Fifth Down

The Presidential Election is less than two weeks away. Like you, I will miss all the cheery tv ads where they degrade their opponent. Each Presidential election I get less and less excited about placing my vote. But this year is an exception. Because the candidates are in my opinion epically bad, I decided to vote for someone who would be much better or at a minimum easily defeat either of them in a debate and that someone is me. I may not have the on paper qualifications of the current candidates but unlike Kamala I do have original thoughts and unlike Trump I can occasionally put my ego aside and keep my mouth shut. So before you go to the polls let me give you 10 reasons to vote for yours truly. These are of course all sports related.

10. Discontinue instant replay in Baseball. I have no idea why they even waste their time with this. They never change the calls even if it is obvious that they should.

9. Shorten the NHL season by 20 games. Why in the world are we playing hockey in June??? And it has already started so why do we need such a long season.

8. Shorten the NBA season by 20 games. Again, why do we need NBA basketball from October to almost July? Also, the players only play 60 games each now anyway because they are a bunch of pansies. So just give them what they want and shorten the season.

7. Get rid of the stupid NBA In Season tournament. This is the dumbest thing ever as they are just trying to make their sport relevant in a time when no one cares about it yet. I didn’t even know they did this until they brought up during the real playoffs.

6. Fire all NCAA Division 1 Basketball refs. These guys are the worst officials in all of sports and that says a lot because officiating is pretty awful everywhere. Hire some young up and comers and tell them two things, one call the game consistent and second call what actually happens instead of what you speculate is going to happen.

5. Realign College football so it makes sense again. I have no problem with the direction of college football overall. It is what it is. But what I do have a problem with is Miami playing Cal in a conference game. What the hell are we doing here? I’ll reorganize things geographically and it will all make sense again.

4. Once you become an adult you get 1 favorite team for each sport to cheer for and 1 college. Sure you can occasionally cheer for other teams. I watch every NFL game I can and I am always sort of cheering for one team or the other. But some adults out there are out of control. I have one buddy who is a Raiders fan but because they are obviously terrible he also cheers for the Bills, Packers and now the Lions. I mean, come on, the Lions and Packers are in the same division. I had a friend named Luke who used to say you couldn’t cheer for a team unless you became a fan of that team when you were a little kid or you lived near the team for a significant amount of time. That seems fair enough but I once had a boss who was a Georgia football fan, a Kentucky basketball fan and a Cardinals baseball fan. He was technically playing by the rules but come on, he is just picking winning teams. And you should be forced to pick one college to cheer for everything on. The same guy never cared about Kentucky football or Georgia basketball. So part of your registering to vote will be declaring your fandom.

3. I will have a staff member make a montage of bad calls that effect each game in the NFL each week and those of us who are Chiefs fans will have access to the montage in order to send it to people in response to all their dumb comments about the refs being for the Chiefs and the league being rigged.

2. There will be a salary cap in baseball. The Yankees are playing the Dodgers in the World Series. No one saw that coming. Sure a small market team can make the playoffs but certain teams have so much more capital it is ridiculous and impossible to stay competitive long term. The Yankees payroll was basically the same as the Royals, Tigers and Guardians combined. Why is the NFL great? Because a team goes from last to first in their division each season. Every game can be close because the talent gap is not dramatically wide between the worst and best team. This is one of the reasons it is the most watched sport in America. It’s time for Baseball to get on board.

1. Move the Super Bowl to the Sunday before President’s day. Literally no one is productive the day after the Super Bowl anyway. This way we can all eat and drink as much as we want and stay up as late as we want and then recover the next day. Does this diminish President’s day? Not anymore than our current candidates have. So hey, if we have to suffer through these idiots running our country, the least they can do is give us the day after the Super Bowl off.

There you go. When you go to place your vote my official name is Jeffrey David Campbell.

Tune in tomorrow for 5 for Friday.

Another week, another Chiefs win and a slew of injuries. If you are anything like me you are quickly running out of players on your fantasy teams. This week we rank these teams based upon fast food restaurants. Let’s dive in.

Captain D’s: Browns, Jags, Patriots, Titans and Panthers

There is something unsettling about fast food seafood. What’s worse than fast food seafood? The worst of the fast food seafood restaurants. These teams are awful, gross to watch play and you avoid them so much that you’d rather watch the rest of these bad teams instead.

Long John Silver’s: Dolphins, Giants, Saints

You cannot convince me that eating any fast food seafood is a good idea. But I did used to eat at Long John Silver’s once a year to remind myself why I don’t eat at Long John Silver’s. And they randomly have chicken as well. All of these teams are terrible but at some point this season they did look good for at least one game.

Taco Bell: Raiders

The Raiders are trash. Which is where that Taco Bell you just bought should go.

KFC: Rams, Jets, Cardinals

KFC should be good. It has a bunch of stuff in theory that I love. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, Mac and Cheese. This sounds like the perfect meal. Unfortunately when these things are made by KFC, they are not good. All these teams on paper looked good entering the season but turns out when put into action they are quite the opposite.

Burger King: Colts, Broncos, Chargers, Seahawks and Falcons

I don’t eat at Burger King much but occasionally I do and I think this is actually pretty good. And so I go back again but all of the sudden it isn’t good the second time. Sort of like how these teams are good one week and terrible the next.

Hardees/Carl Jr.: Steelers and Bengals

Hardees is actually pretty good but you feel sick immediately after eating it. It just feels gross in general. These teams being successful make me sick as well. And just like I don’t go to Hardees anymore, I refuse to cheer for these teams.

McDonalds: Cowboys and 49ers

McDonalds was awesome in the 80s and 90s just like these teams but they are all still living on what was and haven’t done anything great since then.

Subway: Eagles, Bears, Bucs, and Texans

Subway is never bad. It’s also never great. Sometimes it can be pretty good. Other times the bread is stale and the middle eastern man who was a lawyer in his old land, stares into your soul while he stingily places hardly any meat on your sandwich. These teams have shown to be really good at times and other times they are pretty average.

Arby’s: Packers, Bills and Commanders

Arby’s isn’t winning any awards but they seldom completely let you down. Maybe the curly fries are a little stale but the roast beef comes through. Maybe the Arby’s sandwich maker for whatever reason has a hard time slapping the roast beef evenly on the bun, but that time the Curly fries are hot and fresh. It’s never all bad at Arby’s. These teams don’t look like they are winning the Super Bowl but they seldom look terrible and always have some good moments each game.

Chick-Fil-A: Ravens, Lions and Vikings

Now we’re talking. Chick-Fil-A is the Mercedes Benz of fast food. They have good food, incredible service and a whole system in place that doesn’t always seem to make sense but always comes through clutch. These teams are the best of rest and are championship contenders. They are the clear kings of the league right now just like Chick-Fil-A is the king of fast food.

Joe’s KC BBQ: Chiefs

The problem for the rest of the league is the Chiefs are in their own league. They are basically in their own category. Joe’s BBQ is in their own category for me. Not only is it significantly better than fast food, it is the best BBQ out there. Sure it can be messy but even when it isn’t that good, it is still better than everything else. The Chiefs haven’t looked their best. Their games are messy and they haven’t played exceptionally well. But here they are 6-0 and the only undefeated team in the league. They are a class above the rest of the league.

Tune it tomorrow for Top 10 Thursday!

We dive into week 7 and this might be the best slate of games yet. It should be an exciting Sunday of games that I am going to miss some of because I am on a work trip. But hey you all can enjoy it. It is also coming to you late because I had a long day of work on Friday and yesterday I was busy waiting for Brady Cook to get back from the hospital so Mizzou could comeback and win. But better late than never. Here are the top 5 games to watch.

Battle of the Future of the league: Texans at Packers on CBS at 11 AM mountain time

Jordan Love and CJ Stroud are arguably the best two quarterbacks in the league. They both played lights out last year and are off to a great start this year. The Packers are the first team to be 4-2 after six games and last in their division. They are last in their division in point differential with a plus 41 score. To put that in perspective the second best division when it comes to point differential is the AFC West at plus 20. The Packers are just 2 games out of first and everything is on the table for them. That’s the good news. The bad news is everything is already on the table for everyone else in their division as well. So every game matters. On the flip side, the Texans are 5-1 and have basically already won their division. But they are competing with the Chiefs and others for home field advantage. Joe Mixon has returned and they play much better when he is on the field. They are still missing Nico Collins who despite missing a game and 3 quarters still leads the league in receiving. This should be a fun shootout sort of game although both defenses have shown up at times as well. This will be a close one, but give me the home team that needs to win a little bit more.

Packers 31 Texans 24

Battle of the Quarterbacks that no one wanted: Lions at Vikings on Fox at 11 AM Mountain time

Jared Goff was given second life when he was traded from the Rams a few years back. While the Lions said they wanted Jared Goff, we all know what they really wanted was all those draft picks and they put up with getting Goff too. But they started Goff out of necessity and he played pretty good. They drafted a lot of good players and then he got really good. The last two games he has been darn near perfect. Goff was literally perfect two games ago against the Seahawks and then he was very good against Dallas. To be fair playing the Cowboys in Dallas is sort of like playing a middle school team. Sam Darnold was drafted by the Jets which seems like forever ago. The 2018 draft looked like a bust for quarterbacks but both Darnold and Baker have been great after leaving their disastrous organizations that drafted them. They both also got dumped by the Panthers…another disastrous organization but now have landed in stable places with some track record of recent success. Darnold has looked like the guy everyone thought was drafted 6 years ago. He’s been great and of course throwing to Justin Jefferson doesn’t hurt. Kevin O’Connell is some sort of quarterback whisperer. This quarterback duo is also giving me a hard decision as I have both on one of my four fantasy teams and I have to decide who to start. I am rolling with Darnold over the hot hand because I think the Vikings defense is better than the Lions and will impact Goff more. Because I am doing that, I am sure Darnold will struggle and Goff will throw for 4 touchdowns.

Lions 35 Vikings 20

Rematch of the Super Bowl that was a rematch of a Super Bowl: Chiefs at 49ers on Fox at 2:25 PM Mountain Time

Due to a work dinner, I am going to miss part of this game so hopefully the Chiefs just come out and take care of business instead of making it close. I’ll wait for you to stop laughing because all the Chiefs games are close and the 49ers will be no different. The 49ers have been a solid team this year but have suffered their normal insane amount of injuries. It does appear that Jordan Mason will play but he is still technically their 3rd string running back with the first two injured, McCaffrey for who knows how long and Elijah Mitchell for the season. They are also amazingly on their 3rd string kicker. I am baffled how not 1 but 2 kickers got hurt. The 49ers are coming off a mini bye after beating the Seahawks on a Thursday night game. The Chiefs played only 3 days before that on Monday night. The ways the NFL made the Chiefs schedule unfair is a very long list. Perhaps there is a top 10 list in that idea. Anyway, the Chiefs are real good despite not being that good. Andy Reid is 21-4 off a bye. The Chiefs are the underdogs and Mahomes is 10-3 as an underdog straight up and 12-1 against the spread. Mahomes has never lost to the 49ers. He is a perfect 4-0 including two Super Bowl wins. The 49ers run game usually gives teams fits but the Chiefs are great against the run. Pat seems to play his best ball against these guys. That doesn’t mean I think we are going to score 40 or anything crazy but I think he plays well and we beat the 49ers once again.

Chiefs 27 49ers 20

Battle of old washed up Quarterbacks: Jets at Steelers on NBC at 6:20 PM mountain time

Welp, GM Aaron Rodgers is at it again bringing his old buddy Davante Adams to the team. This is what Rodgers always wanted…I mean not enough to take a pay cut in Green Bay but now that he is somewhere else, sure. Adams has suffered greatly to make more money by playing for the Raiders the last couple of years. This feels like these two jack legs have been talking about this for a couple of years and they were finally able to make it happen when Adams pretended to hurt his hamstring that magically healed as soon as he was traded, and Rodgers throwing his other receivers under the bus. When the Chiefs receivers are struggling, Mahomes always says I should throw it better, we have to keep working, I believe in our guys. Rodgers says “5 needs to get on the right page”, and “he didn’t go to the red line that’s why I threw an interception. That’s why Mahomes wins with Skyy Moore, JuJu and Justin Watson and Rodgers can’t win with Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams who are both significantly more talented than those guys. Also, Rodgers was always complaining about the lack of weapons in Green Bay and then went to the Jets and immediately got all his weapons from the Packers back. I’ve decided Rodgers is just pretty much a terrible person and teammate and now he isn’t that good of quarterback anymore. Adams is always open though and Rodgers always throws to him so that should be good if you have Adams in fantasy. On the other side, the Steelers are 4-2 and Justin Fields has played mistake free football. So what are they going to do…bench him of course. They are going to roll out Russ Wilson because they think he is back to his old form pre Broncos. How they know this, I don’t know. He missed most of the pre-season and the first 6 games because of a calf injury. You know who has two thumbs and doesn’t think Russ is back to his old form? This guy! This has disaster written all over it. Russ will lose a couple of games and then the Steelers will be embroiled in a quarterback controversy the rest of the year. Mike Tomlin is a smart coach who literally always has a winning record and I am sure he will find a way to get his team to limp to 9 or 10 wins but offensively he has a lot of bad ideas and this is one of them. The Jets will win and the story will be the Jets are back and the Steelers are a disaster all week long. But in reality neither one of them are very good.

Jets 24 Steelers 13

From beginning to end…of the 1st round of the 2018 draft: Ravens at Bucs on ESPN at 6:15 PM Mountain Time

Baker was the first pick in the first round of the 2018 draft and Lamar was the last pick. Baker has had mild success and Lamar has had a lot of success. But both are looking good right now. Lamar with Derrick Henry is a machine running the ball and it is easier to throw because everyone has to stop Henry. Baker has found new life in Tampa where he is playing exceptionally well and throwing to touchdowns to just about everyone. Both teams have had a couple of dud games but overall have played lights out. We expected this from Lamar. But I must admit, I thought last year might have been a fluke for Baker. Baker tends to overstay his welcome in places and I thought this might be another one of those scenarios but everyone seems to like him except maybe Tom Brady who doesn’t think football is supposed to be fun unless you win the Super Bowl. The Ravens are real good against the run but pretty terrible against the pass. The Bucs defense isn’t exceptionally good at anything. Lamar is something like 21-1 against the NFC which is insane. If he could ever make it to a Super Bowl he would probably win. But that is a big if. Anyway, this has shoot out written all over it. I want to pick the Bucs but I just don’t think the cannons will shoot quite enough to win.

Ravens 41 Bucs 35

Enjoy the games today!

It’s time for Top 10 Thursday! Last week I suffered through the Royals losing in the playoffs to the Yankees. Losing was bad enough but while doing so, I had to listen to Bob Costas. Watching a baseball game with Costas announcing is like watching a movie with the sound off and instead listening to the audio book while watching. Bob had a lot of facts and a lot of stories. Here are the top 10 things I learned while listening to Bob Costas.

10. Aaron Judge is the MVP. I know this isn’t official but it might as well be because Bob says so. But at least he also announced that Bobby Witt Jr. was the runner up.

9. The Royals lost 106 games last year. In case it wasn’t miserable enough to lose to the Yankees in the playoffs, Bob also liked to remind us often that last year was really, really awful.

8. Salvy Perez was the mvp of the World Series in 2015. Did you know that Salvy was the last player on the roster from the 2015 team? Did you know he was the MVP? Did you know that it was 9 years ago and so it isn’t that shocking that he is the only one left? Apparently Bob really wants you to know.

7. You should go to the Negro Baseball Museum. Did you guys know that is in Kansas City? If not, Bob will tell…every game…multiple times.

6. George Brett got in a fight with Craig Nettles. This story and video was shown multiple times. This bit of history is so old that I wasn’t even born yet when it happened. But in an attempt to conjure up this series as a rivalry they showed it many times. They also showed George Brett many times.

5. There is a red bench at the Negro Baseball Museum that Bob sat on and finally shut up. Some former player was with him and the player had so many great stories that Bob just listened. I fell asleep halfway through Bob’s story about this incident and I dreamed of the next time that Bob would shut up.

4. If you want to know how Gerrit Cole is doing, just watch Gerrit Cole. In case you didn’t know, Gerrit Cole shows his emotions on the field. When things go well, he gets excited. When things go poorly, he gets mad. When the same guy gets his 3rd hit he laughs. Bob made sure to tell us this over and over again, even though we could see for ourselves because you know…the game was on freaking tv.

3. Giancarlo Stanton is basically Babe Ruth. They are both very high in post season home runs. Bob mentioned this 47 times in 4 games. In fact, he was so excited about this fact that he became irritated when the graphic guys wouldn’t put up the graphic of the two of them for the 40th time. But don’t worry they were ready when he came up to bat the next time.

2. Ron Darling has a worse life than me. Sure he won a World Series and makes lots of money. But I had to listen to Bob for 4 games. Ron has to listen to him all season long. Brutal.

1. The Royals have a rich history that Bob described in the 8th inning of game 4 when he basically already gave the win to the Yankees. He said the Royals were good in the late 70s and early 80s and then again in 2014 and 2015. Wow, Bob…thanks. Now those Yankee fans totally respect us. And thanks for making me feel so much better. So since 1969 we were basically good for a decade and then terrible with the exception of two years. Awesome. Thanks for kicking us while we were down, Bob. But hey, I still feel like a winner because I don’t have to listen to Bob for at least another year…and based upon the Royals history maybe not for a lot of years.

Another week in the NFL has gone by. I hope everyone else’s week is off to a better start this week than Mike Williams who obviously should have ran to the red line and now is about to get dumped because the GM of the Jets also known as Aaron Rodgers, just traded for Davante Adams. We are a 3rd of the way through the season so with that in mind, this week we rank the teams based upon their chances of making the playoffs.

What is less than zero percent?: Jaguars and Browns

These teams are absolute garbage…on fire. They are a dumpster fire if the fire was filled with poop. The Jags can’t even win in London now. The Browns just traded away their one good offensive player.

Zero percent: Panthers, Patriots, Titans, Giants

These teams are all real bad but slightly better than a dumpster filled with poop on fire.

Raiders gonna Raider…also known as 1%:

The Raiders are slightly better than the rest of the teams already listed…I think.

If everyone heals up real, real fast they have an outside chance of making the playoffs or 5%: Dolphins and Rams

The Dolphins need their quarterback back. The Rams need everyone back. Neither is happening.

Gonna hang around for a little longer but have no real chance which is code for 10%: Cardinals, Saints, Broncos

Cardinals are fun, the Saints are more fun with Spencer Rattler and the Broncos are fun for about 8 minutes every game. Broncos have the best chance due to their schedule but still not looking good.

Could make it if they didn’t play any home games giving them a 25% chance: Cowboys

3-0 on the road and 0-3 at home. And not just 0-3 but just getting completely obliterated at home. It’s so fun.

Not good but somehow have a shot so 40-70%: Chargers, Steelers, Colts

The Steelers are 4 and 2 and so they are off to a good start. I said I thought whoever won the Chargers vs Broncos game would make the playoffs. The Chargers schedule is easier than the Broncos and they got the win. They sit at 3-2 and their next 4 games are the cardinals, saints, browns and titans. That looks like 7-2 to me. Then all they likely have to do is win 3-5 the second half of the season. The Colts would make the playoffs if they kept playing Shane Falco. But they won’t because they are idiots. But if Richardson gets hurt fast enough they still got a shot.

Not that good but better than the teams already listed so will probably make it 50%: Eagles, Seahawks

Both these teams at times seem like real contenders. Other times they are getting blown out by the 49ers or their coach is talking smack to their own fans after barely beating the Browns.

Will either make it to the AFC championship game or completely implode. either 3% or 80%: Bengals and Jets

These two teams are on track to make a run or be a complete disaster. I trust the Bengals more because of their schedule. They are just 2-4 but they have the browns, eagles and raiders next. Then the go to the ravens and the chargers but then finish with the Steelers twice, at the cowboys (we know that is a win), the browns again and then the titans and broncos. This has a team riding high into the playoffs written all over it. They could also finish 6-11. The Jets just got Davante Adams and he knows where the red line is so that should fix everything. Be sure to drop your stock in Wilson and Lazard because when Davante is on the field, Rodgers doesn’t throw to anyone else. This does usually lead to great regular season success though.

Will be in the hunt if they stay healthish. So they are probably out or 51%: 49ers

They don’t need all of their players to be healthy. But they do need some of them. So they are probably out. This is a team that may enter this week with their 4th string running back and their 3rd string kicker.

3 of these 4 teams are making it so 75% obviously: The NFC North

All 4 of these teams have 4 wins. They are all playing well. They also all have to play each other. Eventually something has to give. The Bears are the worst of the bunch but have the easiest schedule. I’m most confident in the Lions but any combination of 3 of these teams wouldn’t surprise me.

2 of these 2 teams are making it or 100% for at least one of them: Bucs and Falcons

One is going to win the division but the one that doesn’t still gets to play the Saints and the Panthers. They are both good teams and I think they both have a very high chance of making it.

Probably already won their divisions so 85%: Texans, Ravens, Bills, Commanders

Texans and Commanders get in by default because their divisions are a mess. Bills and Ravens don’t have a big lead but I haven’t seen anything to make me think they won’t make it.

Already hosting the AFC Championship 100%: Chiefs

The Chiefs are 5-0 and rolling despite playing that well. They have a tie breaker over the Ravens. I don’t see the Bills and Texans having as many wins as them even if they beat the Chiefs. Sounds like the return of the Arrowhead invitational to me.

My 33.333333333% of the way official playoff predictions:

NFC:

1. Lions

2. Bucs

3. Commanders

4. Seahawks

5. Vikings

6. Falcons

7. Packers

AFC:

1. Chiefs

2. Ravens

3. Bills

4. Texans

5. Chargers

6. Steelers

7. Bengals

Go ahead and head to Vegas to put your new bets down. Tune in on Thursday for a special top 10 Thursday you won’t want to miss.

It’s already week 6. Time flies when you manage 4 fantasy football teams. Let’s dive in to which games you should watch and what you should watch for.

Home away from home Jags @ Bears but not really because they are in London on NFL network at 7:30 AM mountain time

I’m not gonna lie to you guys, I am less excited about getting up early for this one as I was last week. This will probably be more of deal where I wonder down to the couch around half time. But let me take this time to convince you to watch. This exciting match up features two number 1 draft picks at quarterback. We’ve got exciting rookie receivers in Bryan Thomas Jr. and Rome Oduze. Thomas is on one of my many fantasy teams and Oduze’s name is fun to say. The Bears have a solid defense. And the Jags like to give the other team the ball. The Jags do have the advantage of playing multiple games over seas every year because apparently Jacksonville isn’t that excited about watching them play. I can’t say I blame them too much on this one. London is happy to watch any football so it is a win, win. This is a tough one to predict. I do like that the Jags have the experience of playing overseas, but the Bears have the better defense. I don’t trust either coach. The Jags do seem to play better in London so I’m gonna give them the nod over Caleb who has been playing better but I just can’t get too confident about a guy who paints his finger nails before every game.

Jags 23 Bears 20

Battle of the running quarterbacks: Commanders @ Ravens at 11 AM mountain time on CBS

Lamar is the best running back to play quarterback in the league. He has gotten better at throwing and everyone thinks that he is as good as anyone but they are just fooling themselves. They are at their best when he is running. The combo of him and Henry has been very solid the last few weeks. On the other side, Jayden Daniels has taken the league by storm. He is running all over the place but he is throwing the ball well as well. Jayden has the Commanders rolling since their week 1 loss to the Bucs. Jayden has made some incredible throws over the last few games. This will be his toughest test yet. The Ravens D isn’t terrible but it isn’t the force it once was. Burrow did just throw 5 touchdowns on them. The Commanders do like to run first and then pass which isn’t ideal because the Ravens are better against the run than the pass. On top of that, their best running back Brian Robinson is banged up. I’m not sure how much he will be able to play. The Ravens are coming off an emotional few games. This is a big game for Jayden. He has answered the call every time so far and I think he does it again. Give me the Commanders in this one with the upset.

Commanders 31 Ravens 24

Battle for 2nd place: Chargers @ Broncos on CBS at 2:05 PM mountain time

The Chiefs are obviously going to win the division. The Raiders are falling apart so they are likely to finish last. That leaves these two to battle for second. The Chargers are coming off back to back losses after starting 2-0. The Broncos on the other side started 0-2 but then won 3 in a row. The Chargers if they can win this one won’t play a team that currently has a winning record for another 5 weeks. On the flip side, the Broncos have a couple of easier games followed by back to back games against the Chiefs and Ravens and then a game against the Falcons. This game is much more important to the Broncos long term success. Both teams can play defense and I am not sure that Justin Herbert is fully healthy. Bo Nix has been playing better but I think the Chargers will be well prepared. These teams seem pretty evenly matched so give me the Broncos in a low scoring game since this is a home game.

Broncos 16 Chargers 13

Dirty Detroit @ Disappointing Dallas on Fox at 2:25 PM mountain time

The Lions are coming off a bye and looked at their best the last game out. Dallas squeaked one out last week against the Steelers. Dallas is the home team where they have been beaten badly twice while being 3-0 on the road. Detroit went back to running the ball and that worked out pretty well for them. Jared Goff was literally perfect last game. While I don’t see that happening, I don’t believe the Cowboys are all that good. I’m sure Dan Campbell will be extra fired up coming off the bye week. Part of the reason the Cowboys have been better on the road is that they played worse teams on the road. It does seem odd for the Cowboys to start the year 0-3 at home but again, this is the Cowboys. Last year when these two played there was a controversial call when the refs said someone didn’t report eligible on what would have been the go ahead touchdown. The player who they said didn’t report was seen talking to the official before the play. Maybe they were just checking in on each other’s family or talking about what they were gonna have for dinner. Anyway, I think their Lions get their revenge.

Lions 34 Cowboys 24

The best quarterback for 3 weeks vs the quarterback who breaks up teams: Bills at Jets on ESPN at 6:15 PM mountain time

The Bills looked unstoppable the first 3 weeks of the season. Then they played two actual good teams and lost both. The Jets have been a mess all year. Last year they were good on defense and their biggest issue was the quarterback. But now Aaron Rodgers is healthy and they are good on defense and their biggest issue is at quarterback. Aaron has played poorly and last week he threw 3 interceptions. He also got his coach fired but somehow his buddy Nathaniel Hackett gets to keep his job despite being the worst play caller in the NFL. He is no longer calling plays or helping with the game plan but he still gets to be the offensive coordinator. Perhaps the Jets so look up the definition of offensive coordinator because I don’t think they understand the meaning. The Bills don’t usually play well against the Jets but they definitely need a bounce back win. Typically when a coach gets fired, the team responds with a win. But Aaron Rodgers is basically the coach so not much has really changed. This one is hard to pick because I am not sure how good either team is. But it seems like perfect spot for the Jets to win and then press to talk about how good they are now and how they have the best roster and yada yada yada. And then they will follow all that hype up by losing to the Steelers the next week.

Jets 24 Bills 17

This was a requested topic but one I often think about. It is a little funny to write this because the people in charge of the Chiefs seem to be doing a pretty good job. But why settle for good when I could do the job great. So here is the top 10 things I would do from least to most important.

10. Lower food and beverage prices at Arrowhead. The fans are as loyal as they get and have been tailgating since basically the night before the game. It’s the loudest stadium in the country. Award the people with a cheaper hot dog and coke.

9. Fix the locker room so we can stop getting a “F” on the stupid player report.

8. Make sure everyone gets their own hotel room on road trips. We aren’t running a non profit here. No grown man wants to share a hotel room with another grown man. I mean I’ve done it but purely for cost reasons. Cost should not be an issue for the Chiefs at this point.

7. Keep Skyy Moore on the roster to continue to frustrate the fan base. Do I think Skyy is good? I do not. Do I think Skyy will be good one day? I do not. Do I think it is funny to see grown men complain about him being on the roster on social media? I do.

6. Sign Nick Bolton to an extension. Bolton gets hurt a little more often than I would like, and he isn’t the best in coverage. But he is always and I mean always around the ball and is the leader of the D. Pay the man.

5. Sign Trey Smith to an extension. Trey is a beast. I value him a little over Bolton because Veach seems to be better at drafting linebackers than he is at drafting offensive linemen. And protecting Pat is very important. Plus Trey is good for some classic pancake blocks every season. I don’t want to miss those.

4. Give Pat a 10% stake in the Chiefs in order to stop giving him raises. Pat’s contract is pretty friendly overall but if the cap keeps going up but his pay doesn’t then we can find more good players to help us win more championships. Pat has already earned the 10% ownership because he has done more for our organization than any player in our history and it isn’t close. I am sure this is against the rules so we would do it real quiet like.

3. Give Andy and Spags whatever they want. Andy and Spags are literally dominating the league right now with one star defensive lineman, a tight end past his prime and a quarterback playing the worst football of his career. Injuries don’t bother us. I think Andy could find a way to get me open. I mean I probably wouldn’t catch it but neither does Skyy Moore and he gets to be on the team.

2. Ask the league if they can go ahead and suspend Rashee Rice this year. Dude is out the year and then will likely miss at least 6 games due to suspension. I would go to Rodger Godell and say hey bro, I got a deal for you. Instead of suspending Rice for 6 games next year, why don’t you suspend him for 12 this year. Double the suspension and you look like a rock star who truly cares about off the field issues even though you and I both know you don’t. What do you say?

1. Trade a 3rd round pick to the Browns to get Amari Cooper. Cooper is good. He is miserable over there in Cleveland. First he is in Cleveland and Cleveland sucks. Secondly the Browns are just awful. They get worse every week. How happy would Amari be to play for the Chiefs after playing for the Raiders, Cowboys and Browns? Look what we just did with JuJu. Imagine how good Andy could make Amari look. This one actually needs to happen.

There you have it. Feel free to send this on to Brett Veach to see if I can get a job. Tune in tomorrow for Five for Friday and go Royals!

Week 5 is in the books. Here are this week’s rankings from 32 to 1. This week I compare each team’s starting quarterback to a rapper because why not.

32. Drake: New England Patriots: Drake is not good. Drake Maye is probably not going to be good. But they have the same name.

31. P-Diddy: Cleveland Browns: Both Watson and P-Diddy started their careers off very well but got worse over time. And they both have ahem…off the field issues.

30. Kriss Kross: Las Vegas Raiders: They wore their clothes the wrong way. Minshew and the other guy throw the ball to the wrong team.

29. Vanilla Ice: Carolina Panthers: Both Vanilla Ice and Andy Dalton were good in 1991 and haven’t been good since.

28. Macklemore: Tennessee Titans: Macklemore sings a song about a thrift shop and the Titans just dropped their QB off at one.

27. Lil Wayne: Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite little to no knowledge of what it takes to be successful at football, Lil Wayne is always hanging around football games. Sort of like Trevor Lawrence.

26. Ice Cube: Miami Dolphins: Both Cube and Tyler Huntley were surprised that it was a good day on Sunday. Tyler didn’t give the game away and Cube didn’t use his AK.

25. Asher Roth: New Jersey Giants: Asher is barely a rapper and Daniel Jones is barely a quarterback.

24. Machine Gun Kelly: Cincinnati Bengals. Dying your hair doesn’t make you cool or successful.

23. Ice T: Los Angeles Rams. You sort of forget about Ice T and then he pops up in some crime drama and you are like oh yeah, Ice T is pretty good. Sort of like what happens with Matt Stafford when the Rams pop up on your tv.

22. Ol’ Dirty Bastard: Indianapolis Colts: I mean Joe Flacco…it just fits, right?

21. DC Talk: New Orleans Saints: Derek Carr is a really nice, Christian guy just like the guys from DC Talk. Unfortunately that trait doesn’t make them good at their actual occupations.

20. Ludacris: Philadelphia Eagles: Lulu is pretty good when he is rapping in other people’s songs. Jalen Hurts is pretty good when he has all his star players. Both of them when they are solo…not so much.

19. Eazy E: New Jersey Jets: Eazy E and his agent broke up a rap group and now Aaron Rodgers and the Jets owner are breaking up a team.

18. Common: San Fran 49ers: Common’s name is Common and everyone thinks Purdy is common. But both are actually pretty good.

17. Skee-Lo: Arizona Cardinals. Both Skee-Lo and Kyler Murray wish they were a little bit taller.

16. Future: Chicago Bears. Future’s name is Future and I think Caleb Williams might be good in the future.

15. Kendrick Lamar: Los Angeles Chargers: People think Kendrick Lamar is great. People think Justin Herbert is great. I think both are overrated.

14. Hammer: Denver Broncos: Bo was 2 Legit 2 Quit when Auburn gave up on him a few years ago. Now look at him, he’s a NFL quarterback.

13. Kanye West: Pittsburgh Steelers: Justin Fields has the Steelers playing harder, better, faster, stronger. Or at least the faster part.

12. The Weekend: Dallas Cowboys: Dak is blinded by the playoff lights.

11. DMX: Seattle Seahawks: DMX always seemed like an angry rapper. I think Geno kind of plays angry after being dumped around the league for years.

10. Limp Bizkit: Tampa Bay Bucs: Baker has the Bucs offense rollin, rollin, rollin. He and Fred Durst got that chip on their shoulder attitude.

9. Tupac: Buffalo Bills: It’s just Josh against the world for some reason because the world does not seem to want the Bills to win anything. He has shed so many tears after losing to the Chiefs in the playoffs. But that’s just the way it is. Some things will never change.

8. Flava Flav: Atlanta Falcons: Both Kirk and he love to rock big necklaces.

7. Notorious BIG: Green Bay Packers: It’s been mo money, mo problems since Jordan Love got paid, dealing with injury, bad interceptions and disgruntled teammates.

6. Snoop Dogg: Houston Texans: Just like Snoop, Stroud is a cool, chill, confident guy. Of course Stroud does it without a ton of weed in his body.

5. Jay Z: Washington Commanders: Sometimes someone shows up and just has that “it” factor. They are just naturally great. Jayden and Jay Z are like that.

4. Andre 3000: Baltimore Ravens: much like Andre, Lamar is good on his own but great as a duo with Derrick Henry. And the way Lamar plays quarterback makes him a little bit of an outkast in the league. (see what I did there).

3. Slim Shady: Detroit Lions: Will the real Jared Goff please stand up? Goff can be awesome or terrible but when he is awesome he is real awesome just like his Detroit pal, Eminem.

2. Dr. Dre: Minnesota Vikings: You remember when Dre disappeared for a while and then came back and was awesome? Sam Darnold is living his next episode.

1. DJ Khaled: Kansas City Chiefs: All Pat does is Win!

Tune in tomorrow for another edition of top 10 Thursday!

It’s already week 5! And in case you missed it, the week is off to a good start as the Falcons beat the Bucs in overtime on Thursday Night. Kirk Cousins threw for more yards last night than half the quarterbacks have thrown all year. I feel sorry for anyone who had Kirk on their bench in fantasy football. Anyway, let’s dive into the rest of week 5.

The British are coming!: Jets @ Vikings but not really because it is really @ London on NFL network at 7:30 AM mountain time

The NFL continues to try to take over the world one extremely early game at a time. For the next 3 weeks there will be games in Europe. While I am not a big fan of either of these teams, I am happy that at least it isn’t the Jags. Now you might be thinking, if Jeff doesn’t care about these teams then surely he won’t wake up on one of his two days to sleep in a little bit. Well you would be wrong. I’ll be up and at em and cheering on my fantasy players for both teams. The Vikings are off to an amazing start and are one of two undefeated teams. They have mostly survived the injury bug and former Jet Sam Darnold is playing lights out. Apparently all it took for him to be good was to not play for the Jets or the Panthers. A strong tactic for any NFL player. Meanwhile the Jets have been struggling along and are a measly 2-2 after falling to the Broncos last week in a game where Bo Nix had negative 7 passing yards in the first half. Aaron Rodgers is his normal semi disgruntled self. The coaching staff seems in over their heads. Everyone is talking about the awesome Jets defense but 3 of their 4 games were against the Titans, Patriots and Broncos. Not exactly a murderer’s row of offenses. The one good offense they played against was the 49ers who scored a bunch of points against them. The Vikes on the other hand have handled the 49ers, Texans and Packers the last 3 weeks. I think everyone might be talking about the wrong defense. I’m rolling with my Sam Darnold in this one as he gets his revenge and then celebrates with some biscuits and hi tea.

Vikings 24 Jets 13

Wake Me Up When September Ends: Ravens @ Bengals on CBS at 11 AM mountain time

The Bengals got the best news earlier this week when on Tuesday it became October. They got their first win last week against the struggling Panthers. Now they host the red hot Ravens who are 2-2 but won their last 2 and their last game is decisive fashion. The Bengals can pull even with the Ravens with a win. There is just one problem though. The Bengals don’t beat the Ravens all that often. When Lamar plays, the Ravens usually beat the Bengals. There is actually a second problem too. The Bengals aren’t very good. I mean talent wise they are pretty good but for some reason it is not coming together for them. In the past they have looked bad early but usually it isn’t this bad. I’m certainly not complaining about them being bad but they just don’t look right. Usually these games are defensive slug fast. But the Bengals D doesn’t seem to be able to stop anybody outside of the Chiefs who they always play their best game against. Both these teams have already talked about what is going to happen when the play the Chiefs in the playoffs. The loser of this is going to have a hard time even making it to the playoffs. These games are usually pretty close but in the end, give me the running back playing quarterback in this one.

Ravens 27 Bengals 17

Houston we have a problem: Bills @ Texans on CBS at 11 AM mountain time

The Bills are coming off a complete beat down by the Ravens. I expect them to bounce back and play well despite both them and one of my 4 fantasy teams not having Kalil Shakir. Josh Allen is playing great football and the Bills were dominating everyone until last week. Granted the teams they dominated were the Jags, Dolphins and Cardinals. The Texans are also 3-1 defeating the challenging teams of the Jags, Colts and Bears. They also lost badly to the one good team they played when they lost on the road to the Vikings. This one is at home but they will also be missing one of their main weapons in Joe Mixon who is out for the 3rd straight week. This could very well be a fun shoot out but I think it will be a little slower paced than we are hoping for. Both defenses are decent overall and both offenses are down a guy or two. I don’t think we really know a whole lot about how good either of these teams are yet. What’s a better test than playing each other? Also, this is sort of a revenge game for Stephon Diggs who is going up against his former team. The last time he went up against a former team he lost 34-7. He is hoping for a better outcome this time. I’m looking for a better outcome from Tank Dell who is brining down two of my fantasy teams. I think these teams are pretty even and that usually leads me to pick the home team. But I just don’t think Josh Allen will have two duds in a row. He shows the Texans and the world life can be better off without Diggs.

Bills 31 Texans 21

First one to two scores wins!: Raiders @ Broncos on Fox at 2:05 PM mountain time

The rare all AFC game on Fox. I am sure CBS was real sad about giving up this one. I always enjoy when the Raiders play the Broncos because it is the two times a year I can cheer for the Broncos with my wife and really mean it. The Broncos are coming off an exciting victory over the Jets. And by exciting, I mean they won the game in a close fashion, not that it was fun to watch. The Broncos are now 2-2 and they haven’t even learned how to pass yet. Their defense does seem to be very good. With Vance Joseph as their coordinator, I am surprised as you are. Meanwhile the Raiders are also 2-2. Despite being a total disaster they were able to beat the Browns last week because the Browns are an even bigger dumpster fire. Davante Adams said he would “prefer” to be traded. Which is a very polite way of saying get me the hell out of here. I think he has been hoping to get traded ever since he got there. That is the raider way, to want out as soon as you get there. They have a no nonsense coach but if you keep moving on from your talent it doesn’t matter how disciplined you are. Anyway, Davante is not going to play of them again. He “injured” his hamstring in practice a week ago but watch how quickly that heals up once he gets out of Vegas. I don’t think either of these teams are all that good. But one of them can at least play defense. Look for another exciting game when Gardner Minshew and Bo Nix battle it out. The Broncos take it in another low scoring affair.

Broncos 13 Raiders 12

Pissed off Pat?: Saints at Chiefs on ESPN at 6:15 PM mountain time

It’s been a while since we have seen pissed off Pat but of all my favorite Pat’s, that is my favorite one. He plays well when he is angry and sometimes in dominating fashion. The Chiefs have won 10 in a row with most of them being stressful one score wins. Eventually we have to beat someone by multiple scores. I think Pat is upset that the pick he threw got Rice hurt. I also think he is tired of playing sub par football. The only question is who is he going to throw to with Rice out. It’s a hodgepodge bunch but Pat has done more with less before. Meanwhile the Saints haven’t looked the same since not punting the first two games. They’ve dropped two in a row and haven’t looked great doing it. While the defense looks solid enough, they may be running into a little problem called Derek Carr. Carr rarely plays well against the Chiefs which is good news for me. The Chiefs have been very good against the run and if they can stop Kamara they should be fine. I’d like to say this is the day that pissed off Pat dominates and the Chiefs win by multiple scores, I just can’t say it anymore until I see it. Get ready for another low scoring, stressful last minute winning game. But hey, a win is a win.

Chiefs 20 Saints 17

Today we cover the top 10 positions we would want to play in Football. Let’s dive in.

10. Running Back: You have a short shelf life and are lucky to make it through your rookie contract. Also, no one values you anymore so you are lucky if you get drafted in the second or third round. On a positive note, you have the ability to make fantasy football owners very happy for the 3 years you are good.

9. Cornerback: The positives are if you are really good you can become overpaid very quickly. Also, expectations of your tackling skills are low. On the negative side, you are on an island and everyone knows when you make a mistake.

8. Kicker: The positives are you can be the hero of any game at any time. See Harrison Butker the last few years. You also only play like 7 or 8 plays a game. On the negative, you can also be the most hated person in a city. See Lin Elliott and Scott Norwood.

7. Punter: Slightly less glory but way less pressure. No one remembers the guy who costs you the game because he shanked a punt. Still don’t have to play much and you get to act tough when you occasionally push the returner out of bounds.

6. Outside Linebacker (3/4 defense only): You have one job. Go get the quarterback. Rack up sacks and if you aren’t completely terrible against the run you are highly complimented for being a “complete” player.

5. Wide Receiver: Be as loud and obnoxious as you want. Celebrate every catch you make by pointing forward. When you don’t catch it, flop around because there was obviously pass interference otherwise you would have caught it. Cut and die your hair funny. Have lots of tattoos. Get in trouble off the field as long as it isn’t too bad. Have lots of kids with lots of women. You are basically an NBA player playing football.

4. Starting Quarterback: This would be higher back in the day. But now it is more pressure than glory. It’s your job to drag your entire franchise along with wins and stats. If you don’t have stats but have wins you are a game manager. If you have stats but no wins, then you are just taking advantage of bad opponents. But unless you are Patrick Mahomes you can be extremely overpaid without accomplishing anything like Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence and Tua.

3. Long Snapper: you are the least athletic person on the team but you have complete job security because you can snap a ball through your legs. It’s always the kickers fault unless the holder screws up so bad that you can’t not blame him. No one knows your name or what you look like so you can go out in public and do whatever you want and no one will notice. But you get an NFL pay check so you can buy more stuff than I can, even though we have the same overall athletic ability.

2. Back up quarterback: This is the role you want. You get to hang out with best player on the team. You mostly just hang out on the sideline with a clipboard. Then you occasionally sit on the bench and look at pictures on an iPad with the starter. If you are thrust into play, no one expects much so if you play poorly they say, well that is why he is the backup. If you play well you are the hero. Henne thing is possible!!

1. Chase Daniel: Okay not technically a position, but this is who you want to be. This guy bounced around the league and was well respected despite rarely playing. He never played and so his body is still in great shape because it took the same physical toll as a kicker…maybe less. And he made over 43 million dollars. To put that in perspective, John Elway made 47 million in his career and guys like Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts haven’t hit that number yet. Of course they will vastly surpass that. But both of them have started one less game this year than Chase started in his whole career. The guy was in the league for 13 years and threw less that 275 passes and 9 touchdowns and made 43 million dollars! And now he has used his time in the NFL to start a great tv career. He is literally living my dream.

Another week is in the books! It was filled with upsets, blowouts, nail biters and of course more injuries. Here are my never wrong, always 100% correct and important rankings.

Just the worst: Jags. Sure they put up a fight against a depleted Texans team but they remain the only defeated team in the league. I’m starting to think that Trevor Lawrence is not very good at football.

Really bad, I mean just awful…but slightly better than the Jags: Browns, Patriots, Dolphins, Titans, Giants, Panthers. All these teams have 1 win. That is the one thing they have going for them. They are all really bad football teams.

Really bad, but I mean half their team is hurt: Rams. They are not good but maybe they would be if they had a few more healthy players.

Really bad but still kind of fun: Cardinals. They are going to lose a lot of games but they aren’t terrible to watch.

September Bengals: You don’t move far in the rankings by barely beating the Panthers.

Pretty sure they aren’t very good: Eagles, Cowboys, Broncos, Raiders, Jets, Chargers, Bears. All these teams seem to have issues. But the league overall isn’t great so a couple of them will probably make the playoffs.

Better now that Shane Falco is at QB: Colts. Joe Flacco once again got off his crappy house boat to play quarterback for an average team that he somehow makes significantly better. Richardson will probably come back and start this week but it is only a matter of time before he gets hurt…once again.

Worst 3-1 team in the league: Steelers. They finally lost but to be fair to them, they were not prepared to face Shane Falco.

Somebody is going to win the NFC South and they might not be terrible this year: Saints, Falcons and Bucs. The last couple of years this division has been the first one to eight wins gets the division. But I think these teams might actually be pretty good. I have the least faith in the Saints which is a bit ironic based upon their team name.

The only fun thing in D.C. : Commanders. While I think most of us are dreading this election coming up along with all the normal shenanigans going on in DC, there is at least one bright spot. Jayden Daniels is the best thing to come to DC in a long time. He is fun and so are the Commanders. Their defense finally stopped someone and the offense is rolling. I think they might actually be good.

Ready to lose in the divisional round: Bills. Just when you think that this Bills team might be different, they go and do something like this and reassure you that they are the same ole Bills.

Good…but not that good: Texans, Seahawks. I think they have a solid teams. They might even win their division. Well, Houston will definitely win their division. But they are still not at the level of the top teams.

Whatcha gonna do, they are 2-2: Packers, Ravens, 49ers. All these teams are better than their records and are improving. Health is the only thing that keep them from making a run in the playoffs. I’m looking at you 49ers.

Goff and Running: Lions. It amazing how much better the Lions are when the run the ball and don’t have Jared Goff throw 50 times a game. Goff was literally perfect on Monday night and even caught a touchdown. Although, he did look like me running over there to catch it. As long as the Lions stick to this game plan, they are a contender.

Coach of the year: Vikings. Kevin O’Connell has the Vikings 4-0 with wins over the 49ers, Texans and at the Packers. They let the Packers back in the game but it was pretty much all 3 dominating victories. He has done all this with Sam Darnold at Quarterback. Darnold was almost out of the league. Now he leads the league in touchdowns. We might as well give him coach of the year honors right now.

No Rice…still no dice: Chiefs. Even when we lose our best offensive player we still win. I know Mahomes is technically the best but he isn’t playing like it. Here’s hoping he can go a game without throwing a pick. The Chiefs are the DJ Khaled of the NFL. All we do is win.

My Friday got away from me with work and then spending 2 and an half hours driving to watch my son play Friday night lights which his team lost 58-6 and then I drove 2 and an half hours back home. Then on Saturday, we had a fun day as a family. But don’t worry because I will not let you down, even though I am a couple of days late, I’m making it up with an extra game. So with that…let’s do this! Here is Six for Sunday to get you ready for the games today!

Revenge of the Red Rifle: Bengals @ Panthers on Fox at 11 am mountain time

Despite several good years in the Natti, the Bengals were happy to say goodbye to a guy named Andy Dalton and draft Joe Burrow. Since then, Burrow has gone to the Super Bowl, lost a AFC championship in what was briefly called burrowhead and been injured multiple times. Meanwhile, Andy has bounced around the league with a few different teams without a lot happening for him…until now. Andy came in last week as the starter and made the Panthers look like a real football team. Sure it was against the Raiders…but still. Meanwhile the Bengals have been flailing about losing to the Pats at home in week 1, a heartbreaker at Arrowhead which they once called Burrowhead and since calling it that are 9-11, and then losing at home to the Commanders. This is an absolute must win for the Bengals. And it is absolutely a nothing to lose game for the Panthers. So who wins this battle of the cats? Well what day is it? September 29th? Which means we are still dealing with the September Bengals? Give me the red rifle for the revenge win sending all the Natti into a downward spiral.

Panthers 31 Bengals 27

Can you Hackett? Broncos @ Jets on CBS at 11 am mountain time

In case you don’t remember Nathaniel Hackett was the Broncos coach for like 9 months a couple of years ago. If you are a Broncos fan, I am sure you are trying to forget about that entire year. Why did the Broncos hire Hackett to begin with? I firmly believe it was to get Aaron Rodgers…which they did not. Instead, they got Russell Wilson. Everyone tried to act like it was just as good. But sadly, it was not. In fact, it was about the worst year in Broncos history. I’m not a Broncos fan so I can’t stay that for sure, but it was pretty dang rough. Russ was awful and the phrase “let’s ride” will forever be associated with terribleness. Hackett got run out of town before the season was over. Hackett was the scapegoat and a new Super Bowl winning, likely hall of fame coach Sean Payton showed up and then Russ was the scapegoat and then they ran him out of town. They are literally paying him million of dollars to sit on the bench in Pittsburgh. And now Sean has his boy Bo Nix and all the excuses have to stop. They did last week with a big win in Tampa. Meanwhile, Hackett finally reunited with Rodgers in New Jersey which at first was only about 4 plays. But this year, they have been together for 3 games and are 2-1. Albeit their two wins are against the Patriots and the Titans. Despite no Rodgers, Hackett and the Jets went to Denver with the arm of Zach Wilson and won. So what happens with round 2? Rodgers and the gang looked good but the defense of the Broncos looks solid as well. I think this will be mid range game point wise as both defenses are solid. I don’t trust the Jets coaches but I trust Rodgers more than I trust a guy playing his 4th game of the year.

Jets 20 Broncos 17

Birth vs fandom: Vikings @ Packers on CBS at 11 AM mountain time

I know it is an odd title, but my son Walker was born in Minnesota and is a huge Packers fan. How did this happen you might ask. Well, as you know, I am a huge Chiefs fan and my wife is a huge fan of the Broncos. My son at a young age knew he was in a no win situation, so he chose his own team and decided to pick the Packers for some reason. He has been loyal ever since. On the football field, Jordan Love is likely going to play. On the other side, Sam Darnold who has been terrible his whole career is all of the sudden awesome. This is a battle of two of the best young coaches in the league. What Matt Lafleur has done the last two weeks with Malik Willis is amazing. But they have also beat the Colts and the Titans who both are proving to be less than average. Meanwhile Kevin O’Connell has given Sam Darnold new life in the league while beating the 49ers and Texans. No matter what happens, we are all winners if we watch because Kevin Harlan is announcing. How much more productive would we all be if Kevin Harlan narrated our lives. “Look at Jeff Campbell go! He’s putting on his headset. He’s putting in the number…look at him dial! He’s going all in on this cold call! Will he get the voice mail? Will he get the assistant who is really a gate keeper? Or will he actually get the person he is calling? Oh my! It’s the person he is calling! He’s dominating this cold call with incredible questions leading him to provide the solutions this person has always been looking for!” We would all be better, lets be honest. But I digress. Kevin O’Connell after the Texans win in the locker room said that that this feels real. And he told them he wouldn’t lie to them. So who am I to question this? I believe you Kevin!

Vikings 24 Packers 20

Running Wild in the Desert: Commanders @ Cardinals on Fox at 2:05 PM mountain time

This should be a fun one! What’s not to like? You got Quarterbacks that run around. Good skill players making plays. A former head coach returning home as an offensive coordinator of an opposing team and the best part, terrible defenses. The Cardinals are not good against the run defensively and the Commanders aren’t good against air defensively. Everyone has been able to run on the Cardinals and everyone has been able to run and pass against the Commanders. But that hasn’t stopped the Commanders from becoming 2-1. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have suffered a couple of tough losses to the Bills and the Lions with a blow out over what is left of the Rams in between. Are either of these team any good? Probably not. Are both of these teams fun to watch? You betcha. Sure you could watch what is left of the 49ers hosting the boring Patriots or watch the battle of dumpster fires when the Browns play the Raiders. You could even sit through another stressful, close Chiefs victory. That’s what I’ll be doing because I am Chiefs fan and that’s what heroes do. But you better believe I’ll have this game playing on my iPad to see what happens in what should be a score fest with two quarterbacks running around. While I don’t have a ton of confidence in either of these teams actual success, they both also have great fantasy value. I got guys on both teams playing and I am also playing against them as well and sometimes I have a guy in one league and am playing against him in another. I’m talking to you James Conner. This is the life of a guy managing 4 fantasy football teams. Anyway, despite all the fun, someone has to win this thing. The Cardinals are coming off a tough loss and the Commanders could easily have a let down after an emotional win in the Natti. Give me the home team in a fun shootout.

Cardinals 34 Commanders 30

Chiefs extra home game: Chiefs @ Chargers on CBS at 2:25 PM mountain time

The Chiefs head on the road for the second week in a row, the only difference in this week is that its not really a road game because they are playing the Chargers who don’t really have home games. The Chargers are the only team in the league that plays their home games with at least half the crowd cheering for the other team. But hey, they have Jim Harbaugh so they are exciting now. I must say that Jim is a good coach. However, when you see him on TV, am I the only one that thinks he looks 75? He moves around on the field slightly faster than Joe Biden gets off the stage. Did you see the locker room scene after the first win against the Raiders? Their owner came in and was talking and Jim Harbaugh looked like he didn’t know where he was. But to his credit he has turned this team from a drastic under performer to a team that wins when they are supposed to. The bad news is they are also a team that loses when they are supposed to. Especially with Herbert injured. On the other side, the talk has already continued about what is wrong with the Chiefs despite being 3-0. Winning doesn’t seem to matter when it comes to KC. Instead, they must not only win but win all fancy. Well guess what? The Chiefs are just good enough. They are just good enough to beat whoever they need to beat to win the game. The Chargers are not as talented and even if they were it wouldn’t matter because everyone is hurt. Herbert is playing on one leg, they are down at least one tackle and Joey Bosa is out. If this was another great team, this would be a blow out. But this is the Chiefs, so expect a stressful game with some late call that is probably a blatant call but is late in the game against the Chargers so that everyone can cry about the refs rigging the game for the Chiefs. And you know who has two thumbs and doesn’t care how we win as long as we win? This guy!

Chiefs 23 Chargers 20

Battle of QBs who we try to act like are on Mahomes level but aren’t: Bills @ Ravens on NBC at 6:20 pm

The Bills are the September Champs not just winning but winning big. Of course those wins are against the Cardinals, Dolphins and Jaguars. The Ravens are the team everyone wants to be great because Lamar has won two mvps despite not being incredibly good at throwing the football. It’s like being the best running back to ever play quarterback isn’t enough for these people. Lamar is sort of fun to watch and Josh Allen is really fun to watch. The Ravens are good at running the ball and the Bills aren’t great at stopping the run. The Ravens aren’t good at stopping anyone besides the Cowboys for 3 quarters. They are at home so that they feel good about that but Josh is playing lights out and the September Bills are the anti September Bengals. This will be the first real test for the Bills. Meanwhile it has been a stressful season so far for the Ravens. One thing both these teams have in common is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory especially against the Chiefs. But at the end of the day, I think the Bills are the better team with the better quarterback and the less likely team to choke away a game. So give me the Bills with the win.

Bills 27 Ravens 20