Thursday
Game: Kansas City at Philadelphia
Pick: Philadelphia - Coming off a nail-biting victory at home against Dallas, Andy Reid's Kansas City Chiefs will likely have great difficulty in preparing for the high-tempo, explosive Eagles offense on the road in such a short week. The only question is, will the Eagles defense be able to stop the Chiefs offense? With the return of a starting cornerback, I think they should be able to do so - just enough anyway.
Result: Kansas City 26 Philadelphia 16
Record: 0-1
Sunday
Game: Green Bay at Cincinnati
Pick: Green Bay - While I like the Bengals to win the AFC North, I don't think their offense will be able to counter Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' high-scoring offense. Cincy should be able to limit the Packers offense more than Washington did this past weekend, but that's not saying a whole lot. I like the Packers by a touchdown.
Result: Cincinnati 34 Green Bay 30
Record: 0-2
Game: St. Louis at Dallas
Pick: Dallas - St. Louis appears to be pesky, but still not primed for a playoff run. Dallas appears to be Dallas - a .500 team through and through. Since the game is at home, I like the Cowboys.
Result: Dallas 31 St. Louis 7
Record: 1-2
Game: San Diego at Tennessee
Pick: San Diego - Tennessee looks like a pesky team this year with a stingy defense and a solid ground game led by Chris Johnson. However, the strength of the Chargers defense is in their front seven, and quarterback Philip Rivers appears to have found his groove again. I like for the Chargers to improve to 2-1 with a one-score win on the road against the Titans.
Result: Tennessee 20 San Diego 17
Record: 1-3
Game: Cleveland at Minnesota
Pick: Minnesota - While Cleveland may have a tough defense, they have little to nothing on the offensive side of the ball, and that glaring weakness will likely prove itself to be troublesome on the road against Adrian Peterson and the Vikings.
Result: Cleveland 31 Minnesota 27
Record: 1-4
Game: Tampa Bay at New England
Pick: Tampa Bay - Here's my big upset of the week. On the offensive side of the ball, New England appears to be as slow as a bunch of sloths. Meanwhile, Tampa's defense appears to be new and improved, and if they cool it on the penalties, I think they could hand Bill Belichick and Tom Brady their first loss of the season.
Result: New England 23 Tampa Bay 3
Record: 1-5
Game: Arizona at New Orleans
Pick: New Orleans - The Saints have come away with two nail-biting victories and Arizona has been on both sides of the nail-biting finishes in their first couple of contests. While I have a feeling this game will be closer than the experts think, I'm going to give the home team the advantage here - Saints by 7.
Result: New Orleans 31 Arizona 7
Record: 2-5
Game: Detroit at Washington
Pick: Detroit - Until the Washington Redskins can prove to me they can actually play defense and can be efficient on offense before they've fallen behind by four scores, it's going to be incredibly difficult for me to pick them (unless they play Jacksonville or perhaps Oakland). So long as Detroit keeps the pressure on RGIII and doesn't turn the ball over much on offense, I like for them to improve to 2-1 with a victory against the suddenly sad 'Skins.
Result: Detroit 27 Washington 20
Record: 3-5
Game: NY Giants at Carolina
Pick: NY Giants - Here we have a classic battle of 0-2 teams. Carolina has lost a pair of games by a combined 6 points, while the Giants turned the ball over six times in a loss to Dallas and got smoked by Denver. Call me crazy, but as has been typical of Tom Coughlin's Giants' teams through the years, when they're dismissed by the sports media, he finds a way to get them back on the winning track. If that doesn't happen this week, at 0-3, they could very well be kissing their season away before too long.
Result: Carolina 38 NY Giants 0
Record: 3-6
Game: Houston at Baltimore
Pick: Houston - This game makes me nervous. While I think Houston has the better team, their play hasn't been near as sharp these first couple of weeks as it had been the past couple of seasons. Matt Schaub hasn't been as efficient and the defense has seemed to struggle early in games before coming on late. Even with those worries, though, I like how the Texans match up with the struggling Ravens, who were only able to muster 14 points against the Cleveland Browns this past weekend.
Result: Baltimore 30 Houston 9
Record: 3-7
Game: Atlanta at Miami
Pick: Atlanta - Miami may now be a realistic favorite to win the AFC East this year. They've certainly looked superior to the Patriots, Jets, and Bills to this point of the season. Even so, though, I like for the Atlanta Falcons and their high-octane offense to improve to 2-1 with a tough victory on the road.
Result: Miami 27 Atlanta 23
Record: 3-8
Game: Buffalo at NY Jets
Pick: Buffalo - Buffalo is a missed last-second field goal away from being 2-0, while the New York Jets are one bonehead penalty away from being 0-2. The Bills' E.J. Manuel has appeared to be the far more mature and polished quarterback at this stage of his career than the Jets' Geno Smith. Taking that into consideration, as well as Buffalo's speedy surrounding players on the offensive side of the ball, I give them the edge in this one.
Result: NY Jets 27 Buffalo 20
Record: 3-9
Game: Indianapolis at San Francisco
Pick: San Francisco - I feel bad for Andrew Luck in this one. The Colts' offensive line hasn't protected him very well this season, and without much threat of a running game, all the pressure is going to be on him to beat this angry 49ers defense, who are coming off a pair of sub-par showings against the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. Expect a better showing by them in this one, as the Niners win fairly handily at home.
Result: Indianapolis 27 San Francisco 7
Record: 3-10
Game: Jacksonville at Seattle
Pick: Seattle - Seattle just beat the defending NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers by 26 at home. Just imagine how badly they're going to beat the winless Jacksonville Jaguars there...
Result: Seattle 45 Jacksonville 17
Record: 4-10
Game: Chicago at Pittsburgh
Pick: Chicago - While Pitt's defense is still fairly sound, unless they can get speedster Antonio Brown isolated in space, their offense doesn't present much with regard to consistent scoring threats. Unless Jay Cutler decides to give the ball away as he's known to do at times, I like for the Bears to win this one.
Result: Chicago 40 Pittsburgh 23
Record: 5-10
Monday
Game: Oakland at Denver
Pick: Denver - Why this is a Monday night game is beyond me. Here we have arguably the second worst team in all of football in the Oakland Raiders traveling to Denver to take on arguably the best team in the NFL in the Broncos. Did I give my pick away there? Yeah, I'm going with Peyton Manning and the Broncos.
Result: Denver 37 Oakland 21
Record: 6-10
Week 3 Record: 6-10
Overall Record: 28-20 (.583)
Game: Kansas City at Philadelphia
Pick: Philadelphia - Coming off a nail-biting victory at home against Dallas, Andy Reid's Kansas City Chiefs will likely have great difficulty in preparing for the high-tempo, explosive Eagles offense on the road in such a short week. The only question is, will the Eagles defense be able to stop the Chiefs offense? With the return of a starting cornerback, I think they should be able to do so - just enough anyway.
Result: Kansas City 26 Philadelphia 16
Record: 0-1
Sunday
Game: Green Bay at Cincinnati
Pick: Green Bay - While I like the Bengals to win the AFC North, I don't think their offense will be able to counter Aaron Rodgers and the Packers' high-scoring offense. Cincy should be able to limit the Packers offense more than Washington did this past weekend, but that's not saying a whole lot. I like the Packers by a touchdown.
Result: Cincinnati 34 Green Bay 30
Record: 0-2
Game: St. Louis at Dallas
Pick: Dallas - St. Louis appears to be pesky, but still not primed for a playoff run. Dallas appears to be Dallas - a .500 team through and through. Since the game is at home, I like the Cowboys.
Result: Dallas 31 St. Louis 7
Record: 1-2
Game: San Diego at Tennessee
Pick: San Diego - Tennessee looks like a pesky team this year with a stingy defense and a solid ground game led by Chris Johnson. However, the strength of the Chargers defense is in their front seven, and quarterback Philip Rivers appears to have found his groove again. I like for the Chargers to improve to 2-1 with a one-score win on the road against the Titans.
Result: Tennessee 20 San Diego 17
Record: 1-3
Game: Cleveland at Minnesota
Pick: Minnesota - While Cleveland may have a tough defense, they have little to nothing on the offensive side of the ball, and that glaring weakness will likely prove itself to be troublesome on the road against Adrian Peterson and the Vikings.
Result: Cleveland 31 Minnesota 27
Record: 1-4
Game: Tampa Bay at New England
Pick: Tampa Bay - Here's my big upset of the week. On the offensive side of the ball, New England appears to be as slow as a bunch of sloths. Meanwhile, Tampa's defense appears to be new and improved, and if they cool it on the penalties, I think they could hand Bill Belichick and Tom Brady their first loss of the season.
Result: New England 23 Tampa Bay 3
Record: 1-5
Game: Arizona at New Orleans
Pick: New Orleans - The Saints have come away with two nail-biting victories and Arizona has been on both sides of the nail-biting finishes in their first couple of contests. While I have a feeling this game will be closer than the experts think, I'm going to give the home team the advantage here - Saints by 7.
Result: New Orleans 31 Arizona 7
Record: 2-5
Game: Detroit at Washington
Pick: Detroit - Until the Washington Redskins can prove to me they can actually play defense and can be efficient on offense before they've fallen behind by four scores, it's going to be incredibly difficult for me to pick them (unless they play Jacksonville or perhaps Oakland). So long as Detroit keeps the pressure on RGIII and doesn't turn the ball over much on offense, I like for them to improve to 2-1 with a victory against the suddenly sad 'Skins.
Result: Detroit 27 Washington 20
Record: 3-5
Game: NY Giants at Carolina
Pick: NY Giants - Here we have a classic battle of 0-2 teams. Carolina has lost a pair of games by a combined 6 points, while the Giants turned the ball over six times in a loss to Dallas and got smoked by Denver. Call me crazy, but as has been typical of Tom Coughlin's Giants' teams through the years, when they're dismissed by the sports media, he finds a way to get them back on the winning track. If that doesn't happen this week, at 0-3, they could very well be kissing their season away before too long.
Result: Carolina 38 NY Giants 0
Record: 3-6
Game: Houston at Baltimore
Pick: Houston - This game makes me nervous. While I think Houston has the better team, their play hasn't been near as sharp these first couple of weeks as it had been the past couple of seasons. Matt Schaub hasn't been as efficient and the defense has seemed to struggle early in games before coming on late. Even with those worries, though, I like how the Texans match up with the struggling Ravens, who were only able to muster 14 points against the Cleveland Browns this past weekend.
Result: Baltimore 30 Houston 9
Record: 3-7
Game: Atlanta at Miami
Pick: Atlanta - Miami may now be a realistic favorite to win the AFC East this year. They've certainly looked superior to the Patriots, Jets, and Bills to this point of the season. Even so, though, I like for the Atlanta Falcons and their high-octane offense to improve to 2-1 with a tough victory on the road.
Result: Miami 27 Atlanta 23
Record: 3-8
Game: Buffalo at NY Jets
Pick: Buffalo - Buffalo is a missed last-second field goal away from being 2-0, while the New York Jets are one bonehead penalty away from being 0-2. The Bills' E.J. Manuel has appeared to be the far more mature and polished quarterback at this stage of his career than the Jets' Geno Smith. Taking that into consideration, as well as Buffalo's speedy surrounding players on the offensive side of the ball, I give them the edge in this one.
Result: NY Jets 27 Buffalo 20
Record: 3-9
Game: Indianapolis at San Francisco
Pick: San Francisco - I feel bad for Andrew Luck in this one. The Colts' offensive line hasn't protected him very well this season, and without much threat of a running game, all the pressure is going to be on him to beat this angry 49ers defense, who are coming off a pair of sub-par showings against the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. Expect a better showing by them in this one, as the Niners win fairly handily at home.
Result: Indianapolis 27 San Francisco 7
Record: 3-10
Game: Jacksonville at Seattle
Pick: Seattle - Seattle just beat the defending NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers by 26 at home. Just imagine how badly they're going to beat the winless Jacksonville Jaguars there...
Result: Seattle 45 Jacksonville 17
Record: 4-10
Game: Chicago at Pittsburgh
Pick: Chicago - While Pitt's defense is still fairly sound, unless they can get speedster Antonio Brown isolated in space, their offense doesn't present much with regard to consistent scoring threats. Unless Jay Cutler decides to give the ball away as he's known to do at times, I like for the Bears to win this one.
Result: Chicago 40 Pittsburgh 23
Record: 5-10
Monday
Game: Oakland at Denver
Pick: Denver - Why this is a Monday night game is beyond me. Here we have arguably the second worst team in all of football in the Oakland Raiders traveling to Denver to take on arguably the best team in the NFL in the Broncos. Did I give my pick away there? Yeah, I'm going with Peyton Manning and the Broncos.
Result: Denver 37 Oakland 21
Record: 6-10
Week 3 Record: 6-10
Overall Record: 28-20 (.583)
Comments
Post a Comment