VITO'S VIEWS

–The Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals are two of the most disappointing teams in the league this year. Both were touted as Super Bowl contenders but the Bills are 5-5 and the Bengals 5-4 after they both lost on a field goal on the final play to the Broncos and Texans even though they were both home and favored. A lot of survivor pools were thinned out by those two games. The Bills lost after they gave Denver a second shot at a game winning field goal when they had 12 men on the field after first one was missed. The Bills offense continued to sputter and offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was fired on Monday. They both may have to fight for wild card spots.

–This is the year parity continues to run wild. Six games, including the Texans and Broncos wins, were decided on a field goal on the final play. After 10 weeks, every team but the 8-1 Eagles and 7-2 Chiefs and Lions have at least three losses. And every team except the 1-8 Panthers and the 2-7 Patriots and 2-8 Giants have at least three wins. So the rest of the teams have at least an outside shot at getting a wild card spot if they get on a roll.

–In the NFC, the Eagles, Lions and the 6-3 49ers and Cowboys seem to have the best shot at getting to the NFC title game. In the AFC, it is a different story. The race is wide open. The Chiefs, who had a bye last week, haven’t looked as dominant as they have in recent years and the 7-3 Ravens, who were being called the best team in football a week ago, blew a two touchdown fourth period lead and lost to the 6-3 Browns. The 6-3 Jaguars still lead the AFC South but had won five in a row before being crushed by the 49ers. The Steelers are 6-3 but have been outgained by in every game, which is not a formula for winning in the playoffs. The Dolphins are 6-3 but haven’t beaten a contender. There are eight teams at 5-5, 5-4 or 4-5. Only the 3-6 Titans and 2-7 Patriots appear to be longshots.  

–A surprise team could be the Houston Texans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. They beat the Bengals and Joe Burrow to go to 5-4. They are a game behind the 6-3 Jaguars, beat them in the first game and play them in two weeks. If they win the rematch, they could win the AFC South division title since they have an easier schedule the rest of the way than the Jaguars have. Stroud has a shot at becoming the first rookie MVP since Jim Brown. 

The Vikings are another team to watch. Their season seemed over when Kirk Cousins was lost for the season. But Josh Dobbs has come in and won two straight and the Vikings are 6-4 after the win over the Saints. Even though they are two games behind the Lions, they have a wild card shot.

–Bill Belichick must be wondering why he didn’t retire when Tom Brady left. Or convinced Brady to stay. Things keep getting worse for him and the picture of him rubbing his face in what looked like frustration made all the highlight shows. The team is 2-8 after losing to the Colts and Gardner Minshew in Germany. Belichick used to own backup quarterbacks like Minshew but no longer. Nobody knows what his future, but it may not be coaching the Patriots.

—This is a week of waiting for NFL fans. The Eagles and Chiefs, the top two seeds at 8-1 and 7-2, have byes this weekend and then meet in a Super Bowl rematch next week. The game will be played Monday night in Kansas City. The early line has the Eagles favored by a point and a half.

—The Ravens can go to 8-2 and take a half game lead over the Chiefs in the AFC battle for the top AFC seed by beating the Browns. The Ravens are on a four game winning streak and are favored by six points. The Ravens have a two game lead in the division since the Browns, Steelers and Bengals are all at 5-3 and currently are the three AFC wild card teams. The Steelers are three point favorites over the Packers and the Bengals are 6.5 point favorites over the Texans.

—The feature game is San Francisco, which has lost three in a row, at Jacksonville, which has won five in a row. Both had byes last week and Jacksonville leads the AFC South at 6-2 while the 49ers are tied for first place at 5-3 in NFC West. San Francisco is a three-point favorite on the road because they were shorthanded with injuries during the losing streak and now Deebo Samuels and probably Trent Williams should be back and Christian McCaffrey figures to be in top form. And Brock Purdy was probably helped by the bye week because the 49ers didn’t give a week off after he suffered a concussion. Unfortunately, the NFL decided not to flex the game to prime time and it will be played at 1 p.m. or 10 a.m. San Francisco time.

—The NFL doesn’t have one good attraction with its four national games. The Thursday nightgame is Carolina at Chicago with the Colts at New England in the 930 a.m. Sunday morninggame from Germany, followed by the Jets at Las Vegas Sunday night and the Broncos at the Bills Monday night. And the Sunday afternoon doubleheader game is the Giants at Dallas. Not a good weekend for ratings. The NFL doesn’t have enough good games to fill its prime time slots

—The 6-2 Lions, with a two-game lead in the NFC North, can move to within one game of the 8-1 Eagles in the battle for the top seed if they beat the 4-4 Chargers. Every other NFC team has at least three losses and the 5-4 Saints, who play at Minnesota, can stay on top the NFC South with a victory.

–The Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs retained the top seeds at the nine game mark with key victories over good teams Sunday. The Eagles went to 8-1– the best record in the league – by beating Dallas 28-23 while the Chiefs beat the Dolphins 21-14 in Germany to keep the top seed in the AFC at 7-2. It is still probably too early to talk about a Super Bowl rematch. Despite the loss, Miami is still leading the AFC East at 6-3 but the Dolphins have lost all three of their games against winning teams.

–Cincinnati, on a roll now that Joe Burrow is healthy, beat the Bills 24-18 to grab the AFC seventh seed in the playoffs with a 5-3 record. All four AFC North teams are currently qualifying for the playoffs. The Ravens, who crushed the Seahawks 37-3, are 7-2 and have the second seed while the Steelers, Browns and Bengals are all 5-3 and currently have the three AFC wild card spots but that is likely to change. The Browns blanked the Cardinals 27-0 and the Steelers beat the Titans 20-16. The Bills loss dropped the Bills to 5-4 and they are currently out of the playoff picture but they have time to rebound.

–Baltimore has been impressive, winning its last four while scoring 24, 38, 31 and 37 points. The Ravens should challenge the Chiefs for top seed although they don’t play during the regular season. The Chiefs have been winning more on defense than their Patrick Mahomes offense. Their streak of hosting the AFC title game five years in a row could be 49er in jeopardy.

–The Eagles have a two game lead in the loss column over the Cowboys after beating them Sunday although they will have a rematch in Dallas on Dec. 10. The Lions had a bye and are the only team in the AFC with two losses at 6-2while three teams — Cowboys, 49ers and Seahawks – have three losses at 5-3. San Francisco had a bye but moved into a tie with the Seahawks when they lost to the Ravens. The Saints lead the NFC South at 5-4 with the Falcons and Bucs at 4-5 but one of these three teams will get a division title and a home playoff game. The Saints beat the Bears, 24-17, while the Bucs lost to the Texans 39-37 as C.J. Stroud threw five touchdown passes. The Falcons lost to the Vikings (31-28) and Josh Dobbs, who joined the team this week and hadn’t taken a snap. Dobbs came in when rookie Jaren Hall suffered a concussion.

–The Raiders, under new interim coach Antonio Pierce, who took over after Josh McDaniels was fired, routed the hapless Giants, 30-6, who are 2-7 and lost quarterback Daniel Jones for the season. The Cardinals at 1-8 and the Panthers are 1-7, are leading in the race for the top pick although the Bears have the Panthers top pick. The Giants, Pats and Bears – all at 2-7 – are in the mix. The Bears could get the first two picks.

–The NFL’s obsession with playing games in Europe will cost them ratings this Sunday. Kansas City and Miami will play one of the best matchups of the season, but the game will be played in Germany at 9:30 a.m. on the East Coast and 6:30 a.m. on the West Coast and will only be shown on the NFL Network except for the two cities in the game. It is Kansas City’s home game because each team has to play one home game overseas every eight years and it is the Chiefs’ turn. The NFL didn’t expect Miami to go into the game as a division leader, but now it has to live with the fact what should have been a prime time game in the U.S. It will be relegated to the ratings waste land of Sunday morning. The Dolphins and Chiefs will both go in as division leaders, but the game means more to the Dolphins, who are only a game ahead of 5-3 Buffalo in their division. The Chiefs have a two game lead in the loss column over the Chargers, who are 3-4.

–The NFL does have a good Sunday night matchup with the 5-3 Bills at 4-3 Cincinnati. The two teams played at Cincinnati last year but the game wasn’t finished after Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field. He is back playing this year. The Bengals are favored at home by 1.5 points now that Joe Burrow has recovered from his hamstring injury.

–The NFL has what amounts to a good Sunday doubleheader because 7-1 Philadelphia brings the best record in the NFL into a home game against Dallas, which is 5-2, in the late afternoon game. This is the start of a brutal stretch for the Eagles, who have a bye next week followed by games against the Chiefs, Bills, 49ers and then Dallas again. The Eagles are three-point favorites even though Jalen Hurts is playing with a sore knee.

–The Thursday night game pits the 3-4 Titans at the 4-3 Steelers. The Titans will find out if Will Levis was a one game wonder after the rookie made his first start last Sunday and threw four touchdown passes against Atlanta. Kenny Pickett was knocked out of the Jaguars game last week and if he can’t go, Mitch Tribisky will get the start. The Steelers offense is sputtering with either quarterback. Titans coach Mike Vrabel has yet to commit to Levis once Ryan Tannehilll is healthy but it would be difficult to go back to him if Levis keeps playing well.

– Baltimore hosts Seattle in a battle of division leaders . Baltimore leads the AFC North at 6-2and the Seahawks are leading the NFC West with a 5-2 mark. The other three teams in the Ravens division are 4-3 while the Seahawks hold the lead over 5-3 San Francisco, which has lost three in a row. It has a bye this weekend.

–The Philadelphia Eagles have the best record at the eight game mark at 7-1 after beating the Commanders while Kansas City fell to 6-2 with the loss to Denver. The Eagles won even though Jalen Hurts is playing on a sore knee while Patrick Mahomes was playing with the flu and threw two picks. It was his first road loss to a division foe. Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes for the Broncos, who are now 3-5.

–All four division leaders in the AFC – the Chiefs, Dolphins Ravens and Jaguars — are 6-2 after the Chiefs lost and the other three won Sunday. The Jaguars beat Pittsburgh for their fifth win in a row, the longest win streak in the league now that Kansas City’s six game streak was snapped. The AFC is wide open since every team but 2-6 New England has at least three wins. That shows how far the Patriots have fallen after their loss to the Dolphins.

-Carolina posted its first victory while beating the Texans on a late field goal and are now 1-6, a half-game behind the Cardinals for the first pick, although the Bears own Carolina’s first pick they got in a trade with the Panthers last year. The Bears are 2-6. There are no winless teams in the NFL and just one with only one loss. Parity is here.

–San Francisco probably made a mistake playing Brock Purdy after he suffered a concussion Monday night. He threw two picks in the loss to Cincinnati. They now have a bye and hope two weeks off will give him time to heal. The 49ers haven’t learned the lesson of what happened to Tua last year when he came back too quickly.

-The 2-6 Giants and 4-3 Giants weren’t good enough for Broadway on Sunday. The two New York teams who play in New Jersey combined for 24 punts in the overtime game, the most in a game since 1998. And they combined for 16 punts, the most since 2000. The Giants were down to their third quarterback – Tommy DeVito – after Tyrod Taylor went out and Zach Wilson struggled for the Jets but led a drive for the game-tying field goal at the end of regulation and the game-winner in overtime. Hard to believe the Jets are still alive in the wild-card race.

–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.