The Rams continued being the Rams, excelling on both offense and defense, and this is not the first time the Rams have taken down an emotionally-charged home team playing a national spotlight contest. Kudos to the Browns, who showed a lot of game, giving their fans even more playoff hope.
 
The Seahawks were able to cash in on last week’s gift (Ben Roethlisberger’s injury), but their Sunday loss at home to the Drew Brees-less Saints showed that the Hawks are not ready for prime time.   The Seahawks actually seemed unprepared for the talents of Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas. Saints QB Teddy Bridgewater — starting his first full game in noisy, wet Seattle — showed exactly why Saints coach Sean Payton has put his trust in him.  
 
Speaking of replacement QBs, there is more big news: the Jaguars have a winner in QB Gardner Minshew.  Not only did the Jags beat the tough Titans Thursday, they also demonstrated that their playoff hopes are very much alive.  
 
The Texans got a gutsy win against the mistake-riddled Chargers, while the Giants and 49ers won toss-up games against the Bucs and Steelers.  And those Bills continue to impress me.  But the Bengals?  Soon, there will be as many empty seats in Cincinnati as there are in Miami. 
 
The Falcons, for the third week in a row, started a game in slow motion.  The defense was again guilty of poor tackling, while turnovers by the offense dug a deep hole.  Again, the Falcons looked much better in the second half.  But the Colts are a steady team with a talented young QB, not likely to give up a big lead, especially at home. 
 
In that epic shootout in Kansas City, the Chiefs (as I expected) had a little too much firepower for the Ravens, who really needed TDs — not field goals — early on.  Several momentum swings made it impossible for viewers to predict the ending.
 
The Cowboys, Patriots, Vikings, Panthers and Packers all won games they were supposed to win — against some of the NFL’s weaker teams.  No news there.
 
The most exciting game of the day was the Lions edging the banged-up Eagles in Philly.  The Lions got a 101-yard kick return and made an early lead stand up.  The Lion defense got very tight coverage on receivers, combined with a knack for manufacturing turnovers.   The Lion offense got enough productivity to best the home team, which gained more yardage and won the time of possession. 
 
After the Bears mauled the Redskins on Monday Night Football, my game pick record for the weekend jumped to 12-4.  

Boo-yah!