in NFL Articles

Week 8 continued a disturbing trend of being so unpredictable, that I am thinking of just betting on the over/under of games only and give up on picking spreads. Or, I could pull up my boot straps, hunker down and learn from what I saw in Week 8 and move on.

Panthers 38 Vikings 13

Daunte Culpper’s season is about as done as Elizabeth Taylor’s looks. The Vikings were dreadful on defense in this one and out of synch on offense. Meanwhile, Carolina showed up and looked like the team many thought they would be this season.

Bears 19 Lions 13 (OT)

It wasn’t pretty, but these two teams gave it their all for a chance to be in first place alone. Finally, Chicago’s defense asserted themselves in overtime with a key interception, ruining the Jeff Garcia one-man show. Look for the Bears to never relinquish control of NFC North from here on in.

Bengals 21 Packers 14

Cincinnati was not impressive by any stretch of the imagination. They did enough to win and took advantage of a worn down and ravaged team late in the game. Not very convincing and the Steelers had to have been looking on and licking their chops.

Cowboys 34 Cardinals 13

From start to finish, Dallas had the energy and enthusiasm that they have been missing. Rookie RB Marion Barber was electric and the Arizona defense went from bad to worse. Cardinal coach Dennis Green is not getting the most out of his players and Arizona fans are in for another long winter.

Broncos 49 Eagles 21

Another fantastic Bronco start and another shaky start to the second half. But, even without Champ Bailey, Denver stepped it up in the fourth quarter and cemented their place as a contender. Philadelphia will be in for a dog fight in the NFC East. The key for them will be to establish a running game, somehow, someway.

Texans 19 Browns 16

It was the ugly against the uglier. These two teams had their draft pick game and the Texans lost by winning the matchup. Houston was just a little less awful than Cleveland in this one. Trent Dilfer is terrible and the Browns know it. The only problem is they don’t have another option.

Dolphins 21 Saints 6

That was the last straw Aaron Brooks. You couldn’t come up with a good game at home against a subpar opponent. New Orleans has to give on this guy. He’s almost single-handedly run them out of town with disappointment after disappointment. For Miami, they did it with defense and some hard running. They are well aware of Gus Frerotte’s Marino-less skills.

Raiders 34 Titans 25

In a see-saw battle of sub .500 teams, Oakland had a little more on both sides of the ball to prevail. At 3-4, the Raiders are dreaming of playoffs. Unfortunately, they are in last place in the tough AFC West. The Titans are with McNair and then without. This patterns used to be tragic, now it’s just annoying.

Giants 36 Redksins 0

Can you say statement game? New York is obviously for real and Washington is not. The Giants’ offense is getting stronger and stronger, while the Redskins can seemingly only score against weak opponents. The Giants are definitely the favorites to win their division right now.

Chargers 28 Chiefs 20

Do not count out the Chargers just yet. San Diego was awesome against a streaking Chiefs team. These two always entertain and this game was no different. San Diego has go to ride Tomlinson into the postseason, where they will be dangerous. As for Kansas City? Well, it seems their defense isn’t as good as everyone thought now is it?

49ers 15 Buccaneers 10

Clearly, this was a shocker and no one could have anticipated it. The Bucs are in trouble at QB and Cadillac appears to be a lemon right now. San Francisco might not win another game this season, but at least you know they play hard for coach Mike Nolan. Tampa Bay blew a golden opportunity to stay in first place in the NFC South.

Rams 24 Jaguars 21

Poor Byron Leftwich. His receivers dropped more passes than I’ve seen in a while. The Rams are a nickel and dime team without Bulger, Bruce and Holt. Yet, they managed to use Stephen Jackson to plow them to victory. Jacksonville is now in a must-win situation for next few weeks. Their defense just wasn’t up to the task of carrying the offense here.

Patriots 21 Bills 16