NFL Picks: The Packers could go down and the Lions keep rolling

Published 1:28 pm Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Here are the picks:

Tennessee at Pittsburgh

Maybe the Steelers have fallen victim to the dreaded Super Bowl loser curse. Maybe they’re just getting old.

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What I know is that Ben Roethlisberger was knocked around like a rag doll last week against the Texans, who won 17-10 even though two defensive TDs were called back due to penalties.

The Titans are starting to move from frisky to dangerous as they manhandled the Browns last week.

TITANS 15, STEELERS 10

Oakland at Houston

And the best team in Texas is…. The Houston Texans! They’ve been waiting for this moment ever since they beat the Dallas Cowboys to start their franchise and I think its official after their fast start and the Cowboys’ late collapses.

TEXANS 24, RAIDERS 20

Kansas City at Indianapolis

The Colts have gotten close to getting wins in the last two weeks and they’re finally going with Curtis Painter, who actually knows the offense and wasn’t a country music singer six weeks ago (like

Kerry Collins).

COLTS 17, CHIEFS 14

Seattle at N.Y. Giants

The Giants are starting to find their way and the Seahawks are done.

GIANTS 30, SEAHAWKS 10

Arizona at Minnesota

I’m convinced that as long as Donovan McNabb is at quarterback, the Vikings won’t win a game. Defenses don’t respect the passing game when he’s in there and Adrian Peterson has to break tackles before he even gets the handoff.

CARDINALS 27, VIKINGS 17

New Orleans at Carolina

The Panthers went from being a running team that lived between the tackles to a team that throws every down and ignores its two highly paid running backs. Not a formula for success, even if Cam Newton is putting up some numbers.

SAINTS 38, PANTHERS 22

Philadelphia at Buffalo

Before the season I would’ve guessed that the Eagles would be 3-1 and the Bills would be 1-3 but that’s why they play the games. If the Bills can hit Mike Vick on a regular basis, they should walk away with a big win.

BILLS 31, EAGLES 24

Tampa Bay at San Francisco

The Bucs struggled to beat the Colts and Vikings at home and the 49ers just won in Philly. One of these teams is worse than its 3-1 record.

49ERS 21, BUCS 17

N.Y. Jets at New England

The Jets’ offense was unwatchable in a loss to the Ravens Sunday night. I know they’ll be up for this one, but I don’t think it will matter. The Jets just haven’t proven to be anything special this year.

PATRIOTS 42, JETS 17

San Diego at Denver

It’s a two horse race in the AFC West and the team with a horse mascot is not one of them. The Chargers and Raiders are the only two teams that can win this division.

CHARGERS 27, BRONCOS 14

Atlanta at Green Bay

The Falcons probably had this one circled on their schedule the second it came out. The Packers absolutely embarrassed Atlanta in its home stadium in the NFC playoffs last year and they won’t let it happen again.

The Packer defense has also been beyond shaky early on and this game may serve and Matt Ryan will likely become better acquainted with rookie deep threat Julio Jones in this one.

FALCONS 34, PACKERS 28

Chicago at Detroit

I like how the Bears match up with Detroit. They’ve got a tough defense that forces mistakes, and at times they can be a solid running team with the ball.

However, they won’t keep up with Calvin Johnson on that fast track in Detroit, with the Lion undefeated and hosting a Monday Night Football game.

LIONS 25, BEARS 12

Last week: 12-4; overall: 45-19