The Texans' momentum has swung. After beating Miami before the bye week, after the bye week they played an excellent first half against us and led 6-3 at the break only to give up 31 points in a row to us in the second half. That bad momentum goes into this game as the Jags win big. Jaguars 37, Texans 3
Carolina @ Cincinnati
The Panthers really impressed me with their win in Baltimore last week but here they fail to complete the AFC North road sweep. The Bengals are going to be angry after losing to winless Tampa Bay and they are just .500 if they lose here. They won't. Bengals 38, Panthers 13
New England @ Buffalo
Last time the Bills kept it close with the Pats, losing 19-17. No such luck here as their momentum as swung. New England wins big. Patriots 33, Bills 10
Pittsburgh @ Atlanta
This is a tough one. The defending champs have a chance to get back to .500 if they win but they have been so inconsistent through 5 games that who knows what they'll do. This game is where we really find out who the 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers really are. I think they're winners. Steelers 27, Falcons 10
Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay
This is another tough one. As odd as it is, if the Bucs win then they're right back in contention at 2-4. The Eagles lost to the Saints last week, but a major reason for that is because they were emotionally drained after playing us the week before. This game was a tough one to pick, but I'll go with the Bucs in an upset, meaning the monday night game will be for first place in the NFC East. Buccaneers 17, Eagles 10
Detroit @ NY Jets
The Lions have finally gotten out of the winless club but they wont keep their streak alive here. The Jets are one of the many teams in contention for the playoffs in the AFC and they are the much better team. Jets 31, Lions 21
Green Bay @ Miami
The Dolphins have been horrible this year but no way they lose to Green Bay at home. They finally get back on the winning side. Dolphins 27, Packers 7
San Diego @ Kansas City
Last year the Chiefs split with the Chargers but the Chiefs are much worse and the Chargers are better. In '04 the Chargers won in Kansas City, they pull it off again here. Chargers 27, Chiefs 24
Denver @ Cleveland
This game is really hard for me. The Browns are much better than their record indicates and the Broncos have been getting by with winning by scoring only 10-13 points a game. They'll have no such luck here as the Browns pull the upset. Browns 16, Broncos 14
Minnesota @ Seattle
The Vikings haven't been playing very well since their 2-0 start while, after playing bad for several weeks, the Seahawks got a huge win in St. Louis (no matter how illegitimate it really was). The Vikings will stay competitive, but in the end the Seahawks will win. Seahawks 27, Vikings 24
Arizona @ Oakland
Against most teams, the Cardinals would go into this game depressed and sluggish after losing their heartbreaker to the Bears last week. Not so when playing the Oakland Raiders. I think the end result of this game is pretty predictable. The Raiders jump out to a huge, early lead and the Cardinals come back to win it in the fourth quarter. Cardinals 27, Raiders 24
Washington @ Indianapolis
I really don't understand the Redskins. They beat the Jaguars and lost to the Titans. Following this pattern, it would make sense to pick them in this one. Another reason to pick the 'Skins is that the Colts will be looking ahead to their games with Denver and New England coming up. Colts lose their first. Redskins 27, Colts 24
NY Giants @ Dallas
Almost every NFC East divisional game is going to be a slug-fest this season and this one will be no different. The Giants are inevitably going to blitz Bledsoe on every play so our offense might be in rewind early on. I would not be surprised at all for us to come out of the locker rooms with Tony Romo in the second half. There are many reasons to pick the Giants in this one and Im worried about it but we wont allow ourselves to lose a divisional game at home. We're too good. Cowboys 31, Giants 24
After thinking about it, you're probably right about the Jacksonville/Houston game. I think the Jags win by 10-14 points.
Cincinnati will be angry and the Panthers will be underestimating Cincy after the Bengals lost to the Pats and Bucs the past two weeks. I think everything points to a blowout. The Panthers don't really need this game and they'll be looking ahead to us next week.
I don't think my Miami pick was a stretch. Harrington is going up against the Packers defense and the Dolphins' defense has been good despite their offense's struggles. 27-7 is pretty plausible I think.
People are actually picking Denver over Cleveland as their survival pick? I would go with Patriots over Bills myself.
Steelers vs Falcons: This is a must win for the Steelers. If they win this, they are at .500. Steelers over Falcons
Patroits vs Bills: This should be a land slide victory for the Pats. Patroits over Bills
Panthers vs Bengals: The Bengals have disappointed me this season, while the Panthers have won 4 straight games. The Bengals lost to a 6th round choice making his second nfl start. I don't see why the Panthers cannot win this one. Panthers over Bengals
Chargers vs Chiefs: The Chiefs were just dominated in every aspect last game. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened again. Chargers over Chiefs
Packers vs Dolphins: This is purely a pride game, who's got more motivation. I think the Packers win this. Packers over Dolphins
Lions vs Jets: The Lions would love to make it two in a row, but the Jets have been a pleasent surprise, and move above .500 in this contest. Jets over Lions
Eagles vs Buccaneers: The Eagles need to rebound from that loss to the Saints. Philly can't fall 4-3 and let the Giants or Cowboys move into first. Eagles over Buccaneers
Jaguars vs Texans: Even if Byron Leftwich doesn't play, the Jags will win. Jaguars over Texans
Broncos vs Browns: The Broncos have been conservative and it's working. They can be conservative all game and win this one. Broncos over Browns
Redskins vs Colts: Redskins have been a huge let down. I just don't think they have the motivation, especially on the road. Colts over Redskins
Cardinals vs Raiders: The Cardinals came so close to beating the invinsible Bears. They should beat the Raiders. Cardinals over Raiders
Vikings vs Seahawks: This may be a defensive struggle, while the Vikings want to prove they at an elite NFC team. But, I just don't see them winning. Seahawks over Vikings
Giants vs Cowboys: This was a tough one to pick. Bledsoe is playing terrible, while the Giants have won 2 straight, but, I'm going with a gut feeling and taking the Cowboys. Cowboys over Giants
I think there are a few teams that you're underestimating-
1. Bengals - I've already given my reasons. They'll have a lot more motivation than Carolina.
2. Dolphins - I know there hasn't been much to be optimistic about this team so far but remember, this looked like a playoff team before the season started. They've looked bad so far but I think they're going to get on a roll at some point. Even if they don't, they should be able to beat the Mike McCarthy-coached Packers at home.
3. Browns - The Browns aren't just some push-over team like the Texans, Raiders, Packers, Lions and Titans. They are actually pretty good at everything except the quarterback spot. If Denver thinks about this game like you do then they're going to lose to a hungry Browns team.
4. Redskins - Washington is erratic but they're still a good team. Meanwhile, the Colts are sorely overrated. I like Washington to upset Indy.
Joey: Some people may have used New England already. Remember, you can only pick each team once.
Panthers/Blazers: I wouldn't call the Steelers game a "must-win." I think a must-win means that the season is on the line. The Steelers couldn't afford to fall to 1-4, so they crushed the Chiefs. But 2-4 is pretty much the same as 1-3. It's almost a "must-win" but not quite.
The Steelers secondary has to be turning in there sleep. How can you let Vick throw all over you? He had 3 touchdowns coming into the game, and was only completing 50% of his passes!
If the Bengals' offensive coordinator will let them lose on the Falcons this week then the Bengals will win big. If he holds them back again, the Bengals will either have to win a close game or they'll lose.
I just don't know if the Bengals have the defensive talent to do that; remember, Odell Thurman and David Pollack are both missing from the lineup. That's huge.
So you like Atlanta? No matter how bad the Bengals defense will be, they face Michael Vick and no way he has two good passing games in a row. I can't see the Bengals losing.
Not if their offensive coordinator keeps holding them back. He is refusing to unleash Carson Palmer upon opposing defenses. If he sticks with the same conservative gameplan I think Atlanta has a chance to win.
Joey wrote: So you like Atlanta? No matter how bad the Bengals defense will be, they face Michael Vick and no way he has two good passing games in a row. I can't see the Bengals losing.
You said you can't see the Bengals losing. Now you're hedging toward Atlanta? What made you change your mind?
Well I was totally wrong on this one. I changed my mind after considering that the Bengals had scored in the low teens the past couple of weeks before the game and their coaching staff was playing horribly conservative so I thought that if the coaching staff called another conservative game then Cincy would lose, actually they played aggressively and the Falcons outscored them.
