Interesting series of games last week. For the most part, the home teams were winning, no matter which team had the better record. I hope that doesn't happen this week, as I'm picking many visiting teams.
Thurs Sept 28
Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers: Ironically, both the Bears and Packers come off overtime wins last week. The Bears gave up a 17 point lead on the Steelers, while the Pack had to come from behind. Somehow, I don't think we'll get overtime this week. Normally this would be an easy win for the Packers, but they have suffered some crucial injuries on their offensive line. The Bears defense doesn't rush much, but they'll certainly take advantage of the depleted Packers' line. The Pack should still win, though, because they can counter the Bears greatest offensive strength - the running game. The Pack have a decent defensive line, which will make it hard to accumulate excessive running yards. Forcing Glennon to throw will be the key to a Packers victory. PACKERS
Sun Oct 1 - London game
New Orleans Saints v Miami Dolphins: Back to London for the second week in a row. Jay Cutler had a great game last week, but he's too inconsistent to count on that. The Saints' offense hasn't quite looked like themselves recently, but this game might just be the spark that they need. SAINTS
Sunday early games
Buffalo Bills at Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons are flying this season. Apparently the fourth quarter shocker administered by the Patriots in the Super Bowl has convinced them that no lead is safe, and to keep battling to the final gun. That attitude will wear down teams like Buffalo, who are not used to fighting hard for the full four quarters. FALCONS
Carolina Panthers at New England Patriots: The Patriots have bounced back well from their opening week stunner. They are playing like a team with something to prove, to silence the naysayers who questioned the Patriots after that loss. Carolina comes to town in the midst of that firestorm, and they will come out burned. While this will likely be a close game, I foresee New England pulling it out. PATRIOTS
Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns: Now I begin a string of visiting team picks. Neither of these teams has been impressive so far this season, but DeShone Kiser has not developed as quickly as the Browns hoped. Andy Dalton is a known quality. He can get rattled, but I don't think the Browns defense is quite capable of that. BENGALS
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings: This match could really go either way. Even without Sam Bradford the Vikings looked good last week. Close games like this I usually favor the home team, but not this time. Detroit nearly won last week, and they're still peeved that they let that one get away. I expect them to play extra hard to ensure a win this week. LIONS
Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets: I don't care that the Jets won last week, they still can't be counted on to be consistently good. Surprisingly, the Jags have shown that this season. QB Blake Bortles has been playing better than he looked in preseason, and he is getting great play from his line and his receivers. The defense is stiff, too, which will make it a hard day for the Jets offense. JAGUARS
Los Angeles Rams at Dallas Cowboys: I have a student who won't be pleased with me, but I have to give the Rams the edge. The Cowboys offense has not been as dynamic as they were last season, and the Rams have a very stiff defense. Jared Goff and the Rams offense isn't bad, either. More importantly, the Rams are playing very error-free football, something the Cowboys can't claim. Watch for the upset here. RAMS
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens: It's always a battle when these two get together. Expect both defenses to be tight and tough. The Steelers offense, when it's on track like they were in the second half last week, can be great. They can get off-track, though, but against a divisional opponent like Baltimore, they should remain intentional. STEELERS in a close one
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans: The Texans have just withered this season! After preseason, I would have picked the Texans quickly to win this game, but I have to go the other way. Houston is struggling and they can't seem to figure out what's wrong. Mariota has the Titans offense humming, and the defense, although not composed of the talent of the Texans, nevertheless does an excellent job. TITANS
Sunday late games
New York Giants at Tampa Bay Bucs: The Giants had a good game last week. Despite a loss, they stayed within range of the Eagles. I don't think they'll do that this week. The Bucs defense will frustrate the Giants offense, something they suffered in the first two weeks. On the other side of the ball, improvements in Jameis Winston and new support players has made the Bucs offense fun to watch, including on highlight reels. BUCS
Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos: These two teams are fairly evenly matched. The biggest advantage might be the stadium. Opponents find it hard to play well in the altitude at Mile High Stadium. Even those the Raiders go every year, I think the stadium advantage will be enough to allow Denver to squeak past Oakland in a very close game. BRONCOS
Philadelphia Eagles at Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers have looked poor this season. The Eagles defense will give the Chargers some chances to score, but the Eagles offense is better - much better. EAGLES
San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals: The Brian Hoyer era in San Francisco has been bumpy. It is not completely Hoyer's fault (some of those guys really need to learn how to catch a ball!), the 49ers offense is faltering. Since the defense isn't reliable to produce turnovers, it leads to one-sided games. CARDINALS
Sunday night
Indianapolis Colts at Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks have not been playing well this season, but the Colts have been downright abysmal. Obviously the absence of Andrew Luck under center has something to do with it, but the defense has not stiffened to help support Jacoby Brisset's learning curve. Expect the Seahawks defense to confuse and attack Brisset all game. SEA HAWKS
Monday Night Football
Washington Redskins at Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs have been on fire this season! Alex Smith is putting up career numbers, and the defense has been extremely tight. It would require a very talented and high performing team to beat them, and that is not how we would describe Washington right now. CHIEFS
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