B's Five Games of the Week #1 (Year: 2)

Welcome to fall where there is a plethora of fun matchups on a weekly basis, I will be your tour guide for the next four months as we devour the oh-so-tasty sports season that we are about to witness. There are a lot of appetizing matchups to pay attention to on the plate this weekend and the stakes for these big matchups only grow from here. From college football to the NFL’s return to the postseason races in both Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball, there is a level of excitement that only grows as we get deeper into the fall season.

5. 11 Texas @ 3 Alabama @ 7:00 on ESPN on Saturday – Texas looked okay last week. Not great but a win is most certainly a win. Their offense must be more threatening if they are going to beat Alabama and the start needs to be better. Alabama just needs Jalen Milroe to be Jalen Milroe and they will be fine. This will be his first start in a major game in his college career, but he has experienced receivers like Isaiah Bond and Jalen Burton along with senior running back Jase McClellan to help with the pressure. The game will be played in Tuscaloosa so even though Texas has an experienced quarterback it will be a tough task to say the least to defeat the Tide.

4. Inter Miami vs. Sporting Kansas City – Anytime Lionel Messi is playing it is a spectacle, it does not matter who it is against. He is coming off a game in which he had two assists against one of the clear best teams in the MLS in LAFC. Inter Miami still has eight points to make up to get the second wild card spot for the playoffs with nine games left. The good news for them is they play all the teams they are chasing (if they haven’t already since Messi’s arrival) and have two games in hand on that second wild card spot. The additions of Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba and Segio Busquets make Miami practically invincible but also America’s Greatest Show on Grass.

Inter Miami’s opponent, Sporting Kansas City has struggled all season, but they have lost just one game in their last six and are also chasing down the last spot in the playoffs. A win or even a draw for them will do numbers for their confidence for the rest of the year. For Miami with a hill of eight points to climb from this game is a must-win, and for Kansas City, this is a can’t-lose game. My question is how long will Jordi Alba, Busquets, and Messi play with Atlanta United on the horizon?

3. Cleveland vs. Cincinnati on Sunday at 1:00 on CBS – Love him or hate him, Deshaun Watson is back. There is a serious argument that could be made saying that he should not be playing football this year, but he is a stellar athlete and in this column the objective is to focus on sports. He is going to have some new threats to throw to this year, including Elijah Moore, Amari Cooper, and Cedric Tillman. Nick Chubb is entering his sixth season after attaining a career high in rushing yards. This offense has the potential to be truly potent, but we will see if they are as lethal against the Bengals defense as they could be.

The Bengals have a great offense. That needs no introduction, Joe Burrow is an elite quarterback already as Jamar Chase is an elite wide receiver. The defense last year was solid but not disciplined enough to avoid a game sealing penalty on the final drive against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. They gave up the second fewest yards and touchdowns in the entire league but were among the eight most penalized teams in the entire National Football League. The keys to look for this game are how the Browns offense has improved and how has the Bengals discipline improved.

2. Seattle vs. Tampa Bay 4:05 on Fox Sports One on Saturday – There is just one month to go in the pennant chase in Major League Baseball and we have got two of the hottest races for division championships as we have seen. The first race that is mouthwatering to baseball fans is the race for the American League East. The Rays are currently three and a half games behind the Baltimore Orioles with a series next week that will all but decide the winner of the division. The Rays need to go in strong because the Orioles are red-hot right now. The division has the potential to be the second in a row with two one-hundred-plus game winners.

As for the American League West, few would have expected to be saying that there is a true three-way race for the pennant in this division. The Rangers were eight games ahead and now they are two and a half games behind the now division-leading Astros and one game behind the streaking Mariners. Both teams have been hot this past month but fell victim to being stuck in stellar divisions. Given there is still a month left this series won’t decide the playoff standings, but it will have huge implications given both teams play their division leader in the short term. This series will come down to Seattle’s bullpen and Tampa Bay’s firepower, and whoever finds a way to expose that weakness of their opponent will be in good shape for their pennant chase.

1. New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills on Monday Night on ESPN at 8:15 – The hype surrounding the New York Jets is off the charts. I personally cannot remember a year where there was more build-up to the season. The Bills on the other hand for the first time since 2020 are on the outside looking in when it comes to contenders for the AFC Title. They had a disappointing end to the season last year, getting thrashed by the Bengals by a score of twenty-seven to ten. There have been reports of star receiver Stefon Diggs having some trouble within the Bills organization which he has denied but one cannot help but to pay attention to see if it affects the Bills offense at all.

The Jets have brought in a haul of new offensive threats, from Aaron Rodgers to Dalvin Cook to Mecole Hardman. Their defense was among the best in the league, but their offense was beyond atrocious week in and week out after star rookie running back Breece Hall got injured. He will make his return in this game and if the Jets can establish dominance in the run game like the Bengals did against the Bills in the playoffs this year, we might just have a race for the AFC East to watch.

Strap in because this ride which is the fall sports season is only getting started. Starting next week, I’ll have my game of the week, player of the week, and team of the week section resume. Be on the lookout for this column to drop late Thursdays or early Fridays moving forward. Brendan’s deep dives will make a return soon, so be on the lookout for those.