What is it with the ties in the NFL? We used to get one only once every couple years. Now we've had one three years in a row...and not just because of the new rules! As a result, we've got the Bengals and Panthers screwing up the playoff race in both conferences from now until the end of the season (although, a tie is what got the Eagles into the playoffs a couple years ago).
Thursday Night: New England (Win)
Vikings (2-4) at Bills (3-3): Buffalo-The Bills are a lot better than I originally thought they would be, last week notwithstanding. It's worth noting, though, that their three losses are to New England, San Diego and Houston, none of whom are exactly slouches. They're also 2-0 against the NFC North. The Vikings aren't the same caliber as the two NFC North teams they've already beaten (Detroit and Chicago)...on the road.
Dolphins (2-3) at Bears (3-3): Chicago-This is a tough one. I don't know what to make of the Bears week-to-week, and the Dolphins seem to be in every game before they end up losing. What's even weirder about Chicago is that they haven't won at Soldier Field yet. 0-2 at home, 3-1 on the road. I think that changes this week.
Saints (2-3) at Lions (4-2): Detroit-Another tough call. New Orleans is getting close to "must-win" time. They can't afford to get much more behind the 8-ball if they want to make the playoffs. Ordinarily, you'd think a game in Detroit would be an easy Saints win. But the Lions are probably the better team right now. In fact, they're tied for first in the NFC North. The Saints winning wouldn't be a surprise, but I'm taking Detroit.
Panthers (3-2-1) at Packers (4-2): Green Bay-Carolina's a confusing team. They're 3-0 against the NFC and 0-2-1 against the AFC North (and that should really be 0-3). And they looked downright bad in two of those three games. The Packers, meanwhile, are fine after those early-season predictions of doom when they were 1-2. Now they've won three straight and moved into a tie for first place. If this game were in Charlotte, I might feel differently. But at Lambeau, I like the Packers.
Bengals (3-1-1) at Colts (4-2): Indianapolis-It seems like it's been an awful long time since Cincinnati was the last undefeated team in football. Then they get smoked by the Patriots and end up with a tie in a game they should've won. Things don't get any easier this week against the Colts. Indy's won four straight after starting the season 0-2. Three of those wins were division games, but they also beat Baltimore at home. The Bengals are a mess right now. As a result, I'm going with the Colts.
Seahawks (3-2) at Rams (1-4): Seattle-The Seahawks finally lost a home game. To a very good Dallas team. And that 49ers-Rams game on Monday night was closer than the 31-17 score indicated. Unfortunately, though, it ended the same way Rams division games usually end. Seattle's going to bounce back fine.
Titans (2-4) at Redskins (1-5): Tennessee-Everyone's picking Washington in this game. I don't know why. Their only win was at home against Jacksonville, one of the few teams in the NFL that might actually be worse than the Redskins! Sure, the Titans barely beat Jacksonville last week, but they're still better than Washington. The Redskins simply aren't a good football team.
Browns (3-2) at Jaguars (0-6): Cleveland-I wasn't overly surprised by the Browns beating Pittsburgh last week, but the degree to which they beat them was certainly a shock. The Browns are definitely for real. And now they really get a chance to pad their record. Jacksonville, Oakland, Tampa Bay in the next three weeks. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Cleveland at 6-2 when they play Cincinnati in that Week 10 Thursday night game.
Falcons (2-4) at Ravens (4-2): Baltimore-Incredibly, after the tumultuous start to the season, the Ravens could in first place by the end of the day. They've certainly recovered from the Ray Rice scandal. And beating Atlanta at home shouldn't be an issue. I still think the Falcons are better than they've shown, but their third straight road game looks like a third straight loss before they head across the pond for a "home" game in London.
Chiefs (2-3) at Chargers (5-1): San Diego-There's some debate over who the best team in football is, but the Chargers are making a serious case that it might be them. And with the Eagles off and the Cowboys starting 20 minutes later, they could also become the first six-win team heading into that showdown Thursday night in Denver.
Giants (3-3) at Cowboys (5-1): Giants-The best team in football debate really became a much bigger topic of conversation after the Cowboys beat the Seahawks in Seattle last week. It was a phenomenal effort by a Dallas team that's now won five in a row, and absolutely belongs in that discussion. The Giants, meanwhile, got their butts kicked in Philadelphia on Sunday night. So why am I picking the Giants? Well, they've only once all-time at AT&T Stadium. They know how to play in Dallas better than anybody. I understand that as a straight-up pick this might be a loss, but they're definitely going to cover the spread at the very least.
Cardinals (4-1) at Raiders (0-5): Arizona-How come no one's talking about Arizona as one of the best teams? All you hear about the NFC West is San Francisco this and Seattle that. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are in first place after winning 10 games last year. This week they play the Raiders. I really wish the Raiders played the Jaguars this year. Then we'd actually know which one is worse.
49ers (4-2) at Broncos (4-1): Denver-Fun fact: three teams in the NFC have only one loss this season. Dallas and Philadelphia lost to San Francisco. Arizona's loss was to Denver. So, what I'm saying here is that we've got two pretty good teams facing each other on Sunday night. There's, of course, another storyline that we'll be keeping an eye on. Peyton Manning needs just three touchdown passes to break Brett Favre's all-time record. If he doesn't get it this week (which seems unlikely), he's got another chance to do it on national TV Thursday night against the Chargers. That'll be for first place. Because they'll both only have one loss coming into it.
Texans (3-3) at Steelers (3-3): Pittsburgh-It sounds weird to say it, but, despite being 3-3, Pittsburgh's currently in last place. The AFC North has had three good teams for the last couple years. Now there are four. Which means winning non-division games is paramount if Pittsburgh wants to have any shot at the playoffs. Houston is also 3-3, but in the much weaker AFC South, that's OK. Even after losing that first place showdown in Indianapolis last week, the Texans are just one game behind the Colts. Basically, what I'm saying here is that Pittsburgh needs to win this game more.
BYE: Philadelphia (5-1), Tampa Bay (1-5)
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 11-3-1
Season: 62-29-1
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