Around the AFC
Pat and Nuk. The undefeated get richer. Patrick Mahomes has lost a couple of receivers and it hasn’t cost the 6-0 Chiefs so far. Now they’ve traded for DeAndre Hopkins, the five-time Pro Bowler. It can be difficult for receivers to jump into a new offense and make an impact right away, but Mahomes and coach Andy Reid will find ways to get Hopkins going sooner rather than later.
Look at Russ. Russell Wilson waited a long time to debut with Pittsburgh and then put together a really strong performance when his chance arrived. The former Broncos quarterback tallied three touchdowns in a blowout win over the New York Jets. The Steelers are 5-2 and if Wilson plays like this consistently, they’re going to be a tough out. Next up: Monday night at the 2-5 New York Giants.
Jets spiraling. Speaking of the Jets, lotta good firing Robert Saleh’s done so far. In two games since his abrupt dismissal, the formerly stout New York defense has surrendered 60 points. The offense? Still not good. They’ve lost four straight overall — that streak started with Denver — and they’re in danger of losing touch with the pack already. If they can’t beat New England this week, then look out. Is there someone else owner Woody Johnson can fire?
Around the NFC
Disappointment bowl. Imagine what NBC had in mind when it landed Dallas at San Francisco for its Week 8 Sunday night game. Instead, the Cowboys are 3-3 and the 49ers are 3-4. There is a litany of star players hurt. Brandon Ayiuk is out for the year with a knee injury. Christian McCaffrey is still out. Micah Parsons hasn’t played since Sept. 26. On and on it goes. The game will do huge ratings still and neither team is out of contention, but they’ve both disappointed so far.
The North remembers. Green Bay’s won five of its past six games. Jordan Love is rounding into form after the Week 1 knee injury. And its defense is playing at a high level. For all that success, the Packers are… tied for second in their own division. That’s life in a beastly NFC North this year. Detroit is 5-1 after the Lions’ walk-off field goal Sunday against the Vikings. Minnesota is 5-2, no thanks to a missed facemask call on Thursday night against the Rams. And Chicago is currently a 4-2, last-place team. Three teams from this division could end up in the postseason.
Pirate ship sinking. Things are not so rosy on the Gulf Coast. Tampa Bay lost receiver Chris Godwin for the year to a gruesome leg injury Monday night and lost Mike Evans potentially for a while to a hamstring strain. The Bucs are tied with Atlanta at 4-3 for the NFC South lead, but Todd Bowles and QB Baker Mayfield are really going to have to pull a rabbit out of their hat from here out. Then again, in that division, anything is possible.
Game of the Week
Buffalo at Seattle
The Bills are already 2.5 games clear in the AFC East and nobody else looks like a challenger. It’s an interesting challenge, though, to go all the way across the country to take on the Seahawks. Geno Smith and Josh Allen make this a compelling matchup at the quarterback position and both teams have defenses that can take over a game. Buffalo’s lost the two games it played against high-quality teams (Baltimore and Houston), so this is a chance to make a statement as a 3-point road favorite.
Bills 27, Seahawks 24
Lock of the Week
Baltimore at Cleveland
You want to talk about teams headed in opposite directions? The Ravens hammered Tampa Bay on Monday night and have won five straight after starting 0-2. The Browns, well, the Browns are not good. Deshaun Watson is out for the year with an Achilles injury and the offense may well be better off with Jameis Winston running the show. But Cleveland is 1-6, going nowhere and finds itself as an 8.5-point home underdog. Ouch.
Ravens 31, Browns 13
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Upset of the Week
Chicago at Washington
This would easily have been the game of the week if not for the injury questions around Commanders QB Jayden Daniels. The matchup between Bears QB Caleb Williams and Daniels, the top two picks in April’s draft, was shaping up to be a terrific one. Daniels has taken the league by storm and Williams seems to get better every week. Both teams have bright futures for the first time in a long time. Williams is originally from Washington, D.C. Let’s hope Daniels can go — Chicago wouldn’t be a 3-point road favorite if he was healthy — and that we get many renditions of this matchup in the coming years.
Commanders 23, Bears 20
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