Thursday night
Before I talk about the match-up, I want to talk about the broadcast. So, in the infinitely greedy minds of the NFL Front Office, tonight's game will broadcast live ONLY on NFL+. Now, for those who have NFL Network, they might ask, "What's the difference between NFL+ and NFL Network?" Answer, "About $20 a month." See, the NFL has decided to take a page from NBC's STUPID GREEDY TRICKS. You see, many people may be paying $6.99 a month (going up to $9.95 a month in Nov) for Peacock streaming network. When Peacock was announced, they stated it was the way to view and binge old series, specials, and see new show, only they won't be available until the next day. Great deal! So great that lots of people signed up. When the numbers came in, NBC officials saw only dollar signs. So, they moved ALL specials and new shows, including exclusive series, to a new Premium service, which costs an extra $22 ($21.99 to be exact) a month.
So, seeing how NBC handled things, the NFL has decided to get greedy, too, and stiff rabid NFL fans for extra money. I saw, stick it to them! If you can wait (and you know how to record shows on your streaming platform), then wait and watch the rebroadcast on regular NFL Network at 12:30AM. Or, even better, watch it on YouTube! You see, sports fans on YouTube have already set up channels that will show the NFL+ broadcast, with just a couple of minutes lag time. This is an extension of a service YouTube subscribers provided last fall, when ESPN blocked themselves from many free or cheap streaming services like Hulu and Roku to force customers to purchase ESPN's premium plan. YouTube subscribers simply created channels and broadcast NCAA football games, with the same time lag. Is this technically illegal? Yes. Did ESPN tell YouTube to shut it down? Yes, but there's a lovely catch. The law provides a lag time in shutting down such channels, assuming it takes considerable time to track down the source of the channel and shut it off (for a well-organized site like YouTube, or at least it was well-organized BEFORE Google took it over, it doesn't take much time. For the Google folks, maybe it DOES take them considerable time to figure it out!). So, they claimed it took them four hours, which was the period of time the game lasted. Fans watched the game, YouTube shut down the channels afterwards, new channels popped up, and everybody was happy. Well, everybody but ESPN, Beaten, however, they rather quickly (within a week) "negotiated" with all of the streaming services, and ESPN was back on everyone's channel lineups. Let's see how long it takes the NFL to admit that consumers are craftier than the greedy minions that run the league, and they give up this "NFL+ exclusive".
Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs : The Chiefs offense is potent! the Charges defense might slow them down for a while, but they can't hold them back for a whole game, and the Chargers offense lacks some spark. CHIEFS, 27-17
Sunday early games
Carolina Panthers at New York Giants : The Giants may have found a way to beat the Titans last week, but their offense isn't that good. The Panthers aren't great, either, but they are better than the Giants. PANTHERS, 17-13
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars : Though not the worst team so far this season, the Jags aren't really a threat, .COLTS, 20-10
Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Ravens : The Dolphins looked really impressive last week. If they do well this game, I will admit that it was not a fluke. However, overcoming the Ravens defense will not be easy. I am p[icking the Ravens, but the Dolphins draw up enough offensive power to win this game. RAVENS, 17-16
New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers : New England looked pathetic last week, and I don't think they have diagnosed the problem yet, let alone fixed it. STEELERS, 16-10
New York Jets at Cleveland Browns : The Browns almost gave up an early lead last week. They won't do so this week, as they will own the Jets form the first possession. BROWNS, 20-6
Tampa Bay Bucs at New Orleans Saints : The Saints sputtered a bit last week. You can't do that against the Bucs. BUCS, 30-23
Washington Commanders at Detroit Lions : This game could really go either way. I'll favor the home team, but it's a pure guess, LIONS, 17-16
Sunday late games
Arizona Cardinals at Las Vegas Raiders : The Raiders exposed some serious vulnerabilities last week; just the kind of thing for the Cardinals defense to capitalize upon. CARDS, 23-16
Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams : The Rams completely fell apart last week. They will bounce back, but I think it will take longer than one week. FALCONS, 20-16
Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys : QB Dak Prescott is out, and we are not sure for how long. Without him, the offense will sputter. BENGALS, 27-6
Houston Texans at Denver Broncos : The Texans offense isn't quite clucking, but their defense is good, and they will stop the struggling Broncos offense. They might even help the offense with a couple of turnovers in positive territory. TEXANS, 17-13
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers : The Seahawks weren't smooth last week, and they tend to play much better at home. That makes this road trip look disasterous for them. 49ERS, 16-13
Sunday night
Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers : The Bears often play poorly on nighttime national television, but even if their offense sputters, their defense is still strong. Given how well the Vikings held back the floundering Packers last week, the Bears should be at least as effective, if not more so. BEARS, 23-13
Monday Night Football
Tennessee Titans at Buffalo Bills : The Bills look like the strongest team in the league right now, so this game should be decided by halftime. BILLS, 31-13
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