Carolina Panthers @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Jaguars -10.5
Let’s keep this simple. Carolina is not good; Jacksonville is good. Each of these teams is coming off of a week where they have done what is not common for either of them this year. Carolina won; Jacksonville lost. I suppose it is possible for the Jaguars to be sulking after yet another loss to the Colts, but I don’t think it is likely. What is mush less likely is the Panthers playing well 2 weeks in a row. That being said, they may not have played all that well last week. It was the 49ers they beat up on. I am playing 6 games today so a 3-star rating is as high as I am going.

Dallas Cowboys @ Detroit Lions

Cowboys -10.5
This game bring more drama than you would expect being that the Lions are 5 games behind the Cowboys. Detroit started the year making Jon Kitna look like a prophet but lately, they all have reverted to the form we expect out of the Detroit Lions. I do believe Dallas has issues in their secondary, but the Lions WR corps is not at full strength and the Cowboy offense is too good to not put up points against a soft Lion defense. Dallas also had more time off since their last game; I am going to believe that they made good use of the time and will come out rested and sharp, not flat and unfocused.

Minnesota Vikings @ San Francisco 49ers

Vikings -8.5
Minnesota hasn’t been favored by this much all year; they also have been receiving a lot of accolades. This has me a bit nervous. The Vikings deserve all the nice things people are saying about them, and the 49ers deserve everything that people say about them. With Adrian Peterson back and looking good, the Vikings should be able to control the ball and set up their ever-improving QB Tavaris Jackson. The 49ers meanwhile are bad and their showing in Carolina last week gives me all I need to know about this team. Look for Minnesota to keep their hot-streak alive.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos

Broncos -7
Denver is coming off a bad loss in Oakland last week; only 1 game separates these two teams; Herm Edwards vs. Mike Shanahan. Those three reasons are the reason I like Denver. The NFL is a counter-intuitive league. Look at what happened one week and then expect the opposite to come true. Does Denver drop two in a row to the two worst teams in their division? No. If KC were to win this game they would be tied with Denver at 5-8. Is KC as good as Denver? No. Lastly, Denver is still competing for a playoff spot while KC is done. In this scenario do you really think Herm Edwards will outcoach Mike Shanahan? No. All those No’s add up to a big Yes for the Broncos.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England Patriots

Steelers +10.5
Everyone wants to hop on the Steelers after the Patriots have struggled the past two weeks. When this many people go in one direction, I generally like to go the other way. Do people really think the Steelers can win or do they just really WANT the Pats to lose? It has been hard to get a read on Pittsburgh the past few weeks. Their 3-0 win over Miami was so greatly influenced by the weather that it is hard to consider the game. Throw in a loss to the Jets and a good cover against the Bengals and what you are left with is a big question mark. The Pats meanwhile have proved one thing to me the past two weeks. They know how to win. The coaching matchup here doesn’t give me any confidence in the Steelers. I am going to lay 1-star on Pittsburgh, for the reasons that New England has played two very tough games back to back, and the extra pressure of the undefeated season may help Pittsburgh. Of course, the Pats defense hasn’t looked great, but the Jets shut the Steelers down so why can’t New England?

Indianapolis Colts @ Baltimore Ravens

Colts -8.5
Can Baltimore shake off the tough week from last week and play out of their minds again? I don’t think so. The Ravens are the most undisciplined team in the NFL and it showed last week with their meltdown on the final Patriot TD and their subsequent bitching and moaning about the officials. To top it off, the Ravens are on a short week. The week was shortened even further by their inability to put the NE game behind them and get focused on the Colts. This is a re-match of last year’s AFC Divisional playoff game, a game won by the Colts on a day that they did not bring their A game. The Ravens are also incapable of putting back to back good offensive games together. I am putting 3-stars on the Colts.