SHOUT OUT
Back about a month ago, Brad Keselowski, just in his third year at the Sprint Cup level, won his first championship and my friend from UVa, Jeremy Lambert, called it at the beginning of the year so I just want to say congratulations to him for making a great prediction.
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I did not do picks last week. Two weeks ago, I went 3-2 and am now 44-21 on the year.
Cowboys at Bengals, 1 p.m. FOX
The Cowboys have been involved in the second NFL tragedy in a week. This time, defensive player Josh Brent was driving, possibly while intoxicated, and crashed his car, killing the passenger, teammate Jerry Brown early Saturday morning. A week ago, the Chiefs perhaps used the murder-suicide of Jevon Belcher as a way to band together, and for inspiration, in beating the Panthers and snapping an eight-game losing streak? Will Dallas do the same? Tough to tell. This is a difficult game for the Cowboys on multiple levels. The Bengals are red-hot as winners of four straight. This contest is important for both teams as Dallas must win to keep pace in the NFL wild card race. The Bears (8-4) and Seahawks (7-5) and technically Redskins, at 6-6 with a head-to-head win over the Cowboys, are ahead of Dallas (6-6) in the wild card. The Bengals (7-5) are tied with division rival Pittsburgh (7-5) for the AFC's second wild card. The Bengals have held four straight opponents under 13 points and Dallas' offense has struggled at times this year though it did look better last week with the addition of DeMarco Murray back to the running game.
Bengals 20, Cowboys 17
Ravens at Redskins, 1 p.m. CBS
The Beltway Bowl, as it's being called, is a bigger game for the Ravens than the Redskins. Baltimore is still two games up on both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh in the AFC North and will likely get at least a wild card to the playoffs. Washington, on the other hand -- which is red hot after winning three straight, most recently a 17-16 decision over the Giants at home Monday night -- is like Dallas in that it needs to win to keep up in the wild card chase. I think that motivation carries the Redskins to their fourth straight win. The Ravens just haven't looked great recently, too, losing to a battered Steeler team last week at home and also winning by just three points each in recent wins over that same Steeler team and the Chargers. Joe Flacco and the Baltimore offense is also usually much more potent at home than on the road.
Redskins 24, Ravens 20
Saints at Giants, 4:25 p.m. FOX
The Saints are even more desperate than the 'Boys and 'Skins because they are just 5-7. Winning out is pretty much their only option if they want to make the playoffs after an 0-4 start. New Orleans won three games in the middle of the year, but two of them were over Philly and Oakland. The other one was over the Falcons in a great victory but the Saints could not earn the sweep last Thursday night, losing to the Falcons 23-13 in the Georgia Dome. The Giants have had an up and down season as well, but they've had a few more signature wins than the Saints, who have really only had the one over the Falcons.
Giants 28, Saints 21
Lions at Packers, 8:20 p.m. NBC
Green Bay has won six of seven, with only one hiccup two weeks ago at the Giants. The Packers' run included a 24-20 win over the Lions in Detroit. They are going for the season sweep at Lambeau Field against a Lions team that blew late fourth quarter leads three consecutive weeks at home in losses to the Packers, Texans, and Colts.
Packers 34, Lions 27
Texans at Patriots, 8:30 p.m. Monday night ESPN
Perhaps the game of the week between the top two teams in the AFC. The Texans (29.3 points per game) and Patriots (35.8 ppg) are the two highest scoring teams in the NFL so we should expect to see some fireworks Monday night. New England has won six games in a row, most in dominating fashion and the Texans have victories in six contests in a row, too, though not all have been solid wins, with two coming in overtime over the Lions and Jaguars. Something's got to give in this one. I'll give New England with the edge at home, though Houston has had maybe the best road defense in the NFL, holding its hosts to 16 points per game on their home turf.
Patriots 31, Texans 27
Back about a month ago, Brad Keselowski, just in his third year at the Sprint Cup level, won his first championship and my friend from UVa, Jeremy Lambert, called it at the beginning of the year so I just want to say congratulations to him for making a great prediction.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I did not do picks last week. Two weeks ago, I went 3-2 and am now 44-21 on the year.
Cowboys at Bengals, 1 p.m. FOX
The Cowboys have been involved in the second NFL tragedy in a week. This time, defensive player Josh Brent was driving, possibly while intoxicated, and crashed his car, killing the passenger, teammate Jerry Brown early Saturday morning. A week ago, the Chiefs perhaps used the murder-suicide of Jevon Belcher as a way to band together, and for inspiration, in beating the Panthers and snapping an eight-game losing streak? Will Dallas do the same? Tough to tell. This is a difficult game for the Cowboys on multiple levels. The Bengals are red-hot as winners of four straight. This contest is important for both teams as Dallas must win to keep pace in the NFL wild card race. The Bears (8-4) and Seahawks (7-5) and technically Redskins, at 6-6 with a head-to-head win over the Cowboys, are ahead of Dallas (6-6) in the wild card. The Bengals (7-5) are tied with division rival Pittsburgh (7-5) for the AFC's second wild card. The Bengals have held four straight opponents under 13 points and Dallas' offense has struggled at times this year though it did look better last week with the addition of DeMarco Murray back to the running game.
Bengals 20, Cowboys 17
Ravens at Redskins, 1 p.m. CBS
The Beltway Bowl, as it's being called, is a bigger game for the Ravens than the Redskins. Baltimore is still two games up on both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh in the AFC North and will likely get at least a wild card to the playoffs. Washington, on the other hand -- which is red hot after winning three straight, most recently a 17-16 decision over the Giants at home Monday night -- is like Dallas in that it needs to win to keep up in the wild card chase. I think that motivation carries the Redskins to their fourth straight win. The Ravens just haven't looked great recently, too, losing to a battered Steeler team last week at home and also winning by just three points each in recent wins over that same Steeler team and the Chargers. Joe Flacco and the Baltimore offense is also usually much more potent at home than on the road.
Redskins 24, Ravens 20
Saints at Giants, 4:25 p.m. FOX
The Saints are even more desperate than the 'Boys and 'Skins because they are just 5-7. Winning out is pretty much their only option if they want to make the playoffs after an 0-4 start. New Orleans won three games in the middle of the year, but two of them were over Philly and Oakland. The other one was over the Falcons in a great victory but the Saints could not earn the sweep last Thursday night, losing to the Falcons 23-13 in the Georgia Dome. The Giants have had an up and down season as well, but they've had a few more signature wins than the Saints, who have really only had the one over the Falcons.
Giants 28, Saints 21
Lions at Packers, 8:20 p.m. NBC
Green Bay has won six of seven, with only one hiccup two weeks ago at the Giants. The Packers' run included a 24-20 win over the Lions in Detroit. They are going for the season sweep at Lambeau Field against a Lions team that blew late fourth quarter leads three consecutive weeks at home in losses to the Packers, Texans, and Colts.
Packers 34, Lions 27
Texans at Patriots, 8:30 p.m. Monday night ESPN
Perhaps the game of the week between the top two teams in the AFC. The Texans (29.3 points per game) and Patriots (35.8 ppg) are the two highest scoring teams in the NFL so we should expect to see some fireworks Monday night. New England has won six games in a row, most in dominating fashion and the Texans have victories in six contests in a row, too, though not all have been solid wins, with two coming in overtime over the Lions and Jaguars. Something's got to give in this one. I'll give New England with the edge at home, though Houston has had maybe the best road defense in the NFL, holding its hosts to 16 points per game on their home turf.
Patriots 31, Texans 27
gotta have more faith in your team! good picks this week though.
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