1. Detroit Lions (6-1)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (7-0)
3. Baltimore Ravens (5-3)
4. Buffalo Bills (6-2)
5. Houston Texans (6-2)
6. Green Bay Packers (6-2)
7. Washington Commanders (6-2)
8. Minnesota Vikings (5-2)
9. Philadelphia Eagles (5-2)
10. San Francisco 49ers (4-4)
Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) @ Cincinnati Bengals (3-5)
The Eagles absolutely balled out and quieted a lot of outside noise. Jalen Hurts looked like his vintage self and we saw how good this team is when they are healthy.
The Bengals are in dire straits right now and will have to scratch and claw just to make the playoffs.
New York Jets (2-6) @ New England Patriots (2-6)
The Patriots needed a win as bad as any team in the league and they delivered. However, it wasn’t without disappointment as Drake Maye went down with a concussion on a cheap helmet to helmet hit as he was sliding. Hopefully, he’s okay as the last thing we want is an injury to hurt his progression.
It is crazy that whenever Maye plays, the defense is inept, but whenever Brissett comes in, the defense balls out. Even yesterday, the D did not look good while Maye was in, but right as Brissett came in, they seemed to turn it up a notch.
For the Jets, their season looks to be about over. Their kicking game is terrible and their team has little to no chemistry. I think their play will improve, but it won’t be enough to make the playoffs.
Wild stat of the day: The Jets had 0 turnovers and held the Pats to under 250 total yards. Teams who had done that had won 220 games in a row before this game.
Buffalo Bills (6-2) @ Seattle Seahawks (4-4)
The Bills keep marching on. Even a road game with terrible weather wasn’t enough to slow them down. Josh Allen should now be the front runner for MVP.
Dallas Cowboys (3-4) @ San Francisco 49ers (4-4)
The 49ers hold off the Cowboys to get back to even. The Cowboys nightmare season continues with not much hope in sight. The 49ers still have a tough road to the playoffs ahead of them, but their division is pretty weak, so they could still get a home playoff game.
Game/Betting Picks Results
Game: 1-3 (19-11 This Season) (57-27 All-Time)
Spread: 1-3 (18-11-1) (57-25-2)
O/U: 2-2 (15-15) (44-39-1)
Episode 3 of the pod, including our betting picks this weekend
https://open.spotify.com/show/7FRSwrllknwemMVvghqlRQ
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-15-minute-blitz-230527724/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/15-minute-blitz/id1775746291
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/23d6848d-e967-470e-b1f1-8996bd205feb/15-minute-blitz
NFL head coach hot seat rankings heading into Week 8:
1 Doug Pederson – Jaguars
Pederson is a good coach. However, this team is too talented to be 2-5, especially after giving their QB a massive contract this offseason. If they don’t get it together, they’ll move off him.
2 Mike McCarthy – Cowboys
The Cowboys and McCarthy seem to be at a pass. They have disappointed in the postseason the past couple seasons and this year is already looking like a letdown. If they don’t make the playoffs, they’ll likely “mutually part ways.”
3 Dennis Allen – Saints
The Saints need an all-around rebuild. They are old and expensive with an ineffective coach. This offseason should be the start of a new era with a new coach.
4 Brian Daboll – Giants
Daboll is a good coach, but the Giants are a bad team. Unfortunately, he could be a casualty of bad roster decisions made by the front office.
5 Nick Sirianni – Eagles
The Eagles aren’t playing horrible, but Philly coaches always have short leashes. If the Eagles don’t win a playoff game, Srianni could be gone.
Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) @ Cincinnati Bengals (3-4)
Two teams that have had up and down seasons, but still have enough hope and talent to do something this year. The Bengals have more to play for and I think they win, cover (-2.5), and the over (47.5) hits.
New York Jets (2-5) @ New England Patriots (1-6)
A hectic week in New England overshadows the fact that we actually have a game this weekend. Between former coaches and players commenting on Mayo’s “soft” comment and half our wide receiver room acting out, I can’t imagine this team is that focused. Oh, and our offensive line is still ravaged by injuries. I think the Jets win, cover (-7), and the over (41) hits.
Buffalo Bills (5-2) @ Seattle Seahawks (4-3)
The Bills travel across the country for a big game with the Seahawks. Despite the long trip, I think they win, cover (-3), and the over (46) hits.
Dallas Cowboys (3-3) @ San Francisco 49ers (3-4)
What a difference a year can make. Last year, both of these teams were 2 of the 3 best in the NFC. This year, they are fighting just to make the playoffs. I think the Cowboys win, cover (+4), and the under (47) hits.
New England Patriots (1-6) vs Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5)
Leave it to the Pats to make the Jags look good this year. This completely was a game the Pats could have won.
Overall, they got beaten physically. The defense got ran all over and the offense couldn’t run the ball.
On special teams, out kicking the coverage led to a long return TD.
Outside of Maye and the passing game, this team played bad today. On the flip side, it’s nice seeing that our offense can finally produce big plays. There’s a lot to build on.
Jerrod Mayo is starting to worry me as a coach. Going for 2 made absolutely no sense, when the Pats could have kicked an extra point and made it a one possession game. The decision to go for 2 and not get it, completely changed the dynamic of the game and makes it so much harder to win.
I also don’t like that every time the camera shows Mayo, he seems to have an annoyed look on his face, he shows no emotion, and never appears to be talking to any of his players or coaches. If your team is constantly losing, at least try to keep up their spirits instead of pouting on the sideline.
He called out the team after the game and said they were soft. We’ll see if that moralizes or demoralizes the Pats.
Houston Texans (5-2) @ Green Bay Packers (5-2)
Stroud struggled a lot this game, but the Texans still nearly pulled this one out. The Packers came through and won, which is a necessity for them in the stacked NFC North.
Detroit Lions (5-1) @ Minnesota Vikings (5-1)
The Lions continue to show they are the best team in the league. They can beat you in so many ways and pulled off another win in a great back and forth game.
Kansas City Chiefs (6-0) @ San Francisco 49ers (3-4)
Wow. That is all I can say about the Chiefs. They are the new Patriots, in the sense that they can change their identity and win any way. They used to be a high powered offensive team. Now they have morphed into a team that runs the ball well and plays amazing defense. Mahomes does’t put up gaudy stats, but makes the big plays when he needs to. Despite losing their top running back and top wide receiver, the train keeps chugging on.
The craziest stat to show how good the Chiefs have been defensively is that today they scored 28 points, which is the most they’ve scored in the last 16 games they’ve played. They are 13-3 in those games. Scary for the rest of the league.
The 49ers under Kyle Shanahan fall to 0-5 vs Andy Reid and the Chiefs. Both teams dealt with tons of injuries today, but the Niners did not get through it like the Chiefs did. Defensively, you can only shake your head. They held Mahomes to a QB Rating of 44.4 and still lost by 10 points. They have very little room for error, given their record, if they want to make the playoffs.
Baltimore Ravens (5-2) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3)
The Ravens keep on rolling and Lamar is once again the MVP front-runner. This team is so good in all facets of the game and, dare I say, the best team in the AFC right now. I know Lamar and Co. have struggled vs the Chiefs. But guess what? Tom Brady and the Patriots started off 6-0 vs Peyton Manning including 2-0 in the postseason. The rest of their careers after that? Manning went 6-5 including 3-0 in the playoffs (all AFC Championship games). So just because Mahomes has his number now, doesn’t mean that will continue forever.
The Bucs night started off well with a 10-0 lead and Mike Evans scoring his 100th career receiving TD. Evans is the 9th WR to ever have 12,000 yards receiving and 100 TDs. Despite being so underrated, he’s going to Canton.
After that, things fell apart with Baker throwing some bad picks, the Bucs blowing their lead, and Evans and Godwin leaving with injuries. Evans looks like he’ll be week to week, but Godwin might be out for the year. This could be a massive blow to the Bucs playoff chances.
Game/Betting Picks Results
Game: 3-2 (18-8 This Season) (56-24 All-Time)
Spread: 3-2 (17-8-1) (56-22-2)
O/U: 2-3 (13-13) (42-37-1)
5 Georgia @ 1 Texas
Georgia with a huge win in an extremely unique game. This shows the good side of realignment where two all-time programs play each other in a primetime top 5 matchup.
For Georgia, they don’t look as dominant as they have the past three years. But they still look like the best team in a loaded SEC. Even with Carson Beck not playing his best, they thoroughly outplayed Texas. Their strength continues to be an absurd defense with future NFL players all around it.
Texas’s season is very much still alive. If this is their only loss, they easily still make the playoff. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle everything internally.
Sark removing Quinn Ewers so early was kind of ridiculous. But once you put Arch in, stick it out instead of taking him out right away. Now you hurt both QBs confidence and create a controversy moving forward. They need to pick one and commit to them moving forward. I think Ewers is the guy right now due to his experience. He’s still shaking off rust from injury. The remainder of the schedule is not easy since it’s the SEC, but they should be able to right the ship and Quinn should get back to playing well.
7 Alabama @ 11 Tennessee
Bama is in a tough spot now. They really have no way to make the conference championship game. Their one avenue to the playoff is to win out, look impressive, and hope their resume is good enough to get an at large bid. This is exactly why great teams like them can’t afford brutal losses to teams like Vandy. The SEC is so good, you’re nearly guaranteed to lose 1 or 2 games to great teams. Any extra losses just tank your season.
Tennessee finds themselves in a pretty good spot moving forward. Their one tough remaining opponent is Georgia. If they can pull that off they are likely in the SEC Championship. Even if that is the one loss they have, this Bama win gives them a strong case for the playoff.
24 Michigan @ 22 Illinois
The emphatic nail in Michigan’s already brutal season. They lose by 14 points to a team that had 80 yards passing. They are in rebuild mode and I’m betting they’ll be back to great in a couple years. Illinois is sneaky good this year. They have a big next game vs Oregon. If they pull off the upset, they have a clear rode to the Big 10 Championship.
New England Patriots (1-5) vs Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5)
The Pats head to London in a game they could actually win this year. Drake Maye has given this team all kinds of hope and hopefully the team continues to grow. We’re dealing with lots of injuries on the offensive line once again and Rhamondre might not play. I think the Pats win, cover (+6), and the over (42) hits.
Houston Texans (5-1) @ Green Bay Packers (4-2)
A great matchup between two up and coming teams. The Texans are dealing with tons of injuries to their defense. I think the Packers win, the Texans cover (+3), and the over (48.5) hits.
Detroit Lions (4-1) @ Minnesota Vikings (5-0)
A matchup of the two best teams in the NFC. I think the Lions win, cover (+1.5), and the under (50.5) hits.
Kansas City Chiefs (5-0) @ San Francisco 49ers (3-3)
A Super Bowl rematch as the Niners biggest tormentor comes to Santa Clara. The Chiefs have played well in spite of injuries to great offensive players. I think the Niners get revenge, cover (-2), and the over (47) hits.
Baltimore Ravens (4-2) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2)
One of the best primetime games of the year so far. I think the Ravens win, cover (-3.5), and the over (49.5) hits.
Game/Betting Picks Results
Game: 0-0 (15-6 This Season) (53-22 All-Time)
Spread: 0-0 (14-6-1) (53-20-2)
O/U: 0-0 (11-10) (40-34-1)
The Jets main problem is that they assembled a team of great players who have no chemistry and expected them to be great right away. That isn’t how football works. Continuity is so important and guys need to play together for years and build a connection for a team to truly thrive.
The Jets basically did the college equivalent of the Colorado Buffaloes by bringing in a a lot of talented guys from the transfer portal and expecting to succeed right away. It reminds me of when the Pats lost Brady in the 2020 offseason and spent a record amount of guaranteed money for free agents and brought in Cam Newton to be their QB. They ended the season with 7 wins.
The Jets will likely be better by season’s end. But for right now, they are still learning how to play with each other. Aaron Rodgers, Tyron Smith, Mike Williams, and now Davante Adams are all talented players at important positions. However, you can’t just expect to bring them in and mesh with the team, organization, and city right away. It’s even harder when the Jets don’t have any established stars that have been there for a while or a strong, winning culture – which makes it easier for guys to adapt to.
To their credit, the Jets have drafted and developed a lot of talented young stars like Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams, Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, and Alijah Vera-Tucker. They also have signed and acclimated good free agents in C.J Mosley and Quincy Williams. They need to be patient with letting the younger guys that have been here for a little bit mesh with the star veterans they have brought in. Firing Robert Saleh only hurts their growth because now they also need to combine a new coach with all of these other players.
I am no fan of the Jets, but fans should not panic yet. Brady and Stafford had slow starts in their first season with the Bucs and Rams, respectively. This basically is Rodger’s first year with the Jets. This team should end up having a much better 2nd half of the season than 1st.
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