Dolphins at Bengals: No team has been more enigmatic this season than Cincinnati. It is almost impossible to know, what they are going to come up with from one week to the next. The Dolphins are going to make things difficult for them. The Bengals are allowing 118 rushing yards per game. Sounds good for Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. The Dolphins are 3-0 on the road.
Miami 27 Cincinnati 14.
Jaguars at Cowboys: Not even Dallas can screw this up. In a way, the pressure is off the Cowboys, because of the Romo injury, and the expectations have been lowered substantially. It’s Jon Kitna versus David Garrard. Can’t wait for this one !!!
Dallas 28 Jacksonville 21.
Redskins at Lions: The Redskins have been one of this seasons pleasant surprises. With the Cowboys collapse, the door is open for Washington to have a decent season. The Lions are more competitive than they used to be, but they still have a long way to go. Washington’s Ryan Torain will be seeing a defense that has allowed 100 yards rushing in four of the last five games. Mathew Stafford returns at quarterback for the Lions. DeAngelo Hall had 4 interceptions, tying an NFL record, in the 17-14 win over the Bears on Sunday. Albert Haynesworth is also finally playing well for Washington.
Washington 26 Detroit 23
Bills at Chiefs: Buffalo had their Super Bowl last week, by scaring the daylights out of Baltimore, in their 37-34 OT loss. Kansas City is a hungry team, and they need wins, so they will win.
Kansas City 31 Buffalo 17.
Panthers at Rams: A tale of two teams headed in opposite directions. It’s good to see a revival in St.Louis and Sam Bradford is one of the stars of the future. Rams will extend their home win streak to 4.
Rams 34 Panthers 17
Packers at Jets: Green Bay is too banged up to be able to knock off New York at home. Even with that factored in, it should still be an entertaining game.
Jets 24 Packers 20.
Broncos at 49ers: After Denver was blown away by the Raiders, 59-14 last Sunday, it’s difficult to imagine the Wembley crowd in London, anticipating a Chelsea –Manchester United type quality match, that they might expect to see in England,from the NFL. These two teams would be the equivalent of a relegation match in the Premiership. It will be interesting to see how Troy Smith makes out as the starter for San Francisco. He has played in 10 games in the last two years, with 13 pass attempts. Considering that Denver gave up 328 yards rushing to Oakland, Frank Gore might have a great day.
49ers 30 Broncos 20.
Titans at Chargers: Tennessee looks as good as anyone as team that could go far in the playoffs, at least they do right now, with a long way to go. Vince Young and Kerry Collins both have injury issues, although either one might play, and it will probably be a busy day for Chris Johnson. For San Diego, barring an unusual turnaround, it’s going to be another season with a disappointing outcome. Chargers fans are very familiar with that feeling.
Titans 33 Chargers 27
Seahawks at Raiders: Both teams have been much better than expected. Seattle put on quite a show in Chicago a few weeks ago, and Oakland is a much tougher opponent than they’ve been in several seasons.
Seahawks 23 Raiders 22.
Vikings at Patriots: There are just way too many distractions with Minnesota right now, mostly to do with Brett Favre, and whether or not he will play, and if so, how effective can he be on his fractured left ankle. The Patriots do not want to be embarrassed by Randy Moss. If Favre plays, New England will be aiming for that injured ankle.
Patriots 24 Vikings 23.
Buccaneers at Cardinals: Tampa Bay are the comeback kids in the NFL this year. Josh Freeman and rookie Mike Williams are becoming one of the more exciting combos to watch on a weekly basis. Freeman is one of the best 4th quarter quarterbacks in the NFL. He is tied for second in the league, with four fourth-quarter TD passes. Mike Williams, my pre-season pick for offensive rookie of the year, leads all first-year players with 60.8 yards per game. Arizona didn’t bottom out the way I thought they would, especially with the personnel changes there from last season.
Tampa Bay 27 Arizona 24.
Steelers at Saints: New Orleans has had a horrible run of injuries, especially to their running backs. Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas are both questionable for this game. It’s obviously impacting Drew Brees. He was intercepted 4 times against the Browns, in a 30-17 loss at the Superdome last Sunday. The Steelers are my pick and just about everyone else’s at this point, to make it to the Super Bowl. They seem to be able to beat just about anybody and everybody, and were very impressive in playing well without Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers have the NFL’s best scoring defense, allowing only 13.7 points per game. That could be impacted by the injury to defensive end Aaron Smith, due to his torn left triceps, leaving him out until late December at the earliest.
Pittsburgh 29 New Orleans 23.
Texans at Cots: Indianapolis were embarrassed in the last meeting between the two teams, by allowing Arian Foster to run all over them for 231 yards. That won’t be allowed to happen again, or Bill Polian will be doing a very quick scouting and signing trip. Peyton Manning doesn’t like losing twice to the same team in one season. It’s amazing that the Colts are 4-2, considering the absence due to injury, of Bob Sanders, Melvin Bullitt, along with Dallas Clark and Austin Collie. One way or another, Polian finds players. Of some importance, the Texans defense ranks last in the league, allowing 410 yards per game. Presenting that to Peyton Manning, is like bleeding in the water around sharks. Look out !!!
Indianapolis 37 Houston 27.