Picking NFL Week 9

How I did last week: 7-6

Peyton Manning and Clint Session helped me squeak another winning week.

Record on the season: 65-52

Boy, that's a lot of losses.

Chargers at Texans: I badly want to pick Texans because I've been burned by the Chargers poor form away from Qualcomm Stadium so many times this season. But Houston's defense gives up a ton of points (a minimum of 24 in every game they've played), and I think Philip Rivers will have a monster day against their weak secondary. Chargers.

Cardinals at Vikings: Two teams with very sticky quarterback situations will try to establish the run to win the game. Give me the one with Adrian Peterson running the ball. Vikings.

Saints at Panthers: Over the last two years, the Saints have made a habit of underperforming in games against unfancied opponents just like this one. So I expect this matchup to be much closer than everyone thinks after the Saints played well against Pittsburgh. But could they really play down to Carolina's level enough to lose to them?? Saints.

Patriots at Browns: I'm officially jumping on the New England bandwagon. Their defense, which was supposed to be very bad, has in fact taken great strides this season while their offense, with or without Randy Moss, has continued to roll. Best team in the league eight weeks. Patriots

Bucs at Falcons: Be wary of Bucs corner Aqib Talib, Matt Ryan. He'll be waiting for that deep ball you like to throw to Roddy White. Falcons.

Bills at Bears: Unfortunately for Buffalo, they don't have the pass rushing weapons to get after the Chicago's biggest weakness, its offensive line. The Bills rank 25^th in the league in sacks with 11, and the Bears have usually found a way to win games when their offensive line isn't completely overpowered. Bears.

Dolphins at Ravens: The Ravens have only one game by more than 7 points all year. The Dolphins have only once by more than 5 all season. Expect a squeaker, folks. Ravens.

Jets at Lions: Going with the upset in this one. Sure the Jets can't possibly be as bad on offense as they were last week but I think Detroit can score the points to keep up with them. A combination of injuries and a big contract appear to have slowed Darelle Revis down a step or two this season. Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson might just pick on him a little bit. Lions.

Giants at Seahawks: Seattle's undefeated record in home games will be severely tested by a New York team that rebounded from a poor 1-2 start to win four straight before its last week. The key matchup in this one will be the Seahawks offensive line against New York's impressive array of pass-rushers, because, as you may have heard, Matt Hasselbeck took 8 sacks last week. And I think the bruising will continue Sunday. Giants.

Colts at Eagles: Michael Vick may give the Colts fits with his legs, but Peyton Manning's arm will terrify the Eagles lackluster secondary. Colts.

Chiefs at Raiders: I love most everything the Chiefs have been doing this season, but after what has happened the last two weeks (reminder: Oakland won their two games by a combined 75 points and I picked against them both times), how am I not going to pick Raiders in front of their home crowd? Raiders.

Cowboys at Packers: Hah. If you think there's any chance of me picking the Cowboys again after last week's performance until they've actually won about five games, you're sadly mistaken. Just on principle if nothing else. Packers.

Steelers at Bengals: Can't see the Steelers losing two primetime games in a row, especially against an underachieving Bengals team that has lost four straight games. Cincinnati's dominance of the AFC North looks more like a one year fluke every time a week goes by this season. Steelers.