I'm a longtime Braves fan but I've had a soft spot for the Giants ever since going to a Braves/Giants game at Truist Park a few years ago.  It was the game where the Braves clinched the division that season (maybe 2018) and there was an old guy with a long gray beard there decked out in every manner of possible Giants clothing.  Giants sweatpants, jersey, hat, everything.  Even though the Giants lost he went around shaking all of the Braves fans' hands and congratulating them on winning the division.  I think it was pretty much the classiest thing in sports I have ever seen while attending a game so if the Braves aren't playing them, then I'm a Giants fan just because of that one guy.

So yeah, I'd like Aaron Judge a lot more if he had gone to the Giants.

49ers looking at having a gimpy Jauan Jennings as their #1 receiver this week and the headlines I read are that the Chiefs are out trading for D'andre Hopkins... man,  Niners need some help.    Rams could be trading Cooper Kupp but there's no way they're trading him up the 101.      Sigh.

Posted by: @tsi

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I'm almost certain the Saints will fall back to earth, and soon. I think they could be well below .500 by the time they play the Panthers again in week 9. I'd be shocked if they didn't lose at least four of the next six.

Posted September 16. I'm taking a second victory lap on this one.

A lot of interesting football this weekend.

Seahawks got spit-roasted at home by a good team to fall back into a 3 way tie atop the NFC west with the Rams just a half game back    That division is wacky.

The Cardinals pulled off another last second one-point victory.   They are now 4-4 but their last 3 wins are by a combined total of 4 points.    And in two of those wins they never led until the final seconds of the game.   I don't think that is entirely sustainable for winning the division -  but they also don't have any good teams left on their schedule at all unless I generously include the 49ers.     Their next game is against the Bears who still have a winning record but can't be described as "good".    They have the Jets who are a train wreck,  the Seahawks who are a mess,  and then the most interesting one - the Vikings - who have come crashing back down to earth a bit losing a squeaker to the Lions and then getting handled by the Rams.   then they finish with Seahawks again, Patriots, Panthers, Rams again and Niners.   

The Rams look like a different team with their receivers back.   People were talking about them trading away Stafford and/or Kupp and starting a rebuild and now they are talking about winning the division.  

Meanwhile the Niners got beat by the refs in the first half Sunday night -  A touchdown called back for holding, and two other first downs called back for drive killing holding penalties. and managed a paltry 6 points in the first half.

Then they exploded for 21 3rd quarter points and looked like the Niners are supposed to look.   Then in the 4th quarter on two separate occasions the young DB's ran into each other and let CD Lamb stroll into the endzone uncovered so the game looked close.   Luckily they got it together and closed things out.

Caleb Williams threw for less than 90 yards in the first 3 quarters of the game yesterday and still almost won Chicago the game with his Touchdown drive to put them ahead with 23 seconds left.    I was kind of glad that the Commanders hit on the hail mary because the Bears didn't deserve to win that game.   

Green Bay loses its QB (again) and has Malik Willis guide them to a win (again).    Honestly -  I know Jordan Love can be good -  but Willis has actually been more successful than Love so far this season.   It's kind of wild.

Browns continue to own the Ravens -  which is a crazy thing that has been true and stays true somehow.   I love, LOVE that Watson goes down injured and the Browns offense instantly has it's best day of the season BY FAR under Jameis.     I'm not a Browns fan and the team deserves to suffer in purgatory for it's morally vacuous decision to sign Watson in the first place.     But having Jameis take the reigns and make that offense look decent - when they just shipped off their best wide receiver, too,  is a level of petty I can enjoy.

I got to root against the Jets guilt free this week since my nephew wasn't playing (concussion protocol) - and it was pretty satisfying to see the Jets lose to the lowly Patriots and stay tied for last in the division.    That team is such a mess.

One of the strange things about this football season is that I'm extremely confident about who will win each division. Some of them, like Houston, are several games ahead, but even the close-ish divisions feel inevitable.

AFC:

• East - Buffalo
• North - Baltimore (this is the one I'm least sure of. Pittsburgh actually has a better point differential than the Ravens, who everyone thinks are a Super Bowl contender)
• South - Houston
• West - KC

NFC:

• East - Washington (I have no faith in Philly while the vibes in Washington are good for the first time in decades)
• North - Detroit
• South - Atlanta (even with a worse point differential than Tampa, Atlanta's schedule is too easy to reach any other conclusion)
• West - SF (I could see the Rams hanging around, but I trust the Niners to eventually win this)

If it isn't obvious, I think point differential is hugely instructive. Some standouts thus far:

• Detroit +100 (holy shit)
• Buffalo +84 (could this be the year they finally knock off the Chiefs?)
• Carolina -147 (this is the worst point differential by 71---SEVENTY-ONE---POINTS)

Yeah...  The Lions look pretty strong.   They have beat the Vikings and Packers now in their division.    The Bears aren't for real - and the rest of the NFC is a bit of a mess,  so they should be the favorites.    It's hard to believe in the Commanders fully because that defense is not great.   

Same with the Eagles, and the coach is a buffoon.   They had double the total yards, quadruple the rushing yards, big time of possession advantage but could only beat the lowly Jaguars by 5 points because of boneheaded coaching calls. 

The schadenfreude I feel with the Cowboys is so strong.    I mean, it always feels great to see them lose,  but to watch them pull Dak in the 4th quarter and then see it come out today that he's captured on the sideline mouthing to a teammate "Man, we fucking suck"  is too good.     And now the news that he'll miss multiple weeks with his hamstring injury.    Sheesh.     If I'm CeeDee Lamb,  I play up that shoulder injury too.    You just inked a fat deal and this season's a disaster.   Sit out the next few while everything craters.

It was pretty much as good a day as I could have as a Niners fan during the bye week since the Seahawks lost too.   Except for the Cardinals game.   Would have been nice to see the Bears handle them, but can't have everything.

Niners get the Buccaneers next weekend with the Bucs on a short week having played the Chiefs tonight.    Niners are supposed to have McCaffrey back for that one and if the offense can get back on track a little with him back in the line up - then they get Seattle at home before maybe the toughest back to back road stretch possible -   at Green Bay followed by at Buffalo.    I guess I should be thankful that's late November early December and not late December early January, but still rough. 

Is tonight the night that the Chiefs finally drop one?    The Bucs have been so jekyll and hyde all season but I don't trust their offense to be able to deal with KC's defense and I think the Chiefs will keep that unbeaten streak going. 

Posted by: @panthercult

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Is tonight the night that the Chiefs finally drop one?    The Bucs have been so jekyll and hyde all season but I don't trust their offense to be able to deal with KC's defense and I think the Chiefs will keep that unbeaten streak going. 

Right you were! I was rooting for the Bucs last night. Really dislike the regular season OT rules.

Yeah -   it honestly sucks to have an overtime where one team just doesn't get to touch the ball at all.   And  the NFL KNOWS the rule sucks because they changed it so that doesn't happen in the post season,  but they are fine still if it happens in overtime during the regular season.       

But,  the Bucs knew that going in and that's why they should have gone for 2 at the end of the game probably  at least then it's in your hands to win or lose.     I've just watched Mahomes too many times and knew what was happening there.   

If you have the chance to win the game with Mahomes on the sidelines, you have to take it. The guy is basically a mythical figure at this point.

Didn’t Mahomes throw two straight balls into the hands of Bucs defenders to end regulation? If one of those guys catches the ball, the decision to kick the extra point looks a lot different.

It’s puzzling to me that Mahomes has escaped criticism for playing mostly bad football over the last couple of years. No denying he is great but fair is fair.

I'll grant you this year, but Mahomes was good last year. His stats were down, but the Chiefs are built around their defense now. He's doing this with a mediocre offensive line and no weapons outside of old Travis Kelce.

Hey now... he's also got Old DeAndre Hopkins the rest of the way...

I should really check the forum more thoroughly.   I didn't know there was a football thread.

I'm looking forward to my Bills finding a way to lose to the Chiefs once again today.   Granted Josh Allen's regular season record against Mahomes isn't bad.   It is his post season record against Mahomes that is terrible.   So there is a chance the Bills could hand the Chiefs their first loss of the season, but considering how the team has played this year I won't hold my breath.  I mean the Bills' two losses this season are against teams with winning records and they have only beat one other team with a winning record this season.  On top of that three of their next four games are against teams with winning records (Chiefs, 49ers, Lions).   So are they a mirage team who lucked out with a weak schedule and weak division?  Or will they prove something over the next month?

I'm wondering where the 49ers are going to go now.  They are getting healthy (or basically already are) and their record should vastly improve.  Unfortunately for the Bills it comes at the wrong time, but I think the 49ers could make a strong push for the end of the season.    

I don't think the Bills are a mirage. The Bills, 49ers, Lions, Ravens, and Eagles (???) are the best teams in football. The 49ers will probably rejoin that group now that they're healthy. I could see basically any of those teams beating one another in the playoffs.

Allen is 0-3 against the Chiefs in the playoffs, but I don't hang any of those losses on him. He scored at least 24 points in every game. Obviously the 13-seconds game wasn't his fault. He played a nearly perfect game.

Posted by: @tsi

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I don't think the Bills are a mirage. The Bills, 49ers, Lions, Ravens, and Eagles (???) are the best teams in football. The 49ers will probably rejoin that group now that they're healthy. I could see basically any of those teams beating one another in the playoffs.

Allen is 0-3 against the Chiefs in the playoffs, but I don't hang any of those losses on him. He scored at least 24 points in every game. Obviously the 13-seconds game wasn't his fault. He played a nearly perfect game.

Yeah that's true.  I can't blame him for that game.  Or really any of the playoff losses.   However it is much like the Jim Kelly era.   Yeah they are a good team, but they just can't get over the final hump.   For awhile we could blame Brady, but now it seems to be Mahomes who is the hurdle we can't pass.   

Don't get me wrong.  I agree that the Chiefs have been more than lucky this season to be undefeated.   Hell look at last week.  However the "W" is all that matters in the end and the Bills can't seem to get it when it counts.

I would agree with you that the Lions, Ravens and Eagles are all looking top tier.  However the 49ers will need to keep the momentum going now that they are pretty much healthy to shake off the doubters.