Patriots defense (28!) gets Matt Pringle off to big lead on Thursday, can Chris Zimnoch's squad win the catch-up challenge this weekend?
Devin McCourty, Matt Judon (9) and Kyle Van Noy (who had a pick-six) led the Pats defense to a 28-point Thursday night explosion against the Falcons.
There was no doubt which game was going to throw the most points on the board this week. Whether it is an alignment of the planets or NFL schedules or whatever, the clash between the Spread Beaters and the Recliners was predicted to have an over-under near 200 points.
Then the Beaters defense, the resurgent Patriots who were going against the hapless (and wingless) Falcons, throw a 28 last night. Sure, Chris had the New England kicker in that one, and he scored 15. But an 18-point advantage might be impossible to overcome.
In other games, the Tirades square off against the Invaiders (again!) and hope to avenge a sloppy, ugly loss two weeks ago; the Packers face the Gerbils; the Band Aids go father vs son-in-law (again!) against the Saddles, after Blayze handed Bob a 32-point smackdown last month; and the who cares game of the week (it edged out the Packers-Gerbils) is the Rangers-Pillow Biters clash to determine who's in last place in the Silent Division.
Beaters (-17) vs Recliners: All is not lost for Chris Zimnoch in this one. He's still got Tom Brady going against the not-so-Giants. He's got Zeke and Joe Mixon and DeVonta Smith and Tee Higgins. If the real Travis Kelce shows up, this could be a battle again. But.... Matt's Spread Beaters have an 18-point lead out of the gate, Nick Chubb should be off the Covid-19 list soon, Lamar Jackson is good for at least 25 against the Bears ... and then he has Stefon Diggs and Mike Evans, who can conceivably counter some of those Brady TD passes. Beaters by 10.
Invaiders (-8) vs Tirades: I don't give a crap what ESPN says. There is no way the Tirades can be favored in this one. Why? They are the most inconsistent team in the league. Only the Gerbils have managed a lower score than the Tirades put on the board the last time these teams met in Week 9 (56!) when any other team in the league (well, except maybe the Gerbils) would have won the game. The Invaiders might have Kyler Murray back this week (they won without him last time), but do have some weak spots: RB2 (Leonard Fournette) and WR2 (Brandon Aiyuk) have been as inconsistent as the Tirades lineup. But Austin Ekeler and Davante Adams are capable of scoring enough for both spots. The Tirades are getting back to full strength for the first time in weeks, however: They've played the last month with two RBs on IR, but now have three solid RB1s: Dalvin Cook now has help from James Conner, picked up in a trade from the Band Aids; and Green Bay backup-turned-starter AJ Dillon, picked up off the free-agent pile on Tuesday. The question now is who gets the start across from Cook and, more importantly, will they produce anything? Also, Gronk is back, DK Metcalf has Russell Wilson back in the pocket and is not questionable for the first time in five weeks. Despite that, Invaiders by 12.
Saddles (-5) vs Band Aids: Getting only two points from star rookie TE Kyle Pitts on Thursday is not a good start for Blayze Hanson and his Saddles. Is that a harbinger of things to come against his father-in-law Bob Garcia and the Band Aids? Even though Bob should be smarting from a 32-point beatdown from Blayze last month and out for revenge, the only thing we can see is on his mind is 2022 after losing last week to the Tirades, a defeat so damaging that the Band Aids threw in the towel immediately after, trading Conner to the team that just beat them and sending their best receiver, CeeDee Lamb, to these very Saddles just days before playing them. Still, the Band Aids haven't exactly given up completely. They still have arguably the best QB (at least the best idiotic, unvaccinated one in Aaron Rodgers), one of the best RBs in Alvin Kamara and, well, then things start dropping off. But if the Saddles have an off weekend, this would be the upset of the week. Barring that, Saddles by 10.
Packers (-14) vs Gerbils: Had it not been for the game that follows this one, it would be the stinker of the week. The Pack have David Montgomery back at RB, though are still stuck with Myles Gaskin at the other spot. WRs Deebo Samuel and Chris Godwin are both capable of putting 20 points on the board, and you can easily expect that (or double) from QB Josh Allen. Chuck Nelson's Gerbils have Christian McCaffrey back and looking like he's at 100% again, but he's struggled to get points from his WRs and QB. Pack by 12.
Rangers (-6) vs Pillows: The Bataan Death March for the defending champ Pillow Biters is almost over, and a loss here could officially end any playoff hopes and start the path toward the No. 1 draft pick in 2022. Perhaps Matt Huey should be entertaining trade offers at this point? Or at least reading those that come in via e-mail from ESPN? Even though the Rangers are set to play with a RB on injured reserve (Miles Sanders), they still should win this one easily with WRs Tyreek Hill and Justin Jefferson leading the way and QB Justin Hebert going against the leaky Steelers secondary (I'd apologize to John but there is no way he's reading this). Matt Huey's biggest threat lately has been D'Andre Swift, but he's questionable... and so is a consortium victory. Rangers by 9.
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