Okay, so I am taking a break from writing about overly serious, and frankly, depressing topics for at least one day.
So, here is my weekly tradition of picks for the upcoming week in the NFL. Some good games, and some which are interesting because it pits two bad teams against one another. Only one undefeated team remaining the league, but my guess is that after this week, no one will survive this weekend still unbeaten.
Let's take a look:
Arizona at Philadelphia - Interesting game here. The Cardinals should be better than their 2-2 record, while there are questions about whether the Eagles are as good as their 3-1 mark so far might suggest. Philly has home field advantage, which certainly helps. Arizona's defense is decent, and should test the Eagles. Arizona is particularly tough against the run, which means that Carson Wentz will have to shoulder more of the burden of getting this offense moving. However, the Cardinals have themselves struggled on offense, and their offensive line has allowed opposing defenses to get to their quarterback, Carson Palmer, sacking him and/or forcing him into bad passes. Frankly, this is a tough game to call, but the Cardinals have more or less owned the Eagles in recent years. My guess is that they will edge Philly out again today, taking a step towards re-establishing themselves as a serious playoff contender. My pick: Arizona
Buffalo at Cincinnati - Believe it or not, this is one of my very favorite rivalries in the NFL. These two teams met twice in the playoffs, in 1981 and 1988. Both times, in Cincinnati, and both times, the game was won by the Bengals, who would go on to the Super Bowl and, yes, would lose to San Francisco, both times. For reasons that sometimes are not even entirely clear to me, these two teams remind me of one another. But not this season. The Bills look like serious playoff contenders, with one of the toughest defenses in the league. And the Bengals? Well, sure, they blew out the Browns last week, but they have not won a game against any particularly impressive teams. Buffalo looks hot, they seem to have momentum, and that should continue with a win in Cincy today. My pick: Buffalo
Carolina at Detroit - Yet again, Detroit has another big game! This one will be a big showdown against another 3-1 team in the Carolina Panthers, who just managed a huge victory against the Patriots in New England! The Panthers proved that they can be tough, although Detroit presents some new problems for them. I am still not convinced that they are quite near elite form, like they were two years ago, and suspect that the Lions defense will prove tough, and that Carolina will struggle. Plus, the Lions potent offense should be able to move the ball. All of this should prove to be a bit too much for Carolina. My pick: Detroit
Jacksonville at Pittsburgh - The Jaguars are an improved team, but if they could not beat the Jets on the road last week, a visit to Pittsburgh will not be any easier. The Steelers have a dangerous offense and a solid defense, and couple that with home field advantage, it would seem almost too much for anybody, let alone a team that is just beginning to show some serious progress. Frankly, it is hard to imagine the Jaguars winning this, other than if Pittsburgh has some kind of breakdown. My pick: Pittsburgh
L.A. Chargers at N.Y. Giants - A battle between two winless teams. New York was expected to be a serious contender, yet they have been blown out in two games, and lost two tough games in the past two weeks. The Chargers seem to be experiencing déjà vu all over again themselves, as they seem to find improbable ways to lose each week. The result of all of this bad fortune between these two teams is a combined 0-8 record. But they face each other today, and one has to assume that someone will win this particular game. Eli Manning and Philip Rivers came out of the same legendary class of 2004 in terms of the draft, and despite having enjoyed Super Bowl success, Manning has never beaten Rivers. However, the Chargers never quite looked this bad in previous meetings. Then again, neither have the Giants. I still think the G-Men have finally shown something on offense the last two weeks, and they should again this week. It is a tough game, because frankly, both teams have shown that they cannot be relied upon to win games. And maybe picking the Giants is a bit like Charlie Brown trying to kick the ball against Lucy, but New York is bound to win a football game one of these Sunday...right? My pick: N.Y. Giants
N.Y. Jets at Cleveland - This truly is amazing! Here, I thought that the Jets were in serious trouble this season, in danger of being the worst team in the league. Yet, here I am, about to pick them to win a third straight game! But the Browns are truly terrible, they seem to be experiencing adversity both on the field and off of it, and it is once again proving too much for them. They had a battle against another winless team last weekend in the Bengals, and they were completely dismantled despite home field advantage. New York may not yet be a serious playoff contender, but they should have more than enough to get past Cleveland today. My pick N.Y. Jets
San Francisco at Indianapolis - The Colts look horrible this season, while the 49ers remain winless. San Francisco has played well at times, showing some glimpses on offense a couple of weeks ago, and hanging in and playing tough against quality divisional opponents, despite losing. The Colts, by contrast, have been a bit up and down, although still mostly down. Their defense might be the worst in the league, and their offense without Luck has been nothing to brag about, either. Yet, they have home field advantage, and that should help. Whoever wins this can at least feel like they are still in the playoff races, for now. The loser is likely on a fast track to last place in their division. Difficult game to pick, because neither team has shown consistency yet. My pick: Indianapolis
Tennessee at Miami - The Titans want to rebound from that embarrassment in Houston last weekend, while the Dolphins also want to put the futility of the past two games behind them. The Dolphins are likely tired, as they are coming from London, and a game where they were shut out, to boot. Miami has put a total of six points on the board in the past two weeks, so they obviously need to put some points on the board this week, as they are the only team not to have scored at least 20 points in any game this season, and they have scored far and away the least points of any team in the league thus far. The Titans have shown some promise, and that is why it would be difficult and seemingly unwise to pick against them this weekend. My pick: Tennessee
Baltimore at Oakland - The Ravens are reeling, with their supposedly elite defense not having played especially well in the past two weeks. Then again, the Raiders were supposed to be highly competitive as well this season, but they, too, have dropped two straight games. However, they return to the Black Hole today, and their offense, which has struggled the last two weeks, will look to return back to elite form. It should be an interesting game, but in the end, a tough road trip to the West Coast will be tough, and my expectations are that the Raiders will add to the miseries of the Ravens. My pick: Oakland
Seattle at L.A. Rams - What a game this can be! Huge divisional showdown between the two NFC West teams that have looked the best and seem to show the most promise for this season. The Seahawks have been the traditional powerhouse within this division now for quite a few years, even seeming to be better than the Cardinals when Arizona officially took the division. The Rams have looked good so far, but they need to be tested before we go too far with how seriously we can take them. This is one of those tests, and it is a divisional game, so this one is huge for them! As for Seattle, they have hardly played with their usual measure of intensity, so this will be a big test for them, too. So much at stake this early in the season for both teams, and that makes this particular game especially intriguing! The Rams have looked incredible offensively thus far, but remember how bad this offense was last season? Have they really resolved all of those issues, or have they played the right team under the right circumstances to look as impressive as they have been so far? Seattle should provide a very tough test for them, and frankly, I am not yet convinced that the Rams are up to it just yet. My pick: Seattle
Green Bay at Dallas - Another game that should be good, and is definitely intriguing! These two teams have met twice in the last three postseasons, with the Packers winning both meetings. Dallas is hungry for revenge, but are they capable of getting it? Green Bay has looked good so far, and the 'Boys have looked more questionable early this season than many expected them to. Maybe they will get it together as the season wears on, but they just do not look as good as they did for most of last season. One thing that they do have for this game is home field advantage and, indeed, that should help. It will probably be a close game, perhaps even a back and forth one. But based on what we have seen so far from both teams, and the talent that they both have, it is hard for me to predict anyone but the Packers coming through in this one. My pick: Green Bay
Sunday Night Football - Kansas City at Houston - The league's only remaining undefeated team puts their unblemished record on the line in a tough contest at Houston. The Texans have looked good thus far, and seem to have resolved some of the issues on offense that have plagued them and limited their possibilities in recent seasons. Houston has a tough defense, of course, so the Chiefs will have their work cut out for them. But Houston's offense must be feeling more swagger than they have felt in a while, and the question for me is how much they will be able to take advantage of that in this game. How the Houston offense goes should determine how the game goes. I am really impressed with what KC has done thus far, but this is a tough challenge, and it is hard to see the Chiefs coming out of this one with a win. My pick: Houston
Monday Night Football - Minnesota at Chicago - Another nationally televised NFC North showdown, this one featuring the division's bottom two teams. The Vikings are probably better, although the Bears at least have home field advantage. Also, Chicago's confidence probably is strong (or was before getting blown out in Green Bay last week), because the Bears have exceeded expectations thus far. Still, Minnesota has the better team, and you have to figure that they are going to win some games when they need to, and they probably need to win this one to keep up with Detroit and Green Bay. My pick: Minnesota
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