Most Interesting Games This Week

New York @ Cincinnati - New York is a much better team than Cinci. Last week was the Bengals definitely taking one off, but I wouldn't be surprised if they come out trying and meet a similar end. All year the Bengals have played tight games. It's like their presence on the field stalls both them and their opponents, and neither team can put on much of a show. Only twice have the Bengals scored more than 30 points, and only twice have they allowed 30 or more points. If they're going to win, they need to come out firing. Otherwise the Jets will be able to match them in the slop and trenches.

Philadelphia @ Dallas - If only they could both lose. I've been saying Phillie's better for a while now, but I'm not sure that's true. Dallas has a defense for some reason. Can they choke? Absolutely. But so can the Eagles.

Baltimore @ New England - If only they could both lose. On paper, you could make a case for New England being the best team in the AFC and Baltimore being not far behind. But, that's bullshit. New England is soft in the secondary, while Baltimore is weak in the receiving corps. This game should be decided on the strengths though, with Baltimore needing points off turnovers and the Pats needing Moss to pick up the slack.

Green Bay @ Arizona - Green Bay is my dark horse in the NFC for the obvious reason that they're very good. Arizona, on the other hand, has taken 16 games to prove they're very mediocre. But they did that last season and still came up big. You'd think Charles Woodson would provide an interesting matchup against the Cardinal receiving corps, but I was not at all impressed with his work against Santonio when we saw the Pack in December. The way these two teams can score points, I'd be surprised if there was a beat down. More likely that one will escape this game and move on.