We are now entering the sixth week of NFL action and we have seen the Colts beat the Chiefs, the Buccaneers score 55 points on the Rams and the Bills start the season at 4-1. The bottom line is, you just never know.
There are four or five teams I think have a good chance to upset this week, so I decided to go with the biggest upset among those teams.
The Pittsburgh Steelers opened the week as six-and-a-half point underdogs against the Los Angeles Chargers this week, and I could easily see them pulling out the upset despite an uncertain quarterback situation.
As the Steelers enter this week, it’s likely they may start their third-string quarterback. The team lost its second-string quarterback Mason Rudolph to a brutal hit that left him unconscious last week against the Ravens.
Amazingly enough, Rudolph was released from the hospital on Monday, and according to reports around the league, there is still a possibility that Rudolph could start this week.
Rudolph looked good before the injury. His replacement, Devlin Hodges, looked increasingly comfortable as the game went on, and by the end, Hodges looked like a serviceable NFL quarterback.
For the past two weeks, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has adapted a dink and dunk offense that only gains small amounts of yardage at a time. While that can be slow and annoying to watch, it has been effective for the Steelers.
The Steelers have an all-around solid team that is getting better by the week. No matter who is in at quarterback, the team should be competitive in nearly all of their games.
The Chargers, on the other hand, look like a shell of the team that went 12-4 last season. The injuries are piling up for the Chargers, and it showed last week in the loss to the Denver Broncos.
Thirteen of the Chargers starters and rotational players were listed on the injury report, and the team struggled to find a rhythm as the lack of depth on the team haunted both the offense and defense.
The injury report for the Chargers will not look any better this week as several key players of the team, such as defensive back Adrian Phillips and all-pro safety Derwin James, will be out for at least the next three weeks.
The Chargers simply do not have the depth to win, especially on the defensive side. The team is also missing two offensive linemen. In comparison, the Steelers rank third in the league in sacks, fourth in interceptions and first in fumble recoveries.
The Steelers are forcing turnovers left and right, and with the injuries on the offensive line on the Chargers, I expect this week to be no different. No matter who starts at quarterback for the Steelers, I expect them to pull ahead this week 20-14.
