FOOTBALL NFL ARTICLES

It’s a good thing the Seattle Seahawks defense is as good as it’s ever been, because their overwhelming success at shutting down opponents is hiding the fact the offense simply cannot produce. Seattle scored one offensive touchdown against one of the NFL’s worst defensive units on Sunday and the D couldn’t make up the difference in a loss to New Orleans. That effort came on the heels of a two-field goal tie the previous week. The offense will get a chance to familiarize itself with the end zone when the Buffalo Bills visit the Link in Week 9 Monday night action.... 

The Cleveland Browns will have more shots at getting their first victory of the season, but this last one stung, and it’s a pretty good indicator of just how bad the Browns are. Cleveland had the Jets on the ropes and was 30 minutes away from that elusive first victory. Alas, it wasn’t to be and the Brownies look like they are destined to become the second team to finish a 16-game season without a victory. They get the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9 and stranger things have happened. But it is the Browns we’re talking about.... 

For the first time since 2011 the Tennessee Titans have reached the midway point of the season and they don’t have a losing record. It’s quite an accomplishment for a team that had just five combined wins over the previous two seasons. There is finally reason for optimism with the Titans, but before we go proclaiming them as playoff contenders, keep in mind the four teams they’ve defeated have a total of nine wins. Tennessee will attempt to climb over .500 with a Week 9 visit to the San Diego Chargers.... 

It doesn’t look like they’ll catch the Patriots in the AFC East, but the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins have each taken strides over the past few weeks to save their seasons. With both teams winning their past two games, at least they’ve become a little more respectable in the division. However, one team will see its winning streak come to an end when the division rivals square off for the first time this season in Week 9.... 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will lean on recent history with the hope of closing the gap on the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South. The Bucs won the season opener, beating the Falcons 31-24 for a third straight victory over their division rival. Tampa Bay completed the 2015 season sweep by beating the Falcons at home last December. It was the last time Tampa Bay won a regular season home game. Since that contest, the Bucs are 0-5 SU and ATS in their own yard. A matchup with the Falcons in Week 9 could change all that.... 

After wading through mediocrity last season, the NFC East has become the toughest division in football in 2016. The play of young quarterbacks has led to the turnaround, but the division still has one of the longest tenured signal-callers. Youth and experience collide when Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles play their second straight inter-division contest against Eli Manning and the New York Giants in Week 9. Riding a two-game winning streak and coming off their bye, the Giants can leapfrog the Eagles in the division standings with a win.... 

In a week where six teams are on bye, five teams are going to be favored on the road.There are some tremendous matchups that are left to be digested, and without a single game with spread of more than seven this week, you can bet that the Week 9 odds are going to be awfully tight.... 

The top two teams in the NFC East meet on Sunday night on NBC as the Philadelphia Eagles visit the Dallas Cowboys. This Week 8 matchup is a battle for first place as the Cowboys come in with a record of 5-1 while the Eagles are 4-2. You might think home field would be an advantage in this matchup but that has not been the case recently as the Eagles have won five of their last seven visits to AT&T Stadium including the last three. Dallas has not beaten Philadelphia at home since 2011.... 

The Houston Texans might be rethinking their decision to sign Brock Osweiler to a mega-bucks contract following another pitiful display. Osweiler returned to Denver and laid an egg against his former team, providing Broncos’ GM John Elway more ammunition to use in his public flogging of his old quarterback. The good news for Osweiler and the Texans is that they return home to face the Detroit Lions in Week 8, where they haven’t lost this season and the QBs numbers are far superior.... 

The Minnesota Vikings were the last unbeaten team in the NFL until they succumbed to the Eagles last week. But there’s a good chance the Vikings can get back to their winning ways in their Week 8 contest with the division rival Chicago Bears. Injuries continue to sabotage the Bears season with a few more players down for the count after last week’s game, but they will get Jay Cutler back in the lineup after he was given the thumbs up from medical personnel to resume playing.... 

The Buffalo Bills won’t be so lucky this time around. They escaped the first meeting with the New England Patriots and didn’t have to defend Tom Brady. That worked out pretty well for the Bills, who pitched a shutout, handing the Pats their first blanking at Gillette Stadium. To say Brady and Bill Belichick are out for revenge is probably an understatement. But this Week 8 matchup is large in the AFC East standings as well. A Buffalo win closes the gap while a Pats victory extends the lead to a full three games.... 

It’s looking like déjà vu all over again for the Atlanta Falcons. It was around this time last year when they began to crumble following a 6-1 start. A six-game losing streak in the middle of the season cost them a shot at making the playoffs. Well, after winning four straight, the Falcons are up to their old tricks. Two consecutive losses have Dan Quinn squirming, and it’s not because of his failed fourth down call in overtime. It might be because the Green Bay Packers are coming to town for a Week 8 contest and the losing skid could continue.... 

Who would’ve guessed that the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles would be playing a Week 8 contest with first place in the NFC East on the line? And who would’ve guessed that both teams would be here behind the stellar play of rookie quarterbacks. But both clubs are here because of what the rooks have done. Not only is the division race hanging in the balance, but both Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz will have a chance to sway voters for the rookie of the year award.... 

Just when we’re ready to fire Chuck Pagano and write the Indianapolis Colts off, they pull out a win to save their season. With their season on the brink, the Colts beat Tennessee again and suddenly they are back nipping at the heels of first place in the AFC South. There’s still plenty of room for improvement if the Colts want to be considered a contender in their own division and they’ll get a chance with two huge games before their bye. The first opportunity comes in a Week 8 showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs.... 

After finding every possible way to give games away in the first part of the season, the San Diego Chargers have reversed the trend with their first two-game winning streak in nearly two years. They overcame a 17-point deficit to knock off Atlanta in overtime last week for a rare road win. Now, oozing with confidence and their season headed in an upward direction, the Chargers go for the season sweep of the Denver Broncos when the AFC West rivals clash in Week 8.... 

If only we could pair the Seattle Seahawks defense with the New Orleans Saints offense to create a dominant force in the NFC. Unfortunately for each team, the opposite side of the ball isn’t nearly as good. Coming off the first tie in team history, a game in which they failed to score a touchdown, the Seahawks will look to end that slump against one of the worst defensive units in the league. While not as bad as the historically awful group from last season, the Saints continue to have difficulty stopping teams. Something has to give in this Week 8 matchup.... 

There are a heck of a lot of really good games coming up in Week 8 of the season. There might be six teams off, but both the AFC East and NFC East could effectively end up being put away at approximately the halfway point of the season. The Week 8 NFL odds at certainly going to hotly contested, especially in our Week 8 Games of the Week.... 

The Cincinnati Bengals knocked off one of their former offensive coordinators-turned-head coach with a beating of Hue Jackson and the Browns on Sunday. They’ll get another chance when they face Jay Gruden and the Washington Redskins in a Week 8 contest across the pond as the NFL continues its International Series. Gruden was the Bengals OC from 2011 to 2013 and helped mold Andy Dalton into one of the top quarterbacks in the league. Gruden gets his first crack at his former team and mentor.... 

After winning in Jacksonville on Sunday, the Oakland Raiders will hang out in Florida before their Week 8 showdown with the Tampa Buccaneers. And why not, the Raiders have enjoyed the road all season long. They improved to 4-0 away from home with a thumping of the Jaguars and look for the Sunshine State sweep. The Bucs also have a shot at the Bay Area sweep after knocking off the dreadful 49ers in Northern California on Sunday, but they’ll need to get their first home win of the season to do it.... 

The biggest question surrounding the Cleveland Browns is whether they’ll lose more quarterbacks than football games this season. My money is on the games after the Browns lost for the seventh time in as many tries last week. They’ve had six different quarterbacks throw a pass this season and could get Josh McCown back after Cody Kessler was concussed in the latest defeat. At least Kessler might not remember how the game played out, because it was an ugly loss. Up next is the New York Jets in a Week 8 home contest.... 

In a week when both teams had a chance to prove they are contenders in the weak AFC South, both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans failed to measure up. The Jags took a beating at the hands of the Raiders and the Titans can’t seem to break the spell the Colts have over them. Following another ugly loss, the pressure is squarely on Gus Bradley and his Jags to do something positive. If not, we have to start wondering just when the axe will fall on the tenure of the beleaguered coach. The Jaguars and Titans will tussle on Thursday night in Week 8.... 

Remember back in January when the two best teams in the NFL were playing in the NFC Championship game? It seems so long ago when the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers took their combined 28-4 regular season record into that matchup for the right to play in Super Bowl 50. Both teams have struggled this year and the Panthers are just one win better than the Browns at this point. At least the Cardinals have shown signs of being a playoff contender, but they let one get away last week and now look ahead to avenging that disappointing loss that prevented them from playing for a Super Bowl title.... 

The Miami Dolphins made Vegas sportsbooks plenty of money with their upset win over Pittsburgh on Sunday. And it also temporarily quieted a restless fan base. The talk of Rex Ryan getting the axe has quieted, too, after his Buffalo Bills won for the fourth straight time with a thumping of the hapless 49ers. Buffalo has looked like the best team in the AFC over the past month but they still have a hurdle to jump in the East. That hurdle comes next week at home, but the Bills better not look too far ahead.... 

Colin Kaepernick has gotten plenty of attention this season. Unfortunately it hasn’t been for his performance between the white lines, rather his exploits on them. The San Francisco 49ers will try just about anything to be competitive and that includes giving the reins to Kap, who looks nothing like the quarterback that directed the team to a Super Bowl just four seasons ago. The Niners may have their best chance of getting a win when they face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7. You know the Bucs are thinking the same thing.... 

Teams always look at wins as rallying points and confidence-builders. For the San Diego Chargers it was a job-saver. Mike McCoy had come under intense scrutiny for the way his Chargers continued to find new ways to lose football games. They finally got selfish and overcame their generosity by defeating the Broncos last Thursday, without some anxious moments, though. The team enjoyed a mini-bye with some down time to marinate in the success before taking on the Atlanta Falcons in Week 7....