In our first Head to Head of the season Club Chairman and Offensive Coordinator Neale McMaster took on Wide Receiver Chris Cowley. Here’s how they got on…
Broncos 31 Chiefs 24 (Thursday Night Football)
COWLEY: Off to a flyer correctly backing the Broncos in this divisional encounter, and although his prediction of four TD passes and 300+ yards passing for Peyton Manning was a little off, we’ll take it. 1-0.
MCMASTER: Oh Nellie. He feared the worst for Peyton heading into this game, and whether he’s right or not remains to be seen. All that matter for now is he backed the Chiefs, and he was wrong. 0-1.
Patriots 40 Bills 32
COWLEY: Went with his heart and backed the Bills and demonstrated that you should never bet against Tom Brady and the Patriots, who always find a way to win (legally of course). 1-1.
MCMASTER: This game had “blow-out” written all over it until the fourth quarter when Buffalo threatened to stage an incredible comeback but you know, the Bills. Nellie said the Pats would win a close one, and he was right. 1-1.
Texans 17 Panthers 24
COWLEY: Chris couldn’t see the Texans going 0-2 and backed Houston over Cam and co, but he should have known better as Houston are not firing on all cylinders to say the least. 1-2.
MCMASTER: He said he’d rather hike up a hill than watch this one, and backed the Texans. No word on how the hill was yet but we’ll be sure to let you know once we hear. 1-2.
Cardinals 48 Bears 23
COWLEY: Our man out wide is predicting big things for Carson Palmer and the Cards this year, and on the evidence of this big road win against the Bears (who lost Jay Cutler to injury) is anything to go by he may not be far off. 2-2.
MCMASTER: He expected the Cards to comfortably win the game, and he was right. 2-2.
Chargers 19 Bengals 24
COWLEY: He wanted to get behind the Bengals but didn’t. Oops. 2-3.
MCMASTER: Coach went with the pragmatic “if in doubt, go for the home team” rule here, and it paid off. 3-2.
Titans 14 Browns 28
COWLEY: Very few people predicted the Browns to get the win in this one, including Cowley. 2-4.
MCMASTER: He described this one as a “no contest” and said the Titans would win by three scores. No further comment required. 3-3.
Lions 16 Vikings 26
COWLEY on Adrian Peterson: “I don’t think he will be back to pre-ban form until at least midway through October”. 134 yards rushing, 192 total yards later, it looks like AP is ahead of schedule. 2-5.
MCMASTER: Correctly predicted it would be a two-score game, incorrectly predicted that the Lions would be on the right side of it. 3-4.
Buccaneers 26 Saints 19
COWLEY: He’s a Saints fan, of course he predicted a Saints win. The Bucs were awful in Week 1, how could it not be a Saints win? Everyone predicted a Saints win. The Bucs win, and Cowley drops to 2-6.
MCMASTER: He said he’d rather go on another hike than sit through this one, described it as an “easy call” and predicted the Saints to win by three scores. The big man’s on a roll. 3-5.
Falcons 24 Giants 20
COWLEY: He tried to hedge his bets predicting this one, and said it could go either way in a close game. He wasn’t wrong, but he backed the wrong horse and gets his fifth prediction in a row wrong. 2-7.
MCMASTER: Went with QB power and the Falcons in a close one. This one probably wasn’t on Eli, but the Giant’s lack of ability to manage the clock continues to baffle. 4-5.
49ers 18 Steelers 43
COWLEY: He thought it would be close but other than that Cowley was bang on. Big Ben just doesn’t take “no” for an answer. 3-7.
MCMASTER: Oh boy I think Nellie would love to have this pick again, having predicted a 49ers win “by two scores” on the road in Pittsburgh. 4-6.
Rams 10 Redskins 24
COWLEY: “I can see them easily strolling past a recovering Redskins team” said Cowley. In truth, so could most people including I suspect a lot of Washington fans. No matter, he’s down to 3-8 and needs to be 100% from here on in to get to .500.
MCMASTER: “The Rams beat the Seahawks last week and the Redskins are easily the most laughable and ridiculous team in the league right now, certainly off-the-field. Enough said. Rams win by three scores.” Enough said indeed. 4-7.
Dolphins 20 Jaguars 23
COWLEY: It may have been game Chris “couldn’t care less about of the week”, but that apathy lead to predicting a Dolphins win in this clash of London-bound teams. Cowley’s slide continues. 3-9.
MCMASTER: Nellie said that Ryan Tannehill and the Miami offense needed to improve and improve quickly, but still backed them to beat the Jags by two scores. Ouch. 4-8.
Ravens 33 Raiders 37
COWLEY: He’s back in the game, and it looks like the Raiders have found someone other than the Browns they can beat. 4-9.
MCMASTER: The die hard Raiders fan predicted a Ravens win and didn’t think losing Terrell Suggs would be an issue in the game. Will he live this one down in a hurry? Hopefully not. 4-9.
Cowboys 20 Eagles 10
COWLEY: Oh Chris, it was all going so well and then you predicted DeMarco Murray would be the difference maker. Two rushing yards from thirteen carries later America’s Team is 2-0 and you’re at 4-10.
MCMASTER: Correctly backed the Cowboys in “another close game, and definitely one to watch”. It was one to watch alright, but not one for the purists. Nellie moves to 5-9.
Seahawks 17 Packers 27 (Sunday Night Football)
COWLEY: Are the Seahawks on the decline? Cowley thinks the Legion of Boom may well be, and on the evidence of this performance it’s difficult to argue. 5-10.
MCMASTER: You’d have got very good money on the Hawks starting the season 0-2 but that’s exactly where they sit after tough losses to the Rams and now Green Bay. Nellie called this one, and it’s all down to Monday Night Football. 6-9.
Colts 7 Jets 20 (Monday Night Football)
COWLEY: Ahead of Monday Night Football Mr Cowley said this is a different Jets this year. He’s not wrong, they’re 2-0 and Cowley’s 6-10 for the week.
MCMASTER: “I can’t ever pick the Jets to win, I just can’t. Andrew Luck won’t be that bad again”, said McMaster ahead of this one. Think again. 6-10.
So there we have it. Both guys finish the week 6 and 10, and it’s all to play for between the Players and the Staff next week where TE/DE Jack Judge takes on Head Coach Will White.
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