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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.
| Harmon Stat Pack | |
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Wk 3: 14 picks
Right: 5 Wrong: 9 Pct: .357 |
YTD: 43 picks
Right: 21 Wrong: 22 Pct: .488 |
| Harmon's archive | |
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.
Sunday's games (10/7/2001):
| *Atlanta 17, Chicago 14 |
| Having fidgeted through two idle weeks already, the Bears will be way short on momentum. Atlanta ended a five-game Chicago winning streak in the series the last time they met, in 1998, 20-13. |
| *Baltimore 19, Tennessee 10 |
| The Titans have the same problem as the Bears, only worse: They haven't won a game yet. Last year Tennessee beat the Ravens 14-6, then lost twice at home, 24-23 and (in the playoffs) 24-10. |
| *Denver 30, Kansas City 14 |
| With the Raiders and Chargers looming, the Broncos know how important every divisional game is, and this is their first. They learned this lesson the hard way in '00, when K.C. upset them twice. |
| Jacksonville 21, *Seattle 7 |
| The Jaguars should welcome the change of venue in this series, because they've only met the Seahawks at home and have lost two of three. Last year Seattle came from two TD's down to win 28-21. |
| *Miami 32, New England 13 |
| Winners of five of their last six against the Patriots, the Dolphins have shown they can do it with defense or offense. The evidence is their '00 sweep: scores of 10-3 in Miami and 27-24 in N.E. |
| *New Orleans 24, Minnesota 16 |
| So far the Vikings are hardly the offensive machine they've been the past few seasons, and the Saints -- who lost to Minnesota in last year's playoffs -- have more than enough defense to handle them. |
| *N.Y. Giants 20, Washington 14 |
| Like their '00 matchups, in which the Redskins beat the Giants 16-6 and then N.Y. got even, 9-7, we're expecting more defense than offense. Washington has taken four of the last five from N.Y. |
| N.Y. Jets 14, *Buffalo 12 |
| To keep pace with the Colts and Dolphins in the AFC East, the Jets will need to sweep the Bills, which they last did three years ago. Last season each won at home, N.Y. 27-14 and Buffalo 23-20. |
| *Oakland 35, Dallas 13 |
| What can't the Raiders' offense do against the Cowboys' defense? Maybe not go as far on the ground as it will through the air, but this still looks like a blowout. Oakland won last, in '98. |
| *Philadelphia 23, Arizona 9 |
| After losing five in a row to the Cardinals from '97 through '99, the Eagles swept them easily in '00, 33-14 and 34-9, as Donovan McNabb threw and ran for four TD's. Looks like they'll repeat. |
| *Pittsburgh 21, Cincinnati 20 |
| These clearly aren't the same Bengals, but we're going with the Steelers at home in what we never would've imagined would be an upset. Pittsburgh stopped Cincy twice last year, 15-0 and 48-28. |
| San Diego 27, *Cleveland 17 |
| Wow, were we ever wrong about the Chargers last month! The Browns, too, look better, and at home they might be capable of a surprise, but S.D. should take its fourth straight in this series. |
| *San Francisco 24, Carolina 19 |
| An early key game in the anything-goes NFC West. S.F. beat Atlanta, which beat Carolina, but that doesn't make this a lock -- especially since the Panthers have won four in a row over the 49ers. |
| *Tampa Bay 22, Green Bay 16 |
| The way things are looking, the Buccaneers and Packers may have the NFC Central to themselves. For the past three seasons they've split, each winning at home, T.B. 20-15 and G.B. 17-14 in '00. |
Monday Night (10/8/2001):
| St. Louis 29, *Detroit 13 |
| We're not sure why the Lions are playing in prime time, but we are sure they don't have the defense to stay with the Rams. Detroit won its third straight over St. Louis two years ago, 31-27. |
Open date: Indianapolis
* Denotes Home Team