MIDSEASON MVP RACE

 

        The NFL has just surpassed the midpoint of the 2024 season and though there are a whole lot of highly skillful and talented players leaguewide, there are always going to be a few players that separate themselves from the rest of the pack in the MVP race.  This is where we now find ourselves in the NFL as we close in on week 10 of the season.  In this article I will be advocating for every individual player’s case for why they should be this year’s MVP, but also why they may not end up winning the award.  Where we stand as of now the media has spoken of the obvious choices such as Washington’s rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels, Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and of course last years MVP Lamar Jackson.  I know that this is the top five odds on favorites to win said award, however there is one more person that I think we should strongly take into consideration.  That person would be the only non-quarterback in the MVP race, thus making it the most difficult to come away with the award.        

       

Derrick Henry- 

        I think we can all agree on one thing when it comes to the Baltimore Ravens running back.  I believe we can all agree on the fact that if anyone deserves to be in the MVP discussion among those top tier players and outside of the QB position it should most certainly be this man, Derrick Henry.  What Derrick Henry has been able to do this season is insane.  I have known for a bunch of years now, much like others that he is more than your average running back.  He does have that traditional style of play in terms of being an uphill runner plus he doesn’t really get too involved in passing downs.  That’s perfectly fine with me though, we don’t need to see him do anything else other than continue to be a complete beast of a runner.  Henry will bulldoze his way right through any defender with his 6’3”, 247lb frame.  Its almost as though you are a linebacker waiting for a handoff to the runner to come up the gut and all the sudden you see a mack truck of a man coming at you while running at full speed.  Someone his size should be on the defense playing as an edge rusher or linebacker. 

Now let me talk about statistics for a moment.  “King” Henry has already amassed 1,100 total rushing yards on the season, is averaging over 6 yards, (6.1 ypc) along with leading the NFL in rushing touchdowns (12 tds).  Oh, I forgot to mention the fact that he is also averaging 112.0 yards a game (2^nd to Barkley) plus leads the league in 49 first down runs.  This 30-year-old runner has not lost a step at all from what I can see.  People were slightly concerned if he would fit into the Ravens offensive scheme and to that I laugh.  Come on, was that a legitimate concern?  It’s a 6’3” man running the ball, just hand it to him and watch him work.  Jerry Jones, Owner of the Dallas Cowboys, recently told his local radio station that he doesn’t believe Henry would be having the breakout season that he is, had Jerry signed Henry to the Cowboys in the offseason.  That’s also laughable, come on, I know that their offense is ran differently and the Cowboys offensive line is really bad this season, but do you really need top tier blocking for a man that size?  He basically becomes his own blocker while he’s running 4 men over on each carry.

Derrick Henry is currently on pace to beat not only his own personal best yardage mark (2,027 yds) but also the all-time single season rushing record of 2,105 yards.  However, when you take a closer look at his competition, it is unusual for a player outside of the quarterback position to win this award.  How unusual do you ask? Well, I did some research and noticed that the MVP has mostly been won by QBs over any other position in the history of the sport.  In fact, the last time a non-quarterback won it, you’d have to go back to the 2012 season, though in a surprising twist it was a running back (Adrian Peterson).  Facts are facts, over the last quarter of a century the QB has dominated the MVP award, winning 22 times, while only 4 running backs have come away with it.  The running backs that have won this prestigious honor in that span of time are Marshall Faulk, Shaun Alexander, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Adrian Peterson.  With that being said, the odds are certainly stacked against Henry.  I wouldn’t say it is completely out of the question, but I think if he is going to climb into the top 3 favorites to win, he most definitely will need to beat Eric Dickerson’s rushing record.

 

Jayden Daniels-

        This LSU alumni is the real deal, the things that he has done so far in this, his rookie season, are second to none.  Last year we saw a rookie quarterback do things that you just aren’t used to seeing a rookie be able to do in the Texans QB, C.J. Stroud.  We all told ourselves that this just wouldn’t be able to happen again.  Long behold, we are now back-to-back years of seeing the most amazing rookie quarterback play the NFL has ever seen.  In a way it is to the same tune as what Stroud was able to do last season given the fact that Houston hadn’t made a playoff appearance in a handful of years (2019) prior to C.J being drafted to Houston.  Washington is currently in first place in the NFC east and is seeking their first playoff appearance since the 2020 season, which is the same amount of time (4 seasons) Houston had gone without a postseason game.  Another good comparison would be the fact that Stroud was somewhat overlooked in the 2023 NFL draft in that many believed that Bryce Young would be the better QB coming out of college, which is why he was the first overall pick of that draft class.  Stroud ended up being the second overall pick just like Jayden Daniels was in this past NFL draft.  A lot of people believed the number one pick of the 2024 class Caleb Willams would be the best quarterback coming out.  Caleb has been doing well for the Bears, but what Daniels is doing is simply astounding. 

        Jayden looked very impressive in his LSU days as a Tiger, no doubt about it.  If you asked me if he would be accumulating these groundbreaking rookie records or any records in general, I would’ve probably told you to slow down.  Washington’s rookie quarterback looks to possibly break the all-time completion percentage record for a single season.  He already has a few records under his belt, one of which belonged to Tom Brady prior to week four when Daniels set a record for the highest completion percentage through the first four games of a season with a minimum of 75 pass attempts (82.1%).  You may be thinking wow it only took four games for him to break a record, that is crazy.  Well, it only took the Commanders new QB three games to set a record, when the rookie managed to finish a game with a completion percentage rate of 91.3% (21-for-23).  That’s an NFL single game rookie record.  Another impressive feat for Jayden was becoming the only player in NFL history to pass for at least 1,000 yards while also rushing for a minimum of 250 yards in his first five career games.

        This rookie has certainly out played the “rookie” title and already become an elite passer at the NFL level at only 23 years old.  A lot of this can probably be chalked up to the fact that he did play over 50 career games (53 games) at the collegiate level, something we don’t see as a normality.  The Commanders have completely turned things around with this offense and the trajectory of this team starting with this season.  They seem to be a true playoff contender and may surprise some teams in this upcoming postseason.  Washington is currently ranked 11^th in passing, 3^rd in rushing, and 3^rd in overall offense.  This quarterback also has the Commanders 3^rd in the league in points per game (29.2) with only Detroit and Baltimore being better.  Daniels has thrown for 1,945 yards (13^th), 9 touchdowns (Tied-19^th), while only throwing 2 interceptions.  His accuracy along with completion percentage has been the story thus far and through the first 9 weeks of the season he has posted a completion percentage of 71.5% (3^rd), has a QBR of 75.7 (2^nd), along with a passer rating of 106.7 (5^th).

        Enough has been said to plead the case for this immensely talented rookie should widely be considered in the MVP discussions.  Just place a football in his hands and you’re likely to come away with 10-12 wins, maybe even more.  The poise, smarts, and skills he plays with is second to none as a rookie and he will only continue to grow over the next handful of years.  Washington won the competition of the best team in the NFC East in the long run.  The only thing that I can say to shoot down his possible MVP dreams is that I don’t know if it would be possible for them to reward him with both Rookie of the Year and the MVP awards in the same season.  To my knowledge this has never been done before and for this reason I think he will likely only receive the ROTY title this year.  There are already at least five others that also have quite compelling arguments to be named MVP so having a rookie in there as well would make it a little too crowded in my opinion.

 

Jared Goff-

        Where do I start with Goff?  Ever since the Detroit Lions brought Jared Goff in via the famous trade that swapped him with ex-Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, the Lions have been progressively ascending each year with him at the helm.  Nothing against Stafford, in fact the Rams have only gotten better as well.  The Rams were instantly better off as they won the Super Bowl their first season with Stafford, while the Lions have slowly been gaining steam continuously ever since they got Goff.  Detroit took more of a methodical approach to not only get to the top, but to make sure they can consistently stay atop the division as well as the National Conference by building around Goff using draft picks and carefully scouting.  The Rams on the other hand choose to use trades along with free agency signings to attempt the same.  The Lions offense is one of the most potent in the entire league and is pretty much at the top of every statistical category this season.  If not for Jared Goff I’m not sure that they would be as much of a powerhouse as they have been.

        The Lions signal caller currently has them first in the NFC North division.  This may be the toughest division in football as they must compete with both the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers.  Plus, the Lions are number one in their entire conference and are only one game from the Kansas City Chiefs in being the best team in all of football.  Their 7-1 record is the best that the Detroit Lions franchise has ever seen in their respective history.  The last time the Lions finished a season with two or fewer losses dated back to 1957.

        Detroit is on pace to break a bunch of records this season.  The Lions just beat the Green Bay Packers last week and in doing so they accomplished a feat that hasn’t been done since 1986.  They beat the Packers three straight times in Green Bay which hadn’t happened since 1986-1988.  Jared Goff himself has also done some impressive things this season like when he completed 100% of his passes in a primetime game back in week four against Seattle, completing 18 of 18 passes, threw for 292 yards along with 2 touchdowns and caught a touchdown.  Two weeks ago, the Lions rolled all over a bad Tennessee Titans team and in the process, Goff made NFL history even though he only threw for 85 yards in the contest.  During this game he completed 12 of 15 passes and threw 3 touchdowns without a turnover, this made him the only quarterback to throw at least 2 touchdowns in five consecutive games while completing a minimum of 72% of his passes with a QB rating over 110.0.  Another cool thing for the Lions in this game was that this was only the fourth time in their history that they scored 50 or more points in a regular season game.

        The presence of Goff is shown by how elite this team is and that they are basically unstoppable.  Sure, they have the best one-two punch in the running game, well maybe second best to Lamar and Henry, but in terms of running backs they have the best.  Aside from their running game, Jared’s fingerprints are on everything else they have going for them.  The offense is putting up 369.6 yards a game (7^th), they rank 1^st overall in points per game (32.3), Goff is top ten in touchdown passes (14 tds), 2^nd in passer rating (115.0) and is currently 1^st in completion percentage.  What has been the most impressive part of this team is really the accuracy of Jared Goff.  As I said he is currently leading the NFL in completion percentage at an amazing rate of 74.9% and if he somehow manages to continue this, he will wind up setting an all-time season record for completion percentage.  In NFL history there have only been 21 quarterbacks that ended an NFL season with a 70% or above completion percentage for their average.  I think that the only thing that may hold him back from possibly winning the MVP this year is that he hasn’t really had flashy numbers this season.  Yes, his completion percentage and accuracy are supremely off the charts, but his yardage and touchdown totals may wind up holding him back when compared to say players like Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen.

 

Patrick Mahomes-

        No need to really spend a lot of time on this guy.  He is the only guy that can be proclaimed as a sure-fire hall of famer while still under 30 years old (29).  Kansas City’s offense has seemed to have taken a step back over the past two seasons now, while still managing to win super bowls in the process of dealing with these offensive issues.  I guess when you have the trio of Mahomes, Kelce, with the mind of Andy Reid as your Head Coach that will automatically solve all issues in the long run.  It worked last year so who’s to say it can’t again this year.  Anyhow Mahomes is winning games.  He isn’t exactly top of the charts in numbers this year, but they continue to extend their winning streak without chalking an L in the loss column.

        Chiefs QB may be the best we’ve ever seen play at that position while also possibly the most entertaining in league history.  Many may refer to him as a living legend or G.O.A.T and you cannot take that away from him.  What you can take away from him is top level options to throw to like his old teammate Tyreek Hill, who has obviously moved on to the Miami Dolphins.  You can also take away his top two wideouts going into this season, Marquise Brown who went down to a shoulder injury, and Rashee Rice who was incidentally injured by Mahomes himself in a freak accident in week two.  All of this is my way of showing why he hasn’t necessarily excelled in statistics this season while, yet they are continuing to win games in any way that they can find.

        Mahomes best statistic this season is that he has led his Kansas City Chiefs to a perfect 8-0 record.  He is also ranked 5^th among all quarterbacks in completion percentage boasting 69.9%, that’s pretty dang good if you ask me.  He’s been throwing passes to the likes of a rookie receiver, a couple of unknown tight ends, a running back or two, and Travis Kelce.  The Chiefs did bring in superstar wideout DeAndre Hopkins prior to the trade deadline plus they resigned Juju Smith-Schuster before he got hurt a few weeks ago.  This should undoubtedly help boost Mahomes’ numbers over the second half of the season, thus upping his chances of maybe winning the MVP.  He is currently 6^th in quarter back rating (69.2). 

        What may hold Mahomes back from his chances of an MVP season could be that his numbers don’t look as impressive as Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson’s by the end of the year.  As of now they are mediocre at best with 11 passing touchdowns and 9 interceptions.  Though the Mahomes led Chiefs are currently unbeaten, they also haven’t played any elite teams other than their week one Matchup against the Ravens.  On top of that they really haven’t had any decisive type of wins while winning against the bad and middling teams that they have played this season.  Lastly, in my opinion although Mahomes is a great player it has been proven that their defense has once again been the story of their team for their second consecutive season.

 

Josh Allen-

        One of the most talented QBs that the NFL has ever seen is the Buffalo Bills signal caller.  Josh Allen has God given abilities mixed with a frame that can take the punishment of a linebacker.  He is a great dual threat quarterback that can evade the rush while under pressure in the pocket and when he chooses to take off, he can run people over and at times have even been known to hurdle defenders.  Frankly, it is a bit of a surprise that Allen has yet to win an MVP award. Allen has constantly been one of the best quarterbacks in the league while consistently being brought up in the MVP discussions for each of the last three seasons now.  He hasn’t yet won this prized award partly because his MVP nominations have had him running up against two of the last three MVPs in Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes.  That is an unbelievably difficult task for anyone to achieve against such greatness.

        Josh Allen has enough talent such as many great quarterbacks do to make up for the lack of talent the roster around him may not possess at times.  That was the case for this Buffalo Bills team early this season.  I am not saying that they don’t have talent, but they certainly didn’t have any superstars, all pro elite kind of players coming into this year.  They decided to trade the one player that you could place into that classification of talent last offseason.  In any matter, Allen has got the Bills off to a great start this season leading them to a 7-2 record while they are sitting in first place in the AFC East.  Buffalo made a huge move to help Allen in the pass game by deciding to make a move before the deadline in the form of trading for one of the best receivers in the league by picking up Amari Cooper of the Cleveland Browns.

        Buffalo’s QB may not be a top 5 passer in yards as of right now (10^th) but he has thrown 17 touchdowns at the midpoint of the season which has him tied for 4^th in pass tds.  He has looked much better this year, compared to his last couple seasons and is currently in 6^th in passer rating (105.8) plus Allen has notched a quarterback rating of 73.2 (4^th).  Though their total offensive yardage and passing yardage totals are not that of a top five team they do rank 4^th in points (28.9 ppg).  At the end of the day scoring points should be the number one statistic, right?  The more points you score the more wins your team should accrue.   Though, If I am going to point to any one thing about Josh Allen or his team to advocate his MVP case for this season it would honestly have to be one thing.  The one crucial thing I can speak of for Allen has been the maturity and growth in his decision making.  If you look at any other season he has played, he has always turned the ball over at a high rate.  So far this year he has only thrown 2 interceptions and is tied with Lamar Jackson, and the rookie Jayden Daniels as the only other starting quarterbacks that have played every game this year (Flacco has 2 ints in 5 games).  If the Bills continue to win their games and Josh Allen continues to play at the high level, he’s been playing at I only see maybe Lamar Jackson as his only roadblock to his very first regular season MVP. 

 

Lamar Jackson-

        Lamar Jackson is a very special player, the way he plays football puts people in awe.  He can run faster, and juke better than some running backs can.  Not only does he have a powerful arm to throw deep bombs downfield but is also very accurate.  His accuracy is often underestimated, in fact, a lot of people still underrate Lamar in general.  I don’t understand how you can’t recognize greatness when you see it, but that is neither here nor there, because the man is currently the odds-on favorite to win his 3^rd MVP in the last five years.  Baltimore’s quarterback is also the reigning MVP of last season.  If you are a betting man or woman Jackson shares betting odds with Josh Allen for +300 odds as the favored choice for MVP.

        The Ravens QB Lamar Jackson leads the charge for this incredibly high-powered offensive unit and the only team that has a comparable offense so far this season would be the Detroit Lions.  Baltimore already possessed a big-time threat to the rest of the league in their ability to provide the best rushing offense in the NFL.  Then they went out and sent massive shockwaves leaguewide when they signed the King of the run game, Derrick Henry.  Did anyone think that they wouldn’t be the best rushing offense for the second consecutive season after pulling that off?  If you answered that question with a yes, I guess you must not know much about football.  Baltimore is obviously ranked 1^st in the ground game with an average of 182.6 yards a contest.  Henry alone rushes for 112 yards a game, plus you must factor in Lamar’s 52.8 yards.  Henry is 1^st in the league in rushing yards by about 200 yards more than 2^nd place, while Lamar is also inside the top 20 in rushing (16^th).  The Ravens lead all teams in total yardage as well with 440.2 yards per game.

        You can say what you want about these Baltimore Ravens and their pass defense struggles this season.  However, whatever you do don’t say that this offense along with Lamar aren’t great and don’t forget to mention this man when you’re talking about the MVP race this season or you’ll look quite foolish.  Jackson leads all quarterbacks in passing touchdowns this season with 24 (tied with Burrow), he’s 2^nd in total passing yards (2,669 yds), throws on average 266.9 yards a game (4^th) and has this passing attack somehow in only 2^nd place (257.6 ypg) to the Seattle Seahawks.  In terms of quarterback rating (77.6) and passer rating (123.2) he leads all QBs in both those statistics as well.  His worst statistic would be his completion percentage (69.1%) in which he currently ranks 9^th among all quarterbacks.  I forgot to mention one thing about Lamar, he also leads the league in turnovers, only throwing 2 interceptions (tied with Allen & Daniels) throughout the first half of the season.  (I didn’t count Flacco, Fields, Herbert or Wilson in the interceptions category because none have played every game this season)

        When it comes to the possible reasons that the Ravens QB may not win this year’s MVP, I can only say that maybe the NFL may not want to give the award to the same player for the second straight season.  When taking a deep dive into the NFLs history of MVP winners, I found that only four players have won the honor of back-to-back MVPs.  It was four players, though it happened five times: Jim Brown (57-58), Joe Montana (89-90), Peyton Manning (03-04) & (08-09), and Aaron Rodgers (20-21).  Another trend I found while analyzing the past MVPs is that it has been 12 years since a non-quarterback has won it.  Lastly, something else that may play in the favor of the Raven’s signal caller is the fact that there have only been three players to win the award over the last 6 years now: Lamar, Mahomes, and Rodgers.  They may want to find a reason to force it onto someone else that has had a very good or great season, though Lamar may end the season with the best numbers.   

ON THE BUBBLE; PLAYOFF PUSH POSSIBILITIES

 

IN AN ATTEMPT TO KEEP THINGS FAIR HERE I WILL BE SPEAKING ON THREE TEAMS IN BOTH THE AFC AS WELL AS THE NFC FOR THE TEAMS THAT I BELIEVE STILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF MAKING A PLAYOFF PUSH BY THE SEASON’S END.  FIRST, I WILL LIST FOUR TEAMS THAT WILL NOT BE MENTIONED IN THIS PARTICULAR ARTICLE, HOWEVER, COULD ALSO TURN THINGS AROUND TO GET INTO A FUTURE ON THE BUBBLE ARTICLE IN THE NEXT HANDFUL OF WEEKS AHEAD.

 

CHICAGO BEARS

 MIAMI DOLPHINS

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

DALLAS COWBOYS

 

6) NEW YORK JETS-

        THE NEW YORK JETS ARE MY NUMBER 6 TEAM OF A GROUP OF TEAMS THAT I BELIEVE ARE ON THE BUBBLE OF A POTENTIAL PLAYOFF PUSH.  AS WE ARE APPROACHING WEEK 10 OF THE NFL SEASON, I DO BELIEVE THAT THIS TEAM IS THE LEAST LIKLEY OF MY 6 PICKS.  FOR ONE, THE JETS ALREADY HAVE 6 LOSSES ON THE SEASON, THEY DID JUST BEAT THE HOUSTON TEXANS, AFC SOUTH CURRENT LEADERS.  THE THING IS, THE JETS ALREADY LOST TO BOTH THE DENVER BRONCOS IN HEARTBREAKING FASHION BACK IN WEEK 4.  IN THIS GAME RODGERS AND HIS OFFENSIVE WERE NOT ABLE TO DO ANYTHING AND WERE ESSENTIALLY STALEMATED.  I WILL GIVE THEM THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, SEEING AS TO HOW THEY DID NOT YET TRADE FOR RECEIVER DAVANTE ADAMS.  THE FACT THAT THEY DID LOSE THIS GAME STILL HURTS THEM IN THE RANKINGS, ESPECIALLY IF THEY WIND UP TIED WITH DENVER AFTER WEEK 18 ENDS WITH THE TIE BREAKER GOING TO DENVER BRONCOS.

        ANOTHER MARK THAT COULD ALSO WIND UP HURTING THEM IS THE LOSS TO THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS IN WEEK 7.  AT THE MOMENT THE STEELERS ARE 6-2 AND IN FIRST IN THE AFC NORTH.  IT IS ASSUMED THAT THIS MAY NOT BE SUSTAINABLE AND THAT THEY WILL EVENTUALLY SLIDE DOWN TO THE SECOND PLACE TEAM IN THAT DIDVISION.  IN ANY MATTER THEY DO CURRENTLY HAVE 3 MORE WINS ALONG WITH 4 LESS LOSSES THAN NEW YORK.  IF SOMEWAY SOMEHOW THIS JETS TEAM PULLS A RABBIT OUT OF THEIR HATS AND RUNS THE TABLE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR THIS LOSS COULD STILL BE PERTINENT TO WHETHER OR NOT THEY MAKE IT TO THE POSTSEASON.

        LASTLY, I WILL LEAVE YOU WITH THESE THOUGHTS THAT ARE PRETTY IMPORTANT TO THE JETS SUCCESS GOING FORWARD.  UP NEXT FOR THE JETS IS THE ARIZONA CARDINALS.  RODGERS PROBABALY IS LOOKING PAST THIS KYLER MURRAY LED TEAM, BUT THIS WILD CARD TYPE TEAM COULD POTENTIALLY BE THE DOWNFALL OF THE JETS SEASON.  ARIZONA HAS BEEN ONE OF THE HOTTEST TEAMS IN THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS NOW, WINNING THEIR LAST FOUR OUT OF FIVE GAMES, WHILE PLAYING BETTER DEFENSE AND HOLDING TWO OF THEIR LAST THREE OPPONENTS TO 15 OR LESS POINTS (CHARGERS & BEARS).  FURTHERMORE, THEY STILL HAVE MATCHUPS WITH THE COLTS ON SUNDAY NIGHT IN WEEK 11, THE SEEMINGLY SPIRALLING SEAHAWKS, DIVISIONAL RIVAL DOLPHINS TWICE, THE ASCENDING RAMS, PLUS THE BUFFALO BILLS ONCE AGAIN.  THEY ARE NOT HANGING IT UP YET, BUT ONE THING IS FOR SURE, THEY HAVE THE TOUGHEST CHALLENGE TO MAKE IT BACK ONTO THE PLAYOFF PYRAMID THIS SEASON.

 

5) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS-

        TO BE CLEAR, MUCH LIKE THE NEW YORK JETS POSSIBLE CHANCES OF MAKING A PLAYOFF RUN, I ALSO AM NOT TOO KEEN ON THE COLTS ABILITIES TO BECOME A PLAYOFF TEAM THIS SEASON.  I RANKED THEM AS THE NUMBER 5 TEAM ON MY LIST FOR THE REASON THAT THEY ARE CURRENTLY A 4-5 TEAM THAT IS SITTING IN 8^TH PLACE IN THE AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE WITH ONLY THE DENVER BRONCOS IN THEIR WAY TOWARDS A POTENTIAL PATH TO POST SEASON PLAY.  UPON WRITING THIS DETAILED LIST OF TEAMS THAT ARE ON THE BUBBLE, THE FOOTBALL GODS STRUCK LIGHTENING LAST NIGHT SEVERAL TIMES ON THE COLTS OFFENSE, PARALYZING JOE FLACCO AND COMPANY, CAUSING THEM TO LOOK QUITE INEPT.  IN A GAME THAT CAME A WEEK AFTER THE COLTS FORMER FIRST ROUND PICK FROM THE 2023 NFL DRAFT (QB ANTHONY RICHARDSON) WAS BENCHED FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON IN FAVOR OF, STILL TALENTED, VETERAN QUARTERBACK JOE FLACCO.  LAST NIGHT THE COLT’S OFFENSE WAS BASICALLY DORMANT.  INDY POSSESSED THE BALL FOR OVER 23 MINUTES, WERE PENALIZED 7 TIMES FOR 50 YARDS AND ACCUMULATED A TOTAL OF 227 YARDS ON OFFENSE WHILE SCORING JUST 13 POINTS.

        THE COLTS ARE 3-3 ON THE SEASON IN THE AFC, NOT GREAT.  THEY HOLD A RECORD OF 1-3 IN THEIR OWN DIVISION, ALSO NOT GREAT, CERTAINLY WHEN TWO OF THE WORST TEAMS LEAGUEWIDE ARE IN THE SAME DIVISION AS YOU IN THE JAGUARS AND THE TITANS.  OF THEIR FOUR WINS TO DATE, THE ONLY TWO THAT ARE SLIGHTLY IMPRESSIVE COME AGAINST THE STEELERS IN A CLOSE THREE POINT VICTORY AS WELL AS A FIVE POINT WIN OVER A VERY GOOD DEFFENSIVE CHICAGO BEARS TEAM.  THE GOOD NEWS IS I COULD SEE A WAY THAT THEY POSSIBLY WRAP THE SEASON UP WITH VICTORIES IN 5 WINNABLE MATCHUPS DOWN THE STRETCH.  THEY WILL MORE THAN LIKLEY LOSE TO THE BILLS, LIONS, AND QUITE POSSIBLY THE DENVER BRONCOS WITH THE WAY THEIR DEFENSE PLAYS BALL.  THE WINNABLE GAMES AHEAD COULD BE WHEN THEY PLAY BOTH THE JAGS AND TITANS AGAIN, THE GIANTS, THE PATRIOTS, MAYBE EVEN A WIN AT NEW YORK IN WEEK 11 WHEN THE PLAY THE JETS ON SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL.

        WHO KNOWS HOW THINGS WILL UNRAVEL OVER THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON AND WHO KNOWS IF FLACCO COMPLETELY TURNS THE FORTUNES OF THESE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS AROUND.  EVEN THOUGH THE TEAM HAS DECIDED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH JOE FLACCO AND BENCH THE YOUNG, TALENTED ANTHONY RICHARDSON, I DON’T THINK THAT IT IS 100% OUT OF THE QUESTION TO MAYBE REVISIT THAT MOVE AT SOME POINT LATER THIS SEASON.  FOR NOW, I HAVE THE COLTS HERE IN KIND OF THE GRAY AREA OF A POTENTIAL PLAYOFF TEAM, BUT BOY IS THE ROAD AHEAD A BUMPY ONE FOR COLTS AND HEAD COACH SHANE STEICHEN.  I WISH THE HORSESHOE A WHOLE LOT OF LUCK, BECAUSE WITHOUT ANDREW LUCK IT HASN’T BEEN PRETTY FOR INDY, LEAVING MANY FANS HOPE THAT THEY CAN GARNER SOME TO GET BACK TO MID JANUARY GAMEPLAY.

          

 

4) TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS-

        TAMPA BAY STARTED THE 2024 SEASON ON FIRE. LET ME REMIND YOU THAT THEY NOT ONLY BEAT THE WASHINGTON COMMMANDERS, THOUGH IT DIDN’T SEEM LIKE A BIG WIN AT THE TIME, I MEAN IT WAS WASHINGTON.  HERE’S THE THING, SINCE WEEK ONE’S LOSS TO TAMPA, THE COMMANDERS HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE BEST TEAMS IN THE LEAGUE AND ARE NOW 7-2, SITTING IN SECOND PLACE IN THE NFC WITH ONLY THE LIONS ABOVE THEM IN THE RANKINGS.  WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT POINT.  THE BUCCANEERS ALSO BEAT THE DETROIT LIONS IN WEEK TWO AND IT IS STILL THE ONLY BLEMISH ON THE LIONS RECORD TO DATE.  THEY DID HOWEVER FALL VICTIM TO THE DENVER BRONCOS DEFENSE AND LOST TO ATLANTA TWICE.  IN BETWEEN THOSE LOSSES TO ATLANTA, THEY ALSO BEAT TO THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES.

           TAMPA IS MY NUMBER 4 TEAM ON THIS LIST SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE CURRENTLY 4-4 (PRIOR TO MONDAY NIGHTS MATCHUP WITH KC) AND RIGHT NOW SIT IN 8^TH PLACE IN THE NFC, AHEAD OF THE LOS ANGELES RAMS, CHICAGO BEARS, AND SAN FRAN 49ERS.  THEY ONLY HAVE ONE MORE LOSS THAN THE GREEN BAY PACKERS AND ARE ONLY TWO LOSSES BEHIND THE EAGLES.  THIS BODES WELL FOR THE BUCCS IF IT WERE TO COME DOWN TO A SCENARIO IN WEEK 18 WHERE THEY END UP BEING TIED WITH PHILADELPHIA.  IN WHICH CASE THEY WOULD PROCEED INTO THE PLAYOFF PICTURE, OF COURSE OWNING A TIE BREAKER OVER THE EAGLES.  AT THE SAME TIME IF THEY WERE TO LOSE TO KC TONIGHT IT WILL DROP THEM DOWN TO 11^TH PLACE IN THE CONFERENCE AND THEY WILL HAVE A LOT OF CATCHING UP TO DO TO GET BACK INTO THE THICK OF THINGS.

        HERE’S THE BIGGEST REASON WHY THE FANS OF TAMPA SHOULDN’T JUST THROW AWAY THEIR BUCCANEERS GEAR AND CALL IT QUITS JUST YET.  THEY DO HAVE TO PLAY THE CHIEFS TONIGHT AS WELL AS HOST THE 49ERS NEXT WEEK, (RUNNING BACK CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY EXPECTED TO BE BACK) AFTER THAT IT COULD POSSIBLY BE SMOOTH SAILING FROM THAT POINT ON.  THE REST OF TAMPA’S SCHEDULE SEEMS LIKE ONE OF THE EASIEST IN THE ENTIRE LEAGUE, HAVING TO PLAY THEIR DIVISION RIVAL PANTHERS TWICE, NEW YORK GIANTS, THE ROUGH RAIDERS, NEW ORLEANS, THE CHARGERS, AND THE INCOMPETENT COWBOYS.  NOW DON’T GET ME WRONG THE COWBOYS AND THE CHARGERS COULD BOTH WIND UP BEING TOUGHER ADVERSARIES THAN I ACCREDIT THEM TO BE; I JUST THINK THAT TAMPA (EVEN WITHOUT THEIR TOP TWO WEAPONS) SHOULD BE ABLE TO BEAT BOTH OF THOSE TEAMS.  DALLAS HAS LOOKED WORSE AND WORSE EACH AND EVERY WEEK STILL HAVING A BUNCH OF PLAYERS HURT ON THEIR DEFENSE ALONG WITH AN O-LINE THAT HAS JUST NOT BEEN GOOD.  ON THE OTHER HAND, THE CHARGERS ONLY HAVE THREE LOSSES NOW BUT ARE REALLY JUST BEATING THE TEAMS THAT YOU’D EXPECT THEM TO BEAT AND HAVE’NT REALLY SHOWN THAT THEY’D BE ABLE TO HANDLE ANY OF THE TOP TEAMS AS OF YET.

 

3) SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS-

        SAN FRAN MAY HAVE A PROBLEM, A BIG PROBLEM.  THE KNOWN ABOUT THEM IS THAT THEY HAVE BEEN PLAGUED WITH INJURIES ALL YEAR LONG ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL.  APPARENTLY, THEY WILL BE GETTING SUPERSTAR RUNNING BACK CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY BACK FOR NEXT WEEKS GAME AGAINST THE BUCCANEERS.  I GUESS THAT IS THE GOOD NEWS FOR THIS TEAM, HOWEVER WILL THAT REALLY CHANGE THEIR DESTINIES FOR THE REST OF THIS SEASON?  TO BE DETERMINED.  ONE THING IS FOR SURE, THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE HECK OF AN UPHILL BATTLE FOR THE NINERS.  SAN FRAN HAS ALREADY LOST 2 DIVISION GAMES AT THE HANDS OF BOTH THE RAMS AND CARDINALS.  BOTH OF THESE TEAMS HAVE LOOKED BETTER THAN THE NINERS SO FAR THIS SEASON AND SAN FRAN IS CURRENTLY THIRD IN THE NFC WEST.

        THE NINERS HAVE ALSO LOST 3 GAMES IN THE CONFERENCE ALONG WITH GOING 1-2 IN THEIR DIVISION.  IT COULD BE GETTING WORSE AS THEY FACE SOME TOUGH SLEDDING AHEAD.  THEY HAVE THREE DIVISIONAL GAMES REMANING, ONE WITH EACH OF THEIR RIVALS IN THE NFC WEST.  WHILE ALL THREE OF THOSE GAMES WILL PROVIDE TOUGH CHALLENGES FOR THIS KYLE SHANAHAN COACHED TEAM, THEY ALSO HAVE DIFFICULT TOP TIER OPPONENTS IN BOTH CONFERENCES LEFT TO PLAY.  I ALREADY ALLUDED TO THE FACT THAT THEY WILL PLAY TAMPA BAY NEXT WEEK WHEN THEY GET BACK FROM THEIR BYE WEEK.  OTHER TOUGH MATCHUPS WILL COME WHEN THEY PLAY THE PACKERS, BUFFALO, CHICAGO, DETROIT, AND THE RAMS.  THEY WILL ALSO BE HEADING TO MIAMI IN WEEK 16, THOUGH I DON’T BELIEVE THIS TO BE THEIR TOUGHEST CONTEST, BUT IN THE NFL IT’S A WEEK-BY-WEEK LEAGUE AND ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN ANY GIVEN SUNDAY. 

        SOMETHING THAT SHOULD ALSO BE SAID IS THE FACT THAT THIS 49ERS TEAM HAS HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS AS OF THE LAST SEVERAL SEASONS NOW.  I’M POINTING THAT OUT FOR THE FACT THAT IT IS VERY UNUSAL TO HAVE A TEAM MAKE IT TO THE SUPERBOWL OR CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, GOING UNSCAVED FOR SO MANY YEARS.  EVENTUALLY THE WEAR AND TEAR WILL INEVITABLY CATCH UP TO YOU NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE OR HOW GOOD YOU MAY BE.  THIS HAS ALREADY STARTED TO TAKE A TOLL FOR THE NINERS THROUGHOUT THIS SEASON, AS THEY HAVE HAD A PLETHORTA OF INJURIES.  IT IS NOT OVER UNTIL IT IS OVER BUT KEEPING THAT IN MIND, THIS TEAM HAS NOW MADE IT TO AT LEAST THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FOUR TIMES WITHIN THE PAST FIVE SEASONS, INCLUDING THE LAST THREE CONSECUTIVELY.  WHEN YOU PLAY 21-22 WEEKS OF FOOTBALL THAT MANY TIMES IN THAT SHORT TIMESPAN, AS I SAID ABOVE IT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY CATCH UP WITH YOU SOON ENOUGH.  THIS IS DEFINITELY A RELENTLESS TEAM AND I SEE NO QUIT IN THEM, THOUGH I THINK THAT THESE NINERS WILL RUN OUT OF STEAM WITH THIS GRUELING SLATE OF GAMES THAT THEY STILL HAVE REMANING FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.

 

2) CINCINNATI BENGALS-

        WHO DEY GONNA BEAT THEM BENGALS, WHO DEY?  THUS FAR CINCINNATI HAS BEEN THE ANSWER TO THEIR OWN BIGGEST QUESTION.  SURE, WHEN YOU DISECT THEIR SCHEDULE YOU SEE THEY LOST TO KANSAS CITY, I MEAN IT IS THE CHIEFS.  THIS GAME ALSO HAD A CONTROVERSIAL CALL THAT PRETTY MUCH SOWED UP THE WIN FOR KC.  THAT BEING SAID, THE BENGALS SHOULD’VE WON THIS MATCHUP, IT WAS A ONE-POINT LOSS AND THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR IT.  EVEN WORSE WAS THEIR OPENING GAME WHEN THEY LOST TO THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT HOME.  REALLY? UGHH, IT HAPPENED SO LET’S JUST MOVE ON, HOWEVER IT COULD END UP KEEPING THEM OUT OF THE POSTSEASON.  THAT MATCHUP IS SUPPOSED TO BE AN EASY WIN TO START THE SEASON OFF AND A TALLY IN THE WIN COLOUMN IN AFC CONFERENCE PLAY.

        CINCINNATI HAS STARTED THE SEASON 2-3 IN AFC CONFERENCE GAMES AND STILL HAVE SEVEN MORE REMAINING.  THEY STILL HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO BEAT THE RAVENS IN PRIMETIME THIS UPCOMING THURSDAY NIGHT.  I CAN’T EXPRESS ENOUGH HOW CRUCIAL THIS GAME IS FOR THE BENGALS.  THIS COULD WIND UP BEING THE GAME THAT POSSIBLY CHANGES THEIR SEASON WHETHER FOR GOOD OR BAD, WE WILL SEE IN JUST A FEW DAYS.  AS OF NOW THEY ARE 1-1 IN THE AFC NORTH DIVISION GAMES, BEATING THE BROWNS WHILE JUST BARELY LOSING THEIR FIRST GAME WITH THE RAVENS.  AFTER THEY PLAY THURSDAY NIGHTS AFC NORTH BATTLE THE BENGALS STILL HAVE THREE MORE DIVISION GAMES, TWO WITH THE STEELERS AND ONE MORE AGAINST CLEVELAND.  THEY ALSO HAVE TWO OPPONENTS TO FACE FROM THE AFC WEST.  THE CURRENT 6 & 7 SEEDED TEAMS IN THE PLAYOFF PICTURE, THE LOS ANGELES CHARGERS ON THE ROAD.  PLUS, A HOME GAME THAT COULD ALSO BE A POTENTIAL PATH OR ROADBLOCK TO A PLAYOFF BERTH AGAINST THE DENVER BRONCOS.  S0 IN MY PERSONAL OPINION THEY HAVE 5 TOUGHER GAMES REMAINING WHILE THREE OTHERS IN THE COWBOYS, TITANS, AND BROWNS SHOULD PROVE TO BE EASIER ONES.

        THEIR DESTINY FOR THIS SEASON WILL BE WHAT THEY MAKE OF IT.  THEY HAVE TO GET BETTER ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL, ESPECIALLY DEFENSIVELY.  THE DEFENSE HAS HURT THEM NUMEROUS TIMES THIS YEAR AND HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THREE OUT OF THEIR FIVE LOSSES.  THE OFFENSE HAS CERTAINLY PLAYED BETTER THAN THE DEFENSE, THOUGH IT DID COST THEM ON OPENING WEEKEND, ONLY SCORING 10 POINTS TO A PRETTY BAD NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS TEAM.  I AM ALSO SURPRISED THAT THE BENGALS AND BURROW WERE SOMEHOW HELD TO JUST 17 POINTS IN EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY IN A MONDAY NIGHT MATCHUP WITH THE NEW YORK GIANTS.  NONETHELESS, I HAVE THEM RANKED NUMBER 2 ON MY LIST BECAUSE THEY ARE ONLY TWO SPOTS BACK FROM THE SEVEN SEED AND HAVE ONLY ONE MORE LOSS, PLACING THEM IN DECENT POSITION OF POSSIBLY SQUEAKING INTO THE POSTSEASON.

1)  1) LOS ANGELES RAMS-

AS YOU CAN SEE MY NUMBER ONE RANKED TEAM IS THE LOS ANGELES RAMS.  COMING INTO THIS SEASON I HONESTLY THOUGHT THAT WE COULD POSSIBLY SEE THE RAMS BEING A PLAYOFF TEAM.  THEY STILL HAVE ONE OF THE SMARTEST OFFENSIVE MINDED COACHES IN HEAD COACH SEAN MCVAY, THEY STILL HAVE ONE OF THE BEST QUARTERBACKS IN ALL OF FOOTBALL IN MATTHEW STAFFORD, PLUS THEIR SKILLED POSITIONS CONSIST OF SOME OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE ENTIRE NFL.  THE PLAYMAKERS ON THIS OFFENSE ARE TRULY INCREDIBLE.  FROM SUPERSTAR WIDEOUT COOPER KUPP, TO SECOND YEAR RECEIVER PUKA NACUA, THEY COULD QUITE POSSIBLY POSSESS THE BEST WIDE RECEIVER TANDEM LEAGUEWIDE.  I CAN’T FORGET TO MENTION THE VERSATILE RUNNING BACK, KYREN WILLIAMS.  IT IS NO STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION TO CALL HIM A TOP TEN, MAYBE EVEN TOP FIVE RUNNER IN THE LEAGUE THIS YEAR.  HE CAN PRODUCE AT A HIGH LEVEL AS BOTH A RUSHER AND PASS CATCHER AND RUNS THROUGH DEFENDERS.

THE REASON WHY THEY ARE CURRENTLY ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN IS, FOR ONE, MUCH LIKE THE 49ERS, THEY HAVE ALSO DEALT WITH A TON OF INJURIES.  IN WEEK ONE THEY LOST ONE WIDEOUT, PUKA NUCUA TO A KNEE INJURY.  HE WAS OUT FOR SEVERAL WEEK ON THEIR INJURED RESERVE LIST.  WEEK TWO THEY ENDED UP LOSING THEIR OTHER TOP OPTION IN COOPER KUPP WHO ALSO LANDED ON THE IR LIST.  PLUS, AS IF THAT WASN’T ENOUGH, THEY ALSO HAD THREE OF THEIR OFFENSIVE LINEMEN THAT WENT DOWN DUE TO INJURIES.  WEEK ONE, UPON THEM LOSING NACUA, THEY LOST A VERY CLOSE GAME TO THE DETROIT LIONS IN OVERTIME.  THAT IS HUGE, IT TOOK FIVE QUARTERS FOR THE NFC’S CURRENT NUMBER ONE TEAM TO TAKE DOWN THE RAMS. 

THEIR SECOND GAME WENT COMPLETLEY DIFFERENT, GETTING BLOWNOUT TO THE ARIZONA CARDINALS 41-10.  THE RAMS ARE 3-4 IN THE NFC SO FAR BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THEY ARE 2-1 IN THE NFC WEST.  THE GAMES THAT THEY LOST ARE COMPLETLEY UNDERSTANDABLE.  THEY’VE LOST TO THEIR RIVAL CARDINALS, A TEAM THAT IS FIRST IN THEIR DIVISON, THE CHICAGO BEARS WHO POSSESS A VERY STOUT DEFENSE, AND AN EXTREMELY GOOD GREEN BAY PACKERS TEAM, PLUS AS I FOREMENTIONED, THE DETROIT LIONS.  THE LIONS, IN MY BELIEF ARE THE BEST TEAM IN THE NFL SO FAR THIS SEASON.  NOTHING AGAINST THE CHIEFS, BUT THEY HAVE ONLY PLAYED ONE ELITE TEAM THIS SEASON.

HERE'S THE FUN PART WHERE I RUNDOWN THE REST OF THEIR SCHEDULE AND POINT OUT THAT THE RAMS HAVE ONE OF THE MOST FAVORABLE SCHEDULES GOING FORWARD.  OK, SO THE RAMS PLAY THE WHOLE AFC EAST, WHERE I BELIEVE, THEY MAY ONLY LOSE TO ONE OF THOSE TEAMS (BUFFALO).  THEY ALSO HAVE TO PLAY THREE MORE DIVISIONAL GAMES, ONE AGAINST ALL THREE OF THEIR COMPETITORS.  AT MOST, I THINK THEY COULD POTENTIALLY DROP ONE OR TWO GAMES THERE.  OTHER THAN THAT, THEY ONLY HAVE TWO OTHER GAMES WITH THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (EASY WIN) AND THE OTHER COULD GIVE THEM A CHALLENGE, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THE NFC NORTH SEEMS LIKE THEY COULD PRODUCE THREE PLAYOFF TEAMS THIS SEASON.  THE GAME THAT COULD WIND UP BEING THEIR MOST MEANINGFUL MATCHUP (OUTSIDE OF THEIR DIVISION GAMES) IS WHEN THEY HOST THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES ON SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL IN WEEK 12.  YES, THEY WILL STILL HAVE THEIR THREE NFC WEST RIVALARY GAMES AFTER THAT, BUT THEY CANNOT OVERLOOK WHAT A WIN OR LOSS IN THAT GAME COULD MEAN TO THEIR POSTSEASON HOPES COME SEASONS END.  I HONESTLY LIKE THE RAMS ODDS OF RUNNING THE TABLE AND MAKING A VERY STRONG PUSH FOR THE 7^TH SEED.  WHETHER THAT MEANS THEY WIND UP PUSHING THE VIKINGS, PACKERS, OR EAGLES, OUT OF THE PLAYOFF PICTURE, REMAINS TO BE SEEN BUT I LIKE THEIR CHANCES.   

HOTTEST TEAMS MIDWAY THROUGH THE NFL SEASON; PART II

 

                                                        PART II

           

5) BUFFALO BILLS-

            ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER SEASON FILLED WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR QUARTERBACK JOSH ALLEN AND THE BUFFALO BILLS.  AT THIS POINT THERE IS TWO THINGS WE ARE USED TO HEARING WHEN IT COMES TO THE BILLS.  JOSH ALLEN IS A TOP 3-4 QB IN THIS LEAGUE UP THERE WITH THE LIKES OF MAHOMES, JACKSON, AND JOE BURROW.  THE OTHER IS CAN THE BILLS FINALLY TAKE DOWN MAHOMES AND THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS.  THE LATTER HAS OBVIOUSLY YET TO BE DETERMINED AND THE FORMER, AS WE HAVE SEEN SO FAR THROUGHOUT THIS SEASON IS STILL VERY TRUE.  THE BILLS HAVE LOOKED VERY STRONG THIS SEASON FOR THE MOST PART, BEATING UP ON TEAMS THAT WE EXPECT THEM TO, SUCH AS THE JAGS, TITANS, AND SEAHAWKS.  THEY PUT 47 UP AGAINST THE JAGS, 34 ON THE TITANS, AND SCORED 31 ON SEATTLE.  NO DOUBT THE OFFENSE HAS LOOKED GOOD AT TIMES, BUT THEY ALSO WEREN’T DOING IT ON A CONSISTENT BASIS. 

            AFTER BUFFALO PARTED WAYS WITH THEIR EX-ALLSTAR WIDE RECEIVER STEFON DIGGS, ELECTING TO SHIP HIM OFF TO HOUSTON IN THE OFFSEASON WAS A MOVE THAT NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD.  I GUESS THE THOUGHT WAS THAT MAYBE THEY WERE READY TO FULLY UNLEASH RUNNINGBACK JAMES COOK ALONG WITH POSSIBLY RUNNING A LOT OF TWO TIGHTEND SETS (DALTON KINCAID & DAWSON KNOX).  THEY DID BRING IN SOME BODIES AT THE WR POSITION WITH NFL EXPERIENCE, SIGNING CURTIS SAMUEL, MACK HOLLINS, AND MARQUEZ VALDES-SCANTLING.  ON TOP OF THAT THEY ALREADY HAD KHALIL SHAKIR (STANDOUT FROM BOISE STATE), PLUS THEY ALSO DRAFTED WIDEOUT KEON COLEMAN (FLORIDA STATE) IN THE SECOND ROUND OF THIS PAST NFL DRAFT.  I THINK THEY FELT REALLY GOOD ABOUT WHAT THEY HAD, BUT REALLY, SHAKIR PROVED TO BE THE ONLY ONE GETTING INVOLVED ENOUGH TO HELP ALLEN AND YOU COULD TELL JOSH WAS GOING TO GO BACK TO WHAT HE LIKES TO DO BEST, PLAYING HERO BALL. 

            BUFFALO’S OFFENSE HAS 336.5 YARDS PER GAME SO FAR RANKING OUTSIDE OF THE TOP TEN (13^TH).  THEY ARE SCORING 28.8 POINTS A GAME (5^TH) AND ARE IN SECOND PLACE IN THE TURNOVER MARGIN (+1.4 PER GAME) WHICH BODES WELL FOR ANY TEAM THAT IS TRYING TO FIND TRACTION WHILE ALSO TRYING TO STAY IN THE MIX WITH THE STILL UNDEFEATED KANSAS CITY TEAM FOR THE TOP SPOT IN THE AFC.  JOSH ALLEN IS SOMEHOW JUST BARELY OUTSIDE OF THE TOP TEN IN PASSING YARDS (11^TH) WITH 1,766 YARDS, EVEN WITH THE STRUGGLES THEY HAVE SHOWN FROM THEIR RECEIVERS EARLY ON THIS SEASON.  THEIR RUNNINGBACK JAMES COOK IS NOT IN THE TOP 20 IN RUSHING YARDS, THOUGH HE IS TIED FOR 3^RD PLACE IN RUSHING SCORES WITH 7 TOUCHDOWNS.  ALLEN ALSO HAS A BIG PART IN THEIR OFFENSES RUSHING SUCCESS AS THE BILLS RANK 12^TH IN RUSHING YARDS PER GAME (122.3 YPG).

            ONE THING YOU CAN SAY ABOUT THEM FROM A DEFENSIVE PERSPECTIVE, THAT IS VERY HELPFUL FOR BUFFALO IS THAT THEY ARE FINDING WAYS TO GET THE BALL BACK ON DEFENSE, RANKING 5^TH IN TAKEAWAYS WITH 14.  THEIR ALSO ONLY LETTING UP 18.3 POINTS PER GAME TO TEAMS (6^TH) AND THEY ARE GETTING TO THE OTHER TEAMS QB ENOUGH TO CAUSE SAID TURNOVERS.  BILLS ARE TIED FOR 12^TH WITH 20 SACKS SO FAR.  IF THEY WANT TO SUCCEED, THEY NEED TO CONTINUE WITH THEIR PASS RUSH AND TURNOVER SUCCESS WHILE THEY CONTINUE TO GET HEALTHY ON THAT SIDE OF THE BALL.  IT ALSO HELPS THAT THEY MADE A MOVE IN TRADING FOR A RELIABLE TRUE NUMBER ONE WIDEOUT IN AMARI COOPER THAT CAN HELP KEEP THEM MOVING THE CHAINS AND KEEP THEIR DEFENSE OFF THE FIELD AND FRESH.

            EARLY INDICATIONS SEEM TO SHOW THAT EVEN WITH ALL THE OFFSEASON HYPE OF A DIVISIONAL RIVAL THAT MAYBE THIS IS STILL BUFFALO’S DIVISION AS THEY ARE THE ONLY TEAM OVER .500 IN THE AFC EAST AS OF RIGHT NOW.  THEY DID HOWEVER ALMOST SLIP UP AND LOSE TO THE CARDINALS IN WEEK ONE, ALONG WITH ALMOST LETTING A WIN SLIP AWAY TO THE JETS IN WEEK SIX.  THEY ALSO BLEW OUT THE MIAMI DOLPHINS (31-10) AMONG A LOT OF CONTROVERSY ON A PRIMETIME THURSDAY NIGHT GAME WHEN THE WORLD WITNESSED YET ANOTHER CONCUSSION TO DOLPHINS QB TUA TAGOVAILOA.  TUA HAS SINCE RETURNED AND WE’D EXPECT THAT THEY WILL BE GIVING THE BUFFALO BILLS THEIR ALL THIS UPCOMING SUNDAY AFTERNOON. 

            BUFFALO IS GETTING READY TO FACE THEIR HARDEST STRETCH OF GAMES THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS STARTING WITH A HEALTHY MIAMI TEAM, THEN THEY HEAD DOWN TO INDY TO PLAY JOE FLACCO AND THE COLTS WHO STILL LOOKS LIKE A PRO BOWL CALAIBER QB.  THEN WE WILL SEE A MUCH ANTICAPATED REMATCH IN A RIVALRY TYPE GAME BETWEEN MAHOMES AND ALLEN BEFORE THE NINERS COME TO TOWN.  BUFFALO STILL HAS TO PLAY THE RAMS, LIONS, THEN THREE STRAIGHT DIVISION GAMES AGAINST THE PATRIOTS TWICE AND ONE MORE GAME AGAINST RODGERS AND THE JETS.  IM NOT SO SURE THAT BUFFALO WILL BE CONSIDERED THE TEAM TO BEAT IN THE AFC, BUT HEY, YOU NEVER KNOW.  THEY DID GET DEMOLISHED AT THE HANDS OF THE RAVENS, SO I BELIEVE IT MAY WIND UP COMING DOWN TO ANOTHER LAMAR VS MAHOMES AFC CHAMPIONSHIP.  SO, IF THE BILLS WANT TO STOP THAT KIND OF TALK, THEY HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS IN WEEK 10 WHEN BIG RED AND THE CHIEFS COME TO TOWN.

 

4) WASHINGTON COMMANDERS-

            WAIT, REALLY?  THE COMMANDERS?  YES, I SAID IT, IT IS NOT A TYPO.  THE WASHINGTON COMMANDERS LOOK LIKE A TOP TIER TEAM.  I KNOW THAT SOUNDS A LITTLE STRANGE GIVEN ALL THEIR RECENT HISTORY OF FAILURES WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION.  THEY HAVE HAD BAD COACHING, A TERRIBLE OWNER, AND SO MANY DISAPOINTING SEASONS ALONG WITH DRAFT BUSTS AND A GUY THAT ENDED UP HAVING HIS CAREER END DUE TO MANY INJURIES (QB RGIII).  THAT ALL SEEMS TO BE BEHIND THEM AT THIS POINT.  WE DO HAVE ANOTHER TEN WEEKS REMAINING SO MAYBE WE JUST FORGET THIS WAS EVER WRITTEN IF IT ALL BLOWS UP IN SMOKE. 

WASHINGTON HAS A ROOKIE QB THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN SLOWLY ERASING LAST YEARS HISTORIC ROOKIE PERFOMANCE BY TEXANS QUARTERBACK C.J. STROUD, AMASING AN ALL-TIME HIGH COMPLETION PERCENTAGE IN THE FIRST FOUR GAMES OF AN NFL CAREER (82.1%).  FURTHERMORE, DANIELS ALSO BROKE AN ALL-TIME COMPLETION RECORD FOR A ROOKIE QB IN A GAME, COMPLETING 91.3% OF HIS PASSES (21-FOR-23).  THIS KID IS CERTIANLY SOMETHING SPECIAL AND THE REST OF THE LEAGUE SHOULD NOT TAKE HIM LIGHTLY, ESPECIALLY THE REST OF THE NFC EAST.  WHAT MAKES HIM EVEN TOUGHER FOR OPPOSING TEAMS IF HIS ABILITY TO RUN IF NEEDED, HIS VERSATILITY IS GOING TO HAVE ANY DEFENSE ON ITS HEELS AND HELP THE COMMANDERS ASSERT THEMSELVES RIGHT IN THE THICK OF THINGS FOR A PLAYOFF OPPORTUNITY AS SOON AS THIS SEASON.  DAINELS IN CURRENTLY IN 2^ND IN COMPLETION % TO ONLY JARED GOFF OF THE DETROIT LIONS (71.8%).  HE IS ALSO RIGHT BEHIND JOSH ALLEN IN PASSING YARDS, THROWING FOR 1,736 (12^TH).  WASHINGTON HAS GATHERED SOME SAVY VETS TO HELP OUT THEIR ROOKIE BY ADDING NAMES LIKE TIGHTEND ZACH ERTZ, RUNNINGBACK AUSTIN EKELER, AND BRINGING BACK IN JAMESON CROWDER (CURRENTLY ON IR).  ON TOP OF ALL THAT TALENT THEY ALREADY HAD A TOP OPTION ON THE OUTISDE IN TERRY MCLAURIN (SCARY TERRY) WHO CAN FINALLY SHOWCASE JUST HOW “SCARY” HE CAN BECOME WITH A TRUE FRANCHISE QUARTERBACK THROWING HIM PASSES.  MCLAURIN RANKS 4^TH IN THE LEAGUE WITH 579 RECEIVING YARDS, TIED FOR 12^TH WITH 4 TDS, ALONG WITH 72.4 YARDS A GAME (9^TH).

            ENOUGH CAN’T BE SAID ABOUT HOW GOOD THIS OFFENSE HAS REALLY BEEN THIS SEASON.  WASHINGTON RANKS 3^RD IN THE LEAGUE WITH 412.4 YARDS PER GAME, 3^RD IN RUSH YARDS PER GAME (165.8), PLUS THE PASSING ATTACK IS GOOD ENOUGH TO BE A TOP TEN UNIT AS THEY ARE IN 9^TH IN PASSING YARDS WITH A ROOKIE UNDER CENTER (230.5 YPG).  I THINK THAT IT SHOULDN’T GO UNNOTICED THAT THIS IS NOT ONLY COMMANDERS HEAD COACH DAN QUINN’S FIRST YEAR THERE, BUT ALSO THAT ITS KLIFF KINGSBURY’S FIRST YEAR BACK IN THE NFL AFTER THE ARIZONA CARDINALS PARTED WAYS WITH HIM WHEN HE WAS LET GO AT THE END OF THE 2022 SEASON.  HALFWAY THROUGH THIS YEAR THEY ARE COMMANDING EVERYONES ATTENTION AND LOOK MORE THAN CAPABLE OF BEING A PLAYOFF CONTENDER.  DAN QUINN AND HIS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR DO NEED TO FIGURE OUT THEIR ISSUES ON THAT SIDE OF THE BALL TO CATCH UP TO THE OFFENSE.  THEY ARE RANKED 11^TH IN TAKEAWAYS AND HAVE 21 SACKS, RANKING 7^TH IN THAT CATEGORY, THOUGH THEY NEED TO DO A MUCH BETTER JOB AGAINST BOTH THE RUN AND PASS TO LIMIT THE YARDAGE THEY’VE BEEN ALLOWING THIS SEASON.  LASTLY IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT THE COMMANDERS ARE ONLY CONCEDING ROUGHLY 21 POINTS A CONTEST, THAT PLACING THEM IN 10^TH LEAGUEWIDE (20.9 PPG).

THE COMMANDERS ARE SITTING PRETTY IN 2^ND PLACE IN THE NFC WITH A 6-2 RECORD AND HAVE ALREADY BEATEN TEAMS SUCH AS THE BENGALS, CARDINALS, AND THE BEARS.  THEY PLAYED A STRONG 60 MINUTES AGAINST THE RAVENS THOUGH ENDED UP LOSING BY A TOUCHDOWN AND ALSO LOST ON OPENING WEEKEND WHEN THEIR ROOKIE WAS TESTED AGAINST A TALENTED TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS TEAM.  THEY HAVE THREE DIVISION GAMES IN STORE FOR THEM OUT OF THEIR NEXT FOUR CONTESTS.  THEY ALSO HAVE THE STEELERS AND THE FALCONS WHICH ARE BOTH CURRENT POSSIBLE PLAYOFF TEAMS FOR THIS SEASON.  THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FOR WASHINGTON IS MORE THAN LIKLEY THEIR KEY DIVISION MATCHUPS AS THEY STILL PLAY DALLAS AND PHILLY TWICE.

3) BALTIMORE RAVENS-

            I HONESTLY WANTED TO PLACE THE CHIEFS HERE, I REALLT DID.  THE FACT REMAINS THE CHIEFS BEAT THE RAVENS TWICE NOW IN THE PAST EIGHT MONTHS AND I HAVE TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.  THE RAVENS FOUGHT TOOTH AND NAIL AND SHOULD’VE ACTUALLY BEAT KANSAS CITY IN WEEK ONE, BUT THEIR TIGHTEND LIKLEY’S FOOT WAS ON THE WHITE LINE, THUS HE WAS OUT OF BOUNDS AND THEY DID NOT SCORE THE GAME WINNING TOUCHDOWN.  I AM BY NO MEANS A BALTIMORE RAVENS FAN, STILL, THAT GAME HAUNTED ME.  I AM NOW GOING ON ALMOST 5,500 WORDS AND THIS ARTICLE IS HONESTLY BECOMING MORE OF A NOVEL THAN A READABLE PIECE, SO I WILL BE EXTRMELY GREATFUL FOR ANYONE THAT TAKES THE 3.5 HOURS IT WILL TAKE TO READ IT.  WITH THAT BEING SAID I WILL DO MY BEST TO KEEP THESE LAST THREE TEAMS SHORTER THAN THE OTHERS.

            THE RAVENSE ARE OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THE TOP ELITE NFL TEAMS AND IM SURE FANS OF BALTIMORE OR NOT WE CAN ALL PRETTY MUCH AGREE ON THAT.  LAMAR IS ALREADY A TWO-TIME MVP AND HIS NUMBERS THIS YEAR ARE PROBABLY GOING TO DEFLATE THOSE OTHER TWO MVP SEASONS AS HE HAS ALREADY AMASSED OVER 2,000 YARDS AND ON PACE FOR ROUGHLY 4,200 YARDS BY THE END OF THE YEAR.  LAMAR ALSO HAS THROWN FOR 17 TDS AND LIMITED HIS TURNOVERS TO ONLY 2 INTERCEPTIONS.  WHAT HE HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO SO FAR THIS SEASON IS COMPLETELY INSANE.  ON TOP OF LAST YEARS SUCCESS IN THE REGULAR SEASON AND PACING THE ENITRE LEAGUE IN RUSHING YARDS, THEY WENT OUT AND MADE SURE NOT A SINGLE TEAM WOULD OUT RUSH THEM BY ADDING DERRICK “KING” HENRY.  IV’E SAID IT BEFORE AND I’LL SAY IT AGAIN, THIS MOVE SHOULD BE AN ILLEGAL OR PENALIZED MOVE BY THE NFL WHEN YOU ALREADY HAVE A GUY LIKE LAMAR JACKSON ON YOUR TEAM.  NONETHELESS THE RAVENS ARE AVERAGING 200 YDS A GAME ON THE GROUND THIS SEASON, WHICH IS ALMOST 40 YARDS PER GAME MORE THAN THE NUMBER TWO TEAM IN THAT CATEGORY.  WHAT THEY ARE ABLE TO DO IS COMPLETELY ABSURD, BUT KUDOS TO THEM FOR SIGNING THE KING OF GROUNDWORK.  HENRY IS ON PACE TO POSSIBLY BEAT THE ALL-TIME SINGLE SEASON RUSHING RECORD AND WILL MORE THAN LIKLEY BEAT HIS OWN.  HE HAS 946 RUSHING YARDS THUS FAR AND AVERAGES A LEAGUES BEST 118.3 YPG, ALONG WITH 6.5 YPC, AND ALSO LEADS ALL RUSHERS WITH 9 TDS.

            THEIR OFFENSIVE SCHEME HAS THEM IN FIRST IN THE LEAGUE WITH TOTAL YARDS PUTTING UP A WHOPPING 452.1 YPG. IN ADDITION TO THAT BALTIMORE IS ALSO AVERAGING THE 2^ND MOST POINTS PER GAME (30.3).  THEY HAVE AN OFFENSIVE THAT WILL SMACK YOU AROUND CONSISTANTLY WITH NO REMORSE THAT’S THE RALITY.  THEIR DEFENSE IS WHERE YOU CAN GET TO THEM.  YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RUN ON THEM AS THEY HOLD TEAMS TO A LEAGUE BEST 69.9 YARDS A GAME, BUT YOU CAN CERTIANLY THROW ON THEM WITH THEM GIVING UP AN UNPRECIDENTED 291.4 YPG (32^ND).  IT IS PRETTY CRAZY, TO HAVE THE NUMBER ONE RUN DEFENSE AND BE DEAD LAST IN PASS DEFENSE.  RAVENS ALSO HAVE NO PROBLEMS ANNOYING OTHER TEAMS

 QBS AS THEY ARE CURRENTLY IN 4^TH PLACE IN THE LEAGUE IN SACKS (24).  NEEDLESS TO BE SAID THE RAVENS ARE ONE OF THE FAVORITE TEAMS TO MAKE IT BACK TO THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP AND POSSIBLY EARN A SUPER BOWL BERTH FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A HANDFUL OF YEARS.  BALTIMORE IS IN 6^TH PLACE IN THE AFC HEADING INTO WEEK 9 WITH THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS A GAME IN FRONT OF THEM, BUT I DON’T SEE THE STEELERS WINNING THE AFC NORTH.  I THINK I WILL JUMP ABOARD THAT TRAIN WITH THIS OFFENSIVE MACHINE LED BY THEIR MACK TRUCK OF A RUNNER IN DERRICK HENRY.

 

2) KANSAS CITY CHIEFS-

            I KNOW THIS IS THE ONLY UNDFEATED TEAM REMAINING THIS SEASON WITH A PERFECT 7-0 RECORD.  HOWEVER, I DON’T SEE THEM THREE PEATING.  LET’S LOOK AT A FEW REASONS WHY THIS IS MY BELIEF.  ONE REASON IS BECAUSE THEIR STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, YES KANSAS CITY BEAT THE BALTIMORE RAVENS IN WEEK ONE, ALTHOUGH THAT GAME CAME DOWN TO THE LAST PLAY AS TIME RAN OUT AND IT VERY WELL COULD’VE WENT TO OVERTIME AND ENDED DIFFERENTLY.  THE FACT REMAINS THEY DID WIN THAT GAME, WHICH IS ULTIMATLEY THE REASON WHY I HAVE THEM RANKED NUMBER TWO IN THIS ARTICLE.  THEN KC’S NEXT TOUGH MATCHUP CAME THE FOLLOWING WEEK WHEN THE CHIEFS BEAT THE CINCINNATI BENGALS IN A HOME GAME WHERE KC WON BY ONE POINT IN A GAME THAT HAD A CONTROVERSIAL CALL GO THE CHIEF’S WAY.  AGAIN, THE IMPORTANT THING IS THE FINAL RESULT OF THE GAME AND WE MUST GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE. ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE HAS BEEN ALL THIS TALK OF JOE BURROW BEING THE BETTER QUARTERBACK BECAUSE OF HIS PAST SUCCESS AGAINST PATRICK MAHOMES.   

            THIS SEASON THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS HAVE LOOKED PEDESTRAIN AT TIMES ON OFFENSE, BUT THEY DO RANK JUST OUTSIDE OF THE TOP TEN IN YARDS, COMING IN AT 11^TH (348 YPG).  THEY ARE RANKED 13^TH IN RUSHING (122.1 YPG), 12^TH IN PASSING (225.9 YPG), AND ARE 9^TH IN POINTS (24.7 PPG).  ALTHOUGH, ALL THINGS BEING CONSIDERED, SUCH AS THE FACT THAT KC DID LOSE BOTH THEIR TOP WIDEOUTS IN RASHEE RICE AND THE RECENTLY ADDED MARQUISE “HOLLYWOOD” BROWN TO INJURIES, I THINK THERE IS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THEM STILL BEING RANKED IN THE TOP 15 PASSING ATTACKS IN THE LEAGUE.  THOSE PLAYERS NOT BEING AVAILABLE TO MAHOMES IS A HUGE REASON WHY THEY HAVE LOOKED LIKE A SUBPAR OFFENSE MOST OF THIS SEASON, PLUS THEY DID ALSO LOSE THEIR TOP RUNNINGBACK IN ISIAH PACHECO.  THE GOOD NEWS FOR ANDY REID’S TEAM IS THAT THEY FINALLY SEEM TO HAVE GOTTEN TIGHTEND TRAVIS KELCE GOING, THEY SIGNED RUNNINGBACK KAREEM HUNT, AND THEY BROUGHT IN VERTERAN ALL PRO WIDE RECEIVER DEANDRE HOPKINS VIA A TRADE WITH THE TENNESSEE TITANS THAT HAD THEM SEND A CONDITIONAL 2025 5^TH ROUND PICK.   

THE CHIEFS HAVE BEEN MUCH BETTER ON DEFENSE THAN OFFENSE SO FAR THIS YEAR.  I’M SURE THAT IS NOT A HOT TAKE GIVEN THE FACT THAT PEOPLE HAVE EYES AND HAVE SEEN THAT THE CHIEFS HAVE ONLY REALLY PLAYED THREE TEAMS THAT HAVE BEEN PLAYOFF CALIBER TYPE TEAMS SO FAR THIS SEASON AND IN REALITY, TWO OF THOSE TEAMS HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN FAR FROM THEMSELVES THIS SEASON.  SURE, THE BENGALS PLAYED KC IN WEEK TWO BUT THEY ARE CURRENTLY A 3-5 TEAM THAT IS SITTING IN 9^TH PLACE IN THE AFC.  THE OTHER TEAM IS THE SAN FRANSCICO FORTY-NINERS AND THEY HAVE BEEN DISMANTLED BY INJURIES WHICH HAS RESULTED IN THEM SITTING AT 4-4 RIGHT NOW.  ALL’S I’M SAYING IS THAT I FIRMLY BELIEVE THE CHIEFS HAVE HAD QUITE POSSIBLY, ONE OF THE EASIEST SCHEDULES IN THE NFL, IF NOT THE EASIEST SO FAR THIS YEAR AND I DON’T THINK IT IS ALL THAT SURPRISING SEEING THEM UNDEFEATED THROUGH THE FIRST 8 WEEKS OF THIS SEASON.

LET’S GET TO THE DEFENSIVE NUMBERS FOR KANSAS CITY.  LIKE LAST YEAR, CHIEFS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR, STEVE SPAGNUOLO HAS THIS DEFENSE PLAYING THEIR BUTTS OFF AND CURRENTLY HAS THEM RANKED 5^TH IN THE LEAGUE IN OVERALL YARDS ALLOWED TO OPPONENTS (295 YPG).  THE CHIEFS ARE ALSO HOLDING TEAMS TO UNDER 18 POINTS (17.6 PPG) A CONTEST AND RANK 5^TH IN THAT CATEGORY AS WELL.  I THINK THE MOST IMPRESSIVE DEFENSIVE STATISTIC SO FAR FOR THIS CHIEFS TEAM IS WHAT THEY’VE BEEN ABLE TO DO ON THE GROUND, CEDING THE SECOND LEAST RUSHING YARDS PER GAME TO ADVERSARIES, ALLOWING JUST 82.3 YPG (2^ND).  AGAIN, THEY HAVE NOT PLAYED THE TOP ELITE TEAMS JUST YET (OUTSIDE OF BALTIMORE RAVENS), BUT THEY WILL HAVE A FEW CHALLENGES TO FACE IN THE UPCOMING WEEKS AHEAD STARTING WITH BAKER MAYFIELD AND THE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS THIS UPCOMING MONDAY NIGHT.  TAMPA BAY WILL BE WITHOUT THEIR TOP TWO WIDEOUTS, THOUGH BAKER HAS BEEN HAVING AN INCREDIBLE SEASON TO THIS POINT AND I EXPECT HIM (EVEN WITH BACK UP RECEIVERS) TO BE A HANDFUL FOR THE CHIEFS DEFENSE.  THE FOLLOWING WEEK THE CHIEFS WILL MEET THEIR DIVISIONAL FOES, WHO HAVE BEEN PLAYING DEFENSE PRETTY MUCH BETTER THAN ANY OTHER TEAM THIS YEAR, THE DENVER BRONCOS.  IN YEARS’ PRIOR (SINCE PEYTON MANNING ERA) THIS WOULD BE AN EASY FEAT THAT KC COULD PROBABLY WRITE OFF AS AN AUTOMATIC WIN, HOWEVER, SEAN PAYTON AND COMPANY HAVE BEEN LOOKING BETTER AND BETTER EVERY SINGLE WEEK ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL.  THE BRONCOS WILL BE READY TO PLAY PLUS MANY MAY’VE FORGOTTEN THAT DENVER HAD ACTUALLY BEAT THE CHIEFS IN ONE OF THEIR TWO MEETINGS LAST SEASON. 

AFTER THAT THEIR SCHEDULE DOES NOT GET EASIER AS THEY WILL PLAY THEIR RECENT RIVALS IN THE BUFFALO BILLS IN BUFFALO.  I WOULD’NT TAKE THAT GAME LIGHTLY EITHER, NOT THAT THEY WILL, WE ALL KNOW HOW GREAT QB JOSH ALLEN IS, BUT NOW THEY POSE A TRUE DOWNFILED THREAT ON THE OUTSIDE AFTER TRADING FOR WR AMARI COOPER.  FROM THAT PONT ON THE CHIEFS WILL HAVE THREE MORE DIVISION GAMES, ONE AGAINST EACH RIVAL, RAIDERS, CHARGERS, (BACK-TO-BACK HOME GAMES) THEN THE BRONCOS AGAIN THE LAST GAME OF THE YEAR.  THEY WILL ALSO PLAY THE TEXANS AND STEELERS WHICH COULD PROVE TO BE TOUGH GAMES FOR KC.  ALL-IN-ALL I DO THINK THAT BOTH THE BRONCOS AND CHARGERS ARE STARTING TO SHOW SOME FIGHT IN THE AFC WEST AND ARE TREDNING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION TO GAIN SOME MOMENTUM, HOWEVER THIS IS STILL OBVIOUSLY THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS DIVISION FOR NOW.  THE CHIEFS WILL MORE THAN LIKELY END THE SEASON ON TOP OF THE WEST WITH A RECORD OF AROUND 15-2 AT BEST OR 13-4 AT WORST.

 

1)       1)  DETROIT LIONS

LADIES & GENTS, I WOULD FIRST LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU AND I GREATLY APPRECIATE EACH AND EVRYONE OF YOU THAT ACTUALLY MADE IT THIS FAR READING THIS INCREDIBLY LONG ARTICLE, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME.  THAT BEING SAID LET’S GET BACK INTO THE NUMBER ONE TEAM ON MY LIST, THE DETROIT LIONS.  DETROIT HAS LOOKED NOTHING SHORT OF THE BEST OVERALL TEAM IN THE LEAGUE THIS SEASON AND IF THEY END THE SEASON THE WAY THEY HAVE PLAYED UP TO THIS POINT IT WILL NOT BE SURPRISING AT ALL TO WATCH THEM HOIST THEIR VERY FIRST LOMBARDI TROPHY IN THEIR FRANCHISE’S HISTORY.  THE LIONS WERE FOUNDED BACK IN 1930, NOT ONLY HAVE THEY NEVER WON THE SUPER BOWL IN THEIR NINETY-FOUR YEAR EXISTENCE, BUT THEY’VE ALSO NEVER EVEN PLAYED IN ONE.  THAT’S SAYING A LOT FOR A TEAM THAT IS NORTORIOUS FOR HAVING ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS THE LEAGUES’ HISTORY HAD EVER SEEN (BARRY SANDERS).  THE LIONS HAVE AN OVERALL RECORD OF 591-707-34 PRIOR TO THE START OF THE 2024 REGULAR SEASON AND ALSO OWN A POSTSEASON RECORD OF 9-14, INCLUDING LAST YEARS LOSS IN THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME.

DETROIT HAS ONE OF THE BEST COMPLETE OFFENSES IN THE ENTIRE LEAGUE THIS SEASON AND HAS ALREADY SCORED 234 TOTAL POINTS IN SUCH TIME.  THEY CURRENTLY LEAD THE NFL WITH 33.4 PPG AND ARE RANKED 6^TH IN YARDS (385.1 YPG).  LIONS ALSO LEAD ALL NFL TEAMS IN TURNOVER MARGIN WITH +1.4 (T/0 MARGIN PG).  DETROIT HAS ONE OF THE BEST OFFENSIVE LINES IN THE GAME, PLUS A RUNNING GAME THAT FEATURES TWO OF THE BEST RUNNING BACKS IN THE LEAGUE.  YES, IT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL TO HAVE BOTH A DOWNFIELD BRUISER DAVID MONTGOMERY AND A PASSING DOWN BACK (ANKLE BREAKER) IN JAHMYR GIBBS (7^TH IN RUSHING YARDS).  DETROIT IS 6^TH IN RUSHING YARDS (156.7 YPG) PLUS MONTGOMERY IS CURRENTLY TIED FOR THIRD IN RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS THIS SEASON, (7 TDS) WHILE GIBBS IS TIED FOR 6^TH WITH 6 SCORES OF HIS OWN.  THEIR QUARTER BACK JARED GOFF IS AT THE HELM OF THIS OFFENSE THAT IS ALSO RANKED 10^TH IN PASSING YARDS (228.4)  AND HAS HAD HIS OWN SUCCESSES THIS SEASON AS HE IS CURRENTLY NUMBER ONE IN COMPLETION PERCENTAGE, (74.1%) WHICH SHOWED BACK IN WEEK FOUR IN A HOME MONDAY NIGHT MATCHUP WITH THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS WHEN THE WORLD SEEN GOFF COMPLETE 100% OF HIS PASSES (18/18, 292 PASS YDS, 2TDS, 1 REC TD).

            THE ONE AND ONLY FLAW I THINK I SEE WITH THIS TEAM THAT COULD POSSIBLY HURT THEM WOULD BE THEIR DEFENSE.  THEY WERE ALREADY GIVING UP AROUND 350 YARDS A CONTEST, (349.4 YPG) THAT RANKS 20^TH LEAGUEWIDE, MOSTLY A RESULT OF THE PASS DEFENSE (247.6).  THEIR RUN DEFENSE IS CURRENTLY 5^TH BEST, ONLY ALLOWING 101.9 YPG.  THE OTHER PLUSES FOR THIS DEFENSE IS THAT THEY HAVE BEEN HOLDING OPPONENTS TO JUST 19.1 POINTS PER GAME (8^TH), WHILE ALSO ACCUMULATING A TOTAL OF 15 TAKEAWAYS (2^ND) THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON.  THEY WILL BE NEEDING A LOT OF HELP WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR PASS RUSH (T-12^TH) WITH ONLY 20 SACKS THIS SEASON AND NOW IT WILL BE MORE DIFFICULT THAN EVER TO GET BETTER AFTER LOSING THEIR BEST PASS RUSHER AIDAN HUTCHINSON A FEW WEEKS BACK AGAINST THE DALLAS COWBOYS AFTER SUSTAINING BRUTAL LEG DAMAGE THAT BROKE BOTH HIS TIBIA AND FIBULA.  ONE OPTION FOR THE LIONS IS TO MAYBE SWING A TRADE THAT COULD LAND THEM ANOTHER PASS RUSHER BEFORE THE NOVEMBER 5^TH TRADE DEADLINE THAT IS COMING UP QUICK.

PRIMED FOR A POSTSEASON/SUPER BOWL RUN THE LIONS HAVE BAISCALLY BEEN THE MOST DOMINANT TEAM IN THE ENTIRE LEAGUE THIS SEASON, EVEN BEING IN WHAT HAS LOOKED TO BE THE TOUGHEST DIVISION IN ALL OF FOOTBALL.  DETROIT STARTED THIS SEASON BEATING A PRETTY GOOD LOS ANGELES RAMS TEAM (SINCE HAS BEEN PLAGUED BY NUMEROUS INJURIES, INCLUDING THEIR TOP TWO WRS) IN AN OVERTIME VICTORY (26-20).  WEEK TWO WAS THIS TEAMS ONLY LOSS SO FAR, WHEN THE BUCCS CAME BACK INTO TOWN AND GOT THEIR REVENGE FROM LAST YEARS PLAYOFF LOSS TO DETROIT (16-20).  THEN WAS THE LIONS CLOSELY CONTESTED WIN IN ARIZONA (20-13), FOLLOWED BY THE MONDAY NIGHT WIN AT SEATTLE (42-29), (GOFF’S PERFECT GAME) THE BLOWOUT IN DALLAS (47-9), (ON JERRY’S BIRTHDAY) THE TWO POINT WIN THAT TOOK AWAY THE VIKINGS UNDEFEATED RECORD (31-29), THEN YET ANOTHER DISMANTLING TO THE TITANS (52-14).  THIS UPCOMING GAME MAYBE THEIR BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO DATE AS THEY WILL HEAD TO LAMBEAU FIELD TO TAKE ON THEIR NUMBER ONE RIVALS, THE GREEN BAY PACKERS.  IT DOESN’T END THERE IN TERMS OF TOUGH MATCHUPS FOR THE LIONS AS THEY WILL PLAY THE HOUSTON TEXANS ON SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL NEXT WEEK.  ON TOP OF THAT THEY STILL HAVE BATTLES AHEAD WITH THE COLTS, BEARS (TWICE), BILLS, NINERS, PLUS TWO MORE VISITS AS THEY HOST THE PACKERS IN WEEK 14 AS WELL AS THE VIKINGS IN WEEK 18.  AS I HAVE PREVIOUSLY STATED THIS NFC NORTH DIVISION IS THE TOUGHEST IN THE NFL (EVERYTEAM IS OVER .500) WITH ITS 4^TH PLACE TEAM CURRENTLY CHICAGO AT 4-3.  IF THEY WANT TO WIN THE SUPER BOWL IT IS PIVOTAL FOR THEM TO WIN THEIR DIVISION AS WELL AS THEIR CONFERENCE TO MAINTAIN HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE FOR THE PLAYOFFS.  I THINK THEY SHOULD WIN THE NORTH AND SEE THEM ENDING OUT THE REGULAR SEASON WITH A RECORD OF 14-3 AT BEST OR 13-4 RECORD AT WORST.