Thursday Night
We saw what we wanted to see on Thursday, ESPN has a list of highlights and standout players of the night. There was shootout between two top QB’s in the NFL. Rodgers and the Pack started out with scoring 14 points to the Seahawks 3 points in the first quarter. In the second quarter the Hawks returned the favor with scoring 2 TD’s to the Packers single TD score. The half ended with the Packers in the lead 21-17 and getting the ball to start the second half.
Neither team scored in the third so going into the 4th the packers still held the lead at 21-17. In the fourth quarter the Seahawks scored 10 points to the Packers 3 giving them the win over the Pack 24-27. It was a close game as expected between two great QB’s of the game.
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday
There are seven early games on Sunday and three late games, with the last game of the week on Monday. The first game this Sunday is the Cowboys vs the Falcons. The players to watch are Matt Ryan QB of the Atlanta Falcons, Ezekiel Elliot RB of the Cowboys and WR Julio Jones of the Falcons.
Next on the list is the Panthers at the Lions and the players there are Detroit’s QB M. Stafford along with the WR, K. Golladay , the RB is Panthers C. McCaffery.
Next up is the Titans vs the Colts and the stars are the Colts QB A. Luck and RB M. Mack. The WR of the game is C Davis of the Titans. Another pairing is the Bucs vs the Giants and the players of the game are all Giants that need no introduction, Manning, Barkley and OBJ.
Next is two first place teams the Texans vs the Redskins. The players in this match-up are Watson and Hopkins from the Texans and Peterson from the Skins. The Steelers meet up with the Jags in Jacksonville. The players are all Pittsburgh elite, Roethlisberger, Conner and Schuster.
According to ESPN there is only one player to watch in this match-up between the Bengals and Ravens. That would be Mixon from the Bengals, but I believe QB Dalton from Cincinnati is another player to keep an eye on.
Next we have the Raiders facing the Arizona Cardinals in Arizona. The players of the game to watch are Carr and Cook from the Raiders and David Johnson from the Cards. The Denver Broncos take on the L.A. Chargers in Los Angles and the stars to watch are Rivers and Gordon from L.A. and E. Sanders from the Broncos.
The last afternoon game of Sunday puts the Eagles against the hottest team in the NFL, the New Orleans Saints. The players at the positions to watch are all from the “Big Easy” Brees, Kamara and Thomas. Sunday night has an NFC North match-up that has the Vikings against the Bears at Soldier Field. Quarterback Cousins from the Vikings and A. Thielen also from the Vikings along with RB, J. Howard from the Bears are the players to keep your eyes on.
Monday is going to be the game of the week to watch. It was supposed to take place in Mexico City but due to field conditions the league switched it to L.A. for safety of the players. The Chiefs take on the Rams, with both teams at 9-1 on the season this is definitely the game to watch this weekend. Goff vs Mahomes should be an air attack of epic proportions. Running game by each team is equal as well and the lack of defense by each team look for the total score to top 80 points between the two teams.
Bold Prediction
First off this week I will predict that the Lions will defeat the Panthers showing they are king of the Cats in this match-up. Lions over the Panthers 27-30 in the last minutes of the game.
In the last 7 meetings between these two teams, this team has won 6 of the match-ups. I predict the Broncos beat the Chargers in L.A. by a score of 27-17.
Next I can’t believe I am doing this one, the Eagles will defeat arguably the best team out there right now the Saints. I think the Eagles will win 33-24, holding the Saints to the lowest score they have had this year.
My next prediction is about the game of the week on Monday night. The Chiefs take on the Rams in L.A. and the Chiefs leave with the win in grand fashion. I think the Chiefs win by a score of 42-17 showing they not only have the offense but the defense as well to take it all the way this year.
The last prediction on paper could be a toss up. Both teams have equal records this year at 4-5. I am going with the away team of the Cowboys vs the Falcons in this match-up. The Boys will beat the Falcons 24-10 in Atlanta.
Fantasy
Not much to say at this point of the season. With the trade deadline quickly approaching in most leagues you pretty much have what you have. Any changes will be a result of injuries or a breakout player that somehow comes to life in the latter half of the season.
Keep your eyes on the waiver wire and for injuries that start to occur at this time of year. For those of you that took LeVeon Bell in your first round of draft picks and did not handcuff that pick with Conner, no worries, there is always next year. If you have Conner look to handcuff him with Jaylen Samuels.
With byes coming to an end in a few weeks you can start to drop players that you know you will not start and try to take the backups to the players you have. Most teams don’t change the scheme of the team if a player is injured they just shorten the play book. Protect yourself and your fantasy team with solid backup players.