Minnesota Vikings 7-5 at Detroit Lions 0-12You may be asking yourself, why I am making the Lions one of my three big games of the week. Well, they are on the road to imperfection and this is their best chance to pick up a win. A division rivalry game where anything can happen, at home, and the fact the Vikes may be without Kevin and Pat Williams all make this a winnable game for Detroit. But, the Lions are flat out downright a terrible football team. They do nothing well. They have very little talent and ! have gone through 5 quarterbacks this season. Minnesota is leading the division and needs to keep winning for it to stay that way. This one is easy, the Vikings are the pick.
Dallas Cowboys 8-4 at Pittsburgh Steelers 9-3
The game of the week should be a slobber knocker. A classic trench fight with both teams laying it all on the line. Dallas needs to keep winning or else could be watching from home come playoff time. RB Marion Barber and LB DeMarcu! s Ware are banged up, but both are expected to play. Ware can! change a game by himself and will give Big Ben pressure all day. Tony Romo needs to have a big day because Pittsburgh sports the best run defense in the NFL. The Steelers offensive line is under a lot of pressure this week and needs to keep Big Ben upright. If not Dallas will win. Pittsburgh wants to win, but not as bad as Dallas. The Cowboys are desperate, and I love picking desperate teams. Go with the Cowboys in the upset.
Tampa Bay Bucs 9-3 at Carolina Panthers 9-3
The NFC South has surprised many this year having arguably the most competitive division in football. The two elite meet this week in a matchup that will have NFC South Champion implications. The winner of this game will have the inside track to that crown. The Bucs have a great defense, but I am not sold on their offense just yet. They lost RB Earnest Graham for the season. Tampa must rely on veteran Warrick Dunn to carry the bulk of the load. Jeff Garcia has done a great job at QB. The Panthers I call the sleeping giant. I think this is one of the best teams in football, but like when they made it to the Super Bowl, no one is talking about them. Jake Delhomme gets it done at QB, Steve Smith is still dominating DB's, and the running attack of Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart may be the best 1-2 punch in the NFL. The defense is very solid as well. Expect a good game, but the Panthers win.
C! hicago o ver Jacksonville
Green Bay over Houston
Tennessee over Cleveland
Indianapolis over Cincinnati
UPSET ALERT: New Orleans over Atlanta
NY Giants over Philadelphia
Denver over Kansas City
UPSET ALERT: Buffalo over Miami
NY Jets over San Francisco
New England over Seattle
Arizona over St. Louis
Washington over Baltimore
