Well
Womens Trent Brown Jersey , On Thursday night, as I settled in to watch the Steelers and the
Panthers, I ignored every instinct in my body that was urging me to take
Pittsburgh. In my head, I knew the Steelers were going to win, and I knew they
were going to cover as 3.5-point favorites. It wasn’t overly complicated. They
are clicking on all cylinders right now, about as well as any NFL team can, and
they were playing at home in primetime.And just for the record, the Steelers
usually thrive when they are playing in primetime.And yet, my desire to watch a
thrilling game between two Super Bowl contenders from each conference got in the
way of my better judgement. That’s why I took the Panthers +3.5, and that’s why
I paid the painful price.Pittsburgh 52, Carolina 21. Whoops.Considering I’m not
very good at making NFL predictions, and am currently treading water just a
couple games above the .500 mark this season, I really need to listen to my head
instead of my heart more often. One of these days, I might finally learn my
lesson.But then again, it is me we’re talking about, and I overthink everything
when it comes to football. So that probably won’t happen. Whatever though. At
least this Sunday, the Patriots will be reuniting with Malcolm Butler on the
football field for a couple of hours when they play the Titans in Nashville. It
might not be a friendly reunion, but let’s face it: Butler will be a Boston
sports legend for the rest of time, all because of one simple, but very timely,
interception in Super Bowl XLIX.Things didn’t end for Butler in New England the
way they should have, and as a Patriots fan, it’s hard not to feel for the guy.
He’s responsible for the single greatest moment of my sports fandom, and I will
owe that to him forever. It’s just too bad this game isn’t happening in Foxboro,
because if it was, Butler would get an ovation louder than a rock concert when
he entered the stadium.Thanks for the memories
Youth Devin McCourty Jersey , Malcolm. See you on Sunday.(Home teams in caps, and all lines courtesy of OddsShark.com)CHIEFS (-16.5) over
CardinalsTaking a team that is favored by 17 points is physically painful. But
the Cardinals are one of the worst teams in the league, they have a rookie
quarterback who is still trying to adjust to the NFL, and Kansas City’s offense
is borderline unstoppable.The Chiefs haven’t scored less than 30 points since
Week 4. In addition, it’s supposed to be a tad chilly in Kansas City and the
Cardinals are an indoor team from the desert. There’s no good reason to get
behind Arizona in this game, other than that massive point spread.Falcons (-6)
over BROWNSSince the Browns finally fired Hue Jackson about a year too late, I
was on the verge of picking them to pull off some kind of HUE-IS-FINALLY-GONE
miracle against the Falcons this week, but I just couldn’t do it. Part of that
whole “listening to my head” thing.JETS (-7) over BillsThe Jets without Sam
Darnold are playng the Bills without Josh Allen. Is anybody actually going to
watch this? Even Jets and Bills fans have to at least be considering passing up
on football this week. If you’re going to gamble on this game, don’t take the
Nathan Peterman team, unless you’re betting on which team will turn the ball
over at least five times.BEARS (-6.5) over LionsKhalil Mack has missed the last
two games for Chicago. But if he’s cleared to play, it’s going to be a long
afternoon for Matt Stafford, who has been getting sacked a lot lately (what else
is new?)This is just me, but 6.5 points seems like a lot for a Bears team that
has struggled against the NFC North this year. But the Lions have seemingly run
into a wall lately, and that Chicago defense is pretty resembling of a wall.
Jaguars (+3) over COLTSSheesh, you know the Jaguars have hit rock bottom when
they are now considered underdogs against the Colts. That defense — supposed to
be the best in the league — has been a huge letdown this year (I would know, I
have them in fantasy). But for some odd reason, I picked the Jags to go to Super
Bowl LIII, so I kind of need them to get this thing turned around sooner rather
than later.Patriots (-6.5) over TITANSSorry we have to do this to you, Malcolm,
but the Pats are pretty hot at the moment. October, November, and most of
December is usually when they are at their best.Saints (-5.5) over
BENGALSSpeaking of hot teams, nobody is hotter than the Saints right now. They
just handed the Rams their first loss of the season. New Orleans pretty much has
all of the momentum in the galaxy. Good luck, Cincy. See you next time.Redskins
(+3) over BUCCANEERSThe Redskins will break your heart faster than your first
high school girlfriend, but I don’t trust the Tampa Bay defense. Offensively,
it’s hard to tell if Ryan Fitzpatrick will throw four touchdown passes or four
interceptions. But Alex Smith and Adrian Peterson should be able to do some
damage against the Bucs defense. This is a tough one to pick
Youth James White Jersey , but I just have to roll with Smith.Chargers (-10) over RAIDERSAt 6-2, the Chargers look like a very good team right now.
Picking them to cover as 10-point favorites against a horrendous Oakland team
seems like a pretty reasonable decision.I’m just looking forward to the first
week of January, however, when Philip Rivers fails to get the Chargers past the
wild card round. That will be fun.PACKERS (-10) over DolphinsEven though the
Dolphins are 5-4 and are facing a pretty average Packers team, you can’t count
on a team from warm, sunny Miami to play well in a place like Green Bay,
Wisconsin in mid-November. It’s supposed to be around 30 degrees in Green Bay
this Sunday. Do you think anybody from south Florida would be comfortable in
that environment?This is one of the oldest rules in the book: warm weather teams
don’t do well in cold weather environments, and Green Bay is about as cold as it
gets.Seahawks (+9.5) over RAMSAfter that brutal defeat in New Orleans last week,
are the Rams vulnerable right now? Whether they are or not, they are 4-4-1
against the spread this year. Nine times out of 10, they are a good bet to win
the game straight up, but not always to cover the spread. Their defense got
torched by the Saints last week. Can we count on them to play well enough to
allow the Rams to win by double-digits? I’m not so sure.EAGLES (-7) over
CowboysThe Cowboys are never going anywhere as long as Jason Garrett is their
head coach. It’s too bad Jerry Jones will never actually move on from Garrett
because he has too much of a man crush on him. It’s not difficult to see that
Garrett is a serviceable football coach, but not a good one. Then again, Jerry
is about as clueless as anyone, so there aren’t really any surprises here.49ERS
(-3) over GiantsAny time you have the chance to watch a pair of teams that have
a combined three wins through nine weeks play each other on Monday Night
Football, you absolutely HAVE to do it.Last week: 8-5This week: 0-1Season:
66-64-5 After turning over half their roster, it's not surprising the New York
Giants are losing.The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles are
another story. They were expected to make a run at being the first team to
repeat since the New England Patriots won title games after the 2003 and 2004
seasons.The Eagles (2-3) head into Thursday night's game at MetLife Stadium
against the Giants (1-4), looking to avoid their first three-game losing streak
since the 2016 season. A fourth loss would be more than they had last
season.While some might point to a Super Bowl hangover, it's also a combination
of having a target on their backs, injuries and bad play."We know we're going to
get everybody's best and we've seen it already this season," Eagles coach Doug
Pederson said."I've addressed the team that way. It doesn't mean we have to;
it's not about panic mode or anything in that nature, it's just a heightened
sense of urgency. The mistakes we're making are self-inflicted and it's keeping
us from possibly winning a game or two here or there, and we understand that."So
do the Giants. They have not played horribly in coach Pat Shurmur's first
season. They are not making enough plays, and too many mistakes.Odell Beckham
Jr., who caught a touchdown and threw another in the Giants' 33-31 loss to
Carolina last weekend, is glad this is a short week and the Eagles are the
opponent in the weak NFC East where no team has a winning record."Defending
Super Bowl champs coming in here
www.newenglandpatriotsteamonline.com , Thursday night game, but right now the focus is more on this just one game, and
not putting so much pressure on what it could do for us," Beckham said. "But
this is a game that we need to win against a division rival."The Eagles have won
the past three against New York and seven of eight.Beckham doesn't care."There's
always a team each and every year where everything is right for them," Beckham
said of the Eagles."Even watching them last year, there was third downs,
third-and-7s — they got all of them. It's just the little stuff that was going
on for them all year that was happening that allowed them to win each and every
game. I don't know if I've seen that in the past games."Here are a couple of
things to watch:STOPPING ERTZEagles tight end Zach Ertz has at least 10 catches
and 100 receiving yards in each of his past two games. He is looking to become
the fifth player in league history to record three consecutive 10-catch,
100-yard games. The Giants have the league's eighth-best pass defense, and
that's with only six sacks this season. New York safety Landon Collins also does
a good job in slowing down opposing tight ends. Expect to see him go against
Ertz.SCOUTING SAQUONEagles defensive end Michael Bennett compared Saquon Barkley
to a combination of Marshawn Lynch, LeSean McCoy and Jamaal Charles. Linebacker
Jordan Hicks said the defense has to make sure it's aware of Barkley on every
snap. Philadelphia had the NFL's best run defense last season and opponents are
averaging 66.4 yards this year, with 42.4 yards by running backs."He's a dynamic
player," Hicks said. "He's used in many ways, he's a strong, physical runner and
can make every cut. We have to contain him."STERLING EFFORTGiants wide receiver
Sterling Shepard has played against the Eagles four times and caught a touchdown
in every game. He had two big games last season, catching a total of 18 passes
for 272 yards and two touchdowns. Shepard might have something to prove this
week. He ran the wrong route Sunday and it led to an interception. The
third-year pro took out his frustration on a bench and a garbage can. "I really
wanted to win that game. That's the bottom line. I felt it kind of slipping away
right there."WHERE'S THE RUSH?The Eagles only have 12 sacks this season and the
inability of the front four to bring down quarterbacks has hurt because
coordinator Jim Schwartz doesn't like to blitz and relies on the linemen to get
sacks. As a result, the pass defense has suffered. Eli Manning gets the ball out
quickly, but he's been sacked 16 times this season."We can rush better, we can
get to the quarterback more," three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Fletcher Cox
said. "The defensive line drives this team. We have to do better."KICKING
GAMEJake Elliott of the Eagles has made seven straight field goals. He also beat
the Giants with a 61-yarder last season. Coincidently, Graham Gano beat New York
with a 63-yarder last weekend. Aldrick Rosas of the Giants has been perfect this
season making all 11 of his field goals and seven extra points. He has an
injured quad and his status is uncertain. Marshall Koehn, who was in training
camp, was signed to the practice squad Tuesday. He has kicked in one NFL
regular-season game.AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this
story.
