Shameless plug right here. In case you missed it, I am now doing podcasts. Here’s my thoughts on last weeks games, Premier League soccer, and recent music releases.

After the absolute madness of last week’s games the NFL playoff race now intensifies. Games are getting more and more important to teams as we get closer to January. Many teams are still in the hunt, many teams have basically clinched their playoff spot, and many teams are already seeing what number they can give this years upcoming draft prospects. A lot to cover, let’s get into it.

1. The Jets will win their third game in a row

I know. I know you probably think I’m crazy for even thinking this. However, there’s a method to my madness. After the Jets lost to the Dolphins in Miami I thought their season was absolutely over. However, in these past two weeks I’ve seen a significant improvement in their run defense. When you hold arguably the best running back in the league (Saquon Barkley) to 1 yard on 13 carries, I have to applaud you. This week they traveled to the beautiful landscape that is FedEx Field and took a dump on the Redskins lawn. The score at the start of the 4th quarter was 34-3 before the Redskins would go on to add two garbage-time TDs to make the scored 34-17 to end the game. The Jets also held Adrian Peterson to only 25 yards on 9 carries, compared to the 118 yards he had against the Buffalo Bills. They are the #1 rush defense in the NFL, only allowing 791 yards through 10 games. Jamal Adams, Jordan Jenkins, and Quinnen Williams have rejuvenated the defense. This week they are playing the surprisingly good Oakland Raiders who are currently sitting at 6-4. The Jets shouldn’t win this game, but let me tell you why they will. The Raiders have not played an east coast game outdoors this year, the Jets run defense will slow down Josh Jacobs, and Sam Darnold will have a great day against a pretty weak Raiders secondary. Josh Jacobs has been the pulse of this Raiders offense this year. Neutralizing him will make Derek Carr have to win this game through the air. If you put Jamal Adams on the Raiders tight end Darren Waller, Carr’s favorite target, then you make Carr have to go vertical. Now for my second reason that the Jets will win, it’s Sam Darnold. The Raiders pass defense is 26th in yards allowed and 30th in passing TDs allowed. If anyone watched that Patriots game and saw Sam Darnold throw 4 INTS you wouldn’t even recognize him now. In the last two games, Darnold has thrown 5 TDs and only 1 INT. There’s no more ghosts and I’m going to go with the home team that has the momentum, and that is the New York Jets.

2. The Browns will also win their third straight game

Since the Browns bye week (week 7) Baker Mayfield has thrown for 6 TDs and 1 INT. The Browns have won two games against formidable opponents in the Steelers and Bills. The addition of Kareem Hunt has been able to give the Browns a pass-catching running back to pair up with Nick Chubb, who was the first running back to reach 1,000 yards this year and currently 3rd in the league for rushing yards. Jarvis Landry and Odell are both one or two catches away from 50 on the year, which means they are getting more targets. While the offense is playing significantly better, the defense is also holding its own as they are 5th in passing yards allowed in the league. The Browns host the 2-8 Miami Dolphins this Sunday, and the rest of their season is looking bright. The Browns play the Steelers, Ravens, Cardinals, and the Bengals twice. They currently are sitting at 4-6, I think they’ll finish 9-7 and beat out the Bills for the wild-card tiebreaker. The crazy thing is they might not even lose to the Ravens at home because they 40-pieced them in Baltimore earlier this year. It’s all up to Freddie Kitchens play-calling and minimizing penalties. The Browns have the 3rd most penalties in the NFL with 87 and they can’t go to the playoffs if that continues.

3. The Ravens walk into LA and stomp on the Rams

The Baltimore Ravens are currently 8-2 and looking very scary. They are in first place in the AFC North division and Lamar Jackson is the favorite to win MVP. Not only is Lamar having a historical season, but the Ravens defense is also showing out. They held Deshaun Watson and the Texans to only 7 points, they are 6th in rushing yards allowed, and 3rd in passing touchdowns allowed. Now let’s get to the MVP candidate himself, Lamar Jackson. Jackson has 19 passing touchdowns, 6 rushing touchdowns, and a 106.3 quarterback rating. He is also 10th in rushing yards with 788, as a quarterback. Defenses have to gameplay solely to contain him, and when they focus too much on him he dishes it out to his weapons. Mark Andrews at tight end, Mark Ingram at running back, and the dangerous Marquise “Hollywood” Brown at receiver all give the Ravens options on the offensive side of the ball. The Rams on the other hand, are struggling. Even though they are currently 6-4 they are not playing like themselves, especially Jared Goff. In the last two weeks Goff has thrown 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Goff is 29th in completion percentage, 4th in interceptions thrown (10), and 27th in quarterback rating (82.1) behind the likes of Joe Flacco, Mason Rudolph, and Marcus Mariota. Goff will face the Ravens defense who have former Ram Marcus Peters, who has 4 interceptions and 3 touchdowns on the season. On the other side of the ball, the Rams defense is doing pretty well but they face their toughest challenge yet. The Ravens offense is 2nd in yards per game (428.6), 1st in rushing yards per game, and 1st in rushing touchdowns (16). The Rams have a very tough schedule ahead. They play the Cardinals twice, the Seahawks, the 49ers, and the Cowboys. I think they will lose to the Cardinals once and lose the three other games, finishing 7-9. I predicted that the Rams would lose the playoffs but I didn’t think they would be in this situation. However, I see the Ravens walking into LA and dropping a 40 piece on their head.

4. The Patriots offense will rebound against the Cowboys

Now let’s talk about the Patriots offense. Even myself as a Patriots fan, I know that the offense has not been up to par this year. And mainly I think I have to credit that to the offensive line play for a couple reasons. The most important positions on the offensive line, in my opinion, are the center and the left tackle. And both of these positions for the Patriots have been without their starts. Last year Trent Brown was anchoring Tom Brady’s blindside, but he left to become the highest paid lineman in NFL history with the Raiders. Then during the offseason, Patriots center David Andrews got blood clots in his lungs, causing him to miss the 2019-2020 season. Lastly, 2018 first-round pick Isiah Wynn hurt his ankle during a week 2 game against the Dolphins, leaving the Patriots without their left tackle once again. This week Isiah Wynn has been put on the active roster, giving Brady the blindside protection that he needs. The Patriots 2019 first-round pick N’Keal Harry will be back for his second week in a row after sitting for the first 10 weeks of the season with an ankle injury. Harry will add to a sneakily dangerous receiving core with Mohammed Sanu, Julian Edelman, and Phillip Dorsett. The Cowboys are a pretty solid team, but I feel that after a two-game road trip for the Patriots coming back to Gillette Stadium will give them the advantage in this game.