Seattle at San Francisco
Tennessee at Buffalo
Matt Hasselbeck wasn’t slated to be the starter this year
but because Jake Locker got injured early in the season, the former BC Eagle
was called upon. And he’s done fairly well. His yardage he’s thrown for has
increased each game. He’s also 18 th in the league in completion percentage, ahead
of guys like Drew Brees, Mike Vick, Jay Cutler and Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The Bills run the ball well but they don’t stop the run much
as they are last in the league in rushing yards allowed per game. This could be
a big week for Chris Johnson to step up.
Tennessee wins.
Washington at New York Giants
It’s not surprising that the Giants beat the 49ers last
weekend. The shocking aspect of that game was how bad they beat them.
The Giants played smart football against a team many
consider to be one of, if not the best team in the NFL. They committed only two
penalties and did not turn the ball over.
In his past two games Ahmad Bradshaw has come alive, rushing
for 316 yards and two touchdowns. The Redskins are eighth in the league in
rushing yards allowed per game but 32 nd in the league in passing yards allowed
per game. With Eli Manning under center he should get the Redskins defense
off-balance enough to give up some good openings for Bradshaw here as well.
RG3 will be going up against the most difficult defense hes
faced to date with a very aggressive defensive front line from the Giants led
by Jason Pierre-Paul, who had two sacks last weekend.
New York Giants win.
New Orleans at Tampa Bay
The Saints finally got in the win column two weeks ago and
it might be the right time to march on.
Jonathan Vilma returns to the lineup this weekend. The Buccaneers are
also 31st in the league in passing yards allowed per game, which shoul.d be
making Drew Brees salivate.
Will Tampa Bay be able to keep pace with the Saints? Josh
Freeman is completing only 55.2 percent of his passes, ranked 30th in the
league.
New Orleans wins.
Dallas at Carolina
In three of their five games this season the Panthers have
failed to score more than two touchdowns.
Despite their losses, the Cowboys have scored at least 14
points in four of their five games. The defense is also pretty tough. They rank
second in the league in passing yards allowed per game and 13th in the league
in rushing yards allowed per game.
With Carolina’s inconsistent and struggling offense, Dallas
should be able to contain them enough to not have to do too much on offense.
Dallas wins.
Baltimore at Houston
Houston suffered its first defeat last weekend and the
Ravens usually own the Texans. That being said, Baltimore’s defense is in bad
shape. Team leader Ray Lewis was placed on the IR with a torn triceps.
Cornerback Ladarius Webb joined Lewis on the IR, and DT Haloti Ngata and CB
Jimmy Smith also left the game and are both questionable.
Going into Houston with so many injured key players on
defense against one of the top offenses in the league will be a tall task.
Houston wins.
Cleveland at Indianapolis
The Browns won their first game of the season last week
while the Colts took a beating in New Jersey thanks to the Jets.
The Colts are 2-1 at home however, with the Browns obviously
0-3 on the road.
This is a match-up of rookie quarterbacks, but Andrew Luck
should come out on top here. He’s led the Colts to be ninth in the league in
passing yards per game. The Browns however are 30th in the league in passing
yards allowed per game.
Indianapolis wins.
Green Bay at St. Louis
The Packers ha d a huge win last week against the
then-undefeated Texans and Aaron Rodgers threw for six touchdowns against a
top-10 passing defense.
The Rams are undefeated at home, but Washington, Seattle and
Arizona don’t pack the same punch that Green Bay does. The Rams are also 0-2
against the NFC North.
People were waiting for Rodgers to play to his 2011 MVP
form, and he did just that last week. He should be able to continue that trend
this weekend.
Green Bay wins.
Arizona at Minnesota
Arizona has lost two in a row now and is having QB issues.
Kevin Kolb, who originally won the starting quarterback job because John Skelton
got hurt, is now hurt. Skelton is back in and last week he went 2-10 for 45
yards and an interception. And that was against Buffalo’s No. 20 ranked pass
defense.
Minnesota’s defense is much better than Buffalo’s, coming in
at No. 11 in passing yards allowed per game and No. 10 in rushing yards allowed
per game.
Minnesota wins.
New York Jets at New England
Shonn Greene had a huge game last week, rushing for 161
yards and three touchdowns. That was against the Colts and their 29th ranked
rush defense.
The Patriots will be a much stiffer test. They rank fifth in
the league in rushing yards allowed per game. In six games they have only
allowed one 100-yard rusher, and that was Ray Rice, who just squeaked in at 101
yards.
Greene will most likely come back down to Earth in
Massachusetts.
New England wins.
Jacksonville at Oakland
The Raiders haven’t been winning games but they did play the
undefeated Falcons pretty closely last week.
Carson Palmer threw for 353 yards against the 12th ranked
pass defense of the Falcons. His numbers aren’t bad for the entire season
either.
Jacksonville is last in the league in points scored per
game.
Oakland wins.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
Statistically the Steelers are the better team, but the
Bengals are the team with more wins.
The odds are stacked against the Steelers, as they haven’t
won on the road yet this season and their top two running backs are out.
But Big Ben is playing extremely well this season. He
currently has his highest completion percentage and quarterback rating since
2009. He’s healthy. He’s rushing for 5.7 yards per carry, his highest average
since 2007. He’s also thrown only two interceptions this season.
The Steelers have an extra few days to rest because they
played on Thursday night last week and that should help their case.
Pittsburgh wins.
Detroit at Chicago
The Bears are No. 1 in the league in points allowed per
game. The Lions are 24th.
The Bears are second in the league in points scored per
game. The Lions are 11th, 4.6 points behind the Bears.
The Bears are 2-0 at home. The Lions are 1-2 on the road.
The Bears had a bye week last week, able to focus two week’s
worth of preparation on the Lions.
As the sole NFC North leaders the Bears are in a good
position for a huge victory here.
Chicago wins.
Bye Week: Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Miami,
San Diego
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 5-8
Season: 51-40
