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Jay Cutler and the unpredictable Denver Broncos travel to the swamps of Jersey to take on the surging New York Jets.  The Broncos are coming off an awful blowout loss to the Raiders while the Jets are riding a 5 game winning streak which has included road wins at New England and Tennessee.  The Jets should be able to run all over the suspect Broncs defense and the combination of a strong pass rush and lousy weather should hamper a potentially quick strike Broncos passing attack.  Another 100 yard game for Thomas Jones as the Jets roll 34-17.

Plaxico Burress was already out of this game before h decided to shoot himself in the leg.  The Redskins are honoring Sean Taylor on the one year anniversary of his shooting death during a home invasion.  Emotions will be riding high and Clinton Portis will be in the lineup. Problem for the Skins is that so will Jason Campbell and he is struggling to move the ball against anyone. The Giants running game is too strong and Eli Manning can move the ball without Burress.  Look for the Giants to roll 28 - 13.

Playoff implications are huge in this battle. New England is currently a game back of the Jets for te AFC East lead and are on the outside looking in for the wild card.  The Steelers are trying to hang on to their division lead and a number two seed as the Jets are hot on their heels.  The Steelers also face a killer closing schedule so each win is critical.  Will Matt Cassell be able to run wild against a Steelers defense that hunts down the quarterback?  Will he be able to throw against a tough Steelers secondary?  With no running threat look for the Steelers to contain Cassell and try to zone out Moss and Welker.  In a tough battle the Steelers do just enough in the red zone to pull one out.  Steelers win it 21-17.

Carolina can’t win on the road and the Packers need to bounce back from a crushing on Monday Night to keep playoff dreams a life.  Steve Smith is licking his lips to go crazy against a secondary that was embarrassed in New Orleans, but look for some defensive adjustments since Jake Delome is no Drew Brees.   Ron Grant will control the game on the ground and rush for 120 yards or more.  Green Bay bounces back at home 27-21.

Is Atlanta for real?  Is Sand Diego going to take advantage of an opportunity to pick up a game on the Denver Broncos if they lose to the Jets?  San Diego can still win the weak NFC West at 8-8 by picking up one game on Denver before the face them in the final game of the season.  Matt Ryan has been the best rookie in football and Atlanta has removed itself from the Vick disaster of last year.  On the road against a desperate team Atlanta will have it tough.  Look for a return of the Super Chargers for one week as they roll 24-13.

No for the rest of the week 13 games….

-49ers at the Bills - 49ers are just playing out the string and traveling 3000 miles to play in Buffalo is not a big help.  The Bills feast on opponents with losing records and this will be no different.  Buffalo stays alive in the layoff discussion with a 35-17 win.

- Ravens at Bengals - A rivalry game always is fun, but the Bengals are awful.  They shouldn’t even show up.  The Ravens are just too good a team to lose this one.  Big win 28-10 for the Ravens.

- Colts at Browns - Colts are rolling now that Manning and company are playing some offense.  No Bob Sanders on defense as he sits with a bad knee, but that shouldn’t matter.  Unless Derek Anderson reverts back to his All-Pro form look for the Colts to take this one 27-9.

- Dolphins at Rams - The Dolphins suffered a big loss last week and a bigger loss when Greg Camarillo was lost for the season.  The Rams have been outscored in the first half of games by like 1000 points the last 5 weeks. Dolphins stay relevant 24-13.

- Saints at Bucs - Saints are playing scary offense, but can they do it against the BUcs defense?  Reggis Bush returns and look for the Saints to keep their Playoff aspirations alive…barely with a 24-20 win.

- Chiefs at Raiders - ummmm Raiders 27-21.

- Bears at Vikings - The Bears just don’t have the defense to contain Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. If they decide to flood the box to stop the run the Vikings can make some plays through the air.  Expect the dome to be friendly as the Vikings hold onto 1st place 21-13.

- Jaguars at Texans - Two teams that had pre-season dreams, but are just playing for pride now.  David Garrard hasn’t developed as hoped and the Texans seem lost.  Will give the home team the edge in a boring game 24-16.