NFL (2024 Season)

[Henry]

Needless to say, I'll fork these teams just to put them out of their misery:

Bears, Broncos, Browns, Jaguars, Lions, Panthers, Raiders, Rams, Saints, Steelers, Texans

Time to start living dangerously. I have four more teams from the NFC and three more from the AFC to fork, so let's add these teams to the mix:

Bengals, Cardinals, Chargers, Colts, Commanders, Falcons, Packers

[webny99]

That would amazing to see a football game played in that!
Can you wear snowshoes?  There's probably no rule against it.

I remember another Browns Bills game in Cleveland with similar conditions they played in. I think it was a 6-3 final.

It would have been crazy if it was played today. There's more snow in the forecast for tomorrow, but it's supposed to be clearing up by game time. The issue isn't that they couldn't use the stadium, but that the fans, players, etc. would be trying to dig out and travel to the game before the roads are clear and while resources normally used for the game are still needed elsewhere.

[thspfc]

Well, that's pretty much what I thought would happen with the Giants today. They can only win games one way. In all seven of their wins, they scored between 19 and 27 points, and gave up between 12 and 22. In five of the seven they scored between 19 and 24 and gave up between 16 and 20. Basically, they need to run the ball well, get big stops on defense, and not make major mistakes such as Daniel Jones picks. Today, 413 yards of offense - including Jones' 341 pass yards which is by far his season high - was not even close to enough to make up for 3 turnovers and a struggling defense.

Look at their remaining schedule. Dallas, Washington twice, Philly twice, Minnesota, Indy. I wouldn't be surprised if they go 2-5 the rest of the way. That would put them at 9-8, very much in jeopardy of missing the playoffs.

What's the future for Baker? He doesn't even look like a competent backup.

[thspfc]

Cowboys look good so far, and hopefully they can keep control of the game so that I don't lose my mind over the late afternoon game for the 3rd week in a row.

[webny99]

Look at their remaining schedule. Dallas, Washington twice, Philly twice, Minnesota, Indy. I wouldn't be surprised if they go 2-5 the rest of the way. That would put them at 9-8, very much in jeopardy of missing the playoffs.

They're now a coin-flip, per FiveThirtyEight... and so are the Commanders, so the possibility of the entire NFC East making it is very much alive. Basically, there are no major Wild Card contenders in the NFC North or South (unless you count the Packers, but they'd probably have to win out), so it could happen if the Seahawks stumble. The success of the two East divisions is becoming a major storyline of this season, as all 8 teams are now above .500. The AFC East is a slugfest, with the Jets having a chance to move into 1st place with a win today, but instead falling to 4th place with a loss.

And, in other news, Dan Campbell has now tied Brian Daboll with 7 career wins as head coach!

[thspfc]

Sheesh. That was for sure the best game any team has played this season. Total domination in all three phases, against a team that was tied for the best record in the league entering today.

Broncos 22, Raiders 16

Third time this season that I've predicted the correct score, but with the teams flipped.

Still a pretty good week overall at 10-2 so far.

[webny99]

Sheesh. That was for sure the best game any team has played this season. Total domination in all three phases, against a team that was tied for the best record in the league entering today.

The Cowboys really slammed the door and hammered the nails on last week's Vikings-Bills debate, as the Vikings now have a -2 point differential on the season.

[thspfc]

Sheesh. That was for sure the best game any team has played this season. Total domination in all three phases, against a team that was tied for the best record in the league entering today.

The Cowboys really slammed the door and hammered the nails on last week's Vikings-Bills debate, as the Vikings now have a -2 point differential on the season.

Nah, I'll pull a reverse on this one and say that that game was more about the Cowboys than the Vikings 

[mgk920]

That would amazing to see a football game played in that!
Can you wear snowshoes?  There's probably no rule against it.

The Packers would send out a call for snow shovelers, several thousand would show up and have the stadium cleaned out in no time.



Mike

[jgb191]

Did the Vikings forget that they were supposed to play today?  They were never seen on the field today.

[NWI_Irish96]

That would amazing to see a football game played in that!
Can you wear snowshoes?  There's probably no rule against it.

The Packers would send out a call for snow shovelers, several thousand would show up and have the stadium cleaned out in no time.



Mike

There's a huge difference between the 6-18 inches of snow that might fall in Green Bay right before a game and the 5+ feet that Orchard Park got.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Patriots outlast the Jets 10-3 on a final-minute return by Marcus Jones. A great game for the defense, but horrible for the t offense on both teams.

[thspfc]

That would amazing to see a football game played in that!
Can you wear snowshoes?  There's probably no rule against it.

The Packers would send out a call for snow shovelers, several thousand would show up and have the stadium cleaned out in no time.



Mike

There's a huge difference between the 6-18 inches of snow that might fall in Green Bay right before a game and the 5+ feet that Orchard Park got.

+1. None of us in WI have ever seen that much snow at once.

[epzik8]

Patriots outlast the Jets 10-3 on a final-minute return by Marcus Jones. A great game for the defense, but horrible for the t offense on both teams.

Same can be said for Panthers-Ravens.

[webny99]

That would amazing to see a football game played in that!
Can you wear snowshoes?  There's probably no rule against it.

The Packers would send out a call for snow shovelers, several thousand would show up and have the stadium cleaned out in no time.



Mike

There's a huge difference between the 6-18 inches of snow that might fall in Green Bay right before a game and the 5+ feet that Orchard Park got.

+1. None of us in WI have ever seen that much snow at once.

Yep, lake effect is a different beast. The game never would have been moved for 1-2 feet. Just so happens that Orchard Park is right in the zone where early-season snow bands coming off Lake Erie tend to be at their worst (before the lake freezes over), and this time was no exception. I'm 80 miles away and didn't see so much as a snowflake all weekend, but that's life downwind of the Great Lakes in November.

[webny99]

I think it's safe to say that the Jets have a major quarterback problem. After throwing for 77 yards and doing nothing in the second half, Zach Wilson blew the easiest softball question ever when he was asked if he felt like he let the defense down and said no. You have to take accountability there, especially when your defense had such an incredible performance.

I disagree with the Jets being over-committed to Wilson and not giving Mike White a shot to win that game. Wilson can still be the starter the rest of the season even if you bench him there. It's just unfair to the rest of the team and the game is too important not to make a change when it's clearly not working.

[webny99]

We should do a takes-fest at the end of the season because I've been thumbing back through the thread from the Super Bowl on and there are some great ones...

... good news for Lions fans: ... they play the Packers the first Sunday of November. Green Bay has been shockingly bad that weekend (typically week 9). Haven't won since 2012, which for a franchise that has only missed the playoffs twice in that span, is pretty shocking.

This was an eerily accurate prediction, as the Lions did beat the Packers that weekend, setting off a 3-game win streak, and it was a low point of the Packers' season even though they're not as good as we expected.

[thspfc]

Rodgers clearly hates the time change too.

[JayhawkCO]

Did the Vikings forget that they were supposed to play today?  They were never seen on the field today.

I'm glad that I was on a road trip up in thspfc's neck of the woods and didn't have to watch that atrocity.

[JayhawkCO]

Titans over Packers
Vikings over Cowboys
Bears over Falcons
Bills over Browns
Eagles over Colts
Patriots over Jets
Saints over Rams
Lions over Giants
Ravens over Panthers
Commies over Texans
Raiders over Broncos
Bengals over Steelers
Chiefs over Chargers
49ers over Cardinals

12-2 this week. Not too shabby. My Vikings pick was probably more homer than reason and then I missed the Bears/Falcons as I don't understand how Fields can be so good but the Bears so bad. (I suppose when you trade away all your stud defenders, that helps.)

[webny99]

I missed the Bears/Falcons as I don't understand how Fields can be so good but the Bears so bad. (I suppose when you trade away all your stud defenders, that helps.)

However, it is arguably the best thing possible for the Bears organization to be losing games while Fields develops, and he has shown a lot in the last month plus. The Bears have become the anti-Broncos, with a good offense that isn't quite good enough to carry a really bad defense. Meanwhile I saw (and confirmed) an insane stat that the Broncos would be 9-1 if they had scored 19 points in regulation in every game. 9-1 with 19 PPG! Both parts of that stat are un-be-lieve-able. The fact that they are actually only 3-7 has to be one of the biggest underachievements in NFL history.

[NWI_Irish96]

I missed the Bears/Falcons as I don't understand how Fields can be so good but the Bears so bad. (I suppose when you trade away all your stud defenders, that helps.)

However, it is arguably the best thing possible for the Bears organization to be losing games while Fields develops, and he has shown a lot in the last month plus. The Bears have become the anti-Broncos, with a good offense that isn't quite good enough to carry a really bad defense. Meanwhile I saw (and confirmed) an insane stat that the Broncos would be 9-1 if they had scored 19 points in regulation in every game. 9-1 with 19 PPG! Both parts of that stat are un-be-lieve-able. The fact that they are actually only 3-7 has to be one of the biggest underachievements in NFL history.

The offensive line is terrible and the receivers are mediocre at best. Fields isn't running for 100+ yards per game by design. He's doing it because they can't protect him long enough for these receivers to get open. They're going to have a ton of cap space and great draft position but even that may not be enough to fill all the holes this team has.

Plus, as you noted, they traded away their two best defensive players.

[webny99]

It may not be enough right away, but it doesn't have to be immediate. As long as Fields is the guy and you've got the right people making the decisions and draft picks, it's OK if it's a few years before they're true contenders, much like the 2017-2019 Bills.

[webny99]

On the draft note, I will add that there are four teams with top-10 draft position that no longer hold their own pick.

5. Broncos > Seahawks
6. Rams > Lions
7. Browns > Texans
10. Saints > Eagles

Of those four recipients, it's likely that only the Texans' own pick will be higher than the pick they received in the trade. Brutal for the Broncos, Rams, and Saints, who are not only bad this season, but barring any more trades are going to watch better teams pick in their spot next April.

I've seen enough to say the Broncos lost their trade.
Rams obviously "won" the Stafford trade because they won the Super Bowl, but it was decent for the Lions, and the Rams' terrible season certainly helps.
The Saints trade for Olave is a shrug emoji. He's great, possibly the best receiver in the class, but they haven't been a good team, and it's pretty rough to trade a first-round pick to a Super Bowl contender.

[thspfc]

12-2 in week 11 brings me to 29-12 (71%) over the last three weeks, compared to 18-22 (45%) over the previous three before that.

Bills 37, Lions 27
Cowboys 34, Giants 21
Vikings 20, Patriots 16
Dolphins 31, Texans 20
Titans 26, Bengals 14
Broncos 20, Panthers 10
Jets 27, Bears 20
Commanders 24, Falcons 17
Buccaneers 28, Browns 14
Ravens 30, Jaguars 13
Raiders 23, Seahawks 17
Chargers 25, Cardinals 23
49ers 28, Saints 20
Chiefs 23, Rams 13
Eagles 30, Packers 17
Colts 17, Steelers 16