Now that we’ve had NFL action for a few weeks, we’ll catch you up on all of the happenings around the league including some devastating injury news for a few franchises. We’ll also look at the best games to watch and the ones to bet on.

Injury Bug Has Hit Teams Hard

It’s hard to say for sure what the reason is for the rash of injuries that have hit the league so early in the season. It could be due to a lack of preseason and the conditions that the games are being played in. It could also just be the nature of the sport. Football is a violent game that takes a toll on the body so some years we just see more injuries to big names so that makes it seem worse.

That is certainly the case with the news that running back Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants and defensive end Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers are done for the season. What’s especially troubling about their injuries is that they are still young guys making their way in this league. They are also two of the guys that will carry the league into the future and the only good news here is that because they are still very young, they should both make a full recovery.

In other injury news, one of the best running backs in the league, Christian McCaffrey is out for at least a few weeks with an ankle injury. That is a massive blow for Carolina who just rewarded McCaffrey with a new deal this offseason that makes him the highest-paid running back in the NFL. He is another young guy who can hopefully bounce back sooner rather than later. It’s definitely not a good thing for the league to have so many of their young stars injured at the same time.

Best Games to Watch This Week

We’ve got a couple of good ones but we’ll start with a battle between two of the NFC’s top teams in the Green Bay Packers who travel to Louisiana to take on the New Orleans Saints on Sunday Night Football. Both teams could be without their top wide receiver as Devonta Adams left the Packers win over the Lions with an apparent hamstring injury. The severity of his injury is still unknown so it is possible that he might play. Michael Thomas’s status is still a little more uncertain after missing the Saint’s loss to the Raiders on Sunday. The Saints defense looked surprisingly inept against the Raiders and the 2-0 Packers will be looking to take advantage of what they saw on the weekend.

Another great game for fans will be the contest between the Dallas Cowboys and the Seattle Seahawks. It seems like head coach Pete Carol has finally decided to let Russell Wilson loose on the NFL and he is looking like the leading candidate for league MVP in the early part of the season. As for Dallas, they had a miracle win against the Atlanta Falcons to avoid starting the season 0-2. Seattle beat Atlanta in Week 1 in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score made it seem. This game between two high powered offenses looks like it could be an old fashioned shootout.

Best Picks of the Week Around the League

The Los Angeles Chargers are a great pick at -6.5 over the Carolina Panthers. Without Christian McCaffrey, Carolina just lost most of their offense. In all honesty, McCaffrey is certainly in the conversation for the most valuable non-quarterback in the league. The Chiefs had a very hard time dealing with the Chargers pass rush and without McCaffrey, the Panthers might be forced to throw the ball more than usual which is not how you beat this Chargers team.

Opportunities to take the Kansas City Chiefs as underdogs will be few and far between but this weekend you will get the chance. Not only that, but the line has a ton of value at +3.5 against the Baltimore Ravens. While the Ravens look unstoppable again this year, it’s not like the Chiefs have suddenly fallen off a cliff. While the Chiefs did struggle against the Chargers, the truth is, Los Angeles has a great pass rush along with one of the best secondary’s in the NFL. The fact that they were able to turn that game around and come back to win is a testament to their championship quality. The Ravens might look better, but to say that they are currently 3.5 points better than the Chiefs might be a little premature. Anytime you can get points with the defending Super Bowl champs who have the most potent offense in the league (even if you think the Ravens offense is better than the Chiefs would be number 2) you have to ride with the underdog in this situation.

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