Ouch. That was a tough week for the picks. But it was a great week for close and exciting games. The Hail Mary in Washington was one of the plays that had me jumping around the house from the excitement. New England getting the last minute win against the Jets was another. Neither outcome helped my picks, but they were great drama!

So for the week, I went 8 – 7 so far and I picked Pittsburgh to win tonight. On the season that makes me 76 – 45.

We’ve almost completed Week 8 of the season, which means we are just about to the halfway point of the season. Over the next two weeks, we’ll be doing some evaluations, a midterm report card if you will, on the season so far. Until then, let’s take a look at my other Hits and Misses for the week:

Hit
I warned everyone that Minnesota could be suffering a hangover effect after the Detroit game and having a short week. They played well in the first half, but the Rams outplayed them in the final frame and that was the deciding factor. No turnovers, and they still lost – the tape is going to be interesting on this game.

Miss
Dallas after a bye week. I really thought that Mike McCarthy would have the Cowboys ready for their game in San Francisco. If for no other reason than to prove Jerry Jones wrong. But the thought that kept coming back to me over and over (especially on their final drive) was – these are really bad plays.

Hit
The running game matters. Teams like Detroit and Philadelphia got big wins with their running game and defense. Green Bay, Atlanta, and Houston got big production from their run games in wins. Teams that are consistently losing are also teams that are inconsistent with their run game.

Miss
Tua was the missing piece for Miami’s offense. At first it looked like Tua’s return was going to result in the high flying/big play offense from last year. But the explosive plays never showed up for Miami.

Hit
The Jets are a mess.

Miss
Tampa Bay is still a good offense even without their top two wide receivers.

Hit
Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams. I’ve said all along these are talented young quarterbacks that need time to develop. Neither seemed ready to meet the moment for the first three and a half quarters of the game. But with the game on the line, we saw what each of them can produce under pressure. Williams drove the Bears down for the lead with less than a minute on the clock. Daniels responded with an improbable hail mary for the win. They will learn how to play in these big games, and they’ll both perform better.

Ok, let’s not get too spoiled and take for granted the quality of football we saw this week. It’s not often we get these types of games!