VITO'S VIEWS

This is the time of year when the leaves turn, there is a chill in the air and the NFL games have a lot at stake as teams jockey for position in the playoff race.

The week started with the Raiders beating the Chargers Thursday night to keep themselves in the hunt at 5-4. The Chargers, meanwhile, fell to 4-6, dealing the playoff hopes a possible crippling blow.

It now appears the 8-1 Patriots and 6-2 Ravens are in position to win division titles while the 6-3 Texans, the 5-3 Colts and even the 4-5 Jaguars and 4-5 Titans are vying for the AFC South title.

The 6-3 Chiefs and 5-4 Raiders are battling for the AFC West title. That means eight teams are battling for six playoff spots. The other six teams have at least six losses.

In the NFC the 5-3 Cowboys and 5-4 Eagles are vying for the NFC East title while the 7-2 Packers and 6-3 Vikings are going for the NFC Central title and the 7-1 Saints have a two-game lead over the 5-3 Panther in the South.

San Francisco, the league’s only unbeaten team at 8-0, has the edge in the West over the 7-2 Seahawks and 5-3 Rams.

Game of the Week

The unbeaten 49ers will be going for 9-0 when they host the 7-2 Seahawks on Monday night. This may be a better game on paper than it is on the field. Despite the Seahawks record, they haven’t been that impressive this year although Russell Wilson is having an MVP type year so they always have a chance.

Game of the Weak

The two New York teams meet only once every four years in the regular season and this won’t be a memorable one with the Giants 2-7 and the Jets 1-7. The loser remains in contention for the top pick. Both coaches, Adam Gase of the Jets and Pat Schurmur of the Giants, are desperate for a victory. Gase is already on the hot seat and Schurmur is 6-18 in his second year.

What to watch for

—This is the year of the backup quarterback and Brian Hoyer is the latest one to get a shot with Jacoby Brissett sidelined with an injury. If Brissett has to miss a game, this is the one to miss. The Colts are playing Miami and should get a win to tie Houston, which has a bye, for first place in the AFC South.

—Patrick Mahomes, who was sidelined with a knee injury, returns to the lineup just in time because the Chiefs only have a one game lead over the resurgent Raiders in the AFC West. They need a win at Tennessee and hope Mahomes is at full strength and is at the top of his game after the layoff.

—The Pittsburgh Steelers have clawed back to .500 after a 1-4 start and now play a critical game Sunday when the host the Rams. A victory keeps them in the wild card race and they have a favorable schedule with two games with Cleveland sandwiched around a game with Cincinnati and then games with Arizona, Buffalo and the Jets before they close the season at Baltimore. The Steelers could get on a roll if they beat last year’s Super Bowl losers.

—Baltimore is the first team since the 1976 Steelers to rush for 150 or more yards in eight of the first nine games. They should be able to do it again Sunday when the face the winless Bengals as Lamar Jackson figures to have another big game.

—NBC gets another good game Sunday night when the Vikings go to Dallas with a lot riding on it for both teams. The Vikings are a game behind Green Bay while the Cowboys are a game ahead of Philadelphia in the loss column in their respective divisions. The game may turn on which Kirk Cousins shows up for the Vikings because he tends to be inconsistent. The key for Dallas is to get the lead in the fourth quarter because Cousins isn’t noted for bringing his team from behind at the end.

The scenario is the President of the United States attending a college football matchup of the top two ranked teams in the AP poll and there are protesters.

No, I’m not talking about Donald Trump’s visit to Alabama: I’m talking about 1969, a year that was one of the most memorable in college football history.

It started that summer when the late, great ABC executive Beano Cook convinced Texas and Arkansas to move their game to Dec. 6 for national television.

It wasn’t expected to be a game for No. 1 during the season because unbeaten Ohio State was ranked No. 1 and rolling to the national title.

Then came the first of the nine memorable Border War games between Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler and Michigan upset Ohio State.

Suddenly, Texas and Arkansas were ranked 1-2 and President Nixon decided to attend the game. There were Vietnam War protesters outside the stadium. Listening in London was a Arkansas graduate named Bill Clinton.

Nixon came with a plaque to award to the winner designating they were the national champions. Texas won and got the plaque.

But that was not the end of the story. Texas still had to play in the Cotton Bowl.

The bowl bids went out before the Ohio State was upset and unbeaten Penn State turned down an invitation to go to the Cotton Bowl to meet Texas.

They figured at the time a Texas-Penn State wouldn’t be for the national title and they preferred to go to sunny Miami for the Orange Bowl against Missouri.

Notre Dame then ended its self-imposed bowl ban and agreed to go to the Cotton Bowl where they lost to Texas, which was declared the national champion.

Penn State beat Missouri in the Orange Bowl and went unbeaten and finished No. 2.

Penn State was upset but could only blame themselves for not accepting the Cotton Bowl bid.

We’ll never know whether Penn State would have beaten Texas but they had more talent and shouldn’t have been ranked behind Texas.

It showed how flawed ratings are. Penn State was still being downgraded as an eastern football team and Joe Paterno was still early in his career.

They had two future NFL Hall of Famers in Jack Ham and Franco Harris plus Mike Reid and Lydell Mitchell.

Texas had just one player – tackle Bob McKay – drafted on the first round and none of the Texas players became NFL stars, much less HOFers.

Penn State never got over the Nixon plaque.Paterno even turned down a White House invitation to honor their perfect season.

And four years later when Nixon was engulfed in Watergate, Paterno, a Republican, said, “How could he know so much about college football in 1969 and so little about Watergate in 1973?”

Those were the days.

After only two underdogs won last weekend, five did this past weekend although only one was a shocker – Green Bay losing in San Diego.

Denver beating Cleveland with a quarterback who had never take an NFL snap was an upset but a mild one because the Broncos were at home playing against Cleveland.

The Chiefs beating Minnesota was another mild one, as was Miami’s first win over the Jets. The Jets are such a mess they can’t even beat a team that is tanking.

The most talked about one was the Ravens handing New England its first loss. But we won’t know until later in the season if this was a real upset.

Baltimore may be the better team because the Patriots were feasting on an easy schedule. And John Harbaugh has a great record in primetime at home. He is 13-1.

Still, the Patriots are noted for having one clunker so we have to wait and see how they rebound. They have their bye this week and then then play at Philadelphia, home against Dallas, at Houston and home against Kansas City. Those four games will tell us what kind of team they have.

Meanwhile, the home teams got it together Sunday. All of them won if you don’t count Jacksonville as playing at home in London. The road teams won Thursday and Sunday nights. And San Francisco heads into the second half of the season as the league’s only unbeaten team.

But they still have Seattle and Green Bay at home and Baltimore and New Orleans on the road. They won’t go unbeaten against those four teams.

Positives

—Bill Belichick usually has the answer against young quarterbacks. He didn’t against Lamar Jackson as the Ravens piled up 372 yards. Baltimore is now a real contender although Jackson may still be taking too hits with his running.

—Seattle is showing what a difference the quarterback makes. They are probably not as good as they were when they made back to back Super Bowls a few years back. But Russell Wilson is a much better quarterback than he was then. He threw five touchdown passes against the Bucs.

—Brandon Allen had never taken an NFL snap, but he got the start in Denver because Joe Flacco is out for the year with a neck injury and helped the Broncos beat Cleveland. It was a big day for quarterbacks named Allen. Josh and Kyle also posted victories for the Bills and Panthers.

—The Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a 1-4 start but in 1976 by winning their last nine games. But that was the team of the decade with nine Hall of Famers. It’s probably more impressive that this year’s Steeler team also overcame a 1-4 start and evened their record at 4-4 with a victory over the Colts. The Steelers won’t win their last nine, but they are back in the playoff hunt.

—The officials can’t use the in the grasp rule and blow the whistle when Deshaun Watson appears to be in the grasp. Unless his knee is down, Watson has an uncanny knack of eluding defenders and did it on an international stage by leading the Texans to the victory over the Jaguars. Their pass rushers were frustrated as they appeared to be on the verge of sacking him several times only to have him slip away and make a play.

Negatives

—If the Miami Dolphins wanted to tank the season, they should have kept Adam Gase as their head coach. For reason that still aren’t clear, the Jets hired him and they’re worse on his watch than they were last year. The Jets even lost to the tanking Dolphins, who may now lose the top pick to Cincinnati, the last winless team.

—Adam Vinatieri, who had rebounded from a rocky start in the first two games, missed a 43-yard go ahead field goal with 1:14 remaining as the Colts lost to the Steelers. Colts coach Frank Reich is still supporting him, but the Colts may be in the market for a new kicker next year.

—Minshew Magic was great while it lasted but it finally ended in London Sunday when Gardner Minshew looked like a rookie quarterback in the loss to the Texans. In his last two games against winning teams (Saints and Texans), Minshew failed to put a touchdown on the board and he was benched Tuesday for Nick Foles, who is back from his broken collarbone.

—It’s looking more and more like the Bears made a costly mistake three years ago when they traded up for Mitch Tribusky while Watson and Patrick Mahomes were still on the board. He again struggled in the loss to the Eagles and had nine yards of offense on the board in the first half. The Bears will likely be in the quarterback market in the offseason.

—Firing Jay Gruden didn’t do anything to change the Redskins’ losing ways. But you can’t blame interim Bill Callahan for not turning things around. They need a total overhaul starting with the firing of front office executive Bruce Allen. In the 24-9 loss to the Bills, they stretched their string of quarters without a touchdown to 12. Callahan gave rookie Dwayne Haskins his first start and he was OK for a rookie making his first start as he completed 15 of 22 for 144 yards and no turnovers but the Bills still dominated the game. The Redskins are now one of four teams with one win. If they don’t beat the Jets after the bye, they are likely to finish 15-1. It will be interesting to see if owner Dan Snyder, who is the team’s major problem, keeps Allen after this debacle of a season.

The 49ers kicked off the ninth week by edging the Cardinals on Thursday night to join the Patriots as one of two 8-0 teams, although it did nothing to change the perception that the 49ers are feasting on an easy schedule.

In an unusual move, Tyrann Mathieu of the Chiefs even went on Twitter to question their schedule. And Richard Sherman said it wasn’t championship football. But then an easy schedule always helps a good team.

Check the Dolphins’ 1972 schedule when they posted the only perfect record in the NFL’s first century. The Patriots’ schedule also hasn’t been too taxing, either, although they have more of a challenge against Baltimore Sunday.

We will find out how good the 49ers are when they face Green Bay, Baltimore and New Orleans in a three-game stretch later in the season.

The 49ers aren’t even the lock for the top seed yet because the Saints and Packers both have just one loss.

The Patriots, by contrast, are the only team in the AFC with fewer than two losses.

Game of the week:

The 5-2 Ravens host the Patriots in the Patriots toughest test so far. It will be a test for quarterback Lamar Jackson. Considering Bill Belichick’s record of confusing young quarterbacks, Jackson is unlikely to pull off an upset.

Game of the weak:

The 1-6 New York Jets go to Miami to face the 0-7 Dolphins as both teams have a shot at the first pick. The Jets probably get the edge because they seem to be trying to win. Adam Gase will be facing the team that fired him last year and could be fired by two teams two years in a row if the Jets continue to struggle.

What to watch for this week:

—The Colts, leading the AFC South at 5-2, face the 3-4 Steelers without injured T.Y. Hilton. He has missed just five games since being drafted in 2012 and the Colts have lost all five without him. A Steeler win, combined with a Baltimore loss to New England, would put the Steelers just a game behind the Ravens in the AFC North. That would mean the Steelers would be in the playoff hunt with rookie Mason Rudolph at quarterback after failing to make it the last year with Ben Roethlisberger.

—These are tough times for the Redskins. They are 1-7 and will start rookie Dwayne Haskins, who has struggled in two relief appearances. Facing the Buffalo defense will be no day at the park. Haskins has four picks, four sacks, no touchdown passes and a 54.5 completion percentage while completing 12 of 22 passes. This is not likely to go well for Haskins and the Redskins. Look for the Redskins to call a lot of running plays.

—John Elway’s quarterback troubles continue. With Joe Flacco out for the year with a neck injury, Brandon Allen, who’s never taken an NFL snap, will start against Cleveland. He is the sixth starting quarterback the Broncos have had since 2017. The Broncos have decided rookie Drew Lock isn’t ready. Elway was great at playing quarterback, but not so good at finding them when Peyton Manning isn’t on the market.

—The Giants may have rushed rookie Daniel Jones in too early. In six starts, he has one two wins, seven picks and eight fumbles (losing six) and now he goes in prime time against the Cowboys Monday night. He doesn’t look like he is ready for prime time.

—Will Minshew mania travel well across the pond? He has already won rookie of the week honors six times and faces a Houston defense in London that is riddled with injuries. A victory gives the Jaguars a 5-4 mark going into their bye with a decision of whether to stick with Minshew or go back to Nick Foles, who was injured in the opener. Maybe Foles needs to grow a mustache.

Overview: Last weekend was not Any Given Sunday. It was Chalk Sunday and Thursday and Monday nights.

There were only two upsets this weekend. Chicago lost to San Diego on a missed field goal at the end. The other upset was pulled off by Philadelphia, a slight dog at Buffalo. But the Bills 5-1 record was misleading because of their soft schedule. It was no surprise the Eagles won.

The rest of the favorites won so there wasn’t a change in the balance of power and New England and San Francisco remained the only unbeaten teams. Green Bay and New Orleans are both 7-1 and every other team in the league has at least two losses.

By contrast, there are two winless teams (Cincinnati and Miami) and three one-win teams (Falcons, Jets and Washington).

Highlights

—Bill Belichick recorded his 300th career victory when the Patriots went to 8-0 with the victory over Cleveland. The only other two coaches to win more than 300 games are George Halas and Don Shula. Belichick is 67, but needs only three more years to break Shula’s record of 347 victories.

—Drew Brees could have waited until after the bye week to give his thumb two more weeks to heal. But the doctors gave him the green light to play and Brees wanted to play. He didn’t look like the layoff was a problem for him as he threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns as the Saints beat Arizona.

—Adam Vinatieri got to a shaky start in the first two games, but he’s back in a groove. He nailed three field goal attempts from 55, 45 and 51 yards, the last one for the game winner as the Colts remained on top of the AFC South with a victory over the Broncos. At 46, he is the oldest player to make a game winning field goal of at least 50 yards in the last minute of regulation or overtime. He is also the oldest to make at least two 50-yard field goals in a game.

—Deshaun Watson managed to elude several Raider defenders, got hit in the eye and still threw the game winning pass to give the Texans the victory over the Raiders. It was a costly win, though, for the Texans as they lost J.J. Watt for the season.

—Marcus Mariota’s days in Tennessee may be numbered. The Titans are 2-0 with Ryan Tannehill at quarterback after the win over Tampa Bay. What remains to be seen is if Tannehill can be a long-term answer for the Titans.

Negatives

—Eddie Piniero missed a 41-yard shot at a winning field goal in Chicago’s loss to the Chargers. But coach Matt Nagy didn’t help when he had the Bears take a knee twice in the final minute of play instead of trying to get closer to make it an easier field goal. And they didn’t put the ball in the center of the field for the attempt, which Piniero said he preferred. Meanwhile, Chargers’ opponents have missed 13 kicks this year, nine field goals and four extra points.

—The Browns turned the ball over on three consecutive offensive snaps against the Patriots. The Browns didn’t figure to beat them anyway but they didn’t have to make it that easy.–The Chiefs didn’t figure to beat the Packers without Patrick Mahomes but they don’t seem to have a home field edge at Arrowhead these days. They have lost three in a row at home and four of last five dating back to last year. But then this is a new trend in the NFL. Road teams are 63-56-1 this year.

—Joe Flacco complained about the Broncos being conservative in the loss to the Colts. They called a run on third and five near midfield with two minutes left and punted and the Colts mounted a game winning drive. “Why can’t we be more aggressive in some of these situations?” he asked. Well, the Broncos did call three passes from the three-yard line earlier in the game and he missed all three and they kicked a field goal. As it turns out, Flacco probably won’t be quarterbacking the 2-6 Broncos again as his signing turns out to be another misfire at quarterback for the 2-6 Broncos. He’s out with a neck injury and Brandon Allen, who’s never taken an NFL snap, will start against the Browns because Elway says rookie Drew Lock isn’t ready.

–Officiating continues to be a problem for the NFL. Tampa Bay lost its chance for an upset of Tennessee on a quick whistle that nullified a fumble recovery for a touchdown. And then there was a 10 minute replay review in the Pittsburgh-Miami game. The NFL can’t seem to stop these officiating miscues.

Unbeaten New England seems to be a lock for the top seed in the AFC since only two other teams have fewer than three losses.

In the NFC, by contrast, the 49ers are unbeaten and the Packers and Saints only have one loss, so it is too early to anoint a favorite as the team head to the midway point of the season.

Game of the Week

Green Bay’s visit to Kansas City in prime time should have been a midseason primetime Sunday night classic.

Lots of tradition for the two teams that played in the first Super Bowl. And Aaron Rodgers vs. Patrick Mahomes in their first meeting would have been must-see TV.

But now that Mahomes is recovering from a dislocated ankle, the game lacks the drama it could have had. Even though Mahomes returned to practice earlier than expected this week, he’s been ruled out.

Game of the Weak

A pair of two win teams, Giants at 2-5 and Lions at 2-3-1, meet in Detroit. Rookie Daniel Jones is struggling at quarterback so the Lions should have the edge with Matthew Stafford.

The Lions think they are better than their record but have to prove it by going on a run to get in contention.

What to watch for this weekend

–Ryan Tannehill led the Titans to a victory over the Chargers in a game that had a wild finish last Sunday. Now he goes for his second win against the Bucs.

Tannehill is trying to show the Titans he can fill in for a year or two as they start searching for their quarterback of the future now that Marcus Mariota has been benched and doesn’t appear to have a future in Tennessee.

–The game pitting Philadelphia at Buffalo will feature two surprising teams. It is surprising the Eagles are 3-4 and just as surprising the Bills are 5-1 and fighting for an AFC wild card spot. The Eagles are the more desperate team. Another loss would drop them to 3-5 at the halfway mark and leave them two games behind the Cowboys, who have a bye, in the loss column.

–The New England Patriots are not only going for an 8-0 start against Cleveland but can become the first team to score at least 30 points a game and allow fewer than 10 for the first time since the 1962 Green Bay Packers. That may have been Vince Lombardi’s best team and suffered only one loss, a celebrated Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit which led to Lombardi pulling the Packers out of the Thanksgiving Day game.

–The league’s only other unbeaten team – San Francisco – also is strong on defense. They can become the sixth team to allow fewer than 200 total yards of net offense in four consecutive games since the 1970 merger when they host Carolina. The best mark since then is five in a row, which Pittsburgh did in both 1974 and 1975 when they won their first two Super Bowls. When the Steelers did it, it got no attention but decades later, no team has topped it.

–How good is Houston DeAndre Hopkins? If he gets 55 receiving yards against Oakland Sunday, he will be the third youngest player to reach 8,000 career receiving yards. Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald were slightly younger when they did it.

The road to the Super Bowl in the AFC looks like it will again go through Foxboro.

The Patriots boosted record to 7-0 by routing the Jets on Monday night and they will have three more division games left so that is 10 wins almost guaranteed.

They also have a game left with winless Cincinnati. That is 11. They do play at Baltimore, Houston and Kansas City and have home games with the Chiefs and Cowboys but it isn’t likely they will go any worse than 14-2 and get the first seed.

They are the sixth defending champion to start off 7-0. The last team to do it was the 2015 Patriots. They’ve also allowed just 48 points. The last time a team started out 7-0 and allowed fewer than 50 points was in 1934 with the Bears and Lions did it.

Positives

—Lamar Jackson had another big game for the Ravens against Seattle, rushing for 116 yards, the third time he has rushed for 100 yards. The question is can he survive the hits with all that running. It’s working for now. He also passed for 143 yards.

—The New Orleans Saints aren’t missing a beat without Drew Brees. They’re 5-0 with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback after the victory in Chicago. They’re a dome team that won back to back games at Jacksonville and Chicago and now have five of the next seven at home.

—The Colts also aren’t missing a beat without Andrew Luck. After the victory over Houston, they lead the AFC South at 4-2and are just one of four AFC teams with two or fewer losses with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback. And they have a good defense to back Brissett as they sacked Deshaun Watson three times and picked him off twice.

—Kirk Cousins has suddenly become the quarterback the Vikings thought they were getting. He has 10 touchdowns and one pick while leading Minnesota to victories in their last three games including the win Sunday over Detroit. He is the first quarterback in league history to throw for 300 yards and have a passer rating over 130 in three consecutive games. So, who is the real Kirk Cousins? The one who played lights out the last three games or the one who struggled early in the season? We’ll see.

—San Francisco remains the only unbeaten team in the NFC after the sloppy win over Washington in the rain. They play at New Orleans on Dec. 8; the same day the Chiefs go to New England. The Sunday night is Seattle at the Rams. Look for that game to be flexed. The 49ers also play Green Bay in another big game later this year. Saints, 49ers and Packers all are vying for the two spots in the NFC title game.

Negatives

—The Chargers fell to the Titans to drop to 2-5. The Chargers scored two touchdowns in the last 40 seconds, but both were overturned and this time replay was right. And this time replay was right. Melvin Gordon then fumbled at the goal line in a scrum and replay showed he did. Looks like the Chargers will miss the playoffs.

—Did the Giants rush Daniel Jones into the lineup too soon? He looked lost in the loss to the Cardinals.–Sam Darnold also looked lost in the loss to New England but Bill Belichick does that to a lot of second year quarterbacks, especially one who was sidelined with mono.–It is now just a matter of time before Arthur Blank fires Atlanta coach Dan Quinn. They’re 1-6 and Matt Ryan is hurt.

—Cincinnati is back to being the Bungles. They actually led Jacksonville after three quarters and then Andy Dalton threw three picks to a team that had one turnover all season. They will play Miami later this year for what may be a battle for the top pick in the draft and could ruin Miami’s tanking plans. Was Zac Taylor hired too soon just because he worked for Sean McVay?

Pencil in the Patriots for the top seed in the AFC again this year.

The Patrick Mahomes injury means it is unlikely the Chiefs will beat them out for the top spot even if Mahomes is back and they beat the Patriots in December.

The Patriots haven’t been particularly impressive while playing a cake schedule but they’re 6-0 and every other team but the Bills has at least two losses. And the Bills’ only loss is to the Patriots.

In the NFC, it is still a wide-open race with the 49ers the only unbeaten team at 5-0 and the Saints, Packers and Seahawks all at 5-1.

Game of the Week

Philadelphia at Dallas. A game between two 3-3 teams is not usually considered a top matchup. But these rivals are tied for first place in the NFC East and the winner could get on a roll. Both teams have been hurt by injuries. Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson caused a stir by saying the Eagles would win. Meanwhile, Jason Garrett could be on the hot seat if the Cowboys lose. Urban Meyer has already said publicly he is interested in Garrett’s job. The teams meet again Dec. 22 in Philadelphia.

Game of the Weak

The 2-3-1 Cardinals go to the 2-4 Giants in a game that will feature two quarterbacks of the future who were drafted on the first round this year – Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones. The game is more important for the Giants, who can move into a second-place tie with the Eagles-Giants loser with a victory. Arizona is in the same division with the 49ers, Seahawks and Rams so they are destined for last place even if they win.

What to Watch

—The 2-4 Chargers and 2-4 Titans are two of the most disappointing teams in the league. What is notable about this game is that the Titans have benched Marcus Mariota for Ryan Tannehill, a move that probably spells the end for Mariota in Tennessee and will likely mean they will be in the quarterback market next year unless Tannehill shows he can be a short term answer after leaving the Dolphins.

—The Rams may be suffering a Super Bowl hangover after losing three consecutive games. But their real problem may be they don’t have a good offensive line to protect Jared Goff. The Rams made a big trade for Jalen Ramsey but their more pressing need is improving the line. They can’t afford to lose to the 1-5 Falcons, who are on their way to getting Dan Quinn fired.

—Russell Wilson of Seattle has had a passer rating of over 100 in his team’s first six games. He will try to make it seven in a row against the Ravens. Meanwhile, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson rushed for 152 yards against the Bengals last week. It was the fourth most by a quarterback in NFL history. He also is the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to rush for at least 115 yards in at least three games of his first two seasons.

—Will the trend of close games continue? This year 51 of 92 games have been decided by seven or few points including nine of 14 last week. That is a new record. In 2016, 50 were decided by seven or few points the first six weeks. The teams have also tied the record for most games decided by one point. There have been nine points decided by a point, tying the record set in 1972 and matched in 1997 and 2016.

—Teddy Bridgewater will try to get his fifth consecutive win while filling in for injured Drew Brees but he faces a tough test at Chicago. Bridgewater hasn’t been that effective, but he has a good team around him. The more wins Bridgewater piles before Brees returns, the better shape the Saints will be for Super Bowl win when he returns

In his first five starts, Gardner Minshew proved he can play in the NFL even though he wasn’t picked until the sixth round.

He proved he has a lot of charisma and has made Minshew Mania a thing, but the question is what kind of career will he have?

Is he destined to be a long term starter or is he another Ryan Fitzpatrick without the Harvard degree, a smart guy who can read defenses and lead the team, but lacks the physical tools to be an elite quarterback?

And can he keep Nick Foles on the bench when Foles is ready to play, presumably after the bye?

In the wake of the way he was handcuffed by the Saints defense Sunday, we will start getting those answers in the next three games before the bye.

They figure to beat winless Cincinnati Sunday, but facing the defenses of Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel will be a challenge.

Both are veteran coaches who will take notice of what the Saints did Sunday.

What we don’t know is whether the Saints stopped him because they are so good on defense or whether they cracked the code with the right scheme to handcuff Minshew.

They double teamed DJ Chark and played two deep safeties to take away the outside and kept him bottled up in the pocket so he couldn’t escape and make plays on the run and took away his quick throws up the middle.

Sean Payton congratulated his troops by saying the Jaguars wouldn’t have scored a touchdown if they had played eight quarters, although it came across as gloating.

Coach Doug Marrone noted the Jaguars have to expect teams to do what the Saints did.

“When someone does have success against you, playing a coverage, you have to make sure you do a good job (of getting ready for it) because this is a league where is they see something successful against you, they’ll do it again.”

Can the Jaguars make the right adjustments to beat that coverage and can other teams do it without the Saints players?

Can Minshew adjust to his first bump in the road when he looked like a rookie quarterback?

A win over winless Cincinnati would boost their record to 3-4 then they host the Jets go to London to play Houston, which held Minshew to one touchdown in their first meeting. m

It was Minshew’s first start and the Texans didn’t have much tape on him to look at.

If Jaguars beat both the Jets and Texans to go to 5-4, the odds are that Minshew will keep the job after the bye. If they split them to go 4-5, they have a decision to make. If they lose both to fall to 3-6, there is no decision. It will be Foles time.

The next three games – especially the two against the Jets and Texans – will tell us a lot about Minshew and the Jaguars.

It wasn’t so long ago that Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota and Cam Newton were supposed to be the future of the NFL.

Winston and Mariota were the first two picks in the 2015 draft and Newton was the first pick in the 2011 draft.

It now looks as if they will never be the quarterbacks they were expected to be, although Newton may be the victim of the injuries he suffered from running too much.

Mariota was yanked in a shutout loss to Denver in the third quarter after throwing for just 63 yards with two picks and a 9.5 quarterback rating. Ryan Tannehill replaced him and will keep the job.

Winston threw five picks and lost a fumble in a loss to Carolina but finished the game and seems to be intent on ruining Bruce Arians’ reputation as a quarterback whisperer. He will keep his job but his long-term future remains in limbo.

Newton is sidelined with injuries and Kyle Allen is 4-0 as his replacement. Newton was 0-8 in his last eight starts. Does he get the job back even if he is healthy at some point? There’s no guarantee he will be healthy this year or that he will get the job back if he is healthy and Allen keeps playing well.

Like Mariota, he could be looking for a new home next year.

Positives

—San Francisco’s defense is for real. The 49ers remained the only unbeaten NFC team as their defense didn’t allow the Rams to convert a third or fourth down. The last time they did that was in 1988 in Bill Walsh’s last year.–Sam Darnold showed what he means to the Jets when he came back from mono to lead the Jets to the victory over Dallas. The Browns passed up Darnold for Baker Mayfield. They may regret that decision.

—The Denver defense is back. After not getting a turnover in their first four games, they have seven sacks, five picks and a fumble recovery in their last two. That included the win over the Titans when Mariota was benched.

—Lamar Jackson of the Ravens had 388 yards from scrimmage in the victory over hapless Cincinnati, including 152 yards rushing. But is it hazardous to his health to keep running that much? See Newton, Cam.

—Much-maligned Kurt Cousins has finally found his touch. Things were so bad that former teammate Zach Brown, now with the Eagles, said he was the weakest part of the Vikings offense. Sunday after Cousins torched the Eagles for his second big game in a row, Brown said he wasn’t talking about Cousins, who has completed 44 of 56 for 639 yards, six touchdowns and one pick while beating the Giants and Eagles. At 4-2, the Vikings are back in the playoff hunt. The Eagles cut Brown Monday after Cousins passed for 333 yards against them.

Negatives

—The Rams were 24-8 in the regular season their first two years under Sean McVay andh went to the Super Bowl last year. They then started out 3-0 before losing three in a row, including a 20-7 loss to the 49ers. Jared Goff seems lost and McVay has to figure out how to get the team back on track.

—Dallas also lost its third in a row after starting out 3-0 when they were beaten by the Jets. But the Cowboys are playing in the NFC East and tied for first with the Eagles, who also are 3-3. A .500 record could win this division.

—Kansas City started out 4-0 and has now lost two consecutive home games in the wake of the loss to the Texans. It is the first time Andy Reid has lost two straight home games since Reid’s first year with the Chiefs. The problem is that the Kansas City defense can’t keep opposing teams off the field. The teams that play the Chiefs that the best way to stop Patrick Mahomes is to keep him off the field.

—The Chargers were supposed to be a contender but fell to 2-4 with a 24-17 loss to the Steelers, who started third string quarterback Devlin Hodges. The Steelers took a 24-0 lead and held on to the win. The Chargers again showed they aren’t winning the hearts and minds of Los Angeles fans as their small stadium was filled with Steeler fans.

—The NFL has apparently decided the new pass interference rule was a mistake, which is was, so they have stopped overturning pass interference calls and non-calls on replay. Only one of 25 challenges have been won. The one-year rule will likely be thrown out at the end of the season, but it is a bad look for the rule to be ignored. Coaches should learn not to challenge pass interference calls because they won’t be overturned.

Another problem is that the number of penalties being called is up this year and there are too manycalls like the ones in the Monday night Green Bay-Detroit game. It is difficult to officiate today’s fast-paced game but the league needs to put more emphasis on improving officiating.