Season: 13-12; last week: 0-0; two weeks ago: 3-2
Patriots (3-2) at Bills (3-2), 1 p.m. FOX
Buffalo always seems to give New England problems in Buffalo but the fact is that the Patriots have won the past five meetings between the two teams. Buffalo lost, 23-21, last year at home. The Patriots rebounded big time last week, taking down undefeated Cincinnati a week after getting blown out by the Chiefs. I like the Patriots in a close game.
Patriots 20, Bills 17
Panthers (3-2) at Bengals (3-1) , 1 p.m. FOX
Who wins in this battle of kitties? Carolina looked pretty good in winnings its first two weeks but the defense has taken a recent nosedive with the suspension of linebacker Greg Hardy for his possible conviction of beating his girlfriend. The offense for the Panthers has not been great either. They rebounded last week, though, defeating Chicago, 31-24. So are the Panthers a good team or not? Probably not going to be as good as last season's 12-4 regular-season record but I think they can be at least 8-8 and leave their losing seasons behind for now. In Cincy, though, I like the Bengals. They have been a terrific home team over the past year.
Bengals 27, Panthers 20
Steelers (3-2) at Browns (2-2), 1 p.m. CBS
It is just so dang hard to pick NFL games these days. The margin from the worst teams to the best teams is pretty big, but there are literally like 25ish teams where pretty much anyone can get beaten on any given Sunday/Monday/Thursday. Take this game for example. Pittsburgh beat Cleveland in Week 1 in Pittsburgh 30-27 but gave up a huge 27-3 halftime lead in the process. Three weeks ago the Steelers beat down the Panthers at Carolina, 37-19. The next week, though, they lost to winless Tampa Bay at home. And last week, they were pretty pedestrian in a 17-9 win over winless Jacksonville. Cleveland has won two of three games since losing to Pittsburgh in Week 1 but both times it took comebacks, at home against the Saints and at the Titans last week. The Browns' other loss was a narrow, 23-21 setback at the Ravens. So how the heck to pick this game? Really a toss-up.
Browns 24, Steelers 23
Giants (3-2) at Eagles (4-1), 8:30 p.m. NBC
The Giants have really turned their operation around since Week 2 when they lost to the Cardinals, 25-14. the past three weeks, they've beaten the Texans, Redskins, and Falcons all by double digits and all while scoring at least 30 points. Point blank, New York has played better recently than the Eagles. Philly has scored just two offensive touchdowns in its past two games.
Giants 27, Eagles 24
49ers (3-2) at Rams (1-3), 8:30 p.m. Monday night ESPN
San Francisco has gotten better the past couple weeks in wins over the Eagles and Chiefs, but it has not looked like its old dominant self yet. And I'm not sure when or if that team will show up anytime soon. The Rams are a tough divisional opponent that have played the 49ers tough in recent years. St. Louis has also showed spunk in losses to Dallas and Philadelphia. I'm expecting a tough, physical game and for San Francisco to win, but it should be close and I would not be shocked for the Rams to pull the upset.
49ers 24, Rams 20
Cowboys (4-1) at Seahawks (3-1), 4:25 p.m. FOX
Dallas has been surpassing my expectations this season and it has another chance to do it in Seattle. I don't think the Cowboys are good enough to go into Seattle and win there yet. Now, they do have the game plan to it, I think. Run the ball and try to dominate on the line. Keep Russell Wilson and that improving Seahawks offense off the field. Even a pretty good team in recent years for Dallas probably would go into this game with less of a chance than this team has in Seattle and that is because of Tony Romo. He has been used very well this season. With DeMarco Murray running the ball more and well, the ball is out of Romo's hands and he has been able to make better decisions and fewer of them. In other years, especially when they fall behind, the Cowboys have abandoned the run and put the game in Romo's hands. That has sometimes been a mistake. But I think in this game, even if they fall behind, the Cowboys might keep running. That is what they did even though they were down 28-3 to the 49ers in Week 1. But if Dallas can't run vs. Seattle's 'D,' all bets are off. The game could get ugly then. I think the going will be tough, but Murray should be able to have decent success against the Seahawks defense. The good thing about this game is that at 4-1, the Cowboys aren't desperate for a win. I view this game as kind of like the Broncos game last year. That was a Week 5 game last year and the Cowboys were 2-2. They played a great game but a last-minute INT from Romo sealed a Broncos' victory. They fell to 2-3. This game is like that in the fact that I don't really think that the Cowboys are going to win. It is a very tough game. But the difference is if the Cowboys fall to 4-2, that sounds better than 2-3 after the Broncos game last year. My hope is that Dallas plays a tough-nosed game in Seattle and shows that it is to be taken for real by being competitive at the toughest place to play in the NFL in 2014.
Seahawks 28, Cowboys 21
Patriots (3-2) at Bills (3-2), 1 p.m. FOX
Buffalo always seems to give New England problems in Buffalo but the fact is that the Patriots have won the past five meetings between the two teams. Buffalo lost, 23-21, last year at home. The Patriots rebounded big time last week, taking down undefeated Cincinnati a week after getting blown out by the Chiefs. I like the Patriots in a close game.
Patriots 20, Bills 17
Panthers (3-2) at Bengals (3-1) , 1 p.m. FOX
Who wins in this battle of kitties? Carolina looked pretty good in winnings its first two weeks but the defense has taken a recent nosedive with the suspension of linebacker Greg Hardy for his possible conviction of beating his girlfriend. The offense for the Panthers has not been great either. They rebounded last week, though, defeating Chicago, 31-24. So are the Panthers a good team or not? Probably not going to be as good as last season's 12-4 regular-season record but I think they can be at least 8-8 and leave their losing seasons behind for now. In Cincy, though, I like the Bengals. They have been a terrific home team over the past year.
Bengals 27, Panthers 20
Steelers (3-2) at Browns (2-2), 1 p.m. CBS
It is just so dang hard to pick NFL games these days. The margin from the worst teams to the best teams is pretty big, but there are literally like 25ish teams where pretty much anyone can get beaten on any given Sunday/Monday/Thursday. Take this game for example. Pittsburgh beat Cleveland in Week 1 in Pittsburgh 30-27 but gave up a huge 27-3 halftime lead in the process. Three weeks ago the Steelers beat down the Panthers at Carolina, 37-19. The next week, though, they lost to winless Tampa Bay at home. And last week, they were pretty pedestrian in a 17-9 win over winless Jacksonville. Cleveland has won two of three games since losing to Pittsburgh in Week 1 but both times it took comebacks, at home against the Saints and at the Titans last week. The Browns' other loss was a narrow, 23-21 setback at the Ravens. So how the heck to pick this game? Really a toss-up.
Browns 24, Steelers 23
Giants (3-2) at Eagles (4-1), 8:30 p.m. NBC
The Giants have really turned their operation around since Week 2 when they lost to the Cardinals, 25-14. the past three weeks, they've beaten the Texans, Redskins, and Falcons all by double digits and all while scoring at least 30 points. Point blank, New York has played better recently than the Eagles. Philly has scored just two offensive touchdowns in its past two games.
Giants 27, Eagles 24
49ers (3-2) at Rams (1-3), 8:30 p.m. Monday night ESPN
San Francisco has gotten better the past couple weeks in wins over the Eagles and Chiefs, but it has not looked like its old dominant self yet. And I'm not sure when or if that team will show up anytime soon. The Rams are a tough divisional opponent that have played the 49ers tough in recent years. St. Louis has also showed spunk in losses to Dallas and Philadelphia. I'm expecting a tough, physical game and for San Francisco to win, but it should be close and I would not be shocked for the Rams to pull the upset.
49ers 24, Rams 20
Cowboys (4-1) at Seahawks (3-1), 4:25 p.m. FOX
Seahawks 28, Cowboys 21
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