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Two of the best quarterbacks in NFL history faceoff
Sunday night in the glamour matchup of week nine of the NFL season. While the Packers – Patriots matchup is the headliner
for this week, the Rams – Saints matchup is also interesting. Here is a quick peek at all the action for
this Sunday and Monday of the NFL.
Buccaneers
@ Panthers: Ryan Fitzpatrick is once
again the Bucs starting QB after Jameis Winston showed too much generosity in
sharing the football with opposing teams’ defenses. The Bucs defense has also been subpar. The Panthers come into the game with a record
of 5-2. Panthers QB, Cam Newton, is having
a nice season thus far. He’s thrown for
13 TDs against only 4 picks. He’s also
has run for another 4 TDs. Pick: Panthers
Steelers
@ Ravens: The
Steelers seem to have righted the ship after a slow start while the Ravens seem
to be going in the opposite direction. James
Connors has filled in admirably for Le’Veon Bell, rushing for 599 yards and 9
TDs. Antonio Brown is also having one
his typical outstanding seasons, though JuJu Smith - Schuster has picked up
more receiving yards on the same number of catches, 46. The Ravens offense is pedestrian at
best. Joe Flacco’s QB rating sits at
84.9 and the Ravens ground game is one of the weakest in the league. Pick:
Steelers
Falcons
@ Redskins: Falcons
QB, Matt Ryan is putting up impressive numbers this season, throwing for 15 TDs
against 4 interceptions. Amazingly, top
Falcons receiver, Julio Jones has none of those TD receptions while rookie WR,
Calvin Ridley, has 6. The Falcons
defense, however, has been problematic.
Alex Smith has reverted to being a game manager, but Adrian Peterson has
apparently found the Fountain of Youth, of at least the Fountain of Middle Age,
heading up a solid Redskins ground game.
I like the Redskins defense better than Atlanta’s so they’re my pick. Pick:
Redskins
Jets
@ Dolphins: The Dolphins
have been stumbling after a 3-0 start but the Jets appear to be the tonic to
get them going again. Jets rookie QB,
Sam Darnold has been okay in his rookie season, but really doesn’t have any threats
to throw to. For the Dolphins, Brock
Osweiler once again the gets the start at QB filling in for an injured Ryan
Tannehill. Osweiler has done surprisingly well in the
three games he’s started. He’s backed up
by a running game spearheaded by the duo of Frank Gore and Kenyan Drake. That should be enough Sunday. Pick:
Dolphins
Lions
@ Vikings: The Lions
traded WR, Golden Tate, which I found surprising. While Matthew Stafford will miss one of his
prime targets, Vikings QB, Kirk Cousins, still has premier target, Adam Thielen,
but Stefon Diggs may miss Sunday’s game due to injury. I still think the Vikings have more firepower
than the Lions. I take the Lions’
trading of Tate as a lack of confidence in this season. The Vikings have been a bit inconsistent this
season, but I like them Sunday. Pick:
Vikings
Chiefs
@ Browns: Patrick
Mahomes and the Chiefs continue to be the most exciting offense in the
NFL. The Browns are improved, but are
overmatched on this one. Look for a high
scoring game, but the Chiefs figure to prevail.
Pick: Chiefs
Bears
@ Bills: The
Bears may have caught the Bills at a particularly good time, Nathan “The Ball
is up for Grabs” Peterman may start since Bills’ third string QB, Derek
Anderson, is in concussion protocol. The
Bears have far more talent on the offensive side of the ball and that should be
enough Sunday if they remain focused.
While Mitch Trubisky is still somewhat inconsistent, he is progressing
as the Bears QB. He has a QB rating of 97.8 while throwing for 15 touchdowns
against 6 interceptions. The Bears have
11 interceptions this season, which is a marked improvement from seasons gone
by. Peterman could add to that
total. Pick: Bears
Chargers
@ Seahawks: The
Seahawks wanted to improve their ground
game this season and have succeeded but it won’t be enough Sunday. The Chargers have an elite offense on par
with most other offenses in the NFL, with the exception of the Chiefs. Philip Rivers will be up against a Seahawks defense
that lacks the big names of years gone by, but is sneaky good. Russell Wilson is having a nice season as the
Seahawks QB, but Rivers has more weapons at his disposal. Pick: Chargers
Texans
@ Broncos: This
is an interesting matchup. After losing
their first three games, the Texans have run off five wins in a row. The Texans receiving corps took a hit when
Will Fuller was lost for the season due to injury but they picked up Broncos
WR, Demaryius Thomas. Broncos QB, Case
Keenum isn’t having a particularly good season, throwing 10 TDs and 10
picks. The Broncos defense has been up
and down. Pick: Texans
Rams
@ Saints: Most
weeks this would be the most interesting matchup, this week it’s a close
second. For the last two weeks I’ve
picked against the Saints and Drew Brees.
Both weeks the Saints have won tough games on the road. This week they face arguably the best team in
the NFL in the Rams. The Rams have a balanced
attack to go with solid defense. While
the Saints offense has been outstanding, their pass defense hasn’t been
particularly good. I could regret this,
but I’m going with the Rams. Pick: Rams
Packers
@ Patriots: And here’s the
main event. Aaron Rodgers may be the
most gifted QB I’ve ever seen. He also
has all the intangibles you could ever want.
Having said that Tom Brady is generally speaking, the consensus pick as
the greatest QB of all time. Possibly because of his partnership with Bill
Belichick. Beyond the quarterback matchup,
key elements in the game figure to be the weakness of the Packers offensive
line and the Patriots pass defense. I’m
not picking Rodgers to lose; I’m picking Brady and Belichick to win. Pick: Patriots
Titans
@ Cowboys: The
Cowboys have had a notable weakness at WR and made a move to shore up that deficiency
by trading for the Raiders Amari Cooper.
I don’t think it will be enough to make a big difference, but this week,
it won’t matter. The Titans have one of
the most anemic offenses in the NFL while the Cowboys defense isn’t bad. Cowboys RB, Ezekiel Elliott, will be the most
dynamic player on the field Monday night.
Pick: Cowboys
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