Three weeks ago, we had a clear-cut Game of the Year in the AFC between the Bills and Chiefs. They are still the two best teams in the league in my view, and the Eagles are the best in the NFC. All three are favored by double digits this weekend and we already watched the Eagles slip by Houston 29-17 on Thursday.
But what is the Game of the Year this regular season in the NFC? It wasn’t Packers-Buccaneers when both are 3-5 to start November. It was looking like it could be Week 12 Packers at Eagles on SNF, but not if the Packers are still playing like they have the last month.
Tomorrow had another option with Rams-Buccaneers, which I thought could have been an NFC Championship Game preview after it was the most pivotal matchup in last year’s playoffs to determine the Super Bowl winner. The Rams improved to 3-0 against Tom Brady in Tampa in a wild one that had no business being that close.
But both teams come into this one with a losing record, and either the Bucs will be 3-6 or the Rams will be 3-5 after it’s over.
Since I’m not a believer in the Vikings or Giants as legit Super Bowl contenders, that really just leaves Philadelphia at Dallas on Christmas Eve as the potential Game of the Year in the NFC. That would assume both keep winning and maybe the Eagles slip up once or twice so that Dallas has a chance to tie them or take the division lead with a win. That’s also assuming Dak Prescott is going to play like he did last year and keep this offense scoring to go along with the improved defense.
That might be the one to circle, but tomorrow, we’re going to see if the Rams or Bucs take an early TKO. But who are we kidding? Even if the Bucs lose to fall to 3-6, that division is still up for grabs.
Some of my articles this week:
- Dolphins-Bears preview
- Rams-Bucs preview
- Panthers-Bengals preview
- Chargers-Falcons preview
- Ravens-Saints preview
- Upset: Seahawks over Cardinals
- Derrick Henry vs. Chiefs
- Week 9 Props for Sunday games (MNF coming Sunday)
- Week 9 Parlay (+427 odds)
NFL Week 9 Predictions
My trusty pick of the Eagles winning the second quarter/first half did not pay off on Thursday, but they did win the game at least.
It doesn’t look like many games with the big bye (six teams). Weird.
Definitely a RedZone afternoon for me. Glad to get a week off from watching the Steelers. Only two games in the late window is bad, but I’d probably be focusing on Rams-Bucs anyway. It’s just not as exciting a matchup as it could have been, but we’ll see what happens.
My SNF pick is also tough to make when I don’t know if Ryan Tannehill is playing. If he plays, I think the Titans cover. If it’s Malik Willis, I’m taking Chiefs ATS. They’ll eat him alive if he tries to throw in this offense that misses A.J. Brown a lot. We don’t even talk about that one too much because the Titans have found other ways to win, but this is a game he will definitely be missed.
I’ll be mad if Chargers-Falcons doesn’t have a crazy 4Q finish.
Captain Comeback: NFL Analysis by Scott Kacsmar 