Welcome to Glass Slipper! I need Shohei Ohtani to be okay; please enjoy the show.

- Jacob Rhee

Every Sunday morning, I will make five bold predictions regarding the upcoming NFL games. Each time I get one incorrect, $10 is added to the money pot. At the end of the 18-week regular season, that pool of cash will be spent on gifts for random Glass Slipper subscribers. I hope you have a lot of fun rooting against me! Let’s go.

Prediction 1: Houston beats Indianapolis by 14+ points.

Let’s give Shane Steichen his flowers for a moment. He’s 13-11 as a head coach, with Gardner Minshew, Anthony Richardson, and Joe Flacco as his quarterbacks. Steichen has the Colts sitting inside the playoff picture right now, and neither one of us can name five players on his defense.

But our friend Shane will only be able to do so much against a hungry CJ Stroud. Houston’s young star is coming off one of the three worst games of his professional career, and he’s itching to bounce back. The Texans roll, and grab firm control of this division.

Prediction 2: Tua Tagovailoa finishes with 2+ passing touchdowns and zero interceptions in his return.

The temperature in Miami Gardens is supposed hover around 80 degrees this afternoon. That sounds like Tua weather to me.

I think a lot of us are realizing that it’s Tagovailoa who makes Mike McDaniel look good, and not the other way around. However you want to divide the credit, the pair of guys are explosive together when the sun is out. It’s a successful return for the 26-year-old signal-caller.

Prediction 3: A Chiefs player not named Patrick Mahomes throws a pass against the Raiders.

There’s one of two ways that this prediction materializes. Either Kansas City runs away and Carson Wentz takes the reins late, or Andy Reid gets disrespectful and teases Las Vegas with some sort of trick play. I would argue that both are pretty decent possibilities.

Only four teams with winning records remain on the Chiefs’ schedule. Barring some shocker, Patrick Mahomes and company will travel to Buffalo on November 17 with a 10-0 record. A perfect regular season is absolutely on the table.

Prediction 4: Ricky Pearsall finishes with 60+ receiving yards on Sunday Night Football.

We all want to see Pearsall shine, for obvious reasons. This dude isn’t just some feel-good story, though. He’s a fantastic athlete who possesses special instincts, and plays without any fear whatsoever. A lot of NFL fans scoffed when John Lynch grabbed him at the end of the first round back in April, believing that San Francisco didn’t need another wide receiver. Well, here we are. Brandon Aiyuk is done for the year, Deebo Samuel has been trying to gut through pneumonia, and Jauan Jennings is likely missing his second consecutive contest tonight. It’s Ricky’s time.

Prediction 5: Daniel Jones commits 2+ turnovers and gets sacked 3+ times against Pittsburgh.

Look, I don’t think I really need to explain this one. Danny Dimes is bad. This Steelers defense is elite. The whole country is watching. How else could this thing go?

• Week 7 Results: 1-4

• Overall Season Picks Record: 10-25

• Current NFL Prize Pot: $250

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