Did you guys take my upset pick last
week (G-Men over Jacksonville)? Well, it wasn’t exactly
a huge upset, but I’ll take it considering the Bucs clearly
are lost and have cost many a survival pool run this year. How
do you lose to Carolina with the GOAT at the helm against a backup
QB, a team with an interim coach, their best offensive weapon
traded away, and your defense rated in the top five? Well, they
did.
No upset pick this week, but let’s try these on for size...
#3: Indianapolis over Washington (4-3: BAL, cin, PHL, DAL, kc, tb, LV)
Why would I highlight a game that most of the country doesn’t
care about? Well, just for that reason.
Matty “Ice” will chill this week on the bench due
to his ineffectiveness. His replacement, Sam Ehlinger, a sixth-round
draft pick two years ago who hasn’t thrown a regular season
pass, may not fare much better against a Commanders defense that
yields only 22 points a game.
Enter Jonathan Taylor who is seemingly healthy again. It would
be no surprise for the Colts to exploit the Achilles heel of their
opponent’s defense. Expect a large dose of the running game
from the Colts to control the clock and win a low-scoring contest.
This is not a game for the faint of heart, but with so many divisional
rivalry games, this non-divisional matchup just might be what
you need to stay in your Survival Pool this week.
#2: Minnesota over Arizona (4-3: NO, BUF, kc, det, PHL, sf, DAL)
The Vikings return from their bye to face a Cardinals team that
has been inconsistent this season and do not have a quality win
against a winning team. Like oh so many teams, they have been
hit by the injury bug and will miss a key offensive component
in Marquise Brown.
The Cards can however stop the run, something that the Vikings
are good at, and like to do with Dalvin Cook. To avoid being shut
down in the run game, look for Kirk Cousins to utilize Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen to soften up the underneath screen
game.
While Kyler Murray has a sling of an arm, the number of efficient
weapons has been limited by injuries. And while the Vikings defense
is 28th in yards allowed, they have limited scoring early on this
season (19.7 points per game) and should extend their record to
6-1 in front of the home faithful.
#1: Philadelphia over Pittsburgh (3-3: den, lac, GB, BUF, LAR, tb)
The Battle of Pennsylvania will be held in the polls in a little
under two weeks’ time, but it is the battle in South Philly that
most Pennsylvanians will be more interested in. These two cities
don’t like each other, and their football teams, just like their
hockey teams, will bloody themselves for their pride.
Jalen Hurts
and his Eagles are fresh off their bye week and look to stay undefeated.
It hasn’t been perfect, but they firepower and solid defense have
the Philly faithful thinking Super Bowl and World Series.
Steelers’ rookie QB Kenny
Pickett has shown promise but his 2/7 TD/INT ratio and 68.7
QB rating is not going to help in the hostile environment of Lincoln
Financial field. However, it’s the “Steel Curtain” playing more
like a sieve (28th in yards allowed) that will kill their chances.
Expect lots of EAGLES chants in this one folks.