 |
| Texans quarterback Matt Schaub needs to play much better this Sunday against the Ravens in order to help his team win. (Jeremy Brevard) |
Despite both these teams having two of the best records in the NFC, they both come into Sunday's match backsliding. After starting the season 5-0, the Cardinals have now lost to the Rams and Bills. Neither one is the scariest of opponents to say the least. They will have to look to get back on track with another quarterback change. John Skelton started the season, but was injured in Week 1. Kevin Kolb stepped in and played mostly well, but he has bruised ribs from last week. That means that Skelton is the starter once again. Regardless, the Cardinals need to move forward as much as possible.
The Vikings lost last week largely due to their inability to control Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III. Despite the loss, the Vikings offense continues to look better. Quarterback Christian Ponder is quietly playing very well this season. He is still a young talent full of potential. Running back Adrian Peterson may be getting older and more banged up, but he is still one of the best in the league. Young wide receiver Percy Harvin has emerged as a focal point of the team as well. He leads the NFL in receptions with 49.
Prediction: Vikings 20 Cardinals 16
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-3) @ Cincinnati Bengals (3-3) - 8:20 PM EST (Sunday), NBC
These two AFC North rivals come into their primetime matchup scuffling. The Steelers have a losing record due largely to injuries and their inability to close out road games. They should have been able to salt away wins over the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans, but were unable to due to their lack of an established running game that had been missing starting tailback Rashard Mendenhall until recently. The Steelers need to get Mendenhall going to take some of the pressure off of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben has plenty of weapons, but he needs time to get them the football.
The Bengals come into Sunday night off losses to the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns. In the Dolphins game, it was the offense that struggled; while in the Browns game, it was the defense that did. The one consistent between the two losses is that the Bengals were careless with the football throughout. In the two games, they had a combined seven turnovers, including five interceptions by quarterback Andy Dalton. He will need to be much more efficient against the Steelers defense.
Prediction: Steelers 27 Bengals 24
3. New York Jets (3-3) @ New England Patriots (3-3) - 4:25 PM EST, CBS
All four AFC East teams come into Sunday with a 3-3 record, but is the division's two fiercest rivals squaring off in Foxborough. The Jets went into last week's game against the Indianapolis Colts in need of a win. They turned in their best all-around performance of the season in a 35-9 rout. Running back Shonn Greene carried the heavy load picking up 161 yards on the ground and three scores. Quarterback Matt Sanchez threw two touchdown passes, but more importantly no interceptions. The Jets will need more of the same from both heading into a hostile environment Sunday.
The Patriots' three losses have come by a combined four points as they have struggled to close out games. This is surprisingly uncharacteristic of the Bill Belichick era. While the Patriots have utilized a more balanced offense this year with running back Stevan Ridley playing well, one has to think that at some Tom Brady is going to take over, like he did in the second half of a game against the Buffalo Bills earlier this year. With the Patriots seemingly lacking that killer instinct, Brady needs to step up and motivate his team to develop it.
Prediction: Patriots 31 Jets 20
2. Detroit Lions (2-3) @ Chicago Bears (4-1) - 8:30 PM EST (Monday), ESPN/WatchESPN
Detroit is finally back on track in their pursuit of the Bears, who are the NFC North leaders. The Lions ended a three-game losing skid with an overtime win over the Philadelphia Eagles last week. Their offense that dominated teams last season has simply been out of sync completely. In five games this year, quarterback Matthew Stafford has only four passing touchdowns compared to five interceptions. When your leading rusher, Mikel Leshoure, only has 196 rushing yards and one touchdown over that span, it compounds upon on already significant problem.
Other than a Thursday night loss at the Green Bay Packers, the Bears have quietly looked like one of the best teams in football. They could afford quarterback Jay Cutler to throw a few less interceptions (seven on the season), but the balanced running back tandem of Matt Forte and Michael Bush has worked well. The Bears defense has played solid as well. They have been particularly dominant against the run, leading the league in allowing only 65.8 yards per game on the ground.
Prediction: Bears 27 Lions 17
1. Baltimore Ravens (5-1) @ Houston Texans (5-1) - 1:00 PM EST, CBS
The Ravens come in playing solid football, but will have to find a way to win without two of their best defensive players. Linebacker Ray Lewis and cornerback Lardarius Webb have both suffered season-ending injuries. They will need players through the unit to step up to help fill those big shoes. Offensively, the Ravens continue to center around quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice. Both played very efficiently in the team's win over the Dallas Cowboys last week.
The Texans will look to rebound from their first defeat of the season, a 42-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers came out strong and the Texans never recovered. Quarterback Matt Schaub did not play very well as he threw two interceptions and failed to throw a touchdown pass. Furthermore, running back Arian Foster was limited to 29 yards on 17 carries. The defense is still figuring out life without All-Pro linebacker Brian Cushing. The Texans well need to play significantly better to have a shot at winning on Sunday.
Prediction: Texans 31 Ravens 27
No comments:
Post a Comment