Last week there were a ton of games I was excited to watch. This week, not so much. But that won’t stop me from watching as many games as possible. Let’s dive in to the 5 games I’ll be watching the most closely.

Battle of the struggling coaches: Eagles @ Bengals on CBS at 11 AM Mountain time

Both these teams have been winning more lately but it hasn’t been pretty. They also have both beaten the Giants and the Browns lately so not exactly going up against the cream of the crop. The Eagles have been up and down but are significantly better when AJ Brown is playing. But it feels like they are winning in spite of Nick Sirianni instead of because of him. Sirianni has a tendency to do dumb things both with play calling and strategy and outside of coaching as well like talking crap to his own fan base after barely beating the Browns. Bringing your cute kid to the press conference can only save your job for so long so they really need to beat a team with a pulse. The Bengals are playing better again and this feels like a team that unfortunately might be able to make a run. But if they miss the playoffs, then you have to question Zach Taylor’s return. I mean how can this team start off so poorly every single year? Do they just not practice in the preseason and training camp? I don’t get it. Winning this would get them to .500 with the Raiders next week which means they could have a winning record heading into a tough stretch were they go to the Ravens, to the Chargers and then host the Steelers. The schedule is pretty easy after that but they need this win. Much is on the table for the Eagles as well so this is a pretty big game. Both teams have great weapons and this should be a high scoring affair. I will be cheering hard for the Eagles but this feels like yet another Bengals team that gets better as the year goes on and then makes some noise in the playoffs. Here’s hoping I am wrong.

Bengals 31 Eagles 27

Battle for the NFC South: Falcons @ what is left of the Bucs on Fox at 11 AM mountain time

The Saints have fallen apart and the Panthers were never good and still aren’t so it looks like these two teams are playing to win the division. They won’t play again after this one so it is a big game in determining who wins this thing. The Falcons lone good win was against the Bucs in an exciting overtime bout a few Thursday nights ago. Side note, you remember how bad Thursday night football was when they first moved it to Amazon? While I do miss Al Michaels snarky comments about the terrible games, I got to say overall Thursday night football has been great so far including this week’s game between the Rams and the Vikings that ended with a terrible missed call. Can we stop with the constant the refs are in to help the Chiefs and just admit that the officiating overall isn’t great? But I digress. The Falcons just got their butts kicked by the Seahawks. I am not sure what is wrong with the Falcons. On paper they should be good but on the field they are just okay. The Bucs offense looked awesome but now they are down their two best players including Chris Godwin who was on my family league fantasy team. I started the year with him, Nico Collins and Rashee Rice and it was awesome. That trio is no longer awesome because they are all on IR. But I’m not bitter. Baker has been great but will he still be good throwing to Sterling Shephard and Jalen McMillen? I’ll give you a few minutes to look up who those guys are. As much as I love Baker, I think their bigger issue is that Todd Bowles defense sucks. Kirk lights them up again and the birds take a significant lead in the division even though they will have the same record.

Falcons 41 Bucs 30

Kermit’s Revenge: Chiefs at Raiders on CBS at 2:25 PM Mountain time

I’m excited for this one. The Chiefs are 6-0 and the Raiders are terrible. For some reason because they won one game against the Chiefs last year without completing a pass in the second half, they think the own Pat and the Chiefs now. Their coach talked about how they have the recipe to beat him after the game and then during training camp the raiders players got caught on camera with a kermit the frog/Pat Mahomes dressed doll and made some not so nice comments. Pat will say none of this matters to him and he is just focused on winning the game and getting better. But you and I know that is not true. Pat is like Jordan, very, very petty. It’s part of what makes them great. They will use any dumb thing to help motivate them. To add to the drama, Pat has literally never lost in this stadium. The Chiefs own Vegas and I don’t expect much to change here. Hopkins is likely to play but even if he doesn’t, I think Pat lights them up. And to make everything even better, Kevin Harlan is announcing. I couldn’t be happier about that. Harlan is my favorite announcer in all of sports. My productivity would go through the roof if he announced my life. Anyway, the Raiders are terrible and the Chiefs aren’t so Chiefs by a lot.

Chiefs 31 Raiders 10

#1 vs #2: Bears @ Commanders on CBS at 2:25 PM mountain time

The number 1 draft pick will hopefully match up against the number 2 draft pick in this quarterback dual. Caleb Williams started off slow but he is playing much better now. Of course playing the Jags and Panthers in back to back weeks can help anyone look better. Jayden Daniels started off hot and has continued to play well until he got injured last week. He is listed as questionable and will be a game time decision. This game loses a lot of it’s intrigue if they role Marcus Mariota out there. Assuming Daniels play it should be an exciting one. The Bears defense is tough but that shouldn’t stop Daniels and their high powered offense. The Commanders defense is not good so that should help Caleb Williams and an inconsistent Bears offense. I think both these guys will be good in the long run but it will be fun to see who gets bragging rights assuming Daniels plays. Which I hope he does because in that same family league, scary Terry Mclaurin is my last good receiver I have left. I think this will be a back and forth shoot out and whoever has the ball last wins sort of game. Give me the commanders if Daniels plays.

Commanders with Daniels 30 Bears 27

or

Bears 27 Commanders without Daniels 20

Battle of 1995: Cowboys at 49ers on NBC at 6:20 PM Mountain time

These two proud franchises don’t have much to be proud of these days. Both teams have regularly made the playoffs since the 90s but neither has won it all since 1996. The Cowboys have only won a few playoff games and the 49ers after starting 5-0 in super bowls have lost 3 straight. This year the 49ers have once again been decimated by injuries which is pretty common for them in even numbered years. The Cowboys on the other hand just aren’t that good and are especially atrocious at home. Luckily for them this week they are on the road. That’s the good news. The bad news is last year they got absolutely destroyed on Sunday night at the 49ers. Maybe their luck will turn around this year. I think both these teams are on the struggle bus. I don’t trust either quarterback. The Cowboys have better receivers and the 49ers have better running backs. I don’t trust either coach that much either but Shanahan is pretty good if he isn’t playing the Chiefs or playing in a super bowl or both. And the 49ers defense is slightly healthier and better overall. I used to love to watch these two teams battle in the 90s. Now I will only be watching because it is the only game on. Give the 49ers in a somewhat close one.

49ers 24 Cowboys 20