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Carolina at NY Giants - I would love to able to predict a Giants win here. After all, the Panthers have been struggling as of late, following up a very impressive 3-0 start with three straight losses. However, the G-Men are one of the worst teams in the league at 1-5, and are not even at full strength. In fact, it almost feels like right now, the Giants might actually be the worst team in the league. They struggle in particular on offense, and again, without being really healthy, it is difficult to imagine them suddenly coming to life and lighting up the scoreboard here. Hope I am wrong with this pick, as a Giants fan, but if an honest assessment is guiding this particular prediction, it feels like the road team should pull off the win. My pick: Carolina
NY Jets at New England - Maybe the dynasty days are over for the Pats, and most of their opponents are trying to get revenge for all of those years of torment at the hand of New England. But if there is one team that the Pats have continued their complete dominance of, it would be Gang Green. Just a little over one month ago, the Patriots completely dismantled the Jets at the Meadowlands. The hope for New York fans is that this team will have taken the lessons from that game, coupled with the extra time and extra rest of the bye week, and come up with something that will surprise Belichick and the Pats. Unfortunately, I cannot in good faith predict a Jets win just yet up in Foxboro. They just do not appear to be good enough so far this season to have faith that they are about to exercise this particular demon. My pick: New England
Kansas City at Tennessee - The Titans just won a huge game at home against a team that figures to be a top contender in the AFC. Now, they have to do it again. This time, it is against the Chiefs, the team that has been the top team in the conference for years. KC, of course, has not looked as good as they normally have in recent years, at least to this point in the season. However, it still kinda feels like they are going to erupt at any moment, doesn't it? I mean, with the talent that they have on the offensive side, they are bound to get over the doldrums and begin to really roll again soon, right? Not sure that this will be the game or not, though. This one feels a bit like a toss up. Still, despite that impressive win last week by the Titans, I still tend to feel that the Chiefs are the team to beat in the AFC until they are knocked out of the thing, and that has not happened yet. So I am going with the road team for the win in this one. My pick: Kansas City
Cincinnati at Baltimore - The two top teams in the AFC North face off in this one, and one game separates them. That makes this a huge game. For the Bengals, a win would seriously validate their success thus far this season. However, going into Baltimore to take on a seasoned team with a ton of experience and talent feels like a bit too much of a test for Cincy right now. My pick: Baltimore
Washington at Green Bay - Washington is struggling, while Green Bay is rolling. There is always a chance that the Packers could suffer a letdown, but that is what it would be, should they lose this game. Frankly, the Packers are the better team, with superior talent and experience, and there is no reason to believe that they will lose this one, logically speaking. Upsets happen, but that is not the direction of my pick, at least, in this particular game. My pick: Green Bay
Atlanta at Miami - The Dolphins have not won in quite a long time now. The Falcons got off to a rough start, but have shown signs of life recently. They still have Matt Ryan at quarterback, and still feel like the kind of team that can make at least somewhat of a playoff run this year. However, if they are to do that, this would be exactly the kind of game that they cannot afford to overlook, and cannot have a letdown. They should emerge victorious, although at some point, the Fins are going to win a game again. You certainly have to believe that the Dolphins are looking at this as a winnable game. Still, my expectations will be for the road team to get the win here in this one. My pick: Atlanta
Detroit at LA Rams - For the Lions, this season has been a frustrating mixture of bad luck and bad play, which have combined to keep Detroit winless. Unfortunately, they travel to Los Angeles to take on one of the hottest teams in the league right now. This game is extra meaningful for both sides, given the offseason trade that saw the two franchises exchange quarterbacks. So far, certainly, you would be hard pressed not to admit what seems obvious: the Rams got the better part of that trade. Sooner or later, the Lions will win a game. It just will not be this week. My pick: LA Rams
Philadelphia at Las Vegas - The Eagles are struggling right now. The Raiders, of course, have had their share of problems as of late, with losses on the field, and the loss of their head coach in a hail of controversy. But I was impressed with how they responded last weekend, and in this one, against a weak Eagles team, they should emerge victorious again. My pick: Las Vegas
Houston at Arizona - The Cardinals remain the league's last remaining unbeaten team at 6-0. It is their best start since the 1974 season, which I believe was the only other time that this franchise got off to such a red hot start. They lasted to start 7-0 that season, and I believe that this Cardinals team will match that, at least, with a win in this one against a struggling team in the Texans. Perhaps an upset could happen, but that is what this one would be, and there really is no reason to expect the Cards not to come up with the win here. My pick: Arizona
Chicago at Tampa Bay - These two teams used to be in the same division, and would meet regularly, twice a season. Those days are over now, and so these two teams do not have the same level of familiarity with each other as they used to. Still, this one should be an interesting game, with Chicago's new look offense (possibly the offense of the future if they play their cards right) up against Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and the Super Bowl championship offense for the Bucs. Should be good, at least for a while, but expect the Bucs to put this one away somewhere in the second half, if not possibly even sooner. My pick: Tampa Bay
SNF: Indianapolis at San Francisco - Maybe Frank Reich has got his team going a bit, finally? It's still a bit hard to tell, because the Colts have not yet strung together two consecutive wins this season. Yet, despite a horrible 0-3 hole that they dug for themselves, the 2-4 Colts are still in second place in the AFC South, and it feels like they are still very much in the division race. Meanwhile, the 49ers have also kind of dig themselves in a bit of a hole as well, although for them, it came after an impressive 2-0 start. Since then, San Fran has dropped three straight, but they are coming off a bye week, so they should be well rested. Also, they are a talented team, and with home field advantage, they should be able to come away with the win in this one. My pick: San Francisco
MNF: New Orleans at Seattle - This is an interesting game. The Saints look good at 3-2, yet they surely have their doubters. And they have looked suspect in some ways, at least thus far. The Seahawks, meanwhile, were expected to be a serious playoff contender. Yet at 2-4 right now, they certainly appear even more suspect than New Orleans. One good thing for the Seahawks is that they have home field advantage here in this one. The Saints, meanwhile, are coming off a bye week, and had a bit of extra time to prepare for this one. This should be an interesting game between two evenly matched teams. But Seattle is a tough place for road teams to play at, and that could be the deciding factor. Besides, the Seahawks absolutely cannot afford to drop this one, so expect them to come out with some extra added intensity and motivation to win here. My pick: Seattle
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