Thursday
Game: NY Giants at Chicago
Pick: Chicago - The Bears are coming off a pair of tough losses to Detroit and New Orleans, but even with all of their problems, they're nowhere near as numerous as those held by the 0-5 New York Giants. I have a tough time seeing the Giants going on the road during a shortened week and fixing all their problems in time to pull out a victory.
Result: Chicago 27 NY Giants 21
Record: 1-0
Sunday
Game: Cincinnati at Buffalo
Pick: Cincinnati - While Buffalo seems to play much better at home than on the road and Cincinnati's offense has been anything but consistent so far this season, I like how the Bengals defense matches up with the inexperienced Bills offense - rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel in particular. I think it will be close, but the Bengals win by a touchdown.
Result: Cincinnati 27 Buffalo 24 OT
Record: 2-0
Game: Detroit at Cleveland
Pick: Detroit - I may change this pick if Calvin Johnson and/or Reggie Bush wind up not playing for the Lions. The Browns are coming off three straight wins, while the Lions will be coming off a disappointing defeat in Green Bay. With the turnover prone Brandon Weeden back at quarterback for the Browns and assuming Johnson and Bush are healthy to go for the Lions, I think Detroit will have too much on offense for the sub-par Browns offense to successfully counter.
Result: Detroit 31 Cleveland 17
Record: 3-0
Game: Philadelphia at Tampa Bay
Pick: Philadelphia - This could be a trickier game for the Eagles than most people think. Starting quarterback Michael Vick will likely be out of this game with a hamstring injury, so second-year player Nick Foles will start in his place. Tampa, while winless, is coming off a bye week, which provided their new quarterback time to develop chemistry with the players around him. The Bucs have played solid defense all year as well, but have just found ways to lose at game's end. So long as Philly is able to successfully utilize LeSean McCoy in the backfield and DeSean Jackson in the short passing game, I think they'll be able to generate enough offense to defeat the Bucs.
Result: Philadelphia 31 Tampa Bay 20
Record: 4-0
Game: Green Bay at Baltimore
Pick: Green Bay - This is a pick which has me nervous, and it's because I can't for the life of me figure out the Baltimore Ravens this season. Here's a team that looks like the defending Super Bowl champion some weeks and like a team destined to not make the playoffs other weeks. Until I figure them out, I'm bound to pick against them in games like this. I'm going with the Packers by one score.
Result: Green Bay 19 Baltimore 17
Record: 5-0
Game: St. Louis at Houston
Pick: Houston - Even before the Houston Texans lost three straight to fall to 2-3, I could see the team had some problems. If not for two last-minute come-from-behind wins to start the season, the Texans could be sitting at 1-4 or 0-5 right now. Lucky for them, though, they come back home to face one of the weaker teams in the NFL - the St. Louis Rams, who even had trouble putting away the worst team in the league last week - the Jacksonville Jaguars. Unless Matt Schaub throws a few more pick-sixes, I like for the Texans to rebound in this game and even their record at 3-3.
Result: St. Louis 38 Houston 13
Record: 5-1
Game: Oakland at Kansas City
Pick: Kansas City - A pretty much turnover-free 5-0 Kansas City team playing at Arrowhead against the Raiders? Fa-get-it-about-it! I like the Chiefs.
Result: Kansas City 24 Oakland 7
Record: 6-1
Game: Carolina at Minnesota
Pick: Carolina - I'm calling this one a toss-up. I honestly have no idea who will win this one. However, if I'm going to give anyone a slight edge, it's the Carolina Panthers, and for multiple reasons: 1) The quarterback situation is up in the air right now in Minnesota, 2) Carolina's strong defense is led by their front seven and being able to stop the rush (Adrian Peterson), and 3) Minnesota's defense has been anything but strong this year. So long as the Panthers don't turn the ball over like they did in their loss to Arizona this past week ::ahem Cam Newton::, I like their chances here to win a rather low-scoring affair.
Result: Carolina 35 Minnesota 10
Record: 7-1
Game: Pittsburgh at NY Jets
Pick: Pittsburgh - Here's another toss-up game in my mind. Coming off a much needed bye week and still searching for their first win, though, I have to believe the Steelers are going to win at some point, right? They've shown flashes of explosiveness on offense with Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. They've also shown flashes of greatness on defense, led by Troy Polamalu. However, they've yet to put a complete game together, and coming off the bye week, I have a hunch this will be the game in which they do that. Also, while Geno Smith played solid turnover-free football in the Jets' Monday night win against the Falcons and I'm sure sports-writers will now be crowning the guy as the next great quarterback, he's still a rookie, is bound to be inconsistent, and I have a feeling he'll get brought back to earth by the Steelers blitz packages.
Result: Pittsburgh 19 NY Jets 6
Record: 8-1
Game: Tennessee at Seattle
Pick: Seattle - While the Seahawks are a solid team on the road, they're nowhere as good there as they are at home. In fact, I don't think anybody is as good at home as the Seahawks are on their home field. I like Seattle by at least a couple of scores.
Result: Seattle 20 Tennessee 13
Record: 9-1
Game: Jacksonville at Denver
Pick: Denver - Let me make this short and sweet. Denver is arguably the best team in football right now and Jacksonville is, without question, the worst team in football. Denver's favored by four touchdowns, which is almost unheard of at the NFL level. So, yeah, I like the Broncos in this one. They may have their third-stringers, waterboys, and coaches in the game by the start of the 3rd quarter.
Result: Denver 35 Jacksonville 19
Result: 10-1
Game: Arizona at San Francisco
Pick: San Francisco - The 49ers defense has underachieved so far this season, until their 34-3 thrashing of Houston this past week. Arizona's defense, meanwhile, had been one of the more underrated ones in the league to this point in the season. Due to that, this game may be closer than the experts think and will likely come down to which quarterback turns the ball over more. Even though Colin Kaepernick has struggled in recent games, though, I like for his speed to give the Cardinals defense some problems, and like the consistency of Frank Gore out of the backfield much more than what the Cardinals have to offer on the offensive side of the ball. If Carson Palmer cools it with his 9 interceptions, though, an upset isn't out of the question.
Result: San Francisco 32 Arizona 20
Record: 11-1
Game: New Orleans at New England
Pick: New Orleans - Go figure - I picked against the Patriots the two previous weeks, since I was anything but impressed with their offense, and they found ways to beat Tampa Bay and Atlanta. When I gave up picking against them, they fell to Cincinnati 13-6. Safe to say, I've been much more impressed with the Saints as a whole than the Patriots. New Orleans is continually getting better on both sides of the ball and I think they have too much for the still-searching-for-an-identity Patriots to contend with.
Result: New England 30 New Orleans 27
Record: 11-2
Game: Washington at Dallas
Pick: Dallas - Don't be at all surprised if Washington, who is coming off a bye, wins this inner-divisional game on the road against the Cowboys, whom had their hearts temporarily broken after falling to the Broncos by the score of 51-48. However, even though I think Washington will keep things relatively close, I have to give the home team the advantage in this one. Washington's defense has been awful to this point in the season and the Cowboys offense, led by Tony Romo, has been one of the better ones in all of the NFC. I'm going with the Cowboys by a touchdown.
Result: Dallas 31 Washington 16
Record: 12-2
Monday
Game: Indianapolis at San Diego
Pick: Indianapolis - San Diego is another team that's difficult to figure out. For the most part, they've been very efficient on offense, and hit and miss on defense. However, they then decided to turn the ball over five times in their disappointing loss to the Raiders this past Sunday night. While I could see them scoring 30+ points in this game and coming out a winner, it's this lack of consistency which leads me to lean the way of the Colts. I'm still not sold on them being a Super Bowl contender, however, with wins over both San Francisco and Seattle, they're beginning to make a believer out of me. I think with their new-found balance on offense and seemingly overachieving defense, they'll find yet another way to come out of this one a winner.
Result: San Diego 19 Indianapolis 9
Record: 12-3
Week 6: 12-3 (.800)
Total: 57-35 (.620)
Game: NY Giants at Chicago
Pick: Chicago - The Bears are coming off a pair of tough losses to Detroit and New Orleans, but even with all of their problems, they're nowhere near as numerous as those held by the 0-5 New York Giants. I have a tough time seeing the Giants going on the road during a shortened week and fixing all their problems in time to pull out a victory.
Result: Chicago 27 NY Giants 21
Record: 1-0
Sunday
Game: Cincinnati at Buffalo
Pick: Cincinnati - While Buffalo seems to play much better at home than on the road and Cincinnati's offense has been anything but consistent so far this season, I like how the Bengals defense matches up with the inexperienced Bills offense - rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel in particular. I think it will be close, but the Bengals win by a touchdown.
Result: Cincinnati 27 Buffalo 24 OT
Record: 2-0
Game: Detroit at Cleveland
Pick: Detroit - I may change this pick if Calvin Johnson and/or Reggie Bush wind up not playing for the Lions. The Browns are coming off three straight wins, while the Lions will be coming off a disappointing defeat in Green Bay. With the turnover prone Brandon Weeden back at quarterback for the Browns and assuming Johnson and Bush are healthy to go for the Lions, I think Detroit will have too much on offense for the sub-par Browns offense to successfully counter.
Result: Detroit 31 Cleveland 17
Record: 3-0
Game: Philadelphia at Tampa Bay
Pick: Philadelphia - This could be a trickier game for the Eagles than most people think. Starting quarterback Michael Vick will likely be out of this game with a hamstring injury, so second-year player Nick Foles will start in his place. Tampa, while winless, is coming off a bye week, which provided their new quarterback time to develop chemistry with the players around him. The Bucs have played solid defense all year as well, but have just found ways to lose at game's end. So long as Philly is able to successfully utilize LeSean McCoy in the backfield and DeSean Jackson in the short passing game, I think they'll be able to generate enough offense to defeat the Bucs.
Result: Philadelphia 31 Tampa Bay 20
Record: 4-0
Game: Green Bay at Baltimore
Pick: Green Bay - This is a pick which has me nervous, and it's because I can't for the life of me figure out the Baltimore Ravens this season. Here's a team that looks like the defending Super Bowl champion some weeks and like a team destined to not make the playoffs other weeks. Until I figure them out, I'm bound to pick against them in games like this. I'm going with the Packers by one score.
Result: Green Bay 19 Baltimore 17
Record: 5-0
Game: St. Louis at Houston
Pick: Houston - Even before the Houston Texans lost three straight to fall to 2-3, I could see the team had some problems. If not for two last-minute come-from-behind wins to start the season, the Texans could be sitting at 1-4 or 0-5 right now. Lucky for them, though, they come back home to face one of the weaker teams in the NFL - the St. Louis Rams, who even had trouble putting away the worst team in the league last week - the Jacksonville Jaguars. Unless Matt Schaub throws a few more pick-sixes, I like for the Texans to rebound in this game and even their record at 3-3.
Result: St. Louis 38 Houston 13
Record: 5-1
Game: Oakland at Kansas City
Pick: Kansas City - A pretty much turnover-free 5-0 Kansas City team playing at Arrowhead against the Raiders? Fa-get-it-about-it! I like the Chiefs.
Result: Kansas City 24 Oakland 7
Record: 6-1
Game: Carolina at Minnesota
Pick: Carolina - I'm calling this one a toss-up. I honestly have no idea who will win this one. However, if I'm going to give anyone a slight edge, it's the Carolina Panthers, and for multiple reasons: 1) The quarterback situation is up in the air right now in Minnesota, 2) Carolina's strong defense is led by their front seven and being able to stop the rush (Adrian Peterson), and 3) Minnesota's defense has been anything but strong this year. So long as the Panthers don't turn the ball over like they did in their loss to Arizona this past week ::ahem Cam Newton::, I like their chances here to win a rather low-scoring affair.
Result: Carolina 35 Minnesota 10
Record: 7-1
Game: Pittsburgh at NY Jets
Pick: Pittsburgh - Here's another toss-up game in my mind. Coming off a much needed bye week and still searching for their first win, though, I have to believe the Steelers are going to win at some point, right? They've shown flashes of explosiveness on offense with Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. They've also shown flashes of greatness on defense, led by Troy Polamalu. However, they've yet to put a complete game together, and coming off the bye week, I have a hunch this will be the game in which they do that. Also, while Geno Smith played solid turnover-free football in the Jets' Monday night win against the Falcons and I'm sure sports-writers will now be crowning the guy as the next great quarterback, he's still a rookie, is bound to be inconsistent, and I have a feeling he'll get brought back to earth by the Steelers blitz packages.
Result: Pittsburgh 19 NY Jets 6
Record: 8-1
Game: Tennessee at Seattle
Pick: Seattle - While the Seahawks are a solid team on the road, they're nowhere as good there as they are at home. In fact, I don't think anybody is as good at home as the Seahawks are on their home field. I like Seattle by at least a couple of scores.
Result: Seattle 20 Tennessee 13
Record: 9-1
Game: Jacksonville at Denver
Pick: Denver - Let me make this short and sweet. Denver is arguably the best team in football right now and Jacksonville is, without question, the worst team in football. Denver's favored by four touchdowns, which is almost unheard of at the NFL level. So, yeah, I like the Broncos in this one. They may have their third-stringers, waterboys, and coaches in the game by the start of the 3rd quarter.
Result: Denver 35 Jacksonville 19
Result: 10-1
Game: Arizona at San Francisco
Pick: San Francisco - The 49ers defense has underachieved so far this season, until their 34-3 thrashing of Houston this past week. Arizona's defense, meanwhile, had been one of the more underrated ones in the league to this point in the season. Due to that, this game may be closer than the experts think and will likely come down to which quarterback turns the ball over more. Even though Colin Kaepernick has struggled in recent games, though, I like for his speed to give the Cardinals defense some problems, and like the consistency of Frank Gore out of the backfield much more than what the Cardinals have to offer on the offensive side of the ball. If Carson Palmer cools it with his 9 interceptions, though, an upset isn't out of the question.
Result: San Francisco 32 Arizona 20
Record: 11-1
Game: New Orleans at New England
Pick: New Orleans - Go figure - I picked against the Patriots the two previous weeks, since I was anything but impressed with their offense, and they found ways to beat Tampa Bay and Atlanta. When I gave up picking against them, they fell to Cincinnati 13-6. Safe to say, I've been much more impressed with the Saints as a whole than the Patriots. New Orleans is continually getting better on both sides of the ball and I think they have too much for the still-searching-for-an-identity Patriots to contend with.
Result: New England 30 New Orleans 27
Record: 11-2
Game: Washington at Dallas
Pick: Dallas - Don't be at all surprised if Washington, who is coming off a bye, wins this inner-divisional game on the road against the Cowboys, whom had their hearts temporarily broken after falling to the Broncos by the score of 51-48. However, even though I think Washington will keep things relatively close, I have to give the home team the advantage in this one. Washington's defense has been awful to this point in the season and the Cowboys offense, led by Tony Romo, has been one of the better ones in all of the NFC. I'm going with the Cowboys by a touchdown.
Result: Dallas 31 Washington 16
Record: 12-2
Monday
Game: Indianapolis at San Diego
Pick: Indianapolis - San Diego is another team that's difficult to figure out. For the most part, they've been very efficient on offense, and hit and miss on defense. However, they then decided to turn the ball over five times in their disappointing loss to the Raiders this past Sunday night. While I could see them scoring 30+ points in this game and coming out a winner, it's this lack of consistency which leads me to lean the way of the Colts. I'm still not sold on them being a Super Bowl contender, however, with wins over both San Francisco and Seattle, they're beginning to make a believer out of me. I think with their new-found balance on offense and seemingly overachieving defense, they'll find yet another way to come out of this one a winner.
Result: San Diego 19 Indianapolis 9
Record: 12-3
Week 6: 12-3 (.800)
Total: 57-35 (.620)
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