Happy Thanksgiving to any Americans that happen to read this!
Texans over Colts (Sunday noon): The Houston Texans absolutely shut down Josh Allen and the Bills last Thursday. It was pure domination by the Texans’ defense that had Allen confused and running for his life for the majority of the game. Backup quarterback Davis “Skills” Mills has filled in nicely for injured C.J. Stroud, who may or may not return for this one. Houston will take their three-game winning streak into Indy for the first divisional meeting of the year between the two, hoping to gain a little bit of ground in the wildcard race. The Colts are coming off a loss to the Chiefs after blowing a 20-9 lead and now find themselves only one game up on the Jaguars for the lead in the AFC South. Jonathan Taylor had a pretty below-average game, rushing for only 58 yards and zero touchdowns. He’s going to need a better performance against a much tougher defense so Daniel Jones isn’t forced to throw more times than he should be.
Seahawks over Vikings (Sunday afternoon): Well, the JJ McCarthy era in Minnesota took another step backwards last week against the Packers. Going 12 of 17 for 87 yards and two interceptions is easily the worst stat line of his young career, and he just looked completely overwhelmed by the Green Bay defense. I’ve always believed that the best way for a young quarterback to get experience is to play in games and get game reps. I don’t believe in the “sit and learn” approach, as no amount of watching from the sideline will mimic actual game action. Having said that, some quarterbacks just aren’t good no matter how many reps they get, and McCarthy might be one of those guys. If things weren’t bad enough for the young signal-caller, he’s in the concussion protocol after experiencing symptoms on the plane ride home. Speaking of quarterbacks, Sam Darnold bounced back nicely against the Titans after a poor performance against the Rams two weeks ago, going for 244 yards and two touchdowns, but more importantly, zero interceptions.
Niners over Browns (Monday night): Never thought I’d be so interested in a Browns football game, but here we are. Brock Purdy made his second start in a row last week against the Panthers, and while the first drive of the game was great, what followed after definitely was not. Purdy threw three interceptions in the first half and didn’t look sharp at all. He settled down more in the second half as they relied more on the run game with Christian McCaffrey. Now they have an absolute gargantuan task of taking on the Browns’ defense and somehow finding a way to slow down Myles Garrett. Garrett has been terrorizing QBs all season as he leads the league in sacks with 18. He’s also on pace to break the all-time single-season sack record (23), currently held by T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers and retired Giants Hall of Famer Michael Strahan. If there was ever a game where the 49ers’ offensive line REALLY needs to do their job, it’s this one; otherwise, Purdy might be leaving the game in an ambulance. This will also be the second start for QB Shedeur Sanders, who looked okay against the Raiders. I hope Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has some good schemes dialed up to throw at the young rookie.
Last week: 3-0
Season overall: 24-12