2023 NFL Season

[Ccook]

They're home next week against Washington (1 PM, CBS). Atlanta is an early favorite (-1.5).

[SeaBreeze341]

With Kansas City's 4th win of the season at US Bank Stadium, Patrick Mahomes has defeated every team possible & in the fastest time.  In other words, less than 100.  In possible, that means the teams in the league during one's tenure.

Elway & Montana couldn't beat 32 teams; it was impossible for the former since the Texans weren't in the league in his final season.  As it relates to Baltimore & Cleveland, it's complicated.  For Joe, despite joining KC and beating his old team he retired right before Carolina & Jacksonville joined the NFL.  Of course, John never beat Denver since he played his entire career as a Bronco.

That is very impressive, IMO.  Probably what helped (except not really) was that 17th game against the Packers 2 years after being inactive vs Green Bay (otherwise, Patrick would've had to wait until later this year at Lambeau).

Looks like Travis Kelce survived another situation as it relates to injury.  The champs are probably doomed if he's not there, but it appears that everybody else is getting better so that's a good thing

[Ccook]

Desmond Ridder loses his first home game as both college and pro player as Atlanta loses to Washington 24-16. Ridder gets sacked and picked three times. Late careless penalties did not help matters.

[SeaBreeze341]

San Francisco loses for the first time.  A little surprising, but not completely, and not a shocker either.  Cleveland has a great defense, they were coming off of a bye, and the Niners were travelling West to East for a 10 AM PST kickoff.  I wasn't a fan of a near double-digit spread, but the actual outcome of a close, low-scoring final was my thought.  Just the wrong team based on everything.

Tough loss for the 49ers with a game still to go at Lincoln Financial.  Speaking of Philadelphia, I like them winning the NLCS before they beat Houston in the Fall Classic.  But in the sport of football, it's still a tight game against the Jets.  A loss means the 1972 Dolphins can celebrate before Halloween, but a win for the NFC Champions gives them a big edge against San Francisco (and an important one since the Eagles still have a date in Arrowhead)

[therealcu2010]

And the number of undefeated teams officially falls to zero.

[SeaBreeze341]

Indianapolis Colts Rookie QB Anthony Richardson shutdown for 2023

As mentioned a week ago, the 4th overall pick was going to be out for a long time, with no timetable for his return.  Since then, surgery was speculated which would mean a 2024 return at the earliest (his second year in the league, not Week 18).  After reviewing the options, everybody agreed that season-ending surgery was the best way to go moving forward

[Ccook]

Penalties and turnovers were the forefront of Atlanta's 16-13 win over Tampa Bay. Desmond Ridder threw for 250 and ran for a TD while Baker Mayfield threw for 275, a TD and a pick. Younghoe Koo kicked the winning 51-yard FG as time expired.

[SeaBreeze341]

There's no reason for Atlanta or Tampa Bay to play each of their next 2 games.  It'll be a win for the Falcons and the opposite for the Bucs.  Why risk injury?  So congrats in advance to Buffalo & Houston, and sorry to Tennessee & Minnesota for losing.

I don't think the Bucs are the worst team in the league, but as mentioned, their early success was not sustainable.  Feels like luck factored into the fact they won this season in the first place.  As for Atlanta, I did ponder over Ridder as a darkhorse league MVP.  It ain't happening, but I don't think it would be a shocker if he got there.  That's because there aren't any clear frontrunners. However, it's early and someone can make a run in November & December (other than Mahomes) and get there.

I don't know what to think of with the Pats.  Though I do love the parity; on a related note, Carolina might be better off beating Chicago later this year.  For obvious reasons.

Cleveland winning by a point or two might be the worst thing in the world.  Just this week, definitely not anytime else, and within in the world of sports.

At least I was correct thinking New York would beat Washington.  You never know with those two

[gameshowrecaps]

The New England Patriots have finally snapped a losing streak and win over the Buffalo Bills 25-29.

[Ccook]

It also marked Bill Belichick's 300th regular season win.

[SeaBreeze341]

Basically the tables have turned on San Francisco.  The 49ers were that team that would beat their opponents in a way where that team ended up losing their very next game.  I believe since Brock took over, teams were all but winless heading into this year (Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland won games following a Niners matchup).  Following a very brutal game in Cleveland, they ended up looking defeated before they actually were.

A rare primetime win for Kirk Cousins & the Vikings 22-17.  The NFC West champions' bye can't come soon enough, but that'll be preceded by a home game against Cincinnati, who'll be coming off of a bye.  Tough luck for the Niners

[Ccook]

Tennessee wins their first game against teams over .500 in ten tries, beating Atlanta 28-23. Taylor Heinicke replaced Desmond Ridder as Atlanta QB in the second half. What sealed the deal was Atlanta WR Van Jefferson dropping a pass on 4th and 1 with no time outs and less than 2:00.

[SeaBreeze341]

Fortunately, I've stayed away from including Atlanta in my "Epic" predictions.  I still pick all of the games, but the Falcons are & have been a nightmare in terms of picking them to win or loss (just like the Giants during the Eli Manning Era).  Now, if it's a stand alone that's a different story, but no more big picks for Atlanta.  Though they almost had it today.

Houston losing was even worse.  On one hand, it made the Steelers look super awful.  On the other hand, the latter actually did that themselves.

FWIW, it would be pretty embarrassing for the Steelers if everybody else in the AFC North won later on.  Pittsburgh was at home, and the other teams are on the road

[Ccook]

Atlanta is a point favorite vs. Minnesota Sunday. That line could change with two notables out: Kirk Cousins for the Vikings (Achilles) and Grady Jarrett for Atlanta (ACL).

[SeaBreeze341]

According to FanDuel, it's now Falcons -4.5.  With Detroit rebounding over Vegas, it could get to the point where the Lions are crowned at home on Turkey Day.

I'd say no to that, but barring something unfortunate, Detroit will finally complete things for the NFC North (and the conference).  To explain, if they win their division, everyone would've won in the North, and each of the 16 teams in the NFC would've won a division title at least once since 2002.  We'll see if Cleveland can get there to become the 32nd team in the AFC North.  Either way, Cousins may have taken his final snap in Minnesota.

Thanks to CU, I'll know not to expect a ton of early SNF schedule changes between weeks 5-10 going forward.  Though it wasn't really something I thought of in the past; usually the games scheduled them aren't too bad.  A team that's destined to suck really isn't scheduled at that time, and games that would be perfect as a replacement are typically protected.  Fortunately, the league will not have to worry about exceeding their 2 time limit if/when they decide to move Jets/Raiders to another spot.  On the other hand, I wouldn't be shocked if they didn't touch it.  New York has been managing so far this season.  A winning record for them heading into November, where the schedule is a tad bit easier.  The Raiders aren't great, but they're hosting the Super Bowl.  Well the game is at Allegiant, but it won't feature the former 3-Time Super Bowl champions.  Maybe the NFL would love to have the venue featured in primetime; I think there is something to that.  However, it's on a different network, and Las Vegas was already on SNF in Week 3.

Here are several options.  I thought Cleveland at Baltimore would've been perfect, though Detroit vs Los Angeles might be the best bet.  San Francisco at Jacksonville sounds wonderful, but not automatic given the NFC West champions recent slide, among other things.  I guess I'll know for sure on Tuesday