By Matt Stuart | Published | No Comments
This week gives us our first International game from Germany and one of the seasons best matchups to boot as the Chiefs host the Dolphins. You just know Tyreek Hill would love to flash his deuce sign multiple times in this game. We also get round one of Cowboys versus Eagles. Finishing the Sunday slate, is Bengals versus Bills. These two teams have done a lot verbal jarring back and forth and this matchup seems destined to be a future maintain rivalry down the road. So let’s get to some picking.
THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Titans vs Steelers
Four touchdown Will Levis gets his first road start against a stingy Steelers defense. These short weeks TNF games usually are low scoring and tend to favor the home team, and when you consider that the Titans are terrible on the road, at least since last season, this will be Levis first true trial by fire game.
PICK – Steelers 17 – Titans 13
SUNDAY
((9:00AM WINDOW))
Dolphins vs Chiefs
This is the NFL’s first trip to Germany (Frankfurt). It’s also arguably the best international game the NFL has ever had. The Dolphins have the leagues #1 offense and can score in bunches. The Chiefs offense has been hit or miss for most of this season and are coming off a bad loss to the Denver Broncos. Miami is 0-2 against teams with a winning record this season and have struggled against teams that can put pressure on the quarterback. The Dolphins two loses this season came against teams with top 10 pass rushing defenses. The Chiefs rank third in that department. This game to me comes down to whether Miami’s offensive line can hold up and protect Tua. If they can, the Dolphins have a shot at a signature win on the season.
PICK – Dolphins 28 – Chiefs 24
((1:00PM WINDOW))
Vikings vs Falcons
The Vikings lost starting quarterback Kirk Cousin last week do to a torn ACL. The Falcons are benching their starting quarterback Desmond Ridder due to poor play. The Vikings acquired Joshua Dobbs from the Cardinals just before the trade deadline, but will start rookie QB Jaren Hall. So this game becomes a match-up of Hall vs Heinicke. It’s an unknown as far as what Hall will bring for the Vikings and Heinicke should be solid, but nothing spectacular. Give me Atlanta much improved defense against a rookie QB and I think we have a winner.
PICK – Falcons 23 – Vikings 16
Cardinals vs Browns
The Cardinals now have a clear path to earning the number one draft pick for next season. With Dobbs now off to the Vikings, Clayton Tune becomes the sacrificial lamb. The Browns defense should be more than enough to get the win, regardless of who starts at quarterback for the Browns.
PICK – Browns 24 – Cardinals 10
Rams vs Packers
This is a match-up of two teams on burgening losing streaks. The Rams have dropped their last two and Packers have lost their last four in a row. The Rams have the better team, but they seem to be incapable of getting out of their own way. The Packers really need a good performance from quarterback Jordan Love or their chances of staying close in the NFC North will quickly fade away.
PICK – Packers 20 – Rams 14
Commanders vs Patriots
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones continues his up and down, mostly down, season against the up start Commanders. Neither of these teams inspire much confidence that they can string two wins together. There is one big difference in the play of these two quarterbacks though. Command QB Sam Howell has played well enough to keep his team in almost all their games, whereas Patriots QB Mac Jones hasn’t. It’s almost impossible to use trends, rosters, or statistical data to pick a winner in this match-up, so I guess I will just flip a coin.
PICK – Patriots 21 – Commanders 16
Bears vs Saints
The Saints this past week finally got a glimpse of the quarterback they traded for when they acquired Derek Carr from the Raiders this past off season. The Bears are prepared to start Tyson Bagent for the third week in a row if Justin Fields is still unable to go. I’ll take the Saints as they should start to hit their stride.
PICK – Saints 24 – Bears 13
Seahawks vs Ravens
Seattle has managed to get just enough offense this season to roll to a 5-2 record. The Ravens may be the most balanced team in the NFL, and their defense has shut down some very good offenses so far this season. Can Geno Smith and the Seahawks get to 20 points. I say no.
PICK – Ravens 28 – Seahawks 17
Buccaneers vs Texans
The Texans offense looked anemic last week against a Panthers defense that has given up the third most points so far this season. This week the Texans get a defense that is giving up just a little over 18 points per game, sixth best in the NFL. Texans QB C.J. Stroud has played very well this season, but the Texans are averaging a touchdown less per game over their last three games, compared to their first four games of the season. The Bucs have lost three in row, even though their defense has held each of their last three opponents to less than 25 points, and that includes teams like the Bills and Lions. The Bucs problem is that their offense has simply not been able to sustain drives. This game should be a low scoring defensive battle, meaning that the Bucs have a good chance of squeaking out a win.
PICK – Bucs 18 – Texans 13
((4:00PM WINDOW))
Colts vs Panthers
This game could have given us Bryce Young vs Anthony Richardson, instead we get Young vs Garner Minshew. The Panthers seemed to find an offensive scheme that worked last week against the Texans, after Frank Reich gave up the play calling duties to OC Thomas Brown. The Panthers are still not scoring many points, but did manage to find some creativity in the play calling on the final drive of the game, a clutch drive that brought out the best so far this season in Young. The Colts defense has fallen off a cliff, especially during their current three game losing streak. This matchup should give Young and the Panthers some opportunities to expand on an offensive scheme that looks to finally be utilizing Bryce’s strengths.
PICK – Panthers 23 – Colts 20
Giants vs Raiders
Last week was a rough one for the Giants. As backup QB Tyrod Taylor got knocked out early in the first half. That thrust emergency QB starter Tommy DeVito into action and time seemed to stand still for a while. DeVito struggled to move the offense, in a game that featured a combined 24 punts. Though to be fair one of those punts did come in OT. Though to also be fair, this game had no business going into OT. DeVito finished with negative one passing yard, but somehow managed to keep the Giants hopes of pulling off the upset alive with a six-yard scramble into the end zone to give the Giants a three point lead. It almost held up before Jets QB Zach Wilson led a surreal game tying drive for a field goal with less than 34 seconds to go.
The Raiders spent the early part of the week firing their head coach and GM. As frustrations of a lost season continue to mount in Vegas, this game becomes a test of wills. The good news, I mean I guess it’s good news, is that the Giants get Daniel Jones back. That means that I am picking them to win the ugly game of the week contest.
PICK – Giants 19 – Raiders 17
Cowboys vs Eagles
Here we go again. Dallas finds itself just a game out of first place and once again the Eagles are standing in their way. The Cowboys are actually 4-2 against their hated rivals in Philly since the 2020 season. But the Eagles seem to be flexing their muscles a bit, as the defending NFC East champs are 7-1 and coming off their best offensive display of the season. The division hasn’t had a repeat champion since the Eagles repeated in 2009 and 2010. This game should give us an early indicator of whether the Cowboys can truly stop the Eagles from rolling to their second NFC East division crown.
Both Prescott and Hurts played well in their respective games last week so this matchup comes at the perfect time. While I still like the Eagles to win the division, I think the Cowboys win round one.
PICK – Cowboys 28 – Eagles 20
SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Bills vs Bengals
These two teams have developed quite a disliking for each other. From their late season Monday Night matchup last season that was canceled midway through the first quarter after the near fatal on field collapse of Damar Hamlin, to the Bengals upsetting the Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs just four weeks later, to the back and forth verbal sparring that has commenced from players on both sides. Yeah this Sunday Night matchup feels just a little bigger than it probably should.
The Bills looked dominant back in September and early October, but have had a few hiccups as of late, including a bad loss to the Patriots a couple weeks ago. The Bengals had a rough start to the season as Joe Burrow was dealing with the lingering affects of a hamstring injury he suffered during training camp. Burrow and the Bengals have bounced back winning three in a row, including a very impressive win on the road last week against the 49ers.
Both of these QB’s are at the top of the heap in the NFL and would be wise betting favorites to lead their teams back to the playoffs. To me this game comes down to whether the Bills can get off to a hot start and force the Bengals to play from behind. If they can, the Bills might just have enough to hold off the red hot Bengals.
PICK – Bills 24 – Bengals 20
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Chargers vs Jets
This game doesn’t look quite as bad as it did a few weeks ago, as both teams have turned around bad starts to their respective seasons. The Jets managed to win one of the ugliest games you will see a week ago against the Giants. The Chargers halted a two game losing streak last week by beating the Bears. A win against the Jets would get the Chargers back to .500 on the season. This is another game where the Chargers are the better team, but the Jets found just enough offense to go with that suffocating defense.
If the Jets defense can keep Justin Herbert uncomfortable in the pocket and force some mistakes along the way, the Jets could manage to pull another rabbit out of their hat.
PICK – Chargers 21 – Jets 17
