It was another solid week overall at 10-4, but there were some last-minute changes I didn’t get around to that could have improved that number. Most surprising to me is my relative success on the over/under (9-5) which plagued me during the beginning of the season and all last season. Christen went 10-4 as well to keep her ahead of the curve. Here’s a look at the table if anyone cares:
| Nick – W | Nick – L | Nick – T | ATS – W | ATS – L | ATS – Push | O/U – W | O/U – L | O/U – Push | Christen W | Christen L | Christen T |
| 10 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous |
| 118 | 75 | 1 | 100 | 92 | 2 | 90 | 84 | 3 | 114 | 77 | 1 |
| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| 128 | 79 | 1 | 108 | 98 | 2 | 99 | 89 | 3 | 124 | 81 | 1 |
One of those games that I flipped on was the Rams and Cardinals on Monday night. My initial pick was the Cardinals but, knowing it’s a division game and seeing what happened in Tampa Bay on Sunday, I switched my pick to the Rams. Then word came down that Jalen Ramsey and Tyler Higbee would be out for LA, so I went back to the Cards. It was a trap. The Rams got a couple of timely calls in their 30-23 win, but it was more the Cardinals’ four turnovers that dictated the outcome. Arizona stays on top of the division but the Rams get some much-needed leverage for the final stretch.
The Cardinals’ loss gave the NFC’s No. 1 seed back to the Packers, thanks to their 45-30 win over the Packers. Aaron Rodgers threw for 341-yards and 4-TDs to lead Green Bay to victory in primetime. A whole bunch of that went to Devante Adams who hauled in 10-receptions for 121-yards and 2-TDs. It should also be said that Justin Fields played a pretty darn good game himself. He’s a little beat up so it’ll be interesting to see his usage down the stretch.
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Tampa Bay finds themselves tied for the best record in the NFL (10-3) after their thrilling win over the Bills in overtime. They survived a second-half rally by Buffalo that forced overtime and got the benefit of some questionable officiating down the stretch. The Bills put up a valiant effort and looked better than they have all season in that second half, but they’ll still have an upward climb the rest of the way.
The 49ers went on the road as favorites and beat the Bengals 26-23 in OT. San Francisco was up 14-pts early in the 4th quarter and Cincy showed a lot of resolve to not only get back in the game but to force OT and score first in the extra frame. Aiyuk’s walk-off TD sealed the deal and put the Niners right in the thick of the playoff hunt. The Bengals are still in the hunt too but missed a chance to take over the AFC North lead.
Two AFC West teams still competing for the division and trying to secure leverage for any potential playoff seeding picked up key wins to aid their respective quests. The Chargers put away a wounded Giants team, 37-21, to improve to 8-5 on the season and inch to a game back of the best record in the conference. The Broncos got to 7-6 with a dominant win over a Lions, 38-10. Meanwhile, the Chiefs did them both a favor (sort of) by dismantling the Raiders 48-9. The win ties KC for the best record in the AFC and keeps them in first in the West division while Vegas takes a back seat. There are 10 teams ahead of LV in the AFC now, but they are really competing with about 8 of them for a Wild Card spot.
In a big-time rivalry game with playoff implications, the Cowboys went on the road and mostly dominated Washington. It was 24-0 Boys at the half but WFT kept fighting and wound up losing respectably, 27-20. The win gives Dallas a pretty tight grip on the NFC East and Washington opened the door to a lot of Wild Card scenarios with the loss.
The story of the game for the Browns was mostly defense as they were up 24-6 at the half before Tyler Huntley almost led the Ravens back. Lamar Jackson got hurt early in the game and Baltimore struggled to find their rhythm but, once they did, they outscored Cleveland 16-0 in the second half. The Browns hung on to win 24-22 and stay alive in the Wild Card and the Division race, but Baltimore will hang on to the AFC North lead for now.
Somehow, the Falcons are still alive in the NFC Wild Card race. Their 29-21- win over the Panthers got them to 6-7 on the season and Arthur Smith deserves a lot of credit in his first season as Head Coach in Atlanta. Carolina isn’t technically out of it, but they are headed in the wrong direction right now at 5-8.
Speaking of 5-8, here come the Seahawks. Houston isn’t exactly the stiffest litmus test, but Russell Wilson has finally started to look more like himself over the past three games. Seattle cruised 33-13 and their defense is playing well enough to give them a chance at a late run. Alvin Kamara returned for the Saints as they went to New York and handled the Jets, 30-9. New Orleans is right in the mess too at 6-7. Tennessee welcomed Julio Jones back from the IR and, even missing five defensive starters, they shut out the Jags 20-0. Tied for the best record in the AFC, if the Titans get healthy here down the stretch, they are one of the more dangerous teams come playoff time.
There wasn’t much change at the top or bottom of the Power Rankings, but the Chargers got into the Top-10 this week and the Colts climbed two spots without even playing. Here they are:
| 1. Packers 10-3 (=) |
| 2. Buccaneers 10-3 (+1) |
| 3. Cardinals 10-3 (-1) |
| 4. Patriots 9-4 (=) |
| 5. Chiefs 9-4 (=) |
| 6. Cowboys 9-4 (=) |
| 8. Rams 9-4 (+1) |
| 8. Titans 9-4 (-1) |
| 9. Chargers 8-5 (+1) |
| 10. Ravens 8-5 (-1) |
| 11. Colts 7-6 (+2) |
| 12. Bills 7-6 (=) |
| 13. 49ers 7-6 (+1) |
| 14. Bengals 7-6 (-4) |
| 15. Browns 7-6 (+4) |
| 16. Broncos 7-6 (+2) |
| 17. Vikings 6-7 (+5) |
| 18. Dolphins 6-7 (=) |
| 19. Steelers 6-6-1 (-2) |
| 20. Washington 6-7 (-5) |
| 21. Raiders 6-7 (-5) |
| 22. Eagles 6-7 (=) |
| 23. Saints 6-7 (-1) |
| 24. Falcons 6-7 (=) |
| 25. Seahawks 5-8 (+2) |
| 26. Panthers 5-8 (-1) |
| 27. Bears 4-9 (-1) |
| 28. Giants 4-9 (-2) |
| 29. Jets 3-10 (=) |
| 30. Texans 2-11 (=) |
| 31. Jaguars 2-11 (=) |
| 32. Lions 1-11-1 (=) |
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