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 ninth week of the NFL season after an upside-down week chock-full of upsets. Art by Madeline Duvall
A tumultuous week in a tumultuous year in America was reflected in a wild week of NFL unpredictability.
There were four games in Week 8 that our staff entirely swung and missed on. The lowly Bengals beat the one-loss Titans by double digits. Pittsburgh remained undefeated by eking one out in Baltimore. The Dolphins torched the Rams in rookie Tua Tagovailoa’s starting debut despite being out-gained by over 300 yards. Dalvin Cook and the previously 1–5 Vikings got the job done against the previously 5–1 Packers in Green Bay.
A few things remained constant, as Jets are still winless after losing big in Kansas City, while the 1–7 Giants found a way to lose Monday Night.
Halfway through the season, the race in our picks has tightened up significantly. Five of the six staff members are now within three games, as Sports Editor Karl Winter underwent a dismal 6–8 week while Photo Editor Ali Levens continued her hot streak with a 9–5 week.
Like the election this week, NFL Week 9 could be another nail-biter, with teams locking in as playoff contenders in a year with 14 playoff teams rather than 12.
Without further ado, allow Staff Writers Kyle McCabe and Austin Hall, Sports Assistant Justin Touhey, Assistant Sports Editor Paxton Ritchey, Levens and Winter to make their selections, starting with a Thursday night NFC Championship Game rematch.
In a unique format this week to mark the halfway point in the regular season, every staff member is quoted for every game.
Green Bay Packers (5–2) at San Francisco 49ers (4–4) (Thursday, Nov. 5 at 5:20 p.m., PST)
Justin: Packers
Paxton: Packers
Austin: Packers
Ali: Packers
Kyle: Packers
Karl: Packers
“[Packers quarterback] Aaron Rodgers needs to stop having relationships with people like Pat McAfee and start focusing on his relationship with the football.” — Justin
“The Niners actually have a better shot to win this game with Nick Mullens under center than they did with Jimmy G. It still won’t be enough. They are too banged up, and after last week’s slip up, it’s a bad time to play Green Bay.” — Paxton
“The 49ers are the most bipolar team in the league, and being without their four best players is detrimental. The Pack has had two enigma games back-to-back, but I’ve still seen enough to believe they’re a top-3 team in the NFC.” — Austin
“Last week, one team lost to a good team. The other lost to a bad team. Mr. Rodgers is angry. Down with the 49ers he goes!” — Ali
“[49ers tight end] George Kittle is out and the bad, bad man [Aaron Rodgers] is due for a bounce-back victory.” — Kyle
“I cannot, in good faith, take the inconsistent and banged-up Niners over a Packers team that has underachieved mightily in its last two games. Look for Green Bay to get NFC Championship Game revenge with a 30-plus point performance.” — Karl
New York Giants (1–7) at Washington Football Team (2–5) (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m., PST)
Justin: Giants
Paxton: Football Team
Austin: Football Team
Ali: Football Team
Kyle: Football Team
Karl: Giants
“They played well tonight against Tampa, and I don’t want to think we are only a 1-win team.” — Justin
“The Giants narrowly won the first meeting, but I like the home team this time around. Daniel Jones is not clutch. At all. And the Football Team’s D-line will give him fits.” — Paxton
“Every player I see on the Football Team, I say to myself, ‘Oh, he’s not bad.’ That should be good enough to beat the Giants.” — Austin
“The Giants, although they played terribly and threw the game away — I’m looking at you Daniel [Jones] — almost beat Tampa Bay. I’ll be darned if this won’t be the ugliest game of the week. The Giants’ one recent-ish win was against the Football Team, and I’m looking at them to not come through. Let’s go Giants, give us nothing except multiple interceptions a game and a top 3 draft pick!” — Ali
“While I want the win totals for the NFC East to stay as low as possible, I don’t think the Giants are going to pull this one out.” — Kyle
“New York has shown enough competence to keep games close on a week-to-week basis. They’ve also shown enough incompetence to keep losing those games. Though Daniel Jones is good for a few interceptions every game, the Giants showed enough across the board last week to give me confidence that they can maintain the parity of NFC East and keep the dream of a 4-win division champion alive.” — Karl
Chicago Bears (5–3) at Tennessee Titans (5–2) (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m., PST)
Justin: Titans
Paxton: Titans
Austin: Titans
Ali: Titans
Kyle: Titans
Karl: Titans
“Because I picked the Titans, the Bears will win.” — Justin
“[This is a] matchup between two teams who have somehow been god-like in one-score games. [It] probably goes down to the wire as well. I like Tennessee because Chicago’s defensive strength — pass rush and secondary — doesn’t match up with the Titans’ ground attack.” — Paxton
“Perhaps the two sketchiest teams with solid records, the Bears are close to being contenders but something’s just off in that organization right now. The loss to the Bengals is troublesome but Titans have enough around them to go 10–6 if they stick to their formula.” — Austin
“The curse is broken. I finally got a Bears pick right by banking on them losing, and I’m hoping to do it again. Go Titans!” — Ali
“Two teams that disappointed me last week — so I don’t want to pick either one. I’ll go with the Titans on the hope that the Bengals game was a massive fluke.” — Kyle
“Week after week, I’ve said that there will come a time that I pick against the Bears. The time has come. They’ve helped me choke away my lead and I will not allow it to continue. More importantly, [Bears quarterback] Nick Foles hasn’t thrown the ball much better than Mitch Trubisky and the Bears will be running a B-team offensive line onto the field on Sunday due to injuries.” — Karl
Detroit Lions (3–4) at Minnesota Vikings (2–5) (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m., PST)
Justin: Lions
Paxton: Vikings
Austin: Vikings
Ali: Vikings
Kyle: Vikings
Karl: Vikings
“[The Vikings] are inconsistent and will be too high on beating that bad man in Green Bay.” — Justin
“The Vikings have turned the corner. [Vikings quarterback] Kirk Cousins is bad, but he’s not quite this bad. Vikings ride their emotional high from the Packers win to defeat a team that hasn’t shown much emotion at all.” — Paxton
“Are the Vikings good again? Can the Lions still go 8–8? After an otherworldly game from [Vikings running back] Dalvin Cook they should have enough gas to get past the Lions.” — Austin
“What a performance against the Packers last week! Too bad they’re playing the star-studded Detroit Lions next to show how talented they really are (they aren’t, Kirk Cousins went off though).” — Ali
“The Vikings last week looked like the team that people thought they were — one that should not be this far underwater.” — Kyle
“This is a tough game for me to pick, between two very inconsistent NFC North squads. I will give the edge to Minnesota because they’ve shown life on offense lately, Detroit was just picked apart by Philip Rivers of all people, and the Vikes’ defensive progress was the most impressive thing for me in their win against Green Bay. Perhaps they’ll have similar success against Matt Stafford and Detroit.” — Karl
Carolina Panthers (3–5) at Kansas City Chiefs (7–1) (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m., PST)
Justin: Chiefs
Paxton: Chiefs
Austin: Chiefs
Ali: Chiefs
Kyle: Chiefs
Karl: Chiefs
“Patrick Mahomes!” — Justin
“I’m not going to do anything stupid.” — Paxton
“Chiefs.” — Austin
“Patrick Mahomes!” — Ali
“Kansas City will handle their business against one of my favorite upset-causing teams.” — Kyle
“Patrick Mahomes! And Carolina is spiraling out of control.” — Karl
Houston Texans (1–6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (1–6) (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m., PST)
Justin: Texans
Paxton: Texans
Austin: Texans
Ali: Texans
Kyle: Texans
Karl: Texans
“The Jags are an awful football team. They are so bad at football, like awful.” — Justin
“Two struggling teams both sense an opportunity for a statement win. As much as I love the ‘stache, the only reason the Jaguars have committed to [Gardner] Minshew is because they’ve got their eye on [Trevor] Lawrence or [Justin] Fields.” — Paxton
“Hats off to [Jaguars quarterback] Jake Luton to continue the Oregon State tradition of 6-foot-6-inch career backup quarterbacks with a couple of starts in their career (Derek Anderson, Matt Moore, Sean Mannion). This game might’ve been interesting with Minshew but there’s no way Luton plays worse than DiNucci. Texans get their second win of the O’Brien-less era.” — Austin
“This will be ugly. Not as ugly as the Giants-Football Team, but still pretty ugly. The Texans have a sizable spread over the Jags and I will, once again, not put any faith in a first-week-win team.” — Ali
“Texans are simply the stronger 1–6 team. I think they’re the smart choice.” — Kyle
“I’ve never heard of Jake Luton until this week and therefore I have no confidence he’ll turn this sinking ship around. This is a Tank Bowl but not close in terms of talent.” — Karl
Baltimore Ravens (5–2) at Indianapolis Colts (5–2) (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m., PST)
Justin: Ravens
Paxton: Ravens
Austin: Ravens
Ali: Ravens
Kyle: Ravens
Karl: Colts
“[The Ravens] seem to have hit a slump but they are still good and I see Lamar [Jackson] bouncing back.” — Justin
“Don’t think many people had these teams with the same record after 7 weeks, but hey — 2020, here we are. Ravens are simply more talented and should win. [That’s] not a knock on the Colts though, they deserve to be where they’re at.” — Paxton
“I don’t think any less of the Ravens after the Steelers loss. Their ground game isn’t as efficient as it was last year and their offense is suffering because of it. Lamar has a lot of figuring out to do before playoff time. I expect a good offensive and defensive performance from the Ravens to put them back on track.” — Austin
“The Packers, Ravens, Colts, Saints, Bucs, Cardinals and Titans all stand in a room. There are two imposters among us. Will the Ravens get the others to vote the imposter out? Or will the Colts somehow eject the Ravens from the top of the record boards? However, one imposter remains.” — Ali
“[Ravens quarterback] Lamar [Jackson] has been lackluster lately, but [Colts quarterback] Philip Rivers is so old [that] I think he might throw a hip out on Sunday.” — Kyle
“The Colts are no imposter. They’re good. My gut instinct says to go with them, so I will. They look good in all facets. Baltimore’s defense will be a challenge for Indianapolis, but the Ravens’ passing game hasn’t done enough to convince me that they’ll move the ball consistently.” — Karl
Seattle Seahawks (6–1) at Buffalo Bills (6–2) (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m., PST)
Justin: Seahawks
Paxton: Bills
Austin: Seahawks
Ali: Seahawks
Kyle: Seahawks
Karl: Seahawks
“[Seahawks quarterback] Russell Wilson will be MVP and looked great against the 49ers. I expect him to play well in Buffalo, as the road is his home,” — Justin
“First game I’m picking against my team. Defense is a mess and not quite healthy. Buffalo November weather and a 10 a.m. start don’t sound good either. [Bills quarterback] Josh Allen will have his best statistical game of the year.” — Paxton
“The Bills beat the Jets and Patriots by a combined 11 points. That scares me.” — Austin
“I think I picked Bills for Week 1 then blacked out. I seriously did not realize they were 6–2. Still gonna go with the Seahawks though; that Russell Wilson really knows how to win a game. He should try going to the Super Bowl sometime.” — Ali
“Buffalo has lost to KC and the Titans, two teams that I think the Seahawks are better than.” — Kyle
“Seattle’s defense hasn’t been good all season, but Buffalo’s hasn’t lived up to the hype lately either — it’s been downright mediocre. The Bills have regressed and might be a mirage. However, they still have a good path to a high playoff seed, even if they lose this game.” — Karl
Denver Broncos (3–4) at Atlanta Falcons (2–6) (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m., PST)
Justin: Broncos
Paxton: Falcons
Austin: Falcons
Ali: Falcons
Kyle: Broncos
Karl: Falcons
“The Broncos overcame a 21-point deficit against the Chargers. This spells doom for the Falcons.” — Justin
“A matchup between teams whose mottos have been, ‘How the hell did they win that one?’ and ‘How the hell did they lose that one?’ Who knows, man? Both these teams are weird.” — Paxton
“Broncos came back from a 24-3 deficit and play the Falcons next? While the dirty birds ought to be terrified, the Falcons are in a decent stretch of football so I’m going with them.” — Austin
“I’ll be darned if the Broncos didn’t come through for the one week I picked them. But with these two teams, no team will want to run up the score for the other to guarantee a comeback win. It’s a toss up. Falcons, question mark?” — Ali
“What a tale of two halves for the Broncos last week. Even with all the injuries they’ve had this season, they’ve been good at beating bad teams — and proved they can come from behind.” — Kyle
“I am not good at picking games involving either of these teams. The Broncos got to play the Falcons of the AFC last week (the Chargers), but I don’t think they’ll be quite as lucky this time around.” — Karl
Las Vegas Raiders (4–3) at Los Angeles Chargers (2–5) (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 1:05 p.m., PST)
Justin: Raiders
Paxton: Raiders
Austin: Chargers
Ali: Raiders
Kyle: Chargers
Karl: Raiders
“Chargers really Charger’ed it up last week. Poor [Chargers rookie quarterback Justin] Herbert; the Raiders are better and will have no issue.” — Justin
“I feel sorry for [Chargers rookie quarterback] Justin Herbert.” — Paxton
“New uniforms, new stadium, new quarterback […] same damn Chargers. I can’t bet on them after the meltdown my afternoon parlay and I saw on Sunday.” — Austin
“Another confusing game. On one hand, they are both bad. On the other hand, they both win games they shouldn’t. I’ll go with the Raiders to give them the benefit of the doubt.” — Ali
“I’m picking the Chargers out of pure self interest. I want the Raiders and Broncos to be tied after this week.” — Kyle
“Fans or not, the Raiders are comfortable playing in Los Angeles. They tend to take care of business when they need to.” — Karl
Pittsburgh Steelers (7–0) at Dallas Cowboys (2–6) (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 1:25 p.m., PST)
Justin: Steelers
Paxton: Steelers
Austin: Steelers
Ali: Steelers
Kyle: Steelers
Karl: Steelers
“The Cowboys are bad which makes me upset, and the Steelers are actually a legit 7–0, so I was wrong on that.” — Justin
“Wanted to see a [Cowboys quarterback] Ben DiNucci breakout and was disappointed. Dallas has no shot. [Steelers quarterback Ben] Roethlisberger revenge tour 2020.” — Paxton
“The only thing that will make this game interesting is if [the Cowboys] start AAF darling Garrett Gilbert at quarterback. If not, Steelers have a nice off week against a JV team.” — Austin
“Now three deep into the Cowboys quarterback string, here comes Ben [DiNucci]. Oh, not that Ben. Big Ben. He’s here; there can only be one. Get ready to be trampled two plays into your first NFL game outing, ‘Garrett Gilbert.’” — Ali
“I thought about picking the Boys because my 10-game comeback has to start somewhere, but they’re just. So. Bad.” — Kyle
“This is the lock of the week, surprisingly meaning the Jets are not involved in our no-brainer of the week. I now have no choice but to jump onto the Steelers train. They’ve been either the best or second-best (Kansas City) team in the NFL this year.” — Karl
Miami Dolphins (4–3) at Arizona Cardinals (5–2) (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 1:25 p.m., PST)
Justin: Cardinals
Paxton: Cardinals
Austin: Cardinals
Ali: Cardinals
Kyle: Cardinals
Karl: Cardinals
“Tua wasn’t very impressive in his debut, and I think [Cardinals quarterback] Kyler [Murray] will run around the Dolphins defense.” — Justin
“It’d be cool if the Dolphins could continue their streak of blowing out non-Seahawk NFC West opponents. I’ll gladly take the L if it happens but I can’t see it. Arizona is good and [Dolphins rookie quarterback] Tua [Tagovailoa] will need to do much more than he did last week to win.” — Paxton
“Would love to see this become a nice QB rivalry of the future. The Cards are playing good football, and I didn’t see enough from the Fins offense to go with them.” — Austin
“Screw both these teams. Inconsistent as heck. Annoying as all get out. Found the other imposter though!” — Ali
“If [Dolphins’ backup Ryan] Fitz was playing, the Fins would’ve been up this week. They only reason they won last week was their defense, and I think they’ll need more offense to beat Arizona.” — Kyle
“The Dolphins are a mysterious team, but winning a game despite having only 145 yards of total offense does not inspire me against on offensive juggernaut.” — Karl
New Orleans Saints (5–2) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6–2) (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 5:20 p.m., PST)
Justin: Buccaneers
Paxton: Buccaneers
Austin: Buccaneers
Ali: Buccaneers
Kyle: Saints
Karl: Buccaneers
“The Bucs will win because the Saints aren’t nearly as good as the Bucs, and I think the Bucs are much better than they were in Week 1.” — Justin
“Possible game of the year, to be honest. It’s been so tough to evaluate who each of these teams are so far. I’ll be looking for one of these teams to make a statement — hate to say it, but [I] feel like it’s [Tom] Brady.” — Paxton
“The Saints have limped through the last 4 weeks with single-digit victories to bad teams. As much as I hate to say it, I think the Bucs are better from here on out.” — Austin
“Wow, this is such a great game that I’m surprised they are not hiding it on the Sunday morning slot. Ultimately, I will have to go with the Bucs. They are on a hot streak right now, and I will certainly not stand in the way of Brady and Gronk absolutely rocking Drew Brees’ world.” — Ali
“This is my surprise pick. I think the Bucs are due to come back down to earth a bit, and the Saints have proven in the last few weeks that they can win close games.” — Kyle
“Saints still have not done enough to quell my worries about them. Ugly win aside, Tampa Bay continues to trend in the right direction.” — Karl
New England Patriots (2–5) at New York Jets (0–8) (Monday, Nov. 9 at 5:15 p.m., PST)
Justin: Patriots
Paxton: Patriots
Austin: Patriots
Ali: Patriots
Kyle: Patriots
Karl: Patriots
“Come on, really?” — Justin
“I guess the Jets get one prime time game a year, right? Things have been weird in Foxborough, but the beatdown the Pats are going to put on New York will make us all forget what year we’re in. Knock knock and all that.” — Paxton
“How aroused would Tom Brady have gotten if you told him in the offseason this had the makings of being a close game? Looking at the Jets schedule, this could be the one. [Patriots Head Coach] Bill [Belichick] won’t let it happen though, no matter what rules he has to break to ensure it.” — Austin
“You’d think a 4-game losing streak is bad, especially from the Pats. However, they are going against a team who has an 8-game losing streak. Since it is election week, I will reprise the old saying, ‘the lesser of the two evils,’ or in this case, ‘the lesser of the two losers.’ Do you think the Jets know they are supposed to win a game, or do they just like the shape of the zero because it looks like an egg?” — Ali
“The Jets have one more loss before their bye week mercifully gives them a break. Then they come back to what Karl says is their best chance to win a game this year — but only time will tell.” — Kyle
“I would absolutely love the Jets to pull off a miracle here, but it would be simply foolish to pick them. New England has been bad since about Week 3, but not this bad.” — Karl
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Contact Karl Winter via Twitter: @karlwinter23 or by email: karl.winter@pepperdine.edu
