New York Giants (0-5) at Chicago (3-2)
The Bears have dropped two games in a row, but a match-up in
Chicago against the winless and hapless Giants may be just what the doctor
ordered.
Eli Manning threw another three interceptions last week,
giving him 12 on the season already. That’s slightly more than two picks a
game.
Chicago wins.
Green Bay (2-2) at Baltimore (3-2)
The Packers are both fifth in the league in rushing yards
per game average and fifth in rushing yards allowed per game. Both are good
figures, but the Packers are once again banged up. Starting running back James
Starks and starting linebackers Clay Matthews and Brad Jones have all been
ruled out for the game against the Ravens.
That’s not to say that the Packers haven’t had success with
an inconsistent running game or porous defense before, but this week it may be
too much to overcome.
The Ravens are 2-0 at home and last week against Miami they
finally got Ray Rice going, as he rushed for 74 yards and two touchdowns, while
Bernard Pierce was also able to get 46 yards on 11 carries.
Baltimore wins.
Cincinnati (3-2) at Buffalo (2-3)
Rookie starting quarterback E.J. Manuel is out and instead
of starting back-up Jeff Tuel, the Bills promoted Thad Lewis from the practice
squad. Lewis has played in one game in his career (last season with Cleveland)
and is 22 of 32 with 204 yards passing, a touchdown and an interception.
It’s not a terrible line. He’ll have his hands full against
the Bengals though. Cincinnati is 11th in the league in passing yards allowed
per game and does a good job against the run too, ranking 10th in rushing yards
allowed per game. They held Tom Brady to 197 yards, zero touchdowns and one
interception last weekend, while sacking him four times and holding the Pats to
six points.
Cincinnati wins.
Detroit (3-2) at Cleveland (3-2)
The Lions had a dud of a game last week and lost, while the
Browns held on for a road victory.
Cleveland’s defense is stingy, but the Browns offense did
look better with Brian Hoyer under center rather than Brandon Weeden, though
the second-year quarterback did a fine job in relief last Thursday.
What hurts the Lions is not knowing the status of Calvin
Johnson, who has a knee injury and didn’t play last week. Still, they are more
talented at the skill positions than the Browns.
Detroit wins.
St. Louis (2-3) at Houston (2-3)
It’s no secret: Matt Schaub has been bad this season. He has
nine interceptions on the year, he threw three interceptions last week, and he
has thrown a pick-six in each of the past four games.
Houston isn’t a bad team, however. It was a bad game against
the 48ers but they still have a strong defense and running game. They are just
more talented than the Rams, even though St. Louis won last week.
Houston wins.
Carolina (1-3) at Minnesota (1-3)
The Vikings signed recently released Josh Freeman, but don’t
plan to play him Sunday. That being said, Matt Cassel did a fine job in his
first game of the season, going 16-25 for 248 yards and two touchdowns.
The Panthers are 0-2 on the road. With Adrian Peterson
running the ball behind him, if Cassel can have another solid outing like he
did two weeks ago the Vikings should be in decent shape at home against another
struggling team.
Minnesota wins.
Oakland (2-3) at Kansas City (5-0)
The Raiders got a win over the Chargers last week at home.
They did, however, almost let a 24-3 lead slip away before converting on third
and long and getting a field goal to get back to a two-score lead.
Things, as they always are, will be tougher in Kansas City,
who got a victory in Tennessee last week.
Kansas City wins.
Pittsburgh (0-4) at New York Jets (3-2)
Geno Smith had his finest game as an NFL quarterback, in
prime time nonetheless. He completed 80 percent of his passes, threw for three
touchdowns and didn’t throw an interception.
The Jets defense has been good thus far this season and getting
Mike Goodson active gives the running game a boost – he rushed for 32 yards on
three carries last week.
I don’t expect Pittsburgh to be winless all season, but at
home the Jets should continue to ride the current momentum they have.
New York jets win.
Philadelphia (2-3) at Tampa Bay (0-4)
The Buccaneers got a much needed week off last week because
things were quickly spiraling out of control, especially with former
quarterback Josh Freeman. Freeman is released, but it’s questionable if this
team can turn things around. It’s been a lot of losing over the past three
seasons.
They’ve struggled offensively this season, as they are 31st
in the league in both yards per game and points per game. They might have
problems keeping up with the Eagles, who are second in yards per game and
eighth in points per game.
Philadelphia wins.
Jacksonville (0-5) at Denver (5-0)
The Broncos are a historical 28-point favorite over the
Jaguars. It may be a tough cover, but there’s a reason the line is that high.
Denver wins.
Tennessee (3-2) at Seattle (4-1)
The Seahawks lost their first game of the season last week,
but they haven’t lost a home game since 2011.
The Titans put up a decent effort against the Chiefs, but
Ryan Fitzpatrick did throw two interceptions. Seattle is tied for the most
takeaways in the league, with 15. They have seven interceptions, five of which
have come at home.
Seattle wins.
New Orleans (5-0) at New England (4-1)
This is a huge match-up between two of the top teams in the
league.
Right now, it looks like the Saints are rolling and on more
of the same page than the Patriots. Much has been made of the Patriots lack of
depth at wide receiver. Wide receivers Aaron Dobson and Danny Amendola are
questionable for Sunday, as is tight end Rob Gronkowski, who has yet to play
this season. Amendola and Dobson were the team’s top receivers in the team’s
rough game against Cincinnati.
Last week Tom Brady completed only 47.4 percent of his
passes and for only 197 yards. He was also sacked four times.
In his NFL career against Brady, Drew Brees is 3-0. The last
time the Saints met the Patriots, the Saints were undefeated and Brees threw
for 371 yards and five touchdowns. He has New England’s number.
New Orleans wins.
Arizona (3-2) at San Francisco (3-2)
The 49ers beat down the Texans last week. They have some
momentum going up against the Cardinals. Since 2009 they are 7-1 against
Arizona.
The Niners also have only lost three home regular season games
since the start of the 2011 season.
San Francisco wins.
Washington (1-3) at Dallas (2-3)
Has Tony Romo failed to come through in the clutch before?
Definitely. Did he throw an interception last week against Denver at the worst
possible time? Yes. Should that take away from the game that he had and the
season he’s having? No way.
Romo threw for 506 yards and five touchdowns last week. That’s
the most yards in Cowboys history. And while Peyton Manning had seven touchdown
passes in Week 1, he hasn’t thrown for that many yards in a game this season.
That was also only Romo’s second interception this season.
The defense could’ve used a stop at some point against
Denver, so it’s not all on Romo.
That being said, they should put up equally impressive
numbers this week. The Redskins have given up the most yards per game this
season.
Dallas wins.
Indianapolis (4-1) at San Diego (2-3)
Phillip Rivers’ second consecutive 400-yard game and third
this season wasn’t enough to propel the Chargers past the Raiders, who
previously had only one win to their name. Three interceptions, a season-high
for Rivers in 2013, helped the downfall.
The Colts have won three in a row, including a big one over
the Seahawks last weekend. The Colts are tied for the fewest penalties in the
league with the fewest yards penalized and is second in the NFL in third-down
percentage. They’re playing efficient football and getting the job done.
Indianapolis wins.
Bye Week: Atlanta, Miami
Last Week: 7-7
Overall: 49-28
Photo Credit.
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
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