Bears @ Lions (+9.5)
The Lions literally did nothing but run the ball on one touchdown drive in the second half. Very impressive, although they were the beneficiary of one penalty generously called in their favor. Then again, that's to be expected playing at home in favorable conditions.
If Caleb's first read isn't there, the man panicks. A bit of a tool to be frank. This offensive line isn't helping things.
I think Alim McNeill is making a case for himself an elite player.
I wonder if Caleb is fundamentally broken. His first half stats are abysmal for a team that's supposed to be coming out strong against a supposedly complacent team. It's not until the second half that the man finally wakes up and looks somewhat competent, though his accuracy can still be incredibly shaky.
Eberflus' end-game management was ass-terrible, to say the least. And I'm not sure he fully owns up to it either. Give the Bears organizational management green-chip status for this.
Dolphins @ Packers (-3.5)
The Dolphins should be ashamed of this sad performance tonight. I expected more given their overall talent. But they were out-coached and physically outplayed. It wasn't pretty.
Miami's offensive line has serious issues - they can't play with any power. When you get called for holding on an inside run that only ends up gaining one yard, something is off here. But the silver lining here is that they did hold up a bit in pass protection.
Tua's initial reads were just not open enough for his liking. I wonder if Robert Saleh advising them provided the Packers with enough intel about Miami's tendencies on offense. Whatever it was, Green Bay successfully stripped Miami of their easy throws and forced Tua to hold the ball longer than necessary.
It was a bit weird to see Miami try to run the ball as much they did in the first half, but it does make sense if one accepts that Tua was uncomfortable throwing the ball around in cold weather and needed time to "warm up". Tua's accuracy simply wasn't there for much of the game.
After the game, multiple players on both teams have come out stating that the Dolphins had a hard time coping with the cold weather. This Miami team is soft.
On top of that, Green Bay's field makes tackling tough in general. Their field is far more slippery than others.
Raiders @ Chiefs (-12.5)
The Chiefs tackles have once again re-emerged as problems for this overall offense, be it penalties or failing to hold up consistently in pass protection.
Travis Kelce is a vector. Nobody else seems to be stepping up as a complimentary weapon on this Chiefs offense yet. That'll likely change as Isaiah Pacheco gets healthier, Xavier Worthy continues developing, and DeAndre Hopkins continues familiarizing himself with the nuances of the offense. Furthermore, a case can be made that Noah Gray can round into vector form by the time the postseason begins. It's clear Gray gives Mahomes that younger more athletic presence at tight end that Travis Kelce can no longer provide.
So far, I've only seen Chris Jones and George Karlaftis disrupt the Raiders twice and once each respectively in the first half.
Give my boy Aidan O'Connell credit, the man has some balls on him, throwing into tight coverage as much as he has tonight. But his throws have been mostly successful.
Give credit to Patrick Graham here - his blitz timing has been fantastic. Against a quarterback like Mahomes, blitzing is a very risky proposition, but Patrick Graham is able to make it work.
