NFL Week 7 Pick: Tim Tebow to be Victorious in First Start of the Season

The big news in Week 7 is the game of quarterback shuffle going on: at least six different quarterbacks will make their first start of the season.

The most hyped new quarterback is obviously Tim Tebow as he returns to Florida to take on the Miami Dolphins, who are still searching for a win.

Also on the slate of games is a match-up for first place in the AFC South between the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans. Both teams have lost key players to injuries and are coming off of losses. Who will take control of the division?

Who will win this week’s games? The home team is in caps.

NEW YORK JETS over San Diego – The Jets win over Miami wasn’t pretty but they couldn’t afford to lose a fourth straight game. That being said, the Chargers have struggled as well, specifically Philip Rivers and his interceptions. Against a dominant Darrelle Revis and a hyped-up Antonio Cromartie it will be a rough day for Rivers.

TAMPA BAY over Chicago – If the Bucs can force Drew Brees to throw three interceptions imagine what they can do to Jay Cutler, a quarterback notorious for turning the ball over under pressure.

CAROLINA over Washington – The Redskins brass talked about how good John Beck looked during preseason and still decided to start Rex Grossman at quarterback. So what does that say about Beck? He hasn’t thrown a pass in a regular season game since 2007, when he was not the answer for a one-win Miami Dolphins team. Four of the Panthers five losses have come by one touchdown or less, so the ball has to bounce they’re way one of these times (so long as Cam Newton stops throwing costly interceptions).

Atlanta over DETROIT – The Lions are without Jahvid Best, and with little depth at the position they have only two healthy runners. Coming off their first loss of the season the Lions are vulnerable right now, which should help the Falcons have their first winning streak of the season.

Seattle over CLEVELAND – Things are falling apart in Cleveland and Payton Hillis is having a rough season. Meanwhile the Seahawks should get a boost on offense if Charlie Whitehurst starts over Tarvaris Jackson. Whitehurst is a mystery still, but he showed last week he’s an upgrade over Jackson.

Denver over MIAMI – It’s a home game for the Dolphins. They are honoring the 2008 Florida Gators, whose starting quarterback is Tim Tebow who is now the starter for the Broncos. Not only will fans be cheering for the “Suck for Luck” campaign they will also be rooting for the opposing quarterback. This has disaster written all over it.

TENNESSEE over Houston – Without Andre Johnson and Mario Williams the Texans look like a team without any bite. The Titans on the other hand have gotten good contributions from other wide receivers since Kenny Britt went down with a season-ending injury and they’re still waiting for Chris Johnson to break out.

Kansas City over OAKLAND – If Carson Palmer starts the Raiders will be using a guy who had a bad year last year and hasn’t played since Week 17 of last season. If Kyle Boller starts it’ll be a guy whose team just traded potentially two first round picks for someone else to start. In a rivalry game things are just a bit too unsettled right now for the Raiders to come away victorious.

Pittsburgh over ARIZONA – The Steelers have feasted on opponents with sub-.500 records. The combined records of teams they’ve lost against: 7-4. And the combined record of teams they’ve beaten: 6-16. They may be older and not as strong as the past few years, but they’re still beating the bottom feeders of the league of which the Cardinals belong to.

Green Bay over MINNESOTA – Christian Ponder gets his first start against Clay Matthews and Charles Woodson and has to try and outgun Aaron Rodgers? No thanks.

DALLAS over St. Louis – Sam Bradford is out and A.J. Feeley is in. Sorry, but not even newly acquired wide receiver Brandon Lloyd can make Feeley look good.

NEW ORLEANS over Indianapolis – The Saints had a rough go of it against the Buccaneers last week. But that’s more reason for them to get back on track at home against a winless team.

Baltimore over JACKSONVILLE – This just seems like the biggest mismatch of the week. The Jaguars are 31st in the league in points scored per game, and you can bet points will be very tough to come by against the Ravens tough defense.
Byes: Buffalo, Cincinnati, New England, New York Giants, Philadelphia, San Francisco

Last week: 8-5

Season: 56-34

Photo Credits.
Tim Tebow: AP Photo/Jack Dempsey

NFL Week 6 Picks: Miami Dolphins to Upset New York Jets on the Road for Win No. 1

DETROIT over San Francisco – As good as Alex Smith has played this year he hasn’t been able to produce the yards that the 49’ers would need to keep pace with the Lions.

GREEN BAY over St. Louis – The Packers are playing too well to lose at home to the winless Rams.

ATLANTA over Carolina – Look at the Falcons’ results: they win every other week. So after a loss to the Packers last week, naturally they are due for a win over the Panthers.

CINCINNATI over Indianapolis – The Bengals aren’t world beaters, but they do well against the other bad teams in the league. Their defense is playing very well and should contain the Colts.

Buffalo over NEW YORK GIANTS – The Bills played well against the Eagles and did what they had to do to win the game. The Giants played poorly and lost a game they shouldn’t have. And while they shouldn’t have lost are you really that surprised that they did?

PITTSBURGH over Jacksonville – The Steelers are banged up, but they proved last week that they aren’t done yet. And the Jaguars, to put it bluntly, stink.

Philadelphia over WASHINGTON – You just have to wonder how much longer the Eagles can keep losing. There’s too much talent here to be this bad. It’s not too late for them to turn the corner so there’s still a little bit of hope.

BALTIMORE over Houston – The Ravens have looked real good this season and the Texans are without their best offensive and defensive players.

OAKLAND over Cleveland – The Raiders had a big and emotional win last week and then went and traded for Aaron Curry because they believe they can make a push for the playoffs. Meanwhile Cleveland’s best player, Peyton Hillis, wonders how much longer he’ll be with the team.

NEW ENGLAND over Dallas – Tony Romo can throw the ball and the Pats pass defense is not very good. But are you really going to trust the “Romo Coaster” against a team that hasn’t lost at home since 2008?

New Orleans over TAMPA BAY – The Saints are the best team in the NFL in third down completion percentage. They’re really good at extending drives, scoring points and keeping the opposing offense off the field.

MINNESOTA over Chicago – This one could go either way but the Vikings finally got in the win column this week and that could give them some momentum. Adrian Peterson was huge against the Cardinals and the Bears are 28th in the NFL in rushing defense.

Miami over NEW YORK JETS – Since Rex Ryan has taken the helm of the Jets he’s 1-3 against the Dolphins and 0-2 at home. Just as tough as it is to go undefeated, it’s tough to go winless too. The Dolphins and Jets usually play close despite the records and the Jets are not only slumping but the locker room is starting to fracture.

Byes: Denver, Tennessee, Kansas City, Arizona, San Diego and Seattle

Last week: 8-5

Season: 48-29

Photo Credits.
Jason Taylor: AP Photo/J. Pat Carter

United States Men's National Team Holds Open Practice at Red Bull Arena

It’s been said in the media that new United States Men’s National Team head coach Jürgen Klinsmann is still in the honeymoon stage with the team and its loyal supporters. Klinsmann still seems like quite the charmer and is endearing himself to the fans.

Emotions are positive for the German coach. He finally won his first game with the USMNT on Saturday and on Monday, one day before the team takes on Ecuador Klinsmann opened the team’s practice at Red Bull Arena to the public.

Only a day before a game, the practice was light and featured a lot of stretching as opposed to an intense one, but it was a unique opportunity for fans to see how the team went about their daily business with a new coach as well as what Klinsmann’s personal interactions with individual players and the team as a whole are like.



As the players trotted onto the field Klinsmann explained the purpose of the practice and what the fans would see. Things started off with the players breaking up into small groups and doing some one-touch passes in a circle with defenders in the middle. The goalies, in the meantime, did some drills on their own at the end line.



The field players then went to the opposite end of the field and did a lot of stretching. All the players are in the middle of their seasons now. Add in intense training and playing with the national team and injury prevention becomes a big concern.

After stretching the team went into an 11-vs.-10 half-field scrimmage with Clint Dempsey donning a blue pinny and playing as the extra man for both teams. While the starting lineup for the Ecuador game isn’t out the white team featured mostly regular starters like Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo and Jozy Altidore while the orange team featured the likes of Nick Rimando, Jeff Larentowicz and Edson Buddle, three guys who did not play on Saturday.

The play was pretty back and forth for the most part but with little execution. Only two goals were scored during the 20 or 30 minutes the team scrimmaged for, one by Clint Dempsey (for the white team) and one by DaMarcus Beasley.

Beasley was an interesting player on the left-side for the white team. Beasley showed some speed on the flank and dribbled in circles around Michael Orozco Fiscal. At the same time though, Danny Williams seemed to have his way with Beasley, dribbling around him or pushing him off the ball.

Williams was impressive in his ability to push the ball past his defender and his crosses, as were scrimmage teammate Brek Shea’s, were dangerous.

The highlight of the scrimmage came in a series of nice plays. Kyle Beckerman, playing for the orange team, collected a loose ball and slammed a shot at Tim Howard. Howard saved it and –like his pass to Landon Donovan in the Algeria game at the World Cup—threw the ball almost the length of the field to Jozy Altidore. Rimando came out to cut Altidore’s angle off, but the big forward chipped it over his head for what appeared would be a nice goal. While the ball floated back down to the field however New York Red Bulls defender Tim Ream came in, got underneath the ball, and cleared it before it went in the back of the net.



When the scrimmage was completed some of the players that logged big minutes in Saturday’s game (Altidore, Onyewu and Bocanegra for example) stretched at midfield. The rest took part in a crossing drill.

On the left was, as suspected, Brek Shea, Timmy Chandler and DaMarcus Beasley. On the right was Williams, Steve Cherundolo and Jonathan Spector.

Each side would take turns crossing the ball to a man in the middle: Jeff Larentowicz, Teal Bunbury, Juan Agudelo or Orozco Fiscal.

The crossing and finishing both left a lot to be desired but Larentowicz had the goal of the practice when he took a cross and put a diving header into the net past Rimando.



Klinsmann himself got in on the drill as well, for a brief moment, collecting a rebound and shooting it into the back of the net, earning a nice ovation from the crowd.

At completion of the drill, Klinsmann talked to his team in a huddle and then he and the players thanked the fans for coming out.

The practice wasn’t too intense but it got the fans excited about the team and for the game against Ecuador.

Klinsmann, the players and the fans are optimistic about the team’s future. Now it’s up to the new coach and the players to see how long that optimism lasts.

Patriots vs. Jets: BenJarvus Green-Ellis pushes Patriots to Big Win

For one game BenJarvus Green-Ellis turned the pass-happy New England Patriots into a power running team, and the result was a winning one.

“The Law Firm” had a career-high 136 rushing yards to go with two touchdowns en route to a 30-21 victory over the rival New York Jets.

It was only the fourth time he had eclipsed the 100-yard plateau in his career, but it came at a good time. He became the fourth running back to rush for over 100 yards against a Rex Ryan-led Jets defense.

The attack for New England was a more balanced one than usual, throwing 33 passes and running the ball 35 times, and they had only one passing touchdown compared to both of Green’s rushing ones. Green-Ellis had 27 carries and averaged five yards a carry. He also had one catch for 13 yards, bowling over a couple Jets defenders in the process.

The Patriots held the ball on offense for 33:55, over seven minutes longer than the Jets. Green-Ellis pounded the ball up the middle effectively and wore out the Jets defense, which looked tired and sluggish as the game went on.

On the Patriots' last drive they ran 13 plays for 69 yards and took up 6:12. Of those 13 plays 11 were running plays with the ball going to Green-Ellis 10 times for 59 yards. The drive ended in a field goal, which put the Patriots up by two scores and the game just out of reach for the Jets.

With the Patriots never trailing it was easy to hand the ball off and work to kill the clock. But Green-Ellis made sure to put his mark on the game. The dreadlocked back had given way to rookie Stevan Ridley the past two weeks, with the new guy leading the team in rushing yards both games. But today Green-Ellis not only was the leading rusher, he was the team leader.

Photo Credits.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Twitter Report: NFL Week 5

The NFL makes sure to capture everyone’s attention on Sunday’s with thrilling performances on the gridiron. And with increased communication we can see what everyone is thinking on Twitter.

So in Week 5 of the NFL what were the headlines that had all of us, including other professional athletes tweeting?

Tim Tebow (@TimTebow) finally replaced Kyle Orton at quarterback in Denver and the Eagles continued their slide with a loss against Buffalo, so Michael Vick was a popular topic of discussion as well. Some pros even got to experience a game live in person and tweeted us their photos.

Here’s what the pros were saying on Twitter.

Carmelo Anthony, NBA, New York Knicks: @carmeloanthony “No matter what happen, Tim Tebow is always ready when his # is called!!!!! #TrueProfessional”

Jared Dudley, NBA, Phoenix Suns: @JaredDudley619 “I think Tebow lock up his starting job.. It wasn't pretty but will take the Win.. Can't wait to see what @RealSkipBayless says bout Tebow”

Jason Thompson, NBA, Sacramento Kings: @jtthekid “Congrats to @MikeVick on Being the All-Time Rushing Leader As a QB!!!! #Respect #Eagles”

Dwayne Wade, NBA, Miami Heat: @DwayneWade “WOW.. The Eagles have done everything in their own power to lose yet another game-and btw its not all @MikeVick fault.”

Heath Pearce, MLS, Chivas USA & USA: @thehp3 “OMG. I.DIE. 49ers r on a roll...... What a sunday for football. Now just need a fantasy win for my team. #repyourhood”

Herculez Gomez, professional soccer player, Estudiantes Tecos (Mexico) & USA: @herculezg “#JustWinBaby! #raidernation”

Stu Holden, professional soccer player, Bolton (England) & USA: @stuholden “C'mon Texannnnnns ! 4th quarter rally caps”

Marshon Brooks, NBA, New Jersey Nets: @Marshon2 “Tom Brady release is flawless...”

Maya Moore, WNBA, Minnesota Lynx: @MooreMaya “My 1st Vikings Game! Nice Win guys! lockerz.com/s/145840549”

Jose Bautista, MLB, Toronto Blue Jays: @JoeyBats19 “Let's go Steelers!! Time for that bounce back W!! #pregame #warmups #withmybro”

Photo Credits.
Tim Tebow: AP Photo/Joe Mahoney

Tim Howard Saves Shots and the United States Men's National Team

Under Bob Bradley, the United States Men’s National Team was a reactive team: play tough defense and withstand pressure from the opposition and go on the counter attack when the other team overextends itself and is vulnerable.

With Jurgen Klinsmann at the helm the USMNT is working on being a proactive team, attacking and imposing its will on its opposition.

The similarity of both regimes is that they both rely on Tim Howard being at his best.

In the team’s 1-0 victory over Honduras the goalie was once again asked to play hero in net in order to preserve a positive result, just like he has time and time again since being named the No. 1 keeper in 2007.

Howard made six saves, a number of which showcased his incredible athleticism, and was named Budweiser Man of the Match.

The win was his 37th for the red, white and blue tying him for second with Tony Meola on the all-time wins list, behind only Kasey Keller (53). And he has earned every single one of them, not to mention the ties the team has a direct result of his stellar play.

Against Honduras Howard made several big saves. In the 18th minute Honduras sent a ball over the top of the defense that Jerry Bengston collected and went in 1-vs-1 on Howard but the keeper made a point blank stop to deflect the shot away.

He made a diving save on Carlos Costly in the 26th and then in the second half he made a leaping grab on a long range shot from Boniek Garcia.

“Tim is getting to a time in his career where he realizes these are the golden years for him ahead,” Klinsmann told the media after the game. “We really enjoy what he brings to the table.”

Howard is one of only two players to start all four games under Klinsmann (Carlos Bocanegra is the other). His consistently strong play is very important to new German head coach right now.

As the team is adjusting to playing a more attacking style they sometimes get caught too far up field. The formation has changed, with only one defensive midfielder as opposed to the two the team used to put on the field. So on the counterattack there are only five players back to defend at most.

If (and at times when) a player is beat or when there is a lot of space many shots come through. It is up to Howard to save them and bail out the rest of the team while they (hopefully) hustle back.

Howard’s ability to make spectacular and clutch saves lets the rest of the team continue to learn how to attack and go up field, make and learn from mistakes and allows the team not to get frustrated giving up a number of goals and revert back to their old less productive ways.

Klinsmann knows he needs good goalkeeping during these experimental times so the players can learn on the fly but the team can still get results that aren’t too discouraging. One only has to look at his roster selections to see the faith that he has placed in Howard.

Brad Guzan has been the first-choice backup behind Howard the past few years and has started big games during World Cup qualifying and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. But he hasn’t been called up to the National Team by Klinsmann yet. Neither has Marcus Hahnemann, the third goalkeeper on the 2010 World Cup team and Howard’s new teammate at Everton.

The backup has been Bill Hamid, a 20-year old goalie for D.C. United that has not made an appearance for the United States at any level.

There were games in the past, like the Argentina friendly at Giants Stadium or the game against England to open the 2010 World Cup, that the USA would not have gotten a point in had it not been for Tim Howard.

Last night, even with a new coach and new philosophy, was no different. And as the U.S. team continues to work on its attacking style of play and new young players are brought into the fold nothing will be more important than the veteran and extremely talented presence of Howard.

A feature of Tim Howard, his rise to stardom and his intensity. Video from YouTube.


Photo Credits.
Tim Howard: AP Photo/Paul Sancya

NFL Week 5 Picks: Oakland Raiders to Win In Memory of Al Davis

A quarter of the season is complete and we have reached the first week of byes as six teams will sit this week out.

Only two teams remain undefeated (and coincidentally they both play in the NFC North) but double that amount has yet to win a single game.

Tragedy struck the NFL this week as longtime Raider owner Al Davis passed away on Saturday. Many jokes have been made in recent years about the state of Davis while running the Raiders, but make no mistake about it he was a huge part of the NFL for a long time and will be missed, especially by Raider Nation. How will his team respond and play in his honor?

Who do you think will win this week?

Tennessee (3-1) at Pittsburgh (2-2)

It’s a small sample size but the Steelers are 0-2 against teams above .500 this season.

Ben Roethlisberger (foot) will most likely play, but he’s extremely banged up thanks to a porous offensive line. And while the line has not helped the quarterback out they also haven’t helped the running game either.

The Steelers are 21st in the league in rushing yards per game. Rashard Mendenhall has only 173 yards in four games and is questionable for the game against the Titans with a hamstring injury.

There was some concerns the Titans wouldn’t be as good offensively as they had been at the start of the season after Kenny Britt was lost for the year, but the team scored 31 points last week and Chris Johnson finally stepped up and had a 100-yard rushing performance. Now all he needs to do is score a touchdown.

Tennessee wins.

Seattle (1-3) at New York Giants (3-1)

Last year the Giants beat the Seahawks 41-7 and Ahmad Bradshaw scored two touchdowns. And that was in Seattle, where the Seahawks were 5-3 last year.

The Giants haven’t had a 100-yard rushing game from any back thus far this season but at home that could be changed this weekend. They give up 105 yards per game on the ground and that is mostly because they fall behind big early.

If the Giants can get up by a couple scores, probably thanks to wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, they can let Bradshaw run out the clock against a team struggling on offense to keep pace.

New York wins.

Cincinnati (2-2) at Jacksonville (1-3)

The Bengals are first in the league in defensive yards yielded (1,102). They are in the top 10 in both passing yards per game allowed and rushing yards per game allowed. They are also sixth in points allowed.

The Jaguars are last in the league in passing yards per game and last in the league in points scored.

Cincinnati wins.

New Orleans (3-1) at Carolina (1-3)

This one should be exciting: two of the top three ranked passing teams square off, Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees vs. rookie sensation Cam Newton.

But New Orleans averages almost 14 yards more per game on the ground and they score nearly ten more points per game than the Panthers do. And over the past two years the Saints have won three of four games against the Panthers.

Right now, the Panthers just aren’t at the same level as the Saints even if the game is a home one. The Saints are a legitimate Super Bowl contender and are playing like one of the best teams in the league right now.

New Orleans win.

Oakland (2-2) at Houston (3-1)

There have been a number of times where we have seen teams rally behind the loss of someone special to the organization. The Raiders will want to play a good game in honor of former coach, general manager and owner Al Davis, who pass away on Saturday.
The Texans had a big win last week but they will be without top wide receiver Andre Johnson. Johnson has 352 yards receiving this year. No other player listed as a wide receiver has 92 yards receiving. It’s a big loss in their offense.

Oakland wins.

Philadelphia (1-3) at Buffalo (3-1)

What it will come down to is which defense will yield more: the Philadelphia Eagles defense against Fred Jackson and the Bills running game or the Buffalo Bills defense against Michael Vick and the Eagles passing game?

The Eagles have gotten torn apart on the run, 30th in the league in rushing yards allowed and allowing Frank Gore his first 100-yard game of the season.

Meanwhile the Bills are 25th in passing yards allowed per game and are last in the league in sacks with only four in four games.

It’ll be a sigh of relief for Michael Vick if he isn’t hit or hurried. He’s been banged around a lot this season yet he’s still 11th in the league in passer rating, only two tenth of a point behind Tony Romo to fall in the Top 10.

The Eagles will have to play with some urgency to avoid falling to 1-4 and if Vick isn’t pressured then he could lead the Eagles to a very big game.

Philadelphia wins.

Kansas City (1-3) at Indianapolis (0-4)

At home, this could finally be the week the Colts get their first win.

Matt Cassel is 29th in the NFL in passer rating and the Chiefs are 30th in passing yards per game. He could be in for a long day with the pass rushing specialties of Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Both have three sacks this season (in the top 20 in the league).

Curtis Painter played pretty well last week, throwing for 281 yards and two touchdowns. The Chiefs aren’t playing as well as the Bucs so it could be another solid outing for Painter.

Indianapolis wins.

Arizona (1-3) at Minnesota (0-4)

Despite Adrian Peterson and the third ranked rushing game the Vikings are winless. And the passing game is where they really are at a disadvantage.

They are 31st in the NFL in passing yards and 28th in passing yards allowed. A poor passing game in Minnesota definitely benefits the Cardinals defense, which has been poor in defending the pass.

They can throw the ball on offense though. They are 14th in the league in passing averaging 243 yards per game. And while winning games will be the team’s incentive, Larry Fitzgerald, the team’s leading receiver, will be extra motivated to make plays. He’s pledged to donate $1,000 per catch and $10,000 per touchdown this month to breast cancer research. A score or two from him would go a long way in this game.

Arizona wins.

Tampa Bay (3-1) at San Francisco (3-1)

The Buccaneers aren’t the only team that can make comebacks.

The Niners completed a 20-point second half comeback against the Eagles last week. Frank Gore ran for a season-high 127 yards and the game-winning touchdown and then said that the Eagles basically threw in the towel.

Another player to look out for this week is Niners wide receiver Michael Crabtree. After missing Week 3, Crabtree caught five passes for 68 yards against the Eagles. The Buccaneers have the 21st ranked pass defense in the league so it could be a good day for San Francisco in the air at home.

San Francisco wins.

New York Jets (2-2) at New England (3-1)

The Patriots haven’t lost at home since 2007.

The Jets may have the second best pass defense and Revis Island, but the corner can only cover one receiver. The Patriots have plenty of weapons in the passing game that have helped Tom Brady make the Pats the best passing offense in the NFL.

Wes Welker is first in the league in receiving yards (616). But then you have tight end Rob Gronkowski (296 yards, five touchdowns) who has been a huge red zone weapon as well as Deion Branch who also has over 200 yards receiving. Tight end Aaron Hernandez had 165 yards and two touchdowns in his first two games before being injured, but he did practice this week and the Jets will need to plan for him. And don’t forget Chad Ochocinco, who hasn’t made too big a splash yet this year but is learning the playbook more and more and will have a breakout game sooner rather than later.

The Pats have been balanced on offense, unlike the Jets, as they are also ninth in the league in rushing yards per game thanks to the trio of BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Stevan Ridley and Danny Woodhead.

New England wins.

San Diego (3-1) at Denver (1-3)

The Broncos are 29th in the NFL in points allowed. And while the Chargers haven’t been as dangerous so far as in years past they still are an extremely competent offense just waiting to break out.

Kyle Orton may be sixth in the NFL in touchdowns thrown, but he also has six interceptions in only four games, including three last week. The Chargers are fifth in the NFL in passing defense and could make life hard for Orton.

San Diego wins.

Green Bay (4-0) at Atlanta (2-2)

The Falcons have struggled with consistency in the early going while the Packers seem to be effortlessly rolling.

Aaron Rodgers was unbelievable last week, throwing for 408 yards and four touchdowns and adding two rushing touchdowns. Everyone on offense is making contributions and this team is just firing on all cylinders right now.

It’s tough to go against a team that’s playing so well and looks like the best team in the league right now.

Green Bay wins.

Chicago (2-2) at Detroit (4-0)

The Bears are 0-2 against teams that have a record better than .500 and they lost their only game on the road so far this season.

The Lions and their fans are fired up right now. The team is undefeated, they have two 20-point comeback victories in back-to-back weeks and now they have their first primetime game in six years (they haven’t played on Monday Night since 2001).

The fans also will be excited for the potential debut of first round pick Nick Fairley.

The fans will be loud and the team looks good right now.

Detroit wins.

Bye week: Cleveland, Dallas, St. Louis, Miami, Washington, Baltimore

Last week: 11-5

Season: 40-24

Photo Credits/
Al Davis: AP Photo/Paul Sakuma