The biggest game by far heading into this weekend will be an afternoon showdown between the undefeated Rams, who will be visiting New Orleans. These two teams boast the two best records in the NFC, so it is not a stretch at all to suggest that this game could have serious implications for home field advantage, even though we are still only at the mid-season point.
There are some other big ones, as well. The Ravens will host the red hot Steelers, who are in the lead in the AFC North, and could threaten to pull away with a win here. Another big one in Washington, where the visiting Falcons hope to find a way to keep their winning streak alive, and thus to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive. Minnesota, like Pittsburgh, could begin to pull away a bit from their competition with a win over Detroit, as the Packers are also likely to lose in New England. This might make the NFC North a two team race between them and the Bears, who should have enough to earn the win up at Buffalo. The Chargers visit Seattle, and both teams are hot and better than most expected. Finally, another intriguing game features the red hot Texans, riding the wave of a five-game winning streak, visiting the Mile High City in hopes of extending their streak, while the Broncos need the win to keep their heads floating above the rushing waters of mid-season.
Let's take a closer look:
N.Y. Jets at Miami - The Jets lost the earlier meeting between these two teams. And while both of these teams are suffering through losing streaks, the Jets have been a bad road team, having lost three straight after that opening day win in Detroit. The Dolphins, meanwhile, keep struggling on offense, and their defense is also vulnerable, as well. However, the Jets are fairly close to the bottom of the pack on both offense and defense, also. Not a good combination to have, and with Miami being especially strong at home, having won three of their four home games so far, it would seem that the Fins should pull this one out. My pick: Miami
Pittsburgh at Baltimore - The Ravens defense is one of the toughest units in the league. Yet, although Pittsburgh's offense does not rank statistically as one of the best, they sure seem to be coming on as of late. The Ravens have home field advantage, but the Steelers thus far remain unbeaten on the road, with only that one tie against Cleveland on opening week preventing them from having an outright perfect road record. These two teams should be evenly matched, and Baltimore actually defeated the Steelers earlier this season, at Pittsburgh. But this is a game of momentum, and the Ravens have lost two straight and three of their last four, while the Steelers have now won three straight, and taken over first place in the AFC North. My pick: Pittsburgh
Chicago at Buffalo - The Bears have surprised many with how solid they are this season, particularly on defense. And while they have their issues on offense, they are nowhere near as poor as the Bills offense, which is one of the worst offenses in the entire league. True, Buffalo has surprised some people with their two wins this season, but they have now lost three straight, and now find themselves well behind in the AFC East. Look for a low scoring contest, but the Bears should have more than enough to get past the Bills in this game. My pick: Chicago
Atlanta at Washington - Washington is red hot, having won three straight and taken over the NFC East lead. They are even threatening to run away with the division if they keep winning, and the other teams in the division keep struggling. Mostly, their success has been on the defensive side, although they will have their hands full today, with Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense coming into town. And while Atlanta's offense has not looked as good as it did two years ago, during the Super Bowl season, they still are loaded with talent, and finally have some momentum. Plus, they need this to stay relevant in the playoff picture as Thanksgiving looms. My guess is that they step up with a sense of urgency and pull off a road upset here. My pick: Atlanta
Kansas City at Cleveland - The Browns seem to be unraveling lately. They have lost three straight, and that was an especially brutal loss to the Steelers last week. Plus, the change in head coach might help or have been necessary, but it will likely destabilize and hurt them in the short term. Not exactly great news for Cleveland is this visit by the Chiefs, who remain one of the hottest teams in the league. If KC has a weakness, it would be their defense, which allows a lot of yards and quite a few points, to boot. But the KC offense can bury opponents with an avalanche of points, and the Browns simply do not have the kind of offensive firepower to keep up. These two teams are heading in opposite directions, and this game should be further proof of that. My pick: Kansas City
Detroit at Minnesota - Most people keep expecting the Vikings to pull away in this division, and yet they never do. It does not help when they lose games like the one they lost to Buffalo earlier this season. The Vikings still have one of the most explosive offense in the league, as well as a middle of the pack defense. There is some tremendous talent on offense there, and they are on the edge of being perhaps the most elite, unstoppable unit in the league, although they just barely stay out of that grouping. But the Vikings should still be the class of the NFC North, even though their record does not yet show it. The Lions are not a bad team, but going into Minnesota to try and pull off this road win is asking a lot. I suspect it is a bit too much for Detroit to handle. Look for the Vikings to begin to look like the best team in this division point blank, beginning with this game. My pick: Minnesota
Tampa Bay at Carolina - The Bucs looked great to start the season, getting off to a 2-0 start, and seemingly having one of the most impressive and explosive offenses in the league. However, they have since dropped four of their last five games. Their offense remains impressive, but their defense is a vulnerability. Carolina's defense is a pretty decent unit, and so this should be a good match-up. And while Carolina's offense has struggled, so has Tampa's defense. One of the most important deciding factors could be home field advantage, and the Panthers are an impressive 4-0 at home, while Tampa is 1-3 when on the road. That makes picking against the home team unwise. My pick: Carolina
Houston at Denver - Another big game. The Texans want to stay hot, having won five straight and taken over the AFC South. Meanwhile, the Broncos are teetering on the edge, and absolutely need a win to keep any realistic hopes to remain in the playoff picture alive. Houston's offense is not one of the most explosive units in the league, yet they shown explosive ability in two of their wins during their current streak, scoring 37 at Indianapolis, and then overwhelming the Dolphins with 42 points scored last week. Other than the Arizona game, the Broncos have not really showed an ability to light up the scoreboard, so that makes the effort by the Denver defense to keep the Texans offense honest that much more important. But the Broncos have struggled a bit on defense at times, and it has proved costly at times. After all, there is a reason for why this team is 3-5, and barely teetering on the edge of relevancy. This is a tough test for both teams, but it is hard to pick against the team that is hot with one of the longest winning streaks in the league, so I have to go with the road team here. My pick: Houston
L.A. Chargers at Seattle - Here is another unexpectedly interesting game that most people would not have figured prior to the season starting. Both the Chargers and the Seahawks have surprised many people with how strong they have been. The Chargers have a solid offense, led by veteran QB Philip Rivers. While not one of the elite units in the league, they can move the ball to a fair degree, and have shown an ability to score some points. But the Seahawks defense is way better than most expected them to be. Indeed, if you had not noticed the change in personnel, you might still think that the "Legion of Boom" was still around. Russell Wilson is also enjoying a banner season, and so that makes the 'Hawks especially dangerous this year. The Seahawks have only played twice at home, and have a 1-1 record there. However, that one loss was a close loss to the Rams, and so it seems that they are a tough team to beat at home. In a close game that is hard to choose, that could prove to be a decisive factor, and it is why my own prediction went the way that it did. My pick: Seattle
L.A. Rams at New Orleans - This figures to be the biggest game entering this weekend. The two hottest teams in the NFC, and two of the three hottest teams in the NFL, in terms of both active winning streaks and overall records. The Rams are undefeated at 8-0, and the Saints are 6-1, with six straight wins. Los Angeles has one of the most complete teams in the league, with a decent defense, and the highest rated offense in the league, an offense that can move the ball and has produced more yards than any other team, and has scored more points than any team except Kansas City. The Saints have a slightly better than average defense, and statistically, their offense does not stand out as much in terms of yards produced. However, they have Drew Brees, who is playing incredibly well and providing veteran leadership. They also have scored the fourth most points of any team in the league, and that is impressive, considering that none of the four teams who have scored more (Kansas City, New England, and of course the Rams) have had a bye week yet, which the Saints have. So, the Saints might be able to keep up with the Rams in this one. This should be a shoot-out, and it is really difficult to predict the winner. My guess is that home field advantage helps just enough to allow the Saints to squeak out a win in this contest. My pick: New Orleans
Sunday Night Football
Green Bay at New England - This could have been a real intriguing match-up earlier this season, when both teams could pass for elites, and this might have been considered a possible Super Bowl preview. But the Packers have struggled in a big way thus far, and that is particularly true on the road, where they have yet to win a game. Aaron Rodgers is still Aaron Rodgers, so Green Bay is always dangerous. But you can definitely say the same thing for Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots, and that is particularly true when they play at Foxboro, where they usually play at their best, and where they have yet to lose this year, having earned a 4-0 home record thus far. This would be a tough place for the Pack to earn heir first road win of the year and, frankly, I am not brave enough with these picks to suggest that they will do it. My pick: New England
Monday Night Football
Tennessee at Dallas - This might have provided a good match-up earlier this season, when the Titans were playing much sharper. But the Titans are clearly on a slump, and it is a bit of a tall order to expect them to right their ship out in Dallas, which has proven to be a tough place for opponents to play. So far, the Cowboys are undefeated there, and have played their best. Tennessee has struggled on offense big time recently, and they seem to lack confidence during their current three game losing streak. The Cowboys, meanwhile, have also struggled quite a bit this season, but they should be able to get past Tennessee in this one. My pick: Dallas
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