* Texans -14* Texans/Rams UNDER 43.5This game is pretty clear cut in my mind. The Houston defense has been playing much better lately, and the Rams offense has been terrible all year. Now that the team has been hit with Swine Flu, and won't have Steven Jackson in the game to aid them (EDIT: When I originally wrote this I had seen reports declaring him out. Now I see GTD, so that's obviously a bit annoying...), their offense is really going to struggle moving the ball. Kyle Boller is questionable to play, however given his lack of practicing this week I'd be surprised to see him out there, leaving the Rams with their 3rd string QB yet again. The Rams' defense will struggle keeping the Texans' offense in check, and the only way I see this total going over is if the Texans push it over with a mammoth point total. Worst case scenario we split these picks and eat a little juice, but I think there's a great chance we win them both with the Texans winning with a score in the neighborhood of 31-10.* Browns +2* Browns/Chiefs UNDER 37This is a pretty unique game in the sense that both teams are bottom 8 in the league in rushing and passing yards/attempt on both offense and defense! It's pretty abysmal to be so bad in those phases of the game on both sides of the field. However, lately the Browns have shown signs of righting the ship, as they upset the Steelers on Thursday night, and haven't turned the ball over in their last four games. The Chiefs meanwhile, have continued to struggle. In their last four games, their defense has been as bad as ever, and they've turned the ball over 7 times. The only thing they've done well lately is run the ball with Charles, and very quietly the Browns rushing defense has been a top 8 unit in the league over their last five games. I expect neither team to light up the scoreboard, but for the Browns to have more scoring opportunities as they'll take better care of the ball and give Cribbs more opportunities to make plays. Browns should win this game something like 16-10.* Tennessee Titans -5It looks like Vince Young will be playing in this one, which I love considering that the Titans' passing offense is much better under him and the Dolphins have the 8th worst passing defense in the NFL. Like every other team, they'll have to dedicate a lot of energy into figuring out how to contain Chris Johnson, which will hopefully leave the passing game wide open for Young. The Titans are still throwing the ball great, and the speedier backs have been the type that give the Dolphins trouble. As I've said in the past, the Titans' biggest weakness has been their rushing defense. However, lately the Dolphins have abandoned the wildcat formation, and in their last three games they've run for under 4 yards/carry. I think the Titans can have their way on offense in this one, and if the Dolphins find themselves forced into throwing the ball I think we'll see some turnovers as well. Titans should cruise to a win by two scores.
There will always be the ####ty weeks throughout the year, though. It's inevitable.
