It’s Black Friday. Do people still wake up super early to get deals? Is that still a thing? It’s something I have never done but with all the online black Friday it seems like even less necessary. Also, are they really deals? Or do they just put a slash through a higher price than normal and make it look like a deal? I worked at Kohls for a while in college. They had a sale like every weekend. But the secret was that their prices were higher than anyone else’s but the sale brought them down to normal prices. But people came pouring in to buy crap at the same price they could get it anywhere else the rest of the week. Do your homework people…don’t fall for the “Kohl’s Trick”. Anyway, there is football this weekend including today. Let’s dive in!

Black Friday Rivalry: Raiders @ Chiefs on Amazon at 1 pm Mountain time

The Chiefs start one of the odder stretches of NFL scheduling today. They play the Raiders today on a Friday. Then they play the Chargers next Sunday night. Then they play 3 games in 10 days on Sunday, Saturday and Wednesday. Amazingly with the Dolphins losing last night, the Chiefs can be the first team to clinch a playoff spot with a win today. The Raiders on the other hand aren’t officially eliminated but they are pretty much officially eliminated. They are the worst team in the AFC and have struggled all year. Even their coach said that this is the worst team playing the best team and although I am sure it is probably tongue in cheek and he was probably trying to motivate his team, he still isn’t wrong. However, it is the Chiefs so we only play close games so obviously this will be stressful until the end. Our defense has not been the same the last few weeks, while our offense has improved. Why can’t both sides of the ball be good at the same time? Pat has played especially well the last five games besides a dumb interception early on in the Bills game. As the offense finds it’s groove this in theory should be a good game for the defense to get back on track. The Raiders are going back to Aiden O’Connell who is not good. They aren’t very good at running the ball. Jakobi Myers I’m sure will make some plays and everyone’s tight ends are always open against us but in theory this should be a blowout. But Communism works in theory. So buckle up for another stressful victory from the Chiefs.

Chiefs 27 Raiders 20

Let’s Ride the Bengals out of playoff contention: Steelers @ Bengals on CBS at 11 AM mountain time

The Steelers are coming off a tough loss to the Browns on Thursday night. The Bengals did not lose last week because they were on a bye. The Bengals have brought back ping pong tables to solve their losing problem. It brings competition and helps guys talk to each other who don’t normally talk to each other. These are real quotes. You know you are desperate when you are hoping ping pong helps you win football games. The Bengals offense has been playing well with Joe Burrow and Jamarr Chase putting up crazy stats. However, the one stat they are still struggling with is wins. They face a very good Steelers defense that has played well all year. The Steelers offense is more up and down and has been mostly down the last two weeks. Russ looks more like Denver Russ than Seattle Russ lately. And George Pickens is more concerned about getting in fights than catching hail mary’s and he also has some ridiculous quotes blaming the loss to the Browns on the weather. Pittsburgh is 2 hours from Cleveland. You have the same weather, bro. Pickens says and does lots of dumb things. Pickens is like Jamarr Chase, if Jamarr Chase wasn’t good. All that to be said, I don’t trust the Bengals defense at all and I think the Steelers will take the fact that they are 3 point underdogs personally. The Steelers win a close one putting the final nail in the Bengals coffin.

Steelers 24 Bengals 20

Battle of the East Coast Birds: Eagles @ Ravens on CBS at 2:25 PM moutain time

This should be the best game of the day so one of these teams will probably blow the other one out. These teams seem evenly matched in so many areas. They both have mobile quarterbacks who run for touchdowns. They both have dynamic running backs who are leading their conferences in rushing yards. They both have somewhat annoying coaches who make odd decisions. The X-factor is Lamar’s ridiculous record against the NFC. He is 23-3 which sounds like a Mahomes stat. The Eagles have two things the Ravens don’t though. A top wide receiver in AJ Brown and a good defense. The Ravens D has been better the last couple of weeks against the Steelers and Chargers. However, neither of those teams have the dynamic playmakers that the Eagles do. This should be a back and forth game that will likely be ruined by something dumb that Nick Sirianni does. But if he stays out of the way, I think it will be the Eagles who soar the highest handing Lamar a rare NFC loss.

Eagles 31 Ravens 24

It’s gonna be Purdy tough to win: 49ers @ Bills on NBC at 6:20 PM mountain time

The 49ers are in trouble. They are 5-6 and just one game back in the NFC west standings but they are not looking good. If Purdy doesn’t play, I think you can firmly say they have no shot in this game. Even with Purdy a victory is doubtful. You are talking about traveling across the country to an hostile environment. As if the travel and the opposing fans aren’t enough, there could also be a foot of snow. I love a good snow game but I’m guessing that the boys from Cali do not. This makes Purdy playing even more important. I am not completely comparing the elements of Ames, Iowa to Buffalo, New York but it can get pretty cold and snowy in Ames and Purdy has at least played in the elements before. The other major issue the 49ers face is that the Bills are just the better team. They are healthier. Their defense is better and although an injured Purdy is better than Brandon Allen, neither of them compare to Josh Allen. I don’t see this game going well for the 49ers even with Purdy. Without Purdy which seems likely, it’s a blowout.

Bills 31 49ers 17

A Blast from the Past: Browns @ Broncos on ESPN at 6:15 PM mountain time, Monday night

The Broncos get a rare night game facing the a Cleveland team that just had a big win in a snow game over the Steelers. Anytime these teams get ready to play there is a lot of talk about the drive when John Elway led the Broncos to a big win in the AFC championship keeping the Browns from going to the Super Bowl. What you don’t see as much is the highlights of the following year when the Browns were driving down to win the AFC championship only to have Earnest Byner fumble inside the 10. These matchups have not been good for the Browns. But now they have Jameis Winston. Is Winston good? Not really, but his speeches are amazing. Besides Kevin Harlan, I don’t know who else I would rather listen to talk. Jerry Jeudy will also make his return and now he actually catches the ball which is nice. Will that be true in Denver or will he resort to his old ways in the altitude? The Broncos are also flying high after beating the hated Raiders and currently sitting at the 7 seed in the AFC. Bo Nix has been playing very well and their defense is stingy. I believe there is a big divide between good teams and bad teams in the AFC. And I think the Broncos are a good team and the Browns are a bad team. But I do think this will be a close game and that neither QB will play great against the opposing defenses. The Broncos get a late interception to seal the game but afterwards Winston talks and makes everyone feel good about life.

Broncos 23 Browns 19