Week 9 NFL Projections

Last week: 9-4
Season: 72-27

Buffalo Bills 24, New York Jets 21

This matchup has the makings of an outstanding football game. These two teams are polar opposites: the Jets are known for running the ball and their defense; the Bills for their high-powered, pass heavy attack. I picked on Mark Sanchez a few weeks ago and I'll continue to do it again: he needs to perform well in order to outscore the Bills, and I don't think he'll be able to. New York will be able to hold Fred Jackson, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Buffalo to a manageable scoring total, but it's up to Sanchez to keep his outspoken team over .500.

New England Patriots 27, New York Giants 24

I don't think I have picked against the Patriots so far this year. I wrongly chose them against Pittsburgh last week, but nonetheless, I can't help but pick them again. Tom Brady has slowed down considerably since the opening part of the season, but he is still Tom Brady. Enough said. While the Giants are the more well-rounded team at this moment, and will likely give the Patriots a dogfight, New England should be able to escape.

Green Bay Packers 31, San Diego Chargers 17

I'm starting to believe Green Bay will go undefeated. Sure, the most treacherous part of their schedule is yet to come, this game being the start of it. But as a team they are just too fundamentally sound to drop a game right now (as Philip Rivers did, literally, last week).

Baltimore Ravens 14, Pittsburgh Steelers 13

Old-school football is this game. Baltimore was my preseason AFC Super Bowl pick, and while they have made me doubt it to a great extent the past few weeks, they were able to completely dismantle Pittsburgh in the first week of the season, 35-7. Joe Flacco's play has been uninspiring this year, however, expect neither quarterback to have a shiny performance is this defensive showcase. This game will surely be closer than Week 1, and Pittsburgh might just come out on top.

Philadelphia Eagles 31, Chicago Bears 20

Yes, I know, I am a little biased. I mean, I live in Philly and am a diehard Birds fan, so what do you expect? So if you want, you can just disregard this pick. But it does seem realistic Philadelphia can win this game, especially after that beatdown against the Boys last Sunday. Sure, Matt Forte might run for 465 yards and 5 TDs on the way to a Bears win (I don't know why they won't give that guy a contract. I'll be writing a post on that soon). If Andy Reid can devise a gameplan anywhere near as genius as the one employed last week, then the climb back to .500 is complete, and the one toward the playoffs stays alive.

Dallas Cowboys 20, Seattle Seahawks 12
Atlanta Falcons 27, Indianapolis Colts 6
Kansas City Chiefs 24, Miami Dolphins 10
New Orleans Saints 27, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24
San Francisco 49ers 20, Washington Redskins 13
Tennessee Titans 20, Cincinnati Bengals 17
Oakland Raiders 12, Denver Broncos 10 (If I could pick them both to lose, I would.)
Houston Texans 26, Cleveland Browns 13
Arizona Cardinals 23, St. Louis Rams 17

Week 7 NFL Projections

Game face.

Last week: 9-4
Season: 55-19

New York Jets 20, San Diego Chargers 17

Minnesota, Kansas City, Miami, and Denver. These are the teams San Diego has beaten en route to a sparkling 4-1 start. And none of them have been convincing.  Oh, by the way, these four teams have a combined 4-17 record. Either they are all shooting for Andrew Luck or should be playing in the Backyard Barbecue League. And San Diego has barely beaten these teams led by your uncle's brother-in law: a field goal win at home against Kansas City, a five point victory against the hapless Broncos. The Jets may have a pretty boy Peewee Leaguer at quarterback, but they are at least a legit NFL team, and the last time the Chargers played one (New England), they lost by two touchdowns.

Detroit Lions 27, Atlanta Falcons 24

Just because they lost last week doesn't mean Detroit is going to start to fall apart a la the 2011 Red Sox. The Falcons have not lived up to expectations and the only aspects of their game they have excelled at thus far is rush defense and losing winnable football games. While Jahvid Best might have a tough time going north-south tomorrow, Matt Stafford should have a field day against this 27th-ranked pass D. With a loss, the Falcons would fall below .500 after such high hopes to start the year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23, Chicago Bears 17

The Bears' offensive lineman probably wear paper bags over their heads when they walk around the city. Yes, they've been that bad. Jay Cutler looks like he's been into a bar fight after his first series every Sunday, and came out on the wrong end of it. Lovie Smith also isn't helped by the fact that his intimidating defenses of three years ago, or last year even, have reduced themselves to a pile of rubble. Freeman isn't the prodigy we all made him out to be after last year, but if he isn't capable of putting up points on the Bears he too should cover his face in shame.

Normally I write about four games every weekend, but the NFL decided to give us a college schedule for tomorrow and only have a few good games on the slate. Well, if the Colts were more than just Peyton Manning, the Sunday night game against the Saints would be highly anticipated. Instead, the only people watching will be from New Orleans (definitely not Indy).

Denver Broncos 17 (Tebow: 2-12, 6 yards, 2 INT; 15 rush, 137 yards, 2 TD), Miami Dolphins -12
Houston Texans 24, Tennessee Titans 20
Oakland Raiders 10, Kansas City Chiefs 3 (The Chiefs DO have a chance though!)
Washington Redskins 17, Carolina Panthers 14
Pittsburgh Steelers 28, Arizona Cardinals 13
Dallas Cowboys 24, St. Louis Rams 9 (Dez Bryant breakout game, especially because he is going up against clay figurines in Rams jerseys)
Cleveland Browns 13, Seattle Seahawks 7
Green Bay Packers 41, Minnesota Vikings 3
Baltimore Ravens 30, Jacksonville Jaguars 0

Week 5 NFL Projections

Last week: 13-3
Season: 36-12

Buffalo Bills 34, Philadelphia Eagles 31

The Eagles have only played Nnamdi Asomugha in man coverage on around 40% of plays this year, rather than the 95% of man he played in Oakland. The results haven't been pretty: Asomugha has showed his lack of tacking ability. As a result of Nnamdi, Asante Samuel, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie playing so much zone, opposing receivers haven't been shut down nearly as much as they should be. And the lack of solid linebacking has turned the Birds into one of the league's worst run defenses, despite the all-star defensive line. Expect Buffalo to carve up this once intimidating-looking defense.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24, San Francisco 49ers 20

Both of these teams are 3-1, but neither has many believers yet. The pressure is on Josh Freeman, as the 49ers have stymied the run the far, but are susceptible to the pass. San Francisco also possesses a below average offense, and if Freeman can lead his team to a few scores, a 4-1 start should be in store for Tampa Bay.

Oakland Raiders 23, Houston Texans 22

The Raiders might come out with a little more fight following a loss to New England and the passing of legendary owner Al Davis. Houston has cleaned up their pass defense a bit this year, but their rush defense is just average, and Run DMC should have another field day. He'll need to carry this Oakland offense, as Jason Campbell has pretty much just played the role of manager thus far.

New England Patriots 31, New York Jets 21

The rivalry will be renewed tomorrow, at the expense of the Jets. Rex Ryan won't like the look of a 2-3 record once after the Patriots are through with them. New England's pass D is dead last in the league, so Mark Sanchez will certainly outdo last week's abysmal performance, but it won't matter.

Kansas City Chiefs 20, Indianapolis Colts 17
Arizona Cardinals 24, Minnesota Vikings 13
New York Giants 31, Seattle Seahawks 12
Pittsburgh Steelers 17, Tennessee Titans 14
New Orleans Saints 34, Carolina Panthers 27
Cincinnati Bengals 17, Jacksonville Jaguars 13
San Diego Chargers 30, Denver Broncos 10
Green Bay Packers 28, Atlanta Falcons 24
Detroit Lions 27, Chicago Bears 17