Last minute comebacks, upsets, meltdowns and questionable coaching decisions dotted the Sunday and Monday NFL landscapes. It’s great to have football back again.
Given the weirdness that took place last weekend, particularly at the end of some of the early games, I’d say we came out of the weekend relatively intact. Nobody embarrassed themselves too badly and Tony, who thrives on picking the unpredictable, nailed the week with a 12-4 mark. He’s in control of the leader board after one week. Dr. Phil from the audience also made picks last week – if my count is right, he hit an 11-5 mark — maybe he should join the staff.
Here are the standings:
Week one | Season totals | |
Tony | 12-4 | 12-4 |
John | 10-6 | 10-6 |
Andy | 10-6 | 10-6 |
Maggio | 9-7 | 9-7 |
There’s no basking in success in the NFL though. With this week’s games set to kick off in two days, we’ll jump right back in again. Here are our predictions for this week’s games.
Andy | Tony | John | Maggio | |
Thursday, September 11 | ||||
Pittsburgh at Baltimore | Baltimore | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | Baltimore |
Sunday, September 14 | ||||
Miami at Buffalo | Miami | Miami | Miami | Buffalo |
Detroit at Carolina | Detroit | Carolina | Detroit | Carolina |
Atlanta at Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati |
New Orleans at Cleveland | New Orleans | New Orleans | New Orleans | New Orleans |
New England at Minnesota | New England | New England | New England | Minnesota |
Arizona at NY Giants | Arizona | Arizona | Arizona | Arizona |
Dallas at Tennessee | Tennessee | Tennessee | Tennessee | Tennessee |
Jacksonville at Washington | Jacksonville | Jacksonville | Jacksonville | Washington |
Seattle at San Diego | Seattle | Seattle | Seattle | Seattle |
St. Louis at Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay |
Kansas City at Denver | Denver | Denver | Denver | Denver |
NY Jets at Green Bay | Green Bay | Green Bay | Green Bay | Green Bay |
Houston at Oakland | Houston | Houston | Houston | Oakland |
Chicago at San Francisco | San Francisco | San Francisco | San Francisco | San Francisco |
Monday, September 15 | ||||
Philadelphia at Indianapolis | Indianapolis | Indianapolis | Indianapolis | Indianapolis |
Game of the Week: Pittsburgh at Baltimore – There are some tough games to pick this week, but for an early-season slate of games, there are very few marquee match-ups. We looked at Philadelphia at Indy as a game between two playoff favorites, but ultimately chose this game. We did so knowing that both teams are in somewhat of a building process because it’s one of the most intense rivalries in the game and because it also has the added intrigue of seeing how Baltimore responds to the unanticipated distraction of having the Ray Rice situation boil up again. It also has the benefit of being an important game for both teams as they try to keep up with division favorite Cincinnati.
Game of the Weak: Jacksonville at Washington – I left Sunday thinking the Jaguars may be a bit closer to being interesting again than I originally thought. They jumped out on Philly before succumbing to a superior team. That said, they’re still not good, at least yet. But I think they’ve got a shot to get in the win column this week against a Washington team that just seems a bit lost right now. It looks to me like this team will be battling all season to stay out of the NFC East cellar.
For our point spread picks, click here.
With no Tv last year and not being able to watch any games until week 3 I’ll take 11-5 going blind.
This week I’ll take Baltimore, Miami, Detroit, Cincinnati, New Orleans, New England, Arizona, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Denver, Green Bay, Houston, San Francisco, Indianapolis