Arizona Cardinals at Detroit Lions
Both squads try to stop a two week losing sarcasm. Jeff Garcia and Joey Harrington of the Lions are banged up. Coach Mariucci isn’t sure which QB will start on Sunday. Injuries are also on the rise for the Cardinals. Last year’s purse leader DE Betrand Berry has a torn pectoral muscle and could be out for the season. Kurt Warner returned under center last week. He was intercepted 3 times and captured four times.
Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are coming off a big win over their AFC nemesis, the New England Patriots. Manning and the Colts appear to have finally gotten over the hump when Manning won for the first time at Foxboro last Monday night. The 1-7 Texans will have their work cut out for them, but they showed signs of improvement last Sunday in a 7-point loss to Jacksonville in which they held the Jaguars to just 88 yards rushing.
Minnesota Vikings vs. New York Giants
Manning, who has made great strides since last season, will try to keep the Giants undefeated at home, where they are currently 4-0. His defense has only allowed 6 points and a total of 288 yards in his last two games. The Vikings are coming off a big win over the Detroit Lions led by Brad Johnson, who replaces the injured Culpepper. Brad Johnson always plays well at Giants Stadium where in two starts he has completed 70% of his passes for 520 yards with 5 TDs and no INTs.
San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears
The Bears are on a 4 game winning streak and have one of the best defenses in the league. They have shown glimpses of the ’85 Monsters of the Midway. Rookie QB Kyle Orton continues to improve each week and is the current favorite for rookie of the year. The 49ers are on their fourth quarterback of the season, 2004 second-round draft pick Cody Pickett, as Tim Rattay, No. 1 draft pick Alex Smith and Ken Dorsey are injured.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Kyle Boller will return at center as the Ravens try to end a three-game losing streak. Safety, Ed Reed and Linebacker Ray Lewis, winners of 3 of the last 5 defensive player of the year awards, will miss another game this week. The Jaguars have won 3 of their last 4. Byron Leftwich continues to play well. He led two 80-plus-yard touchdown drives in the fourth quarter last week to beat Houston.
Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills
With Priest Holmes out for the season, Larry Johnson will get even more carries as we saw against Oakland last week when he looked like a Pro Bowl running back, rushing for 107 yards and two TDs, including the game-winner when he jumped over the pile with seconds remaining. Buffalo is coming off a bye week and, despite being two games under 500, is in second place in the division behind New England.
New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
The Patriots fell to 4-4 on the season after losing to the Colts last Monday night, and are looking to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time since December 2002. Their 4 losses add up to the number they’ve had in the previous 2. seasons. The Dolphins have dropped 3 of their last 5 goals with a win on Sunday that can top New England in the AFC East. Miami’s two-pronged running game of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams is averaging more than 5 yards per carry for 133 yards over the past three games, offsetting Gus Ferotte’s 29th-rank among NFL quarterbacks.
Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
The first-place Broncos take on the last-place Raiders for the 90th time during the regular season. Even though these teams are at opposite ends of the AFC West, expect a close game. Kerry Collins is having a phenomenal season and Lamont Jordan finally looks like a standout running back, as he outplayed the Chiefs in the first half last week. The running game of Denver’s Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell is the second-best in the NFL, combining for 1,366 yards on the season, and has taken some pressure off Jake Plummer, who is having a breakout year, by limiting the costly interceptions that have plagued his career.
New York Jets vs. Carolina Panthers
Despite a slow 1-2 start, the Panthers turned it around and are now one of the NFC’s favorites for the Super Bowl. Despite having one of the best backfields in the NFC in Jake Delhomme and Stephen Davis, the Panthers’ Defense has made them Super Bowl contenders. They have 15 sacks in their last three games and 17 during their winning streak. Brooks Bollinger will make his second career NFL start for the Jets for injured veteran Vinny Testaverde. Bollinger entered last week in the third quarter, throwing for 2 TDs on a comeback attempt that fell short against the Chargers.
Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta is coming off a 17-10 win over Miami in which Michael Vick posted his best passing numbers of the year. The Falcons also boast the best running game in the league led by Warrick Dunn. The Green Bay Packers are having a dismal season at just 1-7, too bad for Favre, who seriously contemplated retirement after last season. Favre has never lost more than 8 games in his previous 13 seasons in Green Bay, but it looks like that mark will be surpassed this year.
Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington is coming off a big win against last year’s NFC champion Eagles that moved them into second place in the division along with inactive Dallas. Mark Brunell looks like the quarterback he was in Jacksonville, climbing out of the pocket and throwing shots on the run, while Clinton Portis mounts a solid running game. After starting the season 4-0, the Bucs have slipped. They suffered a 34-14 loss to Carolina last Sunday, and Brian Griese’s replacement, Chris Sims, continues to struggle, throwing 2 interceptions and losing a fumble as he was sacked five times last week.
St. Louis Rams at Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks are 17-3 in their last 20 regular season games at home under Holmgren. Shaun Alexander is the NFL’s leading rusher with 949 yards on the season. He rushed for more than 170 yards last week with two touchdowns. The Rams’ skill players have been injured but are expected to return this Sunday. With Bulger, Holt and Bruce back, the Rams will bring a much better offense to the table.
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
A rusty Charlie Batch took over the quarterback duties from Ben Roethlisberger last week when Roethlisberger had knee surgery. It was Batch’s first start in four years. The Steelers’ top running backs, Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker, are also banged up and listed as questionable. The Browns are coming off a win against Tennessee last week after losing their previous three games. Reuben Droughns is coming off a stellar performance in which he had a season-best 116 rushing yards and added another 73 receiving yards.
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Owens will not be in uniform again this week when the Eagles meet the Cowboys on Monday night. It seems that Owens’ apology was too late. Philadelphia, at 4-4, is just a glimpse of the NFC powerhouse it was a season ago. They’re the worst running team in the league, but Westbrook thinks he’ll get more carries in TO’s absence. Dallas is coming off a bye week that will allow running back Julius Jones to return to the lineup. Drew Bledsoe has risen from the dead and is having a very solid season shooting the ball.
