The 2018 NFL Season ½ Way (Week 8) update

How’s everyone doing half-way through?

Week 8 of the 2018 NFL Season just finished up last night when the New England Patriots defeated their division rival Buffalo Bills 25-6. The Pats jumped to 6-2 and are now second place overall in the AFC.

Cleveland Browns (2-5-1): The Browns have officially upheld everyone’s suspicions about them. After some miracle gave them a win against the Baltimore Ravens, the Browns went on a three-game losing-streak and shocked the league Monday when they fired Head Coach Hue Jackson and Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley. To put the cherry on top, this was Haley’s first season. My question is why didn’t the Browns fire Jackson after the 0-16 season the year before? It doesn’t matter now, the 3-36-1 (during 2 ½ seasons with Cleveland) is gone for good.

Chicago Bears (4-3): Not too terrible Chi. After the Bears claimed wins from the Seahawks, Cardinals and Buccaneers in weeks two, three and four respectively to start 3-1, Chi had a Bye Week and it proved to not be helpful to the rebuilding team. They ended up losing to the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots the next two weeks and fell to 3-3 losing first place in NFC North. They then claimed victory over the New York Jets and got back their winning record. Now sitting at 4-3, they’ve got the Buffalo Bills next.

Dallas Cowboys (3-4): Dallas had their Bye Week in Week 8 and went into it sitting 3-4. Although the losing record, Dallas has had some decent highlights. One of the better ones was claiming a victory over the 2017 AFC Super Bowl runner-up Jacksonville Jaguars. They are easily playoff contenders with the decent record, but if they even want to see a Wild Card slot, the receiving corps and defense are going to have to step up their games, because they are the bottlenecks within the team.

Washington Redskins (5-2): One hundred to one. That was the odds in April 2018 of the Redskins winning the Super Bowl. For those who may not know, this means if you bet $10 on the Redskins to win the Super Bowl and they do, you would receive $1,000. And now this 100/1 team is sitting with one of the best records in the NFC. Didn’t see that one coming did you Las Vegas? They were tied with the Browns, Bengals, and Bills for worst odds to win it. With victories over the Cowboys, Panthers and Packers under their belts (in addition to the Cardinals and Giants), they look like a playoff team. Keep up the decent performance, Washington.

New York Giants (1-7): Massive mistake here. Despite taking the best overall (in terms of stats) player Saquon Barkley in the 2018 Draft, the Giants are still one of – if not the – worst team in all of the NFL. Despite being drafted four years after Tom Brady – who may be one of the best QBs to ever walk the face of the Earth – Eli Manning is playing like crap. He’s not Tom Brady. Despite his two Super Bowl wins, the last one was eight seasons ago. The Giants tried to eke one more year out of Eli and that would prove to be the Giants’ demise. Unfortunately I feel the Giants are going to finish this season 1-15. It’s time for Eli to go, New York.

Los Angeles Rams (8-0): It’s the longest undefeated streak the NFL has had since the 2015 Carolina Panthers (who started 14-0 before losing to the 7-7 Atlanta Falcons in week 16). The Rams are unstoppable this season, and paired with their weak schedule (based on how their opponents are doing) I’m going to be surprised if they don’t go 16-0. The question is will the curse of the ‘72 Dolphins prevail and will they lose in the playoffs? The Saints and the Chiefs are probably the only teams that have a chance at beating them now.

San Francisco 49ers (1-7): Hopefully now the Niners will understand: Money can’t buy you a playoff slot. I’m referring to Jimmy Garoppolo, who, in the middle of the 2017 season, joined the Niners off the Patriots. He Signed a $137 million contract with $90 million in guarantees. After starting the season 1-1, Jimmy G tore his ACL during the Week 3 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, putting him out for the season. Since he’s been gone, the Niners have yet to win a game, and it looks like that may be the case for the remainder of the season.

Pre Week 9 predictions

NFC:

North: Winner: Green Bay Packers (12-4 or 13-3)

           Wild Card: Chicago Bears (10-6 or 11-5)

South: Winner: New Orleans Saints (13-3 or 14-2)

East: Winner: Washington Redskins (12-4 or 13-3)

          Wild Card: Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles (9-7 or 10-6)     

West: Winner: Los Angeles Rams (15-1 or 16-0)

AFC:

North: Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4 or 13-3)

           Wild Card: Baltimore Ravens or Cincinnati Bengals (10-6 or 11-5)

South: Winner: Houston Texans (11-5 or 12-4)

          Wild Card: Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7 or 10-6)

East: Winner: New England Patriots (11-5 or 12-4)

West: Winner: Kansas City Chiefs (12-4 or 13-3)

Everything seems pretty steady in the League now. It will be interesting to see what changes.