Welcome to The Coin Toss, where I make some bold, unlikely predictions every week about some of your favorite professional sports. First, let's recap the predictions from last week.
My one baseball prediction didn't go so well, as the Giants swiftly took down the Mets and moved on to the NLDS against the Cubs. My NFL predictions fared much better. I predicted that after putting up 300 yards in Week 4, Julio Jones wouldn't manage more than 100 in week 5. I was right: he only had 29 yards against Denver's tough defense. My other football prediction had the Lions over the red-hot Eagles. This prediction was also correct, as the Lions won 24-23. Two out of three -- a pretty good week!
Now, onto what's in the crystal ball for this week's NFL action...
Tom Brady regresses in week six, throws for fewer than 300 yards
Don't get your #12 jerseys in a twist, Pats fans; I'm not disrespecting or denying the greatness of Tom Brady. He came out firing last week on the first game of his "revenge tour." The reason I see a regression here is that his great performance came against the Browns, who have one of the weakest defenses in the league. That unit is certainly worse than the Bengals' defense, who will face Brady and the Pats this week. I won't say who wins the game (you have to like New England), but Brady will regress from last week as he's held to under 300 yards passing.
The Raiders take a loss at the hands of the Chiefs
The Raiders are on a three-game win streak, and they sit tied atop their division with the Broncos at 4-1.Last week, they won an offensive slugfest against the Chargers 34-31. This game against the Kansas City Chiefs will be quite different. The Chiefs rank in the top half of the league in pass defense. The secondary, led by Marcus Peters and Eric Berry, should provide a decent challenge for the Raiders' offense. I predict that the Chiefs will hold off Derek Carr and Amari Cooper enough to get the upset.
The Eagles lose again, this time to the Redskins
After predicting the Eagles' loss last week, I can see it happening again. The Eagles are still the favorite in this matchup, but they're coming off a tough loss to the Lions, and the Redskins just beat the Ravens. Granted, the Ravens played so badly that they fired their offensive coordinator after the game, but Washington still got the win, and will be much more motivated in this game against Carson Wentz and the division rival Philadelphia Eagles. This matchup will be a good one to watch, and I predict that Washington takes this one at home and puts themselves in contention in the NFC East. The Coin Toss' pick is in: Washington over Philadelphia in Week 6.
