This weekend’s schedule shows the NFL is dealing with a big problem: It simply doesn’t have enough good matchups to fill all its primetime spots.
The weekend started Thursday with Denver edging the defending champion Seahawks in overtime, 17-14, but it exposed both team’s weaknesses at quarterback.
Sam Darnold threw two bad picks in the team’s last three possessions and while Denver quarterback Bo Nix got the win, Ryan Fitzptrick suggested he should be benched.
Denver is now 3-2 but don’t look like a team that can catch unbeaten Kansas City, which had a bye, in the AFC West. The Seahawks are now 3-3, and don’t figure to catch the 5-0 49ers in the NFC West. The 49ers are 7.5-point favorites over the Commanders on Monday night in a game unlikely to draw a big audience.
—The Sunday morning game in London pits the 4-1 Jaguars against the 1-4 Texans. The Texans, underdogs by 2.5 points, are desperate for a victory to stay within striking distance of the Jags in the AFC South. But a morning game on the NFL Network isn’t likely to provide big ratings.
The Texans are already trying to become just the second team in NFL history to start 0-4 and make the playoffs.
—The Sunday night game features Dallas at Green Bay, which is an old rivalry dating back to the Ice Bowl, but the 3-2 Packers and 2-3 Cowboys aren’t playing like contenders. The Packers are a one-point favorite and the Cowboys always draw big ratings, but it doesn’t look like a matchup with a lot at stake.
—CBS has the doubleheader game but not a lot of good matchups. Carolina at 2-2 is playing at Philadelphia, but the Eagles are 2-3 and have lost three in a row and will be playing without quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is sidelined with a blood clot in his leg.
The Eagles will start Tanner McKee who has appeared in just six games and started two in his four year career. The Panthers are a 3.5-point favorite because Hurts is out.
In the other two early CBS games 3-2 Pittsburgh is a 2.5 choice over the 1-4 Buccaneers, who stunned Dallas last week, and the 3-2 Patriots are a seven-point choice over the 2-3 Jets.
In the late afternoon games, CBS will have its No. 1 crew of Jim Nantz and J.J. Watt doing the game between the 4-1 Bills and 3-2 Raiders, who have lost two in a row, with the Bills favored by 4.5 points. The other late game on CBS pits the 0-5 Chargers against the 4-0 Chiefs, who are a seven-point favorite.
FOX has a single game with four early games. The 3-2 Bears are favored by 1.5 points over the 2-3 Falcons. The Bears may get Caleb Williams back. The 3-1-1 Giants are a 1.5-point underdog against the 1-4 Saints because the Giants are playing backup quarterback Jameis Winston.
The 4-1 Ravens are only a three-point choice over the 3-2 Browns in a rivalry game but it would be a surprise if the Browns pull an upset. Indianapolis at 2-3 is a 6.5-point choice over the 0-5 Titans. The Titans fans are so frustrated they are calling for owner Amy Strunk to sell the team.
In the FOX late game, the disappointing 2-3 Rams are 12.5-point favorite over the 1-4 Cardinals.
Overall, not a vintage weekend for the NFL and it will be interesting to see what the ratings will be like. This is likely to be a weekend the NFL would like to forget even if some of the games are close.
Four teams – unbeaten Minnesota, winless Miami, 3-2 Cincinnati and 3-2 Detroit – have byes.
