Denver at Jacksonville (London) - Another London game, this time with the Jaguars, a franchise that was flirting with the possibility of moving to London once. Well, London is getting their own NFL franchise now, but the Jaguars should still enjoy home field advantage. Denver is reeling and cannot seem to get anything going on offense. Not sure why we should expect any different when they travel across the Atlantic. My pick: Jacksonville
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia - If the Eagles win this interstate football game, they will match their franchise best start ever at 7-0. That came in the 2004 season and, ironically, it ended when the Eagles fell to the Steelers. But there were some major differences. The Steelers went 15-1 that year, the best record in the NFL. And that game was played in Pittsburgh. This season, the Steelers are 2-5 as they head into the City of Brotherly Love for the showdown with the Eagles, the NFL's sole remaining unbeaten team at 6-0. The Eagles are well-rested and loaded with talent. That, plus home field advantage, makes this feel like a very tall order for the Steelers. Too tall, I believe. My pick: Philly
New England at NY Jets - Okay, so the Jets look red hot right now. Perhaps the real test is whether or not Gang Green can finally end their New England hex. The Patriots have won the last 12 meetings between these two teams. But if there was a meeting where the Jets figure to be able to win, this one would be it, right? And despite often being pessimistic about these things, I actually expect that they do manage to win and end the jinx today. My pick: NY Jets
Miami at Detroit - Interesting game. Neither team is where they want to be, although at least Miami has a winning record. The Lions feel like they are going through another forgettable season right now, having dropped their last four games. I suspected that Detroit might not be great this season, because they so very rarely are. But 1-5? Just terrible. I would love to predict a Lions win, and home field advantage helps me to think that they will play tough. But at the end of the day, when a team finds ways to lose as consistently as the Lions do, it makes it almost impossible to commit to thinking that they can win anything. My pick: Miami
Carolina at Atlanta - The Panthers earned a surprising win over the suddenly reeling Buccaneers last week, and that bodes well. But Atlanta has been looking seriously better than many thought, myself included. Today, at home against a still relatively weak and vulnerable Panthers team, the expectations should be for a solid win for the home team. My pick: Atlanta
Chicago at Dallas - The Cowboys need to win to keep up with both the Eagles and the G-Men in the NFC East. And this likely looked like an easy win, until the Bears showed some serious signs of life last week up in New England. Justin Fields looked like the star we have been told he was going to be, so maybe he and Da Bears have turned a corner. Scary thought, at least if you're a fan of the 'Boys. Still, my expectations would be that the home town team finds a way to win. My pick: Dallas
Las Vegas at New Orleans - Interesting game here. The Raiders are inconsistent, but then again, so are the Saints. Both teams figured to be serious playoff contenders, at the very least, when this season began. Yet, these two teams have only won two games each to this point, and are hardly looking like sure bets for the playoffs. You figure that at some point, one, if not both, of them will come alive. Maybe this is that game for one of these teams. Hard to predict what might happen. I could see either team winning it, and doing so either by the slightest of margins, or perhaps winning convincingly, because you never can tell which version of these teams will show up. To my mind's eye, the Raiders have looked slightly more consistent, so they are my pick here. My pick: Las Vegas
Arizona at Minnesota - The Cardinals may have found a spark of life in the win that they earned in their last game, and they should be fairly well rested, since it has been almost a week and a half. However, the Vikings are off to a red hot start and are also very well rested. Plus, they are playing at home, where they are unbeaten to this point this season. They should be able to win. My pick: Minnesota
Tennessee at Houston - The Titans are red hot after starting the season with a dismal 0-2 start. They have now won four straight, and are alone atop the AFC South rankings. Also, they surely know the importance of this divisional game, and against a relatively weak and vulnerable opponent in the Texans. Hard to expect anything but a Titans victory here. My pick: Tennessee
NY Giants at Seattle - Tough game for Big Blue. Both of these teams are significantly better than I expected them to be at this point. In fact, I had expected both of these teams to be at or near the bottom of their division this season. Instead, the 6-1 Giants visit the NFC West leading, 4-3 Seahawks. Unbelievable. To this point, the G-Men are undefeated on the road. But the Emerald City is a tough place for road teams to play. Think that this might be a bit too tough. My pick: Seattle
San Francisco at LA Rams - A big divisional match-up. It is hidden by the fact that the Rams beat the 49ers in last year's NFC Championship, but San Francisco has owned this rivalry in recent seasons, having won the last seven straight regular season meetings between the two teams. Home field advantage or not, the problems that the Rams have been forced to endure with their leaky offensive line probably makes this eight in a row today. My pick: San Francisco
Washington at Indianapolis - Interesting match-up here, too. Washington has really been coming on as of late, and appear to have a ton of momentum. The Colts had momentum, but the loss to Tennessee last week not only broke that momentum, but had to really hurt their morale. Yet, they are probably the better of these two teams overall, and also enjoy home field advantage. So while Washington does have momentum, my expectations would be for the home team to get things straight enough to take this game, which they need. My pick: Indianapolis
Sunday Night Football: Green Bay at Buffalo - Before this season began, this looked like it was going to be a bigtime showdown, possibly even a Super Bowl preview. Maybe it even still could be, but the Packers look incredibly vulnerable thus far this season. With three straight losses, and heading on the road to play the Bills, there are some concerns. The weather certainly shouldn't bother the Packers, but whatever has happened to them over the past few weeks, with this three-game skid, should be exacerbated by the top level of play that the Bills, one of the best teams in the league, will likely bring to them. My pick: Buffalo
Monday Night Football: Cincinnati at Cleveland - The battle of the two Ohio teams. I had some faith that Cleveland might be on their way to a solid season earlier. But now, things have cooled off considerably for them, and this is beginning to look like an all-too familiar kind of season for the Browns, filled with disappointments. My guess is that this will likely be one of them. My pick: Cincinnati
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