* Eagles over Chargers-
The Birds won in LA, despite crossing the country, coming off an emotional win against the Giants, and most of the local media picking the Chargers. The Eagles were simply the better team. Now they come home and play an average Arizona team that hates to play in the Eastern time zone. Los Angeles is winless and fly east to play the Giants in New York. The Chargers are 2-5 playing on the east coast recently. Eli Manning has never beaten the Chargers.
* Rams over Cowboys-
Maybe the Rams are for real? They sure can score points. RB Todd Gurley and QB Jared Goff are shining. LA goes home to play Seattle. Somehow, even when the Seahawks are good, they have problems with the Rams. I'm not fully on board with the Rams yet, but it would be refreshing to see another team other than the Cards or Seahawks winning the NFC West. Meanwhile, Dallas lost at home. They need to stockpile victories before Zeke Elliot gets suspended. Dallas remains home to face Green Bay. Common sense says the Cowboys won't lose two in a row at home. But Aaron Rodgers still plays for the Pack. The Cowboy defense is poor, and I can see Rodgers picking that secondary apart.
* Buccaneers over Giants-
Tampa Bay pulled out the win over the struggling Giants. They stay at home on a short week to play the defending world champion Patriots on Thursday night football. The Bucs haven't play a big, prime-time game like this in awhile. NY goes back to the Meadowlands to face another 0-4 club, the Chargers. If the Giants can'r beat a visiting 0-4 team that doesn't play well on the east coast, they better give up and tank the season.
* Lions over Vikings-
Detroit squeaked by the Vikings at Minnesota, without Sam Bradford again. The Lions are surprisingly on top of NFC Central. This week they return to Ford Field to face Carolina, who are coming off a big win in New England. I like the Lions to keep rolling. The Vikes play Monday night in a division game against the Bears in Chicago. Again, it all depends on Bradford.
* Saints over Dolphins-
New Orleans went to London and shut-out Miami, 20-0. The Saints have won two in a row and have a well-deserved bye. Miami comes off two bad losses, while flying back to America to play a hot-and-cold Tennessee team. Will Marcus Mariotta play? One would think the Dolphins need this game pretty bad. The Patriots are staying within reach in AFC East. The Dolphins don't want to fall too far behind in the division.
* Jets over Jaguars-
I'm still not buying the Jets. They are 2-2 but they have beaten two equally bad teams. Jacksonville was coming off a big win in London and had to cross the Atlantic and play a football game all in the same week. The Jets have another winnable game at Cleveland, where New York is favored. The Jags go to Pittsburgh to face a 3-1 Steelers team which is coming off a big rivalry win over Baltimore. Expect a Steeler win on Sunday.
* Bengals over Browns-
In a showdown of Ohio winless teams, the Bengals beat the Browns. They almost upset the Packers in Green Bay the week before, so it made sense that Cincy would play well in Cleveland. The Bengals come home to play the surprising Buffalo Bills. The Bengals try to turn their season around by beating Buffalo. The Browns stay home for the Jets. I didn't buy the trendy hype that Cleveland may win as many as six games this year. If they can't beat the Jets at home this Sunday, when will the Browns win?
* Panthers over Patriots-
Carolina upset New England on a last-second field goal last week. The Panthers are so up-and-down, winning on the road against the Patriots yet losing to the Saints in Carolina. The Panthers are on the road again at Detroit, then face a short week at home on Thursday night against the Eagles. The Pats play this Thursday night against the upstart Bucs. Could New England go 2-3 so early in the season? Ok, the pats may eventually get it together, win the AFC east and make the playoffs. But with each loss they are in jeopardy of not having home field advantage in the playoffs, critical for the Pats to play in cold, snowy New England in January.
* Texans over Titans-
Houston took out it's frustrations by destroying Tennessee, scoring a franchise-record 57 points in the process. The Texans found their quarterback of the future in DeShaun Watson, who threw four TDs in their victory. Houston is at home this week against undefeated Kansas City. I see the Chiefs finally losing on Sunday. Tennessee is on the road at Miami and their fate hinges on injured Marcus Mariotta.
* Chiefs over Redskins-
The Chiefs beat the Redskins last night after spotting Washington 10 points. But I see them losing on Sunday at Houston.Washington has a bye this week, standing with a 2-2 record. The Redskins lost corner back Josh Norman with broken ribs ( good for the Eagles)..
* Broncos over Raiders-
Denver outlasted Oakland, with Raider QB Darek Carr going down with a broken bone in his back ( which will keep him out of action 2-6 weeks). I expected Denver to hold home field advantage in a key division game. This week the Broncos have their bye. The Raiders go west and play an angry Baltimore Ravens team, who have lost consecutive games. Without Carr, despite being in Oakland, the Raiders are in trouble.
* Bills over Falcons-
Buffalo is 3-1. They were thought to be tanking the season when they traded Darby to Philly and Watkins to the Rams, but give the Bills credit. They went into undefeated Atlanta and handled the Falcons. Buffalo stays on the road by going to Cincinnati, a winnable game. Buffalo will make me a believer with a victory on Sunday. Atlanta has a bye. They have to be seething this week, sitting home after a bad loss before taking on the Dolphins in Atlanta.
* Cardinals over 40'ers-
Arizona went 1-1 at home last week, losing their opener to Dallas then squeaking by San Francisco in overtime. The Cards are still dangerous with Larry Fitzgerald, but Carson Palmer looks his age. They come east to face Philadelphia. The Cardinals franchise has always given the Eagles fits, but they don't like playing 1:00 games on Sundays when their home body-clock says it's 10:00 a.m. in Arizona. The Niners travel to Indianapolis in a winnable game. San Fran has been playing well this season, despite the 0-4 record, but will they win on the road, even against a hapless Colts squad?
* Seahawks over Colts-
After a shaky start, Seattle whipped Indianapolis at home, as I predicted. Seattle goes to Los Angeles in a key NFC West game to play the Rams. The Seahawks never seem to do well in LA. Seattle needs this game to stay on a roll and keep pace with the Rams. Indy goes home to take on the 49'ers. Must-win for the Colts, with QB Andrew Luck still on the sidelines.
* Steelers over Ravens-
In a big rivalry game, the Steelers beat the Ravens in Baltimore, 10-0. Pittsburgh is in control in AFC Central. Will they letdown at home agains t Jacksonville? Doubtful, although the Jags are improvised. Baltimore flies to Oakland.to take on a reeling Raiders team that lost their quarterback for 2-6 weeks.I like Baltimore this week to rebound.
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