Most of the key games this week are divisional matchups. In the NFL's version of college football's Big East, the NFC North, Detroit faces Chicago. Now from a pure playoff perspective, this game matters. However, if the division winner didn't get an automatic berth, none of the NFC North could look forward to the playoffs this year.
Now I still have Detroit winning the NFC North. However, they were blown out earlier this year by the Bears, and whether or not Garcia can provide enough offense to put them over the top this time is very questionable.
Another key divisional game is Washington and the Giants. All four teams in the NFC East are crammed at the top, and while I dispute the belief that it is the toughest/best division in the league - the AFC West and NFC South are both a step above - it is highly competitive, and every game definitely counts. I see the Giants continuing their winning ways, but just barely. They'll be on top of the NFC East when it's all said and done.
Speaking of the AFC West, Philly faces Denver in the game of the week. Denver has been decent as of late, beating the then-undefeated Redskins the defending world champion Patriots before stumbling against the Giants due to a last minute heave by Eli Manning. However, they can make up for last week by beating the Eagles and putting their playoff hopes in jeopardy.
The sleeper matchup this weekend is Arizona/Dallas. Dallas is at 4-3 and is on the outside looking in. They've had problems covering receivers, and Arizona has some very good young ones. It'll be interesting to see what kind of schemes Parcells comes up to try to negate them.
Here are my picks:
- Dallas over Arizona
- Cleveland over Houston
- Jacksonville over the Rams
- Carolina over Minnesota
- Giants over Washington
- Chicago over Detroit
- Cincinnati over Green Bay
- Oakland over Tennessee
- Miami over New Orleans (tossup)
- San Diego over Kansas City (they better win, or they won't catch Denver anytime soon)
- Denver over Philly
- Tampa Bay over the Niners
- New England over Buffalo
And Monday night....Pittsburgh over Baltimore.
No upsets this week. I considered Arizona over Dallas, but wasn't comfortable enough in making that pick. Besides, a lot of the matchups this week are fairly even, so if some of them go the other way, you really can't call it an upset.
Enjoy the games.
