Indianapolis at Carolina
11 a.m., Colts by 6 1/2
Life good for Colts in Pats’ shadow. They’ve won 11 straight games, one with Roman numerals. … Tale of two teams’ turnovers: Colts plus-9, Panthers plus-5. … Peyton Manning has 286 career TD tosses, two away from breaking Johnny U’s franchise record. … Home, sour home: Panthers 4-0 on road, 0-2 at home.
Prediction: Colts 30, Panthers 20
Detroit at Chicago
11 a.m., TV: Fox, Bears by 5
Bears still stinging from last encounter with Lions, when they allowed a Not For Long-record 34 points in fourth Q. … Official announcement of Cedric Benson’s draft-bust status expected any week now. Dude’s averaging 3.1 per. … Brian Griese has thrown for 703 yards in past two. One more and he’ll be worthy of washing Joe Montana’s car. … Motown rookie WR Calvin Johnson had first rushing TD, a 32-yarder, last week vs. Tampa Bay.
Prediction: Bears 23, Lions 20
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
11 a.m., Steelers by 3 1/2
Steelers looking to bounce back after loss to Bronx. And what better place to be than Cincy, where they’ve won five straight? … Stillers: first in the league in D, second in rushing. Is that any good? … Cincy wideout T.J. “Get Me Spell Check!” Houshmandzadeh has caught a TD pass in six straight.
Prediction: Steelers 34, Bengals 31
Oakland at Tennessee
11 a.m., Titans by 7
Vince Young figures to return for this one after sitting out last week. Question is, is he ever going to throw another TD pass? It’s trick-or-treat time and dude has three of ’em. … Go figure. A pair of LBs – Thomas Howard for Raiders, Keith Bulluck for Tenn – lead their clubs in INTs. Each has four, tops in the AFC.
Prediction: Titans 23, Raiders 16
Houston at San Diego
2:05 p.m., TV: KCNC-4, Chargers by 9
Chargers coming off bye week, double-digit W’s vs. Broncos, Raiders. … Rumors of LaDainian Tomlinson’s demise greatly exaggerated. L.T. leads the league with six rushing TDs. … Texans have turned corner. Unfortunately, when they arrived, a slew of injuries was awaiting them.
Prediction: Chargers 41, Texans 17
Jacksonville at Tampa Bay
2:05 p.m., Buccaneers by 3 1/2
Bucs QB Jeff Garcia has throw 270 straight without a pick, ranks second in the bid’ness in completion pct. (.704). So how is it he’s always looking for a job? TB Michael Bennett, acquired from Chiefs before the trade deadline, will play extensively for Bucs. … Garcia not the only QB with no INTs. Jags’ David Garrard has six TD tosses, no picks. Now for fine print: Garrard will miss this one, with Quinn Gray making first Not For Long start.
Prediction: Jaguars 23, Bucs 16
Green Bay at Denver
6:30 p.m. Monday, TV: ESPN and KCKC-4, Broncos by 3
Bronx shooting for third straight dubya on “MNF.” … Pack DE Aaron Kampman among league’s best-kept secrets: 20.5 sacks in past 22. … Broncos DE Elvis Dumervil has 14.5 career sacks – 10.5 in Denver, 4.0 on the road. … GB WR Greg Jennings, who played with Broncos TE Tony Scheffler at W. Michigan, has a TD catch in three of past four (57, 16 and 41 yards).
Prediction: Broncos 27, Packers 24
Philadelphia at Minnesota
11 a.m., Eagles by 1
That sound you just heard was yet another Andy Reid rumor. Don’t be shocked if he walks away after the season. Eagles have won six of past seven in series. … Vikings plus-6 in turnovers. So how in the heck fire are they 2-4? … News flash: Adrian Peterson is really good. He’s leading the league with 670 rush yards.
Prediction: Eagles 19, Vikings 13
New Orleans at San Francisco
2:15 p.m., Saints by 2
Saints have won back-to-back games after opening with four straight losses. … Drew Brees: one TD pass thru four games, four in his last two. … Saints minus-9 in turnovers, Niners minus-4. … San Fran offense offensive. Niners’ leading receiver has 21 catches, a typical double-header for Randy Moss.
Prediction: Saints 17, 49ers 16
N.Y. Giants vs. Miami
11 a.m., Giants by 9 1/2
Talk about your dream matchups. Unless David Beckham puts on shoulder pads, Wembley Stadium could be half-empty by the third quarter. … First the Dawfins lose starting QB Trent Green for the season. Now comes TB Ronnie Brown, gone for the year with a knee job. Only good news for the Phish is they aren’t the Rams.
Prediction: Giants 20, Dolphins 9
Cleveland at St. Louis
11 a.m., Browns by 3
Rams duking it out with Dolphins for top pick in the draft. … You know, if you look at his numbers, this Derek Anderson kid isn’t so bad after all. Browns QB has 14 TD passes, eight INTs. … Do not attempt this at home: Rams minus-12 in turnovers, putting them on pace for, like, a million.
Prediction: Browns 31, Rams 30
Buffalo at N.Y. Jets
2:05 p.m., Jets by 3
How ’bout them J-O-K-E Jets? … Chad Pennington will start this one for Jets. What’s that? You’re not alone, bubba. We can hardly contain our enthusiasm, … Bills the only club in the Not For Long to start a rookie QB (Trent Edwards) and a rookie TB (Marshawn Lynch).
Prediction: Jets 15, Bills 12
Washington at New England
2:15 p.m., TV: Fox, Patriots by 16
Redskins are 4-2, with a top 5 defense, but are virtually 17-point dogs. Only vs. the Pats. … Tom Brady on pace for a mere 62 TD passes. League record is 49 by PManning. … Brady has thrown 27 TD passes, ‘Skins’ Jason Campbell five. Any more questions from the congregation? … ‘Skins have won six straight vs. NE. Right. Like that’s going to continue.
Prediction: Patriots 34, Redskins 13
