Sunday morning will start with bright sunshine, smiles and salutations.

Jimmy G is in town.

The world is a better place.

That’s the way some New England Patriots fans may be thinking as former backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers are coming to town.

Some still hold out hope that some day Garoppolo will ride back into town and be the Patriots long term solution at quarterback. Don’t hold your breath.

“Last year was our first (full) season and it was a real fun season together,” Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said, noting that Garoppolo played just the end of the 2017 season and in 2018 he tore his ACL. “It was a real fun season together. He was able to stay healthy the whole year and had a hell of a year. Enjoy him as a player and enjoy him as a person, too.

“Expect him to just keep getting better the more he’s here and the more he stays healthy.”

Everyone will be watching closely on Sunday, for certain. Here’s what else we’ll be watching:

PATRIOTS 24, NINERS 17

A good game, a close game, but as we’re talking about practice, we’ll see a different Patriots team – especially with many returnees after all the virus/injuries that depleted part of the lineup last week. The 49ers aren’t enjoying the magic they had last year and we’ll see that first hand.

STEELERS 23, TITANS 21

Believe it or not, this is a 1 p.m. game, but it’s clearly the best game of the weekend. Tennessee is playing so well, it’s due for a fall. No great analysis here as these are two rock ’em sock ’em teams. Even the Titans have the coaching edge. But just a feeling.

CHIEFS 27, BRONCOS 13

Don’t be fooled by Denver’s great win at Gillette last Sunday. It’s not easy to win in Denver, but if Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs can win in western New York, they can win anywhere. He’ll do to the Denver secondary what Cam Newton should have last week.

COWBOYS 30, WASHINGTON 27

As poorly coached as they are – they give up an average of 36.3 points a game — Dallas is still more talented then the rest of the NFC Least. Yes, no Dak Prescott, but Andy Dalton can’t be as bad as he looked against Arizona.

SEAHAWKS 33, CARDINALS 31

This could be a shoot out, now slated for Sunday night football with the Raiders’ virus issues bumping that game out of prime time. Seattle isn’t that good defensively, and Kyler Murray will torment the Seahawks. But doesn’t Russell Wilson always find a way to pull these games out?

BUCCANEERS 31, RAIDERS 13

Why such a blowout? Are we that much enamored now with Tompa Bay? No, it’s because the Raidahs have pretty much their entire starting offensive line in quarantine. Bucs, on a roll, will roll – if the game is played.

PACKERS 30, TEXANS 17

The Pack is back this weekend after taking last weekend off at Tompa Bay. Aaron Rodgers & Co. need to take advantage of a defensive thin Texans team (30 points a game allowed) and hope Romeo Crennel makes a few other sideline blunders for good measure.

LAST WEEK: 5-2

SEASON RECORD: 28-13

Tom King may be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow King on Twitter (@Telegraph_TomK).

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