Football Friday 11/7/25

It’s been said that the only proper synonym for Friday is:

• Boom-Shack-A-Laka!

Not so in Curmudgeon Central; Friday is a workday; Friday calls out for a Football Friday rant.  So, let me get started …

As usual I shall begin by reviewing last week’s “Betting Bundle” – – and it was a disastrous peek into a crystal ball:

• Spreads and Totals:  0-5-1                Yeah, I know; it could be worse.
• Season to Date:         14-28-2            Shameful!

And …

• Money Line Parlays: 0-2                   Loss = $200
• Season to Date:         8-15                 Loss = $36

The Linfield University Wildcats assured that their streak of winning records in football will stay intact for yet one more season.  Linfield beat Lewis and Clark last week 29-21; that was the fifth win of the season for Linfield against two losses; the regular season schedule is 9 games long, so Linfield’s streak that began in 1956 goes on.  This week, Linfield is on the road to Tacoma WA to play at the university of Puget Sound.  Go Wildcats!

My “sleeper team” for 2025 has been Georgia Tech and they have been roaring instead of snoring in 2025.  That season hit a speed bump last week; Tech lost its first game of the year to NC State 48-36.  That outcome makes the ACC standings almost inscrutable.

• Virginia has no conference losses – – even though they lost to NC State in September.  It’s a long and bizarre story …
• Five teams have only one conference loss.
• I started to try to figure out who had the inside track to make the ACC Championship Game and got lost in a maze of possible outcomes.  That is a job for AI …

 

College Football Commentary:

 

Another coach at a major college program was sent packing last week.  Auburn and coach Hugh Freeze mutually decided to go in different directions – – or something like that.  Last week, Auburn lost to Kentucky by the score of 10-3.  That was embarrassing for several reasons:

• It was Kentucky’s first SEC victory of the year.
• Auburn ranks 104^th in the nation in scoring offense; Hugh Freeze made his bones as a coach on the offensive side of the ball.
• Kentucky ranks 86^th in the nation in scoring defense; Auburn only managed a field goal in the game.
• This was a slog of a game; the two teams combined to create a total of 478 yards on offense, and they combined to punt the ball 13 times.
• Freeze leaves Auburn with a record of 15-19.

We have arrived at the portion of the college football season where it is beginning to be possible to envision the participants in the CFP starting in December.  It looks as if perennial entrants like Ohio St, and Alabama will be involved again this year.  It also appears as if there will be some first-time entrants into the festivities.  I am sure that others can find other newbies who have a shot at the CFP this year, but here is my top-of the head list:

• BYU is 8-0 and leading the Big-12.
• Iowa has 2 losses – – and some impressive on-field credentials
• Ole Miss is 8-1 and the remaining schedule is not nearly a killer
• Texas A&M has been dominant this year and even if they lose a game this month, they would seem to be shoo-ins for the CFP.
• Texas Tech is 7-1 and should be in the Big-12 Championship Game

            I am not saying all those teams will make the CFP but none of them have been there before and all have a real chance.  In addition:

• It is virtually certain that the ACC representative(s) to the CFP will be first timers.  The previous ACC teams have been Clemson and Florida St.; neither of them will be under consideration this year.
• It looks pretty clear that the “non-Power 4 team” will be a rookie too.  Liberty and Boise St. have been there in the past, and neither will be there this year.  There are five or six possible teams from this category that could get the invitation, and I can’t possibly sort that out here.

There are four unbeaten teams remaining in 2025:

1. BYU
2. Indiana
3. Ohio St.
4. Texas A&M

Here are some comments on games from last week in the ACC:

Duke 46 Clemson 45:  Clemson has lost 5 games this year and 4 of them are conference games.  In the ACC only BC and Syracuse have more conference losses than Clemson.  Duke is 4-1 in conference games; the ACC race will be very interesting from here on out.

Virginia 31  Cal 21:  The Cavaliers remain “unbeaten” in ACC games (see above).

UNC 27  Syracuse 10:  This was the first win for Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels over a Power 4 opponent …

SMU 26  Miami 20 (OT):  That is the second loss in a row for the Hurricanes, and they are pretty much out of the ACC Championship picture.  SMU has 3 overall losses, but the Mustangs are 4-1 in conference games.  They have a much better shot at getting into the ACC Championship Game after this result.

And in Big-10 action:

Ohio St. 38  Penn St. 14:  The Nittany Lions have now lost 5 in a row; maybe James Franklin wasn’t “the problem”…?  Oh, by the way, Indiana is coming to “Happy Valley” this week…

Indiana 55  Maryland 10:  The Hoosiers ran up 588 yards on offense in this game and held Maryland to only 37 yards rushing on 17 tries.

Next up is the SEC:

Texas 34  Vandy 31:  Both teams are now 7-2.  Texas has only one SEC loss while Vandy has two conference losses.  The Commodores scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to make the score respectable.

Georgia 24  Florida 20:  Georgia improved to 7-1 for the season but that loss was in conference.  The Bulldogs are “lurkers” in the SEC now with that conference loss.  Alabama and Texas A&M are both undefeated in conference play and Ole Miss joins Georgia with a single conference loss.

Mississippi St. 38  Arkansas 35:  The Bulldogs are 5-4 for the season; they have already passed their projected win-total for the year according to the oddsmakers back in August.  Arkansas has lost 7 games this year, but three losses were by a field goal, and a fourth loss was by a single point.

Oklahoma 33  Tennessee 27:  That is the 3^rd conference loss for Tennessee; they will not be in the SEC Championship Game.  Oklahoma has two conference losses but also must deal with the fact that there are 5 SEC teams with fewer conference losses.

And over in the Big-12:

West Virginia 45  Houston 35:  This was a shocker.  Houston was at home and was a 13.5-point favorite and managed to lose by 10 points.  It was the second conference loss for Houston, and it was also the first conference victory for West Virginia.

Texas Tech 43  K-State 20:  The Red Raiders improved to 8-1 for the season.  However, that loss was in conference leaving them behind BYU in the Big-12 standings.

Kansas 38  Oklahoma St. 21:  The Cowboys’ season continues to circle the drain; they are now 1-8 for the season and have not won a conference game since 2023.

Arizona 52  Colorado 17:  If you think that score looks bad consider these:

• Colorado lost to Utah two weeks ago 53-7
• The score at halftime last week was 38-7

And in some random games of interest to me:

Army 20  Air Force 17:  I said last week that games between the service academies are usually close encounters …

North Texas 31  Navy 17:  This is the first loss of the year for Navy; North Texas improved its record to 8-1.

Fresno St.  30  Boise St. 7:  That was the first conference loss – – and third loss overall – – for Boise St.  Nevertheless, they are still alone in second place in the Mountain West Conference.  Fresno St. and five other teams have 2 conference losses so far; that race could get interesting too.

San Diego St. 24  Wyoming 7:  San Diego St. is 7-1 for the season and is the only undefeated team in the Mountain West.

Oregon St. 10  Washington St. 7:  The two offenses in this game were indeed “offensive”.

• Total Offense:              Oregon St. = 184 yards            Wash St. = 271 yards
• 3^rd down tries              Oregon St. = 1 of 12               Wash St. = 2 of 12
• Punts                           Oregon St. = 10                      Wash St. = 7

La Tech 55  Sam Houston 14:  Sam Houston is 0-8 for the season.  The SHOE Tournament Committee – – namely me – – has taken notice…

Here is an update on the race to receive the Brothel Defense Award for 2025:

• UAB gives up 38.8 points per game
• Oklahoma St. gives up 38.8 points per game
• Georgia St. gives up 40.8 points per game
• Sam Houston gives up 40.9 points per game.

Delaware St. 27  Norfolk St. 20:  DeSean Jackson’s team beat Michael Vick’s team.  The game was played in Philly at Lincoln Financial Field and drew a crowd of 47,266.

            Just as a point of reference for you, the stingiest scoring defense in 2025 is Ohio St.; the Buckeyes yield 6.9 points per game.  Quite the difference …

Here are the 12 teams on my radar this week for the SHOE Tournament:

1. Boston College           1-8
2. East Michigan             2-7
3. Georgia St.                  1-7
4. Middle Tenn St.           1-7
5. Nevada                        1-7
6. Oklahoma St.              1-8
7. Oregon St.                  2-7
8. South Alabama           2-7
9. Sam Houston              0-8
10. UMass                         0-9
11. UNC-Charlotte            1-7
12. UTEP                          2-6

 

Games of Interest This Week:

 

Colorado at W. Virginia – 6 (53):  Both teams are 1-5 in the conference.  Is the bloom off the rose in Colorado for Coach Pirme?  Can Rich Rodriguez’ return to W. Virginia start to look like something other than a disaster?  Neither defense is playing well here so I like the game to go OVER; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Florida St. at Clemson – 1.5 (56):  The subtitle for this game has to be, “How the Mighty Have Fallen”.  The Seminoles are 4-4 in 2025, and the Tigers are 3-5…

Indiana – 14 at Penn St. (50):  I suspect that there will not be a lot of happiness in evidence in “Happy Valley” come Saturday night…  Penn St. has not thrown the ball well since Drew Allar has been injured so if they fall behind here, they will have difficulty catching up.  The Indiana defense is tough yielding only 10.8 points per game.  I think this will be a rout; I’ll take Indiana and lay the points even on the road; put it in the “Betting Bundle”.

Wake Forest at Virginia – 6.5 (48.5):  The Cavaliers seek to stay unbeaten in ACC games which would guarantee them entry into the ACC Championship Game.

Georgia – 9 at Mississippi St. (56):  Georgia is ranked #5 this week in the CFP rankings – – the only ones that matter.  It looks like they are in the CFP unless they stumble on their own.

Texas A&M – 7 at Mizzou (48):  This is an important game for the Aggies, and the Tigers are no pushover.

BYU at Texas Tech – 10.5 (52):  BYU is 8-0 for the 2025 season and they are double-digit underdogs here in a conference game.  You do not see that very often.  I think this is the College Game of the Week.

Auburn at Vandy – 6.5 (45):  Auburn will have an interim coach which often gives a team a burst of enthusiasm; Vandy still has an outside shot at the CFP but those hopes will vanish with a poor performance in games like this.

LSU at Alabama – 10 (50):  The Tigers are 5-3 for the season and have lost 2 in a row.  This looks like a hard spot for them.

Oregon – 7 at Iowa (42):  The CFP rankings have Oregon at #9 and Iowa at #20; this is a big game for both teams, and it got plenty of consideration here for College Game of the Week.

Florida International – 1 at Middle Tennessee St. (52):  The SHOE Committee is watching …

Navy at Notre Dame – 28 (56):  Navy likes to run the ball; if they have even a little success doing that, it might be difficult for Notre Dame to have enough time to cover 4 TDs.

Sam Houston at Oregon St. – 20 (53.5):  Here are two bad teams with a combined record of 2-15 and one of them is a 3-score underdog.  Wow!

San Diego St. – 7 at Hawaii (48.5):  The Aztecs are the only team in the Mountain West without a loss this year – – but Hawaii is 4-1 at home this year…

 

NFL Commentary:

 

            With the NY Jets starting a tear-down effort by trading away two of their best defensive players earlier this week, I want to pose a simple question:

• Are the 2025 NY Jets looking at an even worse season than the team endured under Richie Kotite in 1996 when the team went 1-15-0?

Here are some numbers related to the 2025 NY Jets that are not gaudy by any means”

• The Jets rank 32^nd in the NFL in passing offense at 156.5 yards per game
• The Jets rank 25^th in the NFL in scoring at 21 points per game
• The Jets rank 24^th in the NFL in first downs achieved.

Look at those offensive stats in light of the fact that the team just traded off two Pro Bowl level players on the defense and it makes you wonder if 1-16-0 is possible…

The Dolphins did something unusual; the team stinks and instead of firing the coach, the owner fired the GM.  [Aside: That is not to say that the coach will not be out the door in the near future.]  Usually, it is the coach that goes first and if the GM is let go as well, those firings occur as a tandem.  The GM, Chris Grier, is Black; Stephen A. Smith suggested that there might be a racial component to that unusual circumstance; I don’t agree.

First of all, Chris Grier has been the GM of the team since 2016 and last time I checked, the Dolphins have not been in a lot of Super Bowls or Championship Games since then.  If the owner is a “closet racist”, I think he would have found an excuse to fire Chris Grier sometime short of 9 seasons.

I think the frustration of the owner there is that the team had a cumulative record of 77-80-0 since Grier took the job – – and things are not looking up for the 2025 season.  Over the course of his tenure in Miami, I think Grier made two big decisions that just never worked out for the team:

• He hired Adam Gase as the head coach in Miami right after getting the job.  That marriage lasted 3 years and was not an unmitigated success.
• He drafted Tua with the #5 pick in 2020 and that left the Chargers the opportunity to draft Justin Herbert with the #6 pick in that draft.

Yesterday, the NY Times reported that Antonio Brown had been arrested by US Marshalls in Dubai and he has been extradited to the US on second-degree attempted murder charges.  Brown has had some unusual behavioral incidents in the past and was indeed a diva as a WR, but I never saw a “murder charge” coming down the pike.  The events in question go back to May 17 when Brown claimed that he was “jumped” by people who sought to steal his jewelry but that he fended them off.  He was questioned by the police then but not arrested or charged with anything.  After that the police got a warrant for his arrest and he has been evading the authorities ever since then.  Hence – – I guess – – why the arrest happened in Dubai.

I just know that this story is not over …

I want to offer up a prognostication here even though the NFL season is only half over:

• The New England Patriots will be in the AFC Playoffs this year.

The Pats are 7-2-0 as of this morning.  They have 8 games left on the schedule and they will be favored in at least 5 of them:

• Vs. Jets
• At Bengals
• Vs. Giants
• At Jets
• Vs. Dolphins

If the Pats win four of those five very winnable games, they will have 11 wins for the season, and I don’t see how an 11-win team misses the AFC playoffs this season.  And by the way, they have a win over the Bills in their pocket so even if they lose to the Bills in the rematch on Dec 14^th, they still could win the AFC East on tiebreakers.

The Panthers are starting to look like a good football team.  They can – – and do – – run the football and they defend the run well too.  Now if they can keep Bryce Young upright and mobile …

Here is an unusual stat taken from the NFL standings today:

• The Texans are 3-5-0 for the season; nevertheless, their point differential is +47.
• The Texans beat the Titans by 26, the Ravens by 34 and the Niners by 11.
• The Texans’ biggest loss is by 8 points to the Seahawks.

Here are comments on last week’s games:

Steelers 27  Colts 20:  The Colts outgained the Steelers by 143 yards in the game but 6 turnovers negated that offensive advantage.  The Colts also converted 5 of 5 fourth-down tries in the game, but that was not enough to overcome 6 turnovers.  Daniel Jones was responsible for 5 of the 6 turnovers (3 INTs and 2 lost fumbles).  Both teams lead their divisions by 2 full games this morning but there are lots of naysayers who think both teams are Cinderellas with the clock at 11:55 PM.  We shall see …

Pats 24  Falcons23:    The Pats have won 6 games in a row; along with the Broncos, that is the longest extant winning streak in the league.  Interestingly, the Pats are 4-0 on the road and only 3-2 at home.  The Pats held the ball for 34 minutes and ran 14 more offensive plays than the Falcons.  The Falcons record dropped to 3-5-0 here and only the miserable Saints are keeping them out of the bottom of the NFC South.  The Falcons missed a PAT in the game that proved to be the margin of victory for the Pats.

Panthers 16  Packers 13:  The Packers outgained the Panthers by 104 yards – – and lost.  The Packers converted 7 of 13 third-down attempts – – and lost.  The Packers never punted in the game – – and lost.  The NFC North race really tightened up last week; the Packers now lead both the Lions and the Bears by half a game and the Vikes by 1.5 games. The Packers are an enigma; they look like world beaters one week but realize that they have lost to the Panthers and to the Browns and tied the Cowboys this year; those are not 3 great teams.  Panthers RB, Rico Dowdle ran the ball 25 times for 130 yards and two TDs.  Packers were inside the Red Zone 5 times and scored only 1 TD.

Broncos 18  Texans 15:  This was the fourth time this season that the Broncos were behind when the fourth quarter started and the team came back to win the game.  Someone in Denver must have found a cache of pixie dust.  Here are the results of the Texans’ second half possessions – – after CJ Stroud left the game with a concussion:

• 6 plays             24 yards          Field Goal
• 4 plays             8 yards            PUNT
• 3 plays             7 yards            PUNT
• 5 plays             14 yards          PUNT
• 4 plays             8 yards            PUNT
• 3 plays             7 yards            PUNT
• 3 plays             4 yards            PUNT

Bears 47  Bengals 42:  The teams combined to score 31 points in the 4^th quarter alone.  In fact, they scored 23 points in the final 5 minutes of the game.  Some beaches in the world are listed as “Clothing Optional”.  This game should be labeled as “Tackling Optional”.  The Bengals are toast; that defensive showing should have been a full-fledged embarrassment for the entire Bengals’ defense and defensive staff; the Bears posted 575 yards of offense.  But don’t lose sight of the fact that the Bears’ defense allowed 42 points to Joe Flacco in this game; that level of performance by Chicago is not sustainable.    Consider this circumstance:

• The Bengals offense has scored 39 and 42 points in the past two weeks and lost both games because of their defense’s inability to force stops. 

Chargers 27  Titans 20:  The Titans got a TD on a Pick Six and another one on a punt return; this game was not as close as the score would lead you to believe.  Justin Hebert was “The Man” in the game throwing for 250 yards and being the leading rusher with 57 yards.

Vikes 27  Lions 24:  JJ McCarthy was the star of this game by a mile.  He threw 2 TD passes and ran for another score.  The Vikes’ defense held the Lions to only 65 yards rushing on 20 carries and the longest run was only 11 yards.  The Lions are 0-3 this year when held to fewer than 100 yards rushing.

Niners 34  Giants 24:  The Niners ran for 159 yards in the game on 39 attempts; that allowed the Niners to control the pace of the game and time of possession.

Jags 30  Raiders 29 (OT):  You can’t fault Geno Smith for this loss; here is his stat line:

• 29 of 39 for 284 yards with 4 TDs and 1 INT

The difference in the game came down to the Raiders’ choice to go for two instead of playing for a tie with less than a minute left in OT.  That and the fact that the Raiders missed another PAT in the first quarter which played a role in sending the game to OT in the first place.  Another memorable event from the game, Jags’ placekicker, Cam Little set an NFL record with a successful 68-yard field goal.  The Raiders led 6-3 at the half and had the Jags’ offense bottled up.  Then in the second half, the Raiders’ defense went AWOL; here are the Jags’ possessions after halftime:

• 7 plays             17 yards          Field Goal
• 13 plays           69 yards          TD
• 9 plays             74 yards          TD
• 8 plays             42 yards          Field Goal
• 10 plays           44 yards          TD

Rams 34  Saints 10:  This was total domination by the Rams; they outgained the Saints 438 yards to 224 yards.  YOWZA!  The Saints got a look at Tyler Shough at QB for the game; here is his stat line from his first NFL start:

• 15 of 24 for 176 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT

Bills 28  Chiefs 21:  This was a great game to watch; the Bills won the game by winning the game not by the Chiefs losing the game.  The Bills controlled the ball for almost 35 minutes and James Cook’s rushing for 114 yards on 27 carries had lots to do with that.  I suspect we could see these teams face each other again in the playoffs…

Seahawks 38  Commanders 14:  Another game of total domination; the score was 31-7 at halftime; the Seahawks outgained the Commanders by 128 yards and played Drew Lock at QB for a significant part of the 4^th quarter.  Sam Darnold had a perfect first half against the Commanders, going 16 of 16 for 284 yards and four touchdowns in the first half.  Here is a stat that I ran across this week:

• Sam Darnold is the only QB over the past 35 years to complete 100% of his passes for at least 250 passing yards and four passing touchdowns in a single half.

Jayden Daniels suffered a gruesome injury late in the game; the score at the time was 38-7 and one might ask why he was in the game in the first place.

Ravens 34  Dolphins 6:  Seriously, I don’t think the game was this close …

Cards 27  Cowboys 17:  Jacoby Brisset and Marvin Harrison, Jr. had their way with the Cowboys’ secondary and Emari Demercado gained 79 yards on 14 carries.  The Cards’ victory broke a 5-game losing streak where the total margin of victory in the five games was 13 points.  The Cards’ defense also recorded 5 sacks in the game.

Before looking at this week’s games, I should note that last week was a positive one for the Eagles.  They were on their BYE Week; so, they were sitting at home watching instead of playing and they saw all three of their division rivals lose last weekend.

 

NFL Games This Week:

 

Teams on the BYE Week will be:

• Bengals:  I wonder if their defense can pitch a shutout on the BYE Week.  That is not a guarantee …
• Chiefs:  They trail the Broncos by 2.5 games as of today and they are only 1-3-0 on the road.  The Chiefs need to find a way to kickstart their season here.
• Cowboys:  Quinnen Williams will help the Cowboys’ run defense; can they use this BYE Week to teach the secondary how to cover people and to tackle people?
• Titans:  Can they out stink the Jets and get the overall #1 pick again in 2026?

            Last night the Broncos beat the Raiders 10-7 in an unentertaining game.  The Raiders scored a TD in the middle of the first quarter.  Here are their possessions after that:

• 8 plays             23  yards         PUNT
• 6 plays             30 yards          PUNT
• 5 plays             2 yards            FUMBLE
• 6 plays             30 yards          PUNT
• 4 plays             -4  yards          SACK
• 3 plays            -2 yards           PUNT
• 3 plays             -2 yards           HALFTIME
• 3 plays             8 yards            PUNT
• 1 play              0 yards            INT
• 4 plays             -6 yards           PUNT
• 3 plays             – 1 yard            PUNT
• 6 plays            42 yards          PUNT
• 6 plays            15 yards          MISSED FIELD GOAL

Falcons vs Colts – 6.5 (48.5) Game is in Berlin:  The Colts laid an egg last week; so, does that get it out of their system or is that harbinger of a decline?  This game could give a good indication because the Falcons defense against the run is only the 23^rd best in the league.  Which version of the Falcons will show up?

Browns – 2 at Jets (38): Clearly, the Dog-Breath Game of the Week.  The only positive thing about the game is that both teams had a BYE last week and should be ready to play as well as they can – – which is not all that great.

Saints at Panthers – 5.5 (40):  The Saints are a bad team, and this is a second road game in a row.  Usually that is not a good situation …

Bills – 9.5 at Dolphins (50):  Unless the Bills totally disrespect this opponent and look forward to the game after this one, they should win in a walk.  I know that is a big number, but I’ll take the Bills to win and cover on the road; put it in the “Betting Bundle”.

Jags at Texans “pick ‘em” (39):  The total Line opened at 41 points but dropped to this level when it was announced that CJ Stroud will not play here because of a concussion sustained last week; Davis Mills will be the QB for the Texans.  The Jags have been up and down this season and the Texans’ defense has a way of making offenses uncomfortable.  I like this game to stay UNDER; put it in the ”Betting Bundle”.

Ravens – 4 at Vikes (49):  Key question here is simple:

• Can JJ McCarthy play the way he did last week reliably?

Lamar Jackson is back for the Ravens; the Vikes will offer resistance, but the team will need offensive production and McCarthy showed that he can provide that.  Now can he do that again here and again next week …?

Pats at Bucs – 2.5 (48):  They are calling this the “Tom Brady Bowl”.  The oddsmakers are showing respect to the Pats here; the Bucs are a good team with a 6-2-0 record to lead the NFC South; the Bucs are at home and are less than a field goal favorite against the Pats who lost 13 games last season.  I thought about this one as the Game of the Week.  I said above that the Pats would be in the playoffs this year; so, will the Bucs.

Giants at Bears – 5 (46):  The Giants defense was touted to be really good; that has not manifested itself.  The Bears’ hopes were similarly pinned on the defense doing its part while the offense blossomed under the guidance of Ben Johnson; that has not happened either.  This game could either be won by the team that scores 20 points, or it could be a game where both teams score 30+ points.

Cards at Seahawks – 7 (45):  Listen up!  The Seattle Seahawks are a very good NFL team this year.  The Cards have played much better than their record would indicate but I don’t think they are up to traveling to Seattle on a short week to play a second straight road game.

Lions – 8 at Commanders (49.5):  Yes, Marcus Mariota will be the Commanders’ QB but that is not the problem for the Commanders in this game.  The problem is that the Commanders do not cover receivers well and they do not defend the run very well.  Overall, the Commanders rank 28^th in the NFL in Total Defense giving up 377.8 yards per game and 23^rd in the NFL in Scoring defense giving up 26.2 points per game.  The Lions do not play as well on the road as they do at home, but they are the better team here; give me the Lions to win and cover; put it in the “Betting Bundle”.

Rams – 5 at Niners (49):  The Niners beat the Rams earlier this year so a win here for the Niners would give them the definitive tiebreaker in the case of a tie between the two teams.  The Rams’ have a potent offense and the Niners’ defense is missing some very good players.  I thought about this one as the Game of the Week.

(Sun Nite) Steelers at Chargers – 3 (45):  Given the injury status of the Chargers’ OL, I suspect that Justin Herbert will be under severe duress for much of the evening.  The Chargers’ hopes in the game rely on passing success; the Steelers’ defense ranks dead last in the NFL in pass defense allowing 278.3 yards per game.

(Mon Nite) Eagles at Packers – 2 (45):  This is the Game of the Week.  I think the question here is straightforward:

• Did the Eagles’ offense come to life two weeks ago scoring 38 points on the Giants – – or was that just a defensive collapse by the Giants?

The Eagles made trades to help their defense at the deadline but nothing for the offense.  Is that a signal?  The Packers looked great in some games and then they laid an egg last week losing to the Panthers in Green Bay.

So, let me review the “Betting Bundle”:

• Colorado/West Virginia OVER 53
• Indiana – 14 over Penn St.
• Jags/Texans UNDER 39
• Bills – 9 over Dolphins
• Lions – 8 over Commanders

And just for fun, here are two Money Line Parlays:

• Colts @ minus-290
• Panthers @ minus-250
• Bills @ minus-540                             $100 wager to win $123

And …

• San Diego St. @ minus-230
• SMU @ minus-420
• Washington @ minus-410                $100 wager to win $121

Finally, this from Dick Vermeil:

“No one ever drowned in his own sweat.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………