Titans 23, Jaguars 20: The Titans have had a bad habit of blowing games like this one against bad teams, especially when coming off a big win in their last previous outing. Maybe the bye week will help level the emotions. Whatever the case, the Titans should – and the emphasis here is on should – win this game at home. Whether they do is another matter altogether.
Texans 21, Colts 19: A battle for the AFC South lead. The Texans surely can’t be as bad as they looked against the Ravens – unless Baltimore is just that good (and it looks like they are). The Colts are solid and won’t be fazed by being on the road. Houston gets the nod at home on a short week, but just barely.
Browns 28, Dolphins 23: The Dolphins have played a little better in recent weeks, even winning a couple of times. The Browns are on extra rest, but have to overcome the whole Myles Garrett fiasco. The Dolphins might be just the elixir they need.
Lions 34, Redskins 21: The Lions have fallen out of contention, especially with Matthew Stafford injured. The Redskins, however, are horrible and might be only a Bengals win or two away from the first overall pick.
Raiders 21, Jets 20: The Jets have actually played better since being embarrassed by the Dolphins a few weeks ago. The Raiders are the better team and in contention in the AFC West. But a cross-country trip, especially going west to east, can be tough.
Bears 17, Giants 14: Chicago’s offense is stale and dragging down a top-flight defense. The Giants are just bad as they are in a complete rebuild. This matchup between two of the league’s oldest franchises won’t be much of a marquee game.
Saints 30, Panthers 22: The Panthers completely fell apart against the Falcons at home, the same way the Saints did the week before. Whether that is an aberration or not, the Saints are a Super Bowl contender, and the Panthers are just another middle of the pack team trying to stay afloat in the playoff chase.
Bills 18, Broncos 16: Allen versus Allen as Josh Allen leads the Bills against Brandon Allen and the Broncos. Buffalo’s defense is strong and Josh Allen is making enough plays on offense to have the Bills in playoff contention. The Broncos have been hard-luck losers, dropping six games by a touchdown or less this year.
Steelers 23, Bengals 14: The Steelers are probably still smarting from the whole Myles Garrett/Mason Rudolph incident, and they just might take it out on the winless Bengals this Sunday.
Falcons 30, Bucs 23: The Falcons were dead in the water weeks ago and have now posted impressive back-to-back road wins inside the division. Where was this a month ago when it could have saved their season? At any rate, the Falcons should stay hot, especially against the turnover-prone Jameis Winston and Tampa Bay.
Eagles 21, Seahawks 20: This game is darn near must-win for Philly, which is likely out of the wild-card chase and stays alive only because the NFC East is terrible. That said, it won’t be easy to take out the Seahawks with Russell Wilson playing at an MVP level.
Patriots 31, Cowboys 24: Bill Belichick and the Patriots will likely find a way to get it done once again. But the Cowboys do present some problems if Dak Prescott has a good game and Dallas can get Ezekiel Elliott going.
49ers 23, Packers 20: This one should be a fun game to watch. San Francisco’s defense is for real. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers won’t back down from the challenge. But this could end up more of a defensive struggle than many people realize because the 49ers defense is strong and Green Bay’s defense has been much improved this season.
Ravens 33, Rams 24: The Rams get to head across the country and see if they can figure out a way to stop Lamar Jackson from shredding them the way he has most of the rest of the league. The bet best for Los Angeles might be to get Todd Gurley and the running game cranked up to keep Jackson on the sidelines as much as possible.