Brandon Jackson

First of all, shoutout to @SheaSerrano for the inspiration of the title.

Secondly, how about the Browns? Unbelievable win over the Steelers, as it was total domination. Chase Claypool is still somewhere complaining about the loss. But it’s almost time for this weekend’s slate of games, and we have much more intriguing matchups this week compared to last.

This week I’m going to focus on the one game that is near and dear to my heart for a few reasons, but first I will give my picks for the other three games.

Ravens vs. Bills

I am VERY excited to see this game. It is a matchup of quarterbacks that were drafted in the same draft, and will forever be linked. I won’t get into all the pre-draft discussion involving Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, but that subtext is looming in the background of this game. As far as who wins this game, I trust the Bills’ offense more than the Ravens’ offense. Baltimore has the better running game, but Buffalo has the better coordinator, and better receivers. The quarterbacks at this stage are a toss up. Either team could win, but I’m going to go with the Bills here.

Winner: Bills

Rams vs. Packers

I can see this being a low scoring game. Jared Goff is going to be the starter, but he did not look particularly good playing last week, coming off of a broken thumb. I knew the Rams had a good enough defense to beat the Seahawks, but it won’t be enough to beat the Packers, especially with how Goff is playing at the moment. Jalen Ramsey will most likely be shadowing Davante Adams, but with how locked in he and Aaron Rodgers are, it might not matter.

Winner: Packers

Buccaneers vs. Saints

This matchup between HOF quarterbacks should be a fun one. The Saints’ defense played great last week, but it was against the Bears and Mitch Trubisky, so take that with a grain of salt. The Bucs gave up 23 points to Taylor Heinicke. But Tom Brady, Antonio Brown, and the Bucs’ offense has rounded into form. It’s looking as if the Bucs will not have Ronald Jones again, but it’s usually not a good idea to run against the Saints anyway. I’ll take Tom Brady and the Bucs to win a high scoring game.

Winner: Buccaneers

Browns vs. Chiefs

So this is the one.

If you know me in real life or pay attention to my Twitter feed, you know I’m conflicted. I choose professional teams to cheer for based on how many players they have on the team that I like. I refuse to give blind loyalty to a team that doesn’t know who I am or care about me in the slightest. Or teams that have been perennially bad due to incompetence, like the Cleveland Browns. The Browns have been bad basically my whole life. They made the playoffs in 2002 when I was nine. They have given me no reason to cheer for them other than the fact their stadium and my home share an area code.

Up until 2020. Up until Kevin Stefanski was hired. Up until now, when they are one of the last 8 remaining teams.

But for the last couple of years, I have openly cheered for the Kansas City Chiefs. I like Patrick Mahomes, but I love Travis Kelce, and I love Tyreek Hill. Those two are probably my favorite two players in the NFL. And they have rewarded my fandom with winning almost every week, and a super bowl championship last season. If that happiness makes me a bandwagon fan, I will accept that tag.

The reason I am so conflicted is because I never expected the Browns to get this far this season. I am conflicted because I truly believe they have a real shot to win this game.

I pay attention to the Chiefs damn near more than I pay attention to the Browns, and if you’ve paid attention, you know the Chiefs are not a well-oiled machine on offense as they were last year. You’ve probably seen the stat that Mahomes has the most dropped interceptions in the NFL. And I can definitely confirm that is true. It has been a while since the Chiefs have looked like a great offense. They have put up good numbers obviously, but it has not been pretty.

The Browns on the other hand, have Baker Mayfield playing the best football of his professional career. The best running back tandem in football, and even with Covid and injuries, the best offensive line in football. I’ve had people tell me that they think the Browns need to have ball control and use as much of the clock as possible in order to win, I don’t believe that is the only path to victory. The Browns have played well enough on offense to score at least 35 points in this game.

I imagine this game going one of two ways. Chiefs win in a blowout, or the team that has the ball at the end of the game will win, whoever that may be. And I’m betting on the latter. I expect a Pat Mahomes turnover or two. I expect another good Baker Mayfield game. But I do expect the Chiefs to win a close game. But I will be happy either way.

Winner: Chiefs