Eagles, NFC East Flying High
After four weeks of play, only one undefeated team remains in the NFL. To my absolute shock, it is the Philadelphia Eagles. The NFC East, where the Eagles reside, might be another of the bigger surprises this season. Dallas without Dak Prescott is 3 and 1, and so are the New York Giants. At this point, the Eagles are favored to represent the NFC in the Superbowl.
The Field Is Balanced
To put it into perspective, the NFC East houses three of the eight NFL teams currently above .500 and just eight teams in the entire league have more wins than losses. What’s somewhat staggering is that fifteen teams are 2 – 2. The NFL powers could not have asked for a stronger start from a balanced perspective. The Buccaneers, Rams, and 49ers, powerhouse teams from the NFC last year, are all .500 through the season’s first quarter. Even the Bengals, who represented the AFC in the Superbowl last year, are off to a slightly shakier start and also sit at 2 – 2. My favorite standing so far is the NFC West, a division where we thought the Rams would be the leader of the pack and the Cardinals would be close on their heels; all four teams in that division are .500 to date. This means that even though there are thirteen games to go, I suspect it will be a wilder than normal finish for teams to get into those wild card positions at the end of the season.
Tua Tagovailoa Injury Diagnosis Fumbled
Three weeks ago, Tua Tagovailoa was my season’s first shout out player of the week. If you remember, he torched the Ravens for 6 Touchdowns in a 4th quarter comeback victory we would expect from Brady, Mahomes, or Rodgers. The following week I said Tua would have to play at that level again to beat the Bills, He gave it his best shot and came up short from a quarterback play angle, but the Dolphins beat the Bills. Unfortunately, that upset victory came at a cost. There was a play in which Tagovailoa was pushed on his back and appeared to hit his head. He was very shaky getting up and could barely stand. Undoubtedly, he should have been taken out of that game, but he was allowed to return. That game ended okay, but the Dolphins listed his injury as a back injury. A blind person could have seen that it was a head injury, not a back injury. Just four days later, almost the same play occurred, and he hit his head again. This time he could not get up and was taken immediately to the hospital. More should have been done here without a doubt, in a league where players must be protected from themselves, as they have a burning desire to compete.
Now we have neurologists coming out and saying this man shouldn’t play football for the rest of the year. This isn’t a minor issue and can’t be allowed to happen again. I am concerned that the Dolphins covered up his injury, figuring he would be okay in the coming weeks. I mean, how often do players take back-to-back blows to the head? Not very, but as we just saw, it can happen. I think there should be suspensions and fines, maybe even firings, within the Dolphin organization. A real precedent needs to be set here! Concussions are part of the game, but they must be diagnosed immediately to protect the players and cannot ever be allowed to be covered up. We don’t want Tua to end up with a crippled life as so many players have before him from these devastating injuries.
In The Hot Seat
I figured the Hot Seat would belong to Mike McCarthy all season long. It seems, however that Carolina Panthers Head Coach Matt Rhule will be a permanent resident. Carolina is 1 and 3, which isn’t devastating considering that Tampa and Atlanta are the division leaders at surprise surprise 2 and 2. But Carolina should be better! Here is a crazy stat for head coach Matt Rhule: The Panthers are one win and twenty-six losses when their opposing team scores at least seventeen points. I mean, that is just crazy. Obviously, Carolina has had problems scoring points in the last three seasons. He won’t be fired yet, but it certainly doesn’t get any easier for Rhule, up next up is the 49ers.
Game(s) of the Week
Because of the league’s parity, there are a few bigger games this week. Chicago going on the road against Minnesota is a crucial divisional battle. Atlanta and Tampa will duke it out for control of their division. The Cowboys are taking on the Rams in a big NFC showdown.
The undefeated Eagles are on the road in Arizona in a big game. I have already mentioned that the 49ers don’t want to look beyond the Panthers, whose season is on the line. Sunday (9) night will even feature Cincinnati and Baltimore in another first-place divisional fight. Finally, the Raiders season could be over as they travel to Kansas City to take on Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Sunday (9) will be a good day to watch some football, especially since it’s Thanksgiving!
Weekly Picks
Week 4 ATS: (0-0-0) / Season Total ATS: (24-21-0)
Sunday (9th)
New York Giants (+8.0) @ Green Bay Packers: Giants +8.0
Atlanta Falcons (+8.5) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers Buccaneers -8.5
Detroit Lions (+3.0) @ New England Patriots: Patriots -3.0
Chicago Bears: (+7.0) @ Minnesota Vikings: Bears +7.0
Houston Texans (+7.0) @ Jacksonville Jaguars: Texans +7.0
Los Angeles Chargers (-2.5) @ Cleveland Browns: Chargers -2.5
Miami Dolphins (-3.0) @ New York Jets: Dolphins -3.0
Pittsburgh Steelers (+14.0) @ Buffalo Bills: Bills -14.0
Tennessee Titans (-2.5) @ Washington Commanders: Commanders +2.5
San Francisco 49ers (-6.5) @ Carolina Panthers: 49ers -6.5
Dallas Cowboys (+5.5) @ Los Angeles Rams: Rams -5.5
Philadelphia Eagles (-5.0) @ Arizona Cardinals: Cardinals +5.0
Cincinnati Bengals (+3.0) @ Baltimore Ravens: Bengals +3.0
Monday (10th)
Las Vegas Raiders (+7.0) @ Kansas City Chiefs: Chiefs -7.0
Adam Care/MS
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