Fifth Down

5 weeks down and the league is getting interesting but it is a still crazy league where just about anyone can beat anyone. It’s sort of a weird week with not a lot of stand out games but don’t worry I will still find 5 gems to talk about and of course I’ll be watching a little bit of all of the games.

Home away from Home: Texans vs Jaguars in London @ 7:30 AM mountain time

The Jags are hanging out in their second home in London. The Jags spend half a month in England every year. They probably have more fans there then they do in Jacksonville. There was a rumor that they might even move there for a while. They have already been there and played a game there and have their bye week afterwards. Meanwhile, the Texans finally won a game against the lowly Titans. The Texans also traded for Marvin Harrison Jr. for some reason. The offense oddly hasn’t been the problem. Their all star defense has been less than stellar. Somehow beating the awful Titans has fixed them. All the experts are saying bench all your Jaguar players in fantasy football. I’m not buying it. One game against a bad team doesn’t solve the problems from the first 4 games. It’s a divisional game and you never know what can happen. But give me the team that’s been hanging out having tea and biscuits for the last 2 weeks.
Jaguars 24 Texans 20

I’m Inevitable: Bears @ Falcons at 11 AM mountain time

Caleb Williams is looking to return this week and he tweeted that he was inevitable. He then did one of the worst press conferences ever. He claims that the press were wrong about all the details of injury and his character was under attack. He said that no one reported it correctly. But then he said that he wouldn’t tell them what the injury is and said it wasn’t justified. The press asked him to clarify why he wouldn’t set the record straight and tell us what your injury is. But again he refused and said he wasn’t going to tell them. The whole thing was very immature and stupid. He is questionable to play on Sunday but he’s gonna play. He’s inevitable after all. Meanwhile his coach spent the preseason talking about how amazing his offense is and is going to be. Meanwhile, they have scored a total of 10 points in two divisional games. But perhaps getting Caleb back will make the offense look a little better. Meanwhile, the Falcons have looked really good since Penix started playing. They won 2 games and took the Ravens to overtime. Penix got hurt and Tua came in and we all know how that ended. Penix will be back this Sunday and as long as he plays the whole game, I’ll take the home team over the coach and quarterback who act like little kids.

Falcons 27 Bears 20

Defeated vs Undefeated: Chargers @ Chiefs at 2:25 PM Mountain Time

The Chargers keep losing games and players. Their injury report is longer than a Tolkein book. They weren’t good when they were healthy either. Justin Herbert has been just awful. They had no business losing most of their games but they always find a way. Somehow it is still not Justin Herbert’s fault. Meanwhile, Jim Harbaugh at the podium, looks as lost as Joe Biden the last couple of years of his presidency. This team has all sorts of issues. They now head to KC to face the undefeated Chiefs. The Chiefs have looked good through first four games but have a couple of glaring issues. First of all, they don’t have any sacks since week 1. The D has come up with some key stops but they need to improve. They will also be missing their two best receivers in Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton. I think Thornton is the bigger loss and the one they will miss longer as Rice should be back in a week or two. I assume Royals and Allen will play the Rice role but Thornton was such a deep threat and really opens up the rest of the pass game and run game. I think they will miss him more than many are predicting. Perhaps newly signed Justin Watson will play his role. But hopefully Worthy steps up and has a big game. We will find out on Sunday. This is another divisional game so you never know but the Chargers seem like a mess and the Chiefs seem on a mission and Andy Reid is very good historically off a bye. I just can’t imagine a world where the trainwreck that is the Chargers comes to Arrowhead to win. I think it will be close for a while and then the Chiefs will pull away in the second half.

Chiefs 27 Chargers 16

Leaving Las Vegas with a win?: Bills @ Raiders at 2:25 PM Mountain Time

The Bills just won a crazy Monday night game and decided to stick around on the West coast after beating the Rams. They head to Vegas before heading home. The Bills live dangerously as they turn the ball over, don’t play good defense and the passing attack is inconsistent. But they can run the ball both with their running back and their QB and they score a lot of points. If they simply didn’t turn the ball over they would make their lives much easier. But what fun is that? Meanwhile, the Raiders have been an overachievers thus far, sitting at 3-2. But they also just got beat down by the Patriots. They should be able to move the ball on the Bills because…you know…everyone does. And the defense does a good job creating turnovers which should be easy enough to do against the Bills. There is a part of me that wants to pick the Raiders with the upset. But I think after putting the ball at risk the last few weeks, the Bills clean up their act and play a clean game. The Raiders hang around but in the end, Josh Allen and James Cook are just too much for them.

Bills 34 Raiders 24

Defense optional: Cowboys @ Packers at 6:20 Mountain Time

The Cowboys coming off a terrible loss and a mini bye after losing to the winless Bucs on Thursday night, head to Green Bay. The Packers on the other side are feeling great after dismantling the rival Bears in a beat down. This should be a shoot out as both offenses are awesome so it will probably be like 13-10. The Packers defense is better than the Cowboys D which isn’t hard. But they haven’t played against a unit quite like the Cowboys team who has a ton of offensive weapons. Meanwhile, the Packers can’t block but it doesn’t matter because Jordan Love just throws it up to one of the trio of his awesome pass catchers in Watson, Kraft and Golden. In the end I trust the Packers to get a few more stops especially at home. This should be a fun one though and a great fantasy football game.
Packers 38 Cowboys 28

Can’t get worse vs Can’t get better: Commanders @ 49ers at 6:15 pm Mountain Time on Monday

The Commanders head across the country which is probably a good thing to get away from the scene of their last game. They had probably the worst managed end to a game I have ever seen. They acted like they didn’t know there was a clock and ran a play with like 14 seconds left which was unnecessary because all they needed was a field goal to win. Instead of spiking the ball or even throwing it away, instead Jayden Daniels looked to throw and then when no one was open basically just fell down. And then no one had an urgency and the clock ran out before they could spike it and it turned into a tie. The Commanders fell to 1-3-1. Meanwhile, the 49ers stopped the Seahawks on a 4th down play and held on for their 5th straight win. Despite a lot of injuries, the 49ers keep finding ways to win. The biggest reason for winning is the play of Brock Purdy who has been playing at an MVP level. The defense has also been better than expected. And even though Mike Evans rarely practices, he goes out there and balls out every Sunday and I expect he will do the same on this Monday. The Commanders need to win a big way but they also have a lot of injuries and aren’t that good to begin with. I think the 49ers take care of business once again.

49ers 31 Commanders 20

Other Predictions:

Ravens over Browns

Colts over Titans

Patriots over Jets

Giants over Saints

Panthers over Eagles

Steelers over Bucs

Rams over Cardinals

We continue our inaugural Fifth-Down fantasy league season recap today. I’m a couple of days behind in all my posts this week but I’m not behind in this league as I moved to 4-1. Here is a recap of last week’s games.

Nacua Matada 164.38 over Goedert Done Just in Time 102.10

Touchdown Drew changed his name to Nacua Matada and boy did it pay off for him. His team was high score of the week in large part to Puka Nacua who put him nearly 30 points by himself. Joe Burrow and Jaylen Warren also broke the 30 point mark. He even had 22 points from Mike Evans on his bench and it didn’t even matter. Jordan Love couldn’t save Goedert Done as everyone else besides his kicker underperformed. Leaving Justin Jefferson on his bench certainly was a choice. Both teams are now 2-3.

Chase’s Cherry Mash 123.16 over Kemna’s Convoy 104.22

Chase’s Cherry Mash got his first win of the season. And it was a true team effort as everyone scored in double digits except his kicker and David Montgomery who got hurt. Although the way Montgomery has been playing he probably wouldn’t have scored many points anyway. Having Brock Bowers on your team is always a good idea and Kyren Williams is a touchdown machine, scoring at least 1 td in 4 out of 5 games. Kemna’s Convoy could not be saved by Matt Stafford’s big night with 35 fantasy points. Besides Stafford, the Vikings kicker and defense were really all that came through for him. But he can sleep easy at night because his bench only scored him 1.6 points due to everyone being hurt or on a bye. So he started the right people with what he had to work with. Chase’s Cherry Mash is now 1-4 and Kemna’s Convoy drops to 2-3

Pick 6 124.32 over G.I. Joes 101.10

Pick 6 handed the Joes their first loss in the season. Their victory was led by a pride of Lions as Jared Goff got him 35 points and Gibbs got him 37. For the most part, the rest of his team underperformed but it doesn’t matter when you have those two. For the Joes, it was a rough day outside of James Cook and the Texans kicker. Chase Brown and Jaylen Waddle disappointed fantasy owners like G.I. Joes once again, but normal high scorers Michael Wilson and George Kittle didn’t come through either. Brighter days are ahead for the Joes. Both teams are now 4-1 with Pick 6 ahead of Joes in second place due to having more total points.

Reid Between the Lines 141.98 over Stranger Things 110.70

Reid Between the Lines got their second victory behind the strength of Derrick Henry, Davante Adams and Isaiah Likely. Jameson Williams finally showed up to add in almost 18 points and the surprise of the fantasy season, the Colts kicker crushed it again with 21 points. Meanwhile, Stranger Things were led by Josh Allen’s 34 points. Her running backs contributed solid days but the rest of her team let her down. Especially St. Brown who didn’t do much against a very easy opponent for the Cardinals. The will he or won’t he game the Bills play with DJ Moore each week hasn’t been helping her either. Both teams are 2-3.

Mo Money $ 141.98 over Tyler’s Losing team 100.60

Mo Money had no problems this week due to Drake Maye being a fantasy football cheat code with nearly 50 points on his own. JSN added his normal 20 points and Sam Laporta pitched in with 17. The rest of his team didn’t do much but it doesn’t matter when your QB gets you 50 on his own. Tyler’s losing team continues to stay true to his name dropping his 4th game in 5 opportunities. It was a blast from the past team with Aaron Rodgers and Aaron Jones leading the way with 28 and 19 points. Kyle Pitts actually did something for once. But it wasn’t nearly enough as everyone else underperformed and unlike Mo Money, no one scored 50 points. Tyler’s Losing team is now 1-4 while Mo Money moves to 3-2.

The Commish 139.72 over Rollin W Mahomes 135.32

In the closest match up of the week, it was Brother vs Brother and it came down to the last game. Justin needed 9 points from Harrison Mevis or as us Mizzou fans know him as, the Thicker Kicker. Well, if you watched that game, you know how that went. He missed a 50 yarder and later had a 40 plus yarder blocked in overtime. I hate cheering against former Mizzou players but you got to do what you got to do to win in fantasy. Poor Thicker Kicker lost his job after the game. I started Nico Collins over Parker Washington which turned out to be quite the mistake. You never like leaving 27 points from one player on your bench. Luckily Christian Watson had a big game and Brissett did what all QB’s do against the Lions…score a lot of fantasy points. Bucky Irving, George Pickens and Braelon Allen led the way for Justin but it wasn’t quite enough. He falls to 3-2, while I move to first place due to having the most points and am now 4-1.

We are a 3rd of the way through the regular fantasy season and here is where the league sits standings wise.

Standings

1. The Commish 4-1
2. Pick Six 4-1
3. The G.I. Joes 4-1
4. Mo Money $ 3-2
5. Rollin w Mahomes 3-2
6. Nacua Matada 2-3
7. Reid Between the Lines 2-3
8. Stranger Things 2-3
9. Goedert Done Just in Time 2-3
10. Kemna’s Convoy 2-3
11. Chase’s Cherry Mash 1-4
12. Tyler’s Losing team 1-4

Other Fantasy teams:

It was a mixed bag as I went 2-3 overall this week. In the league I’ve played in the longest, I dominated 143 to 91. In our family league, I got dominated 169.12 to 100.26. At least I lost to my niece who is very nice. We lost a close one in Danielle’s work league. But the toughest loss was in my other money league. I needed to have a big night on Monday from James Cook. He came through big time and I took the lead with under two minutes to go. Then it went to overtime and James Cook fumbled and I lost. It was a roller coaster of emotions. I’m in first place in this league and last place in the family league. I’m 3-2 in the other 3 leagues but in the top 4 in all of them and am first or second in points in all the leagues besides the family league. The family league was just a disaster of a draft. James Cook has been good but my second round pick was AJ Brown who hasn’t even played a half of football yet. My 3rd and 4th round picks have been even more frustrating as anyone who has Colston Loveland and Jaylen Waddle on their team is fully aware. In a 14 team league you have to nail the draft because the waiver wire is very thin. And I did not. But I’ll keep fighting the good fight. I’m 14-11 overall across all 5 leagues.

We head into week 6 and the haves and have nots are starting to separate themselves. Here is the best rankings in the nation heading into week 6.

Terrible…just terrible: Titans, Dolphins and Chargers

These teams are a combined 0-15. The Titans got blown out by the 0-4 Texans. The Chargers literally gave the game to the Broncos by going for it on 4th down at their own 40 up 7 points in the 4th quarter. And to top it off they just ran a QB sneak behind one of the worst lines in football. And the Dolphins…the poor Dolphins are yet to have a lead in a game. That’s right…through five weeks the Dolphins are yet to have the lead at any point in any game. The only good news for the Dolphins is they have a bye this week so they can’t lose.

Awfully Bad but occasionally okay: Bucs, Saints, Texans, Cardinals

These teams are awful in some ways but can put together a competitive game every now and then. These teams are pretty much toast if they lose this week.

NFC Least: NFC East

This division didn’t win a game this week and two of them played each other. The Cowboys kicked off the week by losing to an 0-4 team with an undrafted QB starting his second game and were 8.5 point favorites. The Eagles should have beat the Jags but apparently they don’t know how timeouts and the clock work. The Giants should have beat the Commanders but instead the fumbled the ball while in field goal range. And the Commanders don’t know how football works in general I guess. Maybe the worst managed end of the game I have ever seen in my entire life and I’ve seen a lot of football.

Competitive but are gonna lose a lot of games: Colts, Raiders, Browns, and Jets

These teams are scrappy and will be competitive in most games than not. If their opponent comes in sleeping on them look out. But if their opponent takes them seriously, they will beat these teams most of the time.

Playoff Contenders or Pretenders: Bengals, Steelers, Falcons, Panthers

All of these teams could do anything from win their division to miss the playoffs. They all need a little more consistency to move up in the rankings. Well the Falcons are consistent as long as Penix is playing quarterback. And they automatically lose when he doesn’t play. Case in point, it Tua two plays in overtime to lose the game Sunday night.

Give me something to Bolieve in: Broncos

I watch pretty much every Broncos game because I am married to a Broncos fan. I’m not completely unbiased since I am a Chiefs fan but I think I have a pretty good and fair read on this team. Let me tell you what the difference is between last year and this year. Bo Nix. Not the defense although they are slightly worse, they are still great. Not the play caller. Nothing looked different with Payton calling the plays and they actually got statistically worse. It’s Bo Nix. He sucks this year. Last year he played bad usually for 2 to 2 and half quarters and awesome in the other quarter and half. This year he’s just pretty much bad all 4 quarters. He misses open receivers. Is conservative on where he throws it. Bails out of clean pockets and just in general is terrible. He seems like a nice kid so I’m not a hater. He just hasn’t been good. It doesn’t get any easier this week against Seattle. And remember, in my predictions I said they just needed to go 3-3 in these first 6 games. But if Bo looks bad in week 7 vs the Cardinals then they might be in trouble.

Rams? More like Lambs, am I right?: Rams

The super team is 2-3 and really hasn’t looked great for 4 quarters all year. This team typically starts slow so I’m not overly worried about them but they do need to start winning games just to make the playoffs. The schedule gets softer starting this week and hopefully the will suck less on Special Teams which has been an Achilles heel for this team for ever.

NFC Not so bad: NFC North

The Bears won 3 games with 3 different quarterbacks but they are going to need their starter back to be competitive going forward which was shown on Sunday. The Packers came to life this week and should be able to keep it rolling this week against that Dallas D. The Lions are competitive in every game and if their defense shows up just a little bit they will win more than the lose. I don’t think what the Vikings are doing is sustainable. I mean they blitz on like 90% of plays and they can’t score touchdowns. But credit where credit is due, they are 5-0. I just don’t think any of these teams are better than the others at this point.

On the right track: Ravens and Patriots

Both of these teams are trending in the right direction. I think they will keep it rolling this week and beyond. Drake Maye looks like he did last year. And the Ravens should get Lamar back soon but are capable of winning games with Snoop Huntley in his place until then.

Ball security is overrated: Bills

James Cook fumbles a lot and cost me a fantasy football victory. Allen is wreckless with the ball and with his body. But they do what they do and what the Bills can do is run the ball and score lots of points. Maybe their defense will improve, maybe they won’t. But this team has divisional round playoff loss written all over them which is what they do every year. But it’ll be a fun watch along the way.

Going to be a tough out: Jaguars and Seahawks

These aren’t perfect teams. They have flaws and are beatable. But they are tough and scrappy and have a lot of good players. I think both these teams can make deep playoff runs and they would be the last team I would want to face if I was either of the top 2 teams.

Back together again: Chiefs and 49ers

I technically give the edge to the 49ers because they have beaten better teams. But it is more fun to torture 49er fans with the idea of us playing each other in the Super Bowl again as the two best teams. I’ve enjoyed the outcome of both of those match ups. Are we headed towards round 3? It’s too early to tell but it’s looking more and more possible. Before predicting that, I need to see the Chiefs against some tougher competition and I need to see how many guys the 49ers have left when we get to the Playoffs.

It’s time for the return of the Five for Friday! I missed last week as we had a bunch of family come in, my daughter’s musical and of course my pesky job. But don’t worry I’m back and better than ever. This week kicks off super early so get your sleep in today and on Saturday so you don’t miss week 2 of our 10 game stretch of random teams playing in foreign countries while you are still in bed. Let’s dive in.

Wake me up before you Go Go: Eagles @ Jaguars in London at 7:30 AM Mountain Time

The Eagles head to London where the Jaguars actually have fans. This is bad news because the Eagles are missing quite a bit of their team. Their best offensive lineman retired. Another one of their lineman is injured. They just traded another one to the Ravens. Meanwhile they are likely going to be missing their #1 receiver, their best tight end and their starting running back. Ouch. And that’s assuming everyone else makes the Friday flight. Meanwhile the Jags are looking great and basically live in London. Trevor Lawrence and his long hair have been great. They can throw. They can run. And even more importantly, they can be play defense. I don’t see how the Eagle have any shot in this one especially in London where the Jags hang out half the year.

Jaguars 27 Eagles 13

Bear Down vs Swiss Cheese: Bears @ Packers 11 AM Mountain Time

The Bears have won back to back games with 2 different back up quarterbacks. Ben Johnson is an awesome coach, just ask him. He has actively been talking smack on the Packers since his lame opening press conference. Johnson seems like a heck of coach and play caller. But he sure is an unlikable little prick. Meanwhile, Matt Lafleur seems like a nice and good guy. But you know what they say, nice guys finish last. The Packers can’t block. They can’t run the ball. They aren’t great on defense. Despite all of that, I kind of like them to pull the upset. Maybe it is just wishful thinking but I just feel like the Packers are due for something good to happen and Ben Johnson definitely deserves to be humbled. I’m reluctantly picking the Bears just because the Packers are so banged up and their best running back hits women or whatever. But my gut says the Packers find a way. I almost always go with my gut, but I’m sticking with my brain and picking the stupid Bears and arrogant Ben Johnson that won’t shut up about winning this game. Also hard to pick against the Bears with the passing of legendary coach, Mike Ditka. The 85 Bears and that season is the first season of the NFL I truly remember watching.

Bears 31 Packers 27

Does Bo know there’s 4 quarters?: Broncos @ Chargers 2:05 PM Mountain Time

The Broncos head to Los Angeles to play a home game somewhere else because the Chargers don’t have that many fans and I can only imagine they have even less after their awful start this year. The Chargers are terrible in every way. To make matters worse, they will be without both their tackles and one of the receivers. Of course the receiver they are down is Quentin Johnston and he can’t catch anyway. Meanwhile, the Broncos have had their own struggles. Their biggest struggle is that Bo Nix seems to think he doesn’t need to start trying until the 4th quarter. That worked last year against the second easiest schedule of the year but not so much this year. Shockingly to no one, Sean Payton is going to take over play calling. It took him a whole half of football to throw Davis Webb under the bus at halftime of the Chiefs game. However, Denver fans were complaining about the play calling most of last year when Payton was calling plays. In fact, I think most of this season, the Broncos offense has looked a lot like last year. The difference is the defense hasn’t been quite as dominant and the offense has been a little less consistently awesome in the 4th quarter. But Payton will take credit for the offense looking better even though it will mostly be because of them playing a woeful Chargers team. But don’t worry Sean will tell you all about it during his halftime interview. Nobody likes the hear himself talk more than Sean. Anyhoo, the Chargers are terrible and even less equipped to win than ever with the injuries.

Broncos 30 Chargers 16

Looking Purdy Good: 49ers @ Seahawks 2:25 PM Mountain time

The 49ers are one of 3 undefeated teams. They have had a ton of injuries but they have managed them well so far. The defense has been solid and the offense has looked good. Brock Purdy has looked like the best quarterback in the league. He’s been awesome and hasn’t taken a sack yet. The problem is this will be the best team they face. Like most quarterbacks, Mike Macdonald has been a problem. So we will see whether Brock and the 49ers can overcome MacDonald and his defensive shenanigans. Meanwhile Sam Darnold has looked okay this season. He’s no Drew Lock. But I think they are a very good team and they seem to find ways to win these divisional match ups. This is probably the game I am least confident in picking but I’ll go with the home team in a close one.

Seahawks 24 49ers 20

Great teams not looking so great: Bills @ Rams 6:15 Mountain time on Monday

These were the Super Bowl favorites heading into the season and for some reason are still Super Bowl favorites. The Rams haven’t really looked good all year. Their best win is against the Giants who lost Dart on his first series of the game. Stafford has had turnover issues and Puka is beat up. They also have been without Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald for most of the season and they are yet to play together. Meanwhile, the Bills lost at home to the Patriots who had looked terrible until playing this Bills defense. The Bills also have turnover issues including Josh Allen who threw the game sealing interception last week along with a lot of other shenanigans that could have cost them. But of course none if it is Josh Allen’s fault. As soon as they lost their first game, the excuses starting coming out about how he needs help, etc. Anyway, this should be a fun game because the Bills can put up points and anyone who plays the Bills defense can put up points. But I’ll take the Rams because they need the win more than the Bills do.

Rams 30 Bills 28

Other Game Predictions:

Texans over Titans

Bengals over Dolphins

Raiders over Patriots

Saints over Vikings

Browns over Jets

Steelers over Colts

Giants over Commanders

Cardinals over Lions

Falcons over Ravens

Another week has come and gone which means we have completed 4 weeks of our inaugural fantasy football league. There were some fun match ups this week and of course more to come. Let’s dive in to what happened.

Rollin w Mahomes 108.76 Stranger Things 99.88

This was a battle of my brother vs my wife. Much like my wife’s favorite NFL team, this week did not go how she hoped. Her team is highly dependent upon Josh Allen being awesome and he was not awesome. A surprise performance from Carnell Tate kept her in it but sadly it wasn’t enough and she fell to 2-2. Justin’s team was lead by Jonathan Taylor and Zay Flowers scoring 22 points each. That was enough to overcome his tight end scoring zero points while Mark Andrews was hanging on the bench scoring 11. Justin moves to 3-1 as he heads towards a brother showdown with me.

Kemna’s Convoy 120.04 Mo Money 107.34

Kemna’s Convoy got a whole lot of nothing from Ladd McConkey and Barkley got hurt early on again. But he got great days from his other two backs, Chuba Hubbard and the surprising Ollie Gordon. It also helped that he had the Vikings kicker and defense. Mo Money finally benched Drake Maye and of course Maye went off for 32 points. To make matters worse, JSN had his quietest day of the year with 10 points. Travis Kelce pitched in a whopping 2.5 points. Some other players did alright but it wasn’t enough to stop the Convoy. Both teams are now 2-2.

The G.I. Joes 130.28 Touchdown Drew 126.16

The Joes remained the only undefeated team despite being 8th in points this year. No one on his team had an amazing day but it was a true team effort with everyone on his team scoring double digits. Meanwhile, Touchdown Drew is 3rd in scoring in the league but fell to 1-3 because everyone seems to have their best day against him as he has had the most points scored against him. Burrow and Puka led the way but it just wasn’t enough falling just 4 points short.

Pick Six 120.18 Reid Between the Lines 116.86

In another close game, Pick Six squeaked out a close win mostly due to the results of the Sunday night game because he has Tet McMillan who scored a whopping 40 points. Goff pitched in 24 and Gibbs had almost 16. The 3 of them delivered enough to get the W. Meanwhile, much like Touchdown Drew, Reid Between the Lines has done well this year but just hasn’t gotten the wins. Kenneth Walker led his team with 32 points but Rashee Rice got hurt and then hurt his team by getting zero points. If Rice had played more than one drive he probably would have won. But instead he falls to 1-3 and Pick Six is 3-1.

Goedert Done Just in Time 142.16 Tyler’s losing team

You don’t know this, but these two have been great friends for years. But there was nothing friendly about this game as Goedert Done got it done and Tyler’s losing team lost…again. Goedert Done was high score of the week led by CeeDee Lamb’s 34 points and Javonte Williams 28 points. Tyler’s Losing team actually had a pretty good game. But it might be time to get Courtland Sutton and his .9 points out of the lineup. They fall to 1-3 while Goedert Done moves to 2-2.

The Commish 123.34 Chase’s Cherry Mash 103.62

Chase’s Cherry Mash is my former college roommate. We used to have a board of our record playing madden football. He beat me like 15 times in a row but then I got hot and went on a little run. Sure that was back in 1998 but here we are 28 years later and I’m still winning. It was a good week to have B’Jan Robinson on your team. I also took a shot starting Emanuel Wilson which paid off with 25 points. Cherry Mash had 32 points from Kyren Williams but it just wasn’t enough as the remain the one winless team. Meanwhile I’m 3-1 and lead the league in points. I’m headed towards a match up with my brother next week.

Other Fantasy teams:

I had my worst week of the year going 2-3 overall. I won in this league and in Danielle’s work league. But I lost in both money leagues and our family league. It was rough and I’m hoping to get on track this week. I’m 3-1 in 3 of 5 leagues and 12-8 overall. The family league is rough due to injuries and a couple of draft busts so far. Hopefully I can get that team turned around and back to my winning ways this week.

4 weeks have passed and we are getting a clearer picture of who is good and who is not. Teams are starting to group together more easily so there will be less categories this week. Let’s dive in.

0’fer Four: Bucs, Chargers, Dolphins, Titans and Texans

It’s been 4 weeks, if you haven’t won a game yet in a league full of parody, you got issues. Most surprising of the bunch is the Texans. CJ Stroud has actually been pretty good. The all-star defense somehow can’t stop anyone. Also the Chargers…hahahahahahahahaha!

Bad and not fun: Jets and Commanders

The Commanders keep losing quarterbacks. The Jets keep losing in general. Neither are fun.

Bad but fun: Cardinals and Saints

The Cardinals can’t stop anyone and the Saints can’t run the ball. Both have to score 30 to win and even then it is iffy. But they are pretty fun.

A complete mess: Eagles

They look awful. They are losing players left and right. They are blowing leads. I’m not sure what they do well. Their best offensively lineman decided to retire today. I don’t trust Sirianni. They’ve had rough stretches before but this feels like a team that is spiraling down.

.500 doesn’t feel to good: Steelers, Packers, Lions, Bengals, Broncos and Rams

At 2-2 these teams are all in the hunt but they are not feeling great about stuff. The Steelers can’t play well on both sides of the ball in the same game. The Packers can’t run or block anyone. The Lions can’t stop anyone and I mean anyone. The Bengals have been up and down offensively and their best two receivers are hurt. My Super Bowl pick Broncos haven’t played 4 good quarters in a game since like 2015. The Rams have only looked good in 1 game and that was a game when the other team’s QB got hurt on the first series of the game. All these teams have a shot at the playoffs but need something positive to happen soon.

.500 and feeling good: Colts, Panthers, Falcons, Patriots, and Cowboys.

None of these teams are great. But they have some things to feel good about. The Cowboys can almost always outscore their opponent and they have to so that’s good for them. The other 3 teams have bounced back after rough starts to the season.

Wait…who has a winning record?: Browns, Raiders and Giants

I’m as shocked as you are. I don’t think the good times will last for any of these teams but let’s let them have their moment this week.

Offense? Who needs offense?: Vikings

They can’t score but they blitz on every play on defense and that somehow seems to work so I guess they will keep rolling with it for now.

Quarterbacks? Who needs those? : Bears and Ravens

The Bears have won 3 games with 3 different quarterbacks. Everyone is doing their part. They look like they will be in it for the long haul. Meanwhile the Ravens have looked mostly good but are about to find out if they can keep it rolling without their starting quarterback.

Live and die by Josh Allen: Bills

The Bills defense isn’t great but they can run the ball and Josh Allen is often awesome. Other times he is throwing balls into double coverage with the game on the line or throwing the ball randomly to no one with his back to him to avoid a safety because somehow the refs miss an obvious intentional grounding call. I think it’s going to be an up and down season all year.

Can make a case for them to be at the top: Seahawks and Jaguars

Seattle is the returning champs and besides one week have looked the part. The Jags are probably 1 quarter away from being at the top.

We are back! We are so back!: Chiefs

The Chiefs are awesome again. And all the signs are there. After going 1-9 last year in 1 score games, they are 2-0 so far this year. Walker is on pace to run for 2300 yards. Mahomes looks great. The D is playing pretty well and will get better. Even Special teams were good for a change on Sunday. And the biggest takeaway from all the sports pundits was that the Raiders are for real because they barely lost to us. We are so back!

Enjoy it while you can: 49ers

They’ve been great and the best team in the league so far. But it seems like a guy or two gets hurt every game. Brock Purdy has been awesome and maybe he can overcome the injuries but I just don’t trust this team to stay healthy enough to make a real run.

Another week is in the books in our inaugural year of our fantasy football league. There is just 1 undefeated team left and only 1 defeated team left. Let’s dive into this past week’s games.

Kemna’s Convoy 127.86 over Goedert Done Just in Time 104.68

Kemna’s Convoy got their first win of the year but it came at a price as he lost Devon Achane for the year. He got helped out by the Vikings special teams as his kicker got 16 points and the Defense got 35 points! Goedert Done Just in Time has injuries building up. Going into this week they have one person lost for the season, two players that aren’t playing this week and another that is questionable for this week. But has he made a waiver wire move? Nah. He’s going Hoosiers style. My team is on the floor.

Pick Six 133.10 over Rollin W Mahomes 88.28

Pick Six hands Rollin W Mahomes their first loss of the season. If you have Gibbs, you probably won this week. But he also has Jared Goff who has thrown for 8 TDs and no interceptions. The Broncos D pitched in with almost 20 points. Meanwhile, no one did great for Rollin W Mahomes and starting Treyvon Henderson over McClaurin was a 13 point swing in the wrong direction. But he doesn’t need to lose any sleep over it because no combination of his team would have won this week.

Mo Money 109.34 over Chase’s Cherry Mash 107.72

This was the second closest match of the week and unfortunately it left Chase’s Cherry Mash as the only remaining defeated team. Not even a Brock Bowers return could save his team. This may be because he keeps rolling Justin Herbert out there. And David Montgomery hasn’t done anything since week 1. They could be heading towards 0-4 since they play the highest scoring team in the league (spoiler alert…that’s me). Meanwhile, Mo Money won in spite of Drake Maye continuing to be awful. That’s the beauty of having JSN on your team. Also, as a shout to my friend Jeff who manages the team, he also correctly predicted that the Browns would beat the Panthers so he gets extra credit for that.

Touchdown Drew 148.30 over Reid Between the Lines 147.12

Our closest match of the week was a shootout. Reid Between the Lines would have beaten anyone else in the league this week not named me. Almost everyone on his team scored in double digits and it just wasn’t enough. He does lead the league with the most waiver wire moves though so he has that going for him. Although Rollin W Mahomes is close on his tail. Touchdown Drew has scored a ton of points and finally scored more than his opponent to get his first win. Everyone but his tight end and his kicker scored 10 or more points including the Jaguars defense who scored 21. All of that with injured Puka on the bench.

The G.I. Joes 103.14 over Tyler’s Losing Team 97.72

The joes remain the only undefeated team just like they were undefeated against Cobra back in the day. James Cook and George Kittle helped lead his team to a close victory. He could have made life easier on himself if he had started Brock Purdy who scored 39 points! Meanwhile Tyler’s losing team got back on track in their losing ways to match their losing name. Omar Hampton and Courtland Sutton didn’t do much for him. And Kyle Pitts is still torturing fantasy team owners across the country.

The Commish 147.24 over Stranger Things 96.60

I played my wife in two leagues this week. It did not go well for her. She has Josh Allen in both leagues. He did not well. She also has Amon Ra St. Brown. He did not do well. Meanwhile, in this league I had Tyler Shough who scored me 31 point and B’jan who had 36 points. My trio of receivers of Parker Washington, Chris Watson and Chris Olave is also quite good and now Nico Collins is coming back. My team is the highest scoring in the league and now 2-1. Meanwhile, the wife’s team will be just fine. They just picked a bad week to have a bad week.

Other Fantasy Leagues:

I went 4-1 overall with my 5 teams. I did take my one loss in one of my money leagues which ruined my first chance at an undefeated week. But it did give me hope that 5-0 is possible. I did beat my wife in the family league to get my first win in that league. So my records across all 5 leagues is 10-5. Not too shabby.

Tune in next week to see how week 4 goes.

3 weeks down and 15 to go. The NFL proved once again why this league is the best league in all of sports…parody. Sure your team might not win a Super Bowl but right now the Raiders and Browns are both tied for first place. 12 of the 14 games were decided by one score. Literally anyone can beat anyone on Any Given Sunday. Well, most anyone anyway. Let’s dive into the rankings.

Might not win a game: Dolphins and Titans

The Dolphins are terrible on defense and just lost their best offensive player for the season. Ouch. The Titans couldn’t beat a Giants team led by Jamies Winston that didn’t score a touchdown.

hahahahahahahahaha: Chargers

Since 2013, teams with 5 plus turnovers and a -4 turnover margin are 3-81-1. All 3 wins have come against the Chargers including Sunday against the Bills.

Boy was I wrong: Packers and Patriots

I thought both these teams were going to be very competitive and make the playoffs. So far they look like dog poop. My son is an emotional football watcher and at some point in every game, he says that the Packers suck in frustration. And I say they don’t suck they will be alright. He said they sucked on Thursday night and I said, yeah, yeah they do. The Pats might look even worse.

NFC South: Bucs, Panthers, Saints, Falcons

The Bucs are definitely the worst of the bunch but as Todd Bowles said in his press conference after the loss, they are just a game out of first place. The other teams have all shown life but also had some embarrassing moments. The race to 9 wins is off to a slow start.

Houston, we have a problem: Texans

The Texans are 0-3 and things are not looking good. But they were 0-3 last year and it turned out alright so you never know.

Bad but keep you on your toes: Jets and Cardinals

These teams are going to lose a lot but they also seem to be in every game somehow.

What was that?: Colts, Giants, and Commanders

I don’t think any of these teams are that good and the Giants and Commanders keep losing players. But these teams all have sort of a track to some level of success this year. Ironically the Colts and Commanders play in the first of like 10 games overseas that will start at 7:30 AM mountain time on Sundays this week.

How did you lose?: Cowboys

Just a colossal of a mess of an ending of a game. It was a fun watch but yikes, get your crap together.

Wait? Are you good?: Raiders and Vikings

This functional football team, named the Raiders went on the road and won. I should maybe have them ranked higher but I still am having a hard time believing this team is real. The Vikings also won on the road and found a way to win. Both 3-0 but I’m not a believer…

AFC North: Steelers, Browns, Bengals and Ravens

All these teams are 2-1. Yes, even the Browns. I’m not sure what any of these teams are yet. But they are all good on some days and bad on others so far.

Looking shaky but I still believe in you: Eagles, Rams, Broncos

The Eagles just lost to Case Keenum. The Rams are 1-2 after a complete second half let down. And I know it is odd for the Broncos to be in this section but they are back to their old shenanigans of playing like crap most of the game and then somehow coming back in winning. I just don’t know if that is sustainable with this schedule. But these are 3 teams I was in on in a big way before the season started and I am sticking with them…for now.

Offensive NFC North Fun: Lions and Bears

The Lions suck on D but they sure can score some points. The Bears just put up 27 with Case Keenum at QB who hadn’t played since we were on lockdown from Covid. Both these teams have some defensive issues but they make up for it with scoring and arrogance.

Real good at home: Jaguars

The Jags have outscored their opponents 69 to 16 at home this year. They lost a game at Denver that they should have won. I think this team is legit.

A bump in the road or real issues?: Seahawks

The Seahawks are the former champs and just got their QB back. And they lost to the Commanders with a back up quarterback. It doesn’t make sense but I think this was just a one off game. I am concerned about their ability to run the ball. Leaving the ball in Darnold’s hands is not ideal. I think they will be fine but something to keep our eyes on.

Should have lost but they were playing the Chargers: Bills

The Bills are really good. But they turned the ball over 5 times. They wouldn’t have won that game against anyone but the Chargers.

Work to do but ahead of schedule: Chiefs

The offense looks pretty dang good. They can run and Pat has been awesome throwing it the last two games. There are still a few things to work out but they are in good shape. Defensively they have been up and down and I’m concerned about their ability to get pressure on the quarterback which they did well in week 1 but haven’t done since. And Spags dedication to Sneed may come back to bite them too. Even the announcers were pointing out how everyone was targeting Sneed all year and he wasn’t doing well. But all in all, being 3-0 and looking as good as they do after 3 weeks is good sign.

Enjoy it while you are sort of healthy: 49ers

They look great. They have had a ton of injuries. There will be more I am sure. But they do look good. They have also played the Jet lagged Rams, Dolphins and Cardinals. We will see how things go from here but they are the best team through 3 weeks.

I didn’t have time to get this done by Friday so you get an extra game. Last week I went 3-2 in featured games but 10-5 overall. I’m finding my groove. That puts me at 5-5 in featured games and 17-11 overall. Let’s dive into this weekend’s games.

The “It’s not my fault” game: Chargers @ Bills 11 AM Mountain time

This game features two teams on very different trajectories so far. But it features two quarterbacks that are never to blame. No matter the outcome these two guys are just doing the best they can to lead their pitiful little teams to victory all by themselves. Never mind that both teams are praised all offseason for how talented they are. But the first sign that there are issues, the cries from the media, “can we please get this guy some help!” Anyway, this is a must win game for the Chargers who can’t afford to drop to 0-3 with the slate of games they have coming up. The Bills are always September champs. And they are off to their normal hot start. If this game isn’t at least close, the Chargers might as well hang it up for the season. I think the Bills win though.

Bills 31 Chargers 20

This Maye not be their year: Patriots @ Jaguars 11 AM Mountain time

The Patriots are yet to look great and I don’t know that they will look much better this week. The Jags have played 6 really good quarters but the second half last week was a bust. Drake Maye was Mr. Consistent last year. He’s been consistent this year too…just consistently bad. Lawrence has never been consistent and that has continued this year. These teams are pretty evenly matched. Both are good, neither are great. Their defenses will keep both sides in the game. Can Drake Maye find some rhythm and get going? Or will the Jaguars feast on his mistakes? I’ll take the Jags in a close one at home.

Jaguars 23 Patriots 20

No D in Dallas:Ravens @ Cowboys 2:25 PM Mountain

The Ravens laid an egg last week against the Saints. The offense didn’t look the same without Zay Flowers who may miss again this week. If Flowers can’t go, they should lean on the run game, something they refused to do last year for whatever reason. Derrick Henry has been a beast when they give him the ball. But just like last year’s Ravens they refuse to do so at times. Meanwhile, this year’s Cowboys look just like last years. Lots of offense and very little defense. That is good news for the Ravens offense with or without Zay Flowers. Can the Cowboys D turn things around? Will the Ravens run the ball? I don’t have high hopes for either. I guess this game is in Brazil or something so we will see how that factors in. I’ll take the team I believe in more. Ravens fly home with the win.

Ravens 34 Cowboys 30

Wait? Who’s good?: Raiders @ Saints 2:25 Mountain time

The Raiders are shockingly good somehow and are 2-0. The Saints lost once in overtime and won their other game closely but could easily be 2-0 as well. I don’t think many people thought these two game would be playing such a meaningful game here in week 3. The Saints offense looks quite good and their defense has done enough to slow down a couple of good offenses in the Ravens and Lions. But they are going to be missing their best offensive lineman which creates some mismatches against Max Crosby. The Raiders are 2-0 but their wins are against the Dolphins and Chargers who both look like some of the worst teams in the league. But they have been able to run the ball and Kirk Cousins has been solid. I just can’t envision a world where the Raiders are 3-0 so I’ll take the Saints in this one.

Saints 27 Raiders 20

No Puka, no problem?: Rams @ Broncos 6:20 PM Mountain time

The Rams played without Puka last Monday without any issue. However, they were playing the Giants and the Giants lost their quarterback in the first series of the game. The Broncos will be a much tougher test. The Rams are not particularly deep at receiver so I can only assume Patrick Surtain will follow Davante Adams around. Sean McVay will have to work harder to get the offense going in other ways. Meanwhile, the Broncos are hoping that their success in the second half from last week continues into Monday night. They haven’t played 4 good quarters on offense in quite some time. Now would be a good time to start. The Defense still looks good but not as dominant as last year so the offense needs to pick it up a little bit. Without Puka and no Myles Garrett, these teams are pretty evenly matched so I’ll roll with the home team that should have a hyped crowd show up for a Sunday Night game.

Broncos 24 Rams 20

Who needs a quarterback?: Eagles @ Bears 6:15 PM Mountain time on Monday night

The week closes out with the Eagles heading to Chicago. Last year the Bears sent a message on Black Friday by running all over the Eagles. They will need to do that again because unless something changes, they are going to roll Case Keenum out there to play quarterback. The Eagles are banged up too missing Landon Dickerson from the o-line and Barkley and Devonte Smith are both listed as questionable. The Bears put up 59 points in week 1 and just 3 in week 2. What will they do in week 3? Meanwhile the Eagles have squeaked out 2 victories against bad teams. If the Bears weren’t starting Case Keenum, I’d be more tempted to pick them. But I’ll take the home team based upon Keenum likely being in the lineup.

Eagles 24 Bears 20

Other games:

Panthers over Browns

Lions over Jets

Texans over Colts

Chiefs over Dolphins

Giants over Titans

Bengals over Steelers

Seahawks over Commanders

49ers over Cardinals

Vikings over Bucs

Week 2 is in the books and here is what happened in our inaugural Fantasy football league this week.

Pick Six 146.12 over The Commish: 118.52

My week started bad when Nico Collins was declared out and it didn’t get better after that. This was mostly due to my two running backs scoring 12.7 points combined. The Pick Six combination of Jared Goff, Gibbs and Devonte Smith was too much for me to overcome. Both teams are now 1-1.

Tyler’s Losing team 101.16 over Reid Between the Lines 74.96

Tyler’s Losing team went against their own name to win this one. Christian McCaffrey led the way with 20 points but the whole team pitched in with a few points here and there. They didn’t have a great week but it was enough as Reid Between the Lines lost Dart on the first series of the game and Colston Loveland is apparently hiding in the witness protection program. He was supposed to be the 3rd best fantasy tight end in the league. Instead he is the 3rd best fantasy tight end on the Bears with just .80 points over the first two weeks. Both teams now sit at 1-1.

Mo Money$ 110.06 over Goedert Done Just in Time 89.12

In a bounce back performance Mo Money had no problems winning this one with JSN and his ridiculous 40 points. Starting 2 tight ends is uncommon but when Travis Kelce gets you 20 and Laporta gets you 14 it makes sense. Speaking of tight ends, Goedert Done was in trouble when Goedert became Got hurt. Jayden Daniels got hurt as well and besides CeeDee Lamb, everyone else underperformed. Both these teams also now sit at 1-1.

Strangers Things 122.22 over Chase’s Cherry Mash 104.88

Strangers Things had Josh Allen and Amon Ra St. Brown. Enough said. Meanwhile Chase’s Cherry Mash had Caleb Williams and decided to roll with Brock Bowers at tight end even though Bowers wasn’t playing. It was a bold strategy, Cotton. It did not work out for him. Stranger Things is now 2-0. While Chase’s Cherry Mash falls to 0-2.

Rollin w Mahomes 115.66 over Touchdown Drew 89.62

Touchdown Drew left Garrett Wilson on his bench who could’ve pitched in with 14 points. But he plays for the Jets so I don’t blame him. He also didn’t take Puka out of his lineup. However, I’m not sure what ram receiver other than Davante Adams would have gotten him any points anyway. Rollin W Mahomes got 37 points from Dak and 27 from Jonathan Taylor and that was enough to move him to 2-0. Touchdown Drew needs more touchdowns from his team and falls to 0-2.

The GI Joes 114.18 over Kemna’s Convoy 111

In our closest game of the week, The GI Joes held on to victory with solid performances from everyone not named Malik Nabers. Kemna’s Convoy was almost led to victory by Patrick Mahomes alone but it just wasn’t enough after Barkley got hurt earlier in the day. Also, his Cardinals fandom might be part of the problem as he keeps rolling Marvin Harrison out there even though they don’t throw to him and even the very few times they do they either over throw him or he drops it. GI Joes move to 2-0 and Kemna’s Convoy drops to 0-2. I said drops and Harrison Jr got excited.

Overall, I went 3-2 again this week and sit 2-0 in both my money leagues. I amazingly started Dart in both those games and won both and lost the two leagues in Yahoo that I didn’t have Dart. In my family league, I started Justin Herbert which was almost as bad as starting Dart this week. I’m 6-4 overall and in pretty good shape besides my 0-2 start in my family league. You don’t know real fantasy football pain unless you have searched the waiver wire for a decent running back in a 14 team league.

Tune in next week to see what happened in week 3 including two match ups against my wife in this one and our family league. She has Josh Allen in both leagues so I’m probably in trouble.

We are 2 weeks in and each week the NFL tells us a little something more. This week taught me that Patrick Mahomes feels pretty good about his knee, my wife is happier when the Broncos win, injuries are inevitable for the big 3 for the Giants and Sean McVay is funny. Let’s dive into this week’s rankings.

Lost to the Browns: Bucs

Not even weather could keep this disaster of a game from happening. If you lose to the Browns you are automatically last.

Dumpster Fire status already: Dolphins and Falcons

I cannot think of one positive thing to say about either of these teams after 2 weeks.

Yuck: Titans and Commanders

These teams are better than the dumpster fire teams but the Titans are just an awful watch and the Commanders aren’t far behind them especially after seeing Daniels arm bend in that disgusting way. I hope he heals up fast but my guess is this won’t be the last time we see this guy on the injury report in his career.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!: Chargers

They look sooooo bad! They have lost back to back home games to two teams that won 3 games each last year. Now their next 7 games are against the Bills, Seahawks, Broncos, Chiefs, Texans and Ravens with 5 of those 7 games happening on the road. I’m sure they will beat someone but 0-9 is on the table.

Rough start: Colts and Texans

The Texans D looked a little bit better this week but the offense looked way worse. Meanwhile it doesn’t matter what the Colts offense does because the Colts D might be historically bad.

1-1 but still suck: Jets, Steelers, Browns, and Cardinals

Sometimes your team is 1-1 and you feel good about it. This is not the case with these teams.

Raiders aren’t Raidering…yet: Raiders

They haven’t played the toughest competition but they also are actually winning games so props to them.

1-1 but we got problems: Lions, Patriots, Cowboys, Bears, Giants, and Packers

These teams have upside but also have some problems many of which are injury related. Besides the Cowboys the rest of the teams just need to get injured people back. The Cowboys still suck on defense.

I see you NFC South!: Panthers and Saints

The Panthers offense looks awesome. Now if they can stop a team that has an offensive pulse then I might start to believe. I’m looking for the Saints to improve on not having to win the game in the last seconds. But both teams are way more fun than most expected.

Defensive dominance: Vikings and Bengals

The Vikings D has been a menace and the Bengals D has been good for the first time in like a decade. Both offenses have struggled some but that is to be expected since the Vikings have been playing Carson Wentz and Burrow doesn’t usually start playing well until week 4 or 5. These teams could be dangerous.

1-1 but I’m still a believer: Ravens, Broncos, Jaguars, Rams

All of these teams have played one good game and one bad game. I think we will see a lot more good games than bad games the rest of the way.

Still working it out but got that championship caliber team feel: Eagles and Chiefs

The Eagles struggled at times against the Titans and Commanders but they just find ways to win. The Chiefs defense looked awesome one game and bad the other. Their passing game looked bad one game and awesome another. Kenneth Walker looked awesome in both. Their potential is there just got to put it all together.

Looked great but I’m sure they will run out of guys: 49ers

They have been awesome but people are already dropping like flies and I’m sure there will be more to follow.

September Super Bowl Champs: Bills

No one looks as good this time of year as Josh Allen and the Bills. Some years they maintain it and others they don’t. We will see which one this one is.

Still the Champs: Seahawks

Seattle looks great with Drew Lock as their quarterback. That’s how good this team is.

We are fully into week 2 after the Bills beat down of the Lions which brings us to our next Five for Friday. I went 2-3 with my five featured games and 7-6 overall. But everyone says week 1 is a liar and the most unpredictable week of the season so I’m sure I will do much better this week. Or at least like the Chargers, Broncos, Patriots and Rams, that is what I am hoping for. Let’s dive in.

Great O vs Great D: Vikings @ Bears 11 AM mountain time

The Vikings were all but done until Carson Wentz of all people led them back to victory. They were mostly helped with the blitzing Vikings. The Packers couldn’t run the ball and could not protect Jordan Love at all in the second half. Carson figured out if you throw it in the area of Justin Jefferson things go pretty well. Meanwhile, the Bears put up 59 points on the Panthers and ran and threw all over them. But their defense gave up 37 to the Panthers. So you have elite offense against elite defense. The Vikings should be able to score on the Bears but will they be able to score enough to keep up? Or will Brian Flores call so many blitzes that it actually slows down the Bears offense and lowers the arrogance of Ben Johnson ever so slightly? Unlike the Packers, the Bears can actually run the ball and sort of pass block. Unfortunately, we will have to deal with arrogant Ben Johnson for at least another week.

Bears 31 Vikings 27

The “Hey, What’s going on?” Game: Bengals @ Texans 11 AM mountain time

Last week the Bengals defense created 4 turnovers and scored a defensive touchdown. However, the offense looked average at best. Meanwhile the Texans amazing defense couldn’t stop Josh Allen and the Bills who put up 36 on the so called best defense. The Texans offense shockingly put up 31 which was a very good total especially for them. These teams seem backwards to me like we are living in some bizzaro world. Will things get back to normal this week? I think both of these teams can and will be good assuming they stay healthy. However, Joe Burrow is already having back issues. It’s been one week. Burrow will not be a threat to run like Allen was which should allow the Texans pass rush to get after him. The secondary is typically very good. So I don’t see this Texans giving up 30 plus again. However, I’m sure CJ Stroud will give the Bengals a couple more possessions. This is really a debate of which team’s elite side of the ball bounces back. I just can’t see this defense losing two in a row at home to start the season. They get enough pressure against an average at best offensive line to create problems and get the win.

Texans 27 Bengals 20

Super Bowl champs or September chumps?: Jags @ Broncos 2:05 PM mountain time

The Broncos came into the season with high hopes, just ask Sean Payton. Or don’t, he will tell you either way. I became a believer as well as the Broncos were my preseason pick to win the Super Bowl. Now I would be lying if I was disappointed in the result on Monday night. I’m not sure anyone expected the beatdown the Chiefs delivered to the Broncos on Monday night football. And while it was glorious to watch, I don’t foresee this being the Broncos reality this year. They have arguably the best roster in the AFC and have a hall of fame coach no matter how arrogant he is. But they do seem to have some issues. David Webb didn’t call a great game. Bo Nix looked mostly terrible and they can’t tackle anyone. And the schedule does not lighten up. They have the Jags this week and the Rams on Sunday night next week both at home. They are at the 49ers and Chargers after that and then wrap up the gauntlet with the Seahawks at home. If they can get through that at 3-3 then I think they will be just fine. Enter the Jags lead by Trevor Lawrence. They won big last week but they were playing the Browns. However, they beat the Broncos pretty easily last year as well. They are a very solid and complete team. They looked great on Sunday and it could be more of the same unless the Broncos turn it around. They say week 1 is a liar and Broncos fans across the country and especially in my family are hoping that it is true. If the Broncos lose this one it’s not the end of the season but it makes things much harder. I think they bounce back and win a close one with Bo Nix leading them to the winning score just like the old days of last year.

Broncos 27 Jags 24

Sunday Night Nemesis: Colts @ Chiefs 6:20 Mountain time

Monday night sure was fun! The Chiefs looked awesome especially on defense and in the run game. Kenneth Walker out gained the entire Broncos team which was quite enjoyable even if I had to enjoy it quietly for the sake of my marriage. I was especially surprised the defense played so well. Patrick looked okay but will get more comfortable and be better. I still don’t feel great about our tackles but if we can run the ball like that, it might not matter. The problem is we play the Colts. The Colts aren’t great but have been our nemesis in many playoff losses. And their defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo formerly of the Bengals has always given Patrick fits. However, what Lou has always done best is dare the Chiefs to run the ball. I think this year’s Chiefs team will gladly do that. The Colts have some good weapons and their running back Jonathan Taylor is one of the best in the league. I was very excited about the Chiefs pass rush and pass coverage. The run defense was fine but they weren’t really tested because for whatever reason the Broncos decided they should pass 80% of the time. I think this will be a much closer game as it is hard to match the intensity the Chiefs came out with in week 1. But I got faith they will still get the W.

Chiefs 27 Colts 17

Super Team vs Super concussion: Giants @ Rams 6:15 PM Mountain time

The Giants are 1-0 after beating the Cowboys at home on Sunday night. They have solid core of players although they all will eventually get hurt. Jaxson Dart played very well. Skattebo was solid and Nabers is incredibly talented. I thought Matt Nagy might make Dart terrible but luckily he and the offense looked good. The defense did enough to slow down a potent Cowboys offense. Meanwhile the Rams plan to show up a day before the game in Australia did not pay short term dividends as they got their butts kicked by the 49ers. On top of that, Myles Garrett heads to IR after playing one below average game for them. But that short trip to Australia was for the long game. So they should be fresh or whatever for Monday night football. Sean McVay is a heck of a coach so I assume he will turn things around quickly. And we should see a much more effective Rams offense assuming they aren’t jet lagged from the return flight. Much like the Broncos, the Rams really need this win to get back on track. I think the Rams offense will be back but the defense will still struggle. I can only assume a Giant or two will get injured and the Rams squeak this one out.

Rams 30 Giants 28

Other game predictions:

Panthers over Falcons

Eagles over Titans

Patriots over Steelers

Packers over Jets

Bucs over Browns

Ravens over Saints

Chargers over Raiders

Cowboys over Commanders

Seahawks over Cardinals

49ers over Dolphins