Thursday Night
Thursday brought us a contest between two teams that have had struggles this year on both sides of the ball NFL.com. The deciding factor in this game was, well I’ll just say it, the Broncos. By the end of the first quarter, Quarterback J Rosen threw interceptions that resulted in returns for touchdowns by the Denver defense. Denver’s offense also scored a TD on a pass from QB C. Keenum to WR E. Sanders for a 28 yarder. The Cardinals scored just one field goal in the first and had trouble moving the ball as well as stopping the running game of Denver.
The second quarter did not start out any better for the Cards as Keenum threw his second TD pass for 64 yards to Sanders in the first 11 seconds. Running Back R. Freeman from Denver added another rushing TD with a one yard run to finish the first half with Denver leading 35-3. The half gave the Broncos back the ball, but Keenum threw an interception of his own. The Cardinals and Rosen threw his first and only TD of the game to Larry Fitzgerald for a 4 yarder. Denver scored another TD in the third on a run by RB Lindsey for 28 yards and then a field goal in the forth for a final score 45-10.
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday
NFL.com reports the Titans and Chargers face off across the pond, at 9:30am ET for the second game in London this year. The 1pm ET games are Texans at the Jaguars, Panthers at the Eagles and the Vikings at the Jets. Patriots take on the Bears in Chicago, Bills at the Colts and the Browns at the Buccaneers. The Lions travel to face the Dolphins in steamy Florida to round out the early games.
The late games are the Saints at the Ravens, Cowboys at the Redskins and the Rams at the 49ers. There are 4 teams on byes this week, the Packers, Steelers, Raiders and the Seahawks. Sunday’s Night game will be the Bengals at the Chiefs which in my opinion should be the game to watch. Monday the Giants take on the high flying Falcons.
Bold Predictions
First on the docket this week for bold predictions will be the Texans at the Jacksonville Jaguars. These two teams have even records at 3-3, but this week will be the Texans beating out the Jags by a score of 33-10 and the Texans will have 6 sacks and hold the Jaguars to just under 200 yards of total offense.
Second prediction is the Vikings at the Jets. The Jets will pull off the upset by beating the Vikings 28-14. The Jets will also beat the Vik’s in rushing and passing yards.
The Rams and 49ers face off this Sunday in an interesting matchup. But, the 49ers will be victorious this weekend after they nearly won against the Pack last week. This will give them the confidence they need to pull off the upset of the year against the unbeaten Rams.
Last the Bengals will give the Chiefs their second loss of the year in a shootout of epic proportions. With a total score between the two teams topping out over 90 points the Chiefs lack of defense will not be able to stop the Bengals.
Fantasy
It’s that time of year when weather starts to become a factor in football games. The same is true in fantasy. Weather can make or break a game, wind, snow, ice, even sun can change the course of a game.
Wind effects the QB ability to effectively throw the ball as well as the receivers ability to catch it. This type of weather would benefit a good running game. Snow can also benefit a running game as throwing the ball down field in a blizzard obviously would prove futile.
Sun equals heat and heat equals exhaustion for skill position players. In extreme heat conditions players are often switched out for fresh players decreasing the plays they are in therefore decreasing their potential scoring capabilities.
Watch the weather forecasts, watch who plays in domes. These are not always easy picks, I know. I have mentioned this in past articles before, but it is an important part of being a good fantasy manager.