NFL News and Views

Week 8 in the NFL was a doozy. More upsets, more great endings and hopefully more money won for all of you. The epic AFC showdown in Mile High lived up to its hype, the defending champs continued their freefall and a new star was born in Big D. Road teams were fantastic to bet on in Week 8. Here’s how I saw it.

Packers 31 Cardinals 14

It’s not rocket science. Brett Favre didn’t turn over the ball for the second consecutive week and the Packers once again got a good ground attack going. As for the Cards? Well, let’s just say the Dennis Green tenure is winding down. The Pack covered easily and pushed that total over.

Falcons 29 Bengals 27

Michael Vick a pocket passer? Well, seven TDs and only two INTs in his last two games say so. Atlanta is banged up on defense, so they’ll need to keep scoring in order to win. Cincy is a getting worse and worse on defense. A nice over and a road dog covered.

Ravens 35 Saints 22

The clock hasn’t exactly struck midnight on the Cinderella Saints. However, they were very rusty coming out of the bye week and Reggie Bush was terrible. Meanwhile, coach Billick called the plays and did a nice job for Baltimore. An easy over and another road dog covered.

Titans 28 Texans 22

It wasn’t pretty (no one thought it would be), but Vince Young racked up another win. The Texans flat out stink, especially in the defensive secondary. I saw the home team cover and a surprising over.

Jaguars 13 Eagles 6

Two of the more puzzling teams in the NFL squared off and it was a dogfight. Jacksonville seemed to have more bite than Philly, especially defensively. Despite the high spread favoring the hometown Eagles, Jacksonville forced an under and covered the spread easily.

Chiefs 35 Seahawks 28

Damon Huard continues to be the story in KC. While Seneca Wallace was decent in his first NFL start, the Chiefs wanted it more and got it. As expected, this was an over, but the spread was either a wash or a KC cover, depending on when you got it.

Bears 41 49ers 10

I told you the Bears would be angry and they took it out on the poor 49ers. It was ugly and most viewers turned it off at halftime. Despite the high spread, Chicago covered and pushed this to an over.

Giants 17 Bucs 3

New York continued their strong play and the Bucs failed once again to post any kind of offensive attack. Tiki Barker is the end all of the Giants’ offense and everyone knows it. Too bad there’s nothing you can do about it. It was a big cover for the Giants and an easy under the total.

Chargers 38 Rams 24

I knew it would be high-scoring, but I were skeptical at the Chargers covering the high number of points they had to lay. Nevertheless, San Diego rode a hot Rivers and Tomlinson, and St. Louis couldn’t keep up. The over prevailed as well.

Colts 34 Broncos 31

An epic performance by Peyton Manning made everyone believe in the Colts as a Super Bowl favorite once again. Denver was much better on offense, but their defense let them down for the first time all season. A road dog win by Indy and an over result for the total points.

Browns 20 Jets 13

Do I have to recap this game? No one likes to bet on either of these two teams. The Jets really disappointed us in this low-scoring affair. I don’t want to hear about them the rest of the season.

Raiders 20 Steelers 13

Oakland used an improving defense to prevail here. The Steelers have got to get Big Ben out of there, at least for now. Don’t look for the Raiders to cover every week, but it was a nice home underdog win and an under for the total.

Cowboys 35 Panthers 14

It didn’t look like an over midway through this one, but the Dallas offense took it up a notch in the fourth quarter. Tony Romo has the fans whipped into a frenzy in Texas. It was another road dog cover in this tilt, while the over was a nice bet as well. Jake Delhomme is costing his team some games right now.

Patriots 31 Vikings 7

Well, I knew Minnesota would eventually give up 20 points in a game, I just didn’t know it would be over 30 points! The under hung on to win here, but Tom Brady made sure the Pats covered easily.

What the hell happened the Cowboys?

The NY Giants easily whipped the Cowboys, 36-22, in the Monday night football game, helped by Tiki Barber's individual performance.

It was the first time in history that the Giants (4-2) beat the Cowboys (3-3) on Monday night at Texas Stadium.

Barber had 114 yards rushing and another 32 receiving for the Giants, who won their third straight game and took over first place in the NFC East.

The running back is now just 60 receiving yards away from joining Marcus Allen and Marshall Faulk as the only players in NFL history with 9,000 career rushing yards and 5,000 receiving.

Eli Manning threw for 189 yards and tossed a pair of touchdowns; Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey each caught TD passes for New York. Michael Strahan notched two of the Giants' six sacks to tie the legendary Lawrence Taylor for the franchise record with 132 1/2 in his career.

Drew Bledsoe completed 7-of-12 passes for 112 yards with an interception for the Cowboys before being benched for ineffectiveness in the third quarter.

Good game, but the Cowboys should've done better!!

It was another great weekend of football with another few surprizes:

Bengals 17 Panthers 14

Carolina shot out of the gate and just plain ran out of steam. Cincinnati was in bad shape early on, looking very pathetic on offense and very beatable on defense. But Marvin Lewis made better halftime adjustments than John Fox and Cincy got back on track. Most bettors got this one as a push and the under prevailed.

Jets 31 Lions 24

New York's Leon Washington ran the ball very well and the Detroit defense continued to allow too many yards on the ground. Kevin Jones was ok, but he needs to play hard for 60 minutes to make a difference. Jets backers were victorious, as were those who took the over.

Packers 34 Dolphins 24

Brett Favre didn’t turn the ball over and the result was a road win. Green Bay picked Joey Harrington three times and failed to get a good game from Ronnie Brown yet again. Meanwhile, Ahman Green returned and had a great day. A win here for the road dog and for over backers.

Texans 27 Jaguars 7

Huh? How did this happen? Byron Leftwich failed to stretch the field against a poor Houston secondary, that’s how. Throwing for only 125 yards is an embarrassment. When two of your top three receivers on the day are RBs, there’s a problem. A huge underdog play here and several Houston money line bettors cleaned up.

Patriots 28 Bills 6

It appears as though the Bills have mailed in their season. A pity, they were playing so hard the first four weeks of the season. Tom Brady is loving this two-headed running game he’s got going. He can consistently throw under 200 yards a game and they can still win big. An easy money line and spread cover for New England bettors.

Bucs 23 Eagles 21

Too many turnovers cost Philadelphia the game. McNabb made some poor decisions, while Tampa’s defense got back to making big play after big play. Ronde Barber covered the spread single handedly for Bucs backers. A nice home dog win.

Falcons 41 Steelers 38 (OT)

It was one of the most exciting games of the week and it was only fitting that overtime was required. Michael Vick showed up the critics with several big throws, including four touchdown passes. Pittsburgh’s pass defense was bad in the clutch and Willie Parker was stymied time after time. The unpredictable Falcons were a nice home dog and the over was accomplished in the first half!

Chiefs 30 Chargers 27

It’s hard to figure out these Chiefs, but the home dog prevailed in a wacky affair. They blew a big lead before getting a last second field goal for the win. San Diego’s running game never got on track, while Larry Johnson was the weapon of choice for Herm Edwards. We’re definitely not sold on KC as a road bet just yet.

Broncos 17 Browns 7

Jake Plummer haters got more fuel for the fire with his latest performance. However, that Denver defense is just out of this world right now. It was a road favorite covering here, simply because of the impenetrable nature of the Broncos stoppers.

Raiders 22 Cardinals 9

Wow, did Matt Leinart ever suck us in with his performance against the Bears, or what? Arizona layed an egg here, as their offensive line could be even worse than that of the Raiders. Despite having talented offensive players, I doubt they will get a 100-yard rushing performance the entire season! Randy Moss had a breakout game and Andrew Walter is getting better. You may want to watch the over in Oakland’s next game.

Vikings 31 Seahawks 13

This was an upset few people saw coming, as evidenced by the touchdown spread. The road dog covered by running the ball effectively and by knocking out Hasselbeck. Hmm, maybe the Super Bowl runner-up jinx is slowly taking effect in Seattle.

Colts 36 Redskins 22

A slow start by the Colts turned into a nice win by game’s end. The ground attack once again took a backseat to Peyton the magician, who had over 340 yards passing and four TDs. Brunell was good, but not nearly good enough. Indy needed a fairly easy win.

Two teams are still undefeated and with the Bears beating the Cardinals on Monday night, it assures us that at least one team will remain undefeated until at least Week 8 of this NFL season. Whether or not there are two unbeaten teams depends upon the the Indianapolis Colts as they ride in to take on the Broncos on Sunday. There are three divisional games this coming weekend, and there is plenty on the line as the Cowboys visit Carolina, the Jaguars visit the Eagles, Baltimore go into New Orleans and the Falcons drop in on the Bengals. Or maybe you’d like to watch the Texans take their game to the Tennessee Titans. But I wouldn’t bet on it!

Last month, it seemed the Cincinnati Bengals could do no wrong. They jumped out of the gate to a 3-0 record straight up and against the spread. How quickly a club’s fortunes can change; October hasn’t been nearly as kind. The offense is sputtering, the defense isn’t much better, and Cincinnati is in a funk after two upset losses. Yet the Bengals are still getting plenty of love at the books. Cincy is a 3-point home favorite for Sunday’s matchup against the surging Carolina Panthers. The total is set at 45.

Carson Palmer started off the season looking like an MVP. Now the rumblings from NFL scouts suggest Palmer is still not fully recovered from his offseason knee surgery. The former Heisman Trophy winner with USC hasn’t thrown a pick in Cincinnati’s two losses, but Palmer has also completed just one touchdown pass during that span, and he’s been sacked six times.

That number could go up sharply against the Panthers. Left tackle Levi Jones injured his knee in this past week’s 14-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (the Bengals were 4.5-point road faves). Jones is staring at arthroscopic surgery, which would put him on the sidelines next to starting center Rich Braham, also out of commission with a knee injury. Palmer is already not the most mobile quarterback; with his offensive line racked by injuries, there will be a bright red target on Palmer’s back this Sunday.

The Bengals’ defense has managed to stay out of the infirmary (and the courthouse) for the most part this year. Now they need to do something to keep opposing running backs off the scoresheet. Cincinnati is allowing 140.4 yards per game on the ground, ranking 25th out of 32 teams in that department. Fortunately for the Bengals, Carolina’s rushing attack has been anything but stellar this season. DeShaun Foster has just one touchdown to his name, and according to Football Outsiders, was the worst-rated rusher in Week 6 with 58 yards on 26 carries against the Baltimore Ravens.

With Carolina’s future RB star DeAngelo Williams expected to miss this week’s game due to an ankle injury, all indications are that the Panthers will continue to give Foster plenty of touches in an attempt to pound the Bengals into submission. But the marquee player on the Cats remains QB Jake Delhomme, who threw for 365 yards against the Ravens and looks much more comfortable in the pocket these days than Palmer does. Delhomme led Carolina past Baltimore as a 3-point road dog to cash in for the second time in a row and improve to 4-2 SU and 2-4 ATS.

Arizona 23, Chicago 3? Turned out to be just a nail-biting game. Six turnovers, 3 points on offense, and somehow the Chicago Bears are still unbeaten.

Somehow, some way, the Bears rallied from 20 points down at halftime and escaped with a 24-23 victory in Arizona on Monday night, leaving the shellshocked Cardinals to ponder yet another excruciating late-game collapse.

The Bears are off to their best start in 20 years at 6-0. For that, they can thank their defense, punt returner Devin Hester and Arizona kicker Neil Rackers. Let's just see how long they can keep this run going for...

Upsets and drama were rampant in Week 6 of the NFL season. We saw several teams come through in the clutch, including some previously winless teams. Here's a look at how each team fared on Sunday.

Panthers 23 Ravens 21

It's hard to peg these Carolina Panthers. First they lose a couple of games and then they rattle off four wins in a row. While the running game didn't do much here, neither did that of the Ravens. Carolina's defense appears to be improving and getting the big stops, while Baltimore's offense is abysmal. It was a road dog cover and an over win for bettors here.

Cowboys 34 Texans 6

Dallas backers were nervous early on, as Houston managed to keep things close heading into the half. However, the Cowboys got their ground game going in the third quarter and got to David Carr the rest of the game. It was an easy cover for Dallas.

Lions 20 Bills 17

Detroit was one of three winless teams to get their first win Sunday. It was a hard fought victory over Buffalo. The Bills started slow in this one and it cost them. Kevin Jones had a couple of key first down runs in the final quarter, as Detroit finally learned how to finish a ball game and was home underdog winner.

Saints 27 Eagles 24

It's official, I am now believer in the Saints. At 5-1, there's no more disputing them as a top tier team. The Eagles' defense was just not good enough in this one, as Drew Brees was able to bring his team back late after they had given up a big lead. He held his own with Donovan McNabb and now Saints bettors after sitting on a pile of money.

Giants 27 Falcons 14

It was a case of the New York defensive line duplicating their performance from Week 5 and Michael Vick being kept in the pocket. Jeremy Shockey played and was great, as was Tikki Barker. Giants backers not only covered as a road dog, but they won the game outright! Atlanta looks like a shaky bet right now.

Jets 20 Dolphins 17

Did people really sit down and watch this entire game? Wow, brave souls. It wasn't pretty, but New York covered and got the job done. Defense and sloppy offensive play ruled this contest, as New York squared their record and proved once and for all that Joey Harrington is not an NFL quarterback.

Broncos 13 Raiders 3

Denver continued their strong defensive play and Oakland continued to give the ball away. Bad penalties and poor decision-making marred this Raiders team in Denver. Oakland actually outgained the Broncos, but Denver made fewer mistakes.

Steelers 45 Chiefs 7

Finally, the real Steelers showed up for a full game. That big play defense made big plays and Pittsburgh climbed right back into the thick of things in the AFC North. Ben Roethlisberger had his best game of the season and Damon Huard didn't. The Steelers covered the big touchdown spread midway in the first quarter!

Chargers 48 49ers 19

Philip Rivers is getting more and more comfortable in that offense and LaDanaian Tomlinson proved why he is the best runningback in the game. San Francisco looked okay on offense, but their defensive secondary was brutal. The Chargers covered the huge spread easily.

Seahawks 30 Rams 28

This one was the most exciting game of the day. Seattle failed to cover as a road favorite, as St. Louis raced out to a big lead before crumbling late. A 54-yard game-winning field goal sent Seattle money line bettors to the bank.

Bucs 14 Bengals 13

Another winless team gets a victory in Week 6, albeit not without a little controversy. A reviewed TD by Clayton seals the deal for Tampa Bay. The Bengals played well on defense, but their offense looked rusty coming off a bye week. Bettors saw another home underdog pay off.

Titans 25 Redskins 22

Speaking of winless teams getting their first victory... How about being a 10.5 point underdog and winning outright! Tennessee got a fantastic day on the ground from Travis Henry and a composed start from Vince Young. Mark Brunell and the Washington offense was sub par and their defense had some tackling issues.

No way...that's all I say, not until he blows all those millions he's sitting on.

The Dallas Cowboys 2007 Super Bowl odds continue to get worse following the reported suicide attempt of controversial receiver Terrell Owens.

According to reports, Owens tried to kill himself by overdosing on pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened, according to a police report obtained Wednesday.

The report said Owens was asked by rescue workers if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time (he) stated, "Yes".

The Dallas police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV. Police scheduled a news conference for later Wednesday morning. A spokesperson for Owens denied he had tried to commit suicide, instead claiming that the NFL star had mixed pain killers with other supplements by accident.

In response to the news, bookmaker BetUS.com gave the Cowboys longer odds of winning a 2007 Super Bowl championship, now listing them with odds of 20-1.

At 5-0 on the season, the Chicago Bears are widely considered the top team in the NFL. How good are they? Chicago ranks fourth in offensive ypg, third in defensive ypg, they’re allowing a league-low 7.2 ppg, their kicker hasn’t missed a field goal and they have one shutout to their credit.

You know what the next logical question has to be, right? The dreaded talk of an undefeated season. Everything is going right for this Bears team. The offense is balanced and lighting the league on fire, the defense is feared in every opposing city and there doesn’t seem to be any controversy in sight surrounding the club.

Indeed, everything is perfect in the Midwest. So why not talk about a perfect season in 2006? Forget the notion of a jinx or superstition, this team is well above those things. It starts with the steady demeanor of Coach Lovie Smith, continues with the tremendous leadership and work ethic of Brian Urlacher, and ends with the intensity and fire that Rex Grossman brings to the table. Don’t bet against the Bears going undefeated.

You may want to write down the noteworthy date of August 25th. That was the last time Chicago lost a game- albeit in preseason. It was a 23-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, who just happen to be this week’s opponents (who gave a woeful organization like the Cardinals a Monday night game anyway?).

Monday night will be win number six on the season and one that will come at the expense of young quarterback Matt Leinart. Making only his second start in the NFL, young Mr. Leinart will be in for a very rocky ride. With Swiss cheese for an offensive line, expect the 2006 first round pick to spend a lot of time getting to know the field intimately.

Amazingly, the following week Chicago has a chance to avenge their other preseason loss, this time playing San Francisco. The 49ers beat the Bears 28-14 on August 11 and so Chicago will already be familiar with their victims for win number seven.

After that, there are only a couple of games on the slate that appear to be challenges. The Bears visit the Giants and Patriots in the month of November, both tough opponents. However, if the Bears continue to get a good ground attack, there’s no reason to think they can’t win both affairs. While New York will probably need the victory very badly in order to keep their playoff hopes alive, New England should be coasting to another division crown by then. We should make mention that the Giants did spoil the ’98 Broncos’ attempt at a perfect season with a home win, so anything can and does happen in the NFL.

Other than those two tough tests, the rest of the 2006 Bears schedule reads like the list of teams picking in the top 10 at the draft next April. Chicago will surely steamroll over Miami, NY (Jets), Detroit, Green Bay, Tampa Bay, etc…

Some will point to games versus the 4-1 Rams and the 3-2 Vikings as potential obstacles to an undefeated season. Why? St. Louis could easily be 1-4 if you look at their suspect wins and Minnesota has already blown one game to Chicago this season.

In summary, let’s not put the ’06 Bears in the same category as the ’85 Bears or ’98 Vikings, teams that went 15-1 and were so close, yet so far away from perfection. Instead, let’s give this club a legitimate shot at shutting up those old farts from the ’72 Dolphins that celebrate each year with champagne when there are no longer threats to their undefeated season. Rather, the celebration would still involve champagne, it would just be Champagne, Illinois, among other places.

Oddsmakers aren't giving the Tennessee Titans any respect against the Indianapolis Colts. The huge spread is the biggest since 2002, when the Philadelphia Eagles were favored by -19.5 points against the Houston Texans, and was not covered in a 35-17 Eagles' win.

The Colts own the highest-scoring offense in the NFL. Indianapolis (4-0 SU & 3-1 ATS) has scored 121 points this season - one of just three teams in the league to surpass the 100-point mark - and has led the AFC in scoring the last two seasons.

The high-octane offense is the main reason for the colossal line, because we all know the Colts can put up points in bunches and in a hurry. Last week, the Colts scored 17 fourth-quarter points in their 31-28 win over the New York Jets, but the defense missed tackles costing the Colts any chance of covering the spread as the -7.5 favorites.

In 1987, the powerful San Francisco 49ers were favored by an amazing -23.5 points over the Atlanta Falcons. It was another mismatch were the chalk team failed to cover, as the 49ers won 25-17. In 1993, the 49ers were again favored by -23.5 points against the Cincinnati Bengals, and again the huge favorite failed to cover.

In fact, dating back to 1987 there's been eleven NFL teams favored by -19.5 points or more, and the chalked has prevailed just three times during that span. These numbers should make Colts' investors shutter this weekend and bolster the Titan's chances of barking as the +18 point dogs.

Indianapolis has won six consecutive games SU over Tennessee, and outscored them 66-13 in sweeping the series last year. But the average defense of the Colts may be just enough to create another failed cover by a heavily favored team.

Indianapolis allowed 321 total yards to the Jets in the before mentioned game, which converted 7-of-13 third down attempts. On the season, the Colts have allowed the second-most rushing yards in the league at 620, as opponents are gaining an average of 4.8 yards per rush.

It will be entertaining for bettors to watch if the Colts can cover. The outcome will most likely be determined by play of Peyton Manning. Manning is 6-2 SU in eight career games against the Titans, passing for 2,155 yards with 16 TDs and six interceptions. Manning has thrown for the second-most yards in the NFL this season with 1,112, and has six touchdowns to just one interception.

The Colts, along with the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears, are the only undefeated teams in the league, and a win Sunday would give them their third 5-0 start in the last four years.

Indianapolis is 16-2 at the RCA Dome since the start of the 2004 season, while Tennessee is just 4-14 on the road in that span. The Colts have outscored the Titans 119-34 in their last three home games.

Tennessee is in the midst of its worst start since 1984, when it started 0-10 while the franchise was located in Houston. The Titans have seven straight losses since last December - the longest skid under coach Jeff Fisher and the worst since 11 straight losses in 1994. As well, the Titans are 2-7 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.

The Colts are a profitable 11-5-1 ATS in their last 17 games as a favorite, but covering the huge spread on Sunday won't be easy.

The only thing we know for certain is that the Bears are the number one team in the league. Every other ranked club can be debated. We have one team wiped off the rankings (Cowboys) and another joining the top 12 for the first time (Rams).

Meanwhile, the Pats and Eagles continue to climb, while the Ravens were the biggest losers of the week. Yes, they're still 4-1, but that offense has yet to produce a 100-yard game for Jamal Lewis and Steve McNair is still trying to understand the playbook. On the plus side, the Saints didn't embarrass us after we kept them on the top 12 last week. Their win, albeit over a winless Bucs team, proved to us that they are legit.

Rank (PVR) Team Reason

1 1 Bears They might not lose a game all season. What’s their weakness right now?

2 2 Colts While their defense continues to battle injuries and inconsistent play, they’re still worthy of this ranking.

3 3 Eagles Number three with a bullet. Philadelphia continues to find ways to eke out victories. Let’s see how they do in the Big Easy.

4 4 Patriots Talk about a team rounding into form. The Pats are getting better and better each week and we believe they are contenders.

5 5 Benglas Let’s see what a bye week does for them. It looks like a trap game in Tampa Bay, but we think Marvin Lewis & co. will be prepared.

6 6 Seahawks This is the biggest game of the season for a team that was already given the division in August. Put the Rams away Mike.

7 9 Chargers Marty Ball has the Chargers back in the number seven spot again. Check that, Philip Rivers has them back in the seven spot.

8 3 Ravens You might say it is harsh to drop Baltimore. However, do you really think they are better than any other team ahead of them?

9 10 Broncos We still need to see more out of the offense in order to move them higher. No matter, they play the Raiders this week, an easy game.

10 7 Falcons Granted, Atlanta shouldn’t be dropped during a bye. But, who would you put them ahead of? Exactly.

11 12 Saints That win over the Bucs showed guts- and how good Reggie Bush is. No wonder coach Payton was so highly touted.

12 - Rams We have delayed ranking them long enough. I still say they could easily be 2-3 or 1-4. They’ll earn it this week if they beat Seattle.

Honorable Mentions

Panthers (At 3-2, they are relevant once more in the playoff picture), Giants (A season-saving win over Washington), Cowboys (They're still good enough to make a run), Vikings (Still a sloppy team, but they are 3-2), Jaguars (They're almost right back on the map after a rout of the Jets), Chiefs (KC jumps into the mix if they can upset Pittsburgh in Week 6).

Week 5 did not disappoint in terms of the marquee matchups. The Eagles squeaked one out versus a sloppy Dallas squad, the Chargers proved themselves against Pittsburgh and the Broncos bettered the Ravens defense.

Bears 40 Bills 7

You know what I love about this game? That Chicago is actually mad they blew the shutout, saying they lost focus. They are for real people.

Panthers 20 Browns 12

Ho…hum... we expected this result and sure enough it came through. Carolina is getting a better effort up front from the o-line, allowing the rushing game to get going. But wait, it was only Cleveland.

Vikings 26 Lions 17

That’s it. I give up. No more backing the Lions. For two straight weeks, this team was good enough to win on the road and they shot themselves in the foot with turnovers. Wow, are they ugly or what? We now know why Jon Kitna was run out of a couple of cities.

Patriots 20 Dolphins 10

Another predictable result. In fact, it finished exactly on the spread. Sure, Joey Harrington was better than Culpepper had been, but is that saying much? Tom Brady didn’t have to do much here; his defense took care of things.

Rams 23 Packers 20

It’s getting embarrassing for Brett Favre. He should have packed it in already. Too bad, it’s getting harder and harder to remember the good times. As for the Rams? Let’s see what they do against Seattle in Week 6.

Saints 24 Bucs 21

A nice win for Reggie and the Saints. This was a trap game, one that bettors were steering clear of and for good reason. New Orleans did not cover, and they may not again in Week 6 as a dog to Philly.

Colts 14 Titans 13

This would have been one of the biggest upsets in recent NFL regular season history. Vince Young may just win a couple of games this season. Or, maybe it’s that the Indy defense is very, very suspect. It’s probably a little of both.

Giants 19 Redskins 3

That’s more like it. We didn’t buy Washington as a playoff team coming into the season and this game showed what they’re capable of when it counts. New York HAD to have this game to salvage their season and it showed.

Chiefs 23 Cardinals 20

We liked Matt Leinart’s composure and determination. However, now that Larry Fitzgerald is out we don’t give him much success, especially against the Bears in Week 6. A nice win for KC. Herman Edwards has this team believing and we can’t really refute him at this point.

Jaguars 41 Jets 0

No one could predict an utter meltdown from the Jets. We saw this type of result for New York before the season, but not after a 2-2 start elevated expectations. Coach Mangini’s wisdom will be tested. As for the Jags? This was a statement, but they have to be more consistent for statements to mean anything.

49ers 34 Raiders 20

A nice rebound effort by San Francisco over a hapless Oakland squad. Could the Raiders go winless? It’s possible. San Francisco has got to work on their defense though, as their offense is shaping up nicely.

Eagles 38 Cowboys 24

What a great game it was. We appreciate the talents and leadership abilities that Donovan McNabb brings to the table- especially when you consider how bad Drew Bledsoe is. Philadelphia looks very, very strong.

Chargers 23 Steelers 13

We really thought the Steelers would prevail here. Their defense is just missing that big play ability right now and that in turn is exposing their offense as being average.

Broncos 13 Ravens 3

This was a battle to find out who the second best defense is in the league and we now know. Clearly Denver’s stoppers are putting together a prolific season, as they’ve given up only one TD in 4 games. Ravens fans have got to see more out of their running game if they want to dream Super Bowl

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