Last Sunday wasn’t pretty, but when is it ever pretty in Pittsburgh?  The Steelers lost their quarterback and we lost safety Tony Jefferson for the rest of the year from the Ravens secondary that has been picked on all season.  I will always say we will take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day.  There were no surprises Sunday  it was a typical Ravens-Steelers game with players being carried off or limping off the field and going into overtime to win the game by 3 points. The difference in the game was the Ravens special teams, pinning the Steelers inside their own twenty yard line on almost every kickoff or punt and two clutch field goals by Justin Tucker- one to take the game into overtime and one to win.  That man must have ice running through his veins he just goes out on the field and does what most people would find terrifying.  Way to go Tuck!  Thanks for the win!

The 0-5 Cincinnati Bengals come the M&T this week. Wait a minute, before we go on to week 6 and the Bengals, I need to go back to last week and happily mention that Baker Mayfield and the Browns got smashed by the 49ers 31 to 3 on Monday night. What a great way to wake up Tuesday morning and see replays of Mayfield throwing interception after interception after interception! It was a beautiful thing. With the Ravens winning and the Browns losing, we are back in first place of the AFC North.

While I can’t say mathematically that the Bengals are eliminated from the playoffs, I can say no team in the 100 year history of the NFL has ever made the playoffs after starting the season 0-5. That being said, the Bengals will come to Baltimore this Sunday with basically nothing to play for. So what does that mean? It means a Ravens win.  Even though we have our problems, and boy do we have our problems on defense, we should have no problem beating the Bengals.  The Ravens brought in two new veteran defensive players linebackers, Josh Bynes and L J Fort, who both played last week .  Did it help?  Josh Bynes picked off a pass early in the game, but it’s hard to tell if they made a difference since the Steelers started a second string QB and he was replaced by the third string QB.  The Ravens have no pass rush. We can’t put pressure on the quarterback and that hurts our banged up secondary. The Bengals will have their first string QB Andy Dalton playing on Sunday, so our defense will be tested.  Even though the Cincinnati is winless, Andy Dalton is a very good NFL quarterback and could be trouble for our defense.  I think Lamar has been energized by beating the Steelers and it will carry over to this week against the Bengals.  Again it may not be pretty but it will be a win on Sunday.

GO RAVENS!!!

The outcome of the games last week was great for the Ravens!  With The Browns, Steelers, and Bengals all losing we are back in the drivers seat of the AFC North.  But don’t forget my picks are who we want to win not who we think will win.

Thursday Night 8:00

Giants over Patriots
NFC over AFC,  The Giants have a terrible defense Tom Brady may not need to even play in the second half.

The NFL Gods are smiling down on us this week football starts at 9:30 Sunday morning with another game in London.

Sunday 8:00 AM

Buccaneers over Panthers
This game will go well with your pancakes and coffee.
I may have flashbacks of the Ravens London game, so I will need to limit the coffee.

1:00

Now we can switch to pizza and beer.

RAVENS over Bengals
The Bengals are coming to Baltimore at just the right time.  The Ravens need a confidence building game and I think the Bengals are just what the doctor ordered.  Can I say we have looked sloppy the last couple of games and this needs to be fixed?  I want to see Lamar get the protection he needs to throw the ball down the field.  I want to see our defense have a decent pass rush.  I want to see our secondary not blow assignments and give up big plays.  I what to see our D line stop the run with authority.  Man, I sound like spoiled brat, but I am not asking for anything that the players and coaches aren’t trying to deliver.  The Ravens know what they need to do against the 0-5 Bengals and I think they will.

GO RAVENS!!!

Dolphins over Redskins

I just needed to add the above because, I didn’t think you would believe me when I said that both of these teams are so bad I would be surprised if either one of them could find the field on Sunday.   Normally we would root for the NFC team over the AFC team but not in the case.  We don’t want the number one pick in next years draft to be in the AFC, so we are rooting for the AFC Dolphins to win.

Eagles over Vikings
Both NFC teams, We just don’t like the Vikings.

Texans over Chiefs
Chiefs lost last week so lets kick them while they are down.

Saints over Jaguars
Back to normal, NFC over AFC

Seahawks over Browns
The Browns lost 31-3 to the 49ers last Monday Night. (big smile…No, huge smile)

4:00

Rams over 49ers
Both NFC teams just rooting for the home team.

Cardinals over Falcons
Still don’t like Matt Ryan.

Jets over Cowboys
AFC Jets are winless and we don’t want them having the number one pick.

Broncos over Titans
Joe Flacco and the Broncos got their first win last week.  Way to go, Joe!

Sunday Night 8:00

Chargers over Steelers
Need I say more?

Monday Night 8:00

Packers over Lions
Go Pack Go!

BYE WEEK: Bills, Colts, Bears, and Raiders

Enjoy the games with some leftover pancakes for dinner.

And that’s just The View From 151

GO RAVENS!!!