EDITOR’S NOTE: It’s been a busy week at work, and in typical daycare fashion, they’re closed for COVID exposures, so needless to say there has been no time to dig into this week’s slate. I’ll write something for each game tomorrow, but this week’s pick ’em will be a brief one.
CHI @ WSH -5.5: I know I say this every week, but the TNF games are hard to predict. The short week is grueling for both teams, and I assume that most teams view their TNF appearances as “let’s just get through it” games. Sure, when the matchup is a total miss-match, the favorites usually roll (see Week 2 – Giants vs. 49ers), but all too often these games are garbage.
Enter Bears vs. Commanders. At this point, the Bears have to be in full tank mode. Fields surely doesn’t seem to be the long-term answer, and with a potentially generational talent waiting at the top of the 2024 draft, nobody would blame the Bears if they mailed it in for the rest of this season. BUT if there was a game that I’d take them to cover and potentially win, it’d be a Thursday Night game against an average team. Justin Fields will be, without a doubt, the most athletic person on the field tonight and on just 3 days of rest, I can see him being an issue for the Commander’s defense.
Washington, on the other hand, is 2-2 with wins over the Cardinals and Broncos and losses to the Bills (blowout) and Eagles (overtime). The Commanders look like a decent team that will beat up on bad opponents but struggle with good teams. Welcome to NFL purgatory.
If the spread was 7+ I’d go with the Bears, but I just can’t put any faith in that operation. Their loss to Denver last week (blowing a 28-7 lead) is the kind of loss that can kill a team. Hell, just ask Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons. That franchise hasn’t been right since the 28-3 blown lead in Super Bowl LVI.
I’ll take the Commanders to cover but this will be a ballgame into the 4th quarter, which I have no chance of staying up for. Pick: Commanders
