I'm picking a large number of home teams this week. The fans will be happy about that, but most weeks don't end with so many home victories. I smell potential upsets in the water.
Thursday night
Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings : Here's an upset I'm picking. The Steelers came on strong last week and shocked the Ravens. They have also played the other NFC North teams tough. However, I think they may have outdone themselves last week against the Ravens. That victory took a physical toll, and I'm not sure they're up to competing against a Vikings squad that, when they get clicking, have an offense as tough as anyone's. VIKINGS, 21-16
Sunday early games
Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers : Carolina has had some bad breaks, and lost some close games, but their team is not bad. Atlanta just can't seem to get it together. They have the talent to win this game, but they haven't utilized that talent throughout the season, and I see no reason to expect it to appear now. PANTHERS, 23-20
Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns : Another "old Browns versus new Browns" game, and it comes following a tough loss by the Ravens. They don't want to lose two in a row, so they'll fight extra hard this game. RAVENS, 27-16
Dallas Cowboys at Washington : Washington is improving, but they still can't compete with the Dallas offense. COWBOYS, 31-16
Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans : This should be a blowout. TITANS, 27-13
Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs : Man, it's really hard to pick the Raiders. They have the talent and the sneaky playbook to win, but they also have a tendency to hurt themselves in the game. I think the up-tempo offense of the Chiefs will cause the Raiders to make some mistakes, handing the game to the Chiefs. CHIEFS, 24-20
New Orleans Saints at New York Jets : The Jets are really struggling. The Saints are still trying to find a consistent offense, but their defense will down the Jets. SAINTS, 20-13
Seattle Seahawks at Houston Texans : Neither team has a functioning offense. In years past, I would pick Houston in a defensive battle, but they can't get out of their way this season. SEAHAWKS, 16-13
Sunday late games
Buffalo Bills at Tampa Bay Bucs : Unlike the previous game, this one will be an offensive showdown. That normally benefits the Bills, but they've been making some mistakes recently, too. BUCS, 34-30
Detroit Lions at Denver Broncos : Good news! The Lions won last week. Bad news -- they won't make it two in a row. Not with the Broncos' defense against them. BRONCOS, 23-13
New York Giants at Los Angeles Chargers : This will be a defensive battle, although the Chargers have the edge there. CHARGERS, 17-10
San Francisco 49ers at Cincinnati Bengals : A week after a huge win over Pittsburgh the Bengals got stopped by the Chargers. They will work hard this week shoring up some holes in preparation for another tough defense. BENGALS, 27-20
Sunday night
Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers : Well, at least I get to see my Bears play. I'll get to see them lose, but I'll get to see them play. PACKERS, 27-17
Monday Night Football
Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals : Despite the difference in records, this is definitely a potential upset. When they get clicking, the Rams can be extremely hard to stop. The Cardinals certainly have the offense to keep pace, the defense to try to slow them, but if the Rams really get smoking, this game will go their way. CARDINALS, 33-31
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