A spectacular Sunday is on deck for us, is London on deck for the Texans, how bad are the Giants, and getting you ready for the Bills. All for you to drink in on the Friday Stoots Six-Pack:
1. Oh my goodness will Sunday Night Football be a blast this week! Sure, Patrick Mahomes has passed every test he has faced to this point but this is the toughest task of all. The Chiefs defense is not good and Tom Brady and company got going last week and have had a long break to prepare. That also means the greatest coach in the history of football has had time to get his defense and their scheme ready for the "Showtime" second-year star. We will see greatness Sunday night. Either Bill Belichick takes down another promising quarterback or Mahomes continues to amaze.
2. I like the games in London but I prefer them to start early so we can have football all day on Sunday. Also, now we know going to Mexico City doesn't keep you from going to London. The Raiders have been to Mexico City twice in the past two years and now they play the Seahawks across the pond and lose a home game doing so. The Texans are one of the only teams to never play in London, with Green Bay and Carolina being the other ones. It's coming; the Texans are going to go play in England and I believe a game against the Jaguars could occur there next year. Just a guess, but they can't avoid the trip forever.
3. The Giants are one of the worst, and maybe the worst team in football. In large part thanks to Eli Manning's inability to play football at an acceptable level. The Giants should be set going forward though as they will surely have a top pick to spend on a quarterback which they can pair with Saquan Barkley who is just amazing to watch and Odell Beckham who will welcome the change at quarterback. Now, about their one win. It will likely be the last time Eli Manning has looked like himself in the NFL and the Texans should be very upset with themselves they allowed it to happen.
4. DeAndre Hopkins in the best wide receiver in football. Combining longevity of success, durability, and who has thrown him the ball he is the best. He is quarterback proof and not many pass catchers can say that. Earlier this week Bill O'Brien mentioned Hopkins had worked hard on his yards after catch since O'Brien arrived here. I put O'Brien's claim to test and sure enough, he's right. Hopkins has jumped from 13 percent of his yards coming after the catch to 25 percent of his yards coming after the catch last year. He's dipped a little this year, just 16 percent, but you can forgive him. He's on pace for 1,900 total. It doesn't matter how the yards come if he keeps this pace up.
5. The Bills are a bad team and if the Texans have truly turned this around found themselves they won't play down to the Bills level and allow Buffalo to muddy the game up and make it a close one. A good football team, a truly good one, would start fast against the Bills and not look back. Their offense can't score and their defense can't contain Deshaun Watson and Hopkins and company. The Texans can erase, or magnify, some doubts on Sunday.
6. DeShaun Watson has a target on his back and he can't let the opposing defenses get to him. It is OK to take a few hits in the pocket and maybe stand and deliver on a couple of throws but the big crushing hits have to stop. Defenses know when opposing quarterbacks are hurting and while they're heavily protected in the pocket, rushing the football is a different story. With the beating from Sunday night football fresh, Watson has to live to throw another day. Brandon Weeden should play on Suandy, but hopefully it is because the Texans have a huge lead, and not because the injury bug caught up with Watson.
