Winning team in bold.
If this week has a theme, it might be "no matter how bad your starting QB is, your backup could be far worse".
Unanimous Picks (5-3)
Right:Rams @ Cowboys
Colts @ Saints
Packers @ Vikings
Steelers @ Cardinals
Bears "@" Buccaneers (London)
Wrong:
- Chiefs @ Raiders
- This was not a good game for the Chiefs offense: 7 punts and 2 interceptions. But it was far, far worse for the Raiders. Six interceptions, including two pick-6es, and only two drives that went longer than 44 yards. Unless Carson Palmer can get up to playing speed fast, the Raiders playoff hopes ended with Jason Campbell's season.
- Falcons @ Lions
- The Lions had a bad day on offense, posting the fewest points (16) and fewest yards from scrimmage (263) of the season. What's worse, they did it at home, against one of the weaker defenses of the league (the Falcons' D is #19 in points allowed, #20 in yards allowed).
- Ravens @ Jaguars
- Joe Flacco has had 3 pretty bad games already this season. Against the Titans, Jets, and Jaguars, he's averaged 166 passing yards, a 46% completion rate, with 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. And when the defense doesn't score, the result is games like this, where the Ravens lose because the offense can't score two touchdowns.
Split Picks: (APR: 2-3, SRS 3-2, Line 2-3)
- Broncos (APR, SRS) @ Dolphins (Line)
- The Dolphins are a really bad team, maybe worse than the 2007 squad that went 1-15. And after an 0-6 start that has culminated with a 15-point lead blown in the final 5:34 of regulation, it seems almost certain that Tony Sparano has lost his team.
- Texans (SRS) @ Titans (APR, Line)
- The Titans had a terrible game: Matt Hasselbeck barely broke 100 yards passing, Chris Johnson failed to get even 55 yards rushing for the 4th time this season, and the defense gave up one long scoring drive after another. If the Titans are going to challenge the Texans for the AFC South, they're going to have to play a lot better than that.
- Chargers (Line) @ Jets (APR, SRS)
- Antonio Gates is a big piece of the Chargers offense, and getting him back on the field is the answer to my (implicit) question as to why the line favored the Chargers in this game. But even with Gates on the field, it wasn't enough for the Chargers, who faced a solid defense for the first time this season.
- Redskins (APR, SRS) @ Panthers (Line)
- The Redskins struggled on both sides of the ball. The offense had 6 drives end with a punt, lost fumble, interception, or failed 4th down try. The defense gave up five drives of 53+ yards, all ending with a score. With no good choice for quarterback, and Tim Hightower done for the season, the Redskins are another team whose playoff hopes are probably over.
- Seahawks (APR, SRS) @ Browns (Line)
- An exercise in offensive futility by the Seahawks. Their second-longest drive went 14(!) yards. The Browns had more than twice as many yards on offense, but an interception and a couple blocked field goal attempts made this game much closer than it should have been.
Totals
Not really a good week for anybody this time around.
| This Week | This Season | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| APR | 7-6 | 52-34-1 | 60.3% |
| SRS | 8-5 | 54-32-1 | 62.6% |
| Line | 7-6 | 60-27-0 | 69.0% |
