The Chippers Top 5

Houston Texans (9 – 1) vs. Detroit Lions (4 – 6)

The Texans are due for a letdown and it’s going to happen on the road against a desperate Detroit team.  Houston barely survived at home last week against a much weaker Jacksonville squad.

Prediction:  Lions  30  Texans 27 

Minnesota Vikings (6 – 4) vs. Chicago Bears (7 – 3)

Maybe Jay Cutler is back for this one.  Either way, the Bears are good enough to control the Vikings offense and win this one. The Bears look to bounce back from a bitchslappin against the 49ers. The Vikings won’t be able to take advantage of the Bears defense the way SF did. Bears win a defensive battle.

Prediction:  Bears  24 Vikings 17 

Pittsburgh Steelers (6 – 4) vs. Cleveland Browns (2 – 8)

3^rd string QB Charlie Batch gets the start for the Steelers. Terry Bradshaw wasn’t available. The Browns have the talent to keep it close. Iit seems like a good time for Cleveland to knock off another divisional rival but as long as Pittsburgh doesn’t suffer a Week 11 hangover, it should win this one.

Prediction:  Steelers  21  Browns 13 

San Francisco 49ers (7 – 2 – 1) vs. New Orleans Saints (5 – 5)

Yes, the 49ers looked very impressive vs. the Bears, but this is a whole different ballgame. Drew Brees and the Saints offense start fast and will stay ahead of San Fran in this one. It won’t matter whether it’s Alex Smith or Colin Kaepernick under center. The 49ers are going against a hot team.

Prediction:  Saints 35  49ers 31 

Green Bay Packers (7 – 3) vs. New York Giants (6 – 4)

Was arm fatigue the root of Eli Manning’s problems the last three weeks? The bye week should have cured him. Also the Giants are the reigning Super Bowl champs, and they took care of the Packers with ease in their last meeting. We know the front seven of the Giants is fierce. New York wins a close one.

Prediction: G-Men 38  Packers 35

The Chipper’s Top 5

Chicago Bears (7 – 2) vs. San Francisco 49ers (6- 2- 1)

Both are coming off tough games, and both May be playing a backup QB. Both will both struggle to move the ball—the Bears may force a turnover or two—SF is simply a more complete team and will be able to move the ball via play-action once Frank Gore wears the Bears down.

Prediction:  49ers 24  Bears  13

Baltimore Ravens (7 – 2) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (6 – 3)

The Ravens are banged up, putting them at a disadvantage, but when it comes to rivalries things like injuries tend to be forgotten. Ray Rice can duplicate what Jamaal Charles did in Week 10, giving the Ravens a huge division win.

Prediction:  Ravens 34  Steelers  24

Indianapolis Colts(6 – 3) vs. New England Patriots (6 – 3)

The Colts have all the tools to make this a good game: A QB  who can throw and receivers who can catch. This could be a shootout. If New England can capitalize on the Colts’ porous run defense, it should be able to pick up the win.

Prediction:  Patriots  37  Colts  28

San Diego Chargers (4 – 5) vs. Denver Broncos (6 – 3)

The last time these two teams met, SD melted in the 2nd half and gave Denver the game.  That happened again against Tampa Bay last week. The Broncos may be without stud D-End Elvis Dumervil, but it won’t matter. Manning is too much on offense, and Von Miller, too much on defense.

Prediction:  Broncos  37  Chargers  24

New York Jets vs. St. Louis Rams

The Rams took rival San Francisco to the edge and ended up with a tie. That won’t be an issue this week. The Jets are just too inconsistent on both sides of the ball and is just not a very good team. The Rams aren’t a powerhouse, but they are playing better and are tougher at home.

Prediction:  Rams 24  Jets 13

The Chippers Top 5

Predictions for Week 10:

This will be a close one. The Lions are on the rise while the Vikings are stumbling. This is a chance to get back on track for the Vikings. Adrian Peterson will carry the offense and grind out the clock to keep the Lions’ offense off the field.

Prediction:  Vikings 23 Lions 17

The Saints can run the ball and will work off play-action and try to controll the clock. They’ll have to against a Falcons team that will be able to move up and down the field at will against a bad Saints defense. The Saints are at home and divisional opponents always play each other tough. Who Dat??  It’s a W for the Saints.

Prediction:  Saints 28 Falcons 27

The Chargers are good enough to beat the Bucks, but it’s a lot of traveling in the last two weeks even off a long week. You can’t bet on Norv Turner. The Bucs have been the best team in the NFC South recently & TB has found a gem in rookie running back Doug Martin.

Prediction:  Buccaneers 34 Chargers 31

Two teams on the brink of a clearance sale. The difference will be which quarterback has fewer turnovers, and there may be plenty. The Eagles get the edge here, thanks to LeSean McCoy and the speed of their offense against a banged-up Dallas defense.

Prediction:  Eagles 21 Cowboys 17

Solider Field is a tough place to play no matter the time of year, but in the cold of mid-November, with the Bears’ defense playing as well as any in the NFL, Houston will run into a brick wall and suffer its second loss of the season.

Prediction:  Bears  24  Texans  23

The Chippers Top 5

Predictions for Week 9:

Denver Broncos @ Cincinnati Bengals

Peyton Manning has never lost to the Bengals in his career, and it won’t start this week. The only way Cincinnati can get out of this game with a win is to outscore, and out-pass, the veteran Manning. Second-year quarterback Andy Dalton has A.J. Green on his side, but it won’t be enough.

Prediction:  Broncos  28  Bengals  14

Pittsburgh Steelers @ New York Giant

Eli and Big Ben have put their respective teams on their shoulders and are playing great football this season. So the tale of the tape there doesn’t give any real clear advantage. Ahmad Bradshaw is going to have tough sledding against the Steelers, but at least the Giants have a chance to move the ball along the ground. They’ll win for that reason alone.

Prediction:  Giants 21 Steelers 17

Dallas Cowboys @ Atlanta Falcons

The mistake-prone, depleted Cowboys could be in for a very long night in Atlanta. As much as the Falcons are beatable, they appear to be picking up steam after a bye and a nice victory over the Eagles.

Prediction: Falcons 38 Cowboys 24

Philadelphia Eagles @ New Orleans Saints

The Eagles should be able to put points up regardless of the quarterback situation, but if they couldn’t stop Atlanta there’s little reason to believe they can go into the Superdome and slow down the powerful Saints offense. 

Prediction:  Saints 34 Eagles 24

Tampa Buccaneers @ Oakland Raiders

Oakland’s only shot at winning lies on Carson Palmer’s shoulders. If he can stay mistake-free and torch this Buccaneers secondary (like many have before) Oakland may have a chance—a small one.

 Prediction: Raiders 24 Buccaneers 23

The Chippers Top 5

Predictions for Week 8:

San Diego Chargers (3 – 3) @ Cleveland Browns (1 – 6)

Upset city. The Chargers tend to play down to their opponents, and while the Browns have struggled, their defense is good enough to bring out the Philip Rivers interception mode.

Prediction:  Browns 21  Chargers 20

Seattle Seahawks (4 – 3) @ Detroit Lions (2 – 4)

Seattle doesn’t play well on the road, but the Detroit Lions don’t play well anywhere. The Seahawks’ secondary will keep Calvin Johnson out of the end zone and make Matthew Stafford pay behind the Lions’ struggling offensive line.

Prediction:  Seahawks 21  Lions 20

Indianapolis Colts (3 – 3) @ Tennessee Titans (3 – 4)

Matt Hasselbeck gets yet another start for the Titans. He’s been effective, to say the least. Andrew Luck has been up and down, but the ups sure give you the sense that we’re watching the beginning of a great career. Unfortunately, for Colts fans, there isn’t a win to enjoy this week.

Prediction:  Titans 21  Colts 20

Miami Dolphins (3 -3) @ New York Jets (3 – 4)

If the Jets play the way they did against New England, they’ll win. The problem is Rex Ryan’s team generally plays down to its competition. If the Jets do that this week, Ryan Tannehill will lead his Dolphins to a win.

Prediction:  Jets 21 Dolphins 20

Atlanta Falcons (6 – 0) @ Philadelphia Eagles (3 – 3)

The Falcons have barely survived the last three weeks and appear to be due for a loss. The Eagles are in the opposite situation. Desperate and in front of the home crowd, I think they’ll pull it off.

Prediction:  Eagles 21  Falcons 20