Last week’s picks: 7-6
Season Total: 64-39

I had a strange dream this week. I was grocery shopping. Every time I turned down an aisle, Tim Tebow would enter the aisle at the opposite end. I tried to ignore him, and just concentrate on getting the things on my list, but my attention kept getting drawn to him. He would take an item off the shelf and attempt to put it in his cart, but he kept missing. I remember distinctly seeing him try to toss a loaf of bread into his cart from about five feet away, only to watch the bread sail half-way down the aisle. After a while, I headed to the back of the store to get some milk, the last item on my list. When I got to the dairy section, there was only one carton of skim left, but as I reached for it, D.J. Williams appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the carton, and ran away with it. I was about to run after him, when I saw Tebow crouched in the corner, praying. Then, Matt Prater kicked me in the balls. While I lay on the floor, Tebow came over and took my cart, while all my family and friends, who had suddenly appeared (including my buddy Keith, wearing nothing but a barrel), stood around and cheered.

I have no idea what any of that means, but I feel better for having shared.

Now, on to the picks:

Jaguars at Texans

Houston looked good last week by not merely beating, but rather, demolishing, a suddenly struggling Titans team. The Texans seem to have adjusted to the loss of Mario Williams, and are poised now to make a run at the division title. Jacksonville’s defence was impressive on Monday night against Baltimore. Still, I can’t see the Jags being able to generate enough offence to stay with Houston for four quarters. Winner: Texans

Saints at Rams

It’s hard to believe how many experts picked the Rams to win the NFC West this year. Barring a major catastrophe, this should be another blowout win for New Orleans. I have to wonder, though, if two straight weeks of vastly inferior opposition will have a negative effect on the Saints, who host the inconsistent but dangerous Bucs next week. Winner: Saints

Colts at Titans

The Colts were flat-out embarrassed last week against the Saints. Trying extra-hard to prove that they aren’t pathetic might give them a bit of a boost this week. The only problem is, Tennessee got their asses handed to them by Houston last week, and will be focused on bouncing back this week. In other news, Chris Johnson’s picture has begun appearing on milk cartons around the Nashville area. He was last seen laughing all the way to the bank (while being extra careful not to, you know, bump into anybody). Winner: Titans

Dolphins at Giants

The only hope that Miami has this week is if Eli Manning has one of those games where he stinks it up by throwing 2-3 picks and fumbles a couple of times. Actually, never mind; the Dolphins would still find a way to lose. Winner: Giants

Cardinals at Ravens

So far, the Kevin Kolb experience has not been a pleasant one for Arizona or for Cardinals fans. Travelling across the country to play a pissed-off Ravens team is not what the doctor ordered. Winner: Ravens

Vikings at Panthers

Cam Newton continues to impress. There’s a rumour that Steve Smith sold his soul to the devil (What? There isn’t? Well, now there is.).  The Vikings aren’t good enough to stop Carolina from scoring a lot. Winner: Panthers

Lions at Broncos

This should be a good test for Detroit, losers of two straight.  Matt Stafford is hobbled, and Jahvid Best is still out. Denver doesn’t have a good enough running game to give the Lions’ defence enough trouble. Winner: Lions

‘skins at Bills (in Toronto)

After a strong start, Washington has fallen back to earth. They are riddled with injuries. Bills’ QB Ryan Fitzpatrick just signed a new deal, and will be out to prove that he’s worth it. Wouldn’t it be a lot more fun if this game was played on a CFL-sized field? Winner: Bills

Browns at 49ers

So much has gone wrong for poor Peyton Hillis this year that it’s almost too difficult to make fun of him anymore.  He’ll be sitting out again this week with a bad hammy. The 49ers are running away with the NFC West. They’ll be one more step closer to clinching after this week. Winner: 49ers

Patriots at Steelers

This should be the game of the week. The Steelers’ defence should be in a lather by now after all the talk this week about how Tom Brady has dominated them. I expect a lot of passing in this game, and a lot of points. New England usually wins those types of games. Winner: Patriots

Bengals at Seahawks

The best hope for Seattle in this one is if Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton can’t handle the crowd noise. The Bengals’ defence is the real deal, and should be able to handle the anaemic Seahawks’ offence. Should be a low-scoring affair. Winner: Bengals

Cowboys at Eagles

This should be another great match up. Dallas can win this game if they are patient on offence. They need to run the ball, use the clock, and keep the Eagles’ offence off the field as much as possible. There should be lots of points scored in this one. Winner: Cowboys

Monday Night

Chargers at Chiefs

Kansas City has bounced back nicely since losing their first two games and looking like the worst team in the league. Granted, it hasn’t been against the best competition, but the Chiefs played the Chargers tough in their Week 3 meeting. San Diego continues to underwhelm. Phillip Rivers has not played well this year. The Chargers are banged-up. Winner: Chiefs

Last week’s picks: 10-3
Season Total: 57-33

A couple of things before I get to my picks:

First, the Lions finally came up against a team with a good defence, and the results were predictable. The 49ers largely held Calvin Johnson in check (over 100 yards receiving, but no TDs), and Matthew Stafford wasn’t able to do nearly enough to make the offence really effective. That, plus the 49ers’ ground attack, was enough to seal the Lions’ fate. That’s the blueprint for beating Detroit. Now, the key for the Lions will be whether they can find other ways to make their offense work efficiently. The 49ers game should be a wake-up call for the Lions, and it will be interesting to see how this young team responds.

Second, I really don’t know how much longer I can honestly call myself a Miami Dolphins fan. I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not the losing. Any fan knows that there are going to be up years, and there are going to be down years. It’s just that, over the course of the past few years, the organization seems to have become less interested in football. It has become more of a celebrity culture, intent on drawing fans using promotion and star-power as opposed fielding a quality football team. From bringing in Bill Parcells as director of football operations, to making such celebrities as Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Venus and Serena Williams, and Fergie part of the ownership group, to signing Reggie Bush to be the featured back in the offence (as well as many other examples), the Miami Dolphins seem more intent on making entertainment headlines than sports headlines. Winning football games has become an afterthought.

This Sunday, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, there will be a ceremony honouring a past championship team. Is it the ’72 Dolphins, owners of the only perfect record ever in the Super Bowl era? Is it the Dolphins’ other championship team? Nope. It’s the 2008 Florida Gators NCAA Championship team. For those of you who don’t follow the college game (hell, I don’t even watch college football), that team was quarterbacked by one Tim Tebow. Miami’s opponent this Sunday: the Denver Broncos. So, that means that there will be a ceremony during this Sunday’s game honouring the starting quarterback of the opposing team. Are you freaking kidding me?!? From what I’ve been hearing this week, the number of Gators fans expected to attend the game this week will almost make this like a home game for the Broncos.

Hey, look, I know that it’s a business. I just believe that the business, first and foremost, should be fielding a winning team. Trotting out mediocre pop stars and halfbacks in order to get a few lines in the entertainment news might grab a few extra casual fans, but neglecting the supporters who value football above all else is bad business in the long run. Once the casual fans have moved on to the next flavour-of-the-month, what will they have left?

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest:

Broncos at Dolphins

I thought that Miami’s defence played pretty well last Monday night. They need to figure out a way to generate more of a pass-rush. The key to this game will be containing Tebow when he scrambles. I think that the Dolphins are just pissed-off enough. At least they should be. Winner: Dolphins

Chargers at Jets

San Diego has been winning, despite not playing particularly well. The Jets have been winning, despite not playing particularly well. San Diego’s offence has the potential to score a lot of points, whereas New York’s offence has degenerated into disorganization and finger-pointing. Winner: Chargers

Seahawks at Browns

What do I do with this shit sandwich? Who’s starting at QB for Seattle? Charlie Whitehurst, I think. I’ve never even seen him play. I’ll take the home team here, ‘cause I don’t know what else to do. Apropos of nothing, one of my preseason predictions about Peyton Hillis could have (sort of) happened this week. Winner: Browns

‘skins at Panthers

Washington’s defence comes through with a big performance this week against Cam Newton, and John Beck makes less mistakes than Rex Grossman would. Winner: ‘skins

Texans at Titans

The division that Houston was supposed to run away with has now become a two-horse race. This game is huge. It will be a close, hard-fought battle. Winner: Titans

Falcons at Lions

Atlanta went back to basics last week with the run game. That’s how you beat Detroit. Winner: Falcons

Bears at Buccaneers (but not really, because it’s in London, England)

Tampa Bay is coming off a big, emotional win last week against the Saints. Chicago has its confidence back. Winner: Bears

Steelers at Cardinals

It may be time to put to rest my preseason prediction of Arizona winning the NFC West. With the emergence of the 49ers, 8-8 isn’t going to cut it this year. The slide continues. Winner: Steelers

Chiefs at Raiders

Will he, or won’t he? I think that the Raiders should roll with Kyle Boller this week, and give new acquisition Carson Palmer a bit more time to get comfortable with the offensive game plan. Keep things simple for Boller, and run, run, run. Winner: Raiders

Packers at Vikings

Let’s just keep this as simple as possible: there is absolutely no chance that I would pick against Green Bay right now. Winner: Packers

Rams at Cowboys

Dallas gets a much-needed visit from the struggling Rams this week. Winner: Cowboys

Colts at Saints

New Orleans is smarting from that loss to Tampa Bay last week. Pity Indianapolis. Winner: Saints

Monday Night

Ravens at Jaguars

Jacksonville’s offence is in for a very rough night. They will have a very tough time scoring in this one. Winner: Ravens

Last week’s picks: 6-7
Season total: 47-30

Last week, I wrote at length about the Lions, how I wasn’t sold on all the hype surrounding them, and that I didn’t think that they are an elite team, despite their (now 5-0) record. I watched the Monday night game between Detroit and Chicago (it was the only game I saw from week 5, due to the fact that I attended a wedding on Sunday).  The Lions won 24-13, so naturally, I’m feeling... validated.

Considering how poorly the Bears played, the game really should have been a blowout. Chicago’s offence committed 8 false start penalties (official reports from the game make a big deal about the 9 false starts, but I recall one of those being on special teams). Their offensive line could not protect Jay Cutler, and not just due to the talent of the Lions; the Bears’ Tackles looked more like turnstiles (The Bears’ starting RT was eventually removed from the game and will not start this week). Julius Peppers was injured early in the game, and was hobbled and played sparingly afterward, severely limiting the Bears’ ability to pressure Matt Stafford. Chicago’s Safeties are terrible; Calvin Johnson scored his only touchdown when he shoved Brandon Meriweather to the turf with one hand as the safety attempted to tackle him (Both starting Safeties have been benched for this week’s game). Even when the Bears played well on defence, they couldn’t catch a break.  Brian Urlacher got an inexplicable Unnecessary Roughness penalty for a hit that should be a part of an instructional video on how not to hit dirty, and after the 15 yard march-off, Detroit scored a touchdown on the very next play. Overall, the Bears looked woefully unprepared by their coaching staff, and no adjustments were made during the game to correct glaring weaknesses in pass protection or the defensive secondary.

As for the Lions, their play was inconsistent and undisciplined. Their offence was mostly ineffective and relied too much on big plays and Chicago’s miscues. Their defence exerted great pressure on Cutler, yet the Bears’ QB still managed to make plays, and Matt Forte was able to top 100 yards rushing by simply running through holes that the Lions left due either over-pursuit or ineffective alignments (That “Wide 9” sure does leave some big gaps).

As I said last week, winning is the most important thing, and the Lions are doing that. It’s just that, if I’m going to believe that they can compete with the truly elite teams in the NFL, I’m going to have to see a whole lot better than what I saw last Monday night.

Now, let’s get to this week’s picks. Like an NFL team, I need to bounce back with a strong performance after last week’s debacle.

Panthers at Falcons

Tough call here. Carolina are so dangerous on offence. Cam Newton’s playmaking ability has reinvigorated Steve Smith. Atlanta has struggled. Last week, they got off to a good start against Green Bay, but couldn’t hold the Packers down for the whole game. The Falcons have to make a stand this week. It will be a close one. Winner: Falcons

Bills at Giants

The Giants really stunk it up against the Seahawks last week. The Eli Manning that I know and love finally showed up last week, throwing 3 interceptions and breaking out that mopey face. The Bills just keep chugging along, scoring points and forcing turnovers. This is not a good matchup for the Giants. Winner: Bills

Eagles at ‘skins

Philadelphia’s defence has been a huge disappointment. To have that much talent in the secondary be misused so egregiously is almost criminal. As for their offence, it has been predictably explosive, but has often blown itself up with costly turnovers and mental errors. Washington has had success by being low-key and consistent. They will play well, and the Eagles will either do enough to win, or do enough to themselves to lose. Here’s to consistency. Winner: ‘skins

Jaguars at Steelers

Nice bounce-back game last week by Pittsburgh against Tennessee. Pride and desperation can go a long way. Jacksonville does not have nearly enough talent on offence to be competitive in this one. Winner: Steelers

Rams at Packers

One of the worst teams in the league, which can’t score, on the road against an offensive juggernaut. For St. Louis to win this game would be nothing short of miraculous. Winner: Packers

49ers at Lions

After the Monday night game, Jay Cutler spoke about the difficulties that Chicago’s offensive line experienced in the game. He said that because they could not hear the snap count due to the noise, they eventually had to switch to a silent count. So, the Bears’ coaching staff did not anticipate that it would be noisy in Detroit? This illustrates just how poorly the Bears were prepared by their coaches. I mention this because this week, San Francisco is coming to town, a team that is playing extremely well because they are very well-coached, organized, and prepared. I think that Jim Harbaugh and his coaching staff will come to Detroit prepared with a solid game plan, and that their defence and running game will give the Lions fits. Winner: 49ers

Colts at Bengals

The Colts are a mess. They will have a lot of trouble scoring against a rock-solid Bengals defence. It will be low-scoring and close. Winner: Bengals

Browns at Raiders

Oakland will play a very spirited game this week, their first at home since the death of Al Davis. Cleveland is reeling. This could be a blowout. Peyton Hillis is still struggling with the after-effects of his strep throat. He’s not sick anymore, just dealing with the fallout from choosing to sit out in week 3 against Miami. The curse works in mysterious ways. Winner: Raiders

Texans at Ravens

It’s amazing how quickly fortunes can change in the NFL. Two weeks ago, Houston was riding high after a victory over Pittsburgh. Last week, they lost at home to an Oakland team which fielded only 10 defensive players on the decisive play of the game, an end-zone interception of Matt Schaub. This week, the Texans face a Ravens squad which looks like one of the best, most balanced teams in the league. Muddying things even further, Houston will be without Andre Johnson for at least one more week, and top pass-rusher Mario Williams for the rest of the season. Add to that the resurgence of the Titans, and all of a sudden, things don’t seem so rosy for the Texans. Winner: Ravens

Cowboys at Patriots

If New England can’t figure out a way to disrupt the Dallas passing attack, they could find themselves on the losing end of a shootout. The Cowboys will put pressure on Tom Brady. It’s always bad business to pick against the Pats at home, though. Winner: Patriots

Saints at Buccaneers

I still contend that Tampa Bay is a mediocre team at best. They also have some injuries to key personnel to contend with this week. The New Orleans offensive engine keeps chugging along. Winner: Saints

Vikings at Bears

Chicago got humiliated on Monday night. Not by the Lions, though. They embarrassed themselves. They were woefully unprepared for the game, and the responsibility for that falls on the coaching staff. If they play terribly at home this week against division-rival Minnesota, the knives will be out for head coach Lovie Smith and company. And, if they do not have a solid plan to protect Jay Cutler, then Jared Allen will make them pay dearly. I think the Bears are properly motivated. Winner: Bears

Monday Night

Dolphins at Jets

Miami is going nowhere fast. The Jets see their season of high hopes slipping away. Matt Moore starts at QB for the Dolphins, on Monday Night Football. What a nightmare. Winner: Jets

Last week’s picks: 10-6
Season total: 41-23

 The Detroit Lions are now one of the elite teams in the NFL. Matthew Stafford is leading his team’s offence to victory with his outstanding play at QB. Meanwhile, Ndamukong Suh, the best Detroit Lions draft pick ever, has single-handedly changed the culture of losing in Detroit (which is something that Barry Sanders never did).

You don’t believe it? Then, you need to get with the times, sports fan. The Lions are 4-0. ESPN has them ranked 4th in the league in its latest power rankings, behind only Green Bay, New England, and New Orleans. CNNSI has them in the exact same position, and the site’s esteemed columnist Peter King has them ranked ahead of even the Saints in his “Fine Fifteen.” ProFootballTalk has Detroit at number 3, behind only the Packers and Saints. Jemele Hill of ESPN wrote this week that Suh has already had more of an impact on the Detroit Lions than Barry Sanders did in his whole career. The writing’s on the wall, folks (or at least on the web): The Detroit Lions have arrived. Good luck getting a spot on the bandwagon, because it’s pretty packed.

You won’t have to compete with me, though. I’m not getting on.

The NFL hype machine is in full effect, and why not? It’s a great story, how a once-proud franchise, which has endured an unbearably long stretch of mediocrity, has risen to the top of the league. I’m not buying it. I mean, really, better than the Saints? The Ravens? The Patriots? Not to mention the Texans, Titans, Bills, and Giants? I’m afraid I’m going to have to see a whole lot more before I’m convinced.

The Lions have been extremely lucky thus far, from what I can gather. They barely beat an average team, the Bucs, in week 1, then they destroyed the awful Chiefs in week 2. In the past two weeks, they have fallen behind by 20 and 24 points, only to come back and win in games that, I believe, were handed to them by the inept play and play-calling of the Vikings and Cowboys. Look at Detroit’s game against Minnesota. Leading 20-0 in the third quarter, the Vikings had the ball three times and Adrian Peterson had only 2 carries and was not targeted with a single pass. The Lions scored 10 points in the quarter, and scored on the first play of the 4th quarter to cut the Vikings’ lead to 3. And as for the Cowboys last week, they led 27-3 in the 3rd quarter before Tony Romo had two interceptions returned for touchdowns (it’s not fair to blame Romo entirely; why Dallas was calling high-risk pass plays on first down with that big a lead is beyond me).

Matthew Stafford has looked OK to me, but far from great. In the highlights from the games that I’ve seen, I consistently see bad throws being turned into catches by great receiver play, particularly by Calvin Johnson. Last week against Dallas, Stafford threw two touchdowns to Johnson, one into triple coverage, and the other a jump-ball on a goal-to-go play. This is typical of what I have seen of Stafford’s play thus far. He’s been lucky.

Detroit leads the league in takeaways versus giveaways with a +8. This is great, and shows a team that is adept at forcing turnovers. However, the Lions’ offence has fumbled 6 times and lost none of those. None. Compare that to the Steelers, who have also fumbled 6 times on offence and lost every single one of them. There’s no guarantee that this lucky streak will last for the Lions. Other statistics show a Detroit team that has been extremely fortunate to be undefeated as well. The Lions are only 20th in the league in average yards gained per drive, and are just 11th overall in drive success rate, despite having the league’s 4th best average starting field position.

Hey, the Lions are off to a great start. In the NFL, wins are what really count. Being one of only two teams that are undefeated has put them in great position to snag a playoff spot. I’m just not quite ready to anoint them as one of elite teams. Not yet. Let them play against some better competition, and then I’ll be able to better make up my mind. This week, they are playing against the Chicago Bears. This should be a good test for them. I’ll be very interested to see how they do.

Now, on to my picks. I’m going to do these quickly. My wife’s brother is getting married tomorrow, and I’m supposed to be at a party very soon. Enjoy your Sunday.

Raiders at Texans

Houston is very good. Better than the Oakland (RIP, Al Davis). Winner: Texans

Bengals at Jaguars

Cincinnati’s defence has been excellent. That should be enough. Winner: Bengals

Eagles at Bills

I keep waiting for the Eagles’ defence to start playing well. It will be a high-scoring affair. Winner: Eagles

Seahawks at Giants

The Giants’ pass-rush is getting healthier. Poor Tavaris Jackson. Squash. Winner: Giants

Cardinals at Vikings

This is the week that Arizona starts putting it together on offence. Winner: Cardinals

Titans at Steelers

Hasselbeck still looks good, even without Kenny Britt, and Tennessee’s defence has been outstanding. Pittsburgh’s banged-up. Winner: Titans

Chiefs at Colts

Colts’ pass-rush has been keeping them in games. This week it will win it for them. Winner: Colts

Saints at Panthers

This should be a shootout. The Saints have more bullets. Winner: Saints

Buccaneers at 49ers

San Francisco’s defence has been solid. It’ll be low-scoring and close. Winner: 49ers

Jets at Patriots

The Jets are going to try and take Welker out of the game. Expect a big game from Gronkowski. Winner: Patriots

Chargers at Broncos

The Chargers have been doing enough to win. Against Denver, they won’t have to do much. Winner: Chargers

Packers at Falcons

Repeat of their playoff match up from last season. Same result. Winner: Packers

Monday Night

Bears at Lions

Here’s another stat for you: Detroit is giving up an average of well over 100 rushing yards per game. Last week, Chicago discovered this play where you hand the ball to a player called a running back, and he runs with it. It worked pretty well. Winner: Bears

(Note: I compiled my statistics from some very reliable sources: NFL.com, the CNNSI website, and a site called FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS)

Last week’s picks: 10-6
Season total: 31-17

So far, I’ve been maddeningly consistent. Oh well; it could be a lot worse.

I’m really late getting to these this week. Here we go:

Steelers at Texans

Might as well start things off with a tough one. Houston proved that their offence can score points against New Orleans last week. They still have some red-zone issues to work out, though. I’m going out on a limb and blaming the play-calling; with the weapons the Texans have (Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels, their offensive line), there’s no way they shouldn’t be doing better in the red-zone. I mean, it’s not like they’re the Dolphins (what hurts the most is that it’s true). Houston’s defence, as I predicted, wasn’t quite up to the task against the Saints last week, but playing against an offence as efficient and explosive as New Orleans’s early in the year will be an invaluable learning experience for the developing Texans. Pittsburgh’s offence will not provide nearly as much of a challenge.  I’ve seen enough of the Steelers already this year to know that they are going to have a difficult time against teams with a good pass-rush. Their offensive line is a mess, due to injuries, Ben Roethlisberger looks slow and indecisive (and, if I may, fat), and they can’t run the ball effectively. Their defence is still good, but it seems a step slower than last year. The Steelers have won the past two weeks against less-than-stellar offences (Seahawks and Colts). The Texans should score early and often, and hold on for the win. Winner: Texans

Panthers at Bears

This one intrigues me. Cam Newton gets to face a real quality defence this week. It will be interesting to see how he handles it.  Two weeks ago, against Green Bay, Newton got off to a fast start, but was taken to school later in the game, particularly by Charles Woodson. Chicago’s issues on offence have to get worked-out. They need to protect Jay Cutler, and make the offence less pass-heavy. This one will be a bit close for the Bears’ comfort, but they will pull out a victory. Winner: Bears

‘skins at Rams

St. Louis’s season is slowly turning into a nightmare. They have no offensive identity. Injuries have decimated them. It’s a perfect time for the opportunistic ‘skins to come to town, fresh off their tough loss to Dallas. The nightmare continues. Winner: ‘skins

49ers at Eagles

So, it looks like San Francisco can play a little defence. That might be enough to keep things from getting out-of-hand against Philadelphia, but the 49ers’ weak offence won’t be able to do enough to keep its defence off the field. Look for San Fran’s defence to tire late, and for the Eagles to win going away. Winner: Eagles

Titans at Browns

The Browns are 2-1, but they haven’t been particularly impressive. The Titans have been a pleasant surprise, on both offence and defence. Matt Hasselbeck will miss Kenny Britt, lost for the year with a torn ACL, but there’s still plenty of talent there. I will be interested to see if Peyton Hillis’s strep throat has managed to get him off the hook, if you catch my meaning. Winner: Titans

Vikings at Chiefs

Minnesota has played half of a good game three times now, losing after establishing halftime leads of 10, 17, and 20 points. This week, they will be able to finish against an awful Chiefs team. Winner: Vikings

Lions at Cowboys

People are starting to believe in the Lions. I’m still sceptical. I think that deficiencies in their secondary and running game will sink them against elite competition. Dallas isn’t elite, but they are good enough to mount a decent challenge. The Cowboys’ offence was a disorganized mess against Washington last week, but Tony Romo still managed to will them to victory. They have to be better this week, right? They couldn’t be much worse. Dallas’s defence keeps it close, and the game will be decided late. Winner: Cowboys

Bills at Bengals

I see this one playing out like 49ers-Eagles; a team with a good defence and no offence keeping it close against a much better offensive team, but ultimately losing as their lack of offence exhausts their defence. I’ll let you figure out which team is which. Here’s another hint... Winner: Bills

Saints at Jaguars

This is simply a case of too much versus too little. New Orleans will score a lot, while Jacksonville will struggle to score against any team. Winner: Saints

Giants at Cardinals

I’d like to pick Arizona in this one, but their offence is still not where it needs to be, and it will struggle against the Giants. New York seems to be settling after going through a rough patch due to injuries, and has positioned itself to make a run at winning its division. Tom Coughlin is the best game-day coach in the NFL. Winner: Giants

Falcons at Seahawks

The Seahawks are still terrible. Atlanta should be good enough to avoid losing to the crowd noise in Seattle, like Arizona did last week. They’d better be. Winner: Falcons

Patriots at Raiders

The Raiders scored a bunch of points against the Jets last week. They should be able to do the same this week. The Pats are the Pats; we know what they’re about. It’ll be another high-scoring affair. I don’t know how Tom Brady’s new haircut factors into this, but the game will be close at the end. Winner: Raiders

Dolphins at Chargers

I’ve gone back-and-forth over this one. I wanted to pick Miami, but when I found out that Daniel Thomas is unlikely to play, I flipped. Well, I’m flipping back. San Diego has not looked good thus far, and Phillip Rivers has not been sharp. It will be a close upset, and I will look like a genius. Winner: Dolphins

Broncos at Packers

Denver still has injury problems on defence. Green Bay has been dominant on offence, yet still looks like it could be better. This could be the week that the Packers really cut loose. Winner: Packers

Jets at Ravens

A lot of pickers are calling this a close one, but I don’t see it that way. The Ravens will have a much easier time scoring, while I see the Jets struggling. It’ll be a beat-down. Winner: Ravens

Monday Night
Colts at Buccaneers

The only chance that Indianapolis has in this one is if its pass-rush can force some turnovers and hold down Tampa Bay’s offence. It will be close, but... Winner: Buccaneers