Hi and hello football fans! Firstly I must apologise for missing the opening Sunday’s action. I was busy beating Andy Burnham in a running race in Newcastle and am now officially three minutes faster than the PM over 13.1 miles.

Secondly, we’re baaaaaaaaack with a bumper slate of eight games at 11am CST/12pm EST/6pm BST (home teams listed second):

  • (0-1) Carolina Panthers v Atlanta Falcons (0-1)

  • (0-1) New Orleans Saints v Baltimore Ravens (1-0)

  • (1-0) Minnesota Vikings v Chicago Bears (1-0)

  • (1-0) Cincinnati Bengals v Houston Texans (0-1)

  • (1-0) Pittsburgh Steelers v New England Patriots (0-1)

  • (0-1) Green Bay Packers v New York Jets (1-0)

  • (0-1) Cleveland Browns v Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1)

  • (1-0) Philadelphia Eagles v Tennessee Titans (0-1)

There are some juicy matchups but by far the most enticing has to be Minnesota heading to Solider Field to take on Chicago for a little NFC North rivalry game. Both teams won impressively last week, the Bears maybe slightly more so as they shared the highest scoring shootout in week one history in their 59-37 win over the Panthers last week.

Look out for Chicago’s quarterback Caleb Williams, who threw for two scores and ran in a pair against Carolina, being hunted by the new face of Minnesota’s pass rush Dallas Turner. The linebacker was a nightmare last week recording one sack, 10 pressures, seven hits and forcing a fumble. The Vikings have won on their past six visits to Solider Field. Can their mighty defense chalk up a seventh? Let’s find out.