What’s the worst that can happen? If not, I’ll probably lose with the rest of humanity, so no big deal. I’m okay with this and do it in quite a few leagues.
LOCK OF THE WEEK: PATRIOTS (4-0) AT COLTS (3-2), 8:20 p.m. I’ll take the Lions here, I guess, with no conviction whatsoever. Indy was the organization that accused them of deflating footballs and NE is about to make them pay. This game could be pretty high scoring. The rising Atlanta Falcons visit the reeling New Orleans Saints, and here’s a preview of what to expect in the match-up. It’s no secret that the Saints defense isn’t much to be afraid of. Enter the Eagles, who managed to get a win over the Saints last week. Devonta Freeman’s touchdown reception, overturned on a replay that was anything but indisputable, was a catch by any definition except the NFL’s.
The Jets Defense should dominate the Redskins in Week 6.
Pittsburgh’s next foe crushes the winless Lions 42-17. They should drop a spot to 16th after the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football. The Chargers do have one thing in their favor. Of the 6, five go on the road this week with only the Packers staying at home. Still, I don’t want to bet that the Chargers can hold Rodgers in check like they did Mike Vick.
Bears at Lions (-3): Ugh. All the Andy Dalton naysayers had their “I told you so’s” ready through 3 quarters, yet Andy came away with the last laugh.
Now we get to see if the Bengals know how to handle midseason success and a round of back slaps. DraftKings and FanDuel had more entries than any previous week this year despite the controversy last week from employees playing DFS on rival sites…and winning big in one recent contest. While I hate to say it, but this may be the end for Drew Brees. Well, I guess there was that one time not all that long ago when they went 0-16. I’ll take the Broncos and their No. 1 defense against the scrappy Browns. The defense has been lights-out, but there are so many questions with the offense, most notably being old noodle arm, Peyton Manning. Can the Browns get to Manning and force him to rush his throws? The Patriots have started the season strong at 4-0 and they are tops in the AFC East right now over the Jets (3-1), Buffalo Bills (3-2) and Miami Dolphins (1-3). So it looks as though EJ Manuel will go for Buffalo. The Houston Texans were favored by 1.5 points over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Wednesday, but the visiting Texans are now underdogs. Assuming an unfortunate falling out like RG3 faced, Mariota could become one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the NFL. Bye weeks are starting, and we’re already starting to see who the contenders and pretenders (sorry for the excessive cliché) are.
I have no problem with advertisements during football games. This will be the week where we start to find the best of the best.
Travis Coons kicked a 32-yard field goal in overtime and Josh McCown threw for a team-record 457 yards to lead the Cleveland Browns to a stunning 33-30 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Win a few, lose some.
Week five also saw Jamaal Charles suffer a suspected ACL tear during the Kansas City Chiefs’ loss to Chicago, and Matt Stafford being benched during the Detroit Lions’ fifth defeat. Everyone has gone insane it seems this week in bidding on Charcandrick West in FAAB.
Where Atlanta has made another big improvement under new head coach Dan Quinn is on the defensive side of the ball. Look for the Cardinals to win this game. Beyond have the lingering aroma of Deflategate (instigated, lest we forget, by the Colts), you have Andrew Luck allegedly coming off of an injury that has cost him two game, and you have New England playing just lights out week in and week out right now with a highly motivated Tom Brady playing insanely well. They’ve got everything else, though. The Giants really have a chance to put an early stranglehold on the division if they can eek out a win on Monday night. Rex Ryan seems like a very good coach, but sometimes his team just doesn’t seem to show up for games.
New York Jets: The Redskins are unlikely to find any running room against the Jets’ defensive front, and although Kirk Cousins isn’t a bad QB, he is a turnover machine.
Behind them, Bradley Roby has a pick and scored the game-winning touchdown against the Chiefs on a fumble return. They give maximum effort on game days and are well-coached. The Steelers are proving what I said all along when you are throwing the ball to Brown or turning and handing the ball to Bell it doesn’t matter who you have under center the Steelers are going to have a chance to win.
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