Week 8 Predictions - 2012

Carolina Panthers (1-5) at Chicago Bears (5-1):

I figured the Panthers weren’t going to be a Super Bowl team, but I didn’t see this mess coming. The GM is gone, the backfield is a mess, the defense is leaking water, and of course, Cam Newton is sulking. Meanwhile, the Bears are rolling. Despite getting outgained against Detroit on Monday, Chicago’s defense was still the storyline, forcing three turnovers in the red zone, as well as another on a muffed punt. This one shouldn’t be close.

Chicago Bears: 27-14

 

San Diego Chargers (3-3) at Cleveland Browns (1-6):

It’s hard to come up with a description for the Chargers’ collapse against Denver before their bye week. Philip Rivers had no business trying to make most of the plays he was attempting on his interceptions, yet he kept doing it. Granted, he doesn’t have the receiving lineup he’s used to, but Antonio Gates appears healthy, and Ryan Mathews has proven himself a feature back. Of course, Rivers isn’t at fault for the defense, which has been subpar at best throughout the season.

Meanwhile, Cleveland seems to be headed in the opposite direction. Brandon Weeden has become a consistent performer, making plays to keep the Browns in the game. Trent Richardson will likely miss this week’s game because of ribs, but even so, Cleveland’s offense should be plenty productive. If Cleveland can shore up its run defense, it should be in line to pull off the upset.

Cleveland Browns: 21-17

 

Seattle Seahawks (4-3) at Detroit Lions (2-4):

It’s a bad time to be an offensive player in the NFC West. The Seahawks have simply shut down opponents left and right, as has everyone else in the division. In addition, all but one of Seattle’s games have been within one score, save for their 20-point shellacking of Dallas. That said, Russell Wilson is still a rookie and is prone to long stretches of ineptitude. Marshawn Lynch’s “Beast Mode” doesn’t seem nearly so beast this season, either. And finally, this team struggles mightily on the road, winning only against Carolina so far, in four tries.

Detroit, meanwhile, remains an enigma. The Lions outpaced the Bears, but thanks to numerous mental errors, managed to barely avoid being shut out. The defense, statistically, seems to be there, but at the same time, seems like it can’t stop anybody. That said, Calvin Johnson is too good to be silence for too long, Mikel Leshoure is proving himself a legitimate back, and Detroit’s back is inches from the wall. Lions should recover somewhat by taking one from Seattle here.

Detroit Lions: 23-20

 

Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5) at Green Bay Packers (4-3):

After Jacksonville’s epic collapse last week and the loss of Maurice Jones-Drew, I’ll be surprised if this is within 20.

Green Bay Packers: 35-13

 

Indianapolis Colts (3-3) at Tennessee Titans (3-4):

The Colts are fickle. Beat Green Bay, get blown out by the Jets, then beat Cleveland. Sometimes they win with great defense; sometimes they win by outscoring the opponent. I honestly have no idea what to make of this team, other than the fact that Andrew Luck is legit, and their run game is awful.

Tennessee, meanwhile seems to have finally found its offensive rhythm, which is great, since every other offense finds its rhythm against the Titans. The Colts aren’t going to be able to stop Chris Johnson this week, and Matt Hasselbeck doesn’t look nearly so old as he did a month ago.

Tennessee Titans: 31-21

 

New England Patriots (4-3) at St. Louis Rams (3-4):

Something’s up with Tom Brady. My theory is that he’s subtly trying to sabotage Bill Belichick as his career comes to a close, so he can simply transition to head coach when he’s done. Because he’s still putting up numbers, and New England’s offense still seems nearly unstoppable, but we’re seeing decidedly un-Brady mistakes coming at really bad times of the game. That could be a problem this week, going up against a Jeff Fisher-led defense that excels at turnovers.

Speaking of, since getting belted by Chicago in Week 3, St. Louis has managed to find ways to stay competitive in every game, win or lose. Unfortunately, the Rams’ very good home-field advantage disappears this week, since the two will be in London. Watch St. Louis pick apart the New England secondary to keep it close, but for New England to pull out a win in London like it always does.

New England Patriots: 24-21

 

Miami Dolphins (3-3) at New York Jets (3-4):

Don’t look now, but Ryan Tannehill is averaging 250 yards a game, and the Dolphins have a legitimate offense, despite the lack of a true No. 1 receiver. Reggie Bush has been stymied of late, but Miami has to love the idea of facing the porous New York run D coming off the bye.

There’s no room for moral victories in the NFL, but the Jets’ loss to New England last week showed that the talent gap in the AFC East is very, very slim. Unfortunately, that holds true for the space between the Dolphins and the Jets as well. Look for Miami to pull off the upset here.

Miami Dolphins: 20-17

 

Atlanta Falcons (6-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (3-3):

Oh so many story lines here. Obviously, the Falcons, at 6-0, are the team’s lone unbeaten, and those wins have not been pretty. Atlanta’s had plenty of time to tweak those flaws during the bye week.

However, Philly’s had the same bye week as well, and nobody’s better coming off the bye than Andy Reid. Michael Vick has had more than his fair share of issues, but the Eagles’ defense, homefield advantage and Reid’s tactics should be enough to bring the Falcons back to earth.

Philadelphia Eagles: 17-14

 

Washington Redskins (3-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3-3):

It’s almost unreal how good Washington’s offense is, considering how young most of the skill-position starters are. Of course, when RGIII leads a game-winning touchdown drive with less than 2 minutes to play, and the defense promptly gives up one of its own one play later, it’s hard to win games, even with a high-flying offense. If Washington wants to win this week, the secondary will have to stop the big play.

Pittsburgh has struggled to stay at .500, and even now, and it doesn’t really make sense. True, the defense has had more than its fair share of injuries, and the run game is nonexistent, thanks to injuries, but Pittsburgh has coughed up close losses to two bad teams in Oakland and Tennessee, and the Steelers need to be on full alert for the same thing again this week. That said, Antonio Brown looked amazing last week, and Roethlisberger is picking secondaries apart right now, despite not being able to rely on a solid play-action. The Steelers should pull this one out in exciting fashion.

Pittsburgh Steelers: 31-28

 

Oakland Raiders (2-4) at Kansas City Chiefs (1-5):

Don’t look now, but Carson Palmer is becoming a legitimate NFL threat again. He’s averaging almost 300 yards per game, and he has yet to have a fully healthy receiving corps. If Darren McFadden can get started again, this is an Oakland team that will keep AFC West coaches up late at night. Of course, it won’t matter how McFadden plays Sunday, since the Chargers are going up against the hapless Chiefs. Kansas City has some incredible playmakers on both sides of the ball, but with Brady Quinn at quarterback and Romeo Crennel at coach, there’s nothing to glue this team together.

Oakland Raiders: 24-17

 

New York Giants (5-2) at Dallas Cowboys (3-3):

As ridiculous as Eli Manning has been so far this season, the highlight of the Giants’ offense has to be Ahmad Bradshaw’s resurgence. After returning from his neck injury, Bradshaw has proceeded to gash opponents, though he did struggle against Washington last week. The Cowboys’ running game has its own woes right now, with DeMarco Murray out and Felix Jones hurt. Add that to Tony Romo’s inconsistencies, and New York is looking at a revenge game in Dallas this week.

New York Giants: 21-20

 

New Orleans Saints (2-4) at Denver Broncos (3-3):

Boy do the Saints look good. Drew Brees had almost 300 yards at halftime last week, and Marques Colston seems to be fully recovered. But hidden in Brees’ stat line was how bad the Saints were in the second half against Tampa Bay. He threw for less than 100 yards, and the run game fared no better. In fact, the Saints were a silly play by Mike Williams (he willingly ran out of bounds before catching the game tying touchdown pass) away from heading to overtime.

Denver, meanwhile, has the opposite problem, starting out way too slow in the first half, with a defense that seems to enjoy letting opponents run up the score before trying to bounce back. But Denver has had a bye week to fix this, Peyton Manning looks unbelievable right now, and the Saints’ porous run D will help Willis McGahee balance the offense this week. The Saints get Joe Vitt back this week, but it won’t be enough to knock off the Broncos on the road.

Denver Broncos: 34-28

 

San Francisco 49ers (5-2) at Arizona Cardinals (4-3):

This one’s going to be a problem for San Francisco. Arizona isn’t going to give Frank Gore another 100-yard game, and will most likely force Alex Smith to beat the Cardinals through the air. The problem if he doesn’t? Well, Arizona’s offense is, at best, horrible, but a game focused on defenses and killing clock certainly rings a little more favorably with the Cardinals. Look for Arizona to recover from its three straight losses in the best way possible.

Arizona Cardinals: 13-10