Thursday Night Football Games to Watch

Thursday Night Football Games to Watch

“Robert Lewis Knuckles

I was never a big fan of Thursday Night Football games due to the fact that players need longer time to recover from a game but I will watch a football game when it comes on. For the third time I’ll be doing a list of which Thursday Night games you should look forward to. (This page will be updated as the season goes on.)

1. New England Patriots at Tampa Bay Buccaneers October 5th

This Thursday Night Football game will be a huge test for Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers. This Tampa Bay team is on the rise and the offense looks on paper but Patriots coach Bill Belichick is a defensive minded coach and he knows how to take away your best players. Tampa’s defense is also on the rise but can they beat one of the greatest quarterbacks in Tom Brady?

2. Philadelphia Eagles at Carolina Panthers October 12th

Philadelphia’s quarterback Carson Wentz will face a tough test going against Carolina’s defense as they get back the league's best middle linebacker Luke Kuechly and their front seven. The Panthers are preparing to bounce back after a rough 2016 season. Panthers drafted running back Christian Mccaffrey who can also line up in the slot but the Eagles drafted defensive end Derek Barnett who's looking to be a destructive force. This game can go either way.

3. Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders October 19th

Another AFC West battle between the two teams that made the playoffs last season. The Chiefs and Raiders might be considered the two favorites to win the AFC West. The Chiefs defense got the better of Derek Carr twice last year. The Raiders did get busy during the off season by getting running back Marshawn Lynch out of retirement and drafting cornerback Gareon Conley to help with the defense. The Chiefs didn’t really do any big time moves during the off season but they still have veteran Andy Reid and he really knows his football so don’t count out the Chiefs.

4. Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals November 9th

Classic NFC West battle between the two birds battling to win the NFC West. Seahawks and the Cardinals know each other very well.. They always seem to split with each other as well but the Super Bowl window seems to be closing for both teams. The Cardinals need to bounce back from a rough 2016 season. The Seahawks need to work on their offensive line to protect Russell Wilson and also hope that their secondary can stay healthy because we’ve seen what happened last year losing Earl Thomas.

5. Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh Steelers November 16th

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota will face a difficult test playing in Pittsburgh. The Titans do have a good offense and drafting receiver Corey Davis will help Mariota a lot. The Titans also drafted cornerback Adoree Jackson but drafting a cornerback is difficult and it's going to be tough facing a high powered offense with Ben Roethlisberger. I believe this game is going to be very close and Mariota will put on a great performance.

6. Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys November 30th

Long time rival between the Cowboys and Redskins. Kirk Cousins did lose his big time targets but he can play and put up numbers but Washington's defense will need to stop the running game by the Cowboys. If the Redskins can stop the run they’ll have a good chance of winning this game.

7. New Orlean Saints at Atlanta Falcons December 7th

Two high powered offensive teams. Majority of the time we always get a high scoring game with the two teams but I believe Atlanta’s defense will be better under third year head coach Dan Quinn. I believe in Drew Brees but I don’t believe in that Saint’s defense. The Saints did draft Marshon Lattimore but he’s going to be targeted a lot by Matt Ryan. So the Saints defense will need to step up big time.

8. Denver Broncos at Indianapolis December 14th

These two teams always seem to face other every year. This will actually be the fifth straight time  these two teams will be facing each other. It also seems like these two teams are never even. What makes this matchup interesting is that defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins said Colts have the best defense in the AFC and you know Denver’s defense will have something to say about that.

9. Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs December 16th

Last time the Chargers played in Kansas City they blew a big time lead but this will be a different Chargers team. Mike Williams will be Philip Rivers new favorite target, defensive Joey Bosa will get better and they have a good cornerback pair in Casey Hayward and Jason Verrett. The Chiefs didn’t do any major changes this offseason but they’ll look forward to the challenge and they are still a very talented team.   

Monday Night Football Games to Look Forward to

Monday Night Football Games to Look Forward to

Robert Lewis Knuckles III

“Lots of Great Matchups”

Back with another article. I did an article recently talking about the Sunday Night Football matchups and now I’m going to talk about the Monday Night Matchups.

1. New Orlean Saints at Minnesota Vikings September 11th

Great way to start a Monday Night Football with Adrian Peterson going up against his former team. The Saints got Adrian Peterson in free agency. The Saints believe that Peterson can still play and can help with the running game. I think it's no question that Peterson wants to stick it to his former team and show that he’s still an elite player. The Vikings still have their defense with and have a double headed running back in Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray. It’s going to be tough for the Saints entering a tough environment in Minnesota for their home opener.

2. Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos September 11th

Another great match up on the same night. The new Los Angeles Chargers will travel to Denver for their home opener for a classic AFC West battle. Chargers drafted Wide Receiver Mike Williams to give Philip Rivers a great weapon but he’ll be going up against a tough test with the No Fly Zone secondary. The Chargers on defense have defensive rookie of the year defensive end Joey Bosa and a good cornerback pair in Jason Verrett and Casey Hayward. Denver still has most of their players returning and they will pumped up for their home opener and want to send a message to the AFC West.

3. Dallas Cowboys at Arizona Cardinals September 25th

The Cowboys will have a tough test playing in Arizona. Both teams have a lot of weapons on offense. They have great running backs in Zeke Elliot and David Johnson. Both of these running backs want to prove they are the best. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will be facing a tough secondary in Arizona. Prescott wants to show everybody that last year wasn’t a fluke. Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer looks to bounce back from having a bad 2016 season. Each quarterback has something to prove.

4. Washington Redskins at Kansas City Chiefs October 2nd

One of the hardest places to play is in Arrowhead. Some can argue that it's the second hardest place next to Seattle . Quarterback Kirk Cousins will definitely have a tough test. The Redskins signed Terrelle Pryor to a one year deal and they still have tight end Jordan Reed but they lost Desean Jackson and Pierre Garcon. Losing those two receivers will be tough especially going up against this Chiefs defense. The Chiefs still have majority of the team returning but Cousins can play against tough defenses

5. Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans October 16th

The AFC South looks to be a tough division this coming season and The Tennessee Titans will be playing Monday Night Football against their division rival the Colts. Both teams got extremely busy during the offseason to improve on both sides of the ball. Marcus Mariota wants to continue to have another great season and not end it on an injury. Andrew Luck looks to improve this season and get back to where he was in the 2014 season. This will be a special night for the Titans because they haven’t played on a Monday in a very long time and hope to beat their rival and prove to the world they are for real.

6.  Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles October 23rd

The new Eagles hope to beat the Washington Redskins after losing to them twice last season. NFC East battles are always fun to look forward to. Eagles fans should be excited to see their quarterback Carson Wentz getting so many weapons. Despite the Eagles getting weapons Washington’s quarterback Kirk Cousins always seems to have the Eagles number.

7. Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs October 30th

Another classic AFC West battle. Last time Denver played in Kansas City they got destroyed by the Chiefs. The Chiefs beat all their division rivals last season and hope to continue that. Denver and Kansas City know each other quite well and they are almost similar to each other on the defensive side. We still don’t know who’s Denver starting quarterback will be but whoever it is must be prepared to play in Arrowhead.

8. Miami Dolphins at Carolina Panthers November 13th

I really like this matchup. The Carolina had a rough season last year. They hope to change that with new running back Christian Mccaffrey and they’ll be getting middle linebacker Luke Kuechly. The Miami Dolphins had a good season and made it to the playoffs. Dolphins still have top receiver Jarvis Landry and their leading running back Jay Ajayi who had a great year. Dolphins hope to have their quarterback Ryan Tannehill stay healthy this year. Dolphins and Panthers have a good offense  and a good front seven. Expect to see a good game from these two teams.

9. Atlanta Falcons at Seattle Seahawks November 20th

Battle of the birds once again. Last year Seattle beat the Falcons at home on a questionable call  but the Falcons got their revenge in the divisional round of the playoffs but Seattle didn’t have safety Earl Thomas. Seattle definitely wants payback and what better way to do it at home with the 12th man on their side. Despite playing in Seattle the Falcons still have all their offensive weapons back. It’s going to be a tough battle for both teams.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals December 4th

Big AFC battle. The AFC North will probably be between these two teams. Bengals drafted receiver John Ross and running back Joe Mixon to boost their offense. Steelers still have their offensive weapons and Bryant will be coming back from his suspension. Both teams have a great offense on paper so we might see a high scoring game and also expect this game to be very close. Majority of the time Bengals and Steelers games are very close.

11. New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins December 11th

A lot of people expect the New England Patriots to win the division but not Dolphins receiver Jarvis Landry. A few months ago Jarvis said with confidence that they will sweep the Patriots. There’s nothing wrong with Jarvis saying that because he believes in his team but they have to show up especially in a prime time matchup against their AFC East rival.

12. Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Buccaneers December 18th

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are considered to be the favorite to win the NFC South but their rival Atlanta Falcons look to repeat. Both teams are really good offensively. Tampa Bay has a good defense and Atlanta's defense could potentially be on the rise due to the fact they had four rookies starting and they'll be better this year.  This game is towards  the end of the regular season so it will be interesting to see where both teams will be at.

13. Oakland Raiders at Philadelphia Eagles December 25th

Oh what joy to have the last Monday Night Football game with two good teams on Christmas day. Derek Carr and Marshawn Lynch will be facing a tough Eagles front seven and the Eagles offensive line will be facing the defensive force of Khalil Mack. Wentz will have to make plays or Mack will have his day against him. Both secondaries will be facing tough receivers so this will be a very interesting game.