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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.
Check out previous week's forecasts.
Sunday's games:
| Baltimore 26, *Cincinnati 12 |
| The Ravens have won six straight against the Bengals and thoroughly dominated them in 2000, 37-0 and 27-7. Once again, it's a case of too much D (Baltimore's) against almost no O (Cincy's). |
| Carolina 17, *Atlanta 10 |
| Speaking of impaired offense, there's lots of it here. Last year the Falcons swept the Panthers for the second time in three years, 15-10 and 13-12, in games notable for mistakes of all kinds. |
| *Dallas 14, San Diego 13 |
| Offense? Anybody? The Cowboys can't move the ball through the air and the Chargers can't move it on the ground -- and the outcome is anyone's wild guess. Dallas has won five of six in the series. |
| Denver 27, *Arizona 14 |
| Against Arizona's young, sieve-like defense, the Broncos should move up and down the field at will. Denver has beaten the Cardinals four of the five times they've met, most recently 38-6 in '95. |
| Detroit 20, *Cleveland 10 |
| Don't expect many stellar scoring drives in this one, because the Lions don't have much more firepower than the Browns. Detroit was a 38-20 winner the last time they faced off, six years ago. |
| *Indianapolis 23, Buffalo 15 |
| Here's the explosive Colts offense's first test against a top-notch defense. With 18-16 and 44-20 wins in Buffalo and Indianapolis, the Colts swept the Bills in '00 for the first time since '94. |
| *Miami 24, Oakland 21 |
| The Raiders should punch holes in Miami's defensive line, but we like the Dolphins, who very badly want revenge for their first shutout loss in postseason history last year, 27-0 to Oakland. |
| Minnesota 28, *Chicago 17 |
| Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper gave the Bears fits in '00, running for three TD's in one Minnesota win and throwing for three in another. The Vikes have taken seven of the last eight in the series. |
| *New England 21, N.Y. Jets 20 |
| Like last year, when they lost to the Jets for the fifth and sixth times in their last seven matchups, 20-19 and 34-17, the Patriots look weaker on both sides of the ball. But we've got a hunch. |
| N.Y. Giants 22, *Kansas City 16 |
| Only by putting the ball up will the Chiefs stay close in this one, because the pass is the Giants' defensive weakness. N.Y. is seven for nine in the series, winning most recently in '98, 28-7. |
| Philadelphia 27, *Seattle 7 |
| The Seahawks get their first look at real defense, and it won't be pretty. The Eagles could turn this into a mirror image of their last battle, three years ago, when Seattle humbled Philly 38-0. |
| St. Louis 33, *San Francisco 27 |
| The NFC West begins to take shape with the Rams' first divisional game and the 49ers' second. And no defensive struggle here: St. Louis and S.F. scored 123 points in the Rams' two '00 wins. |
| Tennessee 21, *Jacksonville 14 |
| This series hasn't exactly been predictable. When the Jaguars were flying high in '99, they only games they lost were to the Titans, but when Jacksonville plummeted last year, the teams split. |
Monday's game:
| *Green Bay 20, Washington 19 |
| Though the Redskins have beaten the Packers in seven of their last eight showdowns, it's been -- believe it or not -- 13 years since they've met. Neither team is better than .500 on Monday nights. |
Open date: New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay
* Denotes Home Team