From left: Sports Editor Karl Winter, Assistant Sports Editor Paxton Ritchey, Staff Writer Kyle McCabe, Photo Editor Ali Levens, Sports Assistant Justin Touhey and Staff Writer Austin Hall. This group of six made its picks for the eighth week of the NFL season after a week in which two undefeated teams fell and several underwhelming teams spiraled further. Art by Madeline Duvall
The mighty fell, and the lowly fell harder in Week 7 of the 2020 NFL season.
The formerly undefeated Titans and Seahawks lost on final kicks, the Jets moved to 0–7, the Cowboys were crushed for the second straight week and the Patriots have lost three in a row for the first time since 2002.
The 1–6 Falcons also choked away another game in the final minute, but that’s hardly notable at this point.
Staff Writer Austin Hall fell below fourth place in our picks standings for the first time all season, while Photo Editor Ali Levens moved into the top four for the first time in five weeks, correctly picking the Washington Football Team over the Cowboys en route to a big 11–3 week.
Hall and Levens have few opportunities to gain ground in Week 8, as all six PGM staff members picked the same team to win in nine of 14 games. However, don’t look away, as the undefeated Steelers and 5–1 Ravens clash Sunday morning, the Chiefs look to better a 20-point betting spread against the Jets, and National Football Conference West rivals San Francisco and Seattle square off Sunday afternoon.
Without further ado, allow Staff Writer Kyle McCabe, Hall, Sports Assistant Justin Touhey, Assistant Sports Editor Paxton Ritchey, Levens and Sports Editor Karl Winter to make their selections, starting with the typical Thursday night dumpster fire featuring two mediocre teams.
Atlanta Falcons (1–6) at Carolina Panthers (3–4) (Thursday, Oct. 29 at 5:20 p.m., PDT)
Justin: Falcons
Paxton: Falcons
Austin: Falcons
Ali: Panthers
Kyle: Panthers
Karl: Panthers
“I think a big semi-big factor is [Falcons wide receiver] Julio Jones. Out of the matchups, this is one of them where you look at it, [and] they’re super even and it can obviously go either way, but a lot of it is because the Falcons underperform with their talent, and the Panthers over perform with their lack of talent. I’ll go Falcons, I think they’re due for one.” — Austin
“[Carolina] beat [Atlanta] back in Week 1. Although Julio Jones is back for this one, I think the Panthers have been more consistent and well-rounded. On a shorter week, I like them at home in this one.” — Karl
Pittsburgh Steelers (6–0) at Baltimore Ravens (5–1) (Sunday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Justin: Ravens
Paxton: Ravens
Austin: Ravens
Ali: Ravens
Kyle: Ravens
Karl: Ravens
“I have been sleeping on the Steelers for the past few weeks, and I’m going to continue to sleep on them. They’re due for a loss. I think the Ravens are going to handle their business at home this week. and I think their defense is going to be able to silence that Pittsburgh offense a little bit. [The Steelers] left a lot to be desired at the end of the game against Tennessee. It’s pretty rare to see a team stay undefeated for this long, so I’m going to pick the Ravens to hold off the Steelers at home.” — Karl
Los Angeles Rams (5–2) at Miami Dolphins (3–3) (Sunday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Justin: Rams
Paxton: Rams
Austin: Rams
Ali: Rams
Kyle: Rams
Karl: Rams
“[The Rams’] offense did look good [Monday night], but I was actually more impressed with their defense and that pass rush they have with [defensive tackle] Aaron Donald. It’s still elite and it’s not a good recipe for a rookie quarterback making his first start [in Tua Tagovailoa] who didn’t even have poise among his main strengths in college anyway.” — Paxton
New York Jets (0–7) at Kansas City Chiefs (6–1) (Sunday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Justin: Chiefs
Paxton: Chiefs
Austin: Chiefs
Ali: Chiefs
Kyle: Chiefs
Karl: Chiefs
“Knock knock. Who’s there? Owen. Owen who? Wait, what week is it? Eight! Oh and eight, baby! I don’t even think [the Jets] cover [the spread].” — Paxton
Minnesota Vikings (1–5) at Green Bay Packers (5–1) (Sunday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Justin: Packers
Paxton: Packers
Austin: Packers
Ali: Packers
Kyle: Packers
Karl: Packers
“[Aaron Rodgers] is a bad man. That’s it.” — Justin
Indianapolis Colts (4–2) at Detroit Lions (3–3) (Sunday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Justin: Colts
Paxton: Lions
Austin: Lions
Ali: Colts
Kyle: Lions
Karl: Lions
“Although the Lions gave me a Hail Mary win for this last game, I’m not going to rely on them again to be the Colts, who I feel like we kind of sleep on. They’re not great but they’re also not terrible, so I will go with the Colts.” — Ali
“I’m going to take the Lions as well because I think this one might come down to the wire. The Lions are kind of showing that they’re competent on offense. Indianapolis has a pretty good defense and they’re coming off a bye, but they don’t play very well on the road, especially [quarterback] Philip Rivers. [Lions quarterback] Matt Stafford is just good at finding ways to win late in games, or at least he has been lately. He’s got a lot of game-winning drives. So if it comes down to it, late in the game, I like Stafford.” — Karl
Las Vegas Raiders (3–3) at Cleveland Browns (5–2) (Sunday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Justin: Raiders
Paxton: Raiders
Austin: Raiders
Ali: Raiders
Kyle: Browns
Karl: Raiders
“The [Baker] Mayfield cycle: Play like crap. Get roasted by the media. Underdog mentality. Win against a bad team. Call out his haters. Be overhyped. Play like crap. It never fails. Well, judging by the Mayfield cycle, he will play like crap. I think Baker has actually shown that he’s got some connections with other receivers — this offense doesn’t only flow through [injured Browns receiver] Odell [Beckham Jr.]. So I think they’ll put up some points, but the Raiders have shown an ability to put up points as well. The Browns defense is kind of just [defensive end] Myles Garrett and everybody else, so I don’t really like them to hold the Raiders to anything low. The Browns have not really shown a proclivity for beating teams that are average to good. so I like the Raiders to go and steal one on the road here.” — Karl
“‘Here’s a guy who doesn’t like to pick the Raiders.’ I do not, and I won’t. Browns.” — Kyle
Tennessee Titans (5–1) at Cincinnati Bengals (1–5–1) (Sunday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Justin: Titans
Paxton: Titans
Austin: Titans
Ali: Titans
Kyle: Titans
Karl: Titans
“Cincinnati fans cannot wait the glory days to return where they would get second in the AFC North, go to the Wild Card and get blown out by somebody who has a lower seed than them. Those glory days aren’t returning anytime soon though, because they’re going to get crushed by the Titans.” — Kyle
New England Patriots (2–4) at Buffalo Bills (5–2) (Sunday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Justin: Bills
Paxton: Bills
Austin: Bills
Ali: Bills
Kyle: Bills
Karl: Bills
“The Brady-Belichick dilemma’s not looking great [for Belichick] right now. They have 28 points in three weeks. Then again, if it wasn’t for the NFC East, the Bills would actually be one of my more underwhelming divisional leaders right now. It’s still early, but they were kind of one of the teams that I had a feeling could take a step back. They’re 5–2 but their defense is just too good for the 11 starters that the Patriots offense is rolling out every week. Slight bounce-back game for [Bills quarterback] Josh Allen and I think the Bills take it.” — Austin
Los Angeles Chargers (2–4) at Denver Broncos (2–4) (Sunday, Nov. 1 at 1:05 p.m., PDT)
Justin: Chargers
Paxton: Chargers
Austin: Chargers
Ali: Broncos
Kyle: Broncos
Karl: Chargers
“[Broncos quarterback] Drew Lock had probably the worst game of his pro career on Sunday, and if he doesn’t have a bounce-back game this week, then the Denver media is going to absolutely come for his head. I think he will bounce back out of necessity and the seasoned [second-year] veteran Drew Lock will put the young buck [Chargers quarterback] Justin Herbert in his place.” — Kyle
“I’ve been very impressed with [Justin] Herbert this year, pride of the Pac-12 and West Coast. He’s played well. The Chargers do have a lot of issues, but he’s not one of them, and I think they can overcome a Broncos team that is still, at the end of the day, very short-handed.” — Paxton
San Francisco 49ers (4–3) at Seattle Seahawks (5–1) (Sunday, Nov. 1 at 1:25 p.m., PDT)
Justin: Seahawks
Paxton: Seahawks
Austin: Seahawks
Ali: Seahawks
Kyle: Seahawks
Karl: Seahawks
“The 49ers have done me really well the last three weeks, but I am going to play against them this week at Seattle. They are due for another loss at some point. [Seahawks quarterback] Russell Wilson is notorious for winning very close games and I think this is going to be a very close game. Plus, he lost last week, so I’m sure he’s going to bounce back and be fine. I don’t see the Seahawks dropping this one. I think the Seahawks are going to win the NFC West, so I anticipate that Russell Wilson will lead the ‘Hawks to victory.” — Justin
New Orleans Saints (4–2) at Chicago Bears (5–2) (Sunday, Nov. 1 at 1:25 p.m., PDT)
Justin: Bears
Paxton: Saints
Austin: Saints
Ali: Saints
Kyle: Bears
Karl: Bears
“I think once the Bears get blown out, then the Bears are done. I’ve seen it enough this year where I’m impressed by how the Bears play when it’s close. Yeah, the Saints won a close game against the Panthers last week, but that was the Panthers. I think the Panthers are mediocre team and I think the Rams are better than the Panthers are. With the Bears defense, I think especially on the road for [Saints quarterback] Drew Brees it might be harder to generate offense than it would be in a dome in New Orleans.” — Justin
“The Bears still have some decent pieces. I’m not going to go recency bias and completely throw them away for the rest of season after [Monday] night. They do have a discussion to have a quarterback though, maybe. The Saints’ offense has been playing barely good enough for me not to be concerned. I’m not concerned, but I’m also not convinced, at the same time. They do not throw the ball downfield, so the Bears might be able to capitalize on that. I think it’ll start out really low-scoring like tonight did, but I still trust Brees in the fourth quarter.” — Austin
Dallas Cowboys (2–5) at Philadelphia Eagles (2–4–1) (Sunday, Nov. 1 at 5:20 p.m., PDT)
Justin: Eagles
Paxton: Eagles
Austin: Eagles
Ali: Eagles
Kyle: Eagles
Karl: Eagles
“Another NFC East matchup, where the Cowboys have scored nine points in the last two weeks. I will go with the Eagles to become the true NFC East champions and they’re going to ride this high for so long — until they actually play a decent team.” — Ali
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5–2) at New York Giants (1–6) (Monday, Nov. 2 at 5:15 p.m., PDT)
Justin: Buccaneers
Paxton: Buccaneers
Austin: Buccaneers
Ali: Buccaneers
Kyle: Buccaneers
Karl: Buccaneers
“[Tom] Brady may have been propped up a little by the play calling of [Bill] Belichick in his career, but you still got to be a smart QB to grasp the offense and make the right read. He’s playing against a quarterback [in Daniel Jones] that quite literally cannot walk and chew gum at the same time, so this is going to be a Buccaneers win.” — Paxton
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Contact Karl Winter via Twitter: @karlwinter23 or by email: karl.winter@pepperdine.edu
