My pick: listed first. Home team: CAPS. Post-game comments, if any, in italics. Took a beating last week – 1-6, yowza – but there’s point trying to dig out of a hole all at once. Not a lot of good games on the schedule this weekend.

Jaguars -2.5 vs. STEELERS 2× pick of the week ✅ ✅ – This should be a good fun tough game, but I continue to think Doug Pederson might be the best coach in the game right now. The Jags just know how to grind out wins in close games. I could see this being a real nail-biter.

COWBOYS -7 vs. Rams ✅ – I feel like Dak Prescott has turned into a classic Jekyll/Hyde QB. Some weeks he looks like a borderline all-pro; some weeks he looks completely lost. To me the key is whether he runs or not. When he’s stealing 2-3 first downs by scrambling on busted plays, the whole passing game opens up for Dallas. When he just sits, waiting in the pocket, they’re three-and-out, three-and-out, three-and-out.

CHIEFS -7 vs. Denver ❌ – Mahomes is ill with something, but word is he’s going to play. I’d say the whole Broncos squad has been ill with “sucking” all season, though.

Bengals at NINERS – Not betting this game. Just need to say that I think the 49ers are nuts for letting Brock Purdy play this week. Look what happened to Tua Tagovailoa last season when the Dolphins let him come back too soon after a concussion. It was scary. Even in baseball, Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo played through a concussion and he wasn’t right – he went from being one of the best hitters and smartest players in all of baseball to a guy who couldn’t hit and couldn’t remember how many outs there were mid-innings. I get how frustrating it is to be a premiere athlete whose body feels fine and mind feels sharp – you feel like you can play. But the evidence is overwhelming that concussions take weeks to recover from. I think it should be an open question whether Purdy should play next week, let alone today. If this were a playoff game, or a must-win game, that’s different. By why take a chance like this in the middle of the season when the 49ers have so much going for them? Boo hiss.

Season to date (weeks 1-7): 13-23-1
This week: 3-1