NFL week 9 open thread

The Pittsburgh Steelers return from their week off to meet the Denver Broncos in the Mile High City.  Denver comes off its first loss of the season, a 30-7 drubbing at the hands of Baltimore in which their defense got blasted for the first time all season.  They’ll be looking for some revenge at home, but I think the Steelers can beat them on both sides of the ball.  The Steelers’ defense has improved the last couple of games, and their offense has more potential.  Plus, the Steelers are hard to beat on Monday nights, even on the road.  I’ll pick Pittsburgh in a good game, 23-20.

Last week I went 3-3, my first non-winning week, and my record is now 30-11.  Normally I’d pick the Vikings game, but Brett Favre and the purple gang have the week off.  I’ll put my record on the line with these picks instead:

• Dallas at Philadelphia – All right, Philly proved something last week — they can look invincible at times, even if they did lose to the Raiders a couple of weeks ago.  Dallas is also an inconsistent team, and probably more so than the Eagles, who have the home-field advantage.  It should be a good game between two rivals, but I’ll pick the Eagles in a shoot-out, 35-27.
• Baltimore at Cincinnati – Baltimore is usually overrated, and the Bengals usually underrated.  Still, both are coming off blowouts of good teams, and the Bengals are at home.  I hate to do it, but I’ll take the Bengals, 17-10.
• Arizona at Chicago – Two underperforming teams meet, with Chicago having home-field advantage.  I think Chicago gets the best of the Cardinals, 21-10.
• San Diego at New York Giants – The Giants have lost three games in a row, and I’ve picked them to win every single time.  They’re too good to lose four in a row, which is usually the kind of logic that gets me in trouble in Vegas (and with Republicans).  I’ll pick them to beat the inconsistent Bolts, 27-17.
• Houston at Indianapolis – A year ago, this would have been a walkover.  In 2009, the Houston Texans are 5-3 and trail the Colts in the AFC South in second place.  The Colts have struggled a bit while maintaining their unbeaten record, and their schedule gets tougher in the next two weeks.  Safety Bob Sanders has been lost for the season, further weakening a defense that has been decimated by injury already.  I’ll still pick the Colts, but don’t be surprised if this becomes the upset of the week.  If this was in Houston, I wouldn’t go with Peyton Manning and 24-20 Colts, but that’s my pick for today.

Blowback