Teddy’s NFL picks week 8

Teddy Rosen, Reporter
@CourantRosen

Teddys Picks 2/3 so far this season

Last Week I was two for three on my selections, correctly predicting the Cowboys win over the Eagles and the Patriots win over the Jets, but incorrectly calling the Giants over the Cardinals. The Chiefs and the Bills joined the Pats at the top of the AFC, with the Ravens knocking on the door, the top of the NFC remains unchanged.

Panthers at 49ers, 4:25 pm FOX

This game will be very important to the seeding of the NFC, with both of these playoff contenders sitting at or near the top of their divisions. The Pathers starting Quarterback and former Texas A&M Aggie, Kyle Allen, is replacing the injured former MVP Cam Newton Allen has been very impressive in his four starts, winning each and throwing zero interceptions meanwhile scoring seven touchdowns and tossing for nine hundred yards.

That production combined with the Panthers superstar running back and MVP candidate Christian McCaffrey (who has over 900 all-purpose yards and nine scores in six games) have made a very dangerous duo in what was formerly a lackluster offense. 

Their defense leads the league in sacks this season, with veteran defensive end Mario Addison and rookie outside linebacker Brian Burns leading the way with a combined eleven sacks. Luke Keuchly is playing fantastic with 62 tackles through six games The Carolina defense is top five in yards allowed per play and is ranked six in passing yards allowed per game. This stout defense and dynamic offense will face a very worthy opponent in the undefeated 49ers.

 This 49ers team is even better defensively than this Panthers squad, with a scary good defense that has an average age of 25, which means that they will be good for a long time. Second overall pick in this years draft out of Ohio State Nick Bosa and former Chief pass rusher Dee Ford lead the team with a combined 8 ½ sacks, meanwhile, middle linebackers Kwan Alexander and Fred Warner lead the team in total tackles with a combined 63 while patrolling the middle of the box. This defense as a whole is second in total yards allowed per game, first in passing yards allowed per game and eighth in rushing yards. This is a deep and complete defense that will be hard to move the ball on. Christian McCaffery will have his hands full. 

This 49ers offense complements their defense very nicely, with a running by committee approach between the talented number one back Matt Brieda and his two complements in the former falcon Tevin Coleman and the speedy Rasheem Mostert. This team is second in rushing yards per game with this trio of backs. The ground and pound, control the clock approach on offense coupled with a punishing defense is a nasty combination. 

The 49ers Quarterback Jimmy Garrappolo is having a rough year, throwing seven scores to six picks through six games, his struggles have forced the niners to become one dimensional and rely on the ground game, something the Panthers could take advantage of by stacking the box and allowing their talented corners to play man coverage with the mediocre 49ers receiving corp. Wait! I’m just getting word that Emmanuel Sanders, a pro bowl caliber receiver from Denver has been traded to San Fran. This will force the Panthers to respect the passing game a little more and it might tip the scale in what will inevitably be a close game. 

The Panthers offense and Christian McCaffery will have a long day against this youthful front seven, unless the Panthers can get vertical on this team, something they haven’t shown they can do with Kyle Allen, this will be a low scoring and defensive affair, and at the end of the day the better defense is in the bay. 49ers come out on top 21-17

Browns at Pats, 4:25pm CBS

This game will determine the Browns season, they could roll over and die, accepting their fates as perpetual disappointments, known by their fanbase as the “factory of misery”, or if Baker Mayfield can get his act together and they play up to their talent level. If they lose than the Browns will sink to 2-5 and they will be essentially eliminated from playoff contention. This was a team that before the season started was expected to be a Super Bowl contender. In order to get a win here it would take Baker stepping up and being efficient for the first time this year against the best defense in the league, a defense that just shut out the Jets and forced their talented young quarterback in Sam Darnold into a game where he threw under 90 yards, 4 picks and lost a fumble. 

Baker’s struggles this year have been heavily chronicled, five scores to eleven picks do not bode well for one of the most hyped up quarterbacks of the offseason. Even former Giant Odell Beckem Jr. an offseason trade acquisition has been very disappointing. The only bright spot on the offense has been second-year running back Nick Chubb from Georgia who is fourth in the league in rushing yards, running at a very efficient 5.3 yards per carry and racking up an impressive six touchdowns through six games

The Browns defense has been lackluster this season. Despite being in the top 10 for passing yards allowed per game and superstar defensive end Myles Garrett having a league high nine sacks this season, they have a below average total defense and are 29th in rushing yards allowed per game. Their weakness is at linebacker, and despite boasting a star linebacker in Joe Shoebert who has 62 tackles this season, they have no depth around him and they get killed over the middle.

The Pats offense has been a little disappointing this season, despite the 7-0 record. The addition of former Falcon and savvy veteran wide receiver Mahummad Sanu is offset by the subtraction of explosive wideout Josh Gordon. This is a very average receiving corp, with a 33-year-old Julian Edleman in the slot, and the aforementioned Sanu on the outside opposite rookie N’keal Harry, who is returning from injury soon. Brady is having a down year this season and is finally starting to show his age. The second-year running back out of Georgia in Sony Michel is playing very well next to veteran receiving back James White out of the backfield.

The Pats defense is exceptional this year, probably the best defense in the league and if not inarguably number two to the Bears. The Pats defense is number one in total yards allowed per game, number two in passing yards allowed per game and number two in rushing yards allowed per game. Free safety Devin McCourty leads the league in picks with five and linebacker Jaime Collins is tied for second with three. Collins also leads the team in sacks with a respectable 4.5 right in front of defensive end Chase Winovich’s 4. Jason McCourty, Devins brother, leads the team in tackles with 32 on the year. All of this culminated Monday night when they tormented Sam Darnold into “seeing ghosts” and 5 turnovers.

The Pats ability to force turnovers and stop the run coupled with a stout running attack doesn’t bode well for Cleveland. White out of the backfield is going to be borderline unrecoverable with no good coverage linebackers on the Browns. Sony Michel is going to have a field day on the weak Browns run defense and the Browns will shoot themselves in the foot by repeatedly turning the ball over.

Pats cruise to a win 31-14

This is a make or break game for the Eagles. What was once viewed as the most talented roster in the NFL has been exceptionally disappointing this season. Two of the 3-4 Eagles wins are against bottom feeder 1 win teams. This team needs a win now to regain momentum after getting killed by the Cowboys in primetime. The Bills are undefeated this season playing any team not from New England, and they were the only team to really compete with the Pats.

Eagles at Bills 1:00pm FOX

The Eagles offense has been very disappointing this season so far, aside from Carson Wentz’s development and Jordan Howards hard running it has been tough to watch what was once regarded as one of the most talented offenses in the NFL play like it is. Alshon Jeffery’s disappointing season combined with an aging o-line slowing down are not a good combination. Wentz’s impressive season and Howards great past several games have not been enough to drag this team to relevance.

This has been a disappointing defense in every sense of the word. Fletcher Cox was expected to have a dominant season and has not delivered. Veteren safety Malcom Jenkins has declined drastically. Jalen Mills leads possibly the worst group of corners in the league. The sixth worst passing defense in the league is luckily offset by the sixth best rushing defense, but in a pass heavy league that is easily exposed by good quarterbacks.

This is a below average offense, which is actually better than what was expected coming into the season. Something not better than expected however, is Josh Allen, the turnover prone second year quarterback was supposed to take a leap this season, something he has not done. The ageless wonder and future hall of fame workhorse running back Frank Gore is nearing the end of his illustrious career, but he is still a respectable number one back. Zay Jones and John Brown lead a lackluster corp of old and slow receivers.

The Bills top 3 defense has been fantastic and is the reason why the Bills are 5-1, and it’s what will keep them in this game. Their top five secondar is led by veteran safety and former Packer Micah Hyde and second-year corner out of LSU Tre’davious White. Their top 10 run defense is lead by the huge 6’5, 250 second year middle linebacker out of Virginia Tech Tremaine Edmunds and veteren defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. This young defense has been fantastic this year and they look to continue their dominance against the Eagles

The Eagles, mediocre as they are, are a bad matchup for the surging Bills, with their strengths and weaknesses lining up in Philadelphia’s favor. The Eagles great run defense and poor pass d coupled with the Bills ineffective passing game and a run-heavy offense is not great news for Buffalo. The Eagles will have trouble moving the ball on the Bills but at the end of the day I think this gritty low scoring defensive affair will lean in favor of the Eagles, with Wentz out dueling Allen. Eagles win 17-13