Month: October 2023

–With no byes this week, there are 16 games on the schedule but not a lot of good attractions.  There are two teams at 6-1 and five at 5-2 and none of them are matched up against each other. The best matchup on paper features the 5-2 Jaguars at the 4-2 Steelers. The Jaguars come in as a slight favorite with a four game winning streak, the second longest behind Kansas City, which a has won six in a row.

–Only one of the top seven teams, the Lions, are playing in prime time. The Lions host Las Vegas on Monday night and should recover after being routed by the Ravens last week. Buffalo, which has struggled in its last three games and lost two of them, will try to get back on track Thursday night against Tampa Bay.  The Chargers will host Chicago in a Sunday night game that won’t be good for the ratings.

–The Bears figure to keep the pole position in the battle for the top pick next year even if they win. They own Carolina’s first pick and the winless Panthers, the only winless team in the league, host Houston in a battle of the top two quarterbacks picked this year. The Panthers picked first and took Bryce Young while the Texans got the better quarterback at No. 2 in C.J. Stroud.

–Kansas City and Philadelphia have favorable matchups and both figure to go to 7-1 as the only one loss teams in the league. The Eagles are at Washington where Ron Rivera figures to be fired if he doesn’t retire and the Chiefs are at Denver where Sean Payton must be wondering why he took the job 

–If the Jaguars and Lions both win, there could be five 6-2 teams since Miami figures to beat New England, the 49ers are expected to end their two game losing streak against Cincinnati and the Ravens figure to win at Arizona. If all five go to 6-2, they all have a good shot at winning their division titles and hosting a first round playoff game. Kansas City and Philadelphia are currently in the lead for the two first round byes.

–The NFL is back to where it was in the Super Bowl last February. The two Super Bowl team from last year, Kansas City and Philadelphia, are the top seeds at the seven game mark with 6-1 records. The Chiefs won their sixth in a row by beating the Chargers, 31-17, and the Eagles bounced back from their first loss to beat the Dolphins by the same score.

–Of course, it is way too early to crown either team in this topsy-turvy season. For example the top three scoring teams, Miami, San Francisco and Buffalo, all lost last week although all three teams have injury problems. The Lions, who were being touted as one of the best teams in the league, were routed by the Ravens, 38-6. The 49ershad won 16 regular season games in a row and now have lost two in a row but then they lost in weeks 6 and 7 last year and then ran the table in the regular season the rest of the year. 

–If the season ended this week, the playoff matches in the AFC would be the Bills at Dolphins, the Browns at the Ravens and the Steelers at the Jaguars. Interesting that the Jaguars will take their four-game winning streak – second longest behind the Chiefs six game win streak – into Pittsburgh this weekend. In the NFC the Bucs would be at the Lions, the Cowboys at the 49ers and the Seahawks at the Falcons.

–Besides the Eagles and Chiefs at 6-2, there are five 5-2 teams – the Lions, Ravens, 49ers Dolphins and Jaguars.  The Cowboys, Steelers, Seahawks and Browns at 4-2, the Bills and Falcons at 4-3, and the Bucs at 3-3 would all be in the playoffs. And you can’t count out the 3-3 Bengals and Texans and even the 3-4   Vikings have to be given a shot. Just a week ago, there was speculation the Vikings might start a fire sale and rebuild if they fell to 2-5. Now they are very much alive after beating the 49ers. That is the kind of season it is.

–Just a week ago, there was talk Bob Kraft could fire Bill Belichick after the team started off 1-5. But then the news was leaked that the Kraft gave Belichick a contract extension in the offseason and the Pats then upset the Bills. But nobody thinks Belichick’s job is safe is he doesn’t get the team into contention. Kraft could afford to payoff Belichick if the Pats go back to their losing ways this year.

–The NFL teams reached the one third pole of the 18 week season last week and now head into the second third with no unbeaten teams and only one winless team, the 0-6 Panthers. With six teams having byes, there are only 13 games with the Sunday night game featuring two 5-1 teams — the Dolphins at the Eagles. This is the first real test for the Eagles and they need a win if they are to show they are contenders. The Eagles defense has to slow down the Miami offense and Jalen Hurts has to rebound from a three pick game in their first loss to the Jets last week if the Eagles are to have a chance.

–The Monday night game has the 49ers going to the Vikings. The Vikings 2-4 record raises questions of whether the Vikings can challenge the 49ers, who lost their first game last week to the Browns. Brock Purdy has to regain his form after suffering his first loss to the Browns last week He had been unbeaten except for the playoff loss to the Eagles when he was injured. 

–The Thursday night game pits the Jaguars at New Orleans. The Jaguars are playing their third game in 12 days in three time zones with Trevor Lawrence not at 100 per cent so it could be a struggle for the Jaguars. But since it is an NFC game, a loss probably wouldn’t hurt their chances of winning the AFC South.

–Fox has a single game with the feature the Lions at the Ravens. The Lions at 5-1 are looking like a contender in the NFC but they can’t overlook the 4-2 Ravens. These two teams don’t have a history, but it should be a good game.

–CBS has the doubleheader but it may be the worst of the year. The pickings are slim. In the early game they are giving a lot of coverage to the 4-2 Bills at the 1-5 Pats. The Bills have played two poor games in a row but should still easily beat the Patriots, who are having their worst season since 2000 when Bill Belichick went 5-11 in his first season as the Patriots coach. Even five wins may be a stretch for the Patriots this year. The feature doubleheader game is the Chargers at the Chiefs matching Justin Herbert vs. Patrick Mahomes. But the Chargers have been disappointing at 2-3 so the Chiefs should dominate the game even though they have yet to play at top form..

–The 1972 Miami Dolphins could break out the champagne Sunday. They were the only team in NFL history to have a perfect season. For the 50^th year in a row, it won’t happen this year as the last two unbeaten teams, San Francisco and Philadelphia, lost to backup quarterbacks Sunday. And because of the change in the game, it is unlikely it will ever be done again. The Dolphins only had to win 17 games. Now a team would have to win 20. And in the era of free agency and he salary cap, it is more difficult to keep teams together. The closest any team has come lately was New England in 2007 when they went 18-0 and lost the Super Bowl to the Giants.

–San Francisco lost to Cleveland because Brock Purdy wasn’t as sharp as he usually is and Deebo Samuels and Christian McCaffrey both got hurt and Jake Moody missed a 41-yard field goal that wouldhave won it at the end. The 49ers got no yardage on five of their first six drives after halftime. They had tfour hree and outs  and Purdy threw a pick. It was Purdy’s first loss except when he was injured in the playoffs last year. Despite the loss, the 49ers still have a good shot at the top seed and a trip .to the NFC title game. Detroit, which is 5-1 after going 5-1 by beating the Bucs, may be their biggest obstacle. The 49ers and Lions don’t play in the regular season.

–Philadelphia lost for the first time when they lost to the Jets as Jalen Hurts threw three picks. But they may have problem beating out 4-2 Dallas for NFC East title because they have a much tougher schedule than the Cowboys. After this week’s game against Washington, they play Dallas, the Chiefs, Bills, 49ers and Dallas again. Dallas is unlikely to get to the Super Bowl because the 49ers have beaten them three years in a row, including in the playoffs the last two years.

–In the AFC, the Dolphins and Chiefs lead the East and West with 5-1 records but the 4-2 Jaguars have the best shot at winning a division title in the AFC South. The Jaguars have swept the Colts, who are likely to go with Garder Minshew the rest of the way even though he lacks a big arm because he is backing up injured Anthony Richardson. Tennessee is 2-4 and Ryan Tannehill is out with a high ankle sprain. The Texans are 3-3 and have beaten the Jaguars but even though C.J. Stroud is playing lights out, he is still a rookie.

–The Chicago Bears lost to Minnesota to fall to 1-5 but they still have a good shot at the top pick because they own Carolina’s first pick and the Panthers are 0-6. A surprising team in the mix at 1-5 is New England, which plays Buffalo and Miami the next two weeks and could fall to 1-7. Unless Bill Belichick gets some victories in the second half of the year, owner Bob Kraft will have to decide if he wants to stick with Belichick.

–Not a great week for Prime Time viewing. The Bills are hosting the Sunday night game coming off a frustrating loss in London to the Jaguars, but theyplay the hapless Giants so it should be an easy victory. The Thursday night game isn’t much better with the Chiefs hosting Denver. Should be an easy win for the Chiefs against the rudderless Broncos. The Monday night game features the Cowboys, coming off their blowout loss to the 49ers, traveling to Los Angeles to play the Raiders. But both teams have been disappointing, so it is not a marquee matchup although the Cowboys usually draw good ratings.

–The two unbeaten teams, San Francisco and Philadelphia, are both on the road, but both figure to go to 6-0 with victories over the Browns and Jets.

–The Sunday morning game in London features Baltimore against Tennessee with the Ravens figured to win. They even went to London early in the week to avoid the jet lag issues that plagued the Bills last Sunday against the Jaguars. who were playing their second game in a row in London.

–The only game featuring two teams tied for first place in their division pits the Jaguars hosting the Colts with both teams at 3-2. The Jaguars appear to have the edge because they beat the Colts in the opener and haven’t lost to the Colts in Jacksonville since 2014 and Colts starting quarterback Anthony Richardson is hurt. But Gardner Minshew, who started his career in Jacksonville, is a capable backup and has played well in place of Richardson. And Jonathan Taylor is in his second game after signing a new contract. This could be a pivotal game for both teams in the division race.

–The Patriots, reeling after 38-3 and 34-0 losses the last two games, go to Las Vegas where Bill Belichick faces one of his old students, Josh McDaniels. Since the Patriots host Buffalo and go to Miami the following weeks, they are desperate for a win to stop their tailspin as Belichick continues to deal with the narrative that he is a terrible personnel executive who can’t win without Tom Brady.

—The only two unbeaten teams – San Francisco and Philadelphia – boosted their records to 5-0, but they did it in different ways. The 49ers, who knocked the Cowboys out of the playoffs the last two years, crushed them, 42-10, while the Eagles beat the Rams, 23-14. The two teams are heading to a Dec. 3 matchup in Philadelphia. The 49ers have the better chance of going unbeaten into that game because their next six foes are the Browns, Vikings, Bengals, Jaguars, Tampa and Seattle. By contrast, the Eagles have games against the Dolphins, Cowboys, Chiefs and Bills plus Jets and Washington.

–The only team likely to prevent a 49ers-Eagles playoff matchup is Detroit, which boosted its record to 4-1 with a 42-24 rout of the Panthers, the only winless team in the league. The Lions figure to play either the 49ers or Eagles in the divisional round. The Panthers, by contrast, have the inside track on the first pick, but they traded it to Chicago to move up and draft Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud. The Panthers are going nowhere past.

–The Bills fell to 3-2 with a loss in London to the Jaguars and sent a message to the rest of the league. If a team is matched up against a team playing its second consecutive game in London, it is best to fly over several days in advance. The Bills were obviously jet-lagged and didn’t appear to have much energy. But then maybe the Bills don’t match up well against the Jaguars. They lost to them 9-6 two years ago. In the last three years, the Bills are 0-2 against the Jaguars and 27-9 in the rest of their regular season games.

–The wheels have fallen off for Bill Belichick in New England. The Patriots lost 38-3 a week ago to Dallas, the worst loss of his career and then almost matched it with a 34-0 loss to the Saints. Has a Hall of Fame coach ever lost back-to-back games by a 72-3 margin? Belichick said he is starting over. But will owner Bob Kraft decides he needs a new coach next year to start a rebuilding program? Even if he keeps Belichick, he needs a general manager because Belichick has made too many bad personnel  decisions.

–The Bengals got back on track with a 34-20 win over the Cardinals. They are now only a game behind the 3-2 Steelers and Ravens in the AFC North. There are no unbeaten teams in the AFC and only two 4-1 teams, the Chiefs and Dolphins. The  Broncos are 1-4 and the rest of the teams have two or three losses. The Chiefs, though, aren’t playing like a team headed for a repeat. They beat the Vikings only by a 27-20 score. And Taylor Swift didn’t show up in Minnesota to cheer on Travis Kelce, who came back from an ankle injury to catch a touchdown pass.

–The Jets posted probably the sweetest win of the year with a victory over the Broncos after new Denver coach Sean Payton said in the offseason that the previous head coach did one of the worst coaching jobs last year. He was probably right that Nathaniel Hackett was miscast as a head coach, but it is poor form to publicly knock a member of the coaching fraternity. And Hackett is now the Jets offensive coordinator and was presented with a game ball after the victory.

–Putting San Francisco-Dallas on as the Sunday night game of the week was a no brainer and the game this Sunday night will be one of the prime attractions of the season. San Francisco knocked the Cowboys out of the playoffs the last two years, comes in with a 14-game regular season win streak and is one of the two unbeaten teams at 4-0 along with Philadelphia.

–The other three prime time games this week aren’t prime games. Chicago is at Washington Thursday night, Jacksonville plays Buffalo in London Sunday morning on the NFL Network and Green Bay is at Las Vegas Monday night.  The Commanders, Bills and Packers figure to win those three games.

–CBS has the doubleheader game with Kansas City at Minnesota. The Chiefs play all but one game this year in prime time or in the doubleheader Sunday game.  And now when Taylor Swift attends their games, they are more of an attraction. The Chiefs are one of four 3-1 teams in the AFC and all four figure to win. The Dolphins are a popular survivor pool pick against the Giants, the Ravens figure to beat the struggling Steelers and the Bills are expected to beat the Jaguars in London.

–The Eagles, the only unbeaten team besides San Francisco, could have a tough road game at the Rams. The Rams are 2-2 but are playing just their second home game. They lost their first home game but it was to the 49ers. The Eagles four wins are against the Patriots, Vikings, Bucs and Commanders so there is some question about how good they are.

–The byes start this week so there are only 14 games with the Browns, Chargers, Seahawks and Bucs having off.

–At the four-week mark, which used to be the first quarter pole before they went to 17 games, there are just two unbeaten teams – Philadelphia and San Francisco at 4-0. In the AFC, there are no 4-0 teams or 0-4 teams. Meanwhile, Chiefs fan Taylor Swift is 2-0 when she watches Travis Kelce play for the Chiefs. She has become the sensation of the season, overshadowing the players. In the NFC, there are two 0-4 teams (Chicago and Carolina) but Chicago got the Panthers first round pick next year in the Bryce Young trade so they are likely to wind up with the first two picks.

–San Francisco crushed Arizona and Philadelphia just got by Washington as they both remained unbeaten. If the 49ers beat Dallas next Sunday, they could be undefeated when they meet the Eagles on Dec. 3 in what could be a preview of the NFC title game. The 49ers play Dallas, Cleveland, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Seattle after Thanksgiving before they meet the Eagles. The 49ers have won 14 regular season games in a row, a feat Joe Montana never pulled off.  The Eagles aren’t likely to go into that game undefeated. They play the Rams, Jets, Dolphins, Commanders, Cowboys, Chiefs and Bills before they play the 49ers. The odds are against them beating probably the three best AFC teams – Dolphins, Chiefs and Bills –plus Dallas in a five week span.

–The Buffalo Bills have come all the way back from their opening game loss against the Jets. They boosted their record to 3-1 by handing Miami a 48-20 loss a week after the Dolphins routed Denver, 70-20. The only other two 3-1 teams are the Ravens and Chiefs. The four AFC South teams are all 2-2

–The Chiefs escaped with what Patrick Mahomes called an ugly win over the Jets. Mahomes threw two picks and had a third one nullified by a controversial holding call on Sauce Gardner. The Chiefs took a 17-0 lead before Zach Wilson brought them back to tie it 20-20. The Chiefs won it on a field goal but failed to cover when Mahomes slid down at the two yard line late in the game so the Chiefs could run out the clock without giving the ball back to the Jets

–A year ago, the Bengals started off 0-2 but won four of the next five and finished 12-4. This year they started off 0-2 and are 1-3 after losing to the Titans 27-3. Joe Burrow hasn’t been the same since missing most of camp with a calf injury and the Bengals line isn’t protecting him. Unless they turn it around quickly, they may not make the playoffs.

–C.J. Stroud was the second player picked in the draft by Houston after Carolina took Bryce Young, but he now looks like the best rookie in the draft. He is averaging over 300 passing yards a game and has led the Texans to convincing wins over the Jaguars and Steelers the last two weeks. They are now in a four way tie for first place in the AFC South.

–It is now looking like Bill Belichick should have retired when Tom Brady left or convinced him to stay or hired a general manager. Having Belichick run the whole show without Brady hasn’t worked. They suffered the worst loss in Belichick’s 29-year coaching career, a 38-3 rout in Dallas, Sunday. The Patriots were down 28-3 at halftime (a familiar score) but there was no comeback.  Belichick is 26-29 since Brady left. So what does owner Robert Kraft do now?  Stay tuned.