Denver at Kansas City
Larry Johnson is back in business after a slow start to the season and has quietly carried the Chiefs to wins in four of their last five. During that five-game span, Johnson reeled in 137 yards on the ground and cashed in with nine rushing scores. Trent Green resumed playing for Kansas City last week but didn’t really have much of an impact, throwing only 16 passes (completing nine). He won’t need to do a lot this week and will likely lean heavily on LJ to pound the ball. Denver carries with it one of the league’s most rugged defenses, but is coming off a discouraging loss to the Chargers last week. The Broncos put 27 points on the board, even with QB Jake Plummer playing horribly again (13/28 with a pick), but Denver just couldn’t stop LaDainian Tomlinson (four TDs). Denver is among the league leaders in rushing defense. But LJ, like LT, is a different commodity. He’ll have a big day and the Chiefs will win in a big upset.
Chicago at New England
In this match-up of NFL heavyweights featuring the top two defences in football, each team’s quarterback will decide who comes out on top. It will come down to New England’s Tom Brady and Chicago’s Rex Grossman, and which of the two makes the more crucial play will decide the game’s outcome. Grossman is slowly rounding back into form (four TDs past two games) after posting a stinker (three picks) in the Bears’ first loss of the season a few weeks back. Brady, meanwhile, got the Patriots back on track last week with a stellar performance against the Packers. The future Hall of Famer threw four TD passes in the Patriots 35-0 thrashing of Green Bay and once again came up big for New England in a must-win situation. There’s no way I can pick against Brady and the Patriots at home in a pressure packed game like this. Patriots win in a close one.
San Francisco at St. Louis
If you had told me before the season started that the 49ers would be a .500 team and actually contending for the NFC West Crown this year, I’d have called you crazy. But believe it or not, San Fran is for real, as NFC’s leading rusher Frank Gore heads the charge. Gore already has 1,043 yards on the ground so far this year, and went off for 212 (8.8 yds per carry) in the 49ers’ 20-14 upset over the Seahawks this past week. The Rams, on the other hand, started the season in a promising fashion, winning four of their first five, but had things go downhill quick. St. Louis has lost five in a row, while allowing nearly 28 points against during that five-game span. The Rams are the worst in the NFC at stopping the run, giving them little chance of beating the 49ers. Expect Gore to have another big day as the 49ers add their name to the list of post-season contenders. Wait, did I just say that?
