This usually happens at least once every sports season. There is that day when, as Dr. Peter Venkman put it Ghostbusters regarding the impending arrival of Gozer the Gozerian: “Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together…mass hysteria!” That, in a nutshell, was the seventh week of the National Football League in 2023, when it seemed as if we had the Bizarro- entered the earth and everything would not be as it is real World.
Who saw the corpse of the Minnesota Vikings who so decisively defeated the San Francisco 49ers? The Patriots doing their own zombie walk and knocking out the Bills? Of all people, the BEARS come to life against the Raiders? There is only one winless team left in the NFL this season (the Carolina Panthers), and if they had played last week, they would have picked up a win in the Bizarro NFL!
The problem with these Bizarro weekends is figuring out whether it was a one-off situation or whether it is an indicator of a long-term problem. It turns out that Niners QB Brock Purdy played the game against the Vikes with a concussion, and he could miss Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bills have been problematic since the start of the season, as have the Raiders, so these situations are worth keeping an eye on. It is just another component that needs to be taken into account when handicapping the games each week.
As far as week seven is concerned, we have taken a positive note after our debacle in week six. 2-1 is fine, but would like to string together several unbeaten weeks on the schedule. This is how you start to make progress in a long NFL season. This is how we performed at the games last Sunday.
SELECTION #1 – Pittsburgh Steelers vs. LOS ANGELES RAMS
Pick – Steelers +3
Result – Steelers 24, Rams 17 (Win)
We managed that very well. The Steelers always travel well, with the Terrible Towels and Steeler fans sometimes drowning out the home team, and they didn’t let their team down. The Steel Curtain played strong defense, including TJ Watt returning an interception to set up a touchdown, but they still have some work to do to figure out their offensive situation. Still, the Steelers are 4-2 in the difficult AFC North (no team under .500), and all you need is a chance.
SELECTION #2 – Green Bay Packers vs. DENVER BRONCOS
Tips – Packer -1.5
Result – Broncos 19, Packers 17 (LOSS)
Last Sunday it was one of the ugliest games on the schedule, it was almost like nobody wanted to win this game. The Broncos didn’t lean on QB Russell Wilson so much as they leaned on the leg of K Will Lutz, who kicked four field goals to give the Ponies the lead. The Packers themselves were disappointing and now they have one The rejuvenated Vikings team comes to Lambeau Field on Sunday – This could quickly get ugly for the Green Bay team.
SELECTION #3 – Los Angeles Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Selection – OVER 47.5
Result – Chiefs 31, Chargers 17 (WIN)
It was a victory that shouldn’t have involved too much sweat. The two teams combined for 41 points in the first half and CBS couldn’t show enough footage of Taylor Swift having fun in her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s box. Then, almost as the Shield said, “Okay, that’s enough fun,” the teams decided to let the defense play in the second half. That led to a long sweat to create a touchdown over the over, which didn’t happen until five minutes before the end of the game. While it’s nice to get a win, it shouldn’t have been so difficult.
NFL Week 7 Results – 2-1
2023 NFL Season Results – 8/12/1
