PostScript Sports

Was travelling and missed a Week 6 post but posted last week’s picks to our X.com account, which you can follow @ThePSSports. We finished the week 8-7, and that brings us to an even 46-46-1 on the season.

So, what were the key takeaways from Week 6?

I think Baltimore has officially claimed this year’s “season from hell” team. San Francisco sits there with a 4-2 record and, now with the loss of Fred Warner, might want to try and go back-to-back after having a litany of injuries last season, but Baltimore is just in shambles. An offense that, without Lamar, is frankly pitiful at best. You have to think Baltimore may be thinking of throwing in the towel this year and possibly even have to think of trading Derrick Henry. Either way, with the injuries sustained, both of these teams have an uphill battle for the rest of the season.

Is Baker the front-runner for MVP? Now, the schedule will get a lot harder, as four of their next five are at Detroit, home against New England, at Buffalo, and at the Rams. If they can weather that and Baker keeps putting out the numbers and clutch performances, who is there to take it from him? Baker, since going to Tampa, restarted a career that felt like it was destined to be short-lived after his time in Carolina. In very Baker fashion, he has become the guy everyone thought he was coming out of Oklahoma, and, to be frank, I’m loving watching it every week.

The AFC looks like it’s 2014 again! New England, Indianapolis, Denver, Los Angeles (the artist formerly from San Diego), and Pittsburgh all sit as either division leaders or playoff contenders. With only a few teams fighting for the final wild card, barring injury, the AFC playoff picture already seems to be taking shape. Kansas City is, of course, lurking at 3-3 and looking strong after a beatdown of the Lions and the return of Rashee Rice this week. But looking at the standings, I feel like I’m back in high school.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati +5.5

Pittsburgh -5.5

If you’ve read through these posts, you know by now my theory for Thursday night: rate each team in three categories by QB, coach, and home field, in that order. QB and coach—advantage goes to Pittsburgh. The home field obviously belongs to Cincinnati. I’ll go Pittsburgh here in what I think is a game where the Pittsburgh defensive line has a strong edge against a poor Bengals offensive line and a 40-year-old Joe Flacco.

Los Angeles (R) at Jacksonville +3

Jacksonville +3

I will preface this by saying something similar to what I was saying about Arizona to start the year. I’m taking Jacksonville here, but I kind of question if they’re a playoff team still. I’m not entirely writing them off, and I think even after a poor performance against Seattle, the offense has improved from last year. They have the tiebreaker with Kansas City, which may play big at the end of the season, but this team feels like it has this record due to winning the turnover battle, and I just don’t know how sustainable that is. All that being said, with either no Puka Nacua or an injured Puka Nacua, I worry about this Rams offense, which, if you look closer at their games, hasn’t lit the world on fire on the offensive side of the ball. Take away their best pass catcher, and I think this Jacksonville team can win this game—and I’m getting 3 points at home. DUVAAAALLL!

Philadelphia at Minnesota +2.5

Minnesota +2.5

I’m guessing it’s going to be Carson Wentz this week again, but honestly, I’m not seeing a huge difference between him and McCarthy in this one. This is more of a “the Eagles look lost on offense, Jalen Carter is either out or clearly not 100%, and that defense isn’t looking the same without him, and I’m getting Kevin O’Connell off a bye week.” Honestly, the last part of that sentence was the deciding factor for me. Give me the Vikings at home with some points and a bye week to prepare for a Philadelphia team that has not looked right this season.

Miami at Cleveland -3

Miami +3

I worry more about Tua’s health against Myles Garrett and company than the outcome of this football game. All jokes aside, this game comes down to that matchup. Can the offensive line keep Tua upright enough for the Miami offense to score 21 points or more? Cleveland is just not going to put many points on the board this season against anyone. This Miami team is not very good but has at least shown some fight the last few weeks. I get why Cleveland is the favorite at home, but I get the better quarterback and points against Dillion Gabriel.

New England at Tennessee +7

New England -7

We’ll keep it really simple here. A motivated and hot Patriots team against a Titans team that just fired its head coach. I often like to take teams that have a new coach but this Titans team just feels lost and the Patriots and Drake Maye seem to be finding their stride. I think the Pats pummel the Titans this week.

Carolina at New York (J) +1.5

New York +1.5

The Jets are not good, but I think we have a little too much Panther hype going into this one. Here’s my take, and I’m willing to bet it: the Panthers are still not very good on defense and are 0-3 on the road this year. This whole bet is this: “Bryce Young, show me you can win on the road!” That’s it. The Jets are probably the second-worst team in football; they just played in Europe (which, to be fair, UK to NY is only a two-hour longer flight than NY to LA), and there are questions around Justin Fields already. Fields has never won a game where the opposing team has scored more than 21 points. Well, I’m curious if Carolina can score 21 on the road.

New Orleans at Chicago -5.5

Chicago -5.5

Don’t look now, but Chicago is kind of frisky. Look, I’ve said it all year: I’m just not going to take New Orleans, and especially not on the road. The Chicago offense is looking better as the weeks go on, and I don’t think this New Orleans offense scares anyone. It’s a little more points than I’d like when taking the Bears, but there’s no way I’m taking New Orleans on the road this year.

Las Vegas at Kansas City -11.5

Kansas City -11.5

The only hesitation I have is that the line is pretty high. I just don’t see a world where Kansas City loses at home to this Raiders team. I’m interested to see how Rashee Rice looks in his first game back from injury plus his suspension, but in a weird way, that extra six games he sat out might be good for how he looks in his first game back. Kansas City is winning this game, and with how much Geno Smith has been turning the ball over, I think they cover this larger line as well.

Indianapolis vs. Los Angeles (C) -1.5

Indianapolis +1.5

I get they’re home, but did we not just see this Chargers defense give 27 points up to the Dolphins? With no Alt and Slater, this Chargers team is clearly not clicking all the way. Indy has looked like the best team in the AFC all year, and if not for Adonai Mitchell dropping the ball before crossing the goal line against the Rams, this team would probably be undefeated. Sometimes you just have to admit you were wrong. I was wrong about Daniel Jones (Danny Dimes never Indiana Jones). He is really turning around his career that just last season looked to be over. This Colts team just feels a lot like last year’s Vikings team, and until something changes, I’m kind of riding with this team.

New York (G) at Denver -7

Denver -7

Kind of like the Panthers and Bryce Young: “Show me you can win on the road, Jaxson Dart!” Look, the Giants are fun, and they just kicked the crap out of Philadelphia on Thursday Night Football. They also, just two weeks ago, became the only team Spencer Rattler has ever beat. They’re young, they play hard, and their defensive line is elite. But so is this Denver defense. I think Denver makes things hard on the Giants offense and wins this one.

Green Bay at Arizona +6.5

Green Bay -6.5

I have said since picking Arizona the first two weeks: this team isn’t good. Now they get into a tough stretch of their schedule. Kyler is banged up, Marvin Harrison Jr. is banged up. I’m sorry, I just don’t trust this team, and the Green Bay defense looks like it’s getting back on track after that Dallas debacle that resulted in a 40-40 tie.

Washington at Dallas +1.5

Dallas +1.5

Dallas is a tale of two sides of the ball. Their defense flat-out stinks. Turns out, when you lose arguably the best defensive player in the league and Demarcus Lawrence in one offseason, your defense is going to struggle. The other side is that their offense has looked really good, and they’re getting CeeDee Lamb back. I like Dallas to put up a lot of points in this one, and I’m getting 1.5 with them at home.

Atlanta at San Francisco -2.5

Atlanta +2.5

I think we may look back to Week 3 and see the Falcons’ 30-0 loss to the Panthers as that one game that just needs to get flushed away and forgotten. Much like Baltimore losing to the Raiders last year, there always seems to be one game that just makes no sense when it happens and, as the season plays on, makes less and less sense. Aside from that, the 49ers are so banged up, and I think the Falcons’ defense is sneaky okay. I’ll take the good momentum of Atlanta against the bad momentum of San Francisco.

Tampa Bay at Detroit -5.5

Tampa Bay +5.5

I get there are some injuries on the Tampa Bay side of the ball. Detroit feels hot and cold this year. One week they look like world beaters; the next week they lose by multiple scores. I’m just going to ride with Baker right now. With Mike Evans returning this week, that should help with Ebuka looking sidelined. I just think these two teams are pretty evenly matched, and I’m getting the better quarterback and 5.5 points.

Houston at Seattle -3.5

Seattle -3.5

My biggest concern and question here: what’s up with Seattle at home under Mike MacDonald? 4-8 at home and 10-1 on the road? It makes no sense to me. That all being said, Seattle has looked like one of the best teams in the NFC since Week 2. The biggest question with Seattle is how healthy their secondary will be. Missing Witherspoon, Love, and Woolen last week, they were able to escape with a win, but with Houston coming off a bye week, they’ll need those guys back. I think Seattle gets back on track at home, and Darnold stays hot.

Super 5

SEA
KC
TB
GB
NE