What a strange week it was with the Browns / Bengals game… bizarre. Then there were the Vikings and Saints laying eggs in their respective road games. Some might even believe that the Redskin win on the road on Monday night was a shocker, but not we hognosticators. Probably the biggest surprise came in Carolina, where the Texans put it to the Panthers. Regrets here for not picking them last week, despite the desire to do so.
This week has some very interesting match-ups that will shake up the hognostication standings for sure. Eleven games with a 4.5-point spread or less. The overall results of the week’s hognosticating won’t be as pretty as weeks one and two.
Indianapolis at Houston
If he doesn’t play, the loss of Andre Johnson is huge for the Texans. Without him, the Texans don’t have enough weapons to keep up with the Colts’ scoring machine. Indy is going for their third 3-0 start in a row and fourth in five seasons, while the Texans are looking for their first in franchise history. Make no mistake, the Texans are much improved, but won’t sneak up on the Colts like they did in a late season win last December, especially without Johnson.
Pick ~ Colts
San Diego at Green Bay
Norv has screwed up the Chargers quicker than we thought. San Diego went from having a head coach who was an excellent motivator to one that can’t motivate at all.
Pick ~ Packers
Minnesota at Kansas City
Kansas City can’t be as bad as they’ve looked in the first two weeks of the season. The Vikings can’t win without a quarterback, can they?
Pick ~ Chiefs
Detroit at Philadelphia
The Eagles are better than the Faiders and the Vikings. Detroit won’t go 3-0 and the Eagles won’t fall to 0-3. However, this one could be close with injuries mounting in the Philthy secondary, considering the Lions WR corps and how well Kitna is playing. It would be nice to see Philthy drop another.
Pick ~ Eagles
Buffalo at New England
The Patriots will get their eighth straight victory over the Bills and make it thirteen of the last fourteen. The Pats already have a 2-game lead over each team in their division. They’ll hold a 3.5 game lead over the Bills on Sunday after only 3 weeks in the season.
Pick ~ Patriots
Miami at New York Jets
This is a tough pick. How bad is Pennington’s ankle? Neither one of these teams has been able to run the ball. However, both teams have played stiff competition in the first two weeks of the season. Miami looked terrible last week at home against the Pukes.
Pick ~ Jets
San Francisco at Pittsburgh
One heck of a start for first year / first time head coach, Mike Tomlin. The Steelers will go 3-0 for the first time since 1992, Cowher’s first season. Pittsburgh is rushing for nearly 200 yards a game, while giving up around 75, a formula that could get Tomlin a divisional title in his debut season.
Pick ~ Steelers
Arizona at Baltimore
The Raisins are too tough at home and should have McNair and Ogden back on Sunday. The Cardinals are not a good road team, and Leinart and James are going to have to deal with Baltimore’s run-stuffing defense and outstanding secondary.
Pick ~ Raisins
St. Louis at Tampa Bay
Steven Jackson’s sideline tirade won’t provide enough of a spark to overcome the Rams’ offensive line inadequacies. The Bucs played well at home last weekend, upsetting the Saints, and should continue to improve this week against the struggling Rams.
Pick ~ Bucs
Jacksonville at Denver
Travis Henry has started off the season on fire, while the Jags are struggling with their running game. The question is will this one come down to another last second field goal by Elam?
Pick ~ Broncos
Cincinnati at Seattle
The Seahawks are an NFC-best 27-6 at home since 2003. Marvin Lewis’ defense and special teams are a joke. What a waste of an excellent offense.
Pick ~ Hawks
Cleveland at Oakland
The Browns are playing for a consecutive victory for the first time in nearly four years. However, Lane Kiffin insists on starting Josh McCown rather than Culpepper. Tough pick, but just can’t see picking the Brownies.
Pick ~ Raiders
Carolina at Atlanta
More than likely Harrington’s last start with the Falcons and possibly his career. Atlanta is terrible, and the Panthers know the importance of this divisional match up.
Pick ~ Panthers
New York Giants at Washington
As great as Monday night’s victory was, it’ll all be for not, if the Giants aren’t put away on Sunday. Time to dominate and send a message for round two in mid-December.
Pick ~ Redskins
Dallas at Chicago
Regrettably, the Bears won’t be able to score enough points to keep up with the Pukes.
Pick ~ Pukes
Tennessee at New Orleans
Don’t pick against VY in primetime.
Pick ~ Titans
ARTICLE TOOLS 
