I'm going to start this week's bold predictions file off with a bang by saying the
New York Jets beat the
Dallas Cowboys to earn their first win of the season. The
Jets' last-ranked offense is sparked by
Sam Darnold's return, while the defense takes away
Ezekiel Elliott and forces
Dak Prescott to win with his arm. The performance gives Adam Gase his first victory as
Jets head coach.
In Week 2, the
Buccaneers' defense held
Christian McCaffrey to just 37 rush yards and 53 scrimmage yards
and stopped him from scoring
a game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter. This weekend, in the teams' second meeting of the season, McCaffrey gets revenge on Todd Bowles' unit by eclipsing 200 scrimmage yards for the second straight week.
It's notable that back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year
Aaron Donald has just one sack through five games. Don't get me wrong: He does a ton of things that aren't on the stat sheet, but the dude had 20.5 sacks a season ago. Donald finds his rhythm against the undefeated
49ers in a big division contest and records more sacks than the entire
49ers' defensive front combined.
There will be plenty of offensive fireworks at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday when
Patrick Mahomes and
Deshaun Watson take the field. According to NFL Research, Mahomes (112.4) and Watson (105.4) have the highest-combined career passer ratings (217.8) among opposing starting quarterbacks entering a matchup since 1970 (min. 20 games played for each QB). It's Watson who wins this epic battle by throwing for 500 yards and five touchdowns.
One of the biggest storylines I'm watching this week is the
Eagles' run defense vs.
Dalvin Cook. Philly boasts the league's top-ranked run D, allowing a stingy 63 rush yards per game, while Minnesota's RB1 ranks second in rushing with 542 yards (108.4 rush yards per game). Only the
Chicago Bears have held Cook under 110 rushing yards this season. The
Eagles will be the second team to accomplish that feat, limiting Cook to 75 yards or less.
