Monday Night Football site Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, home of the San Francisco 49ers, at dusk

Monday Night Football: Commanders at 49ers, as the Chargers Hit 0-6 and Jim vs. Harry Argue Over Bo Nix

ByJim Balz October 19, 2026

Week 6 has one more game to go. Tonight’s Monday Night Football game sends Washington to Santa Clara, and the twins have already argued through two pots of coffee. The weekend’s biggest story is a team that can’t buy a win: the Chargers are 0–6 after a 22-6 loss to the Chiefs. Kansas City stayed perfect at 5-0, and the…

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Jim Balz’s column originally ran in The Hairy Times, the sister publication of Sports By The Balz.

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Monday Night Football: Commanders at 49ers, and Jim vs. Harry: Who Survives the Wildest Saturday in AP Poll History?
ByJim Balz October 20, 2026October 20, 2026

College football fell apart on Saturday. Not a single team stayed put in the latest AP Top 25 rankings, after five of Saturday’s top seven teams lost in a first for the poll. Sunday added a London shootout and a Panthers win in Philadelphia, and Week 6 wraps up tonight with Monday Night Football from Santa Clara. The Balz twins…

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Broncos Playoff Chances Soar After Amazing 30-26 Final-Play Stand vs. Rams
ByJim Balz September 28, 2026October 2, 2026

Two seconds left, the Rams at the Denver 14, one snap to steal a game in Denver. Then Talanoa Hufanga picked off Matthew Stafford, and the Broncos playoff chances got a lot healthier. Denver won 30-26 on Sunday Night Football. The Rams spiked the ball with two seconds left at the 14-yard line, and then, after a false start, Stafford…

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NFL Week 5 Schedule: Ravens-Falcons on SNF After Bucs Stun Dallas
ByJim Balz October 9, 2026

An undrafted rookie quarterback walked into AT&T Stadium and left with Tampa Bay’s first win of the season. That’s how the NFL Week 5 schedule got started, and Sunday should be just as loud. Here’s what happened Thursday night, every Sunday kickoff time and channel, and my picks. My brother Harry Balz will disagree with every one of them, which…

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Jim vs. Harry: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not, and Who Survives the 2026 Division Series?
ByJim Balz October 7, 2026

Three of the four Division Series are 2-0. The fourth is tied, and the two-time defending champs are suddenly sweating. That makes it the right moment for 2026 MLB playoff predictions from the two loudest people at The Hairy Times. Jim Balz brought spreadsheets. Harry Balz brought feelings, plus a few spreadsheets to prove he’s the smart twin. We locked…

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Broncos Collapse: Wake-Up Call or Season Unraveling?
ByHarry Balz September 15, 2026October 2, 2026

The Denver Broncos didn’t just lose their season opener to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football — they got absolutely demolished, embarrassed, and exposed in a 31-10 beating that has everyone in Broncos Country wondering if this team is a contender or a pretender.

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Jim vs. Harry: Two Colorado Blowouts, and What Happens to Deion Sanders Now?
ByJim Balz October 4, 2026

Saturday, Oct. 3, was a rough night for Colorado college football. The Buffaloes lost at home to Texas Tech, the Rams got run over by Oregon State in Fort Collins, and Harry Balz has to answer for last week’s Jim vs. Harry predictions. That leaves one question hanging over Boulder: what is Deion Sanders‘ future at Colorado after another lopsided…

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