NFL Week 11: Magic Mike

A few days late on this because I finally had some time to read through it, but Kent Babb's takeout on Miami coach Mike McDaniel is tremendous.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...um=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most

Paywalled, but I figure enough people here have a WaPo sub to enjoy it.

Anyway, onto the games.

Thursday night
Cincinnati at Baltimore (-3.5/46.5), PRIME

Sunday early
N.Y. Giants at Washington (-9.5/37.5), FOX
Pittsburgh at Cleveland (-3.5/36.5), CBS
Chicago at Detroit (-10/46.5), FOX
L.A. Chargers (-3/44.5) at Green Bay, FOX
Las Vegas at Miami (-12/47.5), CBS
Dallas (-10.5/42.5) at Carolina, FOX
Tennessee at Jacksonville (-6.5/39.5), CBS
Arizona at Houston (-4/47.5), CBS

Sunday late
Tampa Bay at San Francisco (-11.5/41.5), FOX
N.Y. Jets at Buffalo (-7/40.5), CBS
Seattle (-1/46.5) at L.A. Rams, CBS

Sunday night
Minnesota at Denver (-2.5/43.5), NBC

Monday night
Philadelphia at Kansas City (-3/45.5), ABC/ESPN

BYE: Atlanta, Indianapolis, New England, New Orleans

 

This is the type of game the Titans of old used to win out of the blue; alas, these are not the Titans of old. They are sneaky terrible.

 

The AFC North teams knocking the snot out of each other this weekend should be fun. The Ravens and Browns got it started by beating up on one another last week.

Bengals at Ravens should be great. Both teams are on a short week after tough losses. It is the best team in the division vs. the one people keep insisting is better.

The Steelers and Browns have both played quite a few games to the wire, including their victories last week. I expect no different in meeting No. 2 of the season for those teams in Cleveland, but I wouldn't be shocked to see one or both of those teams fall on its collective ass during the second half of the season.

 

How did we avoid Tennessee-Jacksonville on Thursday?

 

For as much shit as the Broncos have taken this year, and as much ridicule as they rightly endured after the Dolphins debacle, they've quietly moved into the "not so shitty" category. Won three in a row, with two of those against the Chiefs and Bills, and are knocking on the door of the wild card picture. And I know every team says this, but if they could've made a few more plays against the Raiders and Commandskins in the first two games their season looks a lot different right now.
They don't have an easy schedule the rest of the way, but the AFC is so even right now that they can still salvage a playoff berth out of all of this mess. Every team except the Patriots is still within three games of the No. 1 seed.

 

Deshaun Watson is out for the year with a broken bone in his throwing shoulder. Nice trade, Haslam.

 

I guess this goes here.

 

There are more catastrophic injuries now then before football was made "safer".

 

Nobody wants to wear pads anymore.

 

Isn't this true in every sport? Guys are bigger and faster. Physics can explain a lot of this.