Welcome to Monday Night Football
ESPN’s Monday Night Football is back with two more games this week, giving even more teams that aren’t the Carolina Panthers a shot at playing in primetime. First up are the Baltimore Ravens visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 8:15 ET on ESPN. Then come the Los Angeles Chargers at the Arizona Cardinals on ESPN+ at 9:00 PM ET.
As always in our brave new world of expansive sports gambling, it is now easier to bet on games than to watch them. You can catch current odds on all NFL games for Week 4 here on FanDuel.
The Ravens and the Bucs are both 4-2, with questionable losses and post season aspirations as they enter their Week 7 matchup. I think this will be a good game, but victory comes down to the potent combination of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry on offense. There is plenty to like about both teams, but the Bucs don’t have a combo on offense like Jackson and Henry, plus they may be missing Vita Vea in their attempts to defend against them. That’s why I’m picking the Baltimore Ravens.
As for the Chargers and the Cardinals, there is less to like about both teams, including their injury reports. A lot of this game is going to come down to who is actually healthy enough to play, but assuming the best case for both teams then I have to give the edge to the more impressive resume. Surprisingly, that’s not the 3-2 Chargers. The 2-4 Cardinals may have lost a couple more games than Los Angeles, but they have played a number of good teams in very close games. They lost to the San Francisco 49ers by one point, the Detroit Lions by a touchdown, and the Buffalo Bills by six points. Sure, the Washington Commanders and the Green Bay Packers beat the pants off of them, but no team is perfect. I think Kyler Murray and company are due a win in a close game against a decent team and that’s why I’m picking the Arizona Cardinals tonight.
As always, use this space to talk about the action as it unfolds.
You know the drill.
This is now an open thread!