New England (7-5) at New YorkAFC (7-5)

  N.E. offense  23rd   99.3 rush - [10th] / 151.7 pass - [26th]
       defense  4th    79.5 rush - [7th] / 170.3 pass - [7th]
       scoring         13.3 for - [24th] / 11.4 against - [1st]

   NYJ offense  7th    83.5 rush - [18th] / 220.4 pass - [4th]
       defense  11th   87.7 rush - [15th] / 180.5 pass - [12th]
       scoring         19.8 for - [8th] / 15.8 against - [9th]


   key matchups:
       WR Howard Satterwhite (45 rec/589 yds/3 TDs) vs. CB Mike Haynes (3 INTs)
       HB Don Calhoun (907 yds/7 TDs) vs. New YorkAFC run D (3.5 rush avg)

   prediction:
       New England 15, New YorkAFC 19

Baltimore 3 at Miami 20

A big win for Miami which strengthened their position atop the AFC East and hit hard the playoff dreams of the Colts.

Miami
Bob Griese 9/16 94yds 1TD
Benny Malone 19car/73yds 1TD
Mike Green 7tt/4rec/59yds
Rick Sanford 8 tackles 1 int

Baltimore
Bert Jones 19/38 233yds 1Int 2Fumbles
Billy Sims 12car/21yds
Roger Carr 9tt/6rec/100yds
Stan White 7 tackles 2 knockdowns

Baltimore (6-6) at Miami (8-4)

   Bal offense  13th   99.9 rush - [9th] / 191.8 pass - [13th]
       defense  18th   76.4 rush - [6th] / 214.2 pass - [22nd]
       scoring         17.1 for - [14th] / 16.2 against - [12th]

   Mia offense  12th   105.7 rush - [6th] / 186.8 pass - [16th]
       defense  2nd    50.8 rush - [2nd] / 161.0 pass - [5th]
       scoring         16.7 for - [15th] / 11.9 against - [2nd]


   key matchups:
       DT Larry Bethea (13 sacks) vs. G Bob Van Duyne
       TE Ronnie Lee (17 rec/255 yds/0 TDs) vs. LB Kirby Criswell (2 INTs)
       HB Billy Sims (1040 yds/9 TDs) vs. Miami run D (2.2 rush avg)

   prediction:
       Baltimore 15, Miami 19

Minnesota 21 at Chicago 27 (OT)

A big loss for the Vikings who are trying to keep pace with Green Bay in the NFC Central.

Chicago
Ken Anderson 27/43 280yds 4TDs
Walter Payton 27car/75yds
James Scott 10tt/6rec/92yds
Brian Baschnagel 11tt/8rec/80yds 2TDs
Myron Lapka 1 tackle 4 sacks

Minnesota
Mike Rieker 17/35 212yds 2TDs
Dennis Johnson 18car/95yds
Leonard Willis 15tt/6rec/129yds 1TD
Jeff Siemon 11 tackles
Ken Fantetti 7 tackles 1 sack 1 knockdown

Minnesota (6-6) at Chicago (4-8)

  Minn offense  19th   91.3 rush - [14th] / 184.7 pass - [18th]
       defense  8th    79.7 rush - [8th] / 180.8 pass - [13th]
       scoring         16.6 for - [16th] / 14.8 against - [7th]

   Chi offense  16th   78.3 rush - [20th] / 209.9 pass - [10th]
       defense  6th    91.1 rush - [17th] / 165.3 pass - [6th]
       scoring         15.8 for - [19th] / 18.8 against - [20th]


   key matchups:
       DT Myron Lapka (17 sacks) vs. G Wes Hamilton
       WR James Scott (53 rec/818 yds/4 TDs) vs. CB Walt Williams (2 INTs)
       TE Ronald Parker (33 rec/345 yds/1 TDs) vs. LB Ken Fantetti (3 INTs/0 TDs)
       WR Leonard Willis (52 rec/842 yds/4 TDs) vs. CB Allan Ellis

   prediction:
        Minnesota 18, Chicago 19

Atlanta 35 at Oakland 19

Like Seattle's loss this one is crippling for Oakland.  They were never really in this game as their defense continues to struggle.

Atlanta
Guy Benjamin 10/19 267yds 3TDs 1Fumble
Bubba Bean 28car/202yds 2TDs 1Fumble
Wes Chandler 8tt/6rec/143yds 1TD
Joe Stewart 3tt/2rec/101yds 2TDs
Ralph Ortega 5 tackles 1 sack 1 knockdown

Oakland
Ken Stabler 15/34 233yds 2TDs 1Int
Derrick Jensen 17car/47yds
Glann Starks 11tt/4rec/84yds
Jack Tatum 8 tackles

Atlanta (5-7) at Oakland (6-6)

   Atl offense  22nd   62.1 rush - [24th] / 193.3 pass - [12th]
       defense  15th   105.0 rush - [23rd] / 175.5 pass - [9th]
       scoring         12.4 for - [26th] / 17.1 against - [15th]

   Oak offense  20th   118.0 rush - [4th] / 149.7 pass - [28th]
       defense  26th   108.3 rush - [25th] / 216.1 pass - [24th]
       scoring         14.9 for - [20th] / 21.8 against - [23rd]


   key matchups:
       DE Dennis Harrison (16 sacks) vs. T Henry Lawrence
       DT Steve George (13 sacks) vs. G 
       WR Al Jenkins (42 rec/528 yds/4 TDs) vs. CB Tommy Campbell (4 INTs/1 TDs)
       TE John Spagnola (63 rec/593 yds/1 TDs) vs. LB Jim LeClair (3 INTs)

   prediction:
       Atlanta 17,  Oakland 19

Detroit 31 at Tampa Bay 17

A solid win for the Lions.

Detroit
Greg Landry 18/31 246yds 2TDs 1Int
Dexter Bussey 14car/108yds 1TD
Charlie Thomas 6tt/5rec/74yds
Ronnie Lott 8 tackles 1 knockdown

Tampa Bay
Rich Campbell 22/37 314yds 2TDs 1Int
Charles Alexander 9car/25yds
Morris Owens 13tt/9rec/162yds 1TD
Tom Cousineau 6 tackles 1 sack 1 knockdown

Detroit (5-7) at Tampa Bay (3-9)

   Det offense  2nd    102.6 rush - [8th] / 219.4 pass - [5th]
       defense  24th   94.8 rush - [19th] / 214.1 pass - [21st]
       scoring         20.6 for - [7th] / 22.1 against - [25th]

  T.B. offense  11th   119.7 rush - [2nd] / 173.0 pass - [22nd]
       defense  21st   95.3 rush - [20th] / 209.2 pass - [19th]
       scoring         15.8 for - [18th] / 21.7 against - [22nd]


   key matchups:
       DT Barry Bennett (15 sacks) vs. G Ken Long
       WR Mel Jacobs (63 rec/1064 yds/6 TDs) vs. CB Curtis Jordan (2 INTs)

   prediction:
       Detroit 21, Tampa Bay 22

Seattle 3 at Denver 20

This loss to Denver puts Seattle at 6-7 right alongside the Chiefs.  But where the Chiefs win over San Diego seemed to keep their playoff hopes alive, this loss to Denver seems to have killed Seattle's.  Seattle had such an explosive offense last season, and seemed to work well to improve their defense in the off season.  I felt, as many did that they would win the AFC West this year, but nothing has clicked for them.  This loss seems to confirm the worst that this team is already focusing on next season.

Denver
Danny White 10/17 132yds
Rickey Anderson 25car/120yds 1TD
Terrence Yunker 6tt/4rec/51yds
Lyle Alzado 3 sacks

Seattle
Brian Sipe 9/21 77yds
Sterling Rolfe 11car/75yds
Ron Howard 2tt/2rec/16yds
Otis Wilson 7 tackles

Seattle (6-6) at Denver (4-8)

   Sea offense  14th   106.9 rush - [5th] / 181.8 pass - [19th]
       defense  12th   80.9 rush - [9th] / 188.2 pass - [14th]
       scoring         18.6 for - [12th] / 17.5 against - [18th]

   Den offense  24th   79.3 rush - [19th] / 161.1 pass - [25th]
       defense  16th   91.8 rush - [18th] / 192.9 pass - [15th]
       scoring         11.3 for - [27th] / 17.5 against - [17th]


   key matchups:

   prediction:
       Seattle 18, Denver 17

San Francisco 13 at New Orleans 31

A stunning performance from the Saints who completely dominated this game. 

New Orleans
Peil Pennington 21/29 273yds
Tony Galbreath 17car/77yds 3TDs
Freddie Solomon 5tt/3rec/59yds
Craig Cassady 6 tackles 1 knockdown

San Francisco
Jim Plunkett 13/28 261yds 1TD 1Int
Delvin Williams 14car/35yds
Jim Lash 6tt/3rec/95yds
Aaron Mitchell 13 tackles
Eric Harris 12 tackles 1 knockdown

San Francisco (10-2) at New Orleans (7-5)

  S.F. offense  4th    86.4 rush - [15th] / 224.9 pass - [2nd]
       defense  13th   90.0 rush - [16th] / 179.2 pass - [10th]
       scoring         25.8 for - [2nd] / 16.1 against - [11th]

  N.O. offense  17th   105.3 rush - [7th] / 177.8 pass - [20th]
       defense  10th   52.8 rush - [3rd] / 213.7 pass - [20th]
       scoring         19.4 for - [10th] / 13.9 against - [4th]


   key matchups:
       HB Tony Dorsett (845 yds/5 TDs) vs. San Francisco run D (4.0 rush avg)
       HB Delvin Williams (791 yds/11 TDs) vs. New Orleans run D (2.4 rush avg)
       TE Ken MacAfee (23 rec/307 yds/2 TDs) vs. LB Junior Hardin (2 INTs)

   prediction:
       San Francisco 20, New Orleans 21

Kansas City 9 at San Diego 3

The Chiefs get a great game out of their defense and manage to keep their playoff hopes alive.  Meanwhile the Chargers offense continues to struggle. 

Kansas City
Greg Hendrickson 13/26 130yds 1Int
Ted Brown 20car/116yds
Armand Jackson 6tt/3rec/38yds
Kim Bokamper 7 tackles 2 sacks
Steve Bograkos 9 tackles 1 knockdown

San Diego
Dan Fouts 15/39 198yds 1Int
Rickey Young 14car/33yds
Dwight McDonald 15tt/8rec/99yds
Ken Greene 12 tackles 1 int

Kansas City (5-7) at San Diego (8-4)

  K.C. offense  10th   119.5 rush - [3rd] / 173.3 pass - [21st]
       defense  27th   107.3 rush - [24th] / 231.2 pass - [27th]
       scoring         19.6 for - [9th] / 19.5 against - [21st]

  S.D. offense  26th   42.2 rush - [28th] / 188.2 pass - [15th]
       defense  3rd    86.3 rush - [14th] / 159.7 pass - [3rd]
       scoring         14.3 for - [22nd] / 14.2 against - [5th]


   key matchups:
       WR Jesse Wolfram (55 rec/822 yds/3 TDs) vs. CB Gerald Jackson (2 INTs)
       HB Ted Brown (919 yds/6 TDs) vs. San Diego run D (3.5 rush avg)

   prediction:
       Kansas City 17, San Diego 20

Washington 27 at St. Louis 21

The Redskins get a critical road win to move to 7-6 and stay in the playoff hunt. 

Washington
Joe Theismann 19/38 363yds 2TDs
Mike Thomas 21car/128yds 2TDs
Don Westbrook 10tt/5rec/145yds 1TD
Walter Tullis 7 tackles

St. Louis
Mike Phipps 18/39 260yds 2TDs
Mike Strachan 19car/40yds
Ike Harris 16tt/7rec/119yds 1TD
George Floyd 11 tackles 1 knockdown
Jeff Griffin 9 tackles 2 sacks
Reggie Mathis 4 tackles 1 sack 1 knockdown
Mike Sensibaugh 5 tackles 4 knockdowns

Washington (6-6) at St. Louis (5-7)

  Wash offense  6th    95.8 rush - [12th] / 213.0 pass - [8th]
       defense  22nd   97.0 rush - [22nd] / 207.7 pass - [18th]
       scoring         21.2 for - [6th] / 23.9 against - [26th]

   StL offense  1st    62.2 rush - [23rd] / 263.0 pass - [1st]
       defense  23rd   85.5 rush - [12th] / 222.7 pass - [25th]
       scoring         24.2 for - [3rd] / 25.1 against - [27th]


   key matchups:
       QB Mike Phipps (22 TDs/3498 yds) vs. Washington pass D
       WR Ike Harris (55 rec/731 yds/5 TDs) vs. CB Walter Tullis (2 INTs)
       QB Joe Theismann (23 TDs/2839 yds) vs. St. Louis pass D
       WR Frank Grant (58 rec/861 yds/4 TDs) vs. CB Mike Sensibaugh

   prediction:
       Washington  23, St. Louis 27

Cincinnati 15 at Houston 21

The Bengals had a shot at the end, but couldn't pull off the upset. 

Houston
Dan Pastorini 21/35 238yds 2TDs 1Int
Ralph Nelson 19car/68yds
Ken Burrough 11tt/6rec/101yds 1TD
Tom Hannon 6 tackles 2 knockdowns

Cincinnati
Bob Bateman 15/29 272yds 1TD 1Int
Charles White 15car/26yds
Lonnie Allgood 10tt/7rec/146yds 1TD
Bobby Kemp 5 tackles 1 sack
Neal Colzie 7 tackles 1 int

Cincinnati (1-11) at Houston (6-5-1)

  Cinn offense  8th    83.8 rush - [17th] / 217.6 pass - [6th]
       defense  28th   140.3 rush - [28th] / 204.2 pass - [16th]
       scoring         17.2 for - [13th] / 25.9 against - [28th]

   Hou offense  9th    85.6 rush - [16th] / 214.3 pass - [7th]
       defense  17th   59.1 rush - [4th] / 228.0 pass - [26th]
       scoring         18.8 for - [11th] / 17.2 against - [16th]


   key matchups:
       WR Cleveland Rocker (43 rec/740 yds/4 TDs) vs. CB Willie Alexander (2 INTs)

   prediction:
       Cincinnati 17, Houston 25