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— Individual Team News + Stone’s Cold Takes

— Miscellaneous/Other NFL News

— Featured Team of the Week - Atlanta Falcons

Arizona Cardinals (2-8):

• Won 25 to 23 against the Falcons

Great to see QB Kyler Murray back playing and it is clear that he can shake off rust fast. He looked like a QB who has been playing all year and made things extremely difficult on a really good Falcons defense running around and avoiding pressure. It is clear that this Cardinals team still needs to add pieces to be true contenders but with QB Kyler Murray back I would have a lot of hope. I know there have been rumors about him getting traded but it would take a lot for me to be willing to move on from him even with the QB talent in the upcoming draft. I expect QB Kyler Murray to continue to look better as the season finishes out.

Atlanta Falcons (4-6):

• Lost 25 to 23 against the Cardinals

Rough loss for the Falcons who hung in there until the very end but it is clear that something is either off with the QBs or the coaching or potentially both here when it comes to their offense. There is a lot of talent on this team and no reason they should be struggling as much as they are. Even better this past Sunday they were able to play clean turnover free football and fed RB Bijan Robinson the ball. I expect the Falcons to be very active in the QB market this offseason because while QB Desmond Ridder looked alright coming in for Taylor Heinicke I would still say I am far from being confident with him going forward leading the franchise.

Baltimore Ravens (7-3):

• Lost 33 to 31 against the Browns

Biggest challenge here for the Ravens was the lack of run game against the Browns and then QB Lamar Jackson’s two interceptions. It is clear that they miss RB JK Dobbins and this loss is big in a tight division race. QB Lamar Jackson needs to be more efficient with his throws and obviously avoid the turnovers. The good thing for the Ravens is that they found ways to put up points against a tough Browns defense and also that WR Zay Flowers continues to have good games for the team.

Buffalo Bills (5-5):

• Lost 24 to 22 against the Broncos

Horrible game all around except for overall the defense played pretty well. QB Josh Allen does not look in sync and comfortable in the offense, RB James Cook was the most explosive player on offense but also the most prone to cough up the football and the WRs seemed to struggle with. catching the ball in key situations (one of which led to an interception). This Bills team looks awful even though it has the explosive moments where you see what they can be when things are clicking. I think for the most part though this comes down to their offensive scheme and attack and poor decision making at times by QB Josh Allen. I worry about how things shake out with this locker room though and how the players react given that their are a lot of high profile names on the team and the expectations for this team have really been super bowl or bust for a couple of years now. It will be interesting to see how things trend down the stretch here. Overall the Bills lost this game arguably more than the Broncos really won the game.

Carolina Panthers (1-8):

• Lost 16 to 13 against the Bears

The Panthers can’t be thrilled with their season thus far at all. The progression of QB Bryce Young has not been fast and they don’t look good at all on offense. In a game where the defense actually held the Bears to only 16 points the Panthers still could not find a way to win. What is even more crazy about this is that losing this game also helped the Bears get a better draft pick because the Bears have their first round pick in the upcoming draft. I am starting to wonder if HC Frank Reich will be around for much longer or not.

Chicago Bears (3-7):

• Won 16 to 13 against the Panthers

Good win but also good thing they have a couple good frat picks because they have now won more games with QB Tyson Bagent than they did with QB Justin Fields. It is clear that neither of them in my opinion are the long term answer at the QB position for this franchise. This whole organization needs a reset overall but good to see them get wins and still improve their draft position. That trade for DJ Moore just keeps getting better and better.

Cincinnati Bengals (5-4):

• Lost 30 to 27 against the Texans

Tough loss at home against the Texans. Good thing here is that the WRs are really getting in sync for the Bengals and they just need to limit their turnovers at the end of the day. This is a team that I am starting to just feel confident in winning games when things really matter towards the end of the season to get into the playoffs. With that said they may be in the toughest division in football and it sure would be nice to have WR Tee Higgins back in the lineup to play for them. DC Lou Anarumo is not going to allow many teams to put up 30 points on him and I imagine it will get back to business as usual in the coming weeks following this loss.

Cleveland Browns (6-3):

• Won 33 to 31 against the Ravens

Good to see QB Deshaun Watson starting to look a bit more like himself. He still did not have an incredible game but is looking much improved. The most exciting thing for me to see out of this Browns team was that the running game started to get going on again and if that is happening they are going to be maybe the toughest team to beat in the AFC. It is all dependent though on them playing complete football with the defense stepping up, Deshaun Watson playing decent, and getting back the explosive run game they clearly had prior to the Nick Chubb injury. This divisional win could go a long way at the end of the season as these AFC North teams all fight hard this year.

Dallas Cowboys (6-3):

• Won 49 to 17 against the Giants

Not much to say here. The Giants are still playing with QB Tommy Devito who has not looked good at all and the Giants defense for the most part has not looked good this year. The Cowboys did what they were supposed to do and should be able to do something similar against the Panthers this next week. At this point though they need stumbles from the Eagles and Lions to have a chance at the #1 seed in the NFC.

Denver Broncos (4-5):

• Won 24 to 22 against the Bills

Gutsy ugly win by the Broncos but a win is a win and at the end of the day they did overall look better than the Bills in this game. This is now two tough wins for the Broncos against top tier QBs after defeating Patrick Mahomes and now Josh Allen. The big concern here though is still ball security and turnovers. The defense is starting to look a lot better than the start of the season but the offense is still putting themselves consistently in 3rd and longs due to self-inflicted wounds and turning the ball over too much if they want to be a team that is talked about seriously towards the end of the season.

Detroit Lions (7-2):

• Won 41 to 38 against the Chargers

Great win for the Lions and this is the type of game they used to always be on the losing side. QB Jared Goff and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown played phenomenally and the running game with RB Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery could not be stopped. They were able to slice up the Chargers defense really without any issues whatsoever. This Lions team appears poised to go the distance this year but only time will tell if they can find ways to win the big games towards the end of the season and during the playoffs.

Green Bay Packers (3-6):

• Lost 23 to 19 against the Steelers

Packers fans are not thrilled this year and it appears that QB Jordan Love is at the center of most people’s complaints. This Packers team was not close to being ready last year and they only lost players this offseason so I don’t know why folks are surprised. They have issues at the WR position, the RBs have not played nearly as well as expected and the o-line has not been as healthy as they had hoped. With that said QB Jordan Love has not played his best football either but it is hard for me to say that I think he is a bust or not with the team that is currently constructed around him.

Houston Texans (5-4):

• Won 30 to 27 against the Bengals

QB CJ Stroud is making up for all those QB busts that have come out of Ohio State in recent years. He is playing out of his mind and doing so with players on offense who were viewed as nobodies until he came in this year and made them look like top tier players. Goes to show you that with a good o-line and good QB it may not be as important to go out and get the most expensive skill position guys but rather go with the guys in house. The Texans have a new energy about them and I would say it all starts with HC Demeco Ryans and how he inspires the team to play hard nose football on both sides of the ball.

Indianapolis Colts (5-5):

• Won 10 to 6 against the Patriots

The Colts seems to always find ways to make things interesting and got a tough fought win in Germany that was definitely not the most fun game to watch. In the game it felt like both teams were playing to not lose and the Colts did a slightly better job of that by winning the turnover battle essentially.

Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3):

• Lost 34 to 3 against the 49ers

The streak had to end at some point but it didn’t have to end the way it did. The defense could not really stop the Niners and this should have easily been a 40 points game. Something that continues to be disappointing for me is the production the Jaguars are getting out of WR Calvin Ridley. He was supposed to be someone who could come back and be a true #1 receiver but he and QB Lawrence just have not really found it consistently this year. QB Trevor Lawrence looked rattled in this game as well and ended up having 3 out of the team’s 4 turnovers. Not too worried overall about this team and they will find ways to bounce back and get back to fighting for the top seed in the AFC.

Kansas City Chiefs (7-2):

• Bye Week

Las Vegas Raiders (5-5):

• Won 16 to 12 against the Jets

They are now 2-0 since the coaching and QB change. This was an ugly win but at the end of the day they did a better job than the Jets on offense and finding ways to score. The team is clearly playing inspired football and while it still may not mean a playoff birth this year (we shall wait and see) the Raiders seem to have found something in terms of their preferred style of play. QB Aidan O’Connell thus far has been a significant upgrade over QB Jimmy G and clearly hung in there against arguably the best defense in the NFL.

Los Angeles Chargers (4-5):

• Lost 41 to 38 against the Lions

The Chargers are the new Lions. They have a QB who plays really well and even makes plays to come back and put his team in a great position to win but can’t seem to find a way to get wins. The defense looked awful and after a couple of weeks of showing prowess on that side of the football this had to be brutal for fans to see. WR Quentin Johnston had an alright game and looks to be starting to get more involved. The big issue though for me is that he looks lost or mad at himself on most of the plays that where the cameras were able to catch him either missing a block, running a wrong route, etc. The Chargers have all the talent in the world but at this point they just are not a team that is going to find ways to win the tough close games.

Los Angeles Rams (3-6):

• Bye Week
• Signed QB Carson Wentz as Matt Stafford continues to deal with injury

Miami Dolphins (6-3):

• Bye Week

Minnesota Vikings (6-4):

• Won 27 to 19 against the Saints

QB Josh Dobbs continues to impress so now for Vikings fans the key is that Dobbs continues his upward trend rather than doing what he did with the Cardinals in going downhill fast after the first few weeks. It appears though that thus far the added mobile element of Dobbs’ game has helped a lot with the Vikings lack of a real running threat through the early part of the season. Great to see TE TJ Hockenson making plays and hopefully he can continue to play at a high level with WR Jordan Addison while WR Justin Jefferson continues his recovery process.

New England Patriots (2-8):

• Lost 10 to 6 against the Colts

The Patriots just are not a good team this year. It is hard to believe that this is the case but they really just aren’t good at all. QB Mac Jones seems to have lost his talent, the WRs/TEs can’t get any separation and even when the RBs look alright and are making plays they find a way to not make it into the end zone. Things are getting loud here and it is clear there is going to have to be change again this offseason and there is a lot of talk of that change being at the HC position. It is crazy to think about and if HC Belichick becomes available he will not last long if he wants to continue to coach.

New Orleans Saints (5-5):

• Lost 27 to 19 against the Vikings

Rough game for the Saints and they are back to the head scratchingly bad team I thought maybe was slowly going to fade out. QB Derek Carr could not get the offense going and then QB Jameis Winston showed why he is not the starter with his turnovers and barely completing 50% of his passes. WR Olave had a good game but the key here on offense is that they need to establish the run and get that going before they can really get the rest of the offense going. It will be interesting to watch this week if QB Derek Carr can make it back from concussion protocol to play.

New York Giants (2-8):

• Lost 49 to 17 against the Cowboys

The Giants are bad. I don’t know what else to say. The defense is bad, the QB play (no matter who it is) is bad, the WRs have been bad, and I can go on and on. This is a team that is headed fast for a rebuild and trying to get that #1 overall pick. HC Brian Daboll does not have his magic with him to be able to save this team and there are going to need to be changes next year likely at the QB and DC spots.

New York Jets (4-5):

• Lost 16 to 12 against the Raiders

This was another team that I am just going to describe as bad but really just the offense here. QB Zach Wilson actually looked alright and made some incredible plays but they just find ways to shoot themselves in the foot throughout the game. In the past the blame has been on Zach Wilson but this week it was drops and offensive penalties for the most part. There was the crucial late game interception that QB Wilson threw but they should have never even been in that spot to begin with. The Jets need to turn things around so that it makes sense for QB Aaron Rodgers to come back in December like it sounds like he plans.

Philadelphia Eagles (8-1):

• Bye Week

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3):

• Won 23 to 19 against Packers

Gutsy win and once against the Steelers were outgained on offense but found a way to pull it off in the end. The defense here continues to play extremely well and it appears that the run game they are starting to figure out more as they split carries more evenly between RBs Harris and Warren. The crazy thing here is that QB Kenny Pickett really didn’t do much but the offense avoided turnovers and at the end of the day that was enough for them to pull out the win.

San Francisco 49ers (6-3):

• Won 34 to 3 against the Jaguars

The bye week served this team well. They came back and for the most part everything was clicking. The defense looked lock down and played fired up all game long. DE Chase Young has already started to make an impact. When the defense gets 4 turnovers there aren’t going to be many games this team loses. QB Brock Purdy had a great bounce back game and really everyone looked good on offense even RB Christian McCaffrey even though he was held without a touchdown for the first time in 17 games. This Niners team is back to being in the conversation for best team in the NFC and if they can string together a few good weeks could be back in the conversation for best team in football.

Seattle Seahawks (6-3):

• Won 29 to 26 against the Commanders

Gutsy win by the Seahawks in a game that really went down to the wire. The Commanders are tough team even without their top defensive pieces and the Seahawks held on for this win. A lot of it came thanks to QB Geno Smith and his impressive day throwing for over 350 yards and 2 TDs. Look for RB Zach Charbonnet to start to get more carries if he continues to impress like he did yesterday. The RB duo in Seattle is going to cause a lot of problems for lots of teams and gives them a good chance against teams like the 49ers who like to get after the QB.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5):

• Won 20 to 6 against the Titans

This was a must win for the Buccaneers who are still very much in the playoff hunt due to their dismal division that they get to play in. QB Baker Mayfield played well despite being up against a very good Titans defense who seem to give most people trouble. The big struggle here is that they do not have a run game. Good job of them trying to establish it but it is hard to get much done when you average 2.5 yards per carry. I was very surprised they did not look to sign someone to try and help out. What QB Baker Mayfield is doing with this team despite that threat of the run not existing is actually pretty impressive. Also, big shoutout to the defense who definitely made QB Will Levis look like a rookie QB.

Tennessee Titans (3-6):

• Lost 20 to 6 against the Buccaneers

Nothing was working for them on offense. They couldn’t throw the ball and they definitely could not run the ball. RB Derrick Henry does appear to be showing his age and the toll the hits over the years have taken on him. He has had flashes of his old self but he is not as regularly getting to the second level of the defense or shedding defenders like he used to. The Titans on offense may be heading towards a major rebuild overall. This is another job to watch if the Titans decide to move on from HC Mike Vrabel he will likely get hired in a heartbeat elsewhere.

Washington Commanders (4-6):

• Lost 29 to 26 against the Seahawks

QB Sam Howell continues to impress this year and is proving to be a very good option for them long term at the QB position. As a side note this might end up boding well for QB Drake Maye who is at UNC now. Anyways it is clear that the offense can score points here for the Commanders. They will get more consistent and not miss out of red zone opportunities as much as QB Sam Howell matures but the overall struggle here is in my opinion with HC Ron Rivera. I would not be surprised if OC Eric Bieniemy takes over next year as they look to rebuild. I will say in this game against the Seahwks it idid not help that they had just given up arguably two of their best defensive players.

Picks of the Week:

• Buccaneers +11 v. 49ers -11
• Jets +7 v. Bills -7
• Bengals +3.5 v. Ravens -3.5
• Steelers +4 v. Browns -4
• Bears +10 v. Lions -10
• Chargers -3 v. Packers +3
• Raiders +11.5 v. Dolphins -11.5
• Giants +10 v. Commanders -10
• Cowboys -11 v. Panthers +11
• Titans +6.5 v. Jaguars -6.5
• Cardinals +4 v. Texans -4
• Seahawks -1 v. Rams +1
• Vikings +1.5 v. Broncos -1.5
• Eagles +3 v. Chiefs -3

Featured Team of the Week (Atlanta Falcons):

*for links to restaurant and hat see full post at link in bio

Get this Red Falcons Hat

Restaurant of the Week: (Righteous Que)

This is one you’re going to have to drive for a bit but is my favorite barbecue spot in the Atlanta Metro. It is probably is about a 15-30 min drive from the stadium depending on time of day and traffic or you can drive the 15 mins to the nearest MARTA station and take the train in to avoid paying for parking. Either way the main thing you need to get at Righteous Que are pictured here. The pulled pork sandwich is on another level and the Mac N Cheese is never something you can go wrong with. For your other side I would recommend the baked beans but the fries are always good as well. They have really good white sauce as well as their sweet bbq sauce. I recommend using the white for fries and then using the sweet bbq for the sandwich. I know it is a bit out of the way but definitely worth the stop. The other good thing to kno w though about Mercedes Benz Stadium is that food and drinks for the most part compared to elsewhere is very cheap and the stadium has free refills at coke soda machines located throughout the stadium.