Steve Brownlee

By STEVE BROWNLEE

Journal Sports Editor

With the World Series just ending the other day, it got me to thinking about comparisons between baseball and football, specifically in pro sports.

Unlike the Major League Baseball regular season, we concentrate intently on each single baseball game during the playoffs.

In July, I’d be bummed if the Detroit Tigers got swept in a three-game series, no matter who it was against, but then I would think, well, they can go on a four-game win streak, or win seven of their next 10, to make up for it.

But in the World Series, you see the teams careening from huge highs to plummeting lows from one game to the next, depending on who won.

That’s kind of the way the NFL is all the time, considering the number of games played is a lot closer to what comes in a seven-game World Series than it is to a 162-game regular season.

But no matter what part of the season we examine in these two sports, what we judge is still just the performance of a bunch of players over the course of about three hours in one day.

It’s no big thing if a baseball team strikes out 13 times today, they’ll come back tomorrow and put up 13 runs.

In football, though, the sky is falling for the Packers, Lions, Colts and Chiefs after each lost on Sunday.

That’s despite the overall good performances they’ve put up either over the past couple games or the entire season, and in the Colts’ case, both.

Maybe that’s why we predict our favorite team’s demise one day, then feel like we have realistic dreams of winning the Super Bowl the next.

You have to expect a certain amount of variation in performance, especially considering this is a sport where the opponent has both a basic interest and the chance to affect your team’s performance.

Now onto this week’s picks, with four more teams having byes, including the Chiefs and Cowboys:

Today, 8:15 p.m.

Las Vegas at Denver — Despite the game-to-game variations I talked about before that could allow the Raiders to win on any given day, I just can’t pick against Denver on this given day in the mile-high altitude. Broncos, 31-20.

Sunday, 9:30 a.m.

Atlanta vs. Indianapolis — Yes, we’re back to Europe for a couple weeks, this week in Berlin, next week I believe in Madrid. The Falcons are so all-over-the-place, I just have to look at their opponent and say, OK would they win or would they lose, given any random matchup? In this case, give me the Colts, 25-17.

Sunday, 1 p.m.

Baltimore at Minnesota — With the Lions playing at 4 p.m. and the Packers on Monday night, I hope this is a game available to watch in the early time slot Sunday.

That’s because these are two teams that not only looked better in their most recent game, but know they need to pile up a whole lot more wins if they want to reach the potential assigned them before the season began. Because of home field and the Ravens’ messy defense, I’ll take the Vikings, 34-27.

Buffalo at Miami — The Dolphins were one of those teams having a fire sale at the trade deadline. Bills, 29-20.

Cleveland at New York Jets — The Jets are another team that conducted a fire sale. Browns, 23-16.

Jacksonville at Houston — Jacksonville was actually a buyer at the trade deadline. Jaguars, 21-16.

New York Giants at Chicago — This is probably the game we’ll get in this time slot Sunday, which would’ve been intriguing before the Giants’ key injuries. Bears, 33-19.

New England at Tampa Bay — Shouldn’t Tom Brady call this game, since these are his two teams? Buccaneers, 27-24.

New Orleans at Carolina — I really should pick against Carolina after what they did in Green Bay last weekend — reverse momentum and all that — but heck, it’s the ‘Aints they’re playing. Panthers, 30-20.

Sunday, 4 p.m.

Arizona at Seattle — I’m going to go out on a limb here, thinking a solid defense like Arizona’s can rattle Seahawks’ quarterback Sam Darnold like happened a couple weeks ago to him. Cardinals, 23-19.

Detroit at Washington — Detroit gets a break with the injuries the Commanders have sustained. Lions, 34-22.

Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco — I noticed both teams have six wins, but the Rams have a point differential of plus-82 and the 49ers of plus-6. I was already leaning L.A.’s way, so sure, I’ll take the Rams, 26-24.

Sunday, 8:20 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Los Angeles Chargers — The Chargers lost their anchor on the offensive line, Joe Alt, which supposedly makes all the difference in protecting QB Joe Herbert. One little wrinkle, though, the Steelers’ D has way underperformed this season. So give me the Chargers, 28-23.

Monday, 8:15 p.m.

Philadelphia at Green Bay — All the ups and downs with the Packers, I think it’s best to back the Pack just after they been kicked in the teeth. Packers, 27-22.

Last week — 9-5, 64 percent. Season — 77-57, 57 percent.

Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.