Predictions
Okay, so it's time for my weekly prediction. How did I do last week with the predictions (outright picking winners, not points or anything like that)? Well, I predicted seven right, and nine wrong! Yikes!
Hopefully, I prove to be a little more accurate this weekend. Let's see:
Tampa Bay at Atlanta - I don't like the way Tampa Bay's season has started, and the way that they look. The Falcons are more or less where you could expect them to be, and they are tough at home. With the Bucs struggling, the Falcons should be able to take advantage and produce some big numbers on offense, winning this one running away. Prediction: Falcons
Green Bay at Detroit - Both teams have question marks. The Packers have been riddled with injuries, and have looked shaky in their first two games. The Lions looked great in their opener, but vulnerable against Carolina. I see the Lions taking advantage of home field in this one, however, and having enough - perhaps just enough - to beat the Pack in this one. Prediction: Packers
San Diego at Buffalo - Oh, man! This is going to be a good game! I like everything that the Buffalo Bills have been doing thus far, but how long can they keep this up? They are going to be handed their first loss eventually, but is this the week? The Chargers look tough on many levels, and that win at home against Seattle was downright impressive! Can they follow it up with a victory over the Bills this week? How tough will Buffalo be at home? I suspect that the Chargers will catch a break by playing this game in Buffalo in September and not December, and I see them pulling it out in a tight contest. Prediction: Chargers
Tennessee at Cincinnati - Sorry, but I don't see this one being much of a contest. The Bengals are always tough at home these last few seasons, and the Titans are just too inconsistent to believe that they can mount a serious challenge. That loss last week at home to Dallas was devastating, and in the meantime, the Bengals are riding high with two solid wins to start the season. Make that three, after this game. Cincinnati has to many weapons on offense, and to solid of a defense, for Tennessee to even make much of a game out of this one. Prediction: Bengals
Baltimore at Cleveland - Okay, here, I am going to predict an upset. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I will go ahead and say that the Browns will defeat the Ravens at home this weekend. Baltimore looked bad in their first game, but very good in their second. Cleveland, in the meantime, looked very bad in the first half of their first game, but have been impressive since, giving the Steelers and the Saints all that they can handle. They will give the Ravens all that they can handle, as well, and in fact, will pull off an improbable victory, although it will take all four quarters to do so. Prediction: Browns
Washington at Philadelphia - Easy one to predict here! Philly will remain undefeated by beating a Washington team that is good enough to overwhelm Jacksonville while enjoying home field advantage, but will likely be overwhelmed themselves when they travel up to Philadelphia. The Eagles look awesome right now, and I really doubt that they are going to need some epic comeback to down their divisional foes this weekend. Prediction: Eagles
Indianapolis at Jacksonville - Jax looks weak once again, and surprisingly, the Colts are down in the basement with them at this point. But how long do you think that will last? Not long. In fact, it does not go beyond this weekend, because despite losing, the Colts have looked good and shown something in both of their games so far. The same cannot be said of the Jaguars, and they will not be able to keep up with a Colts team determined to get things straight and produce their first victory of the season. Prediction: Colts
Minnesota at New Orleans - The Saints return to their winning ways against Minnesota this weekend! The Vikings have distractions, obviously, surrounding Adrian Petersen. They looked absolutely terrible without him offensively last week, and their defense is going up against one of the best offenses in the business. Plus, this game is at New Orleans, where the Saints generally are close to unbeatable. This one could get out of hand fast, if the Vikings are not careful! Prediction: Saints
Houston at NY Giants - I really want the Giants to win this contest, and think that they can do it. At least, theoretically. But here's the thing: the G-Men look like they are in for a long season already. And the Texans look tough, riding high after two straight wins to start off the season. I suspected that they were far better than their 2-14 record indicated last season, and I'm sticking with it. I hope Im wrong here, but these two teams are going in the opposite direction. My heart tells me this one goes to the Giants, but my head tells me the Texans pull this off, disrupting New York enough to get a big road win. Prediction: Texans
Oakland at New England - Oh boy! This one could get really, really ugly! New England looked great last week in crushing the Vikings in Minnesota, and they follow that up at home against the 0-2 Raiders? They should put on a,clinic, knowing how valuable this game will be, as it likely will get them right back to a tie atop the AFC East, after being in sole possession of last place to start the season. I don't see any way that the Raiders can keep up in this one, or even keep it close, frankly. Prediction: Patriots
Dallas at St. Louis - The Cowboys got a solid win last weekend at Tennessee, and now, they face a St. Louis team that, frankly, has more questions than answers, even after producing a road win themselves at Tampa. the Rams do not look good on offense, and their defense will be severely tested against the potentially explosive Dallas offense. I see the Cowboys jumping ahead early, and managing the game pretty well the rest of the way. At least, well enough to win. Prediction: Cowboys
San Francisco at Arizona - This might just be the game of the week to watch. This and the San Diego-Buffalo games look very intriguing, but this one is a divisional match-up! The favored 49ers, everyone's sexy pick for the Super Bowl, are coming off a disappointing loss to Chicago last Sunday night, for their home opener (in fact, the historic new stadium opener). They'll want to straighten up, but at Arizona is a tough way to do it. The Cards, in the meantime, have to be riding high after a thrilling comeback win against San Diego, and a convincing road win at the Giants. Their defense is obviously tough, and with the 49ers being one of the elite defenses, this game is likely going to be a low scoring affair. But I will go ahead and predict that the Cardinals will take advantage of their home field, and find a way to hand the 49ers their second consecutive loss. Prediction: Cardinals
Kansas City at Miami - Tough game to call. The Chiefs may be better than I expected them to be, despite it not being reflected in their 0-2 record. They looked tough again at Denver, but I still have a tough time believing that they are a true playoff contender this year. I see them struggling, but they have a chance against a Dolphins team that was shaken up not just by the loss up at Buffalo, but by the injury to Moreno, their running back. This is a tough game to call, but the Dolphins will want to bounce back from that loss, while for Kansas City, they are in serious danger of making losing a habit. And the Dolphins, despite the setbacks last weekend, should be tough enough at home to pull this one off. Prediction: Dolphins
Denver at Seattle - Big game! Rematch of last year's Super Bowl. The Broncos are off to another undefeated start, but have looked shaky at times, struggling to hang on against both Indianapolis and Kansas City. In the meanwhile, the Seahawks looked dominant at home against Green Bay, but shaky on the road last week against San Diego. Normally, I would systematically take the Seahawks at home, but the Broncos, despite their struggles, are not your ordinary, run of the mill team, and also, they have a big time revenge factor on their side. Obviously, they want to win this game to remain unbeaten, but they also want to give Seattle a little payback for last year's Super Bowl debacle, and what better place to do that than in Seattle itself? Still, I'm not sure that Denver is physically tough enough right now to match up against what is still the most physical team in the league. Tough game to call. But I have to call it, right? Prediction: Broncos
Pittsburgh at Carolina - The Panthers have a tough defense, although their are question marks about how effective they will be on offense with a weak offensive line, and many questions still surrounding Cam Newton. The Steelers barely scraped together a win at home against Cleveland after being spotted a 24-point lead, and then looked horrendous in being shut down completely by the Baltimore Ravens. The Panthers have some question marks with the secondary, but they still have contained their opponents in terms of points. If they could keep Detroit's dangerous pass attack to 7 points total, then I suspect that they have enough to beat Pittsburgh, too. Prediction: Panthers
Chicago at NY Jets - A second straight national television appearance for the Bears, and again, they will be on the road. This time, they have an opponent that, quite likely, is not nearly as good as the one that they just faced. The Jets have gotten off to a decent start, beating the Raiders in week one, and taking a sizable lead against the Packers at Lambeau Field. However, they collapsed after taking a 21-3 lead, being outscored 28-3 the rest of the way. Chicago should be brimming with confidence, and should also have a sense of the significance of this game, since they are in a four-way tie for first in the NFC North. If they want to stay at least tied for first place, these are the kinds of games that they need to win, and I think they'll do just that. Prediction: Bears
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