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The Harmon Football Forecast is one of the most highly regarded and widely read sports features in the country, published in over 200 newspapers.
It all began when Bob Harmon began predicting college and NFL games in 1957. He devised a mathematical formula that picked winners correctly between 72 and 78 percent of the time; most seasons getting almost 75 percent of his picks right.
Today, Jim Harmon and his staff are the only forecasters who predict exact scores and chart every college and pro team.
| *Baltimore 35, Chicago 10 |
| An unprecedented experiment begins: Can a reigning Super Bowl champion release its QB and keep winning? In 1998, when Baltimore was as weak as Chicago, the Bears won their only matchup, 24-3. |
| *Green Bay 20, Detroit 17 |
| The Packers will spoil new Lions head coach Marty Mornhinweg's opening weekend with a win that has proven quite predictable: G.B. has beaten Detroit at home in each of the last nine seasons. |
| Indianapolis 24, *N.Y. Jets 21 |
| Curtis Martin's 203 yards of rushing helped the Jets end a four-game losing streak to the Colts in their second '00 battle, 27-17. N.Y. should prosper eventually under new boss Herman Edwards. |
| *Minnesota 32, Carolina 12 |
| There's scant hope for the Panthers' defense against the Vikings' offense. Last year Minnesota ran its record against Carolina to 3-0, 31-17, sacking the departed QB Steve Beuerlein five times. |
| New England 19, *Cincinnati 14 |
| Just as Drew Bledsoe's prodigious arm can't do it alone for the Patriots, a first-rate backfield hasn't been enough to lift the Bengals. In '00 N.E. won its third straight over Cincy, 16-13. |
| New Orleans 13, *Buffalo 10 |
| In order to build on last year's first playoff win, the Saints will have to fight through the Bills' stifling defense. Buffalo has won four of six against N.O., most recently three years ago. |
| Oakland 21, *Kansas City 14 |
| For the first time in 12 years, the Raiders beat the Chiefs twice in '00, 20-17 and 49-31. Dick Vermeil takes over at K.C., needing to overhaul, among other things, an unproductive ground game. |
| *Philadelphia 26, St. Louis 20 |
| The Rams will come out throwing-so what else is new?-but the Eagles' secondary is up to the challenge. We think. Philly has won six straight regular-season games against St. Louis since '86. |
| Pittsburgh 17, *Jacksonville 13 |
| Last season-the first since '91 in which neither of these teams made the playoffs-the Steelers ended a three-game Jacksonville series winning streak, 24-13, but the Jags won the rematch 34-24. |
| *San Francisco 20, Atlanta 10 |
| It's hard to believe that just three years ago both of these teams made the playoffs. Since '98 the 49ers and Falcons have beaten each other at home; in '00 it was Atlanta 36-28, then S.F. 16-6. |
| Seattle 22, *Cleveland 15 |
| How soon will Super Bowl champ-turned-Seahawks backup QB Trent Dilfer see action? How soon will new Browns coach Butch Davis start regretting leaving Miami? The teams last met seven years ago. |
| Tampa Bay 25, *Dallas 9 |
| The Buccaneers look to be among the NFC's best this year, while the Cowboys continue to crumble. T.B. beat Dallas for the first time last year, 27-7, ending a losing streak of eight straight. |
| *Tennessee 17, Miami 16 |
| A potential game of the week, but don't expect lots of points from teams that are both better without the ball than with it. Miami has won four in a row in the series, most recently 17-0 in '99. |
| Washington 27, *San Diego 12 |
| One area new Redskins coach Marty Schottenheimer will focus on is his defensive line, though it'll look fine against the Chargers' inept ground game. Washington is a perfect 6-0 against S.D. |
| *Denver 28, N.Y. Giants 21 |
| Whether the Giants stay close against the Broncos in their new stadium will depend on N.Y.'s defense of Denver's explosive offense. The Giants were 20-16 winners the last time they met, in '98. |
Open date: Arizona
* Denotes Home Team