Last week: 8-5
Season record: 80-36
Raise your hand if you picked the Rams to beat the Saints. That's what I thought. It's remarkable that a team that had scored 56 points all season and was facing a team that scored 62 points the week before, won that game. Kudos to coach Spags, and as for the Saints, they took the Rams for granted. And now, we can't take them for granted anymore in the picks department. Here are mine for Week 9....
NY Jets at Buffalo--The Jets have the defense to limit the Bills' offense. But do they have the offense to perform better than the Redskins did last week? I'm not sure. Bills 19, Jets 17
Seattle at Dallas--Remember when Tony Romo fumbled the snap on that field goal attempt in the playoffs? Yeah, good times. Cowboys 30, Seahawks 10
Cleveland at Houston--Does it seem like every year the Browns find different ways to make their fans miserable? Houston, meanwhile, is in the driver's seat to win the AFC South. Texans 24, Browns 13
Atlanta at Indianapolis--Fact: the Falcons have given up more points (163) than they have scored (158), but are still 4-3. Fact: the Colts are horrible and just might run the table in the loss column. Still, in prognostication terms, this is a trap game. Falcons 27, Colts 20
Miami at Kansas City--We saw last week that the Dolphins are really not as bad as their record indicates. The Chiefs, meanwhile, have won four in a row. Maybe this is the trap game, and Todd Haley's going to step in it. Dolphins 20, Chiefs 17
Tampa Bay at New Orleans--Freeman and Blount are gimpy, otherwise I might go with the upset here. Plus, Sean Payton is pissed after being humiliated by the Rams last week. Saints 31, Bucs 24
San Francisco at Washington--Does anyone else find it hard to believe we lost to the Redskins? Niners 13, Redskins 6
Denver at Oakland--Picking the AFC West games is best done by flipping a coin. Raiders 27, Broncos17
Cincinnati at Tennessee--If the Bengals want to be taken seriously, they have to win games like this one. It's also worth noting that they have not played the Steelers or Ravens yet. Bengals 17, Titans 16
St. Louis at Arizona--It's also remarkable to think that the Giants almost lost to this Cardinals team. Rams 28, Cards 20
NY Giants at New England--Here is why I like the Giants--not only are they underdogs, which puts the pressure on the Pats. But they have outscored their opponents 60-34 in the fourth quarter the last five games. Giants 34, Patriots 31
Green Bay at San Diego--Before the season, some thought this might be the Super Bowl preview. It's kind of funny how the pundits have a love affair with the Chargers until the season begins. Packers 34, Chargers 27
Baltimore at Pittsburgh--It's kind of funny that NBC finally had a juicy matchup last week with Cowboys/Eagles, and the game was over by halftime. This week, they try again with a juicy game. Ravens 21, Steelers 17
Chicago at Philadelphia--I envision Jay Cutler running for his life, and Michael Vick running wild. Not that I want to see that, but......Eagles 26, Bears 13