Another tough week to pick:
Ravens over Giants (wrong)
Jags over Colts (wrong again)
Browns over Pats (ouch)
Bengals over Saints ✔
Bucs over Steelers (boo TB12)
49ers over Falcons (C’mon man!)
Packers over Jets (yikes)
Vikings over Dolphins ✔
Rams over Panthers ✔
Seahawks over Cards ✔
Bills over Chiefs ✔
Eagles over Cowboys ✔
Chargers over Broncos ✔
Not a great week of picks for me, with a heap of upsets and some disappointing performances. That said, we saw some big-time coaching performances this week. Let’s look at my 6 takes on the big men in charge:
#6: McDermott wins the rematch in KC. The best game of the week lived up to the hype. The two most exciting quarterbacks in the league are evolving between our eyes, going from gunslingers to field generals. That said, it was the defence that won it for the Bills in the end, and the Bills coaching staff set their players up to win. In particular, finally letting Von Miller loose by having him play the majority of defensive snaps. He was a menace, leading Mahomes into the game deciding interception.
#5: Belichick does it again. The Browns were completed befuddled by the Pats, with the defence running amok, stuffing the run game of Cleveland, and pounding Brissett. Bailey Zappe’s offence almost scored a 40 spot, and the run game continued to look great. With the Fins dropping off, there is a chance that Bill’s boys could sneak into the wildcard if they can continue to string together solid wins against conference opponents.
#4: Salah’s boys are cashing receipts. The Jets D is looking legit, shutting down the Packers and actually stopping the run. Their secondary is playing well, and they have some legit studs in the front seven (see Quinnen Williams). If the Jets can continue to generate pressure and stop the run, they can make up for a bottom 5 offence. Wilson only threw the ball 18 times and they converted 1/11 3rd downs. That said, Breece Hall continued to build his case as the next Jets bell-cow back. They will continue to lean on a solid run-blocking offensive line and their young, talented backs. The AFC East is very interesting all of a sudden.
#3: Frank Reich can still coach ‘em up. In what may be a make-or-break year for the ex-QB turned mercurial Indy coach, the Colts finally put together a win in a close game. Matt Ryan played his best game in the blue and white, and the defence locked down. Their normal formula of pound the rock with JT and dominate time of possession wasn’t possible with the star back ruled out late. Instead, Ryan threw close to 60 times converting over and over against a tiring Jags D. It’s not ideal to be so pass heavy, but Ryan was finally protected well, and he showed he can still sling it.
#2: Mike Tomlin responds against Tom and the Bucs. His promising young QB goes down with injury, and he was putting out close to a second unit on defence. But Tomlin showed again why he is a future hall-of-famer. He coached up his men to show up against an excellent Bucs defensive unit, and the Trubisky led offence kept going to the Clay-pool (yikes) and pulled out the victory. The Bucs offence is bad, and TB12 is a big part of it.
#1: Daboll is a badass. He has the Giants playing disciplined football, well above their talent level. His aggressive style and ability to put his few offensive weapons into good spots is just what the G-Men needed. Intensity and a winning attitude has Daboll’s team playing together, and maybe the most surprising 5-1 team in the NFL. Add in the mad scientist Wink Martindale running the defence (which is sneaky good), and the Giants may be able to stay in the wildcard race.
Cardinals v Saints
These are two teams swimming in deep waters, looking to keep their heads up in the NFC playoff race. The Cards look lost, with some terrible offensive play and a QB that is trying to succeed in a system that is broken. The Saints, who have leaned on elite defensive play in recent years, is not getting it. It is hard to say who has the advantage here, but although the Saints lost to the Bengals, their offence has finally got their run game working. I can see them dominating time of possession and grinding out a close win against a hapless Cards offence.
Saints 20 over Cards 15
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