NFL 2022 Week Seven Wonders of the World

The Game Room
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It’s week seven and the NFC East is the top division in the NFC conference. In other news, dogs and cats are now living together in harmony. Meanwhile, Rodgers and Brady look old, the Packers have their first back-to-back losses under Matt LaFleur’s tenure, and the drama continues with Goodell and the owners.

Here’s the slate, with current line, O/U, and 538’s QB-adjusted Elo forecast.

Thursday Night Football
Saints at Cardinals (-1.5, 45, Cards 60%)

Sunday
Early
Browns at Ravens (-6.5, 46, Ravens 78%)
Buccaneers at Panthers (+10.5, 40.5, Bucs 77%)
Falcons at Bengals (-6, 47.5, Bengals 75%)
Lions at Cowboys (-7, 48, Cowboys 77%)
Giants at Jaguars (-3, 42.5, Giants 51%)
Colts at Titans (-3, 42.5, Titans 62%)
Packers at Commanders (+5, 41.5, Packers 58%)
Jets at Broncos (-3, 42.5, Broncos 58%)

Late
Texans at Raiders (-7, 45.5, Raiders 73%)
Seahawks at Chargers (-7, 52.5, Chargers 70%)
Chiefs at 49ers (+3, 48, Chiefs 51%)

Sunday Night Football
Steelers at Dolphins (-7, 44, Dolphins 70%)

Monday Night Football
Bears at Patriots (-4.5, 45.5, Pats 76%)

On paper, the Chiefs/49ers game looks like the one to watch. I will watch the Lions with little hope. The Sunday night has a certain train-wreck appeal with the return of Tua and what I’m sure is a 100% recovered brain (everyone continues to insist that his original injury was strictly back related).

If you can’t decide what to watch, 538’s ratings say the Chiefs/49ers and Colts/Titans will be highest quality, and Colts/Titans and Jets/Broncos are the most important. If you’re looking for the bottom of the barrel, the Texans/Raiders have you covered in both categories.

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I will be rooting against the Cardinals tonight. Why? Their coach spells his first name with a K. Kliff? Seriously?

3

That seems rather like the fault of his parents than him, but you do you.

He’s got a brother Klint, if that makes any difference

4

I had to look it up: thankfully, Kliff Kingsbury’s middle name is Timothy, not Karl or some other K name. Because, that would have been tragic.

5

I had the exact same thought.

6

Gary Kubiak did that for all his sons (Klint, Klay, Klein) as well. In their case, I think all their middle names start with an A.

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His QB is named Kyler.

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Koach Kliff Kingsbury’s Kingly Kwarterback Kyler?

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Since my point is irrational, who’s to blame is irrelevant.

10

As a Seattle fan, I would have never thought that Geno Smith would become one of the better QBs in the league (seriously, he is the most accurate QB in the NFL and won NFC Offensive Player of the Week recently). And Russell Wilson is crashing and burning in Denver.

I did not see that coming. I figured this would be a rebuild year where Seattle barely got by and picked up a good QB prospect with a high draft pick next year.

If Seattle’s defense can continue to improve, it can be a dangerous team. They even have a pretty good chance of pulling ahead in the NFC West this week, since it’s a bye week for LA, Arizona is struggling (and is already behind), and the 49ers have to face the Chiefs. But they first have to get past the Giants. In any recent year you’d call it an easy win, but because we are in the tail of an invisible comet or something, the Giants are one of the best teams in the NFL and only the Eagles(!) have a better record. If the Seahawks can win, then they really earned that spot on the top in the division.

But yes, this year seems particularly bizarre.

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It’s a definitely a strange year when you read NFC East is the strongest division.

FYI, if you were looking for team and didn’t see them, the Bills, Eagles, Rams, and Vikings are on their bye week.

12

I will be at the Commanders-Packers game on Sunday. Who knows what the hell is going to happen, but let the Taylor Heinicke era re-begin…

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A long time ago, in the 80s and 90s, that division was by far and away the strongest in football. The NFC East won 7 of 10 Super Bowls from 87-96. And they’ve actually won 3 of the last 15 Super Bowls. Only the AFC East (OK, Patriots) has that many Super Bowl wins in that span.

But, of course, that division went to shit in a hurry. In 2020, Washington won the division with a losing record. Cowboys and Giants haven’t been relevant for quite some time, so things are definitely different this year.

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Looks like the only team to win a Superbowl outside the NFC East during that span was the 49ers, who won two with Montana, one with Young. (Montana’s first two rings predate 87, of course.)

Also, I hate that Superbowls are played in a different calendar year. I absolutely think of it as 86 to 95.

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Me too. I count them as being attached to the season that took place the previous year.

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One other tidbit is that the NFC East is the only division where every team has won the Superbowl. And even that wasn’t until just a few years ago when the Eagles finally won.

The AFC East could easily join that group this year if the Billies can bring it home.

AFC North needs both the Browns and the Bengals, so that’s decades.

AFC South needs everyone except the Colts, so maybe a century?

AFC West only needs the Chargers. Not this year, but I feel like Herbert might win one, maybe in the next 5 years.

NFC North needs both the Vikings and the Lions. Vikings maybe but Lions maybe never.

NFC South needs the Panthers and Falcons. Oof, that feels like decades.

And finally the NFC West, which needs the Cardinals. That could also happen in the near future, assuming Kyler Murray can pull it together.

When I first started making this post I thought every division only had one team that hadn’t won a Superbowl yet. Other than the AFC South, of course, who only have the Colts. I’m surprised to see that half the divisions have at least two teams that have never won a Superbowl.

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Vikings are 0-4 in the Super Bowl, but it’s been 46 years since their last appearance. The Lions, like the Browns, have been in the league since prior to the advent of the Super Bowl, but have never made it to the game.

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Oh yeah, totally. Whenever I think of the Vikings and championships, I think of Fran Tarkenton’s dad having a heart attack and dying while watching Fran in the playoffs. Just heartbreaking.

But in terms of just my general impression of the franchise, I could see the Chargers, Vikings and Titans winning it all. They aren’t bad franchises. In fact toss the Bengals in that list now, finally, starting last year. And obviously the Bills, of course.

But the Texans, Lions, Falcons, and also maybe Browns and Jaguars? Maybe not in our lifetime. Though I’m starting to get a good vibe from Jacksonville. So much so that I’m worried about Sunday’s game for the Giants. And Tom Coughlin brought them to a couple conference championships, ending Dan Marino’s career in humiliating fashion in the process. There is some history of success there.

I’m not sure where to put the Cardinals. I keep wanting to think that they’re good now, but they keep kind of being not.

And I forgot the Panthers. They’ve been very good in two different eras so I wouldn’t be shocked to see them turn it around and be competitive as soon as 5 years from now. (Correction: Three different eras!)

I’m still fully expecting the Giants to win their next Superbowl in 2028, then again in 2032:

1986, 1990
2007, 2011
2028, 2032

I was thinking just last week how the timing is perfect to draft the next franchise quarterback next year or the year after, and have him win his first Superbowl in his 5th or 6th year. (Eli won his first in his 4th.)

19

Roger Clemens’ kids are named Kody, Kacy, Kory, and Koby.

Kee-rist.

20

4 Ks in an inning. There must have been a dropped third strike somewhere along the line. :wink: