Josh’s Record: 91-42 –
(12-1 last week)
Jack’s Record: 82-51 –
(8-5 last week)
Cleveland
Browns (5-3) @ Cincinnati Bengals (5-2-1) 8:30PM Thursday Night
Josh’s
Pick: Cincinnati: The Bengals play as well as anyone at home, having not
dropped a regular season game since before last season. AJ Green is playing and
healthy, Mohammad Sanu is a break out player in the making and Jeremy Hill ran
for over 150 yards and two TDs last week in his debut. Cleveland is playing
solid football but have really not had many challenging opponents recently (Bucs,
Raiders, and the Jags). Also since Alex Mack was put on IR, the Browns have
only averaged 1.9 yards per carry and one rushing TD compared to 8 when he
played (He played 5 games and has missed the last three). I could easily see
the Browns winning this one, but without some major help from their receiving
corps, I think they lose this one.
Jack’s Pick: Browns are coming off a rough game against the
Bucs where they allowed the Bucs and WR Mike Evans to hang close with them.
Bengals have been trending downwards after their terrible loss to the Patriots
5 weeks ago but have won two straight against the Ravens and Jaguars. I think
the Bengals win this one because it's at home and they have won 14 straight
games at home and the Browns haven't won a division road game since 2008. This
gives the Bengals a major edge and I think they will get their third straight
W.
Tennessee Titans (2-6) @ Baltimore Ravens
(5-4) at 1PM
Josh’s Pick: Ravens – The Ravens are a significantly
better team than the Titans are this season. The Ravens just lost their
starting cornerback Jimmy Smith for the season, however their defense should
still look solid against a low profile passing attack as well as skimpy run
game.
Jacks pick: Ravens – Ravens are coming off two
consecutive losses against AFC north opponents including a 20 point beat down
at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
They should be able to bounce back this week as the Titans come to
town. I don’t trust rookie QB Zach
Mettenberger to come in and take a win from the Ravens at home.
Kansas City Chiefs (5-3) @ Buffalo Bills (5-3) at
1PM
Josh’s Pick: Chiefs – Despite Buffalo coming off a
bye and looking more impressive than usual at this point in the season, I see
the Chiefs stealing a road game. This game has major implications for an AFC
wildcard spot and I trust Kansas City in a close game more than Buffalo. The Chiefs
have beaten the Chargers, Patriots, Dolphins, and barely lost to the Broncos
back in week 1. Also having played all of those teams, they still rank as the
top pass defense in the NFL. The Bills front line can shut Jamaal Charles as a
running back but he is also a receiving mismatch for Buffalo. With Kansas City’s
top pass defense, I look for them to hold Kyle Orton to minimal yards while
squeezing out a very tight win.
Jacks pick: Chiefs – These teams have identical
records and are coming in and both teams have been solid. Chiefs have the best passing defense in the
league and will keep Kyle Orton and Sammy Watkins at bay. Although the Bills are at home and coming off
a bye week I think the Chiefs will be able to outgun the Bills.
Miami Dolphins (5-3) @ Detroit Lions (6-2) at 1PM
Josh’s Pick: Lions – Miami has looked like one of
the hottest teams in the league recently, and one of the surprise teams of the
season. At home they have beaten the Patriots and the Chargers, and lost on a last
second touchdown to the Packers. They play well against pass heavy teams because
they can run the ball behind a solid O-line, kill the clock, and then rush the
passer very effectively with their front seven. However, this team doesn’t play
as effective on the road, granted they have beaten both the Bears and the Jags
while being the away team. I like Detroit because they can take away Miami’s strength
of running the football with their solid front seven, which ranks second in
football allowing 74 yards per game (only second to Denver, who teams primarily
pass against to keep up with Manning anyways). They also lead the league in
total defense and can force point effectively when both Megatron and Golden Tate
are playing (which they are this week). Miami is a very solid team this year,
however I see the focal point of this game resting on Tannehill’s ability to go
up against a good defense and I think he faults.
Jack’s pick:
Lions – Both of these teams have been great this season and are probably
two top 10 teams. The Lions have
arguably the single best defense in the league this year with a 5th
ranked pass defense and 2nd ranked run offense. Dolphins have a great defense too with a
nasty front 7 which makes this pick hard but I am going to take the home team
coming off a bye. Especially since they
are getting Calvin Johnson back from injury this week they will be able to beat
the Dolphins.
Dallas Cowboys (6-3) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (1-8) in
London at 1PM
Josh’s Pick: Cowboys – Even with Romo banged up the
Cowboys should take this one from one of the worst teams in the NFL. The Jags
will have to blitz a lot to stop Murray and hopefully force Romo into some bad
throws. I just don’t have any confidence in Blake Bortles at this point in his
career to lead a consistent offense and force points to keep up or out gain
Dallas.
Jacks pick: Cowboys – Tony Romo will be back this
week after suffering fractured bones in his back against Washington two weeks
ago thus ending the short but beautiful Brandon Weeden era. With Romo back, the Jags defense will have to
give some attention to the pass and not just on stopping Demarco Murray. So far the Jags have had the best pass rush
and lead in sacks and QB hits, but that should be neutralized by Dallas’s
amazing offensive line. I think the
Cowboys will easily beat the Jags this week and end their little losing streak.
San Francisco 49ers (4-4) @ New Orleans Saints (4-4)
at 1PM
Josh’s Pick: Saints: The Saints play like a completely
different team at home; very explosive and very dangerous to play against. The 49ers
have been struggling recently against any opponent and I believe a lot of
people are starting to lose faith in Kaep. However, it is not all his fault as
his offensive line did give up eight sacks to the Rams a week ago. The Saints
are going to force too many point under the Mercedes-Benz Dome and the sporadic
Niners offense won’t be able to keep up.
Jacks pick: Saints – These teams are pretty evenly
matched with 4-4 records. San Francisco
is a great defensive team whose offense can be great depending on what Colin
Kaepernick shows up. Basically at this
point I refuse to pick against Drew Brees at home because he always goes off
when he is at the superdome. I expect it
to be a close game that may be decided by a Colin Kaepernick late interception.
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) @ New York Jets (1-8) at
1PM
Josh’s Pick: Jets – The Steelers have fluctuated their performance a majority of the
season, but have been a roll the last three weeks, with Roethlisberger tossing
6 touchdowns in each of his last two games. However, the Steelers had a
fortunate three game home stand and I could see them being a little out of rhythm
playing on the road for the first time in a month. I think the Steelers come out of sync and the Jets shock the NFL with the upset win.
Jacks pick: Steelers – Pittsburgh is probably the
hottest team in the NFL with QB Ben Roethlisberger throwing for 12 TD passes in
the last 12 games. The Jets have
basically been a dumpster fire this whole season with 7 straight losses and an
absolute mess of a QB situation. Although
the Jets defense is great and the Steelers have been hard to predict I think
the Steelers will get a road win and keep the hot streak going.
Atlanta Falcons (2-6) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-7) at
1PM
Josh’s Pick: Falcons – When these two teams played
earlier this season, the Falcons posted 56 points on the Bucs and it was Josh
McCown’s last start since his return this Sunday. The Falcons actually match up
favorably against the Bucs, as their cornerbacks are the strength of their
defense. The Bucs will be without Doug Martin once again and their struggle to
run the ball will allow for plenty of opportunities for Matt Ryan to work with
Roddy White and Julio Jones.
Jacks pick: Falcons – Last time these two teams met
it was a brutal Thursday night clash where the Falcons raced out to a 35-0 lead
and never looked back. While I don’t
expect it to be that bad, I still expect the Falcons to get a win against Tampa
Bay’s abysmal pass defense. Matt Ryan
and Julio Jones should have a big day and get a win for the Falcons.
Denver Broncos (6-2) @ Oakland Raiders (0-8) at 4:05PM
Josh’s Pick: Broncos – The Broncos don’t lose two in
a row, and they aren’t going to lose to the worst team in the NFL.
Jacks pick: Broncos – This game shouldn’t really be
close as one of the best teams in the NFL goes against arguably the worst. I don’t expect the Raiders defense to be able
to stop Manning or rookie QB Derek Carr to be able to move the ball against the
defense.
St. Louis Rams (3-5) @ Arizona Cardinals (8-1) at 4:25PM
Josh’s Pick: Cardinals – I am liking what I see out
this Rams team a lot, but they will struggle against a stout cardinals run defense
that will make Tre Mason and Co. inept, and not allow Austin Davis to get into
a groove early on. Carson Palmer got paid this last week and I am looking to
see him show his $50 million value.
Jacks pick: Cardinals – St. Louis is coming off a
lucky win against the 49ers where Kaepernick fumbled the ball on the goal line
as time expired. I expect Arizona to get
the win this week because although Austin Davis and the Rams have been winning games
I don’t think they have enough consistency on offense to beat the 7-1
Cardinals.
New York Giants (4-5) @ Seattle Seahawks (5-3) at
4:25PM
Josh’s Pick: Seahawks – This game is one of the easier
ones to call, as Seattle rarely loses at home and have owned Eli Manning since Pete
Carol became head coach. In their last matchup Eli threw 6 picks and it was a
road game for Seattle. This Giants team hasn’t been nearly as dangerous since
Victor Cruz went out, and although Seattle has been inconsistent the latter
half of this season, I expect them to take care of business at home.
Jacks pick: Seahawks – Although the Seahawks have
not been very good this year they are still a great team at home and the Giants
haven’t been great recently. The Giants
defense has not been great as of late and if the Seahawks stick to Marshawn
Lynch they will be able to move the ball and get a home win.
Chicago Bears (3-5) @ Green Bay Packers (5-3) at
8:30PM
Josh’s Pick: Packers – Even with the Bears coming
off a bye, I don’t expect their defense to pull a complete 360 and shut down
Aaron Rodgers. In their last game they gave up 5 TD’s to Brady and watched him
post an 88 completion percentage against them. Rodgers is one of the best in
the league and I expect no different. I do expect the Bears to be completive
and for their offense to have a good showing. The Bears should try and run the
ball with Forte and control the clock to keep Rodgers off the field against the
Packer’s league worst rush defense if they want to steal this game.
Jacks pick: Packers – These teams meet for the
second time this year, in the first matchup Aaron Rodgers went off and threw 4
TD’s and got the Packers back on track.
This week they will meet again and I expect Rodgers to have similar
success. The only way I see the Bears
winning is if Matt Forte has a big day against the worst run defense in the NFL
but I don’t see him doing well enough to spur a Bears win.
Carolina Panthers (3-5-1) @ Philadelphia Eagles
(6-2) at 8:30PM Monday Night
Josh’s Pick: Eagles – It may sound crazy, but I have
faith in Mark Sanchez as the Eagles’ starter. He took the Jets to two AFC
Championship Games and the biggest knock on him is that he turns the ball over,
which Foles has done a lot of this season. I honestly think Sanchez could end
up performing better in this offense, as he even said himself that he thrives
in a fast past offensive scheme, which is similar to the tempo he played with
at USC. The Panthers rank 18th in pass defense, so they are
completely middle of the road, so not too challenging of an opponent for his
first start in two seasons. The focal point of the offensive game plan for the
Eagles will be getting Shady the ball and opening up passing lanes for Mark
Sanchez in the process.
Jacks pick: Eagles – The Eagles will be playing
their first game without QB Nick Foles and the Sanchez era begins. Good news is the Eagles get all pro LG Evan
Mathis back from injury this week which should help spur the running game. The Panthers defense isn’t great and Shady
McCoy should have a big game on the ground.
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