YOU MIGHT NOTICE the Saints mentioned in the “upset alert” section below. Well, that’s just us going out on a (major) limb. We think the Saints are the team to beat in the NFL right now, and that’s based on the Colts’ lackluster performance against the middle-of-the-pack 49ers last week.
This week’s best bets
GO SEE IT IN PERSON: Dallas (5-2) at Philadelphia (5-2); The Eagles win over the Giants last week has really shaken things up in the NFC East. With both teams going into this one at 5-2, this one promises to have an electrifying atmosphere. It’s a night game, too.
HAVE THE GUYS OVER: Pittsburgh (5-2) at Denver (6-1); There’s a real power struggle in the AFC right behind the Colts, and these are two of the teams in it. This should be one of the best MNF games of the season.
WATCH IT FOR THE FOOTBALL: Baltimore (4-3) at Cincinnati (5-2); With the way some of the records are shaping up in the AFC, this is pretty much a must-win game for the Ravens. The Bengals are likely feeling pressure in the division race from the red-hot Steelers.
SURPRISE THRILLER: Tennessee (1-6) at San Francisco (3-4); You see, there are awful teams in the NFL, and then there are teams that play so bad you think they’re awful. The Titans aren’t awful, but their 0-6 start was sure stinky shit. They’re primed for one of those mid-season runs that makes the difference between a 2-14 team and a 6-10 team. If the Niners aren’t careful, one of those six or so wins could come today.
THE SNOOZER: Arizona (4-3) at Chicago (4-3); When two teams with the same record square off, you expect to see a pretty good game, right? Well, we think that rule will be proved false here. The Cardinals are far from the team they were last year, and the Bears have been playing boring football for a while now.
UPSET ALERT: Carolina (3-4) at New Orleans (7-0); We realize we’re probably give up one to the ‘L’ column here, but we’re looking for big upsets. Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme will feel right at home in Cajun Country, and he might just snap out of his horrible funk of a season in the Big Easy.
THE LOCK: Miami (3-4) at New England (5-2); When you look at it, only two wins separate the two. But the Pats are perfect at home, and that ain’t gonna change this week.
How’d we do last week?
GO SEE IT IN PERSON: Minnesota at Green Bay; The fans gave Brett Favre their boos early, but in the end they’d need their booze to heal the hurt. An exciting game proved that Brett still owns at least a piece of Lambeau.
HAVE THE GUYS OVER: N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia; We’re going to take the loss on this one. The G-men laid an egg. Our bad.
WATCH IT FOR THE FOOTBALL: Atlanta at New Orleans; A 35-27 scorefest? Yeah, we’d say that was some damn good football.
SURPRISE THRILLER: St. Louis at Detroit; We’ll take it. It was far from a snoozer. The Rams scored after the 2-minute warning to win the game.
THE SNOOZER: Oakland at San Diego; All the second half scoring was done in three field goals. Yeah, we think we got this one right.
UPSET ALERT: Tennessee at Jacksonville; We called it all the way. The Titans took an early lead and never looked back in getting their first win of the season.
THE LOCK: San Francisco at Indianapolis; This one was actually a little hairy, and the Colts’ performance actually caused a drop in the rankings. Indy, however, did come out on top.
Last week’s record: 6-1
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