FOOTBALL FREAK: No shortage of offence in NFL

The scoring in the first four weeks of this NFL season has been record setting.  
There have been a total of 344 majors scored, with 228 of them passing touchdowns, destroying the previous record of 205 in 2013. With rules favouring the offence, and all these rule changes for safety, offensive production is definitely on the rise and very exciting to watch.

Sure thing
Every team in the league is scoring points except the Giants as they don’t have the offensive line to give Eli time to take shots down the field. The play-calling has been an issue for The Freak as they only rushed the ball 10 times with Saquon Barkley versus the Saints. Run the ball! The Panthers are rested coming off a bye, and are at home. Carolina beats the Giants.
Three years ago the Rams at Seattle was a lock game for the Seahawks. How the times have changed. Seattle escaped with a win against a bad Arizona team while the Rams showed everyone against Minnesota that they are the best team in football. The ‘Hawks will keep it close, but the Rams have too much firepower on both sides of the ball to pull out a road win.
The Bengals are actually exciting to watch as they have some weapons besides AJ Green now with Tyler Boyd and John Ross playing well. Andy Dalton looks comfortable in the pocket, and is an accurate passer. Miami played a good team, and lost its first game of the season. The Dolphins can’t run the ball well, and that’s a recipe for disaster on the road.
The Saints are back home after two road games. The Redskins are coming off a bye. Don’t think Washington can outscore the Saints with Alex Smith at quarterback. The Saints march home with a win.

Don’t mortgage the house
Minnesota travels to Philly in a must game for the Vikings. Both teams are coming off losses, but only the Vikings’ players are starting to point fingers at their teammates. Never a good sign for any team. Take the Eagles.
The Titans won a dramatic overtime game with the local boys in attendance. They now head to Buffalo, which might seem like a trap game for Tennessee. The Titans win on a late field goal.
Great AFC matchup – the Jaguars versus the Chiefs. It’s defence versus offence. Everyone is on the Pat Mahomes bandwagon, and why not? If this game was in Jacksonville, The Freak would be all over the Jags in this one. But it’s not, and beating KC even when they were bad at home was tough. Now they can score, so take the Chiefs.
Everything is bigger in Texas and nothing bigger than football as the Cowboys and the Texans square off for state bragging rights. Houston’s offensive line is very bad, and gave up seven sacks against the Colts. One thing Dallas can do is rush the passer. The Cowboys head home on Interstate 45 with a Big W.
Jon Gruden won his first game in about 10 years, and it will be at least another week before he wins his next one as the Chargers will beat the Raiders at home.
Both San Fran and Arizona are on its second quarterback already this season. This is Josh Rosen’s first NFL road game, and it will show. The 49ers win at home.

Flip a coin
The Packers aren’t that impressive on the road while the Lions like playing indoors at home. Aaron Rodgers is hurting, and Detroit’s D will put the hurt on him in this game. The Lions win this big NFC North battle.
The poor old Browns had a fourth-down measurement reversed, which seemed impossible to do with the visible eye. This resulted in them having to punt, and leading to a Raiders’ win in overtime. However, the positive for Cleveland is they scored 42 points and head to the “Dog Pound” to play the Ravens. The Browns turn it around with a big divisional win.
The Broncos’ D held the Chiefs in check and will hold the Jets’ offence in check on the road. Denver beats the Jets in the Big Apple.

Upset special
Atlanta has never won in Pittsburgh, but this will change on Sunday.
The Steelers are not a very good football team right now, and can’t stop anyone defensively as Joe Flacco lit them up like a Christmas tree last week.  
This isn’t Christmas, but Thanksgiving and the Steelers, just like a turkey, will be roasted ON Sunday by the Falcons in a shootout.

John Turner is a Summerside school teacher and coaches youth football. His column appears every Saturday during the NFL season. Feel free to e-mail questions and comments to [email protected].