Through nine weeks of the NFL, it looks very different compared to last season this time of the year.
I think there is finally a clear tier system forming for teams now (with changes coming as the season progresses of course), and overall, there are a lot of bad teams this year. Through nine weeks of the season, 11 out of 32 teams have three wins or less. This week we will be covering a possible return of a superstar player; a matchup between a top offense and top defense and a Sunday Night game between two top teams with two undefeated records.
49ers offense gets much needed help as faceoff against Florida’s best team
Will 49ers running back (RB) Christian McCaffrey (CMC) return this week? Well, several sources inside the 49ers organization and facility say he is going to be making his debut this Sunday against the Buccaneers. McCaffrey has yet to play a game this season and has made many fantasy players’ lives sad. Healthy McCaffrey is arguably the best RB and offensive weapon in football and he could be the extra juice this 49ers team needs to get out of this land of mediocrity.
The 49ers offense as a whole has not looked bad without McCaffrey, but having him would not hurt as this team is missing key starters on offense currently with wide receiver (WR) Brandon Ayuik out for the year, WR Deebo Samuel being inconsistent with playing time and WR Jauan Jennings dealing with a lingering hip injury.
On the flip side of things, the defense is also filled with injuries across the board with five starters currently on injury reserve (IR) or listed as out. To top things off, two starters, edge rusher (EDGE) Nick Bosa and cornerback (CB) Charvarius Ward, are listed as questionable for this game. All things considered though, they are still playing well, averaging out as the 12th or 13th ranked defense in the league. If this team wants to win, they will have to lean on their amazing coaching staff and will need quarterback (QB) Brock Purdy to step up.
From one injured offense to another. The Buccaneers are missing both of their starting WRs and have two current starting WRs listed as questionable for the upcoming game. One positive with the offense’s receiving game though is tight end (TE) Caden Otten has found his role and stepped up majorly to fill in for the injured offense with 421 receiving yards (sixth among TEs), 44 catches (fourth) and four touchdowns (TDs) (tied for third).
To throw him the ball, QB Baker Mayfield has been amazing so far this season being first in passing TDs (23) and second in passing yards (2389). He has been playing like an MVP. Even with the injuries, he has shown no signs of slowing down. Since starting, WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin were injured. Mayfield has thrown for 530 yards, five TDs and two interceptions (INTs).
As you can see, Mayfield and the offense have been amazing. As for the defense, the same cannot be said. While yes, they have had young stars and veterans playing well, overall, the group has been very bad. On paper, you would think, “Something is not adding up.” You would be right to think that, and I believe most of the blame goes to head coach, Todd Bowles, who can not seem to balance head coaching duties and keeping his defense upright at the same time. There is just way too much star power on this defense to be this bad.
If CMC plays, I could see the 49ers winning. With that being said I think Mayfield puts up another MVP level game and the Buccaneers snap their three game losing-streak.
Final Score: 49ers 23 – Buccaneers 31
Steelers head to Maryland to take on Jayden Daniels led Commanders
This is an elite matchup of defense versus offense. The Steelers post the ninth best defense in yards per game allowed (310.3) and second best in points per game allowed (14.9). The Commanders third best offense in yards per game (392) and third best in points per game (29.2). Who breaks?
The Steelers have been a surprisingly good team in my terms. I did not think they would be a six win team at this point in the season, and I thought the offense was going to be terrible no matter who the QB was. Well, when Justin Fields was in, it was. Since Russell Wilson has taken over, they have been good. Wilson has added a second level to the offense in the passing attack that Fields could not add. Through that, the run game has also gotten much better, and RB Najee Harris looks like he cares about football again.
Now let us talk about the real strength of this team: the defense. They have a superstar defensive line (DL) and an insane secondary. EDGE T.J. Watt is playing at yet again an elite level and is contending for DPOY. Technically, the Steelers are coming off a bye week, but with that being said, Watt is coming off a very strong game against the Giants where one could argue he was the sole reason the Steelers won. Defensive backs, Donte Jackson and Beanie Bishop have both been playing at great levels of play at three INTs a piece.
Another week, another time of covering the Commanders. I really did not think I would be covering them this much, but oh well. The Commanders offense has been insane under rookie QB phenomenal Jayden Daniels and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. As I have discussed before, I doubt anyone expected this level of play from the Commanders offense. Now while yes, Daniels and Kingsbury deserve most of the credit, there are other stars who deserve some flowers.
Third-year RB Brian Robinson Jr. is having an amazing season and is on pace for his best year as a rusher. He has already passed his career high in rushing TDs in a season. He also seemed to have fixed his minor fumbling issue as he has yet to fumble so far this season after fumbling two and three times in his first two seasons. WR Terry McLaurin has also been playing at a great level being the leader among contested catch rate this season and being seventh in receiving yards at 598 yards. He has also tagged along five TDs.
In the end, I have a great showdown between both teams showing their titles of top offense and defense and the Commanders coming out on top.
Final Score: Steelers 19 – Commanders 24
Two top young and great teams face off under the primetime lights
The Lions are undefeated on the road (four wins and zero losses) and the Texans are undefeated at home (four wins and zero losses), who’s streak comes to an end this week?
The Lions are the best team in football, no way around it. Yet another game where Goff puts up a very clean and efficient game against another good defense. Goff posted a statline of 81.3 completion percentage, 145 yards and one TD. Now yes, while that stat line does not scream “amazing,” Goff is doing what is asked of him, and that is avoiding turnovers and adding another part of the offense.
What makes this Lions offense so dangerous is their RB duo. Just as we said last week, there is no contest that they have the best duo in football currently. I would also argue that they are slowly climbing the all time duo list. RB Jahmyr Gibbs posted another good game at 11 carries, 65 yards and one TD while RB David Montgomery was also efficient at 17 carries and 73 yards. When you have two top 10 RBs on the same roster, you might as well just give up on defending the run.
It is not just their run game that is scary though, their defense has been playing at an elite level the last few games. They had Packers QB Jordan Love out there seeing ghost and making criminal decisions as in the final minute of the first half, Love rolled out the pocket and threw an awful pass that landed in the hands of soon-to-be All-Pro Lions safety (S) Kerby Joseph, and he took it back to endzone for a defensive TD.
The Texans on the other hand were not good last week. Second-year QB C.J. Stroud is suffering what many consider a “sophomore slump.” Stroud has looked almost a completely different QB from last season as he is now coming off his second game of the season under a 50% completion. Now while we could all sit here and dunk on Stroud, we do have to remember this Texans offensive line (OL) is on pace for an awful season and that he has been missing two of his top weapons.
Speaking of weapons, star WR Nico Collins is coming off IR and listed as questionable for Sunday’s showdown. Collins had 32 catches, 567 yards and three TDs in just four games and a quarter into the season before suffering a bad hamstring injury that put him on the sidelines for four games.
As usual, we flip to the other side of the ball to see what is going on. This has been the surprising part of this team this year. Second-year EDGE Will Anderson Jr. is playing at an DPOY level, and a huge part of that has been having an elite veteran EDGE to help him, Danielle Hunter.
Overall though, this Texans team has been majorly disappointing in terms of expectations. In the end, I have the Texans putting up a good fight but struggling to keep up with the Lions’ offense.
Final Score: Lions 29 – Texans 24
Remaining Games and Predictions:
TNF Bengals at Ravens: *NOTE* This game has already been played. Actual Final Score: Bengals 34 – Ravens 35
Giants at Panthers (in Munich, Germany): Panthers win battle of two win teams over in the “fatherland.” Final Score: Giants 16 – Panthers 26
Patriots at Bears: Picks one and three go back and forth, but the home team comes out on top. Final Score: Patriots 20 – Bears 27
Broncos at Chiefs: Broncos take down the undefeated Chiefs in a major upset. Final Score: Broncos 24 – Chiefs 20
Bills at Colts: Josh Allen struggles some, but Bills come out on top. Final Score: Bills 20 – Colts 17
Vikings at Jaguars: Mac Jones has a legacy game and pulls off a major upset. Final Score: Vikings 21 – Jaguars 31
Falcons at Saints: Falcons complete the sweep against the beaten-down Saints. Final Score: Falcons 28 – Saints 13
Titans at Chargers: Justin Herbert puts up a second straight game of “eliteness.” Final Score: Titans 10 – Chargers 34
Jets at Cardinals: Jets win second straight as they head to the desert. Final Score: Jets 23 – Cardinals 20
Eagles at Cowboys: Eagles take advantage of Cowboys having a hole at QB. Final Score: Eagles 35 – Cowboys 17
MNF Dolphins at Rams: Rams defense makes Tua scared again. Final Score: Dolphins 18 – Rams 28
Teams on Bye and their next opponent:
Browns next at Saints | Packers next at Bears | Raiders next at Dolphins | Seahawks next at 49ers
