By Travers Cummings
49ers over Giants (Sunday noon): I haven’t talked much about the 49ers this year, mostly because I can’t confidently pick them to win a game this season. It’s not because I don’t think they can, but more so due to the absurd number of injuries they’re dealing with yet again. At some point, you just have to throw your arms up and wave the white towel, asking, “Who’s next to get hurt?” How they’ve even managed to win five games so far is remarkable. Now they’ll take whoever’s still healthy and able to play into the Meadowlands to face the Giants, who are reeling from a major injury of their own. Christian McCaffrey was bottled up against the Texans last week, but I think he’ll have much more success against the Giants’ 30th-ranked rushing defence. Mac Jones, who’s been filling in for Brock Purdy, will most likely get the start again, although he’s dealing with a knee injury of his own (of course).
Cowboys over Cardinals (Monday night): Dallas had a tough outing last week against the Broncos. Their defence is so bad — unbelievably bad — and it might be all-time bad. When the offence was putting up 30–40 points a game, they could compensate for the terrible defence, but eventually they were going to run into a team that actually plays defence — like Denver did — and they completely shut down Dak Prescott and the offence. Now it’s back home to Texas to take on the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night. Kyler Murray has missed the last couple of games with a foot injury but is expected to be back for this one. Funny enough, the Cards have actually looked better this season with backup QB Jacoby Brissett than they have with Kyler Murray. This game should be a shootout, so for you fantasy football people — start all your Cowboys and Cardinals players.
Lions over Vikings (Sunday noon): The Vikings’ disappointing season continues with a trip to Detroit this weekend. I don’t even know who’s playing quarterback for Minnesota in this one. There have been a lot of whispers about what’s going on with J.J. McCarthy. He’s been out since Week 2 with a sprained ankle, and it’s taking an unusually long time to heal. Some people believe the Vikings are trying to protect him, essentially saying he’s not ready to be an NFL quarterback yet, hence delaying his comeback, while others believe he’s legitimately just taking a long time to heal. Typically, it doesn’t take almost two months to recover from a sprained ankle — I guess it depends on the severity of it. With Carson Wentz going down for the season, they’ll have to make a decision on McCarthy quickly, because there’s no way they’re going to start third-stringer Max Brosmer. If they’re looking for a 42-year-old touch football quarterback though, I’m available — they just need to pick up the phone and call me. Regardless of who’s playing, it won’t matter, because the Lions have been stomping opponents who show up to their stadium, and I expect that trend to continue.
Last week: 1–2
Season overall: 14–10