Sunday Night Football Games to Look Forward to

Sunday Night Football Games to Look Forward to

Robert Lewis Knuckles III

“Waiting All Day For Sunday Night”

We are months away from football season. We already got the schedule a few months ago and I want to talk about the Sunday Night Football games to look forward to.

1. New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys September 10th

What a great way to end the first sunday of football games with a great matchup of the Giants against the Cowboys. Last year the Cowboys with rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot took the league by storm but there has been one team that's been a throne at their side and that's the Giants. Giants were the only team to the Cowboys (Eagles did too but that game didn’t count for the Cowboys.) Prescott worse games came up against the Giants and he’ll definitely be fired up to face this team.

The Dallas Cowboys offense will return and they have a new defense but can this team beat a Giants team with a triple threat wide receiver trio with Sterling Shepherd, Brandon Marshall and O’dell Beckham Junior and their top ranked defense? We’ll have to see wait and see but get ready for a great game.

2. Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons September 17th

Rematch of the NFC Championship where the Falcons destroyed the Packers. Now a lot of people picked the Falcons to win the game due to the fact Aaron Rodgers didn’t really have anyone. Jordy Nelson came back from an injury so really didn’t have a huge impact and their defense was already lost a good amount of people. The Packers got busy during the offseason getting tight end Martellus Bennett to replace Jared Cook and they drafted cornerback Kevin King to help out their secondary. Falcons have majority of their team returning and drafted defensive end Takkarist Mckinley. This will be a different Packers team the Falcons will face but can the Falcons recover from their Super Bowl Loss?

3.New York Giants at Denver Broncs October 15th

Battle of the defenses. Giants will come across a huge test going up against Denver’s defense. The No Fly Zone will look to shut down the Giant’s triple threat receiver group. The same goes for Giant’s defense looking to shut down Denver’s offense. Denver did improve their offensive line by getting Ronald Leary and drafting tackle Garett Bolles. It’s going to come down to which offense can make plays and keep their defense off the field and make plays but one thing is for sure. It’s not going to be easy for the Giants playing in the Mile High stadium but who will be Denver’s starting quarterback?

4. Atlanta Falcons at New England Patriots October 22nd

Super Bowl Rematch are always something to look forward to. Falcons were up 28 to 3 before losing against the Patriots and it looks like the Patriots got better by getting receiver Brandin Cooks and cornerback Stephon Gilmore. They still have Malcom Butler and Don’ta  Hightower. Falcons still have most of their players and remember this offense can compete but will losing Kyle Shanahan have a huge effect?

5. New England Patriots at Denver Broncos November 12th

The seventh time meeting these two teams will meet each other. When these two teams faced each other last year Denver’s defense managed to keep it close but their offense couldn’t get it done. With a new offense line can this Denver team beat a re amped New England team?

6. Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys November 19th

You can’t have sunday night football with a classic Eagles against Cowboys matchup. Last year quarterback rookies Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz played a great game but it was Dak who came up with the win in Overtime. Eagles did get really busy in free agency getting Wentz a lot of weapons and changing up their defense but are these new additions enough to stop this high powered Cowboys offense?

7. New York Giants at Washington Redskins November 23rd

Back to back NFC East matchups and this we have the Giants at the Redskins. The biggest thing that’s going to be talked about is the Odell Beckham and Josh Norman matchup. Norman not to long ago said that the NFC East is going to be a battle and there will be blood. There’s already bad blood between these two players enough as it is so be prepared to see more.

8. Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers November 26th

Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger. Two elite quarterbacks going at it. Now the Steelers do have more weapons on offense but that still doesn’t stop the Packers because they have  Aaron Rodgers who's up for any challenge and playing in Pittsburgh will be difficult. Both defenses aren’t the best so expect a high scoring game.

9. Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers December 10th

Another classic Sunday Night matchup. The Ravens and Steelers do not like each other and that’s no surprise. Ravens failed to beat the Steelers last year on Christmas to clinch the division title. Ravens did add some defensive pieces during the off season and they also got receiver Jeremy Maclin in free agency. Steelers still have their offense and will be getting receiver Martavis Bryant back from suspension.

10. Dallas Cowboys at Oakland Raiders December 17th

Cowboys and Raiders two similar teams. Great quarterbacks in Dak and Derek Carr, great offensive lines, great running backs in Zeke and Marshawn, great receivers and an ehh defense. Now the Raiders do have something the Cowboys don’t have and that's Khalil Mack. I can see this being a high scoring game so it's going to come down which defense can make turnover.

11. Minnesota Vikings at Green Packers December 23rd

The last of the Sunday Night Football between the two teams that many people believe will be battling the NFC North title. Mike Zimmerman’s defense has given Rodgers trouble a couple of times. Vikings do have a double headed running backs in Latavius Murray and Dalvin Cook. Vikings had a good start last year going 5-0 but fell to 8-8. Vikings offensive line suffered, they lost Adrian Peterson and their receivers didn’t do well. The Vikings hope to have better season in 2017 to win the division.

Now I will probably update this list when the season starts. For the other games that I didn’t post here depends on how well they play this season. If they play great I’ll add the game to this list.

Top 10 NFL Players Predictions

Top 10 NFL Players Predictions

Robert Lewis Knuckles III

“My Prediction of the top 10 Players”

The two hour finale of the top 10 players of the NFL will be announced tonight so I want to make my top 10 predictions.

10. Odell Beckham Jr.

I think Odell will get the same spot he got last year. Odell had a good year but not better than his 2015 year. Odell finished the season with 1,367 yards and averaging 13.5 yards per reception and 10 touchdowns.  We saw in the beginning of the season how a couple of corners would get into Odell’s head and make him lose focus. He managed to get together towards the middle of the season but when it came to the big games for example the wildcard game against the Green Bay Packers where he dropped easy catches. If Odell was to come up big and win that game his peers might put him up higher. Odell is without a doubt one of the top receivers in the game and the giants getting veteran receiver Brandon Marshall I believe Odell will have a great year next football season with Marshall giving him guidance.

9. Khalil Mack

The Mack Daddy Khalil is one of the best defensive ends in the game right next to J.J. Watt. Khalil finished the season with 11  sacks four less than last year and had five forced fumbles and recovering three of them with one ending up in a touchdown. You need at least two lineman to defend this guy because one on one….. Yea it ain’t happening. Khalil is still young and still has great years ahead of him. The Raiders are going to be very special in the 2017 season

8. Von Miller

I was definitely scratching my head last year when Von Miller wasn’t in the top 10 last year. I mean Super Bowl MVP wasn’t in the top 10? Well this year Von showed he should’ve been in the top last year and after having another great season he will. Von finished the season with 13.5 sacks a couple of them came up big towards the end of some games and Von also had three forced fumbles one came up big when facing the Colts. The Colts had one more drive to get the lead but Von came with the strip fumble and it was recovered for a touchdown. Von is Denver’s best player on defense. Without him we don’t know where Denver would be right now. Von is without question one of the best outside linebackers in the game.

7. Le’Veon Bell

Running back Le’Veon Bell was suspended for four games due to missing several drug tests. Bell’s first game he came back with a vengeance against the Chiefs. Bell averaged 8 yards per carry and rushed for a total of 144 yards. Bell finished the regular season rushing for 1,268 yards. That’s really good for a running back that missed four games. Not only is Bell a great running back but he can also line up as a receiver and catch the ball. What makes Bell different from other running backs is that he’s very patient. When Bell sees a clear path he burst right through that hole. Bell did come up short against the Patriots in the AFC championship but that didn’t stop from getting respect from his peers and putting him in the top 10.

6. Antonio Brown

I mean it’s no question that Brown has to be a top 10 player. Getting drafted in the sixth round plays a huge chip on your shoulders and Antonio Brown has shown time and time again that he should’ve been drafted in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Brown had once again had a great year. Brown finished the season with 106 receptions rushing for 1,284. Now he didn’t get the numbers he had in 2015 but when you have Le’Veon Bell running the ball numbers will drop but that’s not a bad thing. Brown is one of the hardest guys to cover in the NFL with his great speed and route running. He’s also dangerous when returning punts. So anytime you see Antonio Brown defenses better prepare.

5. Ezekiel Elliott

The Dallas running back had a fabulous rookie season. Ezekiel Elliott was drafted in the first round last year and he had huge expectations and boy did Zek show that. Zek averaged 5.1 yards per carry and rushed for a total of 1,631 yards leading the league in rushing. Almost close to 2,000 yards and he might’ve gotten there if he didn’t have a bad game in his two games he played and also not playing the final game against the Eagles. Zek is always hungry for the ball with his signature feed me more move. Zek if fast, strong and he also got jumps. Zek can hurdle over a lot of defenders. Zek is only going to be a problem for a lot of teams in the future.

4. Julio Jones

The best receiver in the NFL in my opinion. Julio Jones is just a freak. Jones had another great year despite him only playing 14 games this season. Jones finished the regular season with 83 receptions and rushing for 1,409 yards. Jones had tremendous games in the playoffs against the Seahawks and Packers he just looked unstoppable. Jones played in his first Super Bowl against the Patriots and had a great play with his toe dragging. Jones is fast, strong and most importantly he’s a humble dude. You never see him talk and he’s all about the team. He just lets his play do the talking.

3. Aaron Rodgers

One of the most talented Quarterbacks to play the position. Rodgers Is always in the top ten to a lot of people but this was rough at the start. They were losing games but the biggest had to be against the Titans. After their bye week. Rodgers said we can turn the tables and he wasn’t lying. They went from 4-6 on a seven game win streak and advanced all the way to the NFC Championship. They destroyed the Giants in the wildcard and won a close game against the Cowboys in the divisional round. Now they did get destroyed by the Falcons but the fact that Rodgers lead his team to the game after all the negativity surrounding the team due to the media deserves a lot of credit. When Aaron Rodgers speaks you listen.

2. Matt Ryan

Many people wondered will Matt Ryan ever get past the hump? Will he ever lead a team to a Super Bowl? Is he an elite quarterback? Matt Ryan showed that he’s an elite quarterback. Ryan won MVP for the first time in his career. He led the number one offense in the NFL by completing 69.9 percent of his passes, threw for 4,944 yards and had 38 touchdowns and seven interception. He played in his first ever Super Bowl and played pretty well but it wasn’t enough as they came up short against The Patriots. Now will Matt Ryan have another good season coming into the 2017 season? Or will Ryan and the Falcons suffer from Super Bowl hangover?

1. Tom Brady

I think this is no question that Brady will have the number one spot even after having a four game suspension from deflategate. He finished the season by completing 67.4 percent of his passes and throwing for 3,554 yards and had 28 touchdowns and two interceptions. Brady led his team when they were down 28 to 3 in the Super Bowl when things were looking down. Brady kept fighting and now has five Super Bowl Rings the first in NFL history beating Joe Montana.