Been forever since I did these, so let's see how I do. It's been a bad year for me picking games in my cousin's ESPN league.
Last week of picks - Oct. 4: 4-2 Overall: 15-10
Packers (6-1) at Panthers (7-0), 1 p.m. Fox
I like the Panthers, but they haven't been as challenged on defense this year as they will be by Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense. No teams Carolina has beaten have winning records right now.
Packers 24, Panthers 21
Raiders (4-3) at Steelers (4-4), 1 p.m. CBS
The Raiders above .500? Yes indeed, and I think I read it is the first time they have been above .500 as late as Week 9 since 2011. I think they are here to stay for the duration of the wild card race but I like the Steelers to get back on track in this one. Ben Roethlisberger shook off the rust against a solid Bengals defense, and now gets a softer secondary in Oakland.
Steelers 28, Raiders 23
Rams (4-3) at Vikings (5-2), 1 p.m. Fox
Been awhile since these teams have been in the playoff conversation, too. Both passing offenses struggle, so it will come down to Adrian Peterson and Todd Gurley to put up points. Both defenses are good so it should be a pretty low-scoring game. I like Minnesota at home.
Vikings 20, Rams 17
Redskins (3-4) at Patriots (7-0), 1 p.m. Fox
The main question for this one is probably will New England cover? The Redskins have looked good at times this year, but they have yet to beat anyone the caliber of the Patriots, who stopped the Dolphins' resurgence in its tracks last week.
Patriots 35, Redskins 17
Giants (4-4) at Buccaneers (3-4), 4:05 p.m. Fox
The Bucs are improving and beat the Falcons in Atlanta last week. But if Eli Manning can be consistent, something that seems to be hard for him to do lately, the Giants should still be able to top Tampa Bay. Jameis Winston hasn't yet polished his passing enough yet t truly take advantage of New York's secondary, which let Drew Brees have a field day last week as he out-gunned Manning in a shootout.
Giants 27, Buccaneers 23
Eagles (3-4) at Cowboys (2-5), 8:30 p.m. NBC
The past few years, the road team has won in this rivalry. Dallas already beat Philadelphia, 20-10, in Week 2 at Philly, the game that Tony Romo got hurt in. The Eagles have had a bye week since losing to the Panthers. Before that, they crushed the Saints and the Giants, a sign that maybe the offense has gotten going a little. I expect Chip Kelly has some better things drawn up for this matchup than in the loss when they didn't score a touchdown until late. The Cowboys really, really need a line-in-the-sand type effort and really could use a win to jump into the NFC East mix, but I just think the Eagles have the upper hand in the rematch.
Eagles 24, Cowboys 20
Bears (2-5) at Chargers (2-6). 8:30 p.m. Monday ESPN
It seemed like for awhile the Chargers were just having bad luck and going up against tough teams: A five-point loss to the Bengals, four-point setback against the Steelers, seven-point defeat to the Packers. But the last weeks, they were being blown out before rallying but losing to the Raiders and then lost to the one-win Ravens last week. Makes me think San Diego is just not good. Luckily, Chicago isn't either. It gave the Lions their first victory a few weeks ago. What I think will transpire will be a pretty close game dominated by Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers.
Chargers 27, Bears 24
Last week of picks - Oct. 4: 4-2 Overall: 15-10
Packers (6-1) at Panthers (7-0), 1 p.m. Fox
I like the Panthers, but they haven't been as challenged on defense this year as they will be by Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense. No teams Carolina has beaten have winning records right now.
Packers 24, Panthers 21
Raiders (4-3) at Steelers (4-4), 1 p.m. CBS
The Raiders above .500? Yes indeed, and I think I read it is the first time they have been above .500 as late as Week 9 since 2011. I think they are here to stay for the duration of the wild card race but I like the Steelers to get back on track in this one. Ben Roethlisberger shook off the rust against a solid Bengals defense, and now gets a softer secondary in Oakland.
Steelers 28, Raiders 23
Rams (4-3) at Vikings (5-2), 1 p.m. Fox
Been awhile since these teams have been in the playoff conversation, too. Both passing offenses struggle, so it will come down to Adrian Peterson and Todd Gurley to put up points. Both defenses are good so it should be a pretty low-scoring game. I like Minnesota at home.
Vikings 20, Rams 17
Redskins (3-4) at Patriots (7-0), 1 p.m. Fox
The main question for this one is probably will New England cover? The Redskins have looked good at times this year, but they have yet to beat anyone the caliber of the Patriots, who stopped the Dolphins' resurgence in its tracks last week.
Patriots 35, Redskins 17
Giants (4-4) at Buccaneers (3-4), 4:05 p.m. Fox
The Bucs are improving and beat the Falcons in Atlanta last week. But if Eli Manning can be consistent, something that seems to be hard for him to do lately, the Giants should still be able to top Tampa Bay. Jameis Winston hasn't yet polished his passing enough yet t truly take advantage of New York's secondary, which let Drew Brees have a field day last week as he out-gunned Manning in a shootout.
Giants 27, Buccaneers 23
Eagles (3-4) at Cowboys (2-5), 8:30 p.m. NBC
The past few years, the road team has won in this rivalry. Dallas already beat Philadelphia, 20-10, in Week 2 at Philly, the game that Tony Romo got hurt in. The Eagles have had a bye week since losing to the Panthers. Before that, they crushed the Saints and the Giants, a sign that maybe the offense has gotten going a little. I expect Chip Kelly has some better things drawn up for this matchup than in the loss when they didn't score a touchdown until late. The Cowboys really, really need a line-in-the-sand type effort and really could use a win to jump into the NFC East mix, but I just think the Eagles have the upper hand in the rematch.
Eagles 24, Cowboys 20
Bears (2-5) at Chargers (2-6). 8:30 p.m. Monday ESPN
It seemed like for awhile the Chargers were just having bad luck and going up against tough teams: A five-point loss to the Bengals, four-point setback against the Steelers, seven-point defeat to the Packers. But the last weeks, they were being blown out before rallying but losing to the Raiders and then lost to the one-win Ravens last week. Makes me think San Diego is just not good. Luckily, Chicago isn't either. It gave the Lions their first victory a few weeks ago. What I think will transpire will be a pretty close game dominated by Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers.
Chargers 27, Bears 24
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