This season is the best in over a decade’s worth of handicapping. At 13-2 last week, my year-to-date record is 82-38-1 (.681). There’s a 14-game slate this week, and here’s who I’m picking.
NOTE: All games will be played on Sunday afternoon unless otherwise noted.
San Francisco 34, Arizona 16 (Thursday night): This game is being played on Halloween night, so you might want to finish your trick-or-treating early to rush home to watch this one. Well, not. Who could have guessed that San Fran would be undefeated this late in the season?
Jacksonville 23, Houston 17 (in London, Sunday morning): Houston has been maddeningly inconsistent for a team that many saw as the best team in the AFC South. The Jaguars are contractually obligated to play in London every year, so they know the routine. Re-read the first reason. Apply the second reason. I’m going with the Jags.
Pittsburgh 19, Indianapolis 16: The Colts struggled at home last week, but still came away with a win. Now they hit the road to Pittsburgh where the Steelers are on a short week. If the Steelers are to make a move in the AFC North, then they have to win the second of three straight home games.
Buffalo 31, Washington 6: Washington heads north to face the Bills after Buffalo lost to the Eagles. While the loss to Philly showed that the Bills aren’t a complete team, they are certainly better than the Redskins.
Carolina 26, Tennessee 13: The Panthers are at home and hitting on enough cylinders to win against the up-and-down Titans. Tennessee got a home win last week against Tampa Bay, but (let’s face facts) the outcome was the result of Jameis Winston’s generosity.
Minnesota 27, Kansas City 20: Surprisingly, the Chiefs have lost two home games already this season. And with Mahomes out and the way the Vikings have looked lately, it’s likely they’ll drop a third.
New York Jets 19, Miami 10: Neither side has much talent. But with Sam Darnold at quarterback and other players getting healthy, at least the Jets have a road map to the future.
Philadelphia 27, Chicago 17: The Eagles might have had a season-saving win at Buffalo. Now, they take on a Chicago team that took a bad home loss to the Chargers. Mitch Trubisky is holding back a team that has an outstanding defense. He has become the Kyle Boller of Chicago.
Oakland 31, Detroit 28: At first glance, this is a rather non-descript game between two interconference foes that don’t play each other often. But it’s a tough game to pick! Detroit stopped a three-game losing streak last Sunday with a home win over the Giants, but Oakland is home for the first time in about two months. That means I have to go with the Raiders.
Seattle 26, Tampa Bay 9: This is the 1976 expansion bowl–the year when both teams came into the league. Just as then, Seattle is the better team. It’s a mad team, too, having lost twice this year at home. But those losses were to New Orleans and Baltimore, and Tampa Bay isn’t of that caliber. Seattle will win.
Denver 22, Cleveland 17: What history! In the late 1980s, these teams met in a trio of AFC title games that have been memorialized as The Drive, The Fumble, and The Blowout. Nobody remembers the third game because it was uneventful. And the way these two teams are now, don’t expect this one to be notable either. Away team wins.
Green Bay 31, Los Angeles Chargers 20: ‘The Cheeseheads Go West” sounds like the title of a spaghetti Western. Green Bay seems to have taken control of the ultra-tough NFC North, while the Chargers’ narrow window for turning around its season appears to be closing. Cheeseheads go back east with a win.
New England 24, Baltimore 23 (Sunday night): There is a fascinating prime-time history between these teams. The Patriots narrowly won in 2007 to remain unbeaten. Five years later, Torrey Smith scored two touchdowns the day after his brother passed away. This year, the bye-rested Ravens have proven that they can play with anyone. The Pats, who are off next week, are performing better on defense than at any time in their two-decade dynasty. It just might take a critical defensive play for the Pats to win this game.
Dallas 34, New York Giants 17 (Monday night): The regular season started with these teams meeting in Dallas. Dallas won. This time around, Daniel Jones has supplanted Eli Manning as the Giants’ starting quarterback. But Dallas, coming off its bye, should be healthy enough to win and, perhaps, even go on a roll.
