A little pay back in my picks. Championship! Late
scores, highlight interceptions, absolute domination,
and a couple 12 round bouts all had something to do with
my big week in the NFL. How man wins did I get? 7? 8?
9? Read on and remember… Hail to the chief.
Buffalo
Bills (+12) @ Chicago Bears: It sure didn't start
well as the little bird on my shoulder was right about
this one. The Bears looked damn good in an absolute
destruction of the Buffalo Bills. The final score was
41-7, and honestly, it wasn't that close. So I missed
this one.
Cleveland
Browns @ Carolina Panthers (-8): It was looking
good late, as the Panthers were up 11 into the 4th…
But these are the Panthers, and God knows they don't
like me to win. A "prevent" / "spread
killer" defense was in effect for the Panthers,
as the Browns drove down the field and kicked a field
goal with a minute left to push this game right out
the window. 0-1-1 wasn't the start I was looking for.
Detroit
Lions @ Minnesota Vikings (-6.5): The Vikings got
the wins rolling for good Ol' Lucky. Or was it the Lions
that did all the work? It wasn't looking good late,
the Vikings we down 17-3 as the 4th quarter got underway,
never something you want when your team needs 7 points
to get you the win. So basically, Minnesota needed to
beat the Lions 21-0 in the 4th quarter alone for me
to win. What do you know? A late interception return
for a touchdown by EJ Henderson finished off the games'
scoring, and the Vikings beat the Vikings 23-0 in the
4th, covering the spread by 2.5 points. As it turns
out this would be the first of many wins.
Miami
Dolphins (+10.5) @ New England Patriots: I can't
believe the Dolphins covered in this one. Without Daunte,
I thought I was dead in the water, but Joey Harrington
wasn't as bad as I thought, and the Dolphins kept it
close enough for me, losing by 10. Finally, I won a
close one.
St.
Louis Rams (-2) @ Green Bay Packers: I didn't get
the 3 touchdown win I was looking for, but a late turnover
late assured me a victory as the Rams kneeled down for
the final minute for a 3 point win. Another close victory
turned out to be my 3rd win in a row.
Tampa
Bay Buccaneers (+7) @ New Orleans Saints: The Bucs
nearly pulled this one out as Bruce Gradkowski had better
numbers than Matt Leinart and Vince Young combined this
week. He had 225 yards and 3 scores, on 21-30 passing.
Reggie Bush returned a punt to win the game. His first
NFL TD was a big one, as the Saints went to 4-1 with
a win over their division rival.
Tennessee
Titans @ Indianapolis Colts (-18): Maybe the Colts
aren't that good? Maybe they just didn't come to play?
I don't know. I know they won the game by a single freaking
point and I lost this one by 2 touchdowns and a field
goal. Damn them Colts. I blame them for my 2nd loss
of the night.
Washington
Redskins @ New York Giants (-4): The Giants finally
put a couple good quarters together, came to play defensively,
and got to the Redskins early. All these things gave
them a much needed win at home. Eli Manning completed
better than 68% of his passes, and Tiki ran for 123
yards as the Giants won easily.
Kansas
City Chiefs (-3) @ Arizona Cardinals: Like the Lions,
the Cardinals had to do a lot late for me to cover.
And just like the Lions were bad enough to get heavily
out-scored in the 4th, the Cards gave up 13 points in
the 4th to lose by 3. Just enough for me to cover. I'll
take it.
New
York Jets @ Jacksonville Jaguars (-7): 41-0…
What do you think? Did the Jags cover? Jacksonville
is a damn good team. If they don't lose another game
all season long, I won't be surprised. The Jags really
exposed the Jets' rushing defense, to the tune of 3
1st quarter rushing touchdowns that just put the Jets
away very early.
Oakland
Raiders @ San Francisco 49ers (-3): When the Raiders
win their first game of the season… scratch that,
IF the Raiders win a game this season I'll write an
entire "Top Shelf" about them. It will be
titled, An Ode to the Worst of Winners. Believe it or
not, the Raiders went ahead with Randy Moss' 100th career
touchdown catch, but they gave up 27 2nd half points
and the Niners won by two touchdowns. The 2nd win for
the 49ers was my 7th win of the week.
Dallas
Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles (-1): Donovan McNabb
looked good early, and late, and TO didn't do dick.
The Fat 7th Grader playing quarterback for the Cowboys
looked athletic rushing for a score, but ate some doughnuts
at half time, and then came out and threw a couple more
interceptions to assure the loss. Bledsoe has been a
Private Pile for the better part of the season. The
Eagles banged one out at home for my 8th W.
Pittsburgh
Steelers (+3.5) @ San Diego Charges: My 3rd loss
of the Week came when the Steelers broke down in the
2nd half, getting shut out by the Chargers 16-0. Big
Ben looked better, but his 2 interceptions and 0 TD
passes didn't help his Steelers from falling to 1-3
on the season. And you all thought I was crazy when
I said the Steelers would struggle in my Season Preview.
It didn't help me much in this game, but what can I
do? 3 losses on Sunday… Not too shabby.
Baltimore
Ravens @ Denver Broncos (-3.5): Half way through
the 4th, those pesky Broncos were only up by a field
goal which was turning out to be double bad for me.
I'm not a big fan of the Broncs and I was losing my
bet. But late in the game, a big interception by Steve
McNair set up my favorite Bronco, Rod Smith, for a 4
yard touchdown catch as Denver went up 10. A later interception
sealed my 9th win of the week, taking me to 9-3-2 in
Week 5. Championship!
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