There’s always a little hesitation baked into bold predictions. Hit send too soon and the delete key starts looking very appealing. Leave a few alone, though, and the football itself can make the case.
That’s the bet this week, starting with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who looks capable of turning a normal target diet into a monster line against Chicago. Seattle can move him around the formation, hit him on intermediate throws, and let one missed tackle open the door to a huge night.
He’s already put together six 100-yard games in seven appearances, and last week against the Chiefs he piled up nine catches for 150 yards. Through seven games, he’s at 867 receiving yards.
The Bears have given up the sixth-fewest passing touchdowns, but this one isn’t really about finishing drives through the air. It’s about repeated chunks between the end zones.
With left tackle Charles Cross expected to miss time, getting the ball out quickly matters even more. Smith-Njigba has the kind of steady production that can snowball, and it only takes a couple of longer gains Monday night to push him past his season high of 155 and all the way over 200.
Josh Allen’s prediction is built on the opposite kind of blunt force. Buffalo can get close with James Cook, then let Allen finish the job.
Baltimore has to honor Cook’s threat, which leaves another dangerous runner in the red zone for the Ravens to sort out. Allen already has eight rushing touchdowns in six games, and Buffalo’s offense is putting up 32.8 points and 6.48 yards per play, so the chances should be there.
He ran for two touchdowns against Baltimore in the 2025 opener, and this forecast doesn’t even need the Ravens to be missing defenders - Kyle Hamilton and Roquan Smith were back on the field Thursday. Spencer Brown’s back injury is still a concern up front, but a rested Bills offense can still lean on its most obvious hammer: two short keepers, one scramble, and three Allen rushing touchdowns with no passing score attached.
The final call belongs to Trey McBride, and this one is about volume, not flair. Jacoby Brissett’s safest move Sunday may be the one he keeps repeating: throw underneath to McBride and keep the chains moving.
Arizona’s protection issues make that approach even more appealing after right tackle Elijah Wilkinson and right guard Jon Gaines II both missed Wednesday’s practice. McBride has already caught 59 passes in seven games, including 10 catches on 13 targets for 111 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos.
Dallas should help force Arizona into enough passing situations to keep feeding him, and McBride gives Brissett easy completions that don’t demand perfect protection or spectacular grabs. The idea is simple - keep running him out there, keep taking what’s there, and make the Cowboys stop the same thing 15 times.
In Other News...
James Cook Faces A Huge Bills Test Against Baltimore
Buffalos rushing game has become one of the defining pieces of its offense, with James Cook giving the Bills a real jolt on the ground all season. He has piled up 627 rushing yards and six touchdowns, production that has helped give Buffalo balance and kept defenses honest, but the conversation around him has not been limited to the big plays. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady has already pointed to Cooks ball security as an area the Bills need to keep tightening up.
Now comes a Baltimore defense that will make that part of the equation matter even more. The Ravens bring a top-10 run defense into the matchup, so Buffalos ability to stay committed on the ground and get efficient work from Cook could go a long way toward shaping the game. For a Bills offense that likes to lean on its rushing attack, this is the kind of test that can quickly show whether that success travels against one of the leagues tougher fronts. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Defense Just Got A Much Bigger Week 8 Problem
Week 8 in Buffalo just got a lot more complicated. Baltimore has been waiting for Lamar Jackson to get back on the field, and the Ravens enter the matchup at 4-3 with the kind of offense that can change a game in a hurry when its quarterback is healthy. Before the ankle injury sidelined him for three games, Jackson was piling up production early, throwing for 967 passing yards with six touchdowns and just one interception in his first four outings.
For the Bills defense, the timing matters as much as the opponent. Jesse Minter confirmed Jackson is set to return Sunday against Buffalo, which gives the Ravens a different level of threat than the one the Bills have been preparing for during the last stretch. Facing Baltimore is already a tricky assignment, but now Buffalo has to sort through a quarterback who can stress every level of the defense and do it against a team still very much in the playoff race. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Face A Deadline Problem Despite Their First-Place Start
The Bills are sitting in first place, but the calendar is turning toward the NFL trade deadline with a familiar kind of roster tension. Buffalo has been weighing ways to help its defense, and the shopping list makes the needs fairly clear even without a deal on the table yet. Injuries and some recent performance trends have only added to the urgency, making this a stretch where the front office has to decide whether a modest move is enough or whether staying patient is the better play.
What complicates everything is the cap situation, which leaves Buffalo working with very little room to maneuver. The team can look at help across the defense, but any serious addition will require creativity, patience, and probably a narrower field of options than contenders usually prefer at this time of year. [Read more 🡒]