Falcons at Vikings (-4½)
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy led a stunning fourth-quarter rally in his debut Monday night and outdueled former No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams. The Bears’ sophomoric QB was so inept after the opening touchdown drive that, after the game, he was made an honorary White Sock.
Pick: Vikings by 3

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) runs with a ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings in Chicago, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Patriots at Dolphins (-1½)
Miami coach Mike McDaniel is on the hot seat after his team’s pitiful opening loss to the quite average Colts at Indianapolis. His team looked so lethargic that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he had never seen the Dolphins look so vaccinated.
Pick: Dolphins by 3

Tua Tagovailoa #1 of the Miami Dolphins throws a pass during the third quarter against the Indianapolis Colts during the game at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sept. 07, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Jaguars at Bengals (-3½)
The notoriously slow-starting Bengals barely won their opener thanks to a missed field goal and extra point by Cleveland’s Andre Szmyt. But we shouldn’t put all the blame on the rookie kicker, because he was far from the only Brown who played like Szmyt.
Pick: Bengals by 7

Cleveland Browns kicker Andre Szmyt (25) misses a field goal during an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Sept. 7 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Kirk Irwin)

Eagles at Chiefs (+1½)
Eagles defensive star Jalen Carter was shockingly kicked out of the opener after he was caught on camera in a spitting duel with Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott. As a result, Fan Duel has set the over-under for this Super Bowl LIX rematch at 1.5 loogies.
Pick: Eagles by 7

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (98) walks off the field after being ejected from the game during the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)

Giants at Cowboys (-5½)
Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb took the blame last Thursday as he dropped three very catchable balls that proved to be the difference in the Cowboys’ loss in Philadelphia. This greatly increased the chances that the all-pro receiver will be immediately traded to Green Bay for almost nothing.
Pick: Cowboys by 7

CeeDee Lamb #88 of the Dallas Cowboys misses a reception against the Philadelphia Eagles during the fourth quarter in the game at Lincoln Financial Field on Sept. 04, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Browns at Ravens (-12½)
Baltimore blew a late 15-point lead in its opener at Buffalo thanks, in part, to a critical fumble by Derrick Henry. Some fans defended the future hall of famer after learning that Henry dropped the ball when he thought he saw a screaming Phillies Karen.
Pick: Ravens by 17

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) fumble the ball as he is hit by Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver (91) during the second half of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Chargers at Raiders (+3½)
The Chargers knocked off division rival Kansas City to win in Brazil in the first-ever NFL game streamed on YouTube. Many fans missed the ending, though, turning off their browsers the moment they first set eyes on Mr. Beast.
Pick: Chargers by 1

(L-R) MrBeast and Rob Gronkowski attend YouTube Brandcast 2025 at David Geffen Hall on May 14, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

Bears at Lions (-5½)
Detroit rookie receiver Isaac TeSlaa was a bright spot in the Lions’ loss in Green Bay thanks to a remarkable touchdown catch. Despite that, the overwhelming majority of Americans and Europeans still say that Telsa sucks.
Pick: Lions by 7

Detroit Lions’ Isaac TeSlaa catches a touchdpown pass in front of Green Bay Packers’ Carrington Valentine during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Bills at Jets (+6½)
A Jets staffer became a viral embarrassment Sunday when he got stuck on the giant flag being unfurled on the field during Sunday’s national anthem. Historians say it’s the most embarrassing screw-up by a Jets employee in at least several days.
Pick: Bills by 7

An unfortunate stadium employee finds himself at the wrong place at the wrong time before last Sunday’s New York Jets game. (Screen grab from YouTube)

49ers at Saints (+4½)
San Francisco cut kicker Jake Moody on Tuesday after he missed two of three field-goal attempts in last Sunday’s opener in Seattle. He failed so miserably that he’s now in line to become the next cabinet secretary.
Pick: 49ers by 3

San Francisco 49ers place-kicker Jake Moody (4) kicks a field goal attempt that was blocked by Seattle Seahawks during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Other games

Broncos at Colts (+2½)
Pick: Colts by 3

Rams at Titans (+5½)
Pick: Rams by 7

Seahawks at Steelers (-2½)
Pick: Seahawks by 3

Panthers at Cardinals (-6½)
Pick: Cardinals by 7

Buccaneers at Texans (-2½)
Pick: Buccaneers by 3

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) scores a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Record

Week 1
9-7 straight up
8-8 vs. spread

All-time (2003-25)
3837-2116 straight up (.645)
2926-2895-145 vs spread (.503)

You can hear Kevin Cusick on Thursdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on X — @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.

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NAGASAKI, Japan (AP) — A United Airlines passenger plane carrying 142 people and bound for the Philippine island of Cebu made an emergency landing in Osaka on Friday after an indicator showed a fire in the cargo room, Japanese aviation officials said.

Footage on Japan’s NHK television showed passengers sliding down escape shooters from the aircraft parked on a runway at the Osaka airport.

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There were no reports of injuries and fire or smoke was not visible in the footage.

The UA flight 32, which departed from the Narita International Airport near Tokyo, had an indicator showing a fire in the cargo room while flying over the Pacific Ocean. Officials later said they were investigating whether there was actual fire or smoke.

The plane, Boeing 737-800 landed at the Kansai International Airport in Osaka about one hour and half after departing from Narita, officials said.

Both of the two runways at the Kansai International Airport were temporarily closed because of the emergency landing.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday he’ll send the National Guard to Memphis to address crime concerns there with the support of the mayor and the governor.

Trump, a Republican, said on Fox News Channel “the mayor is happy” and “the governor is happy” about the pending deployment. The mayor is a Democrat, and the governor is a Republican.

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He said the city is “deeply troubled” and “we’re going to fix that just like we did Washington,” where he’s sent National Guard and surged federal law enforcement.

Since sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, Trump has openly mused about sending troops to some of the nation’s most Democratic cities — including Chicago and Baltimore — claiming they are needed to crack down on crime.

Trump said he “would have preferred going to Chicago,” where local politicians have fiercely resisted his plans, but he suggested it was a “hostile” place with “professional agitators.”

Trump first deployed troops to Los Angeles in early June over Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s objections by putting the California National Guard under federal jurisdiction, known as Title 10, to protect federal property from protests over immigration raids.

Besides 4,000 guard members, Trump later sent 700 active duty Marines, and California sued over the intervention. The guard went on to help protect officers during immigration arrests.

Meanwhile, the unique status of the District of Columbia National Guard — Trump is its commander in chief — means he has been able to use it for everything from armed patrols to trash cleanup without any legal issues. Because it is on state and not federal orders, legal restrictions on law enforcement don’t come into effect.

On a late-April weekend, I went down to Eagle Pass to look at Operation Lone Star (OLS), Governor Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar piece of political theater that has targeted immigrants at the Texas-Mexico border. I went with a group that I’m a member of called Never Again Action, a national Jewish organization opposing the deportation machine. The group is inspired by Jewish history and values and draws inspiration from the passage in the Torah that says, “You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.” 

In this sense, fighting for immigrant justice is, to Jews, a religious and cultural obligation.

We chose to visit Shelby Park, a 47-acre green space that abuts the Rio Grande and thus the international border with Mexico; you can easily see the international bridge from the park. From January 2024 through April of this year, this area was effectively closed to the public as state troopers and National Guard members took it over, ostensibly to stop border crossings.

We went down there to try and connect with locals such as Amerika Garcia Grewal, a community activist who has been organizing for several years. She got involved in part because of the state’s takeover of Shelby Park, one of the few public green spaces available to the entire community. Maverick County, where Eagle Pass is located, has a 23 percent poverty rate. There are areas of the county, just beyond the Eagle Pass city limits, that lack access to running water. The State of Texas, meanwhile, has spent more than $11 billion on OLS over the past four years. Garcia Grewal informed us that OLS has also caused a brain drain, or rather a brain-force-field effect, on the city. She relayed how several professors hired by the local university, Sul Ross State-Eagle Pass, have declined their offers after learning of the border security operation in the region. The same goes for doctors who received job offers at local hospitals.

OLS and all of the border mania don’t just affect people directly on the border either. In the town of Brackettville—in Kinney County—we spoke to a local organizer about the effects on this town nearly an hour’s drive from the international divide. Local artist and activist Gage Brown told us of multiple high-speed chases, initiated by Texas state police over minor traffic violations, that resulted in massive property damage and loss of life in the county. A 7-year old girl was killed. Five other children were seriously injured. How again is this making Texans safer?

While traveling through the area and talking to local people, I couldn’t help but think how these resources might have been used differently. How many of the region’s children could have been sent to college? How many medical bills could have been paid? How much infrastructure built? How many teachers hired? Doctors, engineers, builders—people who could have put their talents into something helpful for this community—as opposed to wasting all of this labor on a half-baked political stunt whose only results are more positive right-wing media coverage for Abbott and more destruction wrought on an already marginalized population.

Aside from the absolute moral catastrophe that this all represents, it also doesn’t even work! All of this Sturm und Drang about an “invasion” and “building a wall,” and I can tell you that it doesn’t work. The wall isn’t even needed, as we were told that Customs and Border Protection has an array of radar and video surveillance networks that easily pick up when a migrant has crossed the river. As for an “invasion,” this couldn’t be further from the truth. The handful of bedraggled migrants who show up begging for asylum, often malnourished and in need of medical attention, hardly constitute an “invasion force” in any meaningful definition of that phrase. So, on top of everything else, there is the egregious insult that this entire thing is based on a massive lie. 

This is part of our reason for visiting as well. We can see that, since the 9/11 era, what began as an attack on civil liberties for the purpose of combating “terrorism” has been the subject of mission creep. The target moved from foreign terrorists to simply foreign-born immigrants. Now it is beginning to spread to legally present, foreign-born students who dare express an opinion critical of government policy. How much longer until citizens are targeted?

As a Jewish-led organization, we abhor this turn of events. In addition to our religious tradition, which commands us to fight for social justice and protect the innocent, we also draw on our cultural and historical memory. Many of our grandparents and great-grandparents came to the United States fleeing similar conditions afflicting current arrivals, seeking a country guided by democracy, freedom, and the rule of law, so different from the tyranny and oppression of their homelands.

We are also inspired by the times America has failed to live up to these values. Our name, Never Again Action, is in reference to the principle that something like the Holocaust must never be allowed to reoccur. As American Jews, we remember the episode of the S.S. St. Louis: Jews fleeing Europe before the outbreak of World War II were turned away by U.S. authorities. Many were later killed by the Nazis. That era of American policy was, like today, guided by an anti-immigrant hysteria whipped up by those in power. We cannot help but see the parallels. So we seek an immigration system now that respects the rights of immigrants and refugees, consistent with international law and U.S. treaty obligations.

When one goes to the border and looks out across the landscape, the built environment makes the consequences of recent U.S. policy painfully clear. 

On the one side, the American bank of the river is a dead patch of dirt, covered in razor wire, shipping container barricades, and armed soldiers assisted by drones. The land of liberty indeed. On the other side is Mexico. Lush vegetation and greenery cover the banks of the river. It is a pleasing and refreshing sight in this dusty and arid environment. I am told that it was once quite lovely on the American side as well, and that it used to be commonplace for people on both sides to frequently engage with the river—through swimming, fishing, boating, and other pastimes. Our group hopes that through our meager efforts, something similar might one day take place again. 

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