How I did last week: 8-6.
I'm not a Patriots fan, but I felt their pain after Belichick's “interesting” decision cost me a pretty decent 9-5 week. Also, the Bengals have burned me two weeks in a row by winning games I picked them to lose, so you better believe it will be a while before I pick against them again, especially with their soft upcoming schedule
Record on the season: 15-12.
Still most definitely finding my predicting feet....
Colts at Ravens: Peyton Manning dissected the Patriots pass defense in the fourth quarter last week, and though the Ravens shut out the Browns on Monday night, the only other team that they've held under 17 points all season was the slumping Broncos in Week 8. The Colts have too much momentum heading into this one. Colts.
Steelers at Chiefs: Any doubts as to how important safety Troy Polamalu is to the Steelers? In the five games Polamalu has taken the field, the Steelers have given up an average of 13.8 points. The games he has watched from the sidelines? 22 points per game. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin announced on Friday that Polamalu would miss the game at Arrowhead, but the Chiefs offense is ranked 30th in the league so it probably won't matter for this game. Looking down the road though, Pittsburgh fans better be praying that he recovers quickly. Steelers.
49ers at Packers: The Packers came up with a big win at Lambeau against the hot Cowboys last week, while the 49ers scraped by the Bears. This might be a close one because of the 49ers stout defense, but until they get more stability at the quarterback position I'll think twice before picking them. Packers.
Bills at Jaguars: Dick Jauron was the first coach to get the boot in the NFL this year, as Bills owner Ralph Wilson let him go on Tuesday. Sometimes teams get a new surge of life after a change in leadership, but the Bills run D has been abysmal this year, and in addition to missing defensive tackle Marcus Stroud on Sunday, they will be facing the red hot Maurice Jones-Drew who has averaged over 130 yards of rushing against his last four opponents. Jaguars.
Browns at Lions: I gave big props to quarterback Matthew Stafford for his performance in a losing effort against the Vikings. Now the baby-faced rookie has a chance to prove his worth by leading his team to an important victory against the awful Browns. I think he'll do it, but only just. Lions.
Seahawks at Vikings: The Vikings will look to clean up their performance against the 'Hawks after getting involved in a bit of a dogfight against the Lions last week. After watching Kurt Warner carve up Seattle's secondary, expect Brett Favre to get lots of opportunities to air it out on Sunday (which he'll love, by the way). Vikings.
Redskins at Cowboys: Upset of the Week: This should be a bounce back game for the Cowboys, as they respond to the tepid performance they produced against Green Bay, just after their hot streak had got everyone's attention. But while Dallas was struggling at Lambeau, the Redskins got a potentially very important win against the Broncos. In the NFC East, the waters tend stay murky till the last couple games. Redskins.
Falcons at Giants: Both these teams sit at 5-4, and dropping to .500 at this point in the year is not an option if you want to have a legitimate shot of making the playoffs. The G-men are coming off their bye week, and I think they have too much talent not to buck their four game losing streak and take this one. On the flip side, if New York can't get pressure on him, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan could have a field day against the Giants depleted secondary. Giants.
Saints at Buccaneers: I expect the Bucs to keep this one close just as the Rams did last week, but the Saints will not lose their undefeated record this weekend. Saints.
Cardinals at Rams: The Cardinals have been perfect away from home this year, and have won 5 of their last 6. The Rams will try to get Steven Jackson a ton of carries, chew up the clock and keep the high-octane Cardinals offense off the field. But playing the Saints as close as they did last weekend will have taken a lot out of them. Cardinals.
Jets at Patriots: The Jets season has completely unraveled from a promising start, they will be no match for an angry Patriots team intent on maintaining its two game lead in the AFC East after Miami's victory over Carolina. The Jets actually beat the Pats earlier in the year, but in terms of form and confidence, this is almost an entirely different team. Patriots.
Chargers at Broncos: The Broncos really needed to beat the Redskins last week to get back on track before playing their old divisional foe Sunday. As it turned out, not only did they lose, but their quarterback Kyle Orton went down with a sprained left ankle, meaning that backup Chris Simms might be taking the snaps against San Diego. The Chargers have turned their season around since they lost to the Broncos on October 19th, and will be in a punishing mood for the rematch. Chargers.
Bengals at Oakland: I already told you I wasn't going to pick against the Bengals, even if they had been matched up against the '72 Dolphins and '07 Patriots rolled into one. But the '09 Oakland Raiders, you must be joking. Bengals.
Eagles at Bears: The Bears have been dreadful the last two weeks, imploding on defense against Arizona and then melting down offensively against the 49ers with Jay Cutler throwing five picks. This is must win game for the Eagles as well, as they have also lost their last two and have a ways to go to prove to everyone they are a good team this year. To do that they are going to have to shore up that leaky defense. Eagles.
Titans at Texans: I was all set to pick Houston in this one, because I'm not that I'm totally buying the Titans turnaround, but then I saw that the Texans just barely snatched a victory over the Titans on September 20th right when Tennessee was in the midst of its six game losing streak to start the year. If the Texans were only three points better than that Titans team...Titans.
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