I'm not even going to talk about last week. Ok, maybe just a little. I was proud to have correctly picked the Cowboys, Texans, Falcons, 49ers, Bengals, Packers, and the jewel in my crown, the Ravens to win last week but really didn't get much help from the Chiefs, Cardinals, Tim Tebow, Peyton's Brother, or stupidhead Jay Cutler... among others. Cough. Anyway. Regardless. Flushing last week. I'm now 79-51 on the season, straight up, for what that's worth. Let's talk about this week.
This week presents to us some interesting matchups, and here are my picks, with the current odds, as they come courtesy of Odds Shark. It's your choice if you want to ridicule them or put your car pink-slip down on them.
Oakland Raiders @ San Diego Chargers (-7): The AFC West is one of my favorite and least favorite divisions because you almost never know who the hell will show up. Last week, the Broncos beat the Raiders despite a much better outing from Carson Palmer. The Chargers are up and down. Seriously, how do you pick this one? I really don't see Philip Rivers continuing his meltdown all season so I'm going to guess he ends it this week. Pick: Chargers
New Orleans Saints @ Atlanta Falcons (+1): This will definitely be one to watch. The Falcons are winners of three in a row and the Saints are always dangerous. The Falcons' D has been picking up the slack lately and Julio Jones is a superstar in the making. I'm actually a little surprised that the Saints are favored here so I'm going to go with the home underdog Falcons. Pick: Atlanta
Tennessee Titans @ Carolina Panthers (-3): This will be another interesting game, with upstart Cam Newton looking to beat an inconsistent Titans team. Matt Hasselbeck has been mediocre lately and we all know about Chris Johnson's struggles so I'm going to pick the Panthers at home. Pick: Carolina.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals (+3): As much as I'd like to pick Cincinnati here, I just can't do it. They're a very young, talented team but I don't think they're at the same level as the Steelers. The Bengals will face their first big divisional test this week and we'll emerge with a better understanding of just how good this team can be. Pick: Steelers
St. Louis Rams @ Cleveland Browns (-1): This is a game I'll be sure to avoid watching. I'm going to pick the Rams, just because it's looking like Sam Bradford will be back in action. Pick: Rams.
Buffalo Bills @ Dallas Cowboys (-4.5): This should be a fun game to watch. The Bills will look to bounce back from their loss at New York last week and get their high-flying offense back on track. The Cowboys look to go over .500 this week and keep their playoff hopes alive. I think that DeMarcus Ware will get after Ryan Fitzpatrick enough to disrupt that part of the game, but Fred Jackson will be too much for Dallas. I'm going with the underdog Bills in this one. Pick: Buffalo.
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianpolis Colts (+3): Hoooo, boy. The Jaguars travel to Indy to take on the Colts and if there's a less interesting matchup for what's on the field this week, I don't know what it is. It does become interesting in the fact that the Colts have a legitimate chance to get their first win this week and take themselves out of the Suck for Luck lead, and I really hope I'm wrong when I say I don't think they will. Pick: Jaguars.
Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5): That doggone AFC West again. Seriously, how do you pick this game? I want to say the Chiefs are the clear favorites here but they just got stomped by the fricking Dolphins. Tim Tebow this, Tim Tebow that... Pick - Chiefs.
Washington Redskins @ Miami Dolphins (-4): Remember a few sentences ago when I was talking about really uninteresting games (on the field, anyway) to watch this week? Well, I might amend that a little bit. This one has a slight edge, perhaps. The Suck for Luck bowl redux. Pick: Redskins
Arizona Cardinals @ Philadelphia Eagles: Well... Eagles.
Houston Texans @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3.5): This should be a very good matchup as well. The Bucs have been very hard to gauge this year and it's primarily because they're a young football team. The Texans are in control of the AFC South but that division has been fairly week thus far. I'm going to go with the hot hand here though - Houston. PIck: Texans.
Baltimore Ravens @ Seattle Seahawks (+7.5): The Ravens are a tough team but have shown some inconsistency with losses to Tennessee and Jacksonville. They fell behind 24-3 in the first half against the Cardinals, so you know they're mortal. It's just tough to see them struggling again at Seattle. Pick: Ravens.
Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears (-2.5): This is my game of the week. It's also very tough to pick, with a Bears team that is playing very well right now matching up against an explosive Lions club. I'm just going to go with my gut here and pick the Lions as road underdogs. Pick: Lions
New York Giants @ San Francisco 49ers (-3.5): The 49ers are very tough at home and the Giants just beat the Patriots on the road. I think that Vic Fangio's defense will create issues for Eli Manning and he'll struggle. Pick: 49ers.
New England Patriots @ New York Jets (-1): Another great game this week. I think the Patriots will be looking to avenge last year's playoff loss in this one and they'll come out on top. Pick: Patriots.
Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers (-13.5): Swing and miss, NFL. Pick: Packers.