NFL Week 11: Mike Tanier's Previews and Score Predictions

In this week's Game Previews:

• Tony Romo restores order in Dallas.

• The Curse of Mike Ditka's Packers Sweater gets debunked.

• Nice things are said about Mark Sanchez.

• Nicer things are said about the Panthers.

• Rob Ryan keeps coming up out-of-context during what would have been his bye week (they're all bye weeks now for Ryan).

• Joique Bell runs for one yard.

• Peyton Manning inspires some 19th century American poetry.

All that, plus a Rams-Ravens survival guide!

Games Previews are listed in the order that you are supposed to read them. All times Eastern.

Cincinnati Bengals (8-1) at Arizona Cardinals (7-2), Sunday, 8:30 p.m.

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

The Carson Palmer who left the Bengals five years ago was not this Carson Palmer. That Palmer was beaten down, frustrated by an organization that was content to slide into Chad Johnson-Terrell Owens reality-show tomfoolery. That Palmer retired when the team drafted Andy Dalton and played ultra-hardball in contract talks. When the Bengals agreed to trade him after half a season, he unretired, wandered in the desert for a while and then stumbled into Bruce Arians' land of Goshen. That is where this new Palmer appeared, eager to reclaim his top-quarterback birthright.

The Bengals who toyed with Palmer are not these Bengals. Owner Mike Brown expressed regret this week in an interview with Alex Marvez of Fox Sports about letting negotiations with Palmer grow fractious. He also admitted that it took time for him to adjust to Marvin Lewis' organizational style.

Brown's Bengals of the early Lewis years were a halfway house for barely repentant troublemakers and fame hogs. Something had to change. Brown began ceding authority to his brother Pete, his daughter Katie Blackburn and Lewis. A laughingstock organization for decades, the Bengals now have one of the most stable decision structures in the NFL and are embarking on their fifth straight playoff season.

The Cardinals who traded for Palmer were not these Cardinals. The Ken Whisenhunt Cardinals had just spent three years proving they were really the Kurt Warner Cardinals, utterly lost without a Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback. The team had just traded an oxcart laden with gold for Kevin Kolb two years earlier, demonstrating organizational confusion about what a franchise quarterback looked like.

Surely, the new braintrust of Bruce Arians and Steve Keim was just acquiring a veteran stopgap in Palmer, a Ryan Fitzpatrick-type to keep the offensive lights on while they rebuilt. But that wasn't the case. The new, improved Palmer was a perfect fit for the new, improved Cardinals, while the new, improved Bengals moved on with Dalton.

Palmer told reporters this week that facing the Bengals "is not just another game," demurring to respond to Brown's olive branch. There's still bad blood and hurt feelings, and it's easy to understand why: His departure from Cincinnati was ugly. But Palmer leaving the Bengals and (eventually) joining the Cardinals was a win-win-win scenario in the long run.

This game has a 9.7 percent chance of being a Super Bowl preview, according to Mike Harris at Football Outsiders. The advanced stats are not overreacting to the Bengals' flat Monday night performance, in part because wins over the Seahawks and Steelers have demonstrated that the Bengals are not that cringing team in big games anymore.

Sunday night's win over the Seahawks proved that the Cardinals are the class of the NFC West and that Palmer can survive a few wicked hits and still relegate Drew Stanton to a wacky cheerleader role.

Two of the best all-around teams in the NFL grew from the mistakes of the past—teams so good in all three phases that it makes this game a close call. For all they have accomplished, the Bengals are still a tough pick on the road in prime time and coming off a short week to boot. A loss to the Cardinals won't expose the Bengals as frauds. It won't prove they made some tragic mistake when they moved on from Palmer. But there's a chance that it will make a future Super Bowl rematch all the more intriguing.

Prediction: Cardinals 27, Bengals 24

Green Bay Packers (6-3) at Minnesota Vikings (7-2), Sunday, 4:25 p.m.

Tom Dahlin/Getty Images

Popular theories about why the Packers have fallen into second place:

• The Curse of Mike Ditka: Ditka wore a Packers jersey in a recent McDonald's commercial, and the Packers haven't won since. Wait a minute…shouldn't Ditka putting on a Packers jersey really curse the Bears? McDonald's commercials may be bad mojo for NFL personalities—just ask Colin Kaepernick—but Packers fans shouldn't fear seeing Ditka in Packers apparel. They should fear seeing Rob Ryan in Packers apparel.
• Predictability: Guard Josh Sitton lamented this week that opponents have known what was coming in recent games. "We need to show them some different things," Sitton said on the talk show Clubhouse Live (via PackersNews.com). "We're not intimidating the defense right now. We're not making them think, so they can just play really fast." It's a fair point, but it's hard to intimidate a defense when the "different things" you can surprise them with is Justin Perillo or Jeff Janis.
• Pressure: Randall Cobb told Brett Christopherson of PackersNews.com that his team has been pressing during its three-game losing streak. "I think we're kind of putting more pressure on ourselves than we need to instead of just going out there and playing ball," he said. "The game hasn't changed. We just need to settle in and play ball." If pressure really is part of the problem, a battle for first place against one of the league's top up-and-comers is a good time to break out the yoga mats and incense.
• Aaron Rodgers' Injuries, the ones that weren't widely reported until this week: Seriously, if all of the quarterbacks can play fast-and-loose with injury reports, why do we even have injury reports?
• Maybe it's...: No, stop. We have plenty of reasons not to speculate on Rodgers' personal life: good taste, common sense, journalistic integrity and the fact that he may be dating a telepathic ninja, not necessarily in that order. 

Popular theories about why the Vikings have risen to first place:

• Adrian Peterson.
• Adrian Peterson!
• OK, maybe...Linval Joseph, Teddy Bridgewater, Stefon Diggs and some other guys.
• ADRIAN PETERSON!!!
• Strength of schedule and some random factors: Here's a detailed Football Outsiders explanation of such matters.

The Vikings are more than Peterson and a schedule full of Lions and Chargers. The Packers are more than some overstressed, voodoo-cursed team with a paint-by-numbers playbook. Look for the Packers to sort things out by getting some new faces involved (kidding aside, Perillo is a decent prospect) and letting their defense do the talking. A loss will knock the Vikings down a peg, but they have climbed enough pegs to keep them squarely in the playoff picture.

Prediction: Packers 24, Vikings 20

Denver Broncos (7-2) at Chicago Bears (4-5), Sunday, 1 p.m.

PAUL CONNORS/Associated Press

A November Middle-Aged Journey of Self-Discovery (Part 3 of 4)

Chicago suits the old fox well, the old man thought as he limped down Michigan Avenue. It's the city of big shoulders, tool maker, stormy-husky-brawling. That's who the fox was: a husky brawler. It made them an odd couple from the start: the employee born into the business, a master of climate-controlled precision, his boss a school-of-hard-knocks grad. It was a wonder the pairing worked as well as it did. Though it never did work as well as it had to.

The old man found the fox holding court at a steakhouse on Chestnut Street. Thick prime rib, cigars, smoky scotch and the name of the toughest of the tough guys on the sign above the door: It was a fitting tableau.

"I didn't think you would make it," the old fox said.

The old man's foot ached. His ribs felt the November Chicago chill. He hadn't made it, not the way he had hoped to. Still, he responded with a manly jab. "Well, nobody ordered me to take a knee 30 yards from the front door."

The two men laughed. "Have a drink," the old fox said. "Try the surf 'n' turf. You're not playing this week. You can unwind a little."

The two men dined and swapped stories. But food could not quell their hunger for something bigger: the championship that eluded them during the three years they battled side by side, conquering everything in their path for four months each year but somehow letting each other down in the fifth.

"So is the kid ready?" the fox asked.

The old man shrugged. "Of course. He's waited more than three years for this." The kid is more ready for you than I am for the kid, the old man thought. Then he remembered that old poem. I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys…

The old man longed to change the subject. He looked out at the brass and mahogany of the bar and the fading football trinkets of long ago. "What's it like to really be able to start over?" he asked.

The leathery fox looked him in the eye. "Everything's fresh and new," he said. "You lose a game, and nobody panics. You trade a veteran and everyone is eager to watch the rookie who takes his place. You win an ordinary game, maybe pull a mild upset and everyone gives you a pat on the back."

The old man needed to think hard to remember what it was like to "pull a mild upset," to not live perennially in a Super Bowl-or-bust pressure cooker, to be able to rest and heal without looking up to see vultures circling, waiting to tear apart his legacy.

The fox leaned in and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. "I could even bench my veteran quarterback if he wasn't playing so well, and no one would question it."

The old man felt the words in his stomach. There had always been friction, a disconnect between the hungry boss and the kid-gloves superstar. Now the fox was reborn while the end was racing up to greet the old man faster than he could limp toward the finish line on his own terms.

The old man had lost to his replacement. He had surpassed the legend but lost nearly everything else in the process. This battle ended before it started: Nothing the old man's kid understudy could do would harm the fox. What would happen in the final chapter? The old man shuddered.

The old man left the restaurant and limped painfully into the face of the wind. The journey must go on, even if it descended into a mockery of the past, especially if it descended into a mockery of the past. He walked on into the blustery night, under the terrible burden of destiny, laughing as a young man laughs, as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle.

Prediction: Broncos 22, Bears 20

San Francisco 49ers (3-6) at Seattle Seahawks (4-5), Sunday, 4:25 p.m.

Michael Zagaris/Getty Images

The Seahawks are in worse shape right now than the 49ers were this time last year.

That's a scary thought as the Seahawks look across the field Sunday and see the shattered wreckage of their former rivals, a team they beat 20-3 a month ago, a team now starting Blaine Gabbert on a weekly short leash. Can't happen here, the 12th Man insists. But it can.

The 49ers were no laughingstock this time last year. They were 5-4 entering Week 11, with wins over credible opponents such as the Cowboys, Eagles and Chiefs. The Seahawks have four (mostly narrow) wins over opponents with a combined 11-25 record and losses to every team they faced with a pulse. Last year's 49ers would likely have crushed this year's Seahawks.

The Seahawks don't have the organizational friction that tore the 49ers apart. Pete Carroll doesn't appear to be drooling over all of those high-profile college jobs. But what happens when higher-ups call Carroll in to have "the talk" about offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell or Tom Cable, the Rob Ryan of offensive line coaches? There are forces bubbling beneath the surface in Seattle: hurt feelings lingering from the Kam Chancellor holdout, endless minor Marshawn Lynch intrigues, lots of big egos that need the space to roam that only comes from Super Bowl contention.

What happens if Lynch retires at the end of the season? What if Russell Okung and Brandon Mebane, neither of whom is having a great season, both leave as free agents? Now imagine Chancellor retiring in a fit of pique or Michael Bennett wandering off to pursue his spirit animal. The next offensive coordinator has an obsession with turning Russell Wilson into a traditional pocket passer. Next thing you know…

The Seahawks cannot afford to let this nightmare scenario play out. There are still enough Ravens and Browns on their upcoming schedule to keep them in wild-card contention if they can beat some of their middleweight opponents. They need to end the season on the kind of high note that inspires faith in the overall program and sparks a rebound, not a rebuild.

That starts by looking across the field, acknowledging that what happened to the 49ers can happen here and then making sure it does not.

Prediction: Seahawks 22, 49ers 16

Dallas Cowboys (2-7) at Miami Dolphins (4-5), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Tony Romo's to-do list upon return to the Cowboys lineup:

• Survive a giant bro-hug from Jason Witten. (OK, big guy, you can let go now. Jason, you are crushing my ribs. Jason? This is getting awkward.)

• Summon Brandon Weeden back from Houston and clunk his and Matt Cassel's heads together like Larry and Curly. (Not hard enough to cause injury, of course).

• Tell Dez Bryant that if little Dallas the Monkey is going to have free rein of the cafeteria and locker room, he must at least wear a hair net and diaper. Dallas, not Dez.

• Sit down across from Greg Hardy at lunch. Pick Hardy's sandwich up from Hardy's tray and start eating it. Real close, nose-to-nose, and slowly. See this sandwich, Greg? It's my sandwich now. Everything is mine now, Greg. Understand?

• Read and respond to all the apology letters from fans around the country who spent a decade saying "Romo's a choke artist" and now realize the organization behind him is like a broken-down pickup truck on a steep hill.

• Look Jason Garrett in the eye and give him an animated "WTF?" shrug.

• Embark on a winning streak that will inevitably end with a fourth-quarter interception in a 38-35 loss to the Redskins or Packers that will somehow be blamed on a can't-get-over-the-hump quarterback.

Prediction: Cowboys 24, Dolphins 21

Washington Redskins (4-5) at Carolina Panthers (9-0), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The Game Previews staff does not hate the Panthers. So you can stop sending angry emails, texts, tweets, and particularly the flaming paper bags of doggy doo. (Has anyone ever actually stomped on one of those? It's an ancient gag that everyone knows. A lit paper bag is going to burn out in about 15 seconds. Nothing on your doorstep is going to catch fire. Discuss among yourselves.)

The only reasons Game Previews team isn't aboard the Cam Newton MVP bandwagon are:

• Tom Brady is the MVP until proved otherwise.

• Unlike the rest of football opinion nation, we aren't compensating for four years of Tsk, tsk, tsk, so immature. Harumph, towel over his head. Tut, tut, tut, dabbing dubbing derping. Blah, blah, blah, athlete playing quarterback.

We've always liked Newton, and we have grown to love the Panthers, who have taken bits and pieces from other traditional NFC contenders and turned them into something distinctly their own.

• From the Seahawks, the Panthers have borrowed a defense-first mentality and a willingness to embrace read-option concepts without wringing their hands and wondering when Newton will magically transform into a Brady clone. Unlike the Seahawks, the Panthers have also embraced an offensive concept called "blocking."

• From the Packers, the Panthers have borrowed a dedication to building through the draft and "street" free agency, scouring waivers and other team's practice squads in search of talent. They have also embraced long-term schematic consistency, giving their coordinators a chance to hone their systems and the scouting department time to find players who fit those systems. That could change now that other franchises are likely to come courting for Mike Shula and Sean McDermott. (The Titans have to be wondering what Shula could do for Marcus Mariota's development).

• From the Giants, the Panthers have borrowed a long-range approach to roster management. Thomas Davis is a great example of a player who has been allowed to stick around until he could have his best season at age 32. Jonathan Stewart is another. But there are less obvious examples, such as Mario Addison, A.J. Klein, Amini Silatolu and other role players who fit in and contribute in quiet ways.

The Panthers have a great organizational model, a nucleus of top-tier talent and a franchise quarterback. They are a little time, a go-to receiver and maybe an impact pass-rusher away from being a perennial powerhouse, but instead of quibbling about what they might do in January, we should take a moment to appreciate how far they have come from last year.

The Game Previews staff does not hate the Redskins or Kirk Cousins either. We just aren't that impressed by anything that's done against the Saints defense.

Prediction: Panthers 26, Redskins 17

Kansas City Chiefs (4-5) at San Diego Chargers (2-7), Sunday, 4:05 p.m.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Secrets of the Chiefs' three-game winning streak:

• The Chiefs beat a third-string quarterback, a team that fired a chunk of its offensive staff before boarding a transatlantic flight and Captain Ahab limping across the deck to chuck harpoons at a white whale. Let's not book Super Bowl flights from Kansas City just yet.

• The front seven has been outstanding. The Chiefs pass rush is always nasty, but the defense has also been good at stymieing opponents' running games when it matters. The Chiefs rank fifth in the NFL at stopping short-yardage runs (a 50 percent stop rate) and fourth in stuffing rushers for no gain or a loss (24 percent of runs), according to Football Outsiders.

• Cornerback Marcus Peters deserves some Defensive Rookie of the Year consideration. Opponents are targeting the heck out of him—only Pittsburgh's Antwon Blake has been targeted more than Peters, according to Pro Football Focus—but 78 passes have resulted in four interceptions, 13 passes defensed and a manageable 56.4 percent completion rate. Peters gave up six touchdowns in his first five games but has allowed just one since.

• The offensive line hasn't really improved much, but moving Eric Fisher to left tackle, Jah Reid to right tackle and Jeff Allen to left guard has spread the mediocrity around and made it a little harder for opponents to exploit.

• Cairo Santos and Dustin Colquitt rock.

That's admittedly a lot of faint praise.

The Chargers managed to slide down the power rankings without even playing, thanks to wins by some of the Texans-Buccaneers-caliber teams in their weight class. Their defense is no match for a good offense, but it should be able to handle Kansas City's offense. And while Philip Rivers is rapidly becoming the last man standing in San Diego, he's one of the best in the league at facing down a vicious pass rush and delivering enough unlikely-looking completions to end an opponent's hot streak. The Game Previews staff smells an upset.

Prediction: Chargers 27, Chiefs 20

Indianapolis Colts (4-5) at Atlanta Falcons (6-3), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Patric Schneider/Associated Press

The Colts tried to lure journeyman quarterback Jason Campbell out of retirement to help them through the Andrew Luck injury crisis last week.

You are probably picturing Jim Irsay inching slowly down the street in a white van (with a tricked-out sound system, because it's Irsay) and asking Campbell if he wants to play with a litter of puppies. You should be ashamed of yourself for thinking of that. It was really a series of “likes” for out-of-context Facebook pictures, some awkward instant messaging, a text or two (thinking of u. can we talk soon), one meeting in a well-lit coffee shop next to a police station and (upon rejection) a long weekend involving Ryan Grigson, cookies ‘n' cream ice cream, The Notebook and not showering.

The Colts eventually settled on Charlie Whitehurst, who is more like the guy in the strip mall who buys beer for teenagers.

The poor Colts: from darling Super Bowl pick to spurned suitors of a guy with a 32-47 career won-lost record. Bye-week speculation also had Irsay pursuing Nick Saban. The Colts apparently want to rekindle the magic of the 2005-06 Dolphins and learn once again that Saban doesn't care for football players who expect money and opponents strong enough to put up a fight. There are few new ideas in the NFL, but there are enough recycled bad ones to fill a fleet of dump trucks.

It's always better to be at the start of a success cycle than near the end. The Falcons have few expectations to fulfill. All of their weaknesses can be explained away with the word "rebuilding" if they care to invoke it. A 10-6 record and a Wild Card Game appearance by the Falcons would be a triumph; anything but a return to the AFC Championship Game by the Colts would be a franchise-shaking failure.

The Falcons should roll over the Colts this week; Matt Hasselbeck used up most of his bag of tricks during his last starting stint. But the difference between these franchises goes beyond that. The Falcons may get bad by the end of the year, but they won't get sad. The Colts must worry about how low their next low will leave them.

Prediction: Falcons 27, Colts 14

Oakland Raiders (4-5) at Detroit Lions (2-7), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

The Raiders run defense looked good entering the Steelers game two weeks ago, but the pass defense looked vulnerable. Antonio Brown torched the Raiders for 284 passing yards. Oakland put a premium upon pass defense against the Vikings, and Adrian Peterson responded with 204 rushing yards as the Vikings ran away with a win.

"You put your finger over one leak and something else pops up," Charles Woodson told reporters, via the San Francisco Chronicle's Vic Tafur. "So we've got to find a way to eliminate more than just one phase of the game."

Jack Del Rio doesn't quite agree with his veteran defender's Little Dutch Boy assessment. "The Steelers with their receiving corps and their quarterback situation, they're going to throw it quite a bit," Del Rio said, per Tafur. "This is more of a run-first offense than we just faced, so different approaches.”

Come to think of it, any coaching staff that would emphasize run defense against the Steelers (with Le'Veon Bell hurt and Ben Roethlisberger healthy) and pass defense against the Vikings would have everything all Rob Ryan'd up. The Raiders' biggest defensive problem is that they lack the quality manpower to be really good at any one thing, so opponents can attack with their best offensive weapon.

For the Lions, that means a steady dose of Joique Bell.

Wait…aren't Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate the Lions' best offensive weapons? Of course they are. But Jim Caldwell has a weird fascination with Bell that didn't go away with the coordinator change. Bell carried 14 times for 17 yards Sunday, an even more ridiculous performance than his 10-carry, six-yard effort against the Broncos. So far this season, Bell has:

• One 32-yard carry.

• One 14-yard carry and one 12-yard carry.

• Seven carries of five to seven yards.

• Four carries of two to three yards, none of which were on 3rd-and-goal or from the 2-yard line or anything.

• Twenty-three (23!) carries for no gain or one yard, just one of them a touchdown.

• Seven stuffs for a loss.

Bell is a human 2nd-and-9 situation, and he has been for some time. According to the Football Outsiders Almanac, Bell gained exactly one yard on 35 of his rushes last season.

Look for the Lions to get Ameer Abdullah more involved in the running game now that Abdullah's 104-yard kickoff return provided most of their offense in the Packers win. Look for the Raiders to have a hard time stopping Johnson and Tate. But the Raiders will snap their two-game losing streak against an opponent that isn't good enough at any one thing to keep the Raiders from winning with everything else.

Prediction: Raiders 30, Lions 21

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) at Philadelphia Eagles (4-5), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Mark Sanchez has a winning career record as a starter (37-33) and more career touchdowns (82) than interceptions (81). He's no more ridiculous an NFL starter than Josh McCown, the Cowboys backups or any of the guys the Texans have thrown out there; it's a matter of taste whether you prefer Ryan Fitzpatrick or Kirk Cousins. In a week when Brock Osweiler, Case Keenum and probably T.J. Yates will start, Sanchez almost looks like a middle-of-the-pack quarterback.

Sanchez's 2014 performance in Chip Kelly's offense—a 4-4 record, 14 touchdowns, 11 interceptions—suggests he won't be much of a drop-off from Sam Bradford. Sanchez can do some things Bradford cannot, like actually keep the ball on an option without raising the average national health care premium.

Two paragraphs of Sanchez image rehabilitation will inevitably result in two interceptions Sunday. But the Eagles can actually overcome a two-interception day and still win. They do it often. They face a team that is short-handed on offense and almost custom-built to lose to the Eagles on defense.

The Buccaneers defense allows tons of yardage on short play-action passes over the middle. Most of the Eagles offense consists of short play-action passes over the middle. The Eagles should be able to race out to a big lead and then take advantage of Jameis Winston's inexperience when he is forced into a catch-up situation.

Of course, the Eagles started to do just that last week. Then came the blocked punts and botched snaps and, of course, Sanchez's interception at the end. The moral of the story: The Eagles quarterback, no matter who he is, will make two galling mistakes. It's up to everyone else on the field to make zero.

Prediction: Eagles 31, Buccaneers 17

New York Jets (5-4) at Houston Texans (4-5), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Ryan Fitzpatrick's career is like a 1980s television show.

From the dawn of television until about 15 years ago, most television shows did not change from week to week. Younger viewers are used to shows with complex story arcs, character growth and deep mythologies. Forget Breaking Bad, kids cartoons such as Gravity Falls and Steven Universe involve complex plots that take multiple seasons to resolve.

But in the old days, shows reset their original premise at the end of each hour. If dad got fired at the start of an episode, he got his job back at the end. If one of the kids learned a lesson this week, he would learn a similar lesson next week. Everyone started each episode with amnesia.

That's Fitzpatrick's career. The show's premise is plucky quarterback from Harvard teaches the NFL what a brainy guy can do. It's a fish-out-of-water comedy: Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with a dash of MacGyver!

In each episode, Fitzpatrick arrives in a new town, impresses everyone with his pluck and his Harvard degree, scrambles around for a few games, sprays some passes in the general vicinity of his receivers, generates superficially decent statistics and ultimately comes up short when asked to do anything but beat the teams any quarterback should beat. His team learns a valuable lesson about trying to get by with a journeyman quarterback who isn't really any good, and it bids Fitzpatrick farewell.

Next episode, next town and no one remembers what happened in the last episode. Say, this plucky quarterback has to be able to help us. He's from Harvard!

The Texans endured an episode of The Fitzpatrick Show last season and then learned what the Bills and Titans figured out before them: 1980s television was static and boring, and it's better to attempt something more ambitious and fail then to settle for a mediocre status quo every week.

Of course, the Texans are starting T.J. Yates with Brian Hoyer out with a concussion. It's a lesson television producers learned long ago: You can cancel an underperforming program, but you better have something halfway decent to take its place.

Prediction: Jets 23, Texans 13

St. Louis Rams (4-5) at Baltimore Ravens (2-7), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Norm Hall/Getty Images

Liven up this matchup—or at least make it remotely bearable to watch—with the Game Previews Rams-Ravens Drinking Game!

Take a sip when: The Rams fail to convert on third down, the Ravens throw an incomplete pass on first down, or either team allows a screen pass of longer than 20 yards.

Finish your cup when: Tavon Austin runs an end-around or Kyle Juszczyk catches a pass in the flat.

Do a shot when: Case Keenum throws a six-yard pass, followed by a Nick Foles reaction shot from the sideline. Also when a dumbfounding penalty or clock malfunction goes against the Ravens.

Jam an ice pick into your ear when: The telecast shows a list of all of Joe Flacco's offensive coordinators of the last four years, or Johnny Hekker attempts a fake punt.

(Warning: The Rams-Ravens drinking game is hazardous to your health. Seriously. Even if you try it with ginger ale, you could end up with Type 2 diabetes. Maybe it's best if you just avoid this game altogether.)

Prediction: Ravens 22, Rams 16

Buffalo Bills (5-4) at New England Patriots (9-0), Monday, 8:30 p.m.

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

The Patriots' 40-32 victory over the Bills in Week 2 was closer than you remember. Yes, the Patriots held a 37-13 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, having pulled away with a mixture of typical Patriots precision and Rex Ryan overenthusiastic blundering.

But the Bills' comeback was not a silly-time situation: They racked up three touchdowns much faster than the Patriots would have liked, benefiting from a Tom Brady fumble and other uncharacteristic sloppiness in the process. The Bills ran the ball well early in the game, while the Patriots didn't even try to run, gaining just 59 rushing yards before Brady's late-game kneels.

Had the Bills played a little smarter a little earlier, things may have turned out differently. It was a convincing win by the Patriots but no blowout.

Julian Edelman caught 11 passes for 97 yards and ran a 12-yard reverse in the Bills game. He was targeted for 19 passes and scored two touchdowns. Dion Lewis caught six passes for 98 yards, adding 40 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Patriots' game plan was built around Edelman, Lewis and the mismatches they create when they are covered by nickel defenders and linebackers.

Lewis and Edelman are not available this week. The Patriots are getting healthier in other places, such as the offensive line, but they are running out of mismatch machines at the skill positions.

Danny Amendola will slide into Edelman's role. But Amendola has 40 receptions this season: Who will take over his role? Lewis was having a remarkable season in the role that Kevin Faulk passed to Danny Woodhead and then Shane Vereen: the running back who is actually a slot receiver and wheel-route specialist. Lewis would have taken some of Amendola's targets. Now, they will go to third or fourth options such as Aaron Dobson and James White.

The thing that makes the Patriots the Patriots is their ability to beat your Plan A with their Plan B. Their offense will morph into something different. LeGarrette Blount will get more opportunities between the tackles. Brandon LaFell will add a deep receiving option. Converted tackle Michael Williams may get even more playing time at tight end. But the Patriots do lose a little every time they adjust, as the Giants game revealed.

The Patriots didn't want to ground and pound against the Bills in Week 2. They wanted to toss passes to Edelman underneath and catch the Bills blitzing with Lewis up the sideline. Now they must win by doing things they did not want to do last time.

That's not to say an upset is in the works. But objects in the Patriots' rearview mirror are a little closer than they appear. The Bills are not going to serve up a laugher this time. After all, they really didn't serve one up last time.

Prediction: Patriots 31, Bills 26