A wild week of Covid-delayed games finally came to an end with a doubleheader on Tuesday night. I finally was able to take down the weekly pool again going 12-4 while Christen had a tough week at 7-8 and missed a pick. That was my kind of luck with the over/under where I got brutalized thanks to all the players on the Covid-list. Anyway, here’s the table.
| 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 Tie |
| 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous |
| 128 | 79 | 1 | 108 | 98 | 2 | 106 | 98 | 4 | 124 | 81 | 1 |
| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| 140 | 83 | 1 | 116 | 106 | 2 | 112 | 108 | 4 | 131 | 89 | 1 |
I ended up changing my pick in the Rams-Seahawks game when I learned Tyler Lockett was out, so I picked up one there as the Rams came away with a 20-10 victory in a hard-fought game where Seattle actually took the lead early. On the other side of the Tuesday night coin, the Eagles beat Washington 27-17 after facing adversity early when Washington jumped out to a two-score lead. Considering everything that went into the build-up to the Tuesday games, all the teams involved acquitted themselves well.
In the Monday Covid-special, the Raiders barely hung on to beat the Nick Mullens-led Browns, 16-14, in a wild one Cleveland battled the whole way and took the late lead but couldn’t bleed the clock after a Derek Carr interception. Las Vegas would get the ball back but have to dig out of a hole after a holding penalty took them out of FG range. Carr would find #2 tight end Foster Moreau, for 12-yards, and then ex-Bill WR Zay Jones for 15-yards to set up Daniel Carlson put the game-winner through the uprights from 48-yards after getting iced. It was a massive road win for Vegas to keep their playoff hopes alive and give them an edge in the race over the Browns, both 7-7 now.
The real Monday night game saw the Vikings take care of business against the Bears, 17-9, in another weird one. Chicago fumbled four times and lost three of them so, despite playing well defensively, Minny was playing with house money. The Vikes also sit at 7-7 and give themselves playoff hope moving into Week 16.
America’s Game of the Week turned out to be not quite as advertised. The Saints improved to 4-0 against Tom Brady’s Buccaneers with a 9-0 shutout. Credit to Dennis Allen who filled in for Sean Payton, and while it wasn’t the prettiest it got the job done. Brady was visibly frustrated as he smashed a tablet on the bench and appeared to have some colorful words for Allen on the sideline. It was a must-win for the Saints to keep their playoff dream alive at 7-7, but Brady and the Bucs will be waiting there one way or the other. The holiday is approaching rapidly and, though I love this, I’m going to go through some of these other games as quickly as I can.
The Steelers eeked one out over a still hobbled Titans team, 19-13, to stay alive in the AFC hunt. Elsewhere in the AFC North, the Bengals picked up the road win over the Broncos in a barn-burner, 15-10. It wouldn’t have been of too much consequence to the standings except that Ravens tried to win the game on the two-point conversion, again, and failed, again, losing to the Packers 31-30. Green Bay clinched the NFC North with the win and it was still an impressive comeback by BAL to even have that chance, but Cincy now holds the AFC North lead.
San Francisco stayed very much alive in the NFC race with a 31-13 win over the Falcons. Dallas remains in the chase for the #1 seed in the conference with a 21-6 win over the rival Giants. They actually gained some ground as the Cardinals, sans DeAndre Hopkins, were stunned by the Lions 30-12. Arizona is 3-4 since their 7-0 start and trending in the wrong direction.
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The Bills opened the door back to the AFC East crown with a 31-14 win over the Panthers, while the Dolphins keep on creepin’ with a hard-fought, 31-24 win over the Jets. Last and also, sadly least, the Texans beat up the Jags 30-16 after Urban Meyer bailed on Jacksonville earlier in the week.
The Packers tightened their grip on the #1 spot by clinching the NFC North, the Rams, Chiefs, and Cowboys are back in the Top-5, the Colts crack the Top-10, and the Jags take over the bottom spot.
| 1. Packers 11-3 (=) |
| 2. Buccaneers 10-4 (+1) |
| 3. Chiefs 10-4 (+2) |
| 4. Cowboys 10-4 (+2) |
| 5. Rams 10-4 (+3) |
| 6. Cardinals 10-4 (-3) |
| 7. Patriots 9-5 (-3) |
| 8. Titans 9-5 (=) |
| 9. Colts 8-6 (+2) |
| 12. Bills 8-6 (+2) |
| 11. Chargers 8-6 (-2) |
| 12. 49ers 8-6 (+1) |
| 13. Bengals 8-6 (+1) |
| 14. Ravens 8-6 (-4) |
| 15. Dolphins 7-7 (+3) |
| 16. Vikings 7-7 (+1) |
| 17. Steelers 7-6-1 (+2) |
| 18. Eagles 7-7 (+4) |
| 19. Saints 7-7 (+4) |
| 20. Raiders 7-7 (+1) |
| 21. Browns 7-7 (-6) |
| 22. Broncos 7-7 (-6) |
| 23. Washington 6-8 (-3) |
| 24. Falcons 6-8 (=) |
| 25. Seahawks 5-9 (=) |
| 26. Panthers 5-9 (=) |
| 27. Bears 4-10 (=) |
| 28. Giants 4-10 (=) |
| 29. Jets 3-11 (=) |
| 30. Texans 3-11 (=) |
| 32. Lions 2-11-1 (+1) |
| 31. Jaguars 2-12 (-1) |
Thanks for reading! I still believe word of mouth is the best way to help, so if you enjoy what I’m doing, please tell somebody. Liking, subscribing, and sharing go a long way too. And, as usual, be well, stay safe, and Go Bills!