- Panthers at Bears: Chicago-The Panthers aren't going to go winless this season, which is good. But playing Jacksonville at home isn't quite the same as taking on the Bears in Chicago. As a result, Da Bears are Da Pick.
- Bills at Bengals: Buffalo-Ladies and gentlemen, the first-place Buffalo Bills are currently the best team in the AFC. If the playoffs were to start today, the Bills would have homefield advantage. I'm still not sure it's going to last, but I'm going to enjoy the ride while it does. And playing Cincinnati is certainly a nice way to make sure they're 4-0 going into that showdown with the Eagles next week.
- Titans at Browns: Cleveland-As I said last week, Cleveland somehow lucked into not having to play a good team until December, when they see the Steelers and Ravens twice each. This game's at the Dawg Pound, so I'm taking the Browns.
- Lions at Cowboys: Detroit-Dallas is favored in this game, and I was really tempted to pick the Cowboys, but I just couldn't. They figured out a way to win that Monday night game against the Redskins despite not scoring a touchdown. If they want to win this week, they'll have to.
- Vikings at Chiefs: Minnesota-Come Sunday night, one of these teams will no longer be winless. I'll give the Chiefs credit for actually resembling a professional football team last week, but this is one of the few situations this year when Minnesota will be favored. That's good enough for me.
- Redskins at Rams: Washington-St. Louis is also winless and really needs a win. I certainly didn't anticipate Washington being 2-1 and tied for first place in Week 4. At the beginning of the season, I would've expected the Rams to be favored in this one. I still think they might pull it out, but I'm taking Washington.
- 49ers at Eagles: Philadelphia-The first half of Sunday's Eagles-Phillies split doubleheader. This is the first real test to see how good the 49ers actually are. Meanwhile, the Eagles have lost two straight since beating the Rams in Week 1. Philly needs a win, and I think they'll get it. But Vick's status makes it far from a guarantee.
- Saints at Jaguars: New Orleans-Do I need to give you a reason? Really?
- Steelers at Texans: Pittsburgh-Are the Texans for real? They started 2-0, then lost to New Orleans last week. Now they get the defending AFC champions at home. The Steelers seem to be back on track after dropping their opener to the Ravens. Houston falls to 2-2.
- Giants at Cardinals: Giants-The former NFC East rivals meet in the Valley of the Sun, where the Giants won the Super Bowl four years ago. It took a couple weeks, but the Giants have begun participating in the 2011 NFL season. And that win in Philly last week was a huge monkey off their backs. This week, they go across the country and pick up another road victory.
- Falcons at Seahawks: Atlanta-One of these groups of birds has to win this game. The Falcons might be 1-2, but they're better than that, as evidence by the fact that the win came against the Eagles. If this game was later in the year, I'd like the Seahawks' chances a little better, but in October, I'm going with Atlanta.
- Broncos at Packers: Green Bay-There's very little chance that Denver derails the Super Bowl champs, who should go into their playoff rematch in Atlanta with a 4-0 record.
- Patriots at Raiders: New England-Somehow, the Raiders beat the Jets last week. Somehow, the Patriots lost to the Bills last week. Reality sets in this week. New England romps.
- Dolphins at Chargers: San Diego-I'm honestly not sure when I see Miami finally picking up a win. It's not coming in San Diego. I know that much.
- Jets at Ravens: Jets-The best game of the week was saved for Sunday night. It's Rex Bowl II. Last season, the Ravens spoiled the Jets' first game at MetLife Stadium by winning without the benefit of a touchdown on Monday night in Week 1. I highly doubt Rex Ryan has forgotten that. I also don't think Rex is going to let his team forget that the Raiders ran all over them last week. Common sense tells me that I should take the Ravens, especially since that defense loves to play those home primetime games. But for some reason, I think the Jets are going to win a close one.
- Colts at Buccaneers: Tampa Bay-The last time these two teams played in Tampa, it was also a Monday night game in 2003. It was a week later than this year's game (it was Week 5), but the scenario was similar. It was Bucs-Colts (in Tony Dungy's return to Tampa, by the way) up against Division Series Game 5 in Oakland (Red Sox-A's). The defending Super Bowl Champion Bucs led 21-0 at halftime and 35-14 with five minutes left. Then the Colts rallied to tie it with 35 seconds left before Mike Vanderjagt's overtime field goal won it. It was the greatest comback in that short an amout of time in NFL history, as well as one of the most memorable Monday night games ever. Anyway, on to this year's game. Curtis Painter will make his first NFL start for the Colts. I say finally. They finally started to resemble the Colts again after he took over last week. I'm still not picking the Colts until they show me they can win without Peyton, but I think that's coming soon. Meanwhile, the Bucs are tied for first in the NFC South and aren't going to squander the opportunity in their only home primetime game of the season.
Season: 31-17
No comments:
Post a Comment