Midwest Sports

The Green Bay Packers are visiting the Detroit Lions on the first of three games on Thanksgiving Day. The Packers beat the Lions back in week one 27-13 holding Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery to only 44 total rushing yards.  The Lions allowed four sacks and threw a pick while thr Packers didnt give up any sacks and didnt turn thr ball over.  The Lions are playing much better football as of late. The Packers have been up and down. If Packers find a way to win today, they probably win the division.  Lions fans have good news in center Frank Ragnow is unretiring. He won't be eligible to play until next week though.

The Denver Broncos and Bo Nix are playing well this season. After beating their division rival, the Las Vegas Raiders last night, they hold an 8-2 record.  Don't get too excited though, they have only beaten one team above 500 (Eagles). Their two losses are against the Chargers and the Colts.  Don't get me wrong, this team is playing well, has a good defense, and a good young quarterback, but lets see how they do against teams with winning records.  Their nect game is against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Well the NFC North just got more complicated. All 4 teams have 4 or 5 wins after today's games. Green Bay 5-2-1 Detroit 5-3 Chicago 5-3 Minnesota 4-4

The Green Bay Packers are 5-1-1 and the scary part is they haven't played all that well. They've struggled with penalties, a few costly turnovers, and mismanagement by coaching staff. This game against thr Panthers seems like it could be a trap game. Packers can't overlook Carolina today.

Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers have both downplayed the "revenge game" narrative when the Packers travel to Pittsburgh for Sunday Night Football.  Jordan Love has thrown 10 touchdowns, only 2 interceptions, and completed 69% of his passes. The offense is averaging 26.3 points per game (7th best in the league). The Packers defense is only giving up just over 20 points per game, but they are giving up 13.7 points in the fourth quarter.  Green Bay needs to clean up the penalties (averaging 8.3 per game), lower their points against in the second half, and have better clock management. 

The Kansas City Chiefs are sitting third in the AFC West at 4-3. The Denver Broncos are 5-2 and the Los Angeles Chargers are 5-3. The Chargers already beat the Chiefs this year. Patrick Mahomes has thrown for 14 touchdowns and only two picks. The Kansas City defense is only allowing 17.7 points per game, but opponents have been able to run the ball on them. They give up an average of 105 rushing yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry.  If they want to catch the Broncos and Chargers and make a playoff push, they'll have to improve their run defense. Possibly make a trade for an interior defensive lineman.  Kansas City takes on the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football. 

The Denver Broncos made an improbable comeback when they scored 33 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Giants 33-32.  Bo Nix has solid numbers this year throwing for 11 touchdowns and rushing for another. He isn't losing games for Denver which is critical.  Did you know the Broncos defense has 34 sacks? Yes 34 sacks through 7 games! They are on pace to break the record for team sacks in a single season by 10! The current record is held by the 1984 Bears who had 72 sacks that season. The Broncos are on pace to have over 82 this year. Sacks are drive killers. Which is a big reason why the Broncos are 5-2. Denver is averaging 4.86 sacks per game. The defense also only gives up 18.1 points per game.

The Indianapolis Colts have the best record in football going into week 8. Daniel Jones has completed 71% of his passes, thrown for 10 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions, has thrown almost 1,800 yards, and he adds 4 rushing touchdowns to the mix.  Throw in Jonathan Taylor who has 697 rushing yards, a 5.32 average per rush, and 10 rushing touchdowns. Plus a defense that has 9 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries, and only gives up 19.3 points per game. That is a recipe for success. It goes to show you that yes players need to have talent, but put them in the right situation with playmakers and good coaching and they'll succeed. Looks like the Giants gave up on Jones too soon.  It is looking like Daniel Jones' one year deal for $14 million was the steal of the offseason for the Colts. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost a close game to a division rival on the road on a short week. Aaron Rodgers threw 4 touchdowns, but had 2 picks. Jaylen Warren rushed for over 100 yards. Pat Freiermuth and DK Metcalf are catching machines. But the Steelers did let the Bengals beat them with a 40 year old Joe Flacco under center...and he's only been in Cincinnati 3 weeks. Did you know Head Coach, Mike Tomlin has a 2-10 record in Thursday night games? He is also a surprising 0-7 against AFC North teams on Thursday nights. Sunday Night Football should be a good game when the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers host Rodgers' former team, the Green Bay Packers. 

Did Joe Flacco put life into the Cincinnati offense? He was pretty good in the second half against the Packers and played well and beat the Steelers last Thursday. He threw for 3 touchdowns and had no picks against a good Pittsburgh defense. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins had 22 receptions for 257 yards combined and each had a touchdown catch. Chase Brown decided to finally show up and rushed for over 100 yards. And the Bengals only had 4 penalties.  They played a clean game and played well. Now they'll take on a bad Jets team that benched Justin Fields and is starting Tyrod Taylor at quarterback this Sunday.