Lock:
New England (-3) over Chicago
Super Bowl preview? I don’t think so. Chicago squeaked by Minnesota, surrendered 20 unanswered points to Arizona, was embarrassed by Miami and gave up a 22-yard bomb to mama’s boy Chad Pennington. If Rex Grossman is error free the Bears have a chance to win any game, but against New England’s 3-4 defense, this line is a joke.
Upset Special:
Pittsburgh (+3) over Baltimore
Pittsburgh managed to make Oakland look like an NFL franchise in week eight (no easy task) and left Cleveland fans wondering if Charlie Frye was actually worth his $1.25 million contract. The defending champs have looked awful at times this season, but there’s a reason they are only three-point underdogs against an 8-2 team on the road. (Assistant editor’s note: Sean has the ability to take any Steelers matchup and line and make it seem like Pittsburgh will win hands down.)
Game 1:
Arizona (+6) over Minnesota
After losing to San Francisco, Green Bay and Miami in successive weeks, the Minnesota Vikings took a team cruise aboard the “Love Boat” in order to forget about their problems. Are you really going to put your lunch money on this franchise?
Game 2:
Houston (+6) over Jets
The Jets are the worst .500 team since the 2006 49ers, winning just one game by six points or more since September. I’ll also take the under, please; less than 400 people will tune in to watch this trivial engagement.