Atlanta Falcons (4-1) vs Philadelphia Eagles (3-2)
After losing the season opener against the Steelers, Falcons have rattled off 4 straight wins. They have had done so in hard fought fourth quarter comeback fashion. Last week QB Matt Ryan threw for just 187 yd and 1 TD in their win against the Browns. RB Michael Turner had 140yds on 19 carries & WR Roddy White had 5 receptions for 101 yds and Ryan's only TD. Falcons are winning games behind the strength of their defense who has stepped up for them this season. Eagles won a tough battle against the winless 49ers last week in San Francisco. QB Kevin Kolb started last week in place of the injured Michael Vick and finished with 253 yds and 1 TD. RB LeSean McCoy finished with 18 rushes for 92 yds and 1 TD. Eagles defense looked good at the end of the game last week and hope to carry it over into this week at home. Prediction: Falcons
Cleveland Brown (1-4) vs Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)
The Browns pulled a shocker by beating the Bengals 2 weeks ago, but this week they will be starting rookie QB Colt McCoy against the #1 rated defense in the league. Enough said. Prediction: Steelers
Seattle Seahawks (2-2) vs Chicago Bears (4-1)
Seahawks are coming in off a bye last week. Their last game was a 20-3 loss to the Rams in which Hasselback threw 0 TDs and 1 INT. Seahawks are just a half game back of the division leading Cardinals but they will need to drastically improve to go anywhere this season. The Bears have their starting QB Jay Cutler back this week after having him out in week 5 due to a concussion suffered in a week 4 loss to the Giants. Cutler is having a much better season thus far compared to last season. His overall qb rating is 102.2% and he's thrown for 912 yds, 6 TDs and just 3 INTs. His running game behind Matt Forte has looked stellar. Last week Forte rushed for 166 yds on 22 carries and 2 TDs. Bears have one of the best defenses in the league and will need to keep up their aggressive play to stay ahead of the tough NFC North division. Prediction: Bears
Miami Dolphins (2-2) vs Green Bay Packers (3-2)
Dolphins are coming in off a bye last week. Dolphins are a fun team to watch who are surprisingly good when they win and disappointingly bad when they lose. Week 4 was a crushing loss to the Patriots at home. In that game QB Chad Henne threw for 305 yds, 2 TDs and 3 INTs. In that game RBs Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown and WR Brandon Marshall all were held without a TD. Their defense looked terrible against the Pats and need to make vast improvements to stay competitive in the AFC East. Packers suffered a shocking upset last week to the Redskins in Washington in overtime in which Aaron Rodgers suffered a concussion at the end of the game. He is probable for this week. He threw for 293 yds, 1 TD & 1 INT that game & got his lowest passer rating of the season at 75.7%. His running game behind Brandon Jackson rushed for 115 yds. Packers defense has played well and take them into the post season. Prediction: Packers
Detroit Lions (1-4) vs New York Giants (3-2)
Lions got their first win of the season last week against the predictably bad Rams. QB Matthew Stafford and WR Calvin Johnson are listed as questionable for this game and RB Jahvid Best is listed as a probable. Lions defense is atrocious. Giants are on a 3 game winning streak with their defense finally playing solid. They should easily manhandle the Lions at home. Prediction: Giants
New Orleans Saints (3-2) vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)
Saints have not looked like the defending champs this season. Their loss last week in Arizona showed them to be disorganized and chaotic. QB Drew Brees threw 2 TDs but also 3 INTs. With injuries to RBs Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and Chris Ivory, Saints signed RB Julius Jones who will make his start this week to try and salvage a running game plagued with injuries. Despite having a solid defense the lack of consistency on offense has hurt the Saints tremendously. They must find a way to get this offense to play with some consistency or will not make the playoffs. Bucs won a surprising upset against the Bengals in Cincinnati last week. QB Josh Freeman completed 20 of 33 for 1 TD & 1 INT. WR Mike Williams finished with 99 yds on 7 receptions and Freeman's only TD. Their defense has played very solid and helped lift them to victories. This game will be a test for the Bucs who have struggled in the running game. But they are off to a much better start than last season so should finish with a modest record. Prediction: Saints
San Diego Chargers (2-3) vs St. Louis Rams (2-3)
Despite having the same record coming into this game, Chargers are a much more high flying offense than the Rams. Chargers are a far better team than their record indicates and always start poorly at the beginning of the season. Rams have beaten weak unprepared opponents and have not faced a team quite like the Chargers. This should be a W for the Chargers. Prediction: Chargers
Kansas City Chiefs (3-1) vs Houston Texans (3-2)
Chiefs suffered their 1st loss of the season last week to the Colts in Indianapolis. Matt Cassel completed 16 of 29 for just 156 yds as the Chiefs failed to score a single TD in the game. Chiefs may be atop their division for now but must get more big plays out of their offense to stay that way. Texans suffered a crushing defeat last week against the Giants at home. QB Matt Schaub failed to throw a single TD finishing with just 196 yds and an INT. Texans defense is good but with a banged up offense (RB Arian Foster and WR Andre Johnson are both probable for the game) they may struggle down the stretch. Despite this expect a bounce back from last week's debacle. Prediction: Texans
Baltimore Ravens (4-1) vs New England Patriots (3-1)
Ravens beat the Broncos last week in Denver. Credit this to the #2 rated defense in the league and their great running game behind RB Ray Rice who finished with 133 yds on 27 carries and 2 TDs. Whatever Ravens may lack on offense they more than make up for with that stifling defense. Patriots are coming in off a bye last week. Their last game was a crushing defeat of the Dolphins in Miami. Since that time they have traded WR Randy Moss to the Vikings and traded a 2011 4th round draft pick to bring WR Deion Branch back. Brady and Branch are very comfortable with each other and should easily get into full swing again, but Ravens defense may prove to be a bit too much for the Pats this week. Prediction: Ravens
Oakland Raiders (2-3) vs San Francisco 49ers (0-5)
The Raiders are coming in off a shocking upset of the Chargers last week at home. QB Jason Campbell will get the start this week. He came in after Gradkowski was injured and finished with 159 yds and 1 TD. Their defense finally stepped up big for them and if they can continue to play at that kind of level may be competitive in the terrible AFC West division. 49ers are still looking for their 1st win of the season. QB Alex Smith has more INTs (9) than TDs (6) so far this season. This team is so poor on offense that their defense spends too much time on the field. They need more reliable play from Alex Smith if they hope to win any games this season. Prediction: Raiders
New York Jets (4-1) vs Denver Broncos (2-3)
Even without Darrelle Revis, Jets have a smothering defense. QB Mark Sanchez has still yet to throw an INT this season. Their running game behind RB LaDanian Tomlinson has looked superb. Broncos may have the #1 rated passing offense but their running game is banged up (RB Knowshon Moreno is still questionable with a hamstring injury) and their defense is terrible. Being at home will not get them the win this week. Prediction: Jets
Dallas Cowboys (1-3) vs Minnesota Vikings (1-3)
2 awful teams who were much hyped before the season began. Cowboys have looked lost and confused on offense and are not playing with any type of cohesion. They suffered an embarassing loss at home last week against the Titans in which QB Tony Romo threw for 3 TDs but also 3 INTs. RB Felix Jones did have a big game finishing with 109 yds on the ground. Cowboys defense has not been able to stop their opponents from scoring and desperately need their offense to play together with urgency to keep them off the field so much. They are predicted to be in the superbowl but if they cant find a way to get wins they may not even make the playoffs. Vikings are coming in off a loss last week to the Jets in which QB Brett Favre suffered from tendinitis and is still questionable for the game. He did manage to throw for 3 TDs and just 1 INT in the game and WR Percy Harvin caught 2 of those TDs. RB Adrian Peterson only has 3 TDs so far this season. He will need to play bigger for them with Favre playing injured. Now having a deep threat WR in Randy Moss this should open up the Vikes passing game and give opportunities to other receivers to score. They need solid play from their defense if they have any chance of winning this game. Prediction: Vikings
Indianapolis Colts (3-2) vs Washington Redskins (3-2)
Colts come in off a sloppy win in Week 5 over the Chiefs. QB Peyton Manning finished with just 244 yds and 1 INT for the game. Colts running game has been poor with Addai playing hurt. Their secondary has only 1 starter remaining from the season opener and they have struggled severely in the passing game. Redskins won a surprising upset in overtime last week against the Packers. They are in a 3 way tie for the NFC East division lead. They are still without RB Clinton Portis & his replacement RB Ryan Torain only ran for 40 yds last week. The bright spot for the Redskins is a healthy Donovan McNabb who last week completed 26 of 49 for 357 yds, 1 TD & 1 INT. Brian Orakpo is a monster on that D line. Both of these teams are badly banged up so it may be a tougher battle than many expect. Prediction: Colts
Tennessee Titans (3-2) vs Jacksonville Jaguars (3-2)
Titans are coming in off an impressive win over the Cowboys last week in Dallas. QB Vince Young finished with 173 yds and 2 TDs in the game. RB Chris Johnson finished with 131 yds and 2 TDs. Titans defense when they show up are impressive. Jaguars are coming in off a win against the lowly Bills. QB David Garrard looked good throwing for 3 TDs and just 1 INT. His RB Maurice Jones-Drew has only scored 1 TD so far this season. This team plays so inconsistent from week to week it is hard to know which Jags team will show up to play. Expect a good battle between these AFC South rivals. Prediction: Titans
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