These are two teams that badly need this game to have a playoff chance. Both teams love to run the football. That means the team that throws it better wins here. I'll go with Chad Henne over Jake Delhomme. Upset. Result:Miami Dolphins 24, Carolina Panthers 17
The Bucs have played better since Josh Freeman was put in at quarterback. They get a Saints team that struggled -- for New Orleans standards -- last week against the Rams. Tampa Bay has played the Saints tough in recent years. The Bucs do so again.
This one might be high scoring. Both defenses have had problems. The Giants are coming off a bye, so they are rested. The Falcons are playing consecutive road games. That's tough. But I think Matt Ryan comes alive against the Giants secondary here. The Giants don't cover the pass well.
Seattle is playing a second consecutive road game, this one out of the division. The Vikings sleepwalked through the first half last week against the Lions and might here. Seattle can move it with Matt Hasselbeck. So it's not as ugly as expected.
The Steelers are coming off a tough division loss, and now must travel to Arrowhead to play a non-division rival. That's tough. The Chiefs won last week at Oakland, but this is a major step up in competition. Even so, I think the Chiefs hang around with a less-than-focused Steelers team.
The Bills fired Dick Jauron to try and liven things up. Perry Fewell, the team's defensive coordinator, takes over. The problem, though, is offense. They can't pass the ball. That's the Jaguars' weak spot, however, which could help. Jacksonville is coming off a big victory and it lets down in these spots. Bills stay close.
The Packers played well, especially on defense, in beating the Cowboys last week. The 49ers didn't look good at all on offense against the Bears. But I get the feeling the 49ers will hang around here for a long time. They will play good defense and the Green Bay offensive line isn't good. The Packers win, but barely.
The Lions will face one of the worst offenses I've seen. The Cleveland offense makes the Detroit offense look like the Patriots of 2007. That's how bad that unit is. The Lions are the better team and they're at home. Give them the edge in the Bottom Bowl.
The Redskins showed some life last week in beating Denver, while the Cowboys were awful in losing to the Packers. You're never as good as you look or as bad as you look. Even so, I think the Redskins defense is good enough to keep this one close. Tony Romo plays better than last week, but not that good.
The Colts can play offense. The Ravens play good defense -- or at least the perception is they do. Something has to give. I think Peyton Manning and the Colts offense match up well with the Ravens. The Baltimore corners are beatable, so look for Manning to have success throwing it. Baltimore will get theirs as well. It should be a high-scoring game.
The Cardinals have actually played better on the road than at home, which isn't good for the Rams. But St. Louis is playing better and did a good job last week in losing to the Saints. I think the Rams keep it close. Steven Jackson comes up big.
This is a be-careful game for the Bengals. They're riding high after beating the Steelers last week, and now must travel to the West Coast to face an Oakland team they should handle easily. Why do I think it won't be as easy? Letdown. Raiders keep it semi-close.
The Patriots didn't play well the first time they met, but these teams have gone in opposite directions since then. The Jets have sunk after their 3-0 start. The Patriots have a chance to put a real hold on the division here and I think they do it. There will be no dumb decision to lose this game.
What has happened to the Broncos? Here's what: They've been exposed on offense. They don't throw the ball well enough and teams are loading up against the run. The Chargers do throw it well. Philip Rivers is on fire. I look for him to come into Denver and keep it up. Kyle Orton won't be able to do so.
The Bears were a disaster against the 49ers last week, but they had 10 days to think about it. That will help get them focused. Jay Cutler will bounce back here with a big game. The Eagles defense didn't play well last week at San Diego and this is a tough spot against a desperate team when you're on the road for a second consecutive week.
Reliant Stadium will be jumping for a rare Monday night appearance. The Texans are coming off a bye and do so in the thick of the playoff chase. The Titans have won three in a row with Vince Young, but they are playing back-to-back road games. The Texans can score and the Titans have pass-coverage issues. Houston takes it.
Pete, listen, everything you've written since Sunday night that references the Colts/Pats game, has a new way of describing your opinion of Belichick's decision. Coming up with a different way of expressing the same opinion isn't creative, it's redundant. Trust me when I say everybody gets it. You disagree with his decision. See? We know. You can stop beating th
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There are some truly pathetic people on this website. Complaining about how CBS rates fantasy players, how guys like Prisco make their picks, etc.... If you are on here looking for who to start, and who to bet on, well, you're just a loser !!! Do your own homework, and decide on your own who to start, and who to bet on..
Everyone, lay off Prisco with your Monday morning QB nonsense !!!
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Even so, I think the Chiefs hang around with a less-than-focused Steelers team.-
The Steelers don't need anymore motivation than being one game out of first place. Then playing against the 27th ranked rushing defense. They are going to run it down their throats and when they try and adjust it goes up top to Holmes, Ward and Wallace. If you think this game
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if you look at the stats. Jax is 7th in the AFC in passing. Not great but not that bad....They are 16th overall and considering that half our games the whole teams production made every facet of the game suffer. Its a young team and has shown some good things....One is the imporvement in passing...Like I said, not great but improving. Thats huge for a young team, especially one right in the middle
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The only good thing about this whole article was Prisco's use of the phrase "Bottom Bowl" for Browns vs. Lions.
Otherwise, no game has even a 10 point spread!! Prisco, are you telling me that you don't think one single NFL game this week will be a blowout? Didn't you just write an article a couple weeks ago about the disparity between the good and bad teams of the NFL
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I know all you yellow flag waving morons will laugh and get all uppity, but this is the upset of the week. The Chiefs will let Cassel play a little bit, the Steelers are not nearly as good as they think they are (or as good as I thought they were).
The Steelers are going to come in WAY to confident and play like fools and get taken for a beating and I don't care what you jackass's
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Picking one team by one point is a cop-out in my opinion. Picking the Packers, Falcons, Giants by one point? Come on, man, that's weak. How many times do teams win by one point? It's an easy way of covering your butt if you're wrong. And the Pack winning by only one over that train wreck of a team in Cleveland? Insulting. And I hate the NY Jets, always have, always will, but I find it amazing how
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You've picked them to lose every week now except week 2 against the Browns. You had them losing 31-14 to the Bengals, 21-17 to the Raiders, 27-17 to the Cowboys, 27-14 to the Pats and now 28-21 to the Chargers.
I've been trying my hand at picking games in an office pool this year and I've been on a bit of a hot streak. Surely nobody cares but I wanted to throw some locks out there and see how it goes. I have 5 games that I love this week.
1. Pats -9.5 hosting the Titans. That was a rough loss to Denver. They will want to make a mends at home. Mayo returning should help the run D as well. The
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Wow, can't believe you pick the Packers over the Cowboys after Tampa went to Green Bay and beat them. Then you go on to say that since the Cowboys were focused last week against the Eagles they want win. Wow, your about the worst sports writer I have ever seen. Do you give any thought to what you write...you have two teams that are going in two different directions and yet you pick a t
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After watching both teams and seeing them play in their first matchup I think this game goes to Pitt easily. The Bengals are just flat out not as good as their recored and if Troy P. had not been hurt the Steelers are easily undefeated. Pitt is peaking at the right time.
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