Around the AFC
Birds soar, Bengals sore. Baltimore hammered Cincinnati Thursday night to take further control of the AFC North. Big-time performance. Just as impactful, though, was Cincinnati losing star quarterback Joe Burrow to an apparent right hand injury. Depending on the severity, it could change the complexion of the AFC postseason race. In fact, it already did. The Bengals were trailing when he got hurt, but had no chance of keeping up once he left the game. Now they’re 5-5 and the Ravens, led by MVP candidate Lamar Jackson (264 passing yards, two TDs, 54 rushing yards) are 8-3.
Black and silver (and winning). The Raiders have won two straight since Antonio Pierce took over for fired head coach Josh McDaniels. It wasn’t pretty against the Jets, but hey, Las Vegas is 5-5 now. Only trouble? The next two before a bye week are at Miami and home against Kansas City. If Pierce gets those two – or, heck, even if he splits — that’ll be a major accomplishment for the interim head coach.
MV-C.J.?. Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud’s brilliance continued in a win over Cincinnati and he put himself in the MVP conversation, too. He threw for 356 yards (9.1 per attempt) against Lou Anarumo’s defense and is up to 15 touchdown passes against two interceptions for the season. Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick this spring, leads the NFL at 291.8 passing yards per game. A Houston win at home against Arizona would ensure that, at the least, first place in the AFC South will be on the line when the Texans host Jacksonville next week.
Around the NFC
Cowboys rolling. Five of Dallas’ six wins this year are by three scores or more, including a 49-17 shellacking of the New York Giants in Week 10. They’ve scored 38-plus points four times this season and are averaging 40 per game at home. They’re on the road this week, but against a Carolina team with real problems. There’s already speculation about whether Frank Reich will get a second season and the early returns on taking Bryce Young over Stroud in April’s draft are not promising.
Sneaky Seattle. The Seahawks are 6-3 and tied with San Francisco in the NFC West heading into a tricky division road game against the Los Angeles Rams. After that, Seattle has about as tough a stretch as any team: The 49ers, at Dallas, at the Niners and home against Philadelphia. If Geno Smith and company are still in the division title picture after Dec. 17, they will have earned it big time.
Can Love prevail? Green Bay figured to be in transition this year. Jordan Love is in his first year as a starter and the Packers have a really young, inexperienced offense. With a deep quarterback class in 2024 shaping up, though, there’s still pressure for Love. If the season ended today, Green Bay would hold the No. 6 spot. The Packers also have a pair of second-rounders to work with thanks to the Aaron Rodgers trade and could be players in the quarterback picture if they’re not convinced Love is the long-term answer.
Game of the Week
Pittsburgh at Cleveland
OK, this isn’t actually the game of the week, but The Staff had to move some things around (see below). But, hey, this is a really good game! And a critical one in the best division in football. Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson is out for the season. Pittsburgh has scored easily the fewest points among teams with winning records. And yet they’re each 6-3 entering Sunday. The edge here goes to the Browns’ defense even though Pittsburgh is a one-point road favorite.
Browns 17, Steelers 13
Lock of the Week
Chicago at Detroit
Isn’t this league supposed to be about parity? The Lions are favored by nine over Chicago and it’s the fifth-biggest spread of the week. The others: Miami by 12.5, San Francisco by 11.5 over Tampa Bay, Dallas by 10.5 and Washington by 9.5 over the Giants. Any would be a solid pick here, but the Lions look dialed in. They just won a shootout against the Chargers and they don’t have a team with a current winning record on their schedule until Christmas Eve at Minnesota. If they’re going to push Philadelphia for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, they’ve got to keep stacking up wins.
Lions 31, Bears 13
Upset of the Week
Philadelphia at Kansas City
The actual game of the week. It’s a great one at Arrowhead on Monday night. Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes under center. Chris Jones and Jalen Carter anchoring defensive lines across from them. A Chiefs defense that is playing lights out against a Philly offense that’s humming along tied for third in scoring (28 per game) and fifth in yards (376.8 per). One of the NFL’s best receivers in Philly’s A.J. Brown (111.7 yards per game, third-best in the league). Oh, right, and it’s a rematch of the most recent Super Bowl, a 38-35 Chiefs win. This time, the underdog Eagles (+2.5) find a way. Barely.
Eagles 28, Chiefs 27
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