How amazing is the NFL? If you like roller coaster rides, you HAVE to love every Sunday in pro football. Week Six was the perfect example as to how unpredictable life can be. For many fans, like Rams fans, it’s great. For others, like Chargers fans, they’ll spend a week in despair.
San Diego came into St. Louis as an eight-point favorite. The Chargers were a desperate team after a loss to Oakland. They are a club with superior talent to the 2-3 Rams. Yet with great coaching, gritty players and a home field advantage, the Rams were able to pull out a 20-17 win and improve to 3-3.
Coming off their win over San Diego, the Raiders went to 0-5 San Francisco excited about the possibility of entering the AFC playoff race. But a touchdown pass from Alex Smith to the heretofore dog Michael Crabtree put the 49ers ahead, and they rolled to a 17-9 win over Oakland.
New England traded Randy Moss and then traded FOR Deion Branch, whose last good game (it seemed) had come in his last stint with the Patriots. Branch promptly caught nine passes for almost 100 yards from Tom Brady and the Pats knocked off a Ravens team thought by many to be the best in the AFC in overtime.
An Atlanta team thought by many to be the best in the NFC went to Philadelphia and got crushed 31-17. And the Eagles appear to be on their way to a season-long quarterback controversy with Kevin Kolb turning in another strong effort against the Falcons.
After a loss to an Arizona team starting an undrafted rookie quarterback, the Super Bowl champion Saints went to Tampa Bay and beat one of the up and coming teams in the league. Another early season surprise, Kansas City, blew a fourth quarter lead at Houston and dropped their second game in a row 35-31.
What does it all mean? It means we don’t know what is going to happen from week to week in the NFL. Most of us had the San Diego game penciled in as a loss for the Rams. Their next three games are at Tampa Bay, home against Carolina, and at San Francisco. Would I be surprised by 6-3? No, but I wouldn’t be surprised by 3-6 or anything in between either.
With as unpredictable as the NFL is, you shouldn’t be surprised anymore, either.