, but they are not the best team in the league.

Dolphins 34-31 Cardinals

As predicted, this one was a blast. It was full of offense and young talent on both sides of the ball. The Dolphins defense got off to a hot start, picking up where they left off last week, as the first score of the game was a fumble return for a touchdown following a strip sack of Cardinals QB Kyler Murray. In the 2nd quarter, down 14-7, Murray lobbed a gorgeous pass to WR Christian Kirk, who has emerged as an elite deep threat, for a 56 yard strike to tie the game. Trailing by 7 again in the 3rd quarter, the Cards scored two touchdowns to take a 31-24 lead heading into the 4th. In the final frame, Dolphins rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa showed up and showed out, making a huge statement. Tua made play after play, especially moving around in the pocket like Russell Wilson and either running for big gains or extending plays and finding his receivers. He found WR Mack Hollins on an absolutely perfect throw in the endzone for the game-tying score. On the Cardinals’ next possession, they were faced with a 4th and 1 in Dolphins territory. Rather than opting for a field goal to take the lead, Arizona went for it, and they were stuffed by the Dolphins defense. Miami took advantage and drove all the way down the field for a go-ahead field goal. Arizona got the ball back and once again drove it into Dolphins territory. Faced with another 4th and short, they opted to kick a field goal to potentially tie the game, but it came up just short, and that proved to be the knockout punch. It was a very tight game throughout, and one that could’ve gone either way. Perhaps if the Cardinals had better decision making, they could’ve left with a win. Kyler was spectacular, throwing for 283 yards and 3 touchdowns on 81% completion. He also had a career day on the ground, running for 106 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. It wasn’t enough to overcome a Dolphins team that is playing amazing football lately. This is their 4th straight win, and they are in great position to make a playoff push. The move to start Tua is appearing to be paying off just fine. The rook had a very nice game with 248 yards and 2 touchdowns. He looks like he belongs. Good for him.

Saints 38-3 Buccaneers

Uh… wow. That was one of the most embarrassing games I have ever seen in any sport. The Bucs entered this game as decent favorites, and nobody was picking the Saints to win it. Oh, how wrong we all were. From the start, this game was not close. Tampa started the game going 3 and out, and New Orleans responded with an impressive touchdown drive. The Bucs went 3 and out again, and the Saints came 2 yards away from another touchdown, but TE Jared Cook fumbled the football on the goal line. What did the Buccaneers do with this newfound opportunity? They went 3 and out. The Saints went right back down the field and scored another touchdown. Tampa needed to get things going, so what better way to respond than by going 3 and out again? New Orleans appreciated that gift and scored, you guessed it, another touchdown. The Bucs, after four 3 and outs leading to a 21-0 deficit, decided they didn’t want to do that anymore. They decided to reinvent the game and instead took just TWO plays to get off the field as QB Tom Brady was picked off after being hit on a throw. Yada yada yada, another Saints touchdown. In the blink of an eye, New Orleans was up 28-0. Tampa was FINALLY able to move the chains after 22 minutes of doing absolutely nothing, but they ended up turning the ball over on downs later in the drive. It led to more Saints points, but it was just 3 this time. After another horrible Brady INT, it was finally halftime. It was 31-0. It was disgusting, it was ugly, and it was over. The Bucs would turn the ball over on downs once again and Brady would throw another awful pick before it was all said and done. The Saints were up as much as 38-0 before the Bucs finally got a field goal on the second to last drive of the game. Nothing else really needs to be said. The box score, the final score, everything speaks for itself. The Saints doubled the Bucs in time of possession, more than doubled them in yards, and forced 3 absolutely inexcusable interceptions from Tom Brady. Tampa made history by becoming the first team to ever rush the ball less than 6 times in a single game, only running it 4 times all game long. How on Earth does that even happen? I don’t even want to think about it. Saints QB Drew Brees had himself a beautiful game, throwing for an efficient 222 yards on 81% completion to go along with 4 touchdown tosses. The Saints are now 6-2 with 5 straight wins and have leapfrogged to not only 1st place in the NFC South, but the 1 seed in the NFC. I’m not sure how long that will hold, but it is a huge development. Meanwhile, Tampa… I don’t even want to waste my time talking about them. What a disgrace.

Patriots 30-27 Jets

Zzzzzzzz… oh yeah, this game happened. Honestly, it wasn’t bad at all. The Jets were absolutely the better team for most, if not all of the game. QB Joe Flacco got the starting nod in lieu of Sam Darnold’s nagging injuries, and played very well, for the most part. He was dotting the New England secondary to the tune of 262 yards and 3 touchdowns. After his 3rd touchdown pass, the Jets led 27-17 heading into the 4th. They were in very good position to win their first game, as even their defense was doing a good job. I will admit that it is very easy to contain the Patriots offense, but the Jets doing a good job at anything commands respect. The 4th quarter stalled for a very long time. After a field goal from the Pats, it was just a 7 point game. The Jets should have been able to chew some clock and help secure a win. Instead, Flacco launched a deep ball into double coverage on the first play of the drive, and it was picked off. The Patriots took advantage of the gift and drove down for the game-tying touchdown. Once again, presented with an opportunity to do literally anything, the Jets decided, “nah”, and went 3 and out within seconds. With the ball back in his hands, QB Cam Newton led an impressive drive to put the Pats in position to win. With just 8 seconds left, Newton found WR Jakobi Meyers, who had himself quite a night with 169 yards on 12 catches, at the Jets 33. The Pats called timeout, and thanks to a lack of a timeout call by the Jets, nailed the game-winner from 51 yards out. It almost felt like the Jets were trying to lose. I don’t blame them, and the tank is reaching honestly impressive levels, but come on. That’s just poor. The Patriots needed a win and got one, but it was very ugly and arguably undeserved. This team is still really bad and going nowhere, but hey, at least they could beat the Jets!

All stats taken from ESPN.

Holy sh*t. That’s the only way I can describe this week’s football games. This was one of the most fun, insane, and absolutely thrilling slate of games that I have ever seen in 13 years of watching football. This one is gonna be long, but let’s recap one of the wildest weeks in recent memory.

Eagles 22-21 Giants

Thursday night’s NFC East showdown was expected to be a snoozefest, but it was actually quite a good game with some very memorable moments. The game was tight for about 2.5 quarters, but momentum swung in a huge way when the Giants pulled off one of the wackiest and funniest plays in recent memory. From his own 12 yard line QB Daniel Jones kept the ball on a zone read, faking out the entire city of Philadelphia, and was LOOSE with nobody within 10 yards of him. Jones was streaking down the field, shockingly reaching the highest speed of any QB this season (per Next Gen Stats), and nobody was gonna catch him. Unfortunately for Jones, the grass caught him, and he tripped and stumbled down at the 8 yard line to be downed after an EIGHTY (80) yard run. It was a hilarious play that garnered attention from all corners of the media, and won’t soon be forgotten. Luckily for the Giants, they still reached the endzone on that drive to take a 14-10 lead. Later in the game, with just over 6 minutes to play, Jones found WR Sterling Shepard for a 2 yard score to put New York up by 11, and seemingly ice the game. But, if there’s anything that you should know about Eagles QB Carson Wentz, it’s that he never goes down without a fight. Wentz led his team right down the field for a quick touchdown and a failed 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 5. All the Giants needed to put the game away for good was a 1st down conversion or two. On a crucial 3rd down, Daniel Jones lofted a perfect, beautiful pass to TE Evan Engram, who inexplicably dropped the ball to give the ball right back to Philly. Predictably, the Eagles went all the way down the field, and with 40 seconds left, Wentz rifled in a perfect pass in between defenders to his RB Boston Scott for the go-ahead score. The Giants had a chance to go down and win the game with very limited time left, but Jones fumbled the ball on a strip sack to put the game to bed. The Eagles picked up their 2nd win of the year, and leapfrogged to 1st place in the NFC East at 2-4-1. This team has gotten off to some slow starts in the last 2 games, but they have fought back hard late. With the rest of the division falling apart, Philly is now starting to emerge as the favorite to win the NFC East.

Lions 23-22 Falcons

This one was wacky. What else should we have expected from a Falcons game in 2020? This was a tight game throughout that was shockingly dominated by defenses more than offenses, which was the exact opposite of what I predicted last Thursday. With just over 3 minutes to play, the Lions took a 16-14 lead on a long Matt Prater field goal. The Falcons were able to do exactly what they needed to do, marching the ball right down the field, burning the Lions timeouts and setting up a potential chipshot game-winner for kicker Younghoe Koo. Trying to burn just a bit more clock from the Detroit 10 yard line, they gave the ball to RB Todd Gurley, who simply needed to go down before the endzone. In typical Georgia sports fashion, he didn’t. Gurley realized his mistake too late, and despite trying to go down before the endzone, ended up breaking the plane for the go-ahead touchdown. It left QB Matt Stafford and the Lions more than enough time to go back down the field and try to win the game for themselves. Thanks to a successful Atlanta 2-point conversion, the Lions needed a touchdown and an extra point to win. On the second to last play of the game, Stafford heaved the ball to WR Kenny Golladay, the man who had a huge game, who leaped up and made a spectacular contested grab at the Falcons 11 yard line. After a spike, Detroit only needed an 11 yard touchdown on the game’s final play. After running around an extending the play, Stafford threw a pass to his TE T.J. Hockenson, who had separated from his defender for an unbelievable touchdown to tie the game at 22. All Matt Prater needed to do for the win was hit the extra point, and he did just that. It was another awful, disgraceful, unbelievable loss for the Falcons, who are seemingly doing this just to mess with us at this point. These horrible blown games and ridiculous mistakes are happening way too often for this not to be some sort of prank or social experiment. Regardless, Atlanta is now 1-6 and reeling more than ever. This was the 2nd consecutive win for the Lions, albeit against two of the league’s worst teams, but it must feel good for them to be getting their season back on track. They now sit at .500 and are trending upwards. I doubt it will continue, but again, it was much needed for this team.

Browns 37-34 Bengals

The 2nd battle for Ohio this season was even better than its predecessor. This game was a wildly entertaining shootout from start to finish, highlighted by two incredible QB performances. Browns QB Baker Mayfield and Bengals QB Joe Burrow were going back and forth all afternoon long in Cincinnati, especially in the 4th quarter. The Bengals entered the final period up by 3, and what followed was 15 minutes of pure offense and adrenaline. There were 5 lead changes in the 4th, all of which coming on touchdown passes. The Browns struck first on a pass to David Njoku to go up 24-20. Burrow responded right back with a TD to his fellow rookie, WR Tee Higgins, who has emerged as a star in the Cincy offense. Once again down 3, Baker found his RB Kareem Hunt on a short score to retake a 4 point lead. With just 66 seconds left to play, Burrow dumped it off to RB Giovani Bernard, who muscled his way across the plane to put the Bengals up 34-31 for what felt like a game-winning score. But, these are the Cincinnati Bengals, so heartbreak was inevitable. With 11 seconds left, Baker Mayfield found rookie WR Donovan Peoples-Jones on an incredible throw and catch on the right corner of the endzone for the definite game-winning touchdown. It was a remarkable back-and-forth affair, and both signal callers played awesome football. Mayfield finished the game 22-28 with 297 yards and 5 passing touchdowns. Burrow was incredible as always, throwing for 406 yards and 3 touchdowns in addition to running in a score in the first quarter. The Bengals may be losing a lot of games, but the #1 overall pick has kept them in all of them. He is truly special. For Cleveland, it was a good bounce back game that the team needed to get back on track after last week’s embarrassment in Pittsburgh. I still don’t have much faith in them, but there is no denying that they look good. However, it’ll be an uphill battle without WR Odell Beckham Jr., who unfortunately suffered a torn ACL in the first quarter of this game. We can only hope that he has a speedy, healthy recovery.

Steelers 27-24 Titans

2020’s final battle of unbeatens did not disappoint. The Steelers got off to a blazing hot start, taking the ball 75 yards on 16 plays on the game’s opening possession, with a duration of over NINE (9) minutes, for a touchdown. They would score the first 14 points of the game and held a 24-7 lead at halftime. QB Ben Roethlisberger was playing a clean, efficient game, throwing 2 first half touchdowns, both to WR Diontae Johnson, who has emerged as one of the deadliest weapons in this stacked Pittsburgh offense. Meanwhile, Tennessee’s offense was being stifled by the Steelers’ stellar defense, as QB Ryan Tannehill couldn’t get things going through the air and RB Derrick Henry was being stuffed play after play on the ground. However, the second half was a different story. The Steelers extended their lead to 20 with a field goal, and what followed was a relentless comeback effort by the Titans. It started with WR A.J. Brown taking a short catch on a slant route 73 yards to the house, leaving several Steelers DBs in the dust. The Titans added a field goal late in the 3rd after a poor interception by Big Ben to cut the lead to 10. The Steelers then went on a masterful drive, going 72 yards on a whopping 16 plays, chewing up over 7.5 minutes of clock. Unfortunately for them, the drive came to an abrupt stop thanks to another very bad interception thrown by Roethlisberger in the endzone to set the Titans up with a golden opportunity to go right back down the field to tie or win the game. Tannehill did just that led his team all the way down to the Steelers 28, setting up a very makable game-tying FG for kicker Stephen Gostowski, who has hit several game winning kicks this season. His kick from 45 was straight for a short while, but ended up sailing right and missed narrowly, preventing the game from going into overtime and giving the Titans their first loss since last year’s AFC Championship Game. The Steelers did deserve to win this game for outplaying Tennessee for virtually the whole game, but you can’t help but feel for the Titans, who almost pulled off another incredible comeback. The Steelers improved to 6-0, and, thanks to the Seahawks loss later on Sunday, are now the NFL’s lone undefeated team. They looked very good at times against the Titans, but Roethlisberger was way too errant late, and they had no business almost blowing the game. They may be the last team without a loss, but I don’t think they are the best team in the league. I will say that they’re pretty damn close.

Saints 27-24 Panthers

This was a pretty fun game in the Superdome. It was somewhat of a homecoming for Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater, who is arguably only a starting QB now because of what he was able to do in relief of Drew Brees last season in New Orleans. Teddy and his Panthers got off to a bit of a slow start, as the Saints jumped out to an early 14-3 lead thanks to a phenomenal touchdown catch by TE Jared Cook and a patented leap for a touchdown by QB Drew Brees. Carolina was able to respond in a big way, as Bridgewater launched a perfect deep ball to WR D.J. Moore, who was wide open against a struggling Saints secondary, for a 74-yard score. The Panthers were able to reach the endzone with Moore again before the end of the half, as he took an end around for a 7-yard touchdown to put them up 17-14. Brees led a clutch 2-minute drill drive in response, as he found WR Deonte Harris for a 4-yard touchdown pass with just 2 seconds left in the half to retake the lead going into the break. In the third quarter, the Saints went up by 7 thanks to a field goal, and the Panthers were able to tie the game on another run by a receiver, this time with Curtis Samuel scoring a 5-yard touchdown. Both defenses were able to hold for the rest of the game, but thanks to a Saints FG with just under 8 minutes to play, New Orleans was able to escape with a narrow victory against their division rival. It wasn’t easy at the end, though. Panthers HC Matt Rhule had one of the ballsiest decisions of the season thus far, attempting a game-tying field goal from 65 yards out with 2 minutes left. It would have been the longest field goal in NFL history had it gone in, and Panthers kicker Joey Slye almost did just that. It came up just a few yards short, and the Panthers lost. Carolina put up a good fight, but there is no doubt that they were the inferior team on Sunday. Their leading rusher had just 12 yards, and they struggled to move the ball at times against a Saints defense which has had many issues of its own this year. New Orleans has now ripped off 3 straight wins and are right back in the NFC South title race. Their next two games are against 5-2 squads: Chicago and Tampa Bay. One of those games is not like the other. Their Week 9 contest against the Bucs might just be the deciding game in this division. They should definitely not look ahead, but it’ll be hard not to.

Bills 18-10 Jets

Perhaps the snoozefest of the week. Maybe I should start handing that award out every Tuesday. Most games with the Jets in it would win the award. New York actually got off to a shocking 10-0 lead on Sunday thanks to Buffalo’s offense still being on the bus. The Bills were finally able to wake up on both sides of the ball, but never to the tune of a touchdown. They saw what the Broncos did in New England in Week 6 and thought, “It’d be pretty neat if we did that.” Kicker Tyler Bass knocked through 6 field goals, and that was all that was needed to beat the Jets. It helped that New York amassed an incredible, amazing, wonderful FOUR YARDS in the ENTIRE second half. Four. They moved the ball 12 feet. In 30 minutes. Just when you thought the Jets couldn’t reach a new low, they go out there and do it. What a sad game for both parties. The Bills need to solve these offensive struggles quickly. Yes, they racked up over 422 yards of offense, but not scoring a touchdown all game long? Against the Jets? A bit embarrassing.

Washington 25-3 Cowboys

I’ll admit it. This was fun. Very, very fun. I know I’ve been a complete cynic about this entire Washington Football Team season, but how could I now enjoy a complete clobbering of the Cowboys? I live for games like this. Even in a tank and in the midst of an embarrassing season, I will accept this all day long. From start to finish, this was a complete domination by Washington. QB Kyle Allen led an impressive opening drive that culminated in an overturned touchdown to Terry McLaurin and a 4th and goal stop by the Dallas defense, but the WFT defense still secured points by forcing a fumble by Cowboys QB Andy Dalton that was recovered by the offense in the endzone for a safety. Washington got the ball right back and ran right down the Cowboys’ throats in a drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown by rookie RB Antonio Gibson, who has become a star and a true RB1 in this offense. In the 2nd quarter, up 9-3, Washington WR Terry McLaurin and Cowboys rookie DB Trevon Diggs were seen jawing at each other after a play. McLaurin casually responded by absolutely burning Diggs on the next play and catching a beautiful deep ball by Kyle Allen for a 52-yard score. Terry celebrated by rocking the ball like a baby to add insult to injury. Washington wasn’t done scoring in the 2nd half, as Allen found TE Logan Thomas on a short pass that Thomas took 15 yards for another touchdown to put the WFT up 22-3. For the second consecutive game, Dallas’ offense never got going, even for a second. Andy Dalton was struggling against a solid Washington defense that wasn’t letting him breathe. It was a breakout game from LB Cole Holcomb, who had his hands all over the game with an interception and a very impressive sack in which he bulldozed RB Ezekiel Elliot in pass protection. In the second half, Dalton suffered a very unfortunate concussion while sliding thanks to a horrible cheap shot by LB Jon Bostic. Bostic would be ejected from the game. The entire second half was a punt-fest, as the only score was a 4th quarter Washington field goal. Overall, it was a remarkably balanced game by the Washington offense, throwing for 189 yards and rushing for 208. Gibson had 128 yards (the highest total in the league this week) and a score on 20 carries. It was a different story for Dallas, who put up a measly 142 yards with just 54 coming through the air. This is the same team that led the league in passing yards coming into this week. Of course, that is thanks to Dak Prescott, who this team misses dearly. This season is unequivocally over for the Cowboys, and I am quite happy that a loss to us was the final domino to fall in this disaster of a season in Dallas.

Packers 35-20 Texans

As I predicted, this was a complete masterclass from Aaron Rodgers. The Packers QB played an incredible game against the Texans, as Green Bay dominated from wire to wire. Rodgers to WR Davante Adams was the story of the game, with ARod throwing for 283 yards and 4 TDs and Adams catching 13 of those passes for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns. RB Jamaal Williams also had himself a nice game in relief of the injured Aaron Jones, accounting for 77 yards on the ground and scoring a touchdown. Houston was able to get going offensively only one they were down by 3 scores, and they never had a shot at coming back. This team is simply lacking on both sides of the ball and don’t have what it takes at all to compete with elite teams. You can only hope that they hire the right coach in January. For Green Bay, it was a nice bounce back win after getting ran out of the building last week in Tampa. Momentum is back on their side as they head into the meat of their schedule. I will take this performance with a grain of salt, as Houston is terrible, and I’m excited to see if the Packers actually show up against the best teams on their schedule.

Buccaneers 45-20 Raiders

Breaking news that has no reason to be breaking: Tom Brady still has it. I really can’t believe people were giving up on this man in Tampa. I was one of the many people that were very concerned with the way his 2019 season ended in New England, but we can clearly see now that it was a product of that team having nothing going for them offensively. Now, in Tampa, with all the weapons in the world and an elite defense, Brady is leading this team to new heights. This game was actually close in the first half, thanks to an opening possession touchdown throw from Raiders QB Derek Carr to WR Nelson Agholor. Brady would respond with 3 first half touchdowns of his own, including a drop dead gorgeous deep ball to WR Scotty Miller for a 33 yard score. Again, if you had your doubts about this man’s ability to throw the football, please exit left. Vegas was able to cut the lead down to just 4 in the fourth quarter thanks to a touchdown and a field goal, but Brady went full closeout mode. It almost reminds you of seeing Mariano Rivera step out of the pen to close a game for the Yankees. Tom led not one, not two, but three consecutive touchdown drives to put Vegas away for good. It was a remarkable performance for the GOAT, who finished with 369 yards passing on 33/45 completion, 4 passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown. Brady is more than fine, the Tampa defense is more than fine, and the Bucs are soaring. This is one of the league’s best teams, and they proved it. The Raiders are no joke, despite being .500. They hung around for a long while in this game, they just couldn’t overcome GOAT activity. The team is still loaded with talent and will win a lot of games this year. But the main takeaway has to be Tom Brady, who played so well that he has now entered the MVP conversation. At age 43. Greatness.

Chiefs 43-16 Broncos

Snow game! Well, kind of. There was snow on the ground and some flurries throughout in this complete walloping of the Broncos by Kansas City. There isn’t a lot to take away from this game other than that Denver is still pretty bad and the Chiefs are still the best team in football. Once again, KC didn’t ask QB Patrick Mahomes to do anything incredible, as they won the game in every facet. Mahomes had just 200 yards passing and a single passing TD on 15 completions. Of the 5 Chiefs touchdowns, one was passing, two were rushing (one of them coming from their backup QB), one was a pick 6, and the other was a kickoff return for a touchdown. The Chiefs became the first team this season to score in all 3 phases, and it was well deserved by a team that excels at playing well-rounded football. The Broncos were never really in it, and QB Drew Lock put up another dud, not throwing a touchdown for the second consecutive game, and throwing 2 more interceptions. Lock is talented, and can get the job done in some games, but I expect Denver to move off him very quickly. I don’t think he has what it takes to be a franchise QB.

49ers 33-6 Patriots

For the first time in my life, the Patriots are headed to the cellar. New England put up another disgusting game on offense, and it was largely thanks to QB Cam Newton playing his worst game in a Patriots uniform yet. Cam was absolutely atrocious, throwing for 98 yards and 3 ugly interceptions on 9/15 passing en route to being benched in the second half. Once again, the Patriots couldn’t run at all against a 49ers defense that was surprisingly very stingy once again. The run game on the other side of the ball was the story of the game. San Francisco had their way all game long on the ground, despite several injuries to their RBs. Jeff Wilson Jr., who is probably listed as the 4th RB on the depth chart, ran circles around the New England defense to the tune of 112 yards and 3 (!!) touchdowns on just 17 carries. The Patriots, who have been known for their stellar defense in the last few years, got boatraced by a 49ers offense with injuries at seemingly every position. QB Jimmy Garoppolo did throw 2 picks, but one of them only led to 3 points and the other was at the end of the first half. Other than that, Jimmy G was fine, throwing for 277 yards on 80% completion. The Niners are now way back on track, and are above .500 for the first time since Week 3. They are right in the thick of things in the NFC. Meanwhile, New England is falling off a cliff, and they are falling fast. This was their 3rd straight loss, and they are averaging 9.3 points per game in those losses. They have 18 points in the last 2 games, and Cam Newton is playing horrible football. This team only had defense going for them, and now that isn’t even working. This season is over for them. The only question is, what happens now?

Chargers 39-29 Jaguars

The world is starting to realize a truth that I have been preaching for years: Justin Herbert is the god damn truth. The rookie QB out of Oregon has done nothing but perform in his 5 starts, and he finally got his first win on Sunday. As if his play in his first 4 starts wasn’t good enough, he played arguably his best game in Inglewood against the Jags in Week 7. The rook tossed for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns in addition to being the team’s leading rusher with 66 yards and a rushing touchdown. All 3 of his touchdowns went to 3 different receivers as well. It was really a game of runs, as the Chargers jumped out to a 16-0 lead, but the Jags came back quickly with 3 touchdowns to go up 21-16. The third quarter was like a heavyweight fight, with both offenses scoring touchdown after touchdown. Down by 7, Herbert found WR Jaylen Guyton on a beautiful deep ball down the right sideline for a 70 yard touchdown to tie the game, and less than 2 minutes later, Herbert ran in the go-ahead score to put the Chargers in front for good. It was a very entertaining game that was close for a long time, but the Chargers were the better team from start to finish. Although it took him 5 games to get his first win, there is no doubt that Herbert is leading this team to do big things. Yes, it was the Jaguars, but Herbert has played this well in every game. He is a bonafide franchise QB, and the Chargers must be thanking their lucky stars to have him.

Cardinals 37-34 Seahawks

Game of the Year. No other way to put it. I was initially a little bit unenthusiastic about this game being flexed into primetime, but I was proven very wrong. This was wild, can’t-miss action from start to finish. This is gonna be quite the long recap, but here we go. Seattle got off to a hot start, scoring the game’s first 10 points, including an opening drive touchdown from QB Russell Wilson to WR Tyler Lockett. The Cardinals got on the board late in the 1st quarter with a beautiful deep ball touchdown throw from QB Kyler Murray to WR DeAndre Hopkins. The two have upped their chemistry game after game, and are quickly becoming one of the best QB-WR duos in football. Seattle got another field goal and were driving down the field when one of the craziest plays of the year happened. Russ was looking for a man on a quick throw to the endzone, but Cardinals S Budda Baker read the play like a book and picked it off and was gone down the near sideline. It seemed like nobody would stop Baker on his way to the endzone, but Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf was running him down with straight-line speed that I have never seen before, and brought Baker down at the Seahawks 8 yard line. It was an absolutely unbelieveable play by Metcalf, and it paid huge dividends. Despite being gifted an 8-yard field, Arizona failed to reach the endzone after 4 plays, and Seattle got the ball right back. They would go down and score again, this time with a 24 yard run by RB Carlos Hyde, who became the lead back on Sunday night due to an injury to Chris Carson. The Cardinals were able to get back in the endzone, as Murray found WR Christian Kirk for a short touchdown with 74 seconds left in the half. That seemingly did it for the half, but Russell Wilson said no. With 43 seconds left, Russ threw an absolutely perfect, beautiful deep ball to Tyler Lockett for another touchdown. The ball went so high that the SNF booth dubbed it a “moon ball”, which is the perfect way to describe it. The Cards would add a field goal to go into the half down 10. The lone score of the third quarter was a Kyler Murray 5-yard TD run. The Seahawks found themselves driving again in the fourth quarter, but Russ threw a questionable endzone interception to CB Patrick Peterson to set up a huge drive for the Cardinals, who just needed a field goal to tie the game or a touchdown to take the lead. Instead, on the first play of the drive, Kyler Murray threw an interception of his own, setting up another Seahawks touchdown. It was another gorgeous ball from Wilson to Lockett, who had himself a mammoth night. Lockett finished with 200 yards receiving on 15 catches with 3 touchdowns. It was his second game with 3 touchdowns this year, which is just remarkable. The touchdown put Seattle up by 10 with under 7 minutes to go, but the Cardinals refused to say die. With 2:28 to play, Kyler found Christian Kirk for another touchdown score to cut the lead to just 3. The defense got a stop, and Murray led a clutch drive down to the Seattle 27. Kicker Zane Gonzalez booted the game-tying kick through, and we were headed to overtime. And it was wild. The Seahawks got the ball first, but couldn’t get anything going on offense, so they punted the ball to Arizona. The Cards themselves were able to move the ball, as RB Chase Edmonds got all the way down to the Seattle 33 on a 32 yard scamper. Arizona ended up getting all the way down to the Seattle 23, setting up a game-winning field goal attempt for Gonzalez. And in classic Seattle-Arizona SNF overtime fashion, he hooked it wide left. Seattle was back in business, only needing to go 40 yards or so, with the most clutch player in football under center. With just 73 seconds left in the OT period, Seattle called a screen for D.K. Metcalf, who soared down the near sideline for the game-winning touchdown. Or so we thought. The play was called back for a holding call on a block by WR David Moore. Back on the other side of the 50, on 3rd and 14, Russell Wilson threw an inexplicable INT on a clear miscommunication to Cardinals rookie LB Isaiah Simmons, who gave Arizona another chance to win it. Lo and behold, with another opportunity to win it, from 48 yards out, Zane Gonzalez nailed the game-winner to win the game for the Cardinals. It was one of the wildest, most fun, and most spectacular regular season games I’ve seen in a very long time. It was the first loss of the year for Seattle, who shouldn’t hang their hats too much. Russ was pretty special with 388 yards passing and 3 beautiful touchdowns, and was even the leading rusher with 84 yards. However, his 3 picks were pretty bad, and the last one cost his team the game. If that doesn’t happen, this game probably ends in a tie. But now, Seattle has a loss. This was the 3rd consecutive win for Arizona, who now sits very comfortably at 5-2, right in the thick of the NFC West race. Kyler Murray was spectacular, throwing for 360 yards and 3 touchdowns while adding 67 yards and a score on the ground. Both of these teams will be playing in January, and I cannot wait to see the next game between them. What. A. Game.

Rams 24-10 Bears

This game was a very, very close runner up for Snoozefest of the Week™. It was virtually unwatchable. At least the other 2 primetime games this week were awesome. The Rams controlled this game from start to finish, and Chicago was truly never in it. Jared Goff had himself a nice night with 219 yards and 2 TDs on 70% completion. The Bears offense was slow and stagnant all night, struggling to move the ball in any capacity against an LA defense that has emerged as one of the league’s best. Every couple of drives, the Rams would go down and score a touchdown, and late in the 3rd quarter, it was 24-3. That was pretty much it, outside of a late fumble return TD by Bears DB Eddie Jackson. Now both of these teams sit at 5-2, but they are two very different 5-2s. The Rams are a bad call away from being 6-1, and thanks to Seattle’s loss, are only a half game away from being in 1st place. They are trending upwards, and playing very good football. Meanwhile, Chicago drops only their second game of the season, but they do not feel like a 5-win team right now. Their defense did not have a good game, and their offense was absolutely awful. QB Nick Foles does not look like a real starter, and their inability to create anything down the field is hurting this team greatly. I’m not sure if this team is a real playoff contender, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it.

All stats taken from ESPN.

Week 6 of the NFL season played out much like the weeks that came before it: tons of offense, blown leads everywhere, and learning more and more about each team in the league. Let’s recap what happened in the 14 games this week.

Titans 42-36 Texans

What a doozy this game was down the stretch in Nashville. This game had everything: big time players making big time plays, incredible individual performances, blown leads, clutch plays, and a walk-off touchdown. Let’s start with the losing side, led by Deshaun Watson, who was masterful. The Texans QB completed 28 of his 37 attempts for 335 yards and 4 TDs, with WR Will Fuller V accounting for 123 of those yards and a score. Even after falling into a 14 point hole, Watson led Houston back on drive after drive to help them claim a lead in the second half. All 4 of his touchdowns went to 4 different receivers, as the Titans defense had no answers. Tennessee’s offense had all the answers, however, as QB Ryan Tannehill and RB Derrick Henry both played a spectacular game once again. Tannehill threw for 364 yards and 4 TDs on 73% completion, and Henry ran for 212 yards and 2 TDs on 22 carries, including a remarkable 94 yard sprint int he 4th quarter. Henry became just the 3rd player in NFL history to run for 200+ yards in 3 games. These teams went back and forth in the 4th quarter, with the Texans taking a 1 point lead on a 53 yard dime to Will Fuller V after the aforementioned Henry touchdown run. After a poor interception thrown by Tannehill, the Texans reached the endzone again with 1:50 left on a Brandin Cooks TD catch. Houston went for 2 to put the game out of reach, but was stopped, making it a 36-29 game. Ryan Tannehill led his team all the way down the field, and threw a perfect ball to WR A.J. Brown in the endzone for the game-tying touchdown with just 4 seconds left. The Titans won the toss in OT, marched the ball all the way down the field, and Derrick Henry ran in the game-winning touchdown from 5 yards out. It was a tough loss for the Texans, who now drop to 1-5 on the year. The loss re-sparked the conversation about the NFL’s overtime rules, and how it only seems fair that both teams should get the ball in the extra period. I don’t disagree at all, but that shouldn’t undermine how impressive the win was for the Titans. They are now one of only 3 undefeated teams left in the NFL at 5-0, and really look like one of the league’s best teams. They play exceptionally well in almost every facet of the game, and they have been putting it to opponents. Derrick Henry is making a case for being the best RB in football, and Ryan Tannehill is playing the best football of his life. This was an amazing game from start to finish, and it’s a shame that one team had to walk away with a loss.

Colts 31-27 Bengals

Speaking of blown leads, the Cincinnati Bengals played football on Sunday. Cincy came out firing on all cylinders on both sides of the ball, absolutely dominating the Colts for over a quarter to the tune of an early 21-0 lead. QB Joe Burrow was on fire, throwing dime after dime, often connecting with fellow rookie, WR Tee Higgins. Indianapolis finally woke up after falling behind 3 scores, scoring 3 2nd quarter touchdowns, and ended up only down 3 at halftime. It was all Colts from there on out, as their defense stiffened up and locked up the Bengals offense for almost the entire second half. Thanks to an incredible TD grab by TE Jack Doyle, a late field goal, and an insurance INT of Joe Burrow, the Colts walked away with the win. It was a testament to how tough this team is, bouncing back from a bad loss last week and an awful start in the game itself. QB Philip Rivers finished with an impressive statline of 371 yards and 3 touchdowns. Burrow didn’t have a bad game either with 313 yards of his own, but it wasn’t enough. Once again, the #1 overall pick played well, but it wasn’t enough. That’s a trend that we can only hope doesn’t continue for too long in Cincinnati.

Falcons 40-23 Vikings

Congratulations to the Atlanta Falcons for getting their first win of 2020 and making the Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes™ a much, much tighter race. The Falcons continued the trend of winning games after firing a head coach, which has seemingly never failed in recent memory. This was quite the domination by Atlanta, who jumped out to a 23-0 lead and never looked back. How thankful do Falcons fans have to be that they didn’t blow this? It was a very impressive game from two Falcons in particular: QB Matt Ryan and WR Julio Jones. Falcons fans have been waiting for Julio to return to the Julio Jones of old, and he certainly looked like it on Sunday in Minnesota. Ryan and Jones linked up 8 times for 137 yards and 2 TDs on some impressive plays by both of them. Minnesota QB Kirk Cousins got off to a horrid start with 3 first half interceptions en route to a scoreless first 30 minutes. He ended up statpadding his way back to a seemingly respectable statline at the end of the game, but we all know that’s because of the way the Falcons play once getting up big. There is one Viking I don’t want to take away from, and that is rookie WR Justin Jefferson. After a down week last Sunday in Seattle, Jefferson bounced back in a big way with 166 yards and 2 TDs on 9 catches. My fantasy team thanks you, JJets. Both of these teams walked out of US Bank Stadium at 1-5. The Falcons should feel good with the burden of Dan Quinn off their shoulders, but the Vikings have to be asking themselves questions about where to go from here. This is a talented team, but they have refused to step up this season. They can’t get it done in the clutch, and if their games aren’t close, they’re the ones getting blown out. Kirk Cousins now has two 3 interception games this season, and is tied for the lead league in INTs, which is inexcusable. When his contract is up after this year, it’s hard to believe he’ll be back in Minnesota.

Broncos 18-12 Patriots

This was a snoozefest. There is no other way to put it. Both of these offenses struggled all game long, and we only had one touchdown in 60 minutes of play. The Broncos field goal-ed their way to victory behind 6 FGs from Brandon McManus. The Patriots almost mounted a late comeback behind a touchdown run from QB Cam Newton and a gift interception from Broncos QB Drew Lock, but Newton was picked off by the Denver defense to put the game to bed. And, in the words of Jedi Master Yoda, “not short enough it was.” This game was a complete eye sore, but it did reveal a lot about both teams. Denver finally got their starting QB Drew Lock back, and he led his team to victory in his first start back, despite a plethora of injuries across the board on offense. The Broncos have had quarterback questions, but there’s no doubt that Lock is a solid starter that can lead this team, especially when their healthy. For New England, this was a headscratching performance offensively. The defense did its job, but the offense could not move the ball for almost the whole game. Newton looked lethargic, the run game was stagnant, and the passing game was virtually nonexistent. The team is now 2-3 and struggling on the offensive side of the ball more than ever, even after a week off. They need to figure things out fast if they want to compete against a division that, outside of the Jets, is actually pretty good.

Giants 20-19 Washington

Sigh. Speaking of snoozefests, we had our first Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes™ Bowl of 2020 in East Rutherford on Sunday. The Giants got off to a relatively hot start with a 10-0 first quarter lead, including a dime of a touchdown throw to Darius Slayton by QB Daniel Jones. Jones even had a shocking 60 yard run in which he left the Washington defense in the dust with some of that “sneaky athleticism”. It took Washington a much longer time to get going, as they didn’t reach the endzone until there was 13 seconds left in the first half. But, they finally did on a very nice throw from QB Kyle Allen to TE Logan Thomas. For the rest of the game, both offenses struggled to move the ball, plagued by turnovers and poor play. In a 13-13 game with less than 4 minutes to play, Kyle Allen was trying to lead a game-winning drive, but ended up fumbling the ball on a strip sack, leading to a Giants recovery and touchdown return. It was seemingly flattening for Washington, but they didn’t give up just yet. Allen brought his team right back down the field, and with just 22 seconds left, found WR Cam Sims on a great pass into the corner of the endzone for a touchdown. Instead of electing to tie the game with an extra point, HC Ron Rivera told his offense to go for 2 and the win. After running around, searching for an open receiver, Kyle Allen threw an incomplete pass to end the game and secure the first win of the Giants season, and the fifth consecutive Washington loss. Although Kyle Allen looked good at times, it was an overall poor game from the newly appointed starting QB. It didn’t help that the rest of his offense didn’t show up for most of the game. The Giants and QB Daniel Jones were not much better, as they were outgained by almost 100 yards, despite coming out with the win. The Washington defense looked improved, but the Giants will make any defense look good. Washington is now in last place in the division, and is a new emerging contender in the Trevor Lawerence Sweepstakes™. Even with a very easy upcoming schedule, you can only feel like this team is not built to win many games for the rest of the year.

Ravens 30-28 Eagles

The final score of this game should not fool you. The Ravens, despite letting up a bit at the end of the game, dominated this game for most of the way on Sunday. Baltimore’s offense controlled the tempo for all but 7 minutes of the game, with QB Lamar Jackson doing his thing both throwing and running the ball. Jackson had 186 yards passing and 108 yards rushing with 2 total touchdowns. It took Philadelphia a while to get going, as they were scoreless for the first 38 minutes of the game. The Eagles got on the board thanks to a long run by RB Miles Sanders, who fumbled the ball close to the goal line, but it was recovered by WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside for a touchdown. Down 30-14 with less than 4 minutes left, the Eagles reached the endzone twice, but missed the 2nd of two 2-point conversions and fell just short. QB Carson Wentz played well in the comeback effort, throwing for 213 yards and 2 TDs, but the most impressive stat was having 0 interceptions. It was the first game without a pick for Wentz this season, who has been plagued by that this whole year. The Eagles are now 1-4-1, but still just a half game out of first place in the pile of trash that we call the NFC East. This was the 3rd consecutive win for Baltimore who is getting back into their groove. The Ravens are back to looking like one of the league’s best teams, but I’d still like to see them be more productive in the passing game. Until they do that, I’m not sure if I like them to beat the other elite teams in the AFC.

Steelers 38-7 Browns

If you want the textbook definition of a statement victory, this is it. Yes, the Steelers have historically owned the Browns, but this Cleveland team felt different. They came into this game at 4-1 and feeling great about themselves. The Steelers came in at 4-0, but still being disrespected by the media thanks to their opponents poor records. But after this game, they left nothing up to question anymore. From the jump, this was a Pittsburgh domination. The Steelers jumped out to a 24-0 lead behind a pick 6 of Browns QB Baker Mayfield and back to back impressive second quarter touchdown drives. They never looked back, locking up the Browns offense for the whole game, including another interception, and making their mark in the AFC with a blowout victory. It was a very tough reality check for a Browns team that had looked so impressive in the last month or so. QB Baker Mayfield had an awful game, as he has tended to do so often in his time in Cleveland. I don’t think it’s time to panic at all, but I certainly do not think that Baker Mayfield is the long term answer at QB in Cleveland. Perhaps he can get it done for the time being, but if the Browns keep getting embarrassed like this in big games, and he continues to play poorly in those games, then it will eventually be time to move off of him.

Bears 23-16 Panthers

Ok, ok, fine. I’ll stop disrespecting the Chicago Bears. If there’s anything we knew about this team, it’s that their defense is fantastic. On Sunday, they reiterated that in a big way. Chicago’s D kept the Panthers in check for most of the game and forced 3 turnovers, including 2 interceptions of Carolina QB Teddy Bridgewater. The offense did what it needed to do, as it has so many times this season, as they scored efficiently and led by as many as 14 points in the 4th quarter. The Panthers tried to make it a game at the end, but the Bears defense simply did not let up. Chicago isn’t the most flashy team, they’re not exciting and won’t make it on SportsCenter Top 10, but all they have done is win. HC Matt Nagy has done a fantastic job with his team, and it seems that the move to start Nick Foles at QB is paying off, as he has led his team to back to back wins against some very good teams. Chicago now sits atop the NFC North thanks to a certain dud performance by the Packers, and look poised as ever to keep on winning. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for the rest of the year.

Lions 34-16 Jaguars

What a game for the Lions offense. Detroit controlled this game for all 60 minutes on Sunday in Jacksonville thanks to some big performances by some of their stars. WR Kenny Golladay had 4 catches for 105 yards, and rookie RB D’Andre Swift had his fingerprints all over the game with 116 yards rushing and 2 TDs. It was a rough game for the Jaguars, who couldn’t muster much offensively once again. Their leading rusher was RB James Robinson with just 29 yards. WR Keelan Cole had himself a nice game with 143 yards on 6 catches, but that was about it for Jacksonville. They looked lifeless the whole game, just as they have for the last month or so. We can officially stick a fork in this team that looked so promising early in the year. I was a believer in QB Gardner Minshew II, but now I’m not sure if he can get the job done. He does put up numbers, but I’m not entirely sure if he’s a franchise QB. The Jags are on the fringe of the Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes™, but don’t be surprised if they’re fully in it in a few weeks.

Dolphins 24-0 Jets

Ah yes, the New York Jets. What a team. What a ride. It took 6 weeks in a season with record-setting offense, but we had our first shutout of 2020. And of course it was the Jets. Led by backup QB Joe Flacco once again, they did absolutely nothing offensively. Literally nothing… to the tune of a goose egg on the scoreboard. The Dolphins, who have looked very impressive in the last couple of weeks, dominated this game and made it look like New York didn’t even belong on the field. If we’re being completely honest, they didn’t. This team is still a mess. Without Sam Darnold, they are impossible to watch. I still don’t know how Adam Gase is employed. But alas, it makes for good content, so I’m here for it. The Dolphins finally got to see their #5 overall pick QB Tua Tagovailoa in action with a couple of minutes left for a couple checkdowns and handoffs, but you could sense that he brought a new level of excitement and energy to an already talented and inspired roster. Apparently, HC Brian Flores liked what he saw so much that he has made the decision to name Tua the starter (more on that tomorrow). It’s an exciting time for the Dolphins. As for the Jets, they are still in the lead in the Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes™, and with the Giants and Falcons winning on Sunday, they are now the lone winless team in the NFL. I don’t expect that to change any time soon.

Buccaneers 38-10 Packers

Another resounding, statement victory. Everybody was so excited to see this matchup, and for good reason. Both of these teams are elite contenders led by two of the greatest QBs of all time. But what we got was a coaching and overall team performance virtuoso by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yes, the Packers jumped out to a 10-0 first quarter lead thanks to some great drives led by QB Aaron Rodgers, including his… questionable hip thrusts. But the Bucs’ second quarter was one of the more dominant periods you’ll ever see from a team. CB Jamel Dean picked off Rodgers and returned it down the sideline for 6, followed by another interception off of a deflection to set up another touchdown, this time for RB Ronald Jones II. Later in the quarter, rookie WR Tyler Johnson caught a short touchdown from QB Tom Brady, and at the end of the quarter, Brady found his old friend, TE Rob Gronkowski for the fourth touchdown of the period. It was Gronk’s first touchdown of the season, and the 91st touchdown he has caught from Tom Brady. From there, the game was never in doubt, as the Packers couldn’t even muster another point. 10 3rd quarter points later, and the game was all but over. With their spectacular defense making life hell for Rodgers, and their offense clicking and firing on all cylinders, the Bucs finished the game scoring 38 unanswered points and completely shutting down Green Bay, handing them their first loss of 2020. I knew that Tampa was good, but I did not expect this at all. The Packers looked like a completely different team than they had been in their previous 4 games, and I’m sure they’re gonna take a long, hard look at themselves this week in preparation for their next game. Perhaps Green Bay is not as formidable as we thought. Or perhaps Tampa Bay is even better than we imagined.

49ers 24-16 Rams

Sunday night’s NFC West showdown was pretty fun, but I wanna start by saying that the best part of the game was the uni matchup. I’m in the minority that loves the new Rams getups, and the 49ers throwbacks are some of the best unis in football. So when those two are combined, I am very pleased. The game itself was very interesting as well, as San Francisco honestly dominated for almost the whole game. Their defense bounced back in a huge way after an embarrassing performance last Sunday, holding the Rams to just 9 points in the first 56+ minutes of the game. The offense did its job as well, as they played a very efficient first half. QB Jimmy Garoppolo had himself a night with 268 yards and 3 TDs on 70% completion after playing the worst game of his life last week. It was a fairly uneventful second half, but the Niners held off a late comeback attempt by the Rams to hold on and get back to .500. Kyle Shanahan is now 4-0 as a head coach against Sean McVay, who seemingly has no answers against the 49ers. The Rams are now winless this season against non-NFC East teams, but I’m sure they’ll be fine. They lost to a Niners team that was playing with complete and utter urgency, and were simply outplayed. This division just keeps on getting more and more juicy, as all 4 teams are .500 or above. Can they all play each other very week please?

Chiefs 26-17 Bills

This one was pretty ugly for the most part. Monday afternoon’s game was played in a complete downpour, but it didn’t stop the Chiefs from doing big things through the air. QB Patrick Mahomes played another brilliant, efficient game. They didn’t ask him to make any huge plays because he didn’t need to, but when his number was called, he delivered. Mahomes threw for 225 yards and 2 TDs on a brilliant 81% completion. The real bread and butter in the game for KC was the run game. Rookie RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for 161 yards on a whopping 26 carries, and he is now 2nd in the league in rushing. The gameplan was very similar to the one the Chiefs had against Houston on opening night: pick the defense apart, throw the ball efficiently, and gash the opposition on the ground. When Kansas City is playing like that, I’m not really sure who can stop them. For Buffalo, it was a slow, sluggish game, and they could never really get going offensively past the second quarter. QB Josh Allen didn’t seem to handle the conditions very well, but still delivered some good throws, including a dime on a touchdown to WR Stefon Diggs. But outside of that, it was a slow day at the office for the Bills. They only racked up 206 yards offensively, and they only scored 7 second half points. Allen finished with 122 yards and a pick, but also threw for 2 TDs. The Bills have now put up complete duds in back to back weeks against 2 of the NFL’s best teams, so I’m not sure what to make of them just yet. Are they a fringe contender that isn’t good enough to beat the best? Or were they tricking us the whole time? We’ll find out soon enough.

Cardinals 38-10 Cowboys

The Andy Dalton era could not have gotten off to a worse start in Dallas. Both teams got off to a slow start on Monday night, but the second quarter was an offensive explosion by the Cardinals. It helped that Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott could not have held onto the ball even if you paid him to (which they quite literally are). Zeke fumbled the ball twice on consecutive drives, with each turnover leading to a touchdown for Arizona. He now has 3 lost fumbles on the year, which is absolutely inexcusable for somebody being paid $90 million and being asked to shoulder the load offensively for a team that is now without their star QB. On the next drive for Arizona, QB Kyler Murray unloaded an absolute beauty of a deep shot to WR Christian Kirk, who sprinted past every resident in Texas en route to an 80 yard touchdown. In only 8 minutes, the Cards found themselves up 21-0, and they never looked back. They even went up 28-3 in the 3rd, but unlike the other red bird team in the NFL, they continued to dominate. Their defense also showed up big time, led by S Budda Baker, who had his hands all over the game. Baker accounted for one of two interceptions thrown by Cowboys QB Andy Dalton, who struggled from start to finish. Outside of a garbage time touchdown, Dalton was horrendous, missing easy throws and getting absolutely dismantled by the Cardinals defense. It could be the product of his first start in a very long time, facing an elite defense, and not getting any favors from his RB or his porous defense, or it could just be Dalton not being the short term answer at QB that Dallas needs. Next up for them is another good defense in Washington, but if they cannot beat that team, then it is certainly panic time in Dallas. Such a shame for a team that looked like it had such a bright future. Arizona is now 4-2 and sitting nicely at 2nd place in the NFL’s best division, the NFC West. If they can continue stringing together some wins, especially against division opponents, then they can continue gaining some playoff traction. Next up for them is Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. Let’s see what this team is truly made of.

All stats taken from ESPN.

The 2020 NFL season is continuing to deliver. Week 5 was filled with incredible highs and heartbreaking lows. Let’s break down one of the wildest weeks in recent memory.

Bears 20-19 Buccaneers

For the first time in… history, perhaps, Tom Brady had a complete lapse on the football field. The Bucs QB not knowing it was 4th down on the game’s deciding play was the culmination of a night filled with mistakes, anger, and poor play from Tampa Bay. The Bucs got off to a 13-0 start, but two TDs in the last 2 minutes of the first half from Chicago (thanks to a questionable fumble call) put the Bears right back in it. The second half was fairly back and forth as the game became a battle of field goals. Tampa’s offense looked very sluggish in the absence of WR Chris Godwin and RB Leonard Fournette, and the offensive line looked overwhelmed by a fantastic Bears front. Star LB Khalil Mack had his way with the Bucs’ tackles, much to the dismay of Tom Brady, who was barking at his offensive linemen all night long. The Bears offense and QB Nick Foles did what they needed to do when it mattered most, leading to the game-winning field goal from Cairo Santos with 73 seconds left. It was an ugly game for both sides, but it showed us a lot about these teams, especially as they head into some tough upcoming games. I’ll get into that more tomorrow.

Panthers 23-16 Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are finally cleaning house. After their 5th loss in 5 tries, both HC Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff were fired. It was a move that was a long time coming as the Falcons have never been able to get their franchise back on track after 28-3. Outside of an early touchdown, it felt like Atlanta was never truly in this game, as the Panthers controlled the tempo from start to finish thanks to more great play from their offense, led by QB Teddy Bridgewater. Behind 313 yards passing and 2 touchdowns, the Panthers cruised to a close, but seemingly easy win in Atlanta. The Panthers are now on a 3 game win streak, despite being without RB Christian McCaffrey in each of those games. It has been a very impressive stretch that is a testament to the coaching of HC Matt Rhule and experience of this offense, which has come together quite nicely. The Falcons now turn to Raheem Morris as interim HC for the rest of 2020 as they try to right the ship. Or, perhaps Atlanta will tank for a QB in this year’s draft. It’s safe to say that they are firmly in the Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes™ as one of the league’s 3 winless teams.

Raiders 40-32 Chiefs

For the first time in his career, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has lost a game by more than 7 points. The Raiders walked into Arrowhead on Sunday and put on an offensive clinic. The game was a shootout from the jump, as both teams traded big play after big play en route to a 24-24 halftime score. After a scoreless 3rd quarter, the Raiders came out firing in the 4th, scoring 16 unanswered to all but ice the game. They were helped out by Mahomes throwing his first interception of the season to S Jeff Heath, who almost returned it for 6. Kansas City almost mounted an improbable comeback, but the Raiders run game picked up huge first downs to put the game away late. In the end, QB Derek Carr threw for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 72 yard bomb to 2020 1st round pick WR Henry Ruggs III. RB Josh Jacobs also added 77 yards and 2 TDs of his own. This was a return trip to Earth for the Chiefs, who had won their previous 13 games dating back to last year, including the playoffs. These are the Kansas City Chiefs, so they will be fine, but this defense did not look good at all, and the offense was struggling mightily for almost the whole second half. Meanwhile, the enigma that is the Las Vegas Raiders finally got their signature win under HC Jon Gruden. If they can keep the momentum from this game going forward this season, then the silver and black will be right in the thick of the AFC playoff race.

Cardinals 30-10 Jets

Not much to talk about here. New York Jets very bad. Adam Gase very bad. Joe Flacco very bad. The Cardinals got back on track, as I predicted, and got good performances out of all their star players. QB Kyler Murray had another good game that was not in vain as he threw for 380 yards and a score to WR DeAndre Hopkins, who had 131 yards of his own. The Jets never had a chance in this game, as their abysmal offense could barely move at all. Perhaps they could have done more had QB Sam Darnold played, but I seriously doubt it. This is the worst team in football by a wiiiiiiiide margin, and they are seemingly getting worse by the week. Now there are talks of RB Le’Veon Bell being traded, which I’m sure Bell is dying for. The team is terrible, the culture is terrible, the coaching is terrible, and the fans are miserable. They’re probably dreaming of Trevor Lawrence more than they’re dreaming for a win.

Steelers 38-29 Eagles

The Keystone State battle did not disappoint. There is a ton of stuff to get into from this game. Let’s start with the losing side, who put up a much better fight than I anticipated. The Eagles were often down but never out on Sunday. Each time Pittsburgh retook the lead, they were met with resistance from the Birds. RB Miles Sanders had a somewhat weird game with 80 yards and 2 TDs, with 74 of those yards and 1 of those touchdowns coming on a 74 yard touchdown in the 1st quarter. QB Carson Wentz had another one of those Carson Wentz games where he played just well enough to keep his team in the game, but still made mistakes that ended up costing his team the game. He had 2 more interceptions, with one of them leading to a Steelers touchdown that gave them a very comfortable cushion. He still threw for 258 yards and 2 touchdowns, with the once no-name WR Travis Fulgham catching 10 balls for 152 yards and a score, but it was not enough. The Steelers were too much to handle on offense, as rookie WR Chase Claypool caught 7 passes for 110 yards and 3 touchdowns, in addition to scoring another TD on the ground. QB Ben Roethlisberger had himself a game with 239 yards and 3 TDs on 80% completion. Pittsburgh’s offense, which was a major question mark for me, finally showed up to play, but their defense looked a bit suspect against a team that had no business moving the ball as well as they did. They still showed up when they needed to, but it was questionable. The Steelers are now 4-0, bit their opponents are an abysmal combined 3-15-1. Their next 2 games are against Cleveland and Baltimore. It’s time to see if this team is truly a contender or a team that beats up on the league’s worst.

Rams 30-10 Washington

It’s official: Dwayne Haskins was not the problem. The Washington Football Team finished Sunday’s contest with 108 total yards, the 3rd lowest mark in a game in 50 years. The coaching staff, especially OC Scott Turner, is that bad. QB Kyle Allen made his first start for Washington and, quite predictably, the offense looked horrible. Allen did lead a 1st quarter TD drive that was capped with an impressive TD run, but that was about it. The story of the game was Allen being knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury after a big hit from Rams CB Jalen Ramsey, allowing Alex Smith to enter the game at QB. It was Smith’s first action since his gruesome leg injury 693 days beforehand. It was absolutely incredible to see him back on a football field, and it is a testament to how hard of a worker and how much of a fighter he is. I wasn’t the biggest fan of him as our QB, but I love him for who he is and how he never gives up. I am so happy that he was back out there, and even happier that his family got to see it live. That being said, I was holding my breath on every play. It doesn’t help at all that his offensive line decided they didn’t want to play, allowing Smith to be sacked 6 times. The team gave up a total of 8 sacks on the day in an absolutely shambolic performance by both the offense and the defense. But Dwayne Haskins was the problem. Sure. On the other side of the ball, the Rams offense looked pretty good, as it has so many times this season. They weren’t met with much resistance from the Washington defense, but I will still give them credit. QB Jared Goff had a nice, efficient game, outside of a poor interception to Washington CB Kendall Fuller. LA’s defense dominated the game for 4 quarters to help keep the game locked for the Rams. The game ended up being ugly in the second half thanks to a downpour of rain, but it was never in doubt. Rams HC Sean McVay returned to Landover and stuck it to his old team with authority, because as he knows all too well, the Washington Football Team is far too predictable.

Ravens 27-3 Bengals

We need to get Joe Burrow an offensive line for the greater good. The Bengals rookie QB was getting battered for 60 minutes on Sunday thanks to his offensive line continuing to play like the worst in football. Burrow was sacked 7 times, and the offense could not do a thing. The Bengals were scoreless for the first 59 minutes and 28 seconds of this game for crying out loud. Cincinnati better start drafting some tackles if they want to protect Burrow, otherwise he’s in for a long career with the Bengals. Sunday’s performance was a masterful one by the Ravens defense, which is getting back into a groove. They locked up the Bengals offense all game long, including a 53 yard fumble return TD by rookie LB Patrick Queen. The Baltimore offense did its job as well, despite only 180 passing yards from QB Lamar Jackson. This team’s passing offense is arguably its biggest concern, but if the defense can keep playing at this level, then it might not matter.

Texans 30-14 Jaguars

As I predicted, the first game without Bill O’Brien was a win for the Houston Texans. Good for them, and interim HC Romeo Crennel, who became the oldest man to ever be a HC on Sunday. Houston was in control for a large majority of the game, despite a decent outing by the Jacksonville offense. QB Gardner Minshew II had another 300 yard game with 301 and added 2 TDs. But Jacksonville could not overcome two things: the Texans passing game, and themselves. QB Deshaun Watson threw for 359 yards and 3 TDs, with 161 yards and a score going to WR Brandin Cooks. RB David Johnson also had a nice game on the ground with 96 yards on 17 carries. But more importantly, the Jaguars couldn’t get out of their own way. On an imperative 4th down late in the game, with a chance to get back into it, Jacksonville called a ridiculous trick play in which they snapped the ball directly to RB James Robinson, who fumbled the football and turned it over. I’m not sure if HC Doug Marrone or OC Jay Gruden was responsible for that, but regardless, it was inexcusable, and it costed the Jags a shot at coming back. Jacksonville has now lost their last 4 games, and coaching has been a large factor in all 4. Perhaps they should follow in the Texans’ footsteps.

Dolphins 43-17 49ers

This one was… shocking. The Dolphins absolutely boatraced the 49ers all afternoon long on Sunday in one of the more unexpected outcomes of 2020 so far. Miami came out of the gate firing and didn’t look back for a second, leading by 14 at the end of the 1st quarter, 23 at the end of the 2nd, and winning by 26. The offense looked fantastic as QB Ryan Fitzpatrick put together another impressive performance with 350 yards and 3 touchdowns on 78.5% completion. They got whatever they wanted against a 49ers defense that played absolutely awful football. But as bad as San Francisco’s defense was, it was not nearly as bad as their offense. QB Jimmy Garoppolo played perhaps the worst game of his life with 77 yards, 2 REALLY bad INTs and 0 TDs on 7/17 passing for a whopping 15.7 passer rating. Jimmy G ended up getting benched for C.J. Beathard, who played a much better game, although it didn’t end up meaning anything. The Niners struggles are still going strong against teams not from New York, and it appears as though it might be time to make some decisions. If Garoppolo continues to play poorly and not perform like the QB that took this team to the Super Bowl just one year ago, and that this team is paying over $100 million dollars, then it might be time to move on.

Browns 32-23 Colts

Perhaps the best game on paper in Week 5 did not disappoint. It was a fun, classic feeling game on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland. I felt that the Indianapolis defense would keep them in this game, but the Browns’ overpowering offense was the story in this game. Thanks to a great first half, the Browns were in control for a large majority of the game, despite a couple of interceptions from QB Baker Mayfield. Even the Cleveland defense showed up in a big way, picking off Colts QB Philip Rivers for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter, forcing a safety, and only allowing one offensive touchdown. We already know that the Colts offense is a bit sluggish thanks to the lack of ability that Rivers brings to the table, but Sunday showed us that this team could be so much more dangerous with a better QB. They had so many drives that ended up deep in Browns territory, but ended with 3 points due to the lack of ability to move the ball any further. The defense also played its worst game of the year, but I truly think that says more about the Cleveland offense, which has cemented itself as one of the league’s best. If this game did anything, it’s that it furthered the narratives that we already had on these teams.

Cowboys 37-34 Giants

This was a spectacular game in Arlington on Sunday which was unfortunately highlighted by a horrific moment in recent NFL memory. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott was rolled up on after a short run and suffered a compound fracture and dislocation of his ankle in a gruesome injury that broke the hearts of players, media, and fans all across the country. I was personally very emotional for Dak, who has been through so much in his NFL career, and was so close to getting paid in a big way. Seeing him getting carted off the field in tears was just heartbreaking. We’re all praying for you, 4. At the time of the injury, the Cowboys were losing thanks to some impressive play from the Giants on both sides of the ball, highlighted by a 46 yard pick six of Prescott. Dak lead his team back from 14 down, including a wild trick play in which he caught a touchdown from WR Cedrick Wilson. Backup QB and former Cincinnati Bengal Andy Dalton came in for Dallas, and struggled for a while as the Giants retook the lead with less than 9 minutes to play. The Cowboys got a late field goal to tie the game, stopped the Giants with less than a minute to play, and the Red Rifle hit WR Michael Gallup on back to back amazing throws to set up the game-winning field goal. It was an inspiring win by a team that was absolutely devastated by the loss of their franchise QB. Dallas now sits atop the NFC East at 2-3, and I think they’re in very good hands with Dalton. The Giants are now 0-5 and still very much a contender in the Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes™. It was their best game of the year, but it still wasn’t enough. Next up for them is Washington, in what might be one of the worst games you will ever see.

Seahawks 27-26 Vikings

Russell Wilson did it again. As if there were any doubt. The Seahawks looked absolutely lethargic for over a half of football as they could barely move the football against a Vikings team that was not scared of the challenge. The Minnesota offense was churning on both the ground and through the air as they jumped out to a 13-0 lead. The Seahawks drove for a touchdown for their first points of the game, then were gifted a short field on a fumble, scored another touchdown, and then were gifted another short field on a spectacular INT of Cousins by LB K.J. Wright, and scored another touchdown to take a 21-13 lead in the blink of an eye. Three TDs in two minutes from a team that couldn’t buy a point in the first half got them right back into it. Cousins responded with an impressive drive ending in a TD to Adam Thielen, then hit Thielen for another touchdown with 7 minutes left in the game to put the Vikings in the driver’s seat. The ball was back in Wilson’s hands, and everyone expected the Seahawks to take the lead right back led by the most clutch player in football. But shockingly, Russ threw a sloppy interception to seemingly seal Seattle’s fate. All Minnesota needed was a few first downs. The Vikings got inside the redzone and were stopped short of the line to gain, and facing 4th and inches, had two choices: go for it and end the game with a first down or kick a field goal to take an 8 point lead with less than 2 minutes to play. HC Mike Zimmer preposterously chose the former, and the Vikings were stopped. Russell Wilson had a chance at redemption, and did not make the same mistakes twice. On a 4th and 10 with his back to his own endzone, he hit WR D.K. Metcalf on a beautiful deep ball down the left sideline. He drove his team all the way down to the goal line with about 30 seconds to play, but Seattle couldn’t punch it in on 3 straight plays. Facing 4th down with 15 seconds left, Wilson found Metcalf again for the game-winning touchdown. It was another game-winning drive led by Wilson, who is always built for the moment. The Seahawks were outplayed all night long, but Russ somehow managed to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat to lead his team to 5-0. He is firmly in the lead for this season’s MVP. It’s not even close.

Saints 30-27 Chargers

For the first time in 2020, I got the exact score of a game right in a prediction! I definitely didn’t expect the game to go the way it went in terms of how badly the Chargers blew it, but still, it feels nice to be exactly right. The Chargers came out firing on all cylinders led by rookie QB Justin Herbert, who threw 3 first half TDs to lead his team to a 20-3 lead. Herbert looked as mobile and as strong as ever, and his arm was dropping jaws all across America. New Orleans’ offense looked lifeless as QB Drew Brees struggled for almost the entire first half, highlighted by a very poor interception that led to a touchdown for LA. The Saints reached the endzone right at the end of the half to cut the lead to 10, and cut it to 7 in the 3rd. Brees found TE Jared Cook on a beautiful deep ball in the 4th to tie the game, and the Chargers’ lead was officially blown (again). Both defenses held up for almost the rest of the quarter, but on a pivotal 3rd down with less than 4 minutes left, the Saints secondary blew their coverage on Chargers WR Mike Williams who was wide open and walked into the endzone for a go-ahead touchdown with 3:40 left. The rookie delivered again as he did all night for his 4th touchdown of the game. But, this is the Chargers, so of course they had to blow it. The Saints drove right down the field and tied the game on a Taysom Hill touchdown run with 52 seconds left. But even then, the former Oregon QB didn’t give up. Herbert led his team down the field and set up a potential game-winning field goal, but kicker Michael Badgley doinked it off the right upright, and the game went to overtime. In OT, the Saints took the lead on a field goal, and after a big drop by Chargers rookie WR K.J. Hill, stopped LA on 4th down to win it. It was another blown lead by LA, who has now lost their last 4 games despite deserving to win each game. Herbert is still winless as a starter, but should be undefeated. The rookie shut up any and all doubters with 264 yards and 4 touchdowns, but even he isn’t good enough to stop the Chargers from being the Chargers.

Titans 42-16 Bills

Tuesday night’s battle of undefeateds showed us quite a bit about each of these teams. The Tennessee Titans aren’t the flashiest or the most exciting, but they just win games. Everyone on the team does their job and it works to perfection. Tennessee was in control from start to finish as both their offense and defense executed from start to finish. CB Malcolm Butler picked off Bills QB Josh Allen twice, RB Derrick Henry was running people over and throwing people off him like they were JV players, and QB Ryan Tannehill put up another efficient and dominant game. HC Mike Vrabel’s squad does their job week in and week out, winning games and shutting down great teams, even dating back to last year. Even with their COVID-19 issues, they put together a masterclass against a Bills team that is very good. This Titans team is certainly one of the league’s best, and now they have put the NFL on notice with this huge win in primetime. This isn’t the end of the world for Buffalo, but they definitely need to tighten up as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday evening.

All stats taken from ESPN.

Another week, another slate of games filled with offense and storylines. Let’s get into it.

Broncos 37-28 Jets

This game was much more entertaining than I ever could have imagined. Maybe I should’ve expected this from 2 teams playing for absolutely nothing. The game got off to a very exciting start with Jets QB Sam Darnold ripping off an incredible 46 yard TD run that probably should never have happened, but the Broncos were watching Trevor Lawrence highlights in the locker room and didn’t want to play defense. Broncos QB Brett Rypien got the call for his first career start, and was playing fairly well for most of the game. He found rookie WR Jerry Jeudy for a long TD and spread the ball out all over the field to a completely depleted offense. He did throw a pick 6 to get the Jets back into it late; New York even took the lead with 6 minutes left. But, a late field goal and dagger TD gave Denver their first win of 2020. This was an ugly game for the Jets defense, who committed so many personal fouls that Broncos HC refused to let his players shake hands with any New York players. Nothing says “a Gregg Williams defense” like no discipline and dirty play. The Jets have strengthened their grip on the Trevor Lawerence Sweepstakes™.

Bengals 33-25 Jaguars

Just as I predicted, QB Joe Burrow got his first win on Sunday. The Bengals rookie signal caller looked great once again, becoming the first rookie QB to throw for 300 yards in 3 consecutive games. He got a ton of help offensively (for once), especially from RB Joe Mixon, who ran for over 150 yards and accounted for 3 total touchdowns. The Jags didn’t play a poor game by any means. QB Gardner Minshew II threw for 351 yards and 2 scores, both to WR DJ Chark. But they could not keep up with the Cincinnati offense, which played its best game of the year with over 500 total yards. If the Bengals attack can play this well consistently, then there are plenty of games to be won.

Browns 49-38 Cowboys

Oh my, where to begin with this one. The Browns came out of the gate firing, scoring first on a trick play that saw WR Jarvis Landry launch a touchdown to WR Odell Beckham Jr. Dallas retaliated to gain a 14-7 lead, including a long touchdown to an emerging star, rookie WR CeeDee Lamb. Cleveland then ripped off an unimaginable 34 unanswered points. The Browns had a whopping 24 point second quarter en route to a 17 point halftime lead, and they didn’t look back (for a time). QB Baker Mayfield was dotting the Cowboys defense and the Browns running game was relentless. Unfortunately, star RB Nick Chubb was rolled up on and injured. Chubb will likely miss up to 6 weeks, but luckily, Cleveland still has Kareem Hunt and D’Ernest Johnson, who was somehow the Browns leading rusher on Sunday. After going up 41-14, the Browns defense kinda gave up, allowing QB Dak Prescott and the Cowboys to do that thing they always do in the 4th quarter where they score a bunch of points and try to come back and make the loss look much less embarrassing than it is. Dallas scored 24 unanswered points to cut the lead to just 3. Then, the Browns put the game away in spectacular fashion. Odell got his number called on a reverse play on which he broke tackles and left Dallas defenders in the dust en route to a 50 yard touchdown to finally put the game away for Cleveland. The Browns are now 3-1 and the offense looks fantastic. HC Kevin Stefanski has finally realized the potential of this team. The Cowboys are now 1-3, and should 100% be 0-4 if the Falcons weren’t, you know, the Falcons. This team is very talented offensively, as Dak Prescott is on pace to break records and has put up great numbers so far this year, but why do they only play well offensively once they’re down by a huge margin? They start super slow, the defense (which is absolutely dreadful) get them in a major hole, and then Dak statpads to an impressive statline and they make the loss look “respectable”. This team needs to make some changes if they want to improve. I personally hope it doesn’t happen.

Saints 35-29 Lions

We need to start giving the Lions more crap for not being able to hold on leads. With their blown 14 point lead on Sunday, they made some incredible NFL history. The Detroit Lions are the only team to blow six (6) straight double digit leads and lose. They are 0-6 in their last 6 games in which they were up by 10+ points. How is that even possible? Maybe it’s because Matt Patricia is a horrible head coach. He is now 10-25-1 in Detroit with several blown games and awful performances. The Saints scored 35 straight points after the Lions started the game up 14-0. For being a “defensive” head coach, his defenses have been atrocious. Yes, the Lions made it a game in the end, but they didn’t really. Even up 14-0, it never felt like the Lions had a grip on this game. Saints QB Drew Brees shook off an early interception and played a good game, leading his team to victory in what was likely their last game without star WR Michael Thomas. The Saints need every win and weapon they can get this season, as their schedule doesn’t get much easier. The Lions need to hit the reset button if they want to have a chance to win more than 5 games a year. Patricia needs to go.

Seahawks 31-23 Dolphins

This game went along fairly predictably. Seattle was in control from wire to wire, but Miami stuck around due to the Seahawks nonexistent pass rush, allowing QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to rack up over 300 yards passing. Seahawks QB Russell Wilson continued to put up big numbers as well, tossing for 360 yards and 2 touchdowns. His 16 TDs through 4 games tied the NFL record, equaling Peyton Manning’s total through 4 weeks in 2013. There’s not much to be said about this game, but I can think of 2 major takeaways. First, it’s time to start preparing rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa to play in Miami. Fitz gets the job done to an extent, but Tua will give this team the hope and “pizzazz”, if you will, that this team needs. It’s a talented group that needs that spark. And second, how does Tyler Lockett only have 2 catches Russ? My fantasy team did not appreciate that.

Buccaneers 38-31 Chargers

This was quite the game down in Florida. LA jumped out to a 24-7 lead behind some incredible throws by rookie QB Justin Herbert and a long pick 6 of Bucs QB Tom Brady. Herbert continued looking like the quarterback of the future in Los Angeles, as he found WR Tyron Johnson for a long TD on a drop dead gorgeous throw. The Bucs slowly worked their way back into the game, as Brady became the living embodiment of the going from leaning back to leaning forward in your chair meme. Brady tossed 5 touchdowns to 5 different receivers and threw for 369 yards to bring his team back and lead them to victory. The Chargers did regain the lead late in the 3rd quarter behind another beautiful deep touchdown throw from Herbert, but Tampa controlled the game the rest of the way. It was the 222nd regular season win in Tom Brady’s career, giving him the most wins of any player at any position in NFL history. It was a great QB battle between two players born 21 years apart from each other. The Bucs continued to look like one of the best teams in the NFL, and the Chargers have to be excited about their future with Herbert at the helm.

Ravens 31-17 Washington

The Washington Football Team put up a good fight on Sunday against one of the best teams in the league. It may have looked like Washington got off to a slow start, but the offense was actually moving along nicely. A fumble on a great play by Ravens DB Marlon Humphrey and a missed field goal spotted the Ravens 2 short fields and resulted in 2 touchdowns. Yes, the Ravens offense looked very surgical from start to finish, but they finished with only 7 more total yards than Washington. QB Dwayne Haskins played one of the better games of his career, statistically, completing 71% of his passes and racking up 314 passing yards. Haskins hit WR Terry McLaurin on a beautiful deep ball and ran for a score late, showing flashes of good play, and hopefully boosting his confidence after a rough outing last week in Cleveland. Another bright spot for Washington was rookie RB Antonio Gibson, who accounted for 128 total yards and scored a touchdown. This team did not play too poorly in a game that I thought they would look lifeless in. They’re slowly improving, and rallying behind HC Ron Rivera is helping bring this team together. They get Chase Young back next week, which will greatly help the defense. I wouldn’t count Washington out yet.

Panthers 31-21 Cardinals

It’s official. The Cardinals were tricking us. In back-to-back weeks they have lost to two teams who really had no business winning. I do think the Panthers are better than many people, myself included, were giving them credit for, but without RB Christian McCaffrey, the fact that they won this game is shocking. After 2 very convincing wins to start 2020, the Cardinals have not looked like the same team in the last 2 weeks. The offense has not been able to get going as QB Kyler Murray threw for just 133 yards on Sunday. RB Kenyan Drake also got knocked out of the game, hurting the run game for Arizona. For the Panthers, QB Teddy Bridgewater looked great, throwing for 276 yards and 2 TDs, as well as running in his first touchdown since his awful knee injury 4 years ago. The Panthers don’t look like a bad team at all, and I think they’ll win many more games this year, especially once McCaffrey returns. Arizona, on the other hand, needs to return to form if they want to keep up in the NFC.

Vikings 31-23 Texans

The Winless Bowl had some pretty big ramifications. The game itself was controlled by Minnesota from wire to wire, although the Texans almost mounted a comeback late. Kirk Cousins had another nice game, throwing for 260 yards and a touchdown with no picks. Houston played a good game offensively and almost tied the game, but the referees ruled a would-be touchdown incomplete to end things. The Vikings left NRG Stadium with their first win of 2020, and the Texans decided to fire HC/GM Bill O’Brien after an 0-4 start. It was a move that was seemingly a long time coming, as the trades that gave away WR DeAndre Hopkins and multiple first and second round picks made zero sense and have set this team back drastically. The fans and players seem very pleased about it on social media, and I think that is completely justified. Yes, under BOB this team was winning and in the playoffs, but they never had that signature win to cement them as an elite team. They could have had it last year in Kansas City, but Patrick Mahomes said no. This is the right move for Houston, and I hope it pays off.

Rams 17-9 Giants

This is one I did not see coming. Yes I picked the Rams to win, but I predicted a 35 point win, not an 8 point one. Both offenses struggled mightily all game long on Sunday, outside of the Rams’ opening drive. I’m not sure how an the offense, which has looked so good through the first 3 games of the year, played so poorly against a Giants defense which couldn’t even stop Nick Mullens last week. But, they still got the job done thanks to a late, long catch-and-run touchdown from WR Cooper Kupp. I, for one, hope the Rams struggle just as much if not more than they did against the Giants when they roll into the nation’s capital next Sunday. But, I don’t think Sean McVay will let that happen.

Colts 19-11 Bears

Perhaps Mitch Trubisky wasn’t the problem. Or maybe the Colts defense is just that good. New Bears starting QB Nick Foles struggled quite a bit against Indianapolis, who has proven to have one of the best defenses in football. They statistically lead the league in yards allowed per game and points allowed per game. They held Chicago to just 3 points for over 58 minutes on Sunday. The offense did what it needed to do as well, scoring a touchdown and netting 4 field goals to control the game from start to finish. This is not a flashy team by any means, but the Colts are very solid all around. They have the roster to compete with many top teams in the AFC. Don’t be surprised if Indy is the team to play spoiler against some AFC favorites later in the year en route to a playoff appearance.

Bills 30-23 Raiders

Josh Allen is still doing Josh Allen things. The Bills QB continued putting up huge numbers on Sunday in Vegas. He threw for 288 yards, 115 of which going to WR Stefon Diggs, who is now the leading receiver in the NFL. The Raiders stuck around for the whole game, but the Bills led the whole way and stomped on Vegas’ throats in the 4th quarter. The Raiders defense continues to be a massive problem for them. They have the talent on both sides of the ball to be competitive, but it needs to translate to more wins against great teams. The Bills are not just a great team, but an elite team. They can beat anyone on any given Sunday. Their next 2 games will tell us a lot more about how much of a contender they are, as they take on the currently unbeaten Titans and Chiefs.

Eagles 25-20 49ers

This was… hard to watch. I really don’t know how Eagles QB Carson Wentz willed his team to victory on Sunday, considering he was playing with Walmart grocery baggers at WR. It seemed like the 49ers were in control for most of this game, despite pretty bad QB play from Nick Mullens. But it turns out that Mullens would truly be San Francisco’s downfall, as he threw an AWFUL pick that was returned for a touchdown to all but ice the game for Philadelphia. Yes, CJ Beathard came in for the Niners and almost led the incredible comeback, but it was far too little too late. The Niners lost a game they had no excuse losing, and now the Eagles sit on top of the NFC (L)East at 1-2-1. I will give credit to Wentz for winning a game with what he was given, but I’m still very bitter about Washington being knocked out of first. Hopefully the Eagles go back to losing, which is more likely than not.

Chiefs 26-10 Patriots

This was interesting. Patriots QB Cam Newton unfortunately tested positive for COVID-19, pushing this game back to Monday evening, and forcing New England to start QB Brian Hoyer. Even with the significant downgrade at QB, the Patriots hung around for a while on Monday. Their defense played a terrific game against the Chiefs offense and QB Patrick Mahomes. New England was in this game for a while, even after having to bench Hoyer for Jarrett Stidham. It wasn’t until Stidham threw a pick 6 thanks to WR Julian Edelman dropping a pass that I could have caught that the Patriots were out of it. I truly think that, had Cam Newton played in this game, the Patriots would have won. I’d keep an eye out for these two teams meeting again in January, because I wouldn’t be so sure that the Patriots wouldn’t come out on top.

Packers 30-16 Falcons

Update: Aaron Rodgers is still a bad man. Missing his 2 best WRs, all ARod did was throw for a measly 327 yards and 4 TDs on 82% completion. Packers TE Robert Tonyan, who you would not know about if he played on any other team, had 98 yards and 3 touchdowns. Green Bay didn’t even need RB Aaron Jones to carry a big load, as Jamaal Williams got plenty of snaps in the backfield and did his thing both running and catch the ball. I tweeted earlier today that Rodgers could take 52 lawn chairs to the playoffs, and it might not be too much of an exaggeration. Rodgers put on a masterclass, and he’s getting his best weapon back next week. Even the defense looked spectacular with star LB Za’Darius Smith and CB Jaire Alexander putting on shows. Alexander held star Falcons WR Calvin Ridley to a shocking goose egg in the receiving column. The Green Bay Packers are the best team in the NFC and they are a force to be reckoned with. The Falcons offense struggled all night against the Green Bay defense, and Atlanta is now 0-4. They probably should be 2-2, but we don’t hand out moral victories here. Sooner or later, coaching changes need to be made. I think they will be made much sooner than later.

All stats taken from ESPN.

Another wild and entertaining week of NFL football is behind us. Let’s review what happened in the final slate of games in September.

Dolphins 31-13 Jaguars

Thursday Night Football was the Ryan Fitzpatrick Show as the Dolphins’ 37 year old QB completed 90% of his passes and scored 3 total touchdowns en route to a blowout win. Not a lot of people saw Miami’s dominant performance coming (especially not me). This looked like a very solid team all around, but perhaps it should be taken with a grain of salt as they were playing one of football’s worst teams who were without their best WR. The bright spot of the game for Jacksonville was rookie RB James Robinson, who was their leading rusher and receiver in addition to having 2 touchdowns, making fantasy owners elated. I’m not sure where the fight that the Jags had for Weeks 1 and 2 was on Thursday. Maybe they couldn’t muster it in a short week. Maybe they remembered they were tanking. Either way, they certainly looked like the Jaguars of old.

Bears 30-26 Falcons

I really don’t have the slightest idea how, but the Atlanta Falcons did it again. The Bears were down 16 points with just over 6 minutes left in a game in which they played so poorly that they benched their QB Mitchell Trubisky. Former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles entered the game and didn’t provide the spark that Chicago needed, especially after throwing an INT in the endzone. Up 2 full scores with time winding down, the Falcons must have felt good about being close to their first win of 2020. The Bears found the endzone but failed to convert on a 2 point conversion to cut the lead to 10, still 2 scores behind. After a defensive stop and a touchdown 2 minutes later, they found themselves down just 3. Two and a half minutes later, they did it again, this time with an incredible throw under pressure by Foles to WR Anthony Miller, and the Bears somehow found themselves ahead 30-26. Falcons QB Matt Ryan tried to lead his team down the field to win the game, but threw an interception to seal another inexplicable Atlanta loss. The Bears continued being the comeback kids, and the Falcons continued being the laughingstock of the NFL. No team had ever blown 2 15+ point leads in the 4th quarter in a season before, and now Atlanta has done it in back to back weeks. If Dan Quinn is still this team’s head coach next season… or even next month… I would be very disappointed. But not surprised whatsover.

Bills 35-32 Rams

What an insane game. The Bills jumped out to a vaunted 28-3 lead on Sunday against the Rams behind more stellar QB play from Josh Allen. Their defense was making LA’s offense look like that of a high school team. But a 28-3 lead in this league means DRAMA. A flip switched for the Rams as they stuck with their gameplan, didn’t panic, and ripped off 29 unanswered points. Jared Goff looked very poised in leading his team back from a massive deficit, and got lots of help from his WRs Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods as well as his great RBs in Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown. Up by 4 with 4:30 to play, the Rams simply needed to stop the Bills one more time. They actually did, as the Bills failed to convert on a 4th down, but an awful (and I mean awful) DPI call gifted Buffalo a first down. Josh Allen took advantage of the gift and found TE Tyler Kroft for a game winning touchdown with 15 seconds left. This battle of undefeateds didn’t disappoint at all, and I think that these are two of the best teams in football. It’s just a shame that it came down to an awful call from the officials.

Browns 34-20 Washington

Do I have to talk about this game? Alright, fine, I’ll do it. Washington’s loss this Sunday in Cleveland was not fun. This was a game of momentum swings, as only one team scored in each quarter. Washington certainly looked better early as QB Dwayne Haskins Jr. was poised in the pocket and delivered nice throws, including a touchdown to WR Dontrelle Inman to put the Football Team up 7-0. Washington had all the momentum and was driving again in the 2nd quarter to try and extend the lead, but a bad miss on a high throw from Haskins led to an interception and a huge return from Karl Joseph. The Browns got the ground game going with star RB Nick Chubb to go take advantage of the Haskins mistake and go up 10-7. The 2nd year QB looked to shake off the mistake, but instead made another one, as he threw another interception with under 2 minutes left in the half. It was a horrible play from Haskins, who stared down his intended receiver the whole play, allowing the Browns LB to read the play like a book and make the play. The Browns took advantage again, scoring another TD to go up 17-7 at halftime. The WFT was down, but not out, as they ripped off back to back touchdown drives in the 3rd quarter, with Haskins looking great again. To start the 4th quarter, the Browns responded with a touchdown of their own and regained the lead, 24-20. With the game in his hands, Dwayne Haskins made the same mistake he had been making all game long. He stared down his receiver on a short curl route over the middle, was read the whole way, and picked off. It was his 3rd INT of the game, with all 3 being inexcusable. It only got uglier from there, as the Browns reached the endzone, followed by a Myles Garrett strip sack of Haskins, and one last Browns field goal before the game was finally over. 4 Dwayne Haskins turnovers led directly to 24 Browns points. Washington seemed like the better team in this game, but mistakes killed them. If Dwayne Haskins does not improve his play, then this team is going nowhere. If he can fix his mistakes and play as well as I know he can, then this team can win a lot of games. I am hoping and praying for the latter.

Titans 31-30 Vikings

Unbeaten vs. winless saw both teams retain the 0’s in their respective columns. The Titans improved to 3-0 behind SIX (6) Stephen Gostowski field goals. The Vikings played well; I’d argue that they were actually the better team on Sunday. Kirk Cousins was finally getting it going in the air, finding his receivers who were starving after last week. Adam Thielen caught a touchdown, and rookie WR Justin Jefferson out of LSU, the Vikings 2020 1st round pick, finally burst onto the scene with 7 catches for 175 yards, including a 71 yard bomb capped off by a great dance into the endzone. Star RB Dalvin Cook was eating as well, with 181 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. TE Kyle Rudolph made a spectacular catch to put the Vikings up 30-25, but the Titans got back to back field goals to take a 1 point lead. With the chance to lead his team to victory, Cousins threw his 2nd interception of the game to seal the 3rd Vikings loss in 3 games. Much like Atlanta, this doesn’t feel like a team that is as bad as their record. Regardless, losses are losses. And they’re stacking up quickly in Minnesota.

Patriots 36-20 Raiders

The Patriots looked like one of the league’s most complete teams in Sunday’s domination of the Raiders. QB Cam Newton delivered through the air when called upon and RBs Sony Michel and Rex Burkehead gashed the Vegas defense on the ground and through the air, respectively. Michel had a fantastic 117 yards on just 9 carries, and Burkehead was the team’s leading receiver en route to accounting for 3 total touchdowns. New England’s outstanding defense, which speaks for itself with its play, shut down the Raiders offense, which looked so good last Monday night, entirely. This team might not be the flashiest or the most exciting to watch, but they are a well-oiled machine that gets it done in every facet of the game. Bill Belichick is doing Bill Belichick things, and the Patriots are still contenders in the AFC.

49ers 36-9 Giants

Alright, New York football team, from the top. The New York Football Giants are really, really, REALLY bad. I cannot stress it enough. San Francisco was seemingly missing their entire team, yet they absolutely dismantled the Giants for 4 quarters. Against the 49ers B team, New York QB Daniel Jones put up a pedestrian 179 yards and 1 interception on 17/32 passing. The Giants didn’t score a touchdown all game. I really don’t know what I can say. It’s absolutely embarrassing. This game was either a testament to how strong of a team San Francisco is and how great of a coach Kyle Shanahan is, or to how awful of an organization the Giants have become and to how much Joe Judge is not built for this job. Either way, the Giants are officially in the Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes™.

Bengals 23-23 Eagles

The year is 2020: Donald Trump is president, a global pandemic has shut down the world for several months, and ties are still a thing in the NFL. I really do have a disdain for ties. Sunday’s contest at Lincoln Financial Field was very hard to watch, largely in part due to Eagles QB Carson Wentz continuing to be absolutely dreadful. The 5th year signal caller (who still hasn’t mastered the playbook according to HC Doug Pederson???) threw 2 more interceptions to bring his total to 6 on the year. QB Joe Burrow was getting annihilated all game en route to 8 sacks thanks to not having an offensive line, but his Bengals were able to take advantage of Wentz’s mistakes as they led for most of the 4th quarter. Finally, with the game in the balance, Wentz decided to do something (for once) by leading the Eagles down the field and running in the game-tying touchdown with 21 seconds left in the game. Overtime was a puntfest, but the Eagles had a chance to kick a 59 yard game-winning field goal. The players were lined up, but the Eagles moved early to push them back. So, the Eagles punted, again, and the game ended in a tie. The Eagles continue to look awful, and Joe Burrow still refuses to go down without a fight.

Steelers 28-21 Texans

The Steelers got off to a slow start on Sunday as the Texans jumped out to a 14-3 lead. But it was almost all Pittsburgh from there on out, as they continued to look very solid on both sides of the football. For the first time in 25 games, the Steelers didn’t turn the ball over. QB Ben Roethlisberger did his thing, throwing for 2 touchdowns, and RB James Conner continued looking very strong with 109 yards and a touchdown on just 18 touches. #GetDeshaunWatsonATeam is also still going very strong. The Texans are now 0-3 and reeling. Yes, they have played 3 of the league’s best teams, but as I said before with Minnesota (who they ironically play this week), losses are losses. On a similar note, the Steelers are now 3-0 with wins against three 0-3 teams. Despite that, you can see this team is very well-rounded and ready to compete in the tough AFC North.

Colts 36-7 Jets

Alright, New York football team, from the top. The New York Jets are really, really, REALLY bad. I cannot stress it enough. The worst team in football continued doing worst team in football things as they were torn into a million little pieces by the Colts on Sunday. QB Sam Darnold, who loves showing flashes of greatness before showing us tidal waves of atrocity, threw a whopping 3 interceptions, all of which being horrible reads with two of them being returned for touchdowns. The Colts defense, which has been great all season long, continued looking like one of the best in football, much to the avail of fantasy owners such as myself. Yes it was the Jets, but great play is great play. The Trevor Lawrence Sweeptstakes™ frontrunners need to hit reset on the entire team. It’s time to get Adam Gase out of New York with swiftness, and it’s time to find a new franchise quarterback. Sam Darnold is officially not it.

Panthers 21-16 Chargers

This game was a snoozefest with an almost legendary finish. Justin Herbert’s Chargers struggled against a pretty bad Carolina team despite a monster game from WR Keenan Allen (13 catches, 132 yards, 1 TD). Herbert didn’t have a bad game with his 330 yards passing, but his two turnovers (an INT and a fumble) costed the Chargers points, and potentially even the game. Even still, Los Angeles still had a chance to win the game late. The Chargers tried a hook-and-ladder play with Keenan Allen and RB Austin Ekeler, but Ekeler dropped the lateral and the clock struck 0:00. Had Ekeler caught that lateral, he had a clear path to the endzone and a win for the Chargers. But, the what-if remains a what-if, and these two teams now both sit at 1-2.

Buccaneers 28-10 Broncos

Tampa Bay keeps on getting better and better. The Bucs played a nearly flawless game on Sunday in Denver in some pretty flawless uniforms. Tampa debuted the all-pewter getups in style as they dominated the reeling Broncos for 60 minutes. QB Tom Brady played his best game of the young season, throwing for 297 yards and 3 TDs. WR Mike Evans had a pretty funny statline of 2 catches for 2 yards and 2 TDs. But the star of the show was the Bucs defense. They locked up Jeff Driskel and company and suffocated the Broncos for only 226 total yards. If this Tampa team can play this dominantly against the contenders of the NFL, which I think they can, then this team will be a force to be reckoned with.

Lions 26-23 Cardinals

Kyler Murray finally struggled in 2020. And it wasn’t very pretty. The star QB threw 3 INTs and the Cardinals paid the price for it. They stayed in the fight all game long, and Kyler still found ways to dazzle, including a touchdown run in which he snatched #3 overall pick Jeff Okudah’s ankles, and WR DeAndre Hopkins continued to put up monster numbers (10 catches, 137 yards) but it wasn’t enough. Lions QB Matt Stafford continued being one of the league’s most resilient players, never giving up and leading his team to victory with a drive that ended in a game winning field goal as time expired. Every team struggles against bad teams from time to time, so I don’t think it’s ill-advised to panic in any way with the Cardinals. But Kyler’s performance was a bit rocky, and that cannot continue. I don’t think it will.

Seahawks 38-31 Cowboys

There’s so much to unpack from this game that I don’t even know where to begin. How about we start with the Seahawks offense, which continued playing lights out football thanks to the MVP frontrunner Russell Wilson. Russ casually tossed 5 more touchdowns against the Cowboys to bring his total to 14 through 3 weeks, the most in that time span in NFL history. 3 of them came to WR Tyler Lockett, which my fantasy team was very thankful for. It could have been 6 TDs for Wilson, but WR DK Metcalf inexplicably had the ball knocked out of his hands before scoring thanks to a complete lack of awareness and an overwhelming desire to showboat. On the other side of things, QB Dak Prescott continued to put up stellar numbers in this revamped Cowboys offense. He threw for an incredible 472 yards and 3 TDs to keep his team in the game, but had some costly turnovers that gifted Seattle points. Dallas kicked a field goal to go ahead 31-30 with 4 minutes left, and Russell Wilson, who was as poised as ever, led his team down the field with ease. The drive was capped off with a beautiful rainbow throw over the top to DK Metcalf, who redeemed himself by catching the game winning touchdown. The Seattle defense would then pick off Dak one more time to seal the victory. The Seahawks are now 3-0, but have been gashed week after week on defense. Obviously the offense is special, but if Seattle doesn’t step it up defensively, then it could mean bad news in the playoffs.

Packers 37-30 Saints

Aaron Rodgers is still a bad man. Sunday Night Football didn’t disappoint whatsoever as the Packers and Saints played an instant classic in the Superdome. Even without Davante Adams, Rodgers was making incredible deep throws left and right, especially to WR Allen Lazard, who has burst onto the scene this season. ARod finished with 283 yards and 3 TDs, with 146 of those yards and 1 of those TDs going to Lazard, and the Packers didn’t turn the ball over for the 3rd straight game. On the other side of things, Saints QB Drew Brees continued his short-yardage, dink and dunk play that New Orleans has executed so well in the last few weeks. The high profile target was obviously RB Alvin Kamara who caught a whopping 13 balls for 139 yards and 2 TDs, including a long catch and run in which he ran through seemingly the entire Packers defense. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as the Packers out-executed the Saints and Rodgers outsmarted the New Orleans defense late to put the game out of reach. Green Bay has proven that they are one of the league’s best teams, and New Orleans is counting the days until they get Michael Thomas back.

Chiefs 34-20 Ravens

The match that was hyped up to be the Game of the Year in the 2020 NFL season can be described in just 3 words: Patrick Mahomes Masterclass. The Chiefs QB played one of the best games of his career on one of the biggest regular-season stages. He threw for 385 yards and 4 TDs as he executed Andy Reid’s insane offensive gameplan to perfection. You don’t often see an underhand shovel pass to a FB for a touchdown or a passing touchdown to an offensive lineman, but Andy Reid said screw it, let’s do them both in the same game. Mahomes threw dime after dime as Kansas City not only looked absolutely unstoppable offensively, but very tight defensively. This game wasn’t nearly as close as the score would suggest, and it’s thanks to the Chiefs defense locking up Ravens QB Lamar Jackson for 60 minutes. Lamar and the Baltimore offense struggled all night long as he couldn’t even muster 97 passing yards. The Ravens were out-coached and outplayed all game long, outside of a single kick return touchdown. The narrative around Lamar Jackson not being able to win big games only gained more traction last night. He’s now 0-3 against the Chiefs in his young career. The good news is, he’s 21-1 against the rest of the NFL (in the regular season). But the Ravens won’t be dominating every game. If they cannot show up against the best teams in the league or play from behind, then perhaps they won’t be as formidable as we thought.

All stats taken from ESPN.