Commanders over Giants:
Falcons over Cowboys:
Bills over Dolphins:
Bengals over Raiders:
Chargers over Browns:
Patriots over Titans:
Saints over Panthers:
Ravens over Broncos:
Eagles over Jaguars:
Cardinals over Bears:
Packers over Lions:
Rams over Seahawks:
Vikings over Colts:
Chiefs over Buccaneers:
Rams 30-20 over the Vikings: The Rams sealed the game up with a controversial sack of QB Sam Darnold to end it. QB Matthew Stafford had four TD passes with one going to WR Cooper Kupp who came back from injury. QB Sam Darnold had two TD passes for Minnesota.
Eagles 37-17 over the Bengals: QB
Jalen Hurts had one passing TD and had three rushing TDs. The Bengals had three
fumbles, a missed field goal and an interception. RB Chase Brown did have a rushing TD for the
Bengals.
Browns 29-24 over the
Ravens: QB Jameis Winston threw the game winning TD for
the Browns with seconds left to beat their divisional rival. Winston had three
total TD passes. QB Lamar Jackson had two TD passes and RB Derrick Henry had
one rushing TD.
Lions 52-14 over the
Titans: The Lions were great in all aspects of the game:
They had a 90 yard punt return TD, forced three fumbles and picked off QB Mason
Rudolph twice. QB Jared Goff had three passing TDs. Both of his RBs had rushing
TDs and RB David Montgomery who had one of the rushing TDS threw a passing TD.
Cardinals 28-27 over
the Dolphins: The Cardinals ruined Tua Tagovailoa’s
return by winning on a field goal as time expired. RB Raheem Mostert had two
rushing TDs for Miami and Tagovailoa did have one TD pass but the team had four
fumbles. QB Kyler Murray had two passing
TDs and RB James Connor had a rushing TD.
Patriots 25-22 over the
Jets:
RB Rhamondre Stevenson scored his second rushing TD of the game as time expired
to beat their divisional rival. The Jets had two fumbles and missed a field
goal plus an extra point. QB Aaron Rodgers did have two passing TDs while
Rookie QB Drake Maye had no passing TDs but one rushing TD.
Falcons 31-26 over the
Buccaneers: QB Kirk Cousins outplayed QB Baker Mayfield with
four passing TDs compared to three TD passes but two interceptions.
Packers 30-27 over the
Jaguars: Veteran kicker Brandon McManus did it again,
hitting another game- winning TD as time expired for the second straight week
to seal victory for the Packers. RB Josh Jacobs ran all over the Jaguars for
rushing TDs and 127 yards rushing. McManus accounted for twelve of their
points. QB Trevor Lawrence did have two passing TDs with a rushing TD but had a
fumble plus an interception.
Texans 23-20 over the
Colts: RB Jonathan Taylor was back from injury to score
the go-ahead rushing TD in the 4th quarter in this divisional
matchup. Both QBs had one passing TD and RB Joe Mixon also had a rushing TD for
Houston. It was really about the kickers as the Colts kicker accounted for
eight points and for Houston for eleven of their points.
Bills 31-10 over the
Seahawks: RB James Cook had two rushing TDs and QB Josh
Allen had two passing TDs for the Bills. Seattle had three fumbles and QB Geno
Smith had one of them plus an interception. Their only TD was a late 4th
quarter rushing TD.
Chargers 26-8 over the
Saints: QB Justin Herbert had two passing TDs and RB JK
Dobbins had one rushing TD. The Saints did have a lead to start on a sack but
that was the only time.
Broncos 28-14 over the
Panthers: Rookie Bo Nix out played his counterpart by having
three passing TDs and a rushing TD compared to sophomore QB Bryce Young having
two TD passes but had two interceptions.
Chiefs 27-20 over the
Raiders: Both QBs had two passing TDs with one turnover but
the difference was the rushing TD Kansas City got from RB Kareem Hunt in this
divisional matchup.
Commanders18-15 over
the Bears: This was supposed to be a showdown between the
first and second overall picks in this year’s draft at QB but it was more about
a kicker and running back. Austin Siebert accounted for 12 of Washington’s
points despite missing a field goal. RB D’Andre Swift had over 129 yards
rushing with a rushing TD for the Bears plus their backup also had a rushing
TD. QB Jayden Daniels who had one TD pass, which was a Hail-Mary attempt with
no time left on the clock to win the game compared to none by QB Caleb Williams.
49ers 30-24 over the
Cowboys: The 49ers were down 10-6 entering halftime and
woke up in the 3rd quarter with three TDs and never looked back. QB
Brock Purdy had one passing and one rushing TD plus the 3rd string
RB had a rushing TD. For Dallas QB Dak Prescott had two passing TDs but two
interceptions and RB Ezikeil Elliott had a rushing TD. Both team’s kickers were
great as the 49ers on their 3rd kicker accounted for twelve of their
points.
Steelers 26-18 over the
Giants: It was all about the kickers as Steelers got
fourteen of their points from theirs and for the Giants twelve. It was all
field goals until in the 3rd quarter the Steelers got a 73 yard punt
return TD. QB Russell Wilson only had one TD pass but it held up as QB Daniel
Jones had zero TD passes with two turnovers.
Vikings over Rams:
Eagles over Bengals:
Ravens over Browns:
Lions over Titans:
Cardinals over Dolphins:
Jets over Patriots:
Falcons over Buccaneers:
Packers over Jaguars:
Texans over Colts:
Chargers over Saints:
Bills over Seahawks:
Broncos over Panthers:
Chiefs over Raiders:
Bears over Commanders:
49ers over Cowboys:
Steelers over Giants:
Broncos 33-10 over the
Saints: RB Javonte Williams had two rushing TDs and kicker
Will Lutz accounted for 15 of their total points. Denver’s defense also
recovered a fumble for a TD. The only TD for New Orleans was by their 3rd
string QB late in the 4th quarter.
Jaguars 32-16 over the Patriots:
Jacksonville had a 98 yard punt return TD and RB Tank Bisby ran all over the
New England defense for 118 yards with two rushing TDs. The Patriots did score
first but then didn’t score again till the 4th quarter.
Eagles 28-3 over the
Giants: The Eagles held the Giants to 99 yards passing and
76 yards rushing with only a field goal with three fumbles. Saquon Barkley ran
all over the Giants for 176 yards with a rushing TD and QB Jalen Hurts had two
rushing TDs with a passing TD.
Seahawks 34-14 over the
Falcons: RB Kenneth Walker had a rushing TD and had a
receiving TD. QB Kirk Cousins had two interceptions and a fumble plus their
kicker missed a field goal.
Bills 34-10 over the
Titans: The trade for WR Amari Cooper worked out right
away when he caught one of QB Josh Allen’s two passing TDs. Buffalo also had
two rushing TDs. Backup QB Mason Rudolph did his best with one TD pass but had
an interception and three of his team’s four fumbles.
Bengals 21-14 over the
Browns: The Bengals led the whole game and the Browns lost
their QB Deshaun Watson to an Achilles injury probably ending his season. QB
Joe Burrow did throw two TD passes while the two backup QBs for Cleveland
combined for one TD pass with two interceptions. RB Nick Chubb did have a rushing TD in his
return from injury. The Bengals did open the game with a 100 yard kickoff
return TD.
Packers 24-22 over the
Texans: Newly signed kicker Brandon McManus hit the game
winning field goal as time expired for Green Bay. QB Jordan Love had three
passing TDs but two interceptions. RB Joe Mixon had two rushing TDs for
Houston.
Colts 16-10 over the
Dolphins: Miami led 10-3 at halftime but would lose that
lead in the second half. The Colts kicker Matt Gay accounted for 10 of their
points and their 3rd string RB had a rushing TD.
Lions 31-29 over the
Vikings: The Lions hit a game winning field goal as time
expired to win this divisional matchup. QB Jared Goff had two passing TDs and
Jahmyr Gibbs had two rushing TDs. QB Sam Darnold had one passing TD and RB
Aaron Jones had one rushing TD. The Vikings defense recovered a fumble and
returned it for a TD.
Commanders 40-7 over
the Panthers: Washington forced a fumble and two
interceptions returning one for a TD. Rookie QB Jayden Daniels left the game
with a ribs injury so backup QB Marcus Mariota had two passing TDs and RB Brian
Robinson had a rushing TD. Their kicker accounted for 16 of their points.
Rams 20-15 over the Raiders: The Rams defense returned a fumble for a TD and picked off QB Gardner Minshew three times. RB Kyren Williams had two rushing TDs for the Rams. Las Vegas is lucky their kicker was there as he got all of their points.
Chiefs 28-18 over the
49ers: QB Patrick Mahomes had two passing TDs and a
rushing TD, plus Kareem Hunt had two rushing TDs with WR Mecole Hardman having
a rushing TD. QB Brock Purdy had zero TD passes with three interceptions but
had two rushing TDs.
Steelers 37-15 over the
Jets:
The Jets led at halftime but never led again. QB Russell Wilson had two passing
TDs and a rushing TD, while his RB Najee Harris had over 100 yards rushing with
a rushing TD. The Jets had two fumbles, a missed field goal and QB Aaron
Rodgers had two interceptions.
Ravens 41-31 over the Buccaneers: QB Lamar Jackson had five TD passes and RB Derrick Henry had 169 yards rushing for Baltimore. QB Baker Mayfield did have three TD passes but threw two interceptions.
Cardinals 17-15 over
the Chargers: The Cardinals hit the game winning
field goal as time expired. QB Kyler Murray threw one TD pass and ran one in
for a TD. Cameron Dicker accounted for all fifteen of their points.
Bye Week: Cowboys & Bears
East:
1. Celtics
2. Knicks
3. 76ers
4. Bucks
5. Magic
6. Cavaliers
7. Pacers
8. Heat
9. Hawks
10. Bulls
11. Raptors
12. Hornets
13. Nets
14. Pistons
15. Wizards
West:
1. Thunder
2. Nuggets
3. Mavericks
4. Timberwolves
5. Suns
6. Pelicans
7. Lakers
8. Kings
9. Grizzlies
10. Warriors
11. Jazz
12. Spurs
13. Clippers
14. Rockets
15. Trail Blazers
Playoffs:
East:
1st Round:
#1 Celtics VS #8 Heat: Celtics win
#2 Knicks VS #7 Pacers: Knicks win
#3 76ers VS #6 Cavaliers: 76ers win
#4 Bucks Vs #5 Magic: Magic win
Conference Semifinals:
#1 Celtics Vs #5 Magic: Celtics win
#2 Knicks Vs #3 76ers: Knicks win
Conference Finals:
#1 Celtics VS #2 Knicks: Knicks
West:
1st Round:
#1 Thunder VS #8 Kings: Thunder win
#2 Nuggets VS #7 Lakers: Nuggets win
#3 Mavericks VS #6 Pelicans: Mavericks win
#4 Timberwolves VS #5 Suns: Suns win
Conference Semifinals:
#1 Thunder VS #5 Suns: Thunder win
#2 Nuggets VS #3 Mavericks: Mavericks win
Conference Finals:
#1 Thunder VS #3 Mavericks: Thunder win
NBA Finals:
#2 Knicks VS #1 Thunder: Knicks win
Awards:
MVP: PG Jalen Brunson Knicks; PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Thunder & C Paolo Banchero Magic
Defensive Player of the Year: G Derrick White Celtics; C Jarrett Alen Cavaliers & G Alex Caruso Thunder
Rookie of the Year: C Zach Edey Grizzlies; F Zaccharie Risacher Hawks & F Matas Buzelis Bulls
Sixth Man of the Year: G Donte DiVincenzo Timberwolves; G Eric Gordon 76ers & G Malik Monk Kings
Most Improved Player: C Paolo Banchero Magic; Josh Giddey Bulls & Scottie Barnes Raptors
Coach of the Year: Jamahl Mosley Magic; Tom Thibodeau Knicks & Willie Green Pelicans
Executive of the Year: Gersson Rosas Knicks; Monte McNair Kings & Sam Presti Thunder
Central:
The Bulls need to stop being a lower level seeded-team/play in team which is why they need to trade G Zach Lavine, Lonzo Ball, and C Nikola Vucevic due to their inability to play defense or stay healthy, since they traded away two of their best players already. Out is G Alex Caruso their best defender, and SF DeMar DeRozan their best player plus let C Andre Drummond leave in free agency. The rebuild needs to start so they can have a top 5 pick or have a better chance in the lottery so play the young kids. Let PG Josh Giddey who came in the Caruso trade and SG Chris Duarte who came in the DeRozan play as many minutes possible with their own guys Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu over Lavine/Jevon Carter/Torrey Craig. They also made two bad financial moves by resigning draft-bust Patrick Williams who can’t stay healthy/is a tweener and paid C Jalen Smith starting money when he is an ok backup, when they should play first round pick Matas Buzelis and re-signed Drummond.
Atlantic: Well it finally happened the Jayson Tatum-Jalen Brown duo finally won the NBA Championship for the Celtics. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens tuned out the outside noise to keep them together, getting Kristpas Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and bringing back Al Horford, all of those moves were made by him. All of them were key in helping their duo reach the pinnacle finally and even locked up their core like Tatum and White this offseason. It is very hard to repeat in any sport and it will be hard due to the fact their core players have always had health concerns so their depth will be an issue outside of Payton Pritchard.
The Nets are and should be in full rebuild mode now that they traded their best player Bridges for so many draft picks and should play all the young players. Those young players are guards Cam Thomas, Cameron Johnson, F Dorian Finney-Smith and C Nic Claxton who they re-signed. They also brought in Bojan Bogdanovic for another run with G Shake Milton, F Ziaire Williams and have PG Dennis Schroder still. Their biggest question mark will Ben Simmons ever be healthy enough to play any games no matter if it is as a PG or a center.
The Raptors have a nice
team of tall, athletic and long players like their best player F Scottie Barnes
who they extended. They did lose two key role players in Gary Trent/Jalen
McDaniels but got guards Davion Mitchell and drafted Ja’Kobe Walter. They have some
nice role players in C Jakob Poltl, F Kelly Olynyk, guards Bruce Brown, Immanuel Quickley
and hope last season’s trade pickup G RJ Barrett continues to grow and last
year’s first round pick G Gradey Dick does the same.
The Heat definitely didn’t have the season they expect to have every season losing in the first round/being a play in team. They have “Heat Culture” where they take late 1st round/2nd round/undrafted players and churn them out to be useful role players but this team will only go as far as F Jimmy Butler takes them and he missed lots of time due to injury. Their core of Butler, C Bam Adebayo, G Tyler Herro, F Nikola Jovic, guards Terry Rozier, Josh Richardson, Duncan Robinson, Alec Burks, F Jaime Jaquez, F Kevin Love and C Thomas Bryant makeup a playoff caliber team. While Butler was out with injury this conference got better but their own divisional rival got better so the culture might not help them get far.
The Hornets will only go as far PG LaMelo Ball takes them since he has not been healthy for years now but at least he has two good players to play alongside him in forwards Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges who is back officially with a contract extension. They added some nice role players in G Seth Curry at the deadline last year(who they re-signed), G Josh Green, F Taj Gibson and still have guards Grant Williams, Cody Martin and Tre Mann. They even hired a new head coach in Charles Lee(who was an assistant with the Bucks & the Celtics) so they hope he can mold this young team going forward.
The Wizards still have G Jordan Poole and F Kyle Kuzma who both need the ball to succeed and will again be on a bottom tier team
together. They did add veterans PG Malcom Brogdon, SF Saddiq Bey and C Jonas Valanciunas to solidify those positions. They drafted a big man in Alex Sarr with the second pick, a point guard and a wing player in hopes they can be
building blocks for the future. Also kept their interim head coach to be their
full time head coach in Brian Keefe to lead this rebuild. Maybe they will trade F Richaun Holmes, C Marvin Bagley and the other veterans to keep the rebuild going.
Northwest:
Any team that has C Nikola Jokic a three time MVP, PG Jamal Murray, F Aaron Gordon and SF Michael Porter Jr always has a chance to be a top seed in the West and maybe even win it again. The Nuggets again lost a key role player in back to back off seasons, this time it was Kentavious Caldwell Pope, plus Reggie Jackson. They did bring in PG Russell Westbrook and F Dario Saric, but their depth will be an issue again for head coach Mike Malone.
The Thunder jumped up to being the top seed with All-Star PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way. They only got better by adding G Alex Caruso and C Isaiah Hartenstein to provide more defense and veteran leadership. Their young core still has G Luguentz Dort, F Jalen Williams, C Chet Holmgren, G Aaron Wiggins and F Jaylin Williams, so expect them to compete for a championship for a while.
The Timberwolves went to the conference finals last year which was a huge improvement from previous seasons, but they decided to change things up again. They traded their franchise player Karl Anthony Towns for F Julius Randle and G Donte DiVincenzo. They still have PG Mike Conley and big men Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid. They did add F Joe Ingles but also have G Nickeil Alexander-Walker for the bench. Head coach Chris Finch and All-Star G Anthony Edwards will have a lot of work to figure out how things will jell without Towns.
Well the Jazz did not trade F Lauri Markkanen like many thought, so they extended him. Their core isn’t that bad since it has guards Jordan Clarkson, Colin Sexton, F John Collins and C Walker Kessler plus G Patty Mills. They also drafted three players in the draft so they have more depth.
Things didn’t go so well last season for the Trailblazers having
the worst record in the West, but what do you expect from a rebuilding team? It
will be another long season for head coach Chauncy Billups and his core players like guards Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, F Jerami Grant, C Deandre Ayton, guards Matisse Thybulle and
Shaedon Sharpe. They biggest additions were getting F Deni Avdija, a really good
defender and facilitator, and drafted a rim protecting center with the 7th
pick in Donovan Clingan because they do not know when C Robert Williams will
play.
Pacific:
The Suns will always be talented but will they play enough games together for their big 3 of F Kevin Durant, guards Bradley Beal and Devin Booker? This team did get better by getting PG Tyus Jones so they have a real point guard and added G Monte Morris, C Mason Plumlee and re-signed C Bol Bol, guards Royce O’Neale and Damion Lee. Their defense will be anchored by G Grayson Allen and C Jusuf Nurkic. They fired their head coach Frank Vogel in favor of Mike Budenholzer so we will see if that changes anything.
The Kings will be better than a play- in seed by adding F DeMar DeRozan, guard Jordan McLaughlin plus re-signed G Malik Monk. Their core of PG De’Aaron Fox, F Keegan Murray, G Kevin Huerter, F Trey Lyles and C Domantas Sabonis will take them pretty far if you’re adding DeRozan at SF to alleviate the pressure in crunch time.
The Lakers will keep being a play in team due to not helping out F LeBron James and C Anthony Davis, since they both can’t keep carrying this team to just lose in the first round. There is talent between guards Austin Reeves, D’Angelo Russell, F Rui Hachimura, G Gabe Vincent, F Jarred Vanderbilt, C Jaxson Hayes and C Christian Wood but who will show up when it is needed in the playoffs? They did draft a guard in the first round who might contribute but the headlines were they drafted Lebron’s son Bronny in the second round plus hired former guard JJ Reddick to coach with no experience.
The Clippers are again a team full of good role players who are doing their best to keep them afloat until their two stars are healthy but guess what? Paul George has left and they have no idea when F Kawhi Leonard will be back. Head coach Tyron Lue has his work cut out for him since they also lost Russell Westbrook, Mason Plumlee and Daniel Theis too. They still have G James Harden, C Ivica Zubac both of whom were re-signed, F Nicolas Batum, F Derrick Jones, guards Kevin Porter, Kris Dunn, C Mo Bamba, guards Terrance Mann, Norman Powell, Amir Coffey, Bones Hyland and F PJ Tucker.
The Warriors
have said goodbye to a franchise stalwart in Klay Thompson leaving just G Steph Curry and F Draymond Green for head coach Steve Kerr. Chris Paul and Dario Saric are out as
well but in are G Buddy Hield, F Kyle Anderson and G De’Anthony Melton. They hope to keep getting more out of F Jonathan Kuminga, G Brandin Podziemski and F Moses Moody. The rest of
their team is still F Andrew Wiggins, C Kevon Looney and G Gary Payton anchoring
their defense with Green.
Southwest:
The Mavericks got to the finals but were definitely out matched by the Celtics who played as a team. The issue with the Mavericks and something that head coach Jason Kidd has to worry about is you cannot win relying on two players to keep taking turns scoring, in guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. They also do not play any defense which puts lots of pressure on the front court in Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively PJ Washington and Maxi Kleber. They also added Klay Thompson to be their starting small forward to shoot three’s and play defense. Their bench has G Spencer Dinwiddie, forwards Dwight Powell, Markieff Morris and G Quentin Grimes.
The Pelicans core of forwards Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram will always make people wonder if they will stay healthy enough to live up to the team’s potential. G CJ McCollum is a good leader on this team and they finally have a real PG in DeJounte Murray who they traded for pushing Jose Alvarado to the bench. The biggest issue is they do not have a center with Valanciunas and Larry Nance gone, they are turning to Herb Jones to be their center which is odd. They also added C Daniel Theis to help F Trey Murphy off the bench.
Head coach Taylor Jenkins has his work cut out for him trying to get back to the playoffs and it will start for the Grizzlies if PG JA Morant is healthy and not having off the court issues. They re-signed G Luke Kennard; still have guards Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, F Brandon Clarke and G Scottie Pippen Jr. Another big thing will be if F Jaren Jackson Jr. is healthy who was a defensive player of the year award winner, and they drafted Zach Edey with the 9th pick to shore up the frontcourt.
Well Greg Popovich is going to keep guiding rookie of the year C Victor Wenbanyama for the Spurs and this time he will get help from PG Chris Paul and SF Harrison Barnes for veteran leadership. Their role players are improving in F Jeremy Sochan, guards Devin Vassell, Tre Jones and C Zach Collins, plus they drafted Stephon Castle a guard with the 5th pick.
