The chase for the playoffs starts in earnest now. Teams ease in during the month of September. They try and figure out what type of team they are in October. They prove what type of team they are in November. They clean things up and get ready for the playoffs in December. We have a full Week 9 with an extra early game in London and four afternoon games. Thanks to 506Sports.com, per usual.
Fox Single Game (1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT and 4:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. PT)
█ Chicago @ Philadelphia Dick Stockton, Mark Schlereth
█ Minnesota @ Kansas City Kevin Burkhardt, Charles Davis
█ Washington @ Buffalo Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston
█ Detroit @ Oakland (4:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. PT) Thom Brennaman, Chris Spielman
█ Tampa Bay @ Seattle (4:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. PT) Kenny Albert, Ronde Barbe
The Minnestoa-Kansas City game was supposed to be the early marquee matchup. It still could be, but a lot will depend on Patrick Mahomes’ knee situation. The Chiefs would be smart to rest their franchise quarterback another week. The Eagles have life but the Bears need a win badly. That game could be competitive — or it could turn into a blowout win by Philly.
CBS Early Game (1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT)
█ Indianapolis @ Pittsburgh Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts
█ Tennessee @ Carolina Greg Gumbel, Trent Green
█ NY Jets @ Miami Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta
The CBS early session doesn’t look great. The Titans-Panthers game will be a boring defensive struggle. Neither team is exciting — outside of Christian McCaffrey. No one should be subjected to Jets-Dolphins and the people controlling the TV map seem to agree.
CBS Late Game (4:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. PT)
█ Green Bay @ LA Chargers Jim Nantz, Tony Romo
█ Cleveland @ Denver Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon
Nantz and Romo go from covering Tom Brady one week to working a game with Aaron Rodgers. Not a bad deal for the top CBS crew. Cleveland travels to Denver. The Browns need to figure out a way to win. Only the mountain time zone and the midwest miss out on the Packers-Chargers game.
