Now the NFL season's down to the nitty-gritty, and I've got to rebound after a shaky 7-7 week last week (although three of my losses were by a combined six points). Things are especially tight in the AFC, where five teams are 4-5, just behind the 5-4 Jets for the second wild card spot. And the NFC's just a mess with a bunch of mediocre, .500 clubs are currently in the playoff mix. That's probably one of the reasons why, aside from the incredibly obvious one, that the NFL and NBC used their first opportunity to flex by switching Broncos-Chiefs to Sunday night instead of Giants-Packers. Good call. So, Giants-Packers is now an afternoon game like all the rest of 'em.
Jets (5-4) at Bills (3-7): Buffalo-The Jets have done this crazy win one, lose one thing all season. So far, it's worked. Incredibly, they're sitting on a playoff spot right now. They've been winning in the odd weeks, but last week was their bye so something's gotta give. Either they win consecutive games for the first time all season, or they lose in an odd week for the first time. The Bills have been struggling, but they're a tough home team, and they gave the Jets all they could handle in a 27-20 loss at the Meadowlands in Week 3. They're also pissed off about always playing a team that's coming off its bye week, and they want to do something about it. I think this time they pull off the upset.
Ravens (4-5) at Bears (5-4): Chicago-This one is a tough call. Baltimore and Chicago both really need a W. The Ravens got a much-needed victory against Cincinnati last week, while the Bears had a chance to take over first place, but lost to the Lions. I'm leaning Chicago because the game's at Soldier Field, although a Baltimore win wouldn't surprise me in the least.
Browns (4-5) at Bengals (6-4): Cincinnati-Cleveland pulled the upset in the first Battle of Ohio back in Week 4. Cincinnati then reeled off four straight wins before their current two-game losing streak. The Bengals are still in control of the AFC North, though, and can really cement that hold by taking the rematch with the Browns. I bet they do.
Redskins (3-6) at Eagles (5-5): Philadelphia-I don't know what's more amazing about the NFC East. That Philadelphia's tied for first place, or that Washington is just a game-and-a-half out. Either way, it's not a good commentary about what used to be the best division in football. In Week 1 on that Monday night, Philly put on a show that made us think we'd see this entertaining brand of offense all season. Well, we haven't, and this game is going to be much closer than that one. The outcome won't change, though. With the Cowboys on their bye, the Eagles will move into sole possession of first place.
Lions (6-3) at Steelers (3-6): Detroit-Is there ever a time when I thought I'd be confident in picking Detroit as a road favorite in Pittsburgh in Week 11? Yet here we are, and that's exactly the situation. The Steelers played probably their best game of the season last week. The Lions, meanwhile, moved into first place by winning in Chicago. Detroit's the better team right now. That's why I'm shocking myself a little and taking the Lions.
Falcons (2-7) at Buccaneers (1-8): Tampa Bay-Oh, how things have changed for the Atlanta Falcons. Things have also changed for the Bucs in the past week. They finally have a win and, believe it or not, are the hotter team going into this matchup. I have absolutely no confidence in the Falcons right now. So little that I'm giving Tampa Bay the nod.
Cardinals (5-4) at Jaguars (1-8): Arizona-Because the Jaguars played on Sunday and the Bucs played on Monday last week, it was Tampa Bay, not Jacksonville, that was the last team in the NFL to get a win. It doesn't change the fact that the Jaguars are the worst team in the league, though. They go back to their losing ways against a Cardinals team that's won its last two.
Raiders (3-6) at Texans (2-7): Houston-Talk about a crappy game. Houston's riding a seven-game losing streak, while the Raiders are, well, the Raiders. This is generally the type of game that I think Oakland has a chance to actually win, but not this week. The Texans are a desperate team that knows this is their chance to finally win a game for the first time in two months. They've come close in the last two weeks against teams that are much better than the Raiders. This time, they get the job done.
Chargers (4-5) at Dolphins (4-5): San Diego-When they moved Chiefs-Broncos, they made this one a late game, which benefits the Chargers. We're guaranteed to have a winner here, and that winner can conceivably tie the Jets for the second wild card. The Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin situation came to a head last week, when the Dolphins lost to winless Tampa Bay. Miami's a mess right now. Advantage San Diego.
49ers (6-3) at Saints (7-2): New Orleans-The week's second-best game is a rematch of Colin Kaepernick's coming out party. When these two met last year in New Orleans, he made his first start and led the 49ers to the victory. A victory is something San Francisco needs after last week's loss to the Panthers, but New Orleans will be a tough place to get it. The Saints are a much better team now than they were last year. They need a win to keep pace with the Seahawks, and I think they'll get it.
Packers (5-4) at Giants (3-6): Giants-This matchup lost all its attractiveness with the Giants' terrible start and Aaron Rodgers' injury. That's one of the reasons why it got flexed out of Sunday night. Green Bay has looked lost without Rodgers, looking very un-Packers like in home losses to Chicago and Philadelphia. Things have gotten so bad that they've brought back Matt Flynn, who had one good game when they decided to sit Rodgers in the finale two years ago, turned that into a big free agent contract, then bombed with three different teams (two of which were the Raiders and Bills). Can you say one-hit wonder? Believe it or not, this is a game that looks like a Giants win. All signs favor the team that's won three straight and actually has its starting quarterback.
Vikings (2-7) at Seahawks (9-1): Seattle-Seattle's at home. Enough said. You've got probably the best team in the NFC, and that crowd, against a not-very-good Minnesota squad that has been exposed as a one-trick pony. I'm not sure this game will even be particularly close.
Chiefs (9-0) at Broncos (8-1): Denver-The NFL's game of the year so far. Undefeated Kansas City and 8-1 Denver meet for the first of two meetings in three weeks. Of course, a lot of people thought they might both be undefeated and on a collision course for this game, but the Colts took care of that. We've got strength against strength with the Broncos offense against the Chiefs defense. While it's obviously a little bit of a concern, I think Denver might be playing possum a little bit and that Peyton Manning's ankle is much ado about nothing. Regardless, you knew he was going to play in the biggest game of the season. Kansas City's schedule has been much easier than Denver's. They haven't faced a team as good as the Broncos so far. The Chiefs will quickly try to determine the extent of Peyton's injury and exploit it. Denver's the best team in the NFL, though. The Broncos will use their fans and the intensity of this rivalry to regain the top spot in the AFC West heading into another Sunday night game next week in New England.
Patriots (7-2) at Panthers (6-3): New England-Speaking of the Patriots, they visit surprising Carolina in a very good Monday night matchup. The Panthers are legitimate contenders in the NFC. They've won five straight, including last week's 10-9 squeaker in San Francisco. This game's not going to be as easy for Brady and Co. as originally thought. This is also the type of game New England typically wins, though. They'll go 8-2 into the next chapter of Manning vs. Brady.
BYE: Dallas, St. Louis
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 7-7
Season: 93-55
No comments:
Post a Comment