The Seattle Seahawks will host the Denver Broncos Sunday in what some have dubbed "The Marijuana Bowl.''
Which is understandable considering that Colorado and Washington are the only two states which have legalized recreational marijuana.
The last time they met was seven months ago in Super Bowl XLVIII when the Seahawks rolled to an easy 43-8 win.
Sunday's matchup is easily the best one on a busy NFL weekend but the game has somewhat been lost in the shuffle considering all the other distractions — Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice and Greg Hardy — this week.
The game airs at 3:25 p.m. as the second game on the CBS doubleheader with Jim Nantz, Phil Simms and Tracy Wolfson.
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"The interesting thing to see will be if Peyton Manning attempts to go after Richard Sherman,'' said Boomer Esiason, who sits in on the NFL Today pregame. "Aaron Rodgers chose not to. Philip Rivers chose to go after him. There are going to be a lot of things that Denver is going to be able to see on film that shows what San Diego had success with the week before.
"The only problem is, the game is in Seattle. And these days, Seattle is the toughest place to play in all the NFL. I think this will be another Seattle victory.''
The Broncos are 2-0, both wins at home while the Seahawks are 1-1 after losing Sunday in San Diego.
• There's no doubt that the five networks that carry NFL games have contacted Peterson or Rice to see if either would be willing to talk for an interview. Chances are no, but it'll be interesting to watch the pregame shows which will probably hit the topic hard.
• NBC has the Pittsburgh at Carolina game Sunday and wouldn't you know it, Hardy plays for the Panthers. Last week in the CBS Thursday night opener, Pittsburgh played at Baltimore and Rice, of course, plays for the Ravens.
The Vikings hit primetime (for the only time this season) on Thursday night, Oct. 2 at Green Bay on CBS.
• Speaking of the Packers, there's no local TV since the Vikings-Saints game airs at the same time as Packers-Lions. Both have noon starts on Fox.
• Annoncers for the Vikings-Saints noon game Sunday on Fox (which will be seen to only 12 per cent of the country) are Chris Myers, Ronde Barber and Jennifer Hale.
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• TV ratings through the first two weeks show that New Orleans is the top NFL market with a 45.2 rating. Green Bay (Milwaukee market) is second (42.2) followed by Denver (40.9), Seattle (38.4) and Indianapolis (37.5). Minnesota (Minneapolis-St. Paul market) is 14th at 30.6. Last? Oakland (9.8).
• The NBC/Marist Poll show 29 per cent of Americans believe Roger Goodell should be forced to step down.
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• Looking ahead: The Big Ten Network announced coverage plans for the 2014-2015 men's basketball season.
Conference play starts with a New Year's Eve tripleheader (including Minnesota at Purdue) followed by doubleheaders throughout January and February. Thirteen Gopher games are scheduled, not including any possible "wild card" dates.
