The football games didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. Sure, I picked two of the winners, but from the teams that I really wanted to win I only picked one. The lone victory was Oakland defeating New York 38-24. Philadelphia beat up on visiting Tampa Bay 31-9. I didn't really watch that game so I can't comment on it. In the Oakland game the Raiders looked good offensively, after a hesitant start they scored at will. New York though did score and may have been able to come back if not for a turnover or two.

On Sunday, San Francisco lost at Green Bay 25-15. Towards the end of the third quarter it was 15-15 after San Francisco scored the tying touchdown and two point conversion. Green Bay came back and kicked a field goal but San Francisco drove right down the field. And then a tipped pass and interception ended that drive and Green Bay scored another touchdown. It was quite an unfortunate turnover and I don't blame Jeff Garcia nor Terrell Owens. Really, an outstanding defending play.

In the second game, Baltimore ground away and defeated host Miami 20-3. I saw most of this game and Miami never got anything going on offense. Jay Fiedler is just not a quarterback that can overcome a good defense by himself. The Miami defense contained Baltimore for one half of the game and then Baltimore started getting more first downs and driving down the field and eating up time. It was pretty awful and I left after Baltimore went up 14-3.

Next week we first have Green Bay at St Louis. The Rams look great this year and are favored to take it all. And mostly it's because of the Rams defense, which once again is capable though not overpowering. I think the only hope for the Packers is to make this into a shootout. Make this into "whoever scores last wins" and maybe the Packers can win. I don't think the Packer defense can stop the Rams but if the Packers go in with a "we have to score" mentality then who knows. But I think St Louis wins solidly.

The other NFC game is Philadelphia at Chicago. Now I know Chicago has a great record and they have something to prove to all the naysayers. But I have to admit I don't think Chicago is that good. They had a soft schedule. A good defense but not great. A subpar offense that can hold its own if the defense performs well. Still, they are playing at home and Philadelphia is not a great team either. Not having much of an opinion myself, I'll have to go with the home team and say Chicago will win a close game.

On the AFC side we have Baltimore at Pittsburg. Now Pittsburgh also looks awfully good. They have a great defense and an effective offense. Heck they have an offense that can actually score if they need to. I remember when Kordell Stewart was the second QB and just looked awful running the offense. Then they got a new offensive coordinator, simplified the offense, and Kordell Stewart has grown to be an offensive leader. Baltimore doesn't have as good a defense and not as good an offense in a defensive game. They lost at Pittsburgh earlier this year and only won their first meeting because Pittsburgh kicker Kris Brown missed four of five field goals. Pittsburg will win solidly.

The other AFC game is Oakland at New England. Now, New England won its last six games to capture the AFC East title. I'm not too sure just how they did it since I haven't seen them play, but they did. On the other side, which Oakland team will show up? The offensive machine that scored 38 this weekend or the team that didn't have the will to win the last three games of the regular season? I'm hoping for the former. It'll be cold and perhaps rainy in New England, but I think the Raiders will pull off a win to advance to the AFC Championship Game.