The bye weeks got underway and the playoff picture is starting to come together after Week 6 in the NFL. While my fantasy team is crumbling around me, I’m doing well in the pick ’em selections. I went 11-3 overall and 10-4 against the spread this week, so I’m trending in the right direction there and I also went 7-6-1 vs the over/under so I gained a little bit of ground there too. Christen had a tough week but still went 9-5. Somehow, I forgot to set two correct picks in my pick ’em league but this weekend just wasn’t meant for me. Here’s a look at the updated numbers:
| Nick Ws | Nick Ls | Nick Ts | Spread Ws | Spread Ls | Spread Ts | O/U Ws | O/U Ls | O/U Ts | Christen Ws | Christen Ls | Christen Ts |
| 11 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 0 |
| Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous |
| 51 | 29 | 0 | 43 | 36 | 1 | 29 | 35 | 0 | 46 | 32 | 0 |
| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| 62 | 32 | 0 | 53 | 40 | 1 | 36 | 41 | 1 | 55 | 37 | 0 |
We were treated to another wild Monday Night Football game as the Titans stopped the Bills on 4th & inches to ice a 34-31 victory. It was a heartbreak for myself and for all of Bills Mafia because the game was so very winnable. The Titans definitely showed up ready to roll and they deserve credit for playing hard. Derrick Henry had never run for over 100-yards on the Bills but he made up for that going for 143-yards and 3-TDs. I will cover it more in My Buffalo Blues but it still hurts, so let’s just move on.
The Seahawks put up much more of a fight than anyone expected, battling back in the second half and pushing the Steelers into overtime before eventually falling 23-20. It was the first time in 165 games (including playoffs) that someone other than Russell Wilson started at QB for the Hawks and Geno Smith played pretty well in his first start for the team. He tried to do a little too much in OT, breaking the pocket where T.J. Watt knocked the ball away, Pittsburgh recovered and kicked the game-winning field goal. If you watched the game, you saw Seattle’s defensive end Darrell Taylor carted off the field after a frightening neck injury. Fortunately, it was reported that Taylor was moving all his extremities and was alert but remained hospitalized. While we enjoy the game it’s a stark reminder of the high stakes at which these athletes compete.
Baltimore staked their claim as the top team in the AFC with a dominant 34-6 home win over the Chargers. Los Angeles had some questionable 4th down decisions but the Ravens were very well prepared and they outcoached and outplayed the Bolts the entire game. It was never close. I did pick the Bolts because of how they responded the previous week vs the Browns, but they are still a young team and it showed. The dual-threat abilities of Lamar Jackson made it very difficult for a solid Chargers’ defense to key in any one thing specific and the Baltimore defense wasn’t giving up anything against a dynamic Chargers’ offense. The Ravens also got their top draft pick, Rashod Bateman, off injured reserve and their offense is shaping up to be pretty lethal.
The Cardinals dominated the aforementioned Browns 37-14 to remain undefeated and stay atop the power rankings. It was a surgical performance by the Cards on both sides of the ball and the Browns left even more beat up than they came in. Nick Chubb was already out and now Kareem Hunt’s calf injury is going to keep him out several weeks. Baker Mayfield is going to have to play like the #1 pick that he is but he also aggravated a shoulder injury. Cleveland falls to 3-3 and is now tied with the Steelers at the bottom of the AFC North.
Green Bay went into Chicago and won a competitive game with the Bears 24-14 to win their fifth in a row after starting the season with a loss. The Packers improved to 23-5 vs the Bears during Aaron Rodgers’ tenure so the outcome of this game was never truly in question for me, but Chicago made it closer than expected. Justin Fields still isn’t quite playing at a level for the Bears to make a serious run but he’s improving and they’re staying in games. The Rams bucked the myth that West coast teams struggle heading East for morning games as they obliterated the Giants at home, 38-11. The G-Men were already wiped out with injuries and they probably should have just let Daniel Jones sit because he had one of the worst games he’s had as a professional. The Rams moved to 5-1 also but still sit at second in the division to the Cardinals.
Dak Prescott and the Cowboys overcame a lot of penalties on the road in New England to beat the Patriots in overtime. New England is getting better but falls to 2-4 while Dallas moves to 5-1. The Boys did what good teams are supposed to do and found a way to win.
The Bengals rebounded and beat up the Lions 34-11 to get back on track. Cincy did whatever they wanted and everyone got in on the action. Detroit is a mess on both sides of the ball and they are now the only winless team in the league. I had a feeling Jacksonville was on the cusp and the Jaguars got their first win playing in London, their home away from home, beating the Dolphins in dramatic fashion 23-20. Tua Tagivailoa returned for the Fins and played well, but Miami is a mess.
Jockeying for potential Wild Card position in the NFC, the Vikings escaped Carolina with a 34-28 OT win over the Panthers. I can’t imagine being a Vikes fan because it seems like every game comes down to the wire. They even blew a two-score lead late in this game. The win moves both teams to 3-3 but positions Minnesota better.
Speaking of 3-3 teams, the Chiefs picked up a win they desperately needed 31-13 over Washington. It was a little sketchy there for a minute and I think Washington even had the lead at one point, but KC showed their superiority. Patrick Mahomes continues to make things interesting with some poor decision-making and costly interceptions, but the results were able to hide those mistakes.
The rough schedule to start the season may have been a blessing in disguise for the Colts. Despite their 2-4 record, they narrowly missed beating the Ravens and they took their frustrations out on their division rival Texans, 31-3. Jonathan Taylor has come alive in recent weeks and led the Indianapolis resurgence.
The one game that was a bizarre question mark was the Raiders visiting the Broncos. I wound up picking the Broncos officially but switched to the Raiders at the last minute in my pick ‘em league because, with everything that happened off the field in Las Vegas, I thought they’d be itching to just play football and that turned out to be the case. They blitzed the Broncos early and got out to a big lead, but almost got caught slipping. They held on to win 34-24 and get to 4-2 on the year.
The Cardinals stay on top of the Sheist Power Rankings and the NFC is looking like the power conference with four of the Top-5:
| 1. Cardinals 6-0 (=) |
| 2. Rams 5-1 (⬆4) |
| 3. Buccaneers 5-1 (⬆5) |
| 4. Cowboys 5-1 (⬆6) |
| 5. Ravens 5-1 (⬆8) |
| 6. Packers 5-1 (⬆7) |
| 7. Titans 4-2 (⬆11) |
| 8. Bills 4-2 (⬇2) |
| 9. Chargers 4-2 (⬇3) |
| 10. Raiders 4-2 (⬆14) |
| 11. Saints 4-2 (⬆12) |
| 12. Bengals 3-3 (⬇10) |
| 13. Chiefs 3-3 (⬆17) |
| 14. Browns 3-3 (⬇9) |
| 15. Vikings 3-3 (⬆20) |
| 16. Bears 3-3 (⬇13) |
| 17. Panthers 3-3 (⬇15) |
| 18. Steelers 3-3 (⬆22) |
| 19. 49ers 2-3 (=) |
| 20. Broncos 3-3 (⬇16) |
| 21. Seahawks 2-4 (⬇18) |
| 22. Colts 2-4 (⬆26) |
| 23. Patriots 2-4 (=) |
| 24. Eagles 2-4 (=) |
| 25. Washington 2-4 (⬇21) |
| 26. Falcons 2-3 (⬇25) |
| 27. Jets 1-4 (⬆29) |
| 28. Jaguars 1-5 (⬆31) |
| 29. Dolphins 1-5 (⬇27) |
| 30. Giants 1-5(⬆28) |
| 31. Texans 1-5 (⬇30) |
| 32. Lions 0-5 (=) |