Starting this week, four teams have Byes and therefore there are only 14 games to pick this weekend. Looking at the schedule, there doesn't appear to be those possible upsets that would spur lots of debate, but we will find the "Upset Special Pick of the Week" and hope they do better than my pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to upset the Pittsburgh Steelers from last week (Not!). I'll pick & pan the Ravens at Steelers game Sunday morning, so here goes and post your agreements and disagreements below:
Jets over Bills: Despite putting a 30-spot up against the Patriots in a losing effort last week, Buffalo faces a much tougher defense in New York and shouldn't have anywhere near the same success.
Bengals over Browns: Not the AFC North match-up that most people are talking about this week, but the "Battle of Ohio" will draw a lot of local interest but just yawns elsewhere as the Bengals should prevail over Cleveland.
Titans over Broncos: A rough game for both, but the combination of Chris Johnson and the home field should be enough to pull this one out for Tennessee.
Saints over Panthers: New Orleans is an angry bunch and have a new kicker so that they don't miss a close one, especially against a winless and sad looking Carolina team.
Packers over Lions: Detroit is looking better than last year, but have no chance to upsetting Green Bay. Sorry.
Rams over Seahawks: Yes, this is my "Upset Special Pick of the Week," as St. Louis is playing better offensively with a rookie QB and their defense is not nearly as bad as it was, plus Seattle is bad on the road.
Falcons over 49ers: Can the pre-season favorites in the NFC West (San Francisco) fall to 0-fer in 2010 against a tough Atlanta team that is looking pretty decent lately themselves? Yes they (both) can.
Texans over Raiders: If Oakland can't make a game winning FG against the Cardinals last week, then they won't outscore the high-flying Houston offense.
Colts over Jaguars: This used to be a great match-up but while Indianapolis is still one of the top teams, Jacksonville is in a free-fall to the bottom of the AFC South.
Redskins over Eagles: Sort of an upset of sorts, as I have envisioned QB Donovan McNabb going back to Philadelphia to beat his former team since the day they traded him.
Chargers over Cardinals: San Diego is another one of those angry teams, as they lost a close one last week while Arizona barely squeaked by against a lowly Oakland team.
Bears over Giants (Sunday Night Football): If this pick comes true, then expect the New York media to have a field day with the team that will have lost their last two home games and Chicago is looking like a real contender.
Dolphins over Patriots (Monday Night Football): A very good game on prime time, but the way New England played defense last week makes them look primed for a loss to a Miami team that needs to rebound after a close loss at home to the Jets last week.
Last week: 9-7
Season record: 33-15