I had all the intentions of writing this yesterday but ran out of time during the day. Then I was going to write it last night after Savannah’s outstanding performance as the Nanny in 101 Dalmatians. But then we were trying to stream the Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight and needed all the extra internet we could get for that and it still wasn’t enough. Apparently live streaming is not a strength of Netflix. It sounds like I didn’t miss much anyway as it turned out to just be a money grab which makes sense due to the fact that Tyson is almost 60. We did get it to work for a few minutes prior to the fight just in time to see Tyson’s bare butt so that was something. This is why I prefer boxing movies over real boxing or whatever that was last night. The final fight in a boxing movie never lets you down. But I am here to talk about football so let’s dive into the top 5 games to watch this weekend!

For the Love of the game: Packers @ Bears on Fox at 11 AM mountain time

This is the game that will be on our tv since my son is a huge Packers fan. You haven’t lived until you watch a Packers game with Walker. It’s an emotional roller coaster like no other. I have forbid him to say things like “we’re gonna lose!” or “We suck!” in the first quarter anymore. And besides Walker, you don’t suck. The Packers suck. He has actually gotten better which says a lot. If you ever want to question your own fandom and how you watch games, have a child who displays similar temperament towards sports as you do. Watching yourself as a younger version might just be the wake up call you need. Anyway, the Packers don’t actually suck they are just going through growing pains and some injuries. They paid Jordan Love a lot of money and he has gotten hurt twice and thrown a bunch of interceptions. But he also makes a ton of great plays too. Meanwhile on the other side Caleb Williams is what some might call a slump and others might call he’s not good. I know he is talented and the easy front end of their schedule made me think they could sneak into the playoffs as the 7 seed. But they are 4-5 after the easy part and have the hardest schedule in the NFL the rest of the way. I do not have a lot of faith in their head coach. And firing a coordinator always reeks of desperation. The Packers coming off a bye should be a little healthier and they are already the better team with the far better coach. So I’ll take the Packers in this one. And they better win because as a Packers fan, you must hate the Bears over all others and my son falls right in line with that. I don’t think our family Sunday can handle a loss here.

Packer 27 Bears 13

Let’s ride…to the factory: Ravens at Steelers on CBS @ 11 AM mountain time

Guess who’s back? Russ is back. Guess who’s back? Russ is back. Russ is back, Russ is back, Russ is back, Russ is back. He seems to have left his cheesy sayings and poor play back in Denver. He looks like Russ from 2020 Seattle. He’s not the best in the league but he is pretty good, he moves around and throws a great deep ball. That’s enough to make grumpy George Pickens happy and make Mike Tomlin look like a genius. Many people questioned benching Justin Fields since they were winning. Well never question Mike Tomlin. Sure, he might be carrying some spit or food in his beard but he knows football. I think the Steelers are actually good which I didn’t believe for weeks. But they are on a roll and in first place in the division. They have a half game lead on the Ravens who many think are the best team in the AFC even though they have lost to the Raiders and the Browns. This is a battle for first place between what used to be two physical and gritty defensive teams. Now it is a battle between one physical and gritty defensive team vs the Ravens. The Ravens can score but they can’t seem to stop anyone. This doesn’t bode well for them this week because for the most part the Steelers stop everyone. Give me the team with the fewer weaknesses in the hopes that after the game, Russ breaks and finally gives us a cheesy line after the game that you know he has been dying to use but has resisted until now. My money is on “we don’t steel victories we earn them” or “it is okay if you steel don’t believe in us, we believe in ourselves.” Steelers in a close one.

Steelers 27 Ravens 24

The Rebound: Falcons at Broncos on Fox @ 2:05 pm mountain time

Both of these teams suffered brutal losses last week. The Falcons lost to the woeful Saints in a game they had no business losing. Instead of expanding their grip in the NFC south they lost to another south opponent keeping the division championship in reach of the Bucs. A loss here would do real damage to their playoff hopes. The Broncos lost on a last second block field goal that I have named Bruno because in the Campbell house we don’t talk about it. A loss like that against an opponent you really want to beat can linger. The Falcons are the better team offensively and the Broncos are the better team defensively. So this should be a good match up. Both teams really need this win especially the Broncos who are currently holding on to the 7 seed and don’t want to fall below .500. With the Bucs on a bye the Falcons can distance themselves further in the lead for the division. This game is about who you trust. Do you trust Kirk Cousins on the road to lead his team to a bounce back win? Or do you trust Sean Payton to get his squad back on track at home after a heart breaking loss. Give me the veteran coach over the veteran quarterback in this one.

Broncos 24 Falcons 20

Never tell Pat the Odds: Chiefs at Bills on CBS at 2:25 PM @ 2:25 PM Mountain time

Despite being 9-0, the Chiefs are underdogs in this one. This will be the 15th time that Pat has been the underdog as a starter which is an insane stat to begin with. What’s even more insane is that Pat is 12-1-1 against the spread as an underdog and 11-3 straight up. Even odder is during their current 15 game win streak they have been underdogs 5 times. They are undefeated in those games, obviously. The Bills have been playing well but their two losses are against arguably the two best teams they have played in the Ravens and the Texans. Both those games were on the road and the Bills are tougher at home. Not only that, Josh Allen is 3-1 against the Chiefs in the regular season including winning 3 in a row. Lucky for Josh, this is not a playoff game where he is 0-3 against the Chiefs. He can even the overall score to 4-4 against Pat with a win on Sunday. I can tell you that Pat is fully aware of that and it will be just the motivation he needs because Pat is petty and things like this inspire him to play his best ball. The Chiefs can basically wrap up the 1 seed with a win and an undefeated season isn’t out of the question. After this one, they have they go to the Panthers and then host the Raiders and Chargers before their brutal stretch of 3 games in 10 days. The Bills must win this one to stay in the hunt for home field advantage. They have basically already won the division so that isn’t an issue. But I am sure they would rather be hosting teams than visiting them in January and a loss would make them 0-3 against all the other likely AFC division winners meaning they could easily end up the 4 seed. These games are always exciting and back and forth battles. This has Pat takes their heart in some heart breaking way written all over it. I don’t think the Chiefs go undefeated but I do think they get to 10-0 and of course giving Chiefs fans a heart attack along the way as usual.

Chiefs 28 Bills 27

Home Alone but He’s got Company on the road: Bengals at Chargers on NBC @ 6:20 PM Mountain Time

I feel like I have let you down by not making enough Macauley Culkin/ Joe Burrow comparisons this year and for that I apologize. I’ll try and make it up to you the rest of the way. While Joe really isn’t home alone he has made wins disappear as the Bengals only have one win at home against the awful Raiders. Meanwhile on the road they are a more respectable 3-2. This is why this game is hard to predict. While technically they will be playing on the road, it is against the Chargers who basically don’t have home games and there will likely be more Bengals fans at the game than Chargers. The Chargers are a solid team who have beaten all the bad teams they have played and lost to all the good teams they have played. Which leads us to the question…are the Bengals a good team? They certainly have a good receiver in Jamaar Chase who had like 800 yards receiving last week against the Ravens. The oddity is that it doesn’t matter how good Burrow and Chase are because their defense kind of sucks especially against the pass. But the Chargers are more of a run first team so I am interested to see how this plays out. Jim Harbaugh despite looking like he is 75 has got the Chargers playing solid ball. I think these teams are pretty even and the Bengals desperately need a win. But often games like this come down to who makes the most mistakes and that will for sure be the smack talking Bengals.

Chargers 30 Bengals 28