Brad's Picks was 9-7 last week. Here's the g, b, and u from that.

      the good:

Houston 34, Seahawks 7 - Seahawks are now 1-6 on the road this season. So the good news is that they only have one road game left. The bad news is that the game is in Green Bay in week 16.

Packers 21, Chicago 14 - A pretty good divisional game. Aaron Rogers was just 16-24-0-180 but Jay Cutler tossed a couple INT's and Ryan Grant had a 62 yard run for a TD for the Pack.

Baltimore 48, Lions 3 - Daunte Culpepper was worse than bad for the Lions - 16-34-2-135, and 11 yards on 7 carries.

Saints 26, Atlanta 23 - Saints had their second close call in two weeks in their quest for perfection.

New England 20, Panthers 10 - Randy Moss did his snit thing (1 catch for 16 yards) after being sent home last week (for being late to practice) but the Patriots still won.

Jets 26, Tampa Bay 3 - Bucs rookie QB Josh Freeman threw 3 INT's.

Minnesota 30, Bengals 10 - After getting whupped in the desert the week before, the Vikings looked much better at the home dome.

Tennessee 47, Rams 7 - Titans lost Vince Young to a hammy, but Kerry Collins was 11-19-0-154.

Eagles 45, New York Giants 38 (SNF) - Giants gained more yards (by 138) and dominated time of possession but lost 4 fumbles to the Eagles.

     the bad:

Cleveland 13, Steelers 6 - It was really cold in Cleveland, and the Browns were able to run the ball and the Steelers weren't.

Bills 16, Kansas City 10 - Bills lost two fumbles and an INT. Chiefs QB Cassell tossed 4 INT's.

Chargers 20, Dallas 17 - This was a very close game in all statistical categories. Boys did out rush the Chargers - 108 on 27 versus 73 on 31.

Dolphins 14, Jacksonville 10 - Both teams remain in the playoff hunt with 7-6 records.

     the ugly:

Undeeplis 28, Broncos 16 - Kyle Orton was 29-41-277 with 1 INT. Peyton Manning was 20-42-220 with 3 INT's. And Brandon Marshall set an all-time NFL record with 21 catches in a game. But the Colts made the plays when they needed to.

Redskins 34, Oakland 13 - Raiders lost QB Bruce Gradkowski at half-time, and JaMarcus Russell was uber bad in relief.

San Francisco 24, Cardinals 9 - Cardinals looked great two weeks ago in the desert, holding Adrian Peterson to 19 ground yards, but they gave up 167 to Frank Gore last week.

      Brad's Picks is 136 - 56 on the season. It was AFC 5, NFC 2 last week, so on the season it's AFC 31, NFC 24. Home teams were 8-8 last week On the season, it's H 122, V 86. 208 games have been played, 48 to go. Plus the playoffs of course.

     this week:

     the TNF game:

Undeeplace (13-0) at Jacksonville (7-6) - Division game. Colts locked up home field advantage throughout the playoffs last week with the win over the Broncos, so the expectation has been that the Colts will rest a lot of players. But head coach Jim Caldwell says no. At least for this game, they'll play it the same as the last 13 games. Peyton Manning says he doesn't want to sit at all. Caldwell did say that health issues would be considered, so a banged up player who would play if it were a playoff game might take a break. I was gonna take the Jags when I thought the Colts would start to sit players like it was the 4th game of the preseason, but now I'll go with the Colts. They might just want to knock the Jags out of the playoff hunt.

     the Saturday game (6:20 MST):

Dallas (8-5) at New Orleans (13-0) - Cowboys have lost two in a row they should have won (at NYG, home vs. the Chargers). Saints have won two they should have lost (at Washington, at Atlanta). Keep this simple and take the Saints as they return to their dome home.

     the 11:00 MST Sunday games:

Miami (7-6) at Tennessee (6-7) - Miami started the season 0-3, Tennessee started 0-6. Chris Johnson is on pace for 2,001 yards this season - Titans are on pace for 2,644 rush yards. Fins are on pace for 2,401 rush yards. Both teams are good at defending the run but neither is good at defending the pass. Aargh. Tough call, but this is Miami's second road game in a row, while Tennessee had an easy one at home against the Rams. Take the Titans.

Arizona (8-5) at Detroit (2-11) - Cardinals have been pretty good on the road this year, and I expect them to rebound from a loss at San Francisco last week.

Atlanta (6-7) at New York Jets (7-6) - Jets lead the league in rush yards (169 per game) and lead the AFC in defense. Matt Ryan and Michael Turner are iffy for the Falcons. Take the Jets at home.

Houston (6-7) at St. Louis (1-12) - The Rams held Chris Johnson to 117 on 28 at Tennessee last week, which maybe doesn't sound great but Chris Johnson leads the league in rushing. Rams sent players home on Wednesday because of an outbreak of flu. Take the Texans.

Chicago (5-8) at Baltimore (7-6) - Baltimore is still in the playoff hunt and will win this game.

New England (8-6) at Buffalo (5-8) - Division game. Do the Patriots have serious issues? After Coach Belichick sent four players home for being a few minutes late for practice with a snowstorm going on, Adalius Thomas called Belichick out and was benched for last week's game. Randy Moss then put on a no show in the Panthers game. Meanwhile, the Bills went to Arrowhead and pulled out a win. Brady has a sore finger and sore ribs, but the Patriots are still 1st in the AFC on offense and 6th on defense (Bills are 13th on both). Bills will make the Patriots pay for this, but I can't see the Bills winning.

Cleveland (2-11) at Kansas City (3-10) - Weather should be nippy but decent. It'll seem warm to the Browns who played in sub-zero conditions last week. Browns played a big game, with a win, against the Steelers, and may let down a bit. But their 8 sacks against the Steelers doesn't look good to Matt Cassell, who threw 4 INT's at home last week against the Bills, and who has been sacked 12 times in the last four games. I figure that if the Bills can come to Arrowhead and win, so can the Browns.

San Francisco (6-7) at Philadelphia (9-4) - Eagles are on top of the NFC East and won't lose this one to a Niners team flying cross country after a big win over the Cardinals on MNF.

     the 2:05 MST games:

Oakland (4-9) at Denver (8-5) - Raiders had something nice going with Bruce Gradkowski at QB, but he sprained both MCL's last week, and is pretty gimpy. Raiders signed a fourth QB (J.P. Losman) this week, but they've announced that third string QB Charlie Frye will start. Seems they've given up on the Biggest Bust Ever (Coach Cable, in a little coachspeak, says that Russel will have a future someday - I guess that's a reference to reincarnation). I don't think it matters who plays QB for the Raiders. Broncos played tough at Undee last week while the Raiders got mauled by the Reds. Denver will win this game going away.

Cincinnati (9-4) at San Diego (10-3) - Both teams just about have their divisions locked up, but not quite. So both want to win this, especially since it might be a preview of a playoff game (not to mention where it would be played). Chargers are the worst team in the league in run defense, while the Bengals are 6th in run offense. But the Benglas pass offense has been invisible lately, while the Chargers pass offense has been red hot - Philip Rivers has thrown for 962 yards the last three games, with five TD's and just one INT. Meanwhile, Carson Palmer has trouble throwing for 200 yards a game, and the Bengals have only scored 7 offensive TD's in the last 6 games. Bengals lost on the west coast in week eleven to the Raiders, 20-17, and I'll take the Chargers at home.

     the 2:15 MST games:

Tampa Bay (1-12) at Seattle (5-8) - Seahawks are 4-2 at home. Bucs are 0-6 on the road. And it's a long road from Florida to Seattle. Might be a little rainy in Seattle.

Green Bay (9-4) at Pittsburgh (6-7) - Packers are one of the hottest teams in the league, and the Steelers are one of the coldest. Steelers will still be without Troy Polamalu, the best safety in the league, and they will also be without starting RG Chris Kemoeatu - not good for Ben R, who was sacked 8 times last week by the Browns. Packers moved to a 3-4 defense in the off season with new D Coordinator Dom Capers, and it sputtered at first. But it's gotten lots better, and is currently the best D in the NFC. Take the Packers.

     the SNF game:

Minnesota (11-2) at Carolina (5-8) - Should be interesting. Vikings tanked in the desert last week, while the Panthers tanked up in New England. Vikings need a win to make sure they get the 2nd seed in the NFC. I think the Vikings are better than they showed last week at Arizona, but Carolina is also a long way from Minnesota. Vikings lost their great LB E.J. Henderson with a broken femur, and that won't help against the Panthers really good run game. I'd be thinking about taking the home team here, but they just lost their stellar OT Jeff Otah, and the Vikings D is pretty good. On a side note, Matt Moore might get the start over Jake Delhomme (Moore has thrown just one INT in two games, while Delhomme throws them in bunches). Anyway, if Matt starts, there will be six starting QB's in the league with the first name Matt. Wierd.

     the MNF game:

New York Giants (7-6) at Washington (4-9) - Division game. These teams are third and fourth defensively in the NFC, behind Green Bay and Minnesota. Giants are 3rd on offense, Reds are 10th. But that's in yards, and the difference on O is just 68 yards per game. 68 yards a game can translate into a win, but the real story here is the tale of two seasons. Giants started 5-0, then went 1-5, then beat the Cowboys at home, then lost to the Eagles at home. Redskins have been a lot better the second half of the season (they lost at Detroit in Week Three) but it hasn't translated into a lot of wins. But consider: a one point loss at Dallas in Week 11; a 3 point loss at Philadelphia in Week 12; an OT loss at home to the Saints in Week 13; and then a blowout win in Oakland last week. Reds are playing pretty well, and some fans think it's because some high priced players have hit the IR and been replaced by hungry younger guys. Also, General Manager Vinny Cerrato just resigned, and this was met with hurrahs by Reds fans. And presumably Reds players. Anyway, this will be in Washington on MNF and the crowd will be up and I think the Redskins can win the game. Giants are still in the playoff race, but that may look different come Monday night.

      Due to a computer fritz, I was unable to do Brad's Picks for Week Thirteen. It was frustrating, but kind of nice to have a week off and not caring who won the games.

     This is from last week - the only part I got finished before my computer went into the shop:

Brad's Picks was 12-4 last week (Week Twelve). The good, bad and ugly from Week Twelve:

     the good:

Denver 26, Giants 6 - Broncos outrushed the Giants 138 to 57.

Packers 34, Detroit 12 - Packers won big like they should over the Lions.

Seahawks 27, St. Louis 17 - Rams have lost 11 straight at home.

Atlanta 20, Buccaneers 17 - Atlanta lost QB Matt Ryan on the first series, and RB Michael Turner in the third quarter, and were lucky to eke out a win.

Cincinnati 16, Browns 7 - Why was the score so close? No turnovers, Bengals dominated the time of possession, and outgained the Browns 306 yards to 169. (210-58 on the ground). Well, division games are like that sometimes.

Philadelphia 27, Redskins 24 - Another unexpectedly close division game.

San Diego 43, Chiefs 14 - A divisional blowout.

San Francisco 20, Jaguars 3 - Jags had won 5 of 6 before this game but couldn't get it going after a long plane ride.

Tennessee 20, Cardinals 17 - Vince Young took his team on a 99 yard drive to score a TD and win the game with no time left. Pretty good job, Mr. Young. Oh, and Chris Johnson had 154 yards on 18 carries, including an 85 yarder for a TD. Take away that long run and he still averaged over 4 per carry.

Minnesota 36, Bears 10 - Bears held Adrian Peterson to 85 yards on 25 carries, so Favre passed for 392 yards (dude's only gone over 400 in a game once).

Baltimore 20, Steelers 17 (OT) - Dennis Dixon subbed for Ben R and went 12-26-1-145 and a TD toss plus a 24 yard run for a TD. But the INT was in OT and resulted in a Ravens FG for the win.

New Orleans 38 , Patriots 17 - Tom Brady threw two INT's. Drew Brees didn't throw any.

     the bad:

Dallas 24, Raiders 7 - Only an incompetent would have picked the Raiders.

Colts 35, Houston 27 - Colts were down by 13 at the half, and by 6 at the end of the third quarter, but were up by 15 with 18 seconds remaining in the game.

    the ugly:

New York Jets 17, Panthers 6 - Jake Delhomme threw four to the Jets.

Buffalo 31, Dolphins 14 - It was Dolphins 14, Buffalo 7 after three quarters.

     Brad's Picks is 127- 49 on the season after Week Twelve. AFC. won three, the NFC won three last week, so it's AFC 25, NFC 21 on the season. Home teams won 13 last week. On the season it's home teams 104, visitors 72.

     here are the results of last week's games, with a few notes:

Jets 19, Buffalo 13 (TNF) - Jets ran for 249 yards against the worst run defense in the league.

Chicago 17, Rams 9 - Jay Cutler threw for 131 yards in the first quarter and just 12 yards the rest of the game.

Raiders 27, Pittsburgh 24 - Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said the Steelers would unleash hell in December, but it looks like they unleashed a little heck instead.

Broncos 44, Kansas City 13 - Division game. Kyle Orton turned the ball over three times and it was still a blowout at Arrowhead.

Eagles 34, Atlanta 7 - Neither Matt Ryan nor Michael Turner played for the Falcons.

Cincinnati 23, Lions 13 - Bengals took care of business at home.

Miami 22, Patriots 21 - Miami QB Chad Henne threw for a career high 335 yards and 2 TD's, and took his team 51 yards for a winning 41 yard FG. with just a minute left in the game. Patriots jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the 2nd, so where was their defense?

Saints 33, Washington 30 - It took a miracle (missed chip shot FG by the Reds that would have won the game) and OT for the Saints to continue undefeated.

Undeepalis 27, Titans 17 - I'm beginning to think the Colts really want to go undefeated all season.

Carolina 16, Buccaneers 6 - Bucs rookie QB Josh Freeman threw it to a Panther five times.

Jacksonville 23, Texans 18 - Jags won their fifth straight at home, in front of the smallest crowd in franchise history. How does Los Angeles Jaguars sound?

Chargers 30, Cleveland 23 - It was 27- 7 at the end of three quarters.

New York Giants 31, Cowboys 24 - TD's on a 74 yard pass from Manning to Brandon Jacobs (most of the yards were after the catch) and a 79 yard punt return by Domenik Hixon were the difference in this game.

Seattle 20, Forty Niners 17 - Seahawks won on a 30 yard FG as time ran out.

Arizona 30, Vikings 17 (SNF) - Brett Favre threw zero INT's in November but tossed two in the desert.

Green Bay 27 , Ravens 14 (MNF) - 23 penalties for a total of 310 yards (second most in league history) made this a real fun game at Lambeau.

     So Brad's Picks is still 127-49 on the season. Last week it was AFC 1, NFC 1, so on the season it's AFC 26, NFC 22. Home teams were 10-6, so on the season it's Home 114, Visitors 78.

      On to Week Fourteen:

     the Thursday night game:

Pittsburgh (6-6) at Cleveland (1-11) - Division game. Will the Steelers unleash heck on the Browns? They will probably be without Troy Polamalu again, and Hines Ward pulled a hammy last Sunday and probably won't play, and starting CB William Gay has a concussion and probably won't play. Steelers have lost four in a row (Bengals, at Kansas City, at Baltimore, and Raiders). Maybe the Steelers didn't get ready for the Raiders after a big loss at Baltimore, but they should have gotten ready after the loss to Kansas City. Still, a division game against a weak team like the Browns is good medicine. Steelers fans travel as well as any bunch of fans, and I bet there are more Steelers fans at the game than Browns fans. I'll take the Steelers.

     the Sunday 11:00 MST games:

Seattle (5-7) at Houston (5-7) - Seahawks are 1-5 on the road this season. Texans are better than their record.

Green Bay (8-4) at Chicago (5-7) - Division game. Packers held Ray Rice to just 54 yards on the ground last week. Ravens had just 66 total ground yards, on 21 carries (16 yards on three scrambles by Joe Flacco). Weather should be decent - about 30 degrees, maybe a little sunshine. Once the Packers shut down the Bears run game, Jay Cutler will throw a few INT's, and I'll take the Packers on the road.

Detroit (2-10) at Baltimore (6-6) - Baltimore got their run game shut down at Lambeau last week, but they also shut down the Packers ground game. Lions QB Matt Stafford is still ailing from the dislocated left shoulder, and may not play. Whether or not he does, Baltimore will win this game.

New Orleans (12-0) at Atlanta (6-6) - Division game. Saints Coach Sean Payton has made it clear that the Saints are going after a perfect season. Falcons are a bit beat up, at QB and RB, and it's really hard (read foolish) to pick against a team that is undefeated as late as December. Take the Saints.

Buffalo (4-8) at Kansas City (3-9) - Buffalo has the worst run D in the league, and young RB Jamal Charles looks pretty good for the Chiefs. Chiefs looked pretty good two weeks ago when they beat the Steelers at Arrowhead. Then they tanked at San Diego and at home against the Broncos. But they'll rebound and win this one at Arrowhead.

Carolina (5-7) at New England (7-5) - Weather should be decent by Sunday, but a winter storm on Wednesday caused four Patriots players (Randy Moss and LB's Adalius Thomas, Gary Guyton, and Derrick Burgess) to be late for practice, and they were sent home for the day. Seems a bit harsh, considering, but maybe Belichick is a bit cranky after losing to the Dolphins (Pats have lost three of their last four games) and seeing that he has just a one game lead over the Fins and the Jets. Patriots defense is suddenly suspect - no pass rush, for one thing, but they still have given up only three rushing TD's all year. Carolina has benched Jake Delhomme and 3rd year QB Matt Moore played pretty good last week (14-20-1-161), but that was against a poor Buc defense in Carolina. I figure you gotta take the Patriots at home in what should be a good game.

New York Jets (6-6) at Tampa Bay (1-11) - Tough call. But I'll take the Jets and their ground game against the 1-11 Bucs and their rookie QB who threw 5 INT's last week. Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez won't play, or at least won't start, with two sore knees, but Kellen Clemens has been around a few years.

Miami (6-6) at Jacksonville (7-5) - Tough call. Jaguars have won six of the last seven, and five straight at home. They have a tough run defense but a suspect secondary (which should be helped by the good run defense). They also have Maurice Jones-Drew, the 4th best rusher in the league. Fins started the year with three straight losses (at Atlanta; Undeeplis, and San Diego). Their other three losses have been to the Saints, at Patriots and at Bills. QB Chad Henne had his best outing last week in New England and should make some throws against the Jags. This is a game I'd like to watch, but I'll take the more experienced David Garrard over the young Chad Henne and will take the Jags at home.

Cincinnati (9-3) at Minnesota (10-2) - Tough call. Bengals are second in the league against the run, so the Vikings need to get Adrian Peterson going early or it will all be up to Favre, but it might be hard to do - Cards held AP to 19 yards on 13 carries last week and you know haw good the Bengals run D is. This is another game I'd like to watch. Bengals have Cedric Benson back (he moved the chains last week against the lions with 110 on 36). Both teams have great defenses, great QB's, great RB's and receivers. Neither had a great game last week (Cincy beat the Lions by just 10, Vikings lost by 13 in the desert). I have no way to call this so will go with the Vikings at home.

Denver (8-4) at Undeepalolis (12-0) - Colts have tied the regular season win streak set by the Patriots at 21 (Colts finished 2008 with 9 straight wins, then lost in the playoffs at San Diego in OT). They've also tied the best record for wins in a decade (113) set by the Forty Niners in the 90's. Think they don't want this game? Broncos have put together two good games after a four game losing streak, and seem to have regained their early season form. They want this game also, because they need it to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot, and also, well, just because. Broncos have the best pass defense the Colts will have played against this year, and I think the Broncos can run successfully against them. But it's really hard (read foolish) to pick against a team that is undefeated as late as December. But I'm going to do it because the Colts have struggled against 3-4 defenses, the Broncos will be able to run against them, I think the Broncos are peaking, and also just because.

     the 2:05 MST games:

St. Louis (1-11) at Tennessee (5-7) - Chris Johnson is on pace for 2,012 yards this season for the Titans. You don't even need to know that to decide who to pick at home in this one.

Washington (3-9) at Oakland (4-8) - Raiders are pumped after beating the Champs in Pittsburgh. Reds are either angry or deflated after the stunning loss at home in OT to the Saints. Raiders turned to Bruce Gradkowski for their QB, and the young guy out of Toledo (who's bounced around the league for a couple years), has been playing pretty good - 20-33-0-308 and three TD's last week - that's the first time a Raider QB has thrown for over 300 yards in a game since 2004. (Shall we go ahead and say it? JaMarcus Russell - Biggest Bust Ever). Raiders are 2-1 with Big Bruce at QB, 2-7 with Big Bust at QB. Reds played their hearts out last week against the Saints, but the football Gods turned from them and they lost. If this game was in Washington, I'd take the Reds, but it's not and I'm taking the Raiders.

     the 2:15 MST game:

San Diego (9-3) at Dallas (8-4) - Cowboys lost at New York last week, but gave up TD's on two long plays or probably would have won. Tony Romo was 41-55-0-392 and three TD passes. Chargers gave up 271 passing yards to Brady Quinn at Cleveland (Quinn threw 45 times and completed 25, with no INT's but three TD's). Some of those numbers came after the Chargers had built a 27-7 lead at the end of three quarters, so maybe the Chargers went to sleep a little, but I'll take the Cowboys at home.

     the SNF game:

Philadelphia (8-4) at New York Giants (7-5) - Division game. Should be a really good game. Both teams are right in the hunt for the division title, along with the Cowboys. Giants started 5-0, then went 1-5, then whupped the Boys at the Meadowlands last week. Yes, they had the two big plays from Jacobs and Hixon, but they did hold the Boys to 45 yards on 23 carries. But even so, Romo passed for 379 yards. Eli Manning did pass for 241 yards but 95 were on two big plays, and he was only 11-25 with an INT. Eagles had a bit of a laugher in Atlanta against a wounded Falcons team. I'm taking the Eagles here. It was Eagles 40, Giants 17 in Week 8.

     the MNF game:

Arizona (8-4) at San Francisco (5-7) - Division game. Cardinals are the bomb. They laid the wood to the Vikings last week, and should be talked about in the same breath as the other top teams in the league. Niners are developing behind Mike Singletary but have a ways to go (they lost by three at Seattle after a great game by QB Alex Smith - but his receivers dropped nine or so passes). Take the Cardinals.

Brad's Picks was 12-4 last week. Here's the good and the bad from that:

     the good:

Detroit 38, Browns 37 - Rookie QB Matt Stafford threw for 5 touchdowns for the Lions Brady Quinn threw 4 for the Browns.

New York Giants 34, Falcons 31 (OT) - It was Giants 31, Falcons 17 early in the 4th quarter.

Dallas 7, Redskins 6 - Dallas finally scored with 2:41 left in the game.

Green Bay 30, Forty Niners 24 - Packers led 23-3 at the half.

Colts 17, Baltimore 15 - Baltimore could have kicked a go-ahead FG with under three minutes left, but tried a pass instead which was picked off by the Colts.

Saints 38, Tampa Bay 7 - It was Tampa 7, Saints 0 late in the first quarter.

Jacksonville 18, Bills 15 - David Garrard threw a TD with 56 seconds left for the win.

Minnesota 35, Seahawks 9 - Brett Favre was 22-25-0-217 and 4 TD's.

Cardinals 21, St. Louis 13 - Cardinals 21, Rams 6 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

New England 31, Jets 14 - Mark Sanchez threw to the Patriots 4 times.

Chargers 32, Denver 3 - Broncos showed a few flashes but got whupped at Mile High.

Eagles 24, Chicago 20 (SNF) - Bears actually won the turnover battle by two.

     the bad:

Dolphins 24, Carolina 17 (TNF) - Dolphins were able to run the ball without Ronnie Brown.

Kansas City 27, Steelers 24 (OT) - Tens of thousands of Steeler fans at Arrowhead had to fly home crying in their towels.

Oakland 20, Bengals 17 - Bruce Gradkowski threw a 29 yard TD to tie the game for the Raiders with 33 seconds remaining. Then Andre Caldwell fumbled the kickoff and Janikowski kicked a 33 yard FG. Another last second loss for the Bengals to an AFC West team.

Titans 20, Houston 17 (MNF) - A 53 yard FG with seconds remaining gave the Titans their 4th consecutive win.

     Brad's Picks is 115-45 on the season. Last week it was AFC 1, NFC 1, so on the season it's AFC 22, NFC 18. Home teams were 9-7 last week. On the season, Home teams have won 91 times, Visitors have won 69 times.

     this week: Ten of the sixteen games are division games. Should be interesting.

     the Thursday games:

     the 10:30 MST game:

Green Bay (6-4) at Detroit (2-8) - Division game. Packers have played two solid games lately. Lions rookie QB Matt Stafford was tremendous last week, but both he and WR Calvin Johnson are probably out for this game.

     the 2:15 MST game:

Oakland (3-7) at Dallas (7-3) - Tony Romo has a sore back and TE Jason Witten has a sprained foot. Cowboys have scored just 14 points in the last two games. The first of those two TD's was with 38 seconds left in a 17-7 loss at Green Bay. Raiders have given up just 8 passing TD's all year. If the Raiders can shut down the pass, they can maybe stop the run also. Bruce Gradkowski was 17-34-1-183 with two TD's last week against the Bengals. Romo and Witten are expected to play, but how well? Take the Raiders in an upset?

     the 6:20 MST game:

New York Giants (6-4) at Denver (6-4) - Giants and Broncos both started strong, then lost 4 in a row. Giants stopped their skid last week with an OT win over the Falcons, while the Broncos got stomped at home by the Chargers. But Kyle Orton looked good last week, after Chris Simms did not. Weather should be perfect for football. Both teams have had their problems in the 4th quarter so don't let the turkey put you to sleep. Giants have to fly to Mile High on a short week, and I'll take the Broncos.

     the 11:00 Sunday games:

Miami (5-5) at Buffalo (3-7) - Division game. Weather will be brisk but not bad for the fair weather Fins. A bit of a toss up here - Bills played good last week against a hot Jacksonville team, and the Dolphins played well against a hot Carolina team. I see the Dolphins winning the game.

Carolina (4-6) at New York Jets (4-6) - Panthers only gave the ball to DeAngelo Williams 13 times last week, but he still gained 122 yards against the Dolphins. I'm looking for Williams and Stewart to pound it against a depleted Jets D. Take the Panthers.

Seattle (3-7) at St. Louis (1-9) - Division game. I'd take the Rams here, but QB Marc Bulger is out (3-6 weeks with a broken fibula), so I'll take the Seahawks even though they only managed two first downs in the first 40 minutes at Minnesota last week.

Tampa Bay (1-9) at Atlanta (5-5) - Division game. Atlanta played tough at New York last week, while Tampa played soft at home against the Saints. Take Atlanta at home.

Undianopolis (10-0) at Houston (5-5) - Division game. Houston lost at Undee in Week Nine 20-17. Colts have won their last four games by a total of 10 points. I'm taking Houston.

Cleveland (1-9) at Cincinnati (7-3) - Division game. Bengals lost at Oakland last week and will take it out on the Browns.

Washington (3-7) at Philadelphia (6-4) - Division game. Take the Eagles at home.

     the 2:05 MST games:

Kansas City (3-7) at San Diego (7-3) - Division game. After the Chiefs' impressive win over the Steelers at Arrowhead, I'd like to pick them here. But the Chargers' win at Mile High was very impressive also, and they are still the team to beat in the AFC West.

Jacksonville (6-4) at San Francisco (4-6) - Jags have won five of their last six games. Weather in San Francisco should be sunny and beautiful - I wish I could be there. Niners have been playing hard and I'll call this one their way - Jags have a long trip to get there.

     the 2:15 MST games:

Arizona (7-3) at Tennessee (4-6) - Titans have won 4 in a row with Vince Young at QB. Young is playing within himself (he's completed over 60% of his passes the last four games), and I think they'll make it 5 in a row. Chris Johnson has 1,242 yards on the season and is now on pace for 1,987 yards on the season. Cards don't really need this game - they've just about wrapped up their division and this is an intra-conference game, and it's a long flight and the Titans are pretty hot and are at home.

Chicago (4-6) at Minnesota (9-1) - Division game. One of the few easy calls this week. Vikings.

the SNF game:

Pittsburgh (6-4) at Baltimore (5-5) - Division game. Ben R suffered a concussion last week late in the game, then his back up, Charlie Batch, promptly got his wrist broken. Ben has passed all his tests and will start. His backup will be Dennis Dixon, a 5th round pick out of Oregon in 08. The good news is that he has a 100% completion rate in the NFL. The bad news is that he's only thrown one pass. Steelers really haven't been playing that well, giving up a lot of points on turnovers and returns, and Troy Polamalu probably won't play. I'm taking the Ravens.

     the MNF game:

New England (7-3) at New Orleans (10-0) - Saints are firing on all cylinders, and are finding new ones to fire on.

Brad's Picks was 11-4 last week. Here's the good, bad and ugly from that:

     the good:

San Francsico 10, Bears 6 (TNF) - Bears had a chance to win the game at the end, but Jay Cutler threw an interception in the end zone.

Tennessee 41, Bills 17 - Ralph Wilson gave up on HC Dick Jauron after this one, and fired him. Betcha Ralph regrets the three year extension he gave Jauron last summer.

Miami 25, Buccaneers 23 - Bucs rookie QB Josh Freeman led his team to a TD with a minute left to take the lead 23-22, but second year QB Chad Henne led the Fins on a 77 yard drive that ended with a 25 yard FG to win the game.

Bengals 18, Pittsburgh 12 - Ouch. Brutal game. Eight field goals plus one TD on a kickoff return.

Saints 28, St. Louis 23 - Saints turned it over 3 times but managed a win.

Carolina 28, Falcons 19 - Jake Delhomme didn't turn the ball over; Matt Ryan did twice.

Minnesota 27, Lions 10 - Vikings turned it over on fumbles twice, Lions once.

Chiefs 16, Oakland 10 - Chiefs are 3-0 at Oakland lately.

San Diego 30, Eagles 23 - Eagles marched up and down the field between the 20's for 462 yards.

Arizona 31, Seahawks 20 - Cardinals got their second home win in their last five home games.

Ravens 16, Cleveland 0 (MNF) - Cleveland's no-huddle offense helped keep the game scoreless in the first half, but the Ravens scored 16 in the third quarter.

     the bad:

Undeeplis 35, Patriots 34 (SNF) - Colts trailed by 17 early in the 4th.

Jaguars 24, New York Jets 22 - Maurice Jones Drew had 123 on 24 carries against a Jets D that was pretty good until they lost DT Kris Jenkins a month ago.

     the ugly:

Washington 27, Broncos 17 - Broncos looked good in the first half, but then Kyle Orton left the game with an ankle sprain. Backup Chris Simms was worse than awful (a 7.5 QB rating).

Green Bay 17, Cowboys 7 - Cowboys got their points in garbage time. Tony Romo was sacked 5 times, while Aaron Rodgers was only sacked 4 times.

     Brad's Picks is 103-41 on the season. AFC won two and the NFC won one last week. On the season, it's AFC 21, NFC17. Home teams were 10-5 last week. On the season, it's Homers 82, Visitors 62.

     Giants and Texans had a bye last week, and that's the last of the byes for this season.

     144 games have been played, 112 to go.

     This week: the Thursday night game:

Miami (4-5) at Carolina (4-5) - If you like the run game, this is for you. Last week, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart combined for 184 on 30 carries against the Falcons. For Miami, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined for 184 on 32 against the Bucs. Panthers QB Jake Delhomme has now gone three straight games without a turnover, and was 15-24-0-195 last week with a TD pass. Dolphins QB Chad Henne was 17-31-1-175 and a TD pass. Henne also directed a 77 yard drive that resulted in a game winning FG with just 10 seconds left in the game. Here's the problem for the Dolphins - Ronnie Brown is out with an ankle injury, but Ricky Williams can carry the rush load. But there goes the Wildcat thing for the Fins, cause Brown was the one that ran it. Problem for the Panthers - their left tackle Jordan Gross is out for the year. If Jake Delhomme can avoid turnovers for a fourth week, without his left tackle, the Panthers can win this game because their secondary might be too good for young Chad Henne. Take Carolina.

     the 11:00 MST Sunday games:

Cleveland (1-8) at Detroit (1-8) - Browns' defense played pretty good against the Ravens' Joe Flacco and Ray Rice last week, even though the Browns' O was a no show. Lions played okay at Minnesota last week, losing by 17. Browns D is not as good as the Vikes D, and the Browns have no offense and the Lions should win this at home.

Atlanta (5-4) at New York Giants (5-4) - Giants are off off a bye, and are also off a four game losing streak. Atlanta lost a close one in New Orleans three weeks ago, then won in Washington, then lost at Carolina last Sunday. Eli Manning's heel should be better, and that should make a difference. Look for the Giants to stop their skid.

Washington (3-6) at Dallas (6-3) - Division game. Gotta go with Dallas at home.

San Francisco (4-5) at Green Bay (5-4) - Weather should be decent at Lambeau. Niners have had a couple extra days to get ready after a sloppy win over the Bears last Thursday night. But the Packers put out some effort to beat a Cowboys team that came in red hot. I gotta take the Packers here. They gave up 38 to the Vikings, then 38 to Tampa, but just 7 in garbage time to the Cowboys.

Undeeanapolis (9-0) at Baltimore (5-4) - I'd like to watch this game. Ravens are going to have to hope for a wild card spot to get to the playoffs, while the Colts could lose this game and feel good about it. Colts went 13-0 in 05 before losing at home to the Chargers (then lost to the Steelers in the first playoff game), and they went 9-0 in 06 before losing at Dallas (then won the Super Bowl). Anyway, it's hard to pick against Peyton Manning, and I ain't gonna do it. Taking the Colts to win another.

Pittsburgh (6-3) at Kansas City (1-7) - Chiefs off a huge win at Oakland last week. That's enough fun for the time being. Take the Steelers, who lost at home to the Bengals last week, and will take it out on the hapless Chiefs. HC Todd Haley will get plenty of chances to scream at his players.

New Orleans (9-0) at Tampa Bay (1-8) - Saints turned it over three times in St. Louis and let the Rams gain over 400 yards last week, but came home with a win. Bucs played tough in Miami and almost won. I think this will be a good game, especially because the Saints are banged up on D, but I won't bet against them. Weather should be okay - maybe a few thunderstorms.

Buffalo (3-6) at Jacksonville (5-4) - Jags have won 4 of their last 5. Bills just fired their Head Coach, Dick Jauron. Take the Jaguars at home.

Seattle (3-6) at Minnesota (8-1) - Just when they don't need it, Vikings get all-pro CB Antoine Winfield back after missing four weeks with a foot sprain.

     the 2:05 MST game:

Arizona (6-3) at St. Louis (1-8) - Division game. Cards are 4-0 on the road this year. Rams played tough at home last week against the Saints. Cardinals will have to work for this one, and may not get it.

     the 2:15 MST games:

San Diego (6-3) at Denver (6-3) - Division game. Broncos haven't won a game since beating San Diego on MNF on October 19 (34-23). Chargers are 4-0 since then. Kyle Orton left the game last week just before the half, and Chris Simms was terrible. Orton says he wants to play despite the sprained ankle, but Simms and rookie Tom Brandstater are getting all the practice reps. Gotta take the Chargers.

New York Jets (4-5) at New England (6-3) - Division game. Patriots lost a tough one last week at the Undee place, and will take it out on the Jets.

Cincinnati (7-2) at Oakland (2-7) - Could be a trap game for the Bengals. They won a huge game last week at Pittsburgh. That was a tough, physical game against the Champs. Bengals are now 5-0 in their division and only need a win next week at home against the Browns to sweep the division. That will happen, but what about this week? Will the Bengals come down enough to win at the Black Hole? This is a really tough call. I mean, the Eagles lost here in Week Six. But, you must know I'm just kidding. Raiders couldn't even beat the Chiefs at home last week, and physical teams like the Bengals aren't so prone to let downs.

But here's another problem - Bengals RB Cedric Benson might miss the game with an injury. But the Bengals just signed RB Larry Johnson, who was cut from the Chiefs for bad behavor. Johnson hasn't been great this year, but he's been running behind a poor O line. He may get to play some this week, and he's used to the Raiders.

Meanwhile, Raiders Coach Cable has apparently benched QB Russell in favor of QB Gradkowski. But who really cares. This game might be strange, but if you don't pick the Bengals, you'll be the only picker out there to pick the Raiders.

     the SNF game:

Philadelphia (5-4) at Chicago (4-5) - Bears last played on Thursday, so they've had a couple extra days to get ready. And to get over the hangover of Jay Cutler's INT in the end zone at the end of the game that would have won the game if Cutler hadn't thrown it to a Niner. Eagles lost at San Diego last week, despite gaining over 400 yards. This is a tough call. If Cutler can hold his INT's (5 last week, 17 on the year) to a reasonable amount, the Bears could win the game. Eagles will be without Brian Westbrook again, who suffered another concussion last week. Lorenzo Booker is a good backup RB, but he's not as good as Westbrook in blocking against the blitz. Anyway, the Eagles are the better team, but the Bears could make it tough.

     the MNF game:

Tennessee (3-6) at Houston (5-4) - Division game. Houston is off a bye after a tough loss at the Undee place. Houston could easily be 7-2 but for some bad breaks. Tennessee could maybe be 6-3 or so if they had played like they have the last three weeks, with Vince Young at QB instead of the very elderly Kerry Collins. Titans' RB Chris Johnson leads the league with 1,091 yards On pace for 1,940) and a 6.1 average, so the Texans need to watch out for him. Titans have beaten the Jags, San Francisco, and the Bills since Young took over. This is a tough call, but I guess I'll go with Houston. They are at home, and they beat the Titans in Tennessee in Week Two 34-31.

Brad's Picks was 8-5 last week. Here's the good, the bad and the ugly from that:

     the good:

Cardinals 41, Chicago 21 - Kurt Warner threw 5 INT's the week before at home against the Panthers, but had 5 TD's at Chicago.

Atlanta 31, Redskins 17 - Reds actually outgained the Falcons, yard wise.

New England 27, Dolphins 17 - Fins 10, Pats 16 at the half. In the third, Fins do a beautiful ball control drive, taking 10 minutes off the clock, and make the score 17-16. 96 seconds later, Randy Moss goes 71 for a TD. Kind of took the heart out of the Fish.

Undapolis 20, Texans 17 - Colts got a scare (Texans missed a last second FG attempt), but remain undefeated.

New Orleans 30, Panthers 20 - Saints got a scare (Panthers led 17-6 at the half), but remain undefeated.

Cincinnati 17, Ravens 7 - Bengals 2, Ravens 0 in 09.

Jacksonville 24, Chiefs 21 - Jags turned it over twice (fumbles) or it probably wouldn't have been this close.

Seattle 32, Lions 20 - Lions' rookie QB Matt Stafford threw five balls to the guys in green.

     the bad:

Chargers 21, New York Giants 20 - Giants led 20-14 with two minutes left, then sat back and let Philip Rivers pass his way down the field to a TD.

Titans 34, San Francisco 27 - Titans are 2-0 since the Young guy replaced the old guy at QB.

Cowboys 20, Philadelphia 16 (SNF) - Eagles lost CB Asante Samuel in the 3rd, and Tony Romo hit Miles Austin for a TD in the 4th. It was Austin's only reception of the game.

     the ugly:

Tampa Bay 38, Packers 28 - Bucs wore their retro creamsicle uni's and looked real good in them.

Steelers 28, Denver 10 - Steelers looked like Super Bowl Champs.

      Brad's Picks is 92-37 on the season. AFC won 2 games versus the NFC last week, so on the season it's AFC 19, NFC 16. Home teams won 8 of 13 last week. On the season it's Homers 72, Visitors 57. .

     this week: off this week with a bye are the Giants and the Texans. And that will do it for the bye thing.

     the Thursday night game (6:20 MST):

Chicago (4-4) at San Francisco (3-5) - These teams are 1-7 in the last four weeks, the lone win at Chicago over the lowly Browns. But the losses have all been to good teams. Both QB's like to throw INT's. Niners have the better run game and are at home.

     the 11:00 MST Sunday games:

Buffalo (3-5) at Tennessee (2-6) - Bills are off a bye. Tennessee is 2-0 since starting Vince Young at QB (and 20-11 with VY at QB) and they have a great run game (Chris Johnson is averaging 6.7 per in 09) and the Bills are lousy against the run.

Tampa Bay (1-7) at Miami (3-5) - Do the Bucs take a boat ride for this game? Just wondering. Miami will win this game.

Jacksonville (4-4) at New York Jets (4-4) - Jets are off a bye. Jags had a hard time beating the Chiefs last week in J'ville. Taking the Jets in New York.

Cincinnati (6-2) at Pittsburgh (6-2) - Division game. Pittsburgh is off an MNF win in Denver, Bengals off a home win over the Ravens. Bengals beat the Steelers 23-20 in Week Three. Both teams have gotten steadily better since then. Bengals RB Cedric Benson has been tremendous all year, but the Steelers D is first against the run (they held the Broncos to just 27 ground yards). Benson got 76 on 16 in Week Three. In that game, the Steelers were up 13-3 at the half, and 20-9 at the end of three. So, the Bengals kind of took over in the 4th, and I'm taking the Bengals after the Steelers had to come home from a hard game at Mile High on Monday night.

New Orleans (8-0) at St. Louis (1-7) - St. Louis is off a bye. Won't help them. They do have a good run game, and the Saints gave up 182 on 39 last week against the Panthers, but you'd be a fool to pick against the red hot Saints.

Atlanta (5-3) at Carolina (3-5) - Division game. Aargh. Tough call. Falcons won the first game in Week Two 28-20. I think the Panthers have improved more since then and I will take them at home.

Detroit (1-7) at Minnesota (7-1) - Division game. Minnesota is off a bye. I have no idea what the spread is, but the Vikings will cover it.

Denver (6-2) at Washington (2-6) - Denver is off a tough MNF loss to the Steelers, and have always had problems on the east coast. Washington is not as bad as their record indicates - they have a good defense (3rd in the NFC, 10th in the NFL in terms of points allowed, despite a weak offense) and they put up 312 yards last week in Atlanta. I think the Broncos are the better team, because they have the better defense, so I'll take the Broncos but I wouldn't put money on it.

     the 2:05 MST game:

Kansas City (1-7) at Oakland (2-6) - Division game. Oakland is off a bye, Chiefs are off a loss at Jacksonville that featured a furious rally from the Chiefs to almost pull out a win. Raiders won the first game this year 13-10 in Week Two. Raiders are really disfunctional, and I think the Chiefs have slowly been getting it together under new Head Coach Todd Haley. The release of RB Larry Johnson last week should be a big wakeup call to all Chiefs players who want a job next year.

     the 2:15 MST games:

Dallas (6-2) at Green Bay (4-4) - Packers have been humiliated two weeks in a row - by the Vikings at Lambeau, then by Tampa Bay, who got their first win of the season behind a rookie QB starting his first game. Aaron Rodgers was sacked six times and threw three INT's at Tampa. His O line is one of the worst in the league. Cowboys are playing great tight now, and Tony Romo is 13-0 when he starts in November.

Philadelphia (5-3) at San Diego (5-3) - Eagles have a lot of problems with injuries (and a suspension) at DB and LB. They lost at Oakland 4 weeks ago. Chargers played tough in New York last week, despite a couple of turnovers by Rivers. I'm taking the Chargers.

Seattle (3-5) at Arizona (5-3) - Division game. Arizona is better on the road than at home, but the Seahawks are better at home than on the road. Cardinals are the better team.

    the SNF game:

New England at Undeeplis - Pats lost last year at the Unplace Dome 18-15. Matt Cassell was the QB then. Tom Brady looks to be recovered from his knee surgery. Colts are passing 63% of the time, and struggled to win at home the last two weeks against the Niners and Texans. I'm taking the Patriots in a wild one.

     the MNF game:

Baltimore (4-4) at Cleveland (1-7) - Division game. Cleveland is off a bye. If you think that will help them win this game, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you. Ravens are smarting from their loss to Cincinnati.

Brad's Picks was 8-5 last week. The good, bad and ugly from that:

     the good:

Dallas 38, Seahawks 17 - Dallas has scored 101 points in the last three games.

Chicago 30, Browns 6 - Jay Cutler was sacked 4 times by the lowly Browns.

Texans 31, Buffalo 10 - Texans O has been known for it's passing game, but they got 186 ground yards on 40 carries (mostly by Ryan Moats - 126 on 23) and all three of the Texans TD's were on the ground (and all by Moats).

Undeepolis 18, Forty Niners 14 - Niners held the Colts to 4 field goals and a TD pass from RB Joseph Addai.

San Diego 24, Raiders 16 - Raiders have lost 13 straight to the Chargers.

Tennessee 30, Jaguars 13 - Chris Johnson rushed for 228 yards, a Titans record. Vince Young threw for a TD (he was 15-18-0).

Vikings 38, Green Bay 26 - The unretired guy threw four TD passes at his old place, Lambeau Field. A tough one for Packers fans.

New Orleans 35, Falcons 27 - Both defenses scored a TD. Saints turned the ball over four times, Falcons turned it over three times.

     the bad:

Dolphins 30, New York Jets 25 - Dolphins had just 104 yards of offense to the Jets' 378, but the Fins got 21 points in the 3rd off two kickoff returns for TDs, and a Jet fumble that was run back for a TD.

     the ugly:

Rams 17, Detroit 7 - Lions scored a safety in the 2nd quarter, and then an 8 point TD in the 4th to make it 10-10, but then Steven Jackson ran 25 yards for a TD with 1:38 remaining.

Baltimore 30, Broncos 7 - Ravens needed a win and played like it. Broncos didn't, and didn't.

Philadelphia 40, Giants 17 - Giants have given up 112 points in the last three games.

Panthers 34, Arizona 21 - Kurt Warner threw 5 INT's and lost a fumble.

     Brad's Picks is 84-32 on the season. NFC and AFC each had a win last week, so on the season it's AFC 17, NFC 16. Home teams won 8 last week, Visitors 5. On the season it's Home teams 64, Visitors 52. 116 games played so far, 140 to go. George was 0-1 last week (he picked the Giants). George is 2-2 on the season.

     This week: off this week are Bills, Jets, Raiders, Vikings, Rams, and Browns.

     the 11:00 MST Sunday games:

Arizona (4-3) at Chicago (4-3) - Cardinals are 3-0 on the road this year. They lost at home last week to the Panthers (6 turnovers by Kurt Warner) - will a trip to Chicago help? Chicago beat the Browns last week by 24 but didn't really look good doing it. The Browns dominated the line of scrimmage and sacked Jay Cutler four times. Cardinals have 17 sacks on opposing QB's this year. I don't think Warner will have two bad games in a row and I'm seeing Arizona at 4-0 on the road come Sunday evening.

Washington (2-5) at Atlanta (4-3) - Washington is off a bye, Atlanta is off a Monday night loss at New Orleans. Matt Ryan hasn't been playing very well lately (7 INT's the last three games) but you gotta take the Falcons at home against the Reds.

Miami (3-4) at New England (5-2) - Division game. New England is off a bye. These two teams will meet again in four weeks. The Jets were able to shut down the Dolphins offense last week, and Bill Belichick is unworldly after a bye, especially when he's facing a young QB (Chad Henne). Take the Patriots in a game I'd like to watch.

Houston (5-3) at Undeeepolis (7-0) - Division game These two teams will meet again in three weeks.

     Texans are playing good (31-10 win at Buffalo last week) while the Colts struggled at home against the Niners. Colts lost starting LB Tyjuan Hagler for the year, Texans lost TE Owen Daniels for the year. Daniels has been maybe the best TE in the league this year. But he was already gone when the Texans put up 22 points in the 4th quarter at Buffalo.

     Texans discovered a RB gem in Ryan Moats last week - 126 yards and three TD's on 23 carries. Moats has been in the league since 2005 (from Louisiana Tech), mostly with the Eagles, but injuries have kept him on the bench. At 5'8" and 210 pounds, he could cause problems for the Colts' D, which is 27th against the run.

     I'd like to watch this game, even though I don't like dome games,and I'd like to take the Texans, but until the Colts lose a game, it's hard to pick against them, especially at the Lucas Oil Drum Dome. Still, the two games last year between these two were decided by 4 and 6 points, and the Texans are better than last year.

Baltimore (4-3) at Cincinnati (5-2) - Division game. Their first game was October 11 at Baltimore and resulted in a 17-14 win for the Bengals, on a late TD pass from Carson Palmer to Andre Caldwell. Ravens got the ball back with 22 seconds left but couldn't manage a field goal. This game is in Cincinnati, Ravens had a very physical game last week against the Broncos, and Cincinnati is off the bye.

Green Bay (4-3) at Tampa Bay (0-7) - Tampa Bay is off a bye. Green Bay is off a humiliating loss at home to the unretired guy. Packers O line is pretty bad, but the Bucs are on their 3rd QB of the year, rookie Josh Freeman, and the Bucs D is terrible. Take the Packers.

Kansas City (1-6) at Jacksonville (3-4) - Maurice Jones-Drew gained 177 yards at Tennessee last week on just 8 carries. Jags are at home and are the better team.

     the 2:05 MST games:

Detroit (1-6) at Seattle (2-5) - Lions couldn't beat the Rams in Detroit last week. They won't win in Seattle.

Carolina (3-4) at New Orleans (7-0) - Division game. Panthers got lucky on the road in Arizona (six turnovers by Kurt Warner), but the Saints will continue on as an unbeaten team after this week. They already have 17 INT's this year (16 total in 08) and here comes Jake Delhomme (13 INT's this year).

     the 2:15 MST games:

San Diego (4-3) at New York Giants (5-3) - Giants started 5-0, then lost the next three. They've lost two starters from their defensive backfield, and that's pretty much when they started losing games. Even worse, though, is that QB Eli Manning is on the skids, which started when he hurt his heel.

     Chargers are 4-0 against teams with losing records, 0-3 against teams with winning records. What the Chargers do well, though, is throw the ball down field. Philip Rivers to Vincent Jackson has been hot lately - 245 yards on 13 catches and two TD's the last two games.

     Giants RB Brandon Jacobs has been averaging 4.9 per carry the last three games (at NO, Cardinals, and at Philly), after averaging 3.3 the first five. If Big Brandon can keep Rivers on the bench, the Giants can win this game at home.

Tennessee (1-6) at San Francisco (3-4) - Niners starting RT Tony Pashos was lost for the year a week ago, and on the first play of the Colts game last week, LT Joe Staley went down and is out for about six weeks. But the Niners did OK at Undee anyway. Alex Smith is playing well at QB (19-32-1-198 and a TD last week) and TE Vernon Davis is having a career year. Rookie WR Michael Crabtree is playing like he didn't hold out until a couple weeks ago (137 on 11 catches in two games).

Titans' Chris Johnson went wild last week against the Jags (228 on 24 carries and 2 TD's - one from 52 yards out and one from 89), but the Titans also gave up 177 yards to Maurice Jones-Drew on just 8 carries. Vince Young was good in his first start in a long time, going 15-18-0-125 and a six yard TD pass.

This looks like it will be a fun game to watch. Niner D did a great job in Undee last week, and if they can focus on stopping Chris Johnson, and keep it going on offense, they can win a wild one.

     the SNF game:

Dallas (5-2) at Philadelphia (5-2) - Division game. Dallas WR Austin Miles has caught a TD pass in three straight games, and Tony Romo hasn't thrown an INT for three straight games. Dallas has scored 101 points in the last three games. Eagles have scored 76 in the last three games. None of that means a whole lot in a division game on prime time. I guess I'll go with the Eagles at home - they get Brian Westbrook back.

     the MNF game:

Pittsburgh (5-2) at Denver (6-1) - Steelers are off a bye, while the Broncos had to endure a very physical game in Baltimore last week. Don't look for a lot of rushing yards in this game - Steelers are first against the run, Broncos are third. Steelers haven't had much of a run game, relying on Ben R to pass for their yards. Kyle Orton didn't look too good last week against a very physical Ravens D, and the Steelers D is just as physical, if not more so. Steelers have lost their starting DE for the year and his backup for this game, but the Broncos have lost their starting RT, Ryan Harris, for three weeks. Teams have had some success with the dink and dunk pass game against the Steelers lately, and the Broncos can do that as well as anyone. Besides, this game is at Mile High on Monday night.

     Brad's Picks was 9-4 last week. The good, the bad and the ugly from that:

     the good:

Patriots 35, London Buccaneers 7 - Tom Brady threw two interceptions.

Pittsburgh 27, Vikings 17 - Bret Favre lost a fumble and threw an INT. The fumble was run back 77 yards by the Steelers for a TD, and the INT was run back 82 for a TD. Pretty much the game. Oh, and the fact that the Vikings couldn't get a TD with a first and goal from the one in the 3rd quarter.

Houston 24, Forty Niners 21 - Matt Schaub is on fire for the Texans.

Packers 31, Cleveland 3 - It wasn't that close.

Chargers 37, Kansas City 7 - It wasn't that close.

Colts 42, St. Louis 0 - It wasn't that close. And Peyton Manning didn't even get 300 yards (for the first time this year).

Cincinnati 45, Bears 10 - It wasn't that close. Cedric Benson got a little payback against the team that let him go (37 carries for 189 yards and a TD).

Dallas 37, Falcons 21 - Matt Ryan was sacked four times, lost a fumble, and threw 2 INT's.

Eagles 27 , Washington 17 (MNF) - To add insult to injury, the Reds lost their very good TE Chris Cooley with a broken ankle.

     the bad:

Cardinals 24, New York Giants 21 (SNF) - Arizona's defense harassed Eli Manning into tossing three INT's.

     the ugly:

Bills 20, Carolina 9 - Carolina outgained the Bills 425 yards to 167, but also turned the ball over 4 times and missed two field goals.

Jets 38, Oakland 0 - JaMarcus Russell tossed 2 INT's, got sacked, lost a fumble and got benched with 5:45 left in the second quarter with the Jets up 21-0, but thinks he was playing OK.

Saints 46, Miami 34 - Miami led 24-3 with just seconds to go in the first half.

     Brad's Picks is 76-27 on the season. Last week the AFC pounded the NFC 6-2. On the season, it's AFC 16, NFC 15. Visiting teams pounded the homers 9-4. On the season, it's homers 56, visitors 47. 103 games have been played; 153 to go.

     this week: Off this week are New England, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Washington and Tampa Bay. So only 13 games this week.

     the 11:00 MDT games:

Denver (6-0) at Baltimore 3-3) - Both teams are off a bye. Ray Rice is averaging 163 yards per game for the Ravens - 6 per on ground and 9.8 per catch But the Ravens have given up 309 yards on the ground the last two weeks (against the Bengals and Minnesota, two pretty good running teams). Broncos are also a pretty good running team. Here's the thing - the game will be close, because it's in Baltimore. But the Ravens corners are not good at all, and Kyle Orton's busted finger is finally at peace with the rest of his hand, and the Broncos will win this game. Maybe it won't be that close after all.

Houston (4-3) at Buffalo (3-4) - Texans went up 21-0 at half time vs. the Niners, then held on to win 24-21. Andre Johnson, maybe the best wide receiver in the league, suffered a bruised sternum and lung in the 4th quarter of last week's game. Texans are saying he's day to day, but he's coughing up blood and if they let this guy play this week they should be shot. Texans TE Owen Daniels was 7 for 123 last week (AJ was 2-62). Forecast is for mostly cloudy, some sun, maybe a few rain showers. Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick continues to fill in for Trent Edwards (concussion) and is doing at least as good as Edwards. This is a tough call. Bills won at Carolina last week, but Carolina turned it over 4 times. I'll take the Texans. Their D has really stiffened up lately.

Cleveland (1-6) at Chicago (3-3) - Both teams got whupped and good last week, Bears by Cincinnati, Cleveland by the Packers. But the Bears will win this one.

Seattle (2-4) at Dallas (4-2) - Seattle is off a bye. Dallas' D was all over Matt Ryan last week in their bizarro dome - four sacks in the game, after Ryan had only been sacked twice the whole season. Seattle has problems with their O line (their all-pro LT Walter Jones is out for the season), and the 'Boys found some pass rush last week versus the Falcons, so I'll take the quirky Cowboys in the home bizarrodome.

St. Louis (0-7) at Detroit (1-5) - Detroit is off a bye. Matthew Stafford is back at practice after missing a couple games with a subluxed knee. But WR Calvin Johnson is questionable for the game. But the Rams are pretty bad, except for RB Steven Jackson, so take the Lions at home.

San Francisco (3-3) at Undiep (6-0) - Alex Smith replaced Shaun Hill at QB for the Niners last week and brought the Niners back from a 21-0 halftime deficit in Houston. Smith was 15-22-1-206 with two TD passes to TE Vernon Davis. Smith, the number one overall pick in 2005, has been named the starter. Niners played much better on both sides of the ball after Smith came in, holding Houston to just 3 points in the 2nd, after giving up 21 in the first half. So, things are looking up for the Niners, but, alas, they have to play at the Lucas Oil Drum Dome, where Peyton Manning isn't missing Anthony Gonzalez that much with rookie Austin Collie (4th round, BYU) snagging 4 TD's in the last three games. Take the Colts in their first game at the Oil Drum in four weeks.

Miami (2-4) at New York Jets (4-3) - Division game. Jets RB Leon Washington left the game at Oakland early with a broken leg and is out for the year. But rookie Shonn Greene ran for 144 on 19, and veteran Thomas Jones ran for 121 on 26. All in all the Jets piled up 316 ground yards on 54 carries, an average of 5.8 per carry. It was the second 300 plus rush performance in a row for the Jets, but the Dolphins D is 6th versus the rush. And, the Dolphins are 2nd in the AFC in rushing (Jets are first). Both average over 170 per game on the ground. These teams are 10th and 11th on O in the AFC, 5th and 6th on D. Look for another close game. These two teams met in Week Five on MNF - Dolphins won 31-27. In Week 17 last year, it was Dolphins 24, Jets 17. Weather should be decent - cloudy, a little sun, maybe some rain showers. Close game, but the Fins lost starting CB Jason Allen for the season (ACL) and I'll take the Jets at home.

New York Giants (5-2) at Philadelphia (4-2) - Division game. Okay - Yankees at Phillies, always a tough matchup. Oh, wait. This is Giants at Eagles. Still a tough matchup. Eagles got drubbed two weeks ago at Oakland, then just barely beat Washington 27-17 on MNF. Giants got drubbed at New Orleans two weeks ago, then lost at home to the Cardinals. Eli Manning hurt his heel three weeks ago, and hasn't been the same since. But Brian Westbrook was knocked out last week in Washington, and lay immobile on the field for several minutes before recovering and walking off. Heck of a concussion. Andy Reid is saying he's hopeful Westbrook can play this week, but it would be criminal if he does. This is a toss-up, and George wants his say. I'm taking the Giants. George says.......take the Giants.

     the 2:05 MDT games:

Oakland (2-5) at San Diego (3-3) - Division game. It was Chargers 24, Oakland 20 in Week One. Raiders have regressed mightily since then, so take San Diego.

Jacksonville 3-3) at Tennessee (0-6) - Division game. Both teams are off a bye. Titans owner Bud Adams has expressed that he wants Vince Young to start at QB. It's still Jeff Fisher's decision but realistically, what's a head coach to do? Kerry Collins is long past the point of being a good NFL QB and the Titans are not going to make the playoffs this year, so you should see if Young has learned anything on the bench. It was Jacksonville 37, Titans 17 in Week Four. Jags have Maurice Jones-Drew at RB, T's have LenDale White and Chris Johnson. The Nashville Tennessean is reporting that Young will start, and I think the Titans (13-3 last season!) will wreak a little havoc on the Jags with Young and Johnson tearing things up.

     the 2:15 MDT games:

Minnesota (6-1) at Green Bay (4-2) - Division game. They moved this game from the 11:00 time slot (moving the Giants at Eagles game from 2:15 to 11:00) for some reason. Oh, yeah, Bret Favre returns to Lambeau. Reports are that Packers fans are ready to lop Favre's head off. I agree with Favre: "Get over it". This isn't really about Favre versus the Packers, it's about the Vikings versus the Packers. They met in Minneapolis in Week Four, the Vikings winning 30-23. That sounds about right for this game also.

Carolina (2-4) at Arizona (4-2) - Arizona's defense is pretty darn good.

     No SNF this week - something to do with something called the World Series, which has to do with some sort of game played on a diamond with a round ball (how weird is that?) and a stick. Brad's Picks is investigating.

     the MNF game:

Atlanta (4-2) at New Orleans (6-0) - Division game. Put your early money on the Saints and the Colts in the Super Bowl next February.

     Brad's NFL Picks was 9-5 last week. Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly.

     the good:

Green Bay 26, Lions 0 - Aaron Rogers got sacked five times, but still was 29-37-1-358 and two TD's

New Orleans 48, New York Giants 27 - It wasn't that close. But two turnovers by the Giants didn't help.

Pittsburgh 27, Browns 14 - Ben R threw for 417 yards; Derek Anderson threw for 122.

Panthers 28, Tampa Bay 21 - 14 of Tampa's points came on a 97 yard kickoff return and a 26 yard INT return. But the Panthers put up 267 yards on the ground. Didn't the Bucs have a defense at one time?

Jacksonville 23, Rams 20 (OT) - What can I say about this one? Oh, Tory Holt had 101 yards receiving for the Jags (against his former team).

Minnesota 33, Ravens 31 - Vikings were up 30-17 with six minutes left in the 4th when the wheels came off the Viking D. They needed a 58 yard pass from Favre to Sidney Rice and a 31 yard field goal to retake the lead, with just under two minutes left. Even then the Vikings needed a lot of luck as Ravens kicker Steve Hauschka missed a 44 yard FG attempt with two seconds to go.

New England 59, Titans 0 - Tom Brady set an NFL record with 5 TD passes in one quarter.

Atlanta 21, Bears 14 (SNF) - Bears had the ball in the red zone 4 times, but only scored once.

Broncos 34, San Diego 23 (MNF) - Broncos have outscored the oppo 73-10 in the second half.

     the bad:

Chiefs 14, Washington 6 - Chiefs were so happy to finally get a win they gave the coach a Gatorade shower.

Oakland 13, Eagles 9 - Not even Jehovah saw this one coming.

Bills 16, New York Jets 13 (OT) - Both teams were pretty bad in OT. When it ended, there was just 2:44 left on the clock.

     the ugly:

Texans 28, Cincinnati 17 - Texans previously inept defense held Cedric Benson to 44 yards on 16 rushes.

Cardinals 27, Seattle 3 - What happened to the Seattle team that whupped the Jags 41-0 just a week ago?

     Brad's Picks is 67 - 23 on the season. NFC 1, AFC 3 last week. On the season, it's NFC 13, AFC 10. Home teams won 8 last week, visitors won 6. On the season it's homers 52, visitors 38. 90 games have been played, 166 to go.

     this week: Teams with a bye: Denver, Baltimore, Detroit, Jacksonville, Seattle, and Tennessee.

     the 11:00 MDT games:

Minnesota (6-0) at Pittsburgh (4-2)  -  Vikings hadn't allowed a rushing TD this season, until Ray Rice got two long ones last week (22 and 33). Vikings all pro CB Antoine Winfield is probably out with a sprained foot. The injury happened in the second quarter last week versus the Ravens. The Ravens scored all of their 31 points after Winfield went down. Ben R passed for 417 yards versus the Browns and leads the league in passing yards and I'm taking the Steelers here - they are at home and need it more and the Vikings aren't going to be real focussed with next week's game being at Lambeau.

San Francisco (3-2) at Houston (3-3) - San Francisco is off a bye, and the Texans are off a big win at Cincinnati. Texans were previously inept at stopping the run, but held Cedric Benson to just 44 on 16 carries. Even after that, Benson is 2nd in the AFC in total yards on the ground. Texans Matt Schaub is on pace for 37 TD's this year. Niners get RB Frank Gore back. Aargh. Tough call. Might be a little warmish in Houston so I'll hope the home team keeps it going.

Undianapolis (5-0) at St. Louis (0-6) - Undy is off a bye. I'm sure they needed it to get ready for the juggernaut Rams. Rams are feeling so good about themselves that they just traded a starting line backer to the Eagles for a rookie WR and a 5th next year. Colts won't know what hit them.

San Diego (2-3) at Kansas City (1-5) - Division game. I missed one last week by picking Washington over the Chiefs, thinking that the Chiefs were really bad. What I failed to see is that Washington is worse. Statistically, they are better on both O and D, but they still haven't played a team that had a win going into the game. Anyway, the Chargers got thumped at home on MNF so they have a short week, but they will try to take out their frustrations at Arrowhead this Sunday. That is, if Philip Rivers can stand up - he got sacked 5 times by the Broncos and knocked down several more times on Monday night. Chargers won both games last year, but only by one point. I won't be surprised if I'm wrong on this one.

New England (3-2) at Tampa Bay (0-6) - Well, this game isn't actually at Tampa Bay. It's in Ye Merrye Olde Englande. But Tampa gets to be the home team, which means they get to wear their home team uni's. It also means that the Bucs only play 7 games in Tampa this year. Memo to Roger Goodell: if Englande wants to see some footeball, let them start their owne league. Anyway, the Bucs are going through major changes with wholesale turnover in roster and coaching staff, while Newe Englande strolls along at a bloody jolly goode level.

Green Bay (3-2) at Cleveland (1-5) - Browns had 12 players home with the flu, five of them starters, in the middle of the week. Browns starting LB and defensive captain D'Qwell Jackson is out for the season. Aaron Rodgers leads the league with 25 sacks. Except for that stat (his O line is less than good) Rodgers is a very good QB. You have to take the Packers here.

     the 2:05 MDT games:

Buffalo (2-4) at Carolina (2-3) - Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson at RB for the Bills, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart for the Panthers. They'll go up against two of the worst run defenses in the league. Steve Smith is irked that he's been ignored and Jake Delhomme (who's been playing a little better) says he'll be looking for him. Taking Carolina at home, where they are 9-1 recently.

New York Jets (3-3) at Oakland (2-4) - Jets DT Kris Jenkins is out for the season (a huge loss), and Rex Ryan has benched two other D guys for slugging a Bills player last week. Mark Sanchez has tossed 10 INT's, JaMarcus Russell a mere 6. Raiders did a job on the Eagles last week in the Black Hole and I think the Eagles are a better team than the Jets (although the Jets have been put on notice) and I'll take the Raiders at home.

     the 2:15 MDT games:

Atlanta (4-1) at Dallas (3-2) - Dallas is off a bye. Atlanta had a big win on SNF over the Bears. Dallas' two losses are to Denver and the Giants, with a combined W/L record of 11-1. Dallas wins are over teams with a combined record of 3-14. Teams are about even stat wise (yardage and all that). I think Atlanta is maybe the better team, but I'll take Dallas off a bye in their bizarro dome.

Chicago (3-2) at Cincinnati (4-2) - Bengals lost DT Domato Peko for a couple weeks, but also lost DE Antwan Odom for the season - Odom had 8 sacks going into last weeks game. Bears lost starting LB Pisa Tinoisamoa for the season, but get Hunter Hillenmeyer back after missing 3 weeks with an injury. Both teams lost last week, Bears at Atlanta and Cincy at home to the Texans. Cedric Benson tries for a little payback on the team that drafted him 4th overall in 05, then cut him in 08 and (he says) tried to blackball him. This is a hard call - can Jay Cutler duplicate Matt Schaub's success (28-40-1-392 and three TD's) of last week? My guess is not. Take the Bengals.

New Orleans (5-0) at Miami (2-3) - Miami is off a bye, Saints are off a drubbing of the Giants in the Big Easy Dome. Drew Brees is playing great, but he has his mortal moments - he was just 16-29-0-172 and no TD's at Buffalo, and 20-32-0-190 with 0 TD's in 24-10 win over the Jets at the Easy Dome (2 defensive TD's for the Saints in that game). We may see some thunderstorms in Miami, and I'll take the home team after a week off. Fins are really a powerful team on both sides of the ball, and Chad Henne has been playing real good at QB.

     the SNF game:

Arizona (3-2) at New York Giants (5-1) - Giants got whupped last week in New Orleans and will take it out on the Cardinals.

     the MNF game:

Philadelphia (3-2) at Washington (2-4) - Division game. Hey, the Redskins finally get to play a team that starts the game with a win. But the Redskins are in total disarray, and the Eagles are smarting from the big loss on the West Coast last week.

     Brad's Picks was 11-3 last week. Here's the good, the bad and the ugly from that:

     the good:

Denver 20, Patriots 17 (OT) - Kyle Orton led the Broncos on a 98 yard TD drive in the 4th to tie the game and send it to OT.

Steelers 28, Detroit 20 - Ben R threw 4 TD passes last week, but one was to a Lion.

New York Giants 44, Raiders 7 - Gloom and doom in Oakland.

Cowboys 26, Kansas City 20 (OT) - Cowboys weren't expecting two tough games in a row at the AFC West, and were lucky to escape with one win.

Vikings 38, St. Louis 10 - Vikes didn't suffer a let down after their big win over the Packers on MNF but took care of business in the dark dome.

Carolina 20, Redskins 17 - Redskins let a 17-2 lead slip away.

Philadelphia 33, Bucs 14 - Donovan McNabb was sharp after missing two games with a rib injury.

Seattle 41, Jags 0 - Matt Hasselbeck was sharp after missing two games with a rib injury.

Arizona 28, Texans 21 - This was really two games - Cardinals won the first half 21-0, Texans won the second half 21-7.

Colts 31, Tennessee 9 - Titans have already lost two more games than in all of 2008 (regular season).

Miami 31, Jets 27 - Jets successfully faked two punts, but the Dolphins came from behind 3 times in the 4th quarter.

     the bad:

Browns 6, Buffalo 3 - Derek Anderson completed just two passes the whole game, so how did the Browns win this game?

Bengals 17, Baltimore 14 - Carson Palmer tossed a 20 yard TD pass to win the game with just seconds on the clock.

     the ugly:

Falcons 45, San Francisco 10 - Niners were booed off the field at half time. Gonna be a long two weeks (they have a bye) with Mike Singletary on them the whole time.

Brad's Picks is 58-18 on the season. Home teams were 7-7 last week, and on the season it's homers 44, visitors 32. NFC 4, AFC 1 last week. On the season, it's NFC 12, AFC 7. George flotched it last week, taking the Patriots for the 3rd straight week. George is 2-1 on the season.

     this week: off this week are Miami, Undy, Dallas and San Francisco.

     the 11:00 MDT games:

Detroit (1-4) at Green Bay (2-2) - Division game. Gotta take the Packers at Lambeau, even though the Lions are playing better than last year (Lions are 22nd in the league on D, 21st on O). (Green Bay is 18th and 14th respectively.)

New York Giants (5-0) at New Orleans Saints (4-0) - Giants are 2nd in the league in O, Saints 3rd. Giants are 1st in D, Saints 6th. Saints were pretty bad on D last year, but bringing in Gregg Williams to be the D coordinator has changed that. I'm taking the Saints at home after a bye, even though the Giants had a laugher at home against the Raiders.

Cleveland (1-4) at Pittsburgh (3-2) - Division game. Steelers are 11-0 against the Browns lately. Ben R is 9-0. Browns' QB Derek Anderson managed to complete just two passes last week at Buffalo.

Houston (2-3) at Cincinnati (4-1) - Bengals are 7-1 in their last 8 games, the lone loss coming at Mile High, by one point. Cedric Benson leads the league in rushing, and Carson Palmer is getting it back after an injury last year. Texans got hot in Arizona in the second half last week, but it takes 4 quarters to win in the NFL. Take Cincinnati.

Kansas City (0-5) at Washington (2-3) - Washington had a 17-2 lead against Carolina last week, but lost anyway. These two teams are pretty bad, but I'll take the 2-3 Reds versus the 0-5 Chiefs in Washington, despite the fact that the Chiefs took the Cowboys to OT at Arrowhead last week.

Carolina (1-3) at Tampa Bay (0-5) - Division game. Carolina showed some grit by coming back from a 17-2 deficit (in the third quarter) against the Redskins last week. Bucs haven't shown any grit at all.

St. Louis (0-5) at Jacksonville (2-3) - Jags have been up and down this year, Rams have just been down.

Baltimore (3-2) at Minnesota (5-0) - Brett Fave is 5-0 for the first time in his career. And he has the 4th best QB rating in the league. Maybe he should have been playing in Purple his whole career. Ravens gave up 142 on the ground to the Bengals last week and here comes Adrian Peterson. Take the Vikings in their home dome.

     the 2:05 MDT games:

Philadelphia (3-1) at Oakland (1-4) - You could say that Oakland is the worst team in the NFL but they really aren't that good. Sorry, Raiders fans, but you know it's true. Eagles.

Arizona (2-2) at Seattle (2-3) - Division game. Kurt Warner was 20-23-0-262 in the first half last week against the Texans, but just 6-15-40 in the second half. And that was in the desert. This game will be in Seattle, where the temp will be in the 40's and it will be rainy. Matt Hasselbeck was 18-30-241 with no INT's and 4 TD tosses in his first game after missing two with a rib injury. Take the Seahawks. They want their division crown back.

     the 2:15 MDT games:

Buffalo (1-4) at New York Jets (3-2) - Division game. Mark Sanchez has been OK in his rookie start, but he's thrown just as many INT's as TD's (5) but he's been on the road for two weeks. It might be rainy in the Big Apple but I look for the Jets to win this one. Bills aren't very good.

Tennessee (0-5) at New England (3-2) - Patriots lost in OT at Mile High last week. They'll take it out on the hapless Titans.

     the SNF game:

Chicago (3-1) at Atlanta (3-1) - Chicago is off a bye. Atlanta was off a bye last week and went to San Francisco and killed the Niners, 45-10. These two teams met in Atlanta last year in Week Six. I'm sure you all remember how Kyle Orton tossed a game winning TD to make the score Bears 20, Atlanta 19, with just seconds left in the game. But the Bears squib kicked, and Matt Ryan made a great sideline throw, and Jason Elam kicked a 48 yard FG to win the game for the Falcons. I expect that this game will also be close, but when in doubt, take the home team. Atlanta.

     the MNF game:

Denver (5-0) at San Diego (2-2) - Division game. Chargers are 32nd in run O, and have the 26th worst defense. Broncos are 5th in run O and 2nd in total D ( total yards, that is - Denver is first in points allowed). Chargers have some injuries, and I see the Broncos in a bit of a romp. But hang on - both teams have been good in the second half.

     Brad's Picks was 14-0 last week, so no bad this week, nor any ugly. And George is 2-0 on the season, having correctly called the last two Patriots games.

     the good:

Denver 17, Cowboys 10 - Dallas scored 10 points in the first quarter.

Chicago 48, Lions 24 - It was 21-21at halftime.

Houston 29, Raiders 6 - Houston had three players unavailable because of illness, one with swine flu.

Washington 16, Bucs 13 - Bucs jumped out to a 10-0 halftime lead, but missed two long field goals in the game.

Undeenaplis 34, Seahawks 17 - Undy scored a TD on four of it's first five possessions.

Giants 27, Kansas City 16 - Matt Cassell threw two TD passes in the 4th quarter, after Eli Manning left the game with a heel injury.

New England 27, Ravens 21 - Ravens still have never ever beaten the Patriots.

Bengals 23, Cleveland 20 (OT) - Bengals wouldn't have needed OT except Cleveland's Big Shaun Rogers blocked a PAT with just a couple minutes remaining in regulation. Rogers also blocked a FG attempt earlier in the game.

Jacksonville 37, Titans 17 - Titans need a Young quarterback.

Miami 38, Bills 10 - Miami's Chad Henne was 14-22-0-115 with one TD pass in his first game as a starter.

New Orleans 24, Jets 10 - Darren Sharper ran a KO 101 yards for a TD, and Remi Ayodele recovered a Jets fumble in the end zone for another. Both teams averaged 4.8 yards per carry on the ground.

San Francisco 35, Rams 0 - Rams have lost 14 straight games.

Pittsburgh 38, Chargers 28 - Chargers are now 0-14 in the Steel City.

Minnesota 30, Packers 23 - Pack held Adrian Peterson to 2.2 yards per carry, but Brett Favre was 24 of 31 for 271 yards and 3 touchdown passes.

     Brad's Picks is 47-15 on the season. Home team fans had a good weekend as the home teams won 12 of 14. On the season, it's home teams 37, visitors 25. NFC 2, AFC 2 last Sunday. On the season, it's NFC 8, AFC 6.

     Teams with a bye this week: Chicago, Green Bay, New Orleans, San Diego.

     this week: the 11:00 MDT games:

Cincinnati (3-1) at Baltimore (3-1) - Division game. Whoever wins this game will lead the AFC North, at least for a week. Ravens' pass D has not been very good, but their offense has been real good, especially the run game. Ray Rice was a beast last week at New England (101 on 11 carries) and the Bengals gave up 146 yards on 33 carries to the Browns last week. That's enough information right there for me to take the Ravens.

Cleveland (0-4) at Buffalo (1-3) - Bills have allowed 472 yards on the ground the last two weeks and Trent Edwards threw 3 INT's last week as the Bills got humbled in Miami. Derek Anderson took over at QB for the Browns and was 26-48-1-269 and a one yard TD pass but the game ended in an OT loss against a division opponent, and that might give the Browns a let down. I don't have a clue about the outcome of this game so will just go with the home team. Take the Bills. All those yards given up on the ground by the Bills the last two weeks were against the Saints and the Dolphins.

Washington (2-2) at Carolina (0-3) - Carolina is off a bye. Jake Delhomme throws to the other team a lot. Jason Campbell threw to the Bucs three times and lost a fumble last week at home. Both teams should keep it on the ground, with Clinton Portis for the Reds and DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart for the Panthers. Hard game to call, so I'll go with Carolina at home. They've had a week to get ready.

Pittsburgh (2-2) at Detroit (1-3) - Looks like the Lions let their win streak go to their heads: HC Jim Schwartz said of the beatdown by the Bears: "We were poor on special teams, on offense, on defense. We were outcoached and their trainers were better than ours." Anyway, Lions' young QB Matt Stafford got his knee banged up pretty good last week, but might be able to play Sunday. Maybe they should let him sit and see what Daunte Culpepper can do, rather than put the good looking rookie QB out there to face the Steeler's pass rush with a bum knee.

Dallas (2-2) at Kansas City (0-4) - Last week an NFC East team had an easy one at Arrowhead. This week it's the Cowboy's turn.

Oakland (1-3) at New York Giants (4-0) - Giants blew up Kansas City last week, and now they get another weak sister of the NFL. JaMarcus Russell has a QB rating of 44 and Darren McFadden will miss a few games. Eli Manning hurt his heel somehow last week on a no-contact thing, but it's just a pain thing for him. Anyway, no worries for the Giants - Raiders are incapable of winning this game. Giants enjoy their first home game since the opener against the Reds.

Tampa Bay (0-4) at Philadelphia (2-1) - I don't know if Donovan McNabb will play (rib injury four weeks ago) but Kevin Kolb was pretty good in relief for two games - 55-85-718 (8.44 per attempt), 3 INT's, 4 TD's and two sacks. (All the INT's were in the first game against New Orleans). Anyway, Eagles had a bye week, which ideally should be helpful in getting ready for a tough game, preferably on the road. But the Eagles get sort of cheated in that regard as the hapless Bucs come to Philadelphia.

Minnesota (4-0) at St. Louis (0-4) - After a tough MNF game, where the Vikings and Brett Favre had a fairly tough game against the Packers, they have to go on the road. You don't think?? Nah. Take the Vikings. Rams are pretty bad (0-14 lately).

     the 2:05 MDT game:

Atlanta (2-1) at San Francisco (3-1) - Atlanta is off a bye week. Two good teams here - SF would be 4-0 if not for Brett Favre's miracle throw with two seconds remaining two weeks ago in Minnesota. Mike Singletary has his team playing really well, and QB Shaun Hill has completed 62 % of his passes while tossing 5 TD's and just one INT so far this season. Forty Niners are 8-3 with Singletary at HC and Hill at QB. I might take the Falcons if the game were on the other coast.

     the 2:15 MDT games:

New England (3-1) at Denver (4-0) - Broncos rookie HC Josh McDaniels has the NFL world all aflutter with a 4-0 start, after the Jay Cutler thing in the off season. And here come the Patriots, McDaniels' team for the last eight years. This will be a real good game. Forecast is for a temp of about 40 at kickoff, with some rain, maybe turning to snow later. I could talk about how the Patriots have lost their best RB, Fred Taylor, probably for the season, but how they have Sammie Morris and Kevin Faulk, and Randy Moss and Wes Welker and Tom Brady. But I don't feel like going into that, so I'll just say that McDaniels and Belichick know each other very well, but McDaniels knows the Patriots a lot better than Belichick knows the Broncos. I think the Broncos are a stronger team overall and will win this game easily. George has gone 2-0 the last two weeks in calling Patriots victories, and once again he says the Patriots will win. He'll be 2-1 on Sunday night.

Houston (2-2) at Arizona (1-2) - Arizona is off a bye and the forecast is for about 90 degrees at kickoff. That shouldn't really bother the boys from Texas all that much though. These teams have real good passing games - Cards' Larry Fitzgerald and Texans' Andre Johnson are the two best receivers in the league. Neither teams' defense has been very good - they've both given up 23 points per game. I see the teams as about equal, so will go with the the Cardinals at home - they've had a week to get ready.

Jacksonville (2-2) at Seattle (1-3) - Jags D is not very good, nor is Seattle's - both have given up 21 or so points a game. I don't really know much about either team. Jags have a real long flight to get way up to Seattle in the northwest, so let's go with that.

     the SNF game:

Undeepolis (4-0) at Tennessee (0-4) - Division game. Kerry Collins has been pretty bad, and maybe the T's should give Vince Young a shot. But Jeff Fisher says no, you don't switch horses in the middle of a stream. But regardless of the horse, the Colts will win this game. Peyton Manning is so hot that if the game wasn't in Tennessee, the Lucas Oil Drum Stadium might catch fire.

     the MNF game:

New York Jets (3-1) at Miami (1-3) - Division game. Dolphins have been dominating the time of possession stat, but little else until last week when they whupped the Bills 38-10. The forecast is high of 90, low of 79 so even though it's a night game, the heat should help the Dolphins. They won't dominate the time of possession so much, since the Jets do have a real good defense. Miami is 4th against the run and have sacked their opponents eleven times. Jets Rookie QB Mark Sanchez has been sacked 7 times in the last two games. Taking the Miami heat here.