My Overall Record: 30-20
Baltimore @ Buffalo
A big win over Houston and the return of Ray Rice will do a lot to energize the Ravens. The Bills have shown that they’re going to be a tough out, but they let a very winnable game slip away to the Jets last week.
Pick: Baltimore 24, Buffalo 20
Cincinnati @ Cleveland
Brian Hoyer won’t sneak up on the Bengals like he did the Vikings. Cincinnati just got done holding Aaron Rodgers to less than 250 passing yards, they aren’t about to let a Cleveland team with no running game light them up.
Pick: Cincinnati 28, Cleveland 9
Chicago @ Detroit
The Bears are 3-0, but they’ve been winning despite poor production from Jay Cutler and they defense has given up a ton of yards despite the fact that they’ve been able to force some turnovers. The Lions get Reggie Bush back, and the added dimension of offensive explosiveness that he brings gives the Lions the edge.
Pick: Detroit 27, Chicago 20
Seattle @ Houston
If Schaub and the Texans offense couldn’t put the ball in the endzone against an average Baltimore defense, its hard to expect them to be much more successful against the top defense in the league.
Pick: Seattle 23, Houston 13
Indianapolis @ Jacksonville
The Colts get a layup after a hard-fought win over the 49ers.
Pick: Indianapolis 30, Jacksonville 10
New York Giants @ Kansas City
The Giants were manhandled by the front seven of the Carolina Panthers. The Chiefs bring with them an even more formidable defense that should be able to generate pressure and force the mistake-prone Giants into more turnovers. New York looks like such a mess right now, they don’t look like they’re anywhere close to a victory.
Pick: Kansas City 23, New York 14
Pittsburgh @ Minnesota
The Vikings are coming off of such a bad loss to the Cleveland Browns, but there’s nothing I really like about the Steelers right now. They’ve got no running game, an old defense, and a mediocre offensive line. I think this is a game where Adrian Peterson takes over and carries Minnesota to their first win of the season.
Pick: Minnesota 27, Pittsburgh 20
Arizona @ Tampa Bay
Greg Schiano is pushing the panic button, pulling the plug on Josh Freeman and turning the reins over to Mike Glennon. On paper, this looks like an ugly situation for the Bucs, but sometimes a change like this can have a strong positive effect on a team. The Tampa defense has proven that it can play a little bit, they’ve had respectable showings against the Saints and Patriots. If Glennon can come in and give the team a little spark, I could see Tampa Bay winning their first game of the season.
Pick: Tampa Bay 20, Arizona 17
New York Jets @ Tennessee
The Titans won a tough game against San Diego, and will take on another surprising 2-1 team with the New York Jets coming to town. Geno Smith has actually looked pretty good for New York so far. If he stays away from turnovers, the Jets will have a chance to win this game. The New York defense is capable of holding Jake Locker in check.
Pick: New York 24, Tennessee 20
Philadelphia @ Denver
With no expectations for the week ahead, the pressure is completely off the Eagles. No one thinks they have a chance, and anytime a team spends the entire week hearing about how badly they’re going to lose I think that makes it easier for that team to come out and play their best.However, the matchups here are just too strong in Denver’s favor to believe the Eagles have any shot to to come away with a win. I see no reason to believe that the Eagles will even be able to slow Manning down, and the fact that they’ve got to travel out west just makes things all the more difficult.
Pick: Denver 42, Philadelphia 27
Washington @ Oakland
Its the time for the Redskins to get their first win of the year. Washington finally played a decent game last week in a losing effort to the Lions, but fell short. The Raiders could very well be without quarterback Terrelle Pryor, and if he’s out then the Raiders lose what little electricity they have offensively.
Pick: Washington 24, Oakland 10
Dallas @ San Diego
The Chargers fell back down to Earth last week when they faced a competent Tennessee defense. The Dallas defense should be able to keep Phillip Rivers in check and pave the way for the offense to do enough to come away with their third win of the season.
Pick: Dallas 27, San Diego 17
New England @ Atlanta
For the first time this season, the Patriots won’t have the luxury of facing a pushover. The Atlanta Falcons are coming off of a disappointing loss to the Miami Dolphins, and they can’t afford to lose more ground to the Saints in the division.
Pick: Atlanta 31, New England 24
