Aaron Schatz

Here's a piece for ESPN+ about using passes defensed to predict interceptions, as passes defensed are a better future predictor of interceptions than past interception totals.

Interesting idea here from ESPN's Brian Burke: reduce penalties in the NFL by increasing the penalty for breaking the rules. The idea is that if we make holding a 15-yard penalty, or a loss of down, offensive linemen will hold less. Same thing goes for defensive penalties.

This week's Upset Watch looks at Minnesota's need to adopt a "CFL mindset" to beat the Dallas Cowboys, who are much better defensively on third downs. The hard part is going to be keeping down the Dallas offense.

It's an all-NFC episode this week! Vincent Verhei comes on this week's Off The Charts podcast to talk about the huge Monday night matchup between Seattle and San Francisco. We also preview Carolina-Green Bay and Minnesota-Dallas. (Click for audio link.)

This week, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first college football game, which really wasn't a college football game at all.

The Panthers put Cam Newton on IR today, as he just has never been able to recover from the Lis Franc injury suffered against the Patriots in the preseason. Kyle Allen will remain their starting quarterback for the rest of the year.

San Francisco stays No. 1, but subpar performances bring the 49ers and Patriots back towards the pack. At the bottom of DVOA, the Jets and Dolphins are going in opposite directions. Plus: Why the Minnesota Vikings may be the most balanced team in the league this season.

As Will Brinson points out, scheduling a London team would be very difficult.

This week's Upset Watch looks at how the Ravens can beat the undefeated Patriots. It helps that Lamar Jackson will force the Patriots to go away from their favored man coverage. Meanwhile, the Patriots offense needs to improve after a mediocre October.

Here's a long piece at ESPN+ that looks at remaining schedule strength from Week 9 onwards through the prism of both DVOA and fantasy schedules.