The Bears, 6-3, will travel to Miami to play the Dolphins, 5-4. Last week, Miami won the game but lost their first and second string quarterbacks for what looks like the season, and are forced to start Tyler Thigpen. The problem is that Miami has only three days to prepare for one of the top rated defenses.
Chicago will look to take advantage of Thigpen’s lack of experience. They rank second in the league in rushing yards allowed, which may result in Miami passing more than they would like to, leading Thigpen to make more mistakes.
Winner: Bears
Houston, 4-5, will play the Jets, 7-2. The Texans have struggled immensely the last three weeks. They have lost three in a row, allowing an average of 30 points in each of those games.
The Jets have many different weapons on offense, especially their receivers. Their success will continue against the worst secondary in the league. It will be interesting to see the matchup between Andre Johnson and the struggling Darrell Revis.
Winner: Jets
Oakland, 5-4, will face the Steelers, 6-3. The Raiders have been the surprise of the NFL this season but they have only beaten one team over .500. They have the top ranked rushing offense but may struggle considering they are playing the best run stopping defense.
Pittsburgh struggled in last week’s loss to the Patriots but those struggles will not continue. They have not lost back to back games this season and should be able to run all over the 25th ranked run defense.
Winner: Pittsburgh
New England, 7-2, will host Indianapolis, 6-3. The Colts have struggled rushing this season, even when Joseph Addai was healthy. This has left them one-dimensional, allowing other teams to focus more on stopping Peyton Manning.
The Patriots were able to get five sacks last week and you can expect Bill Belichick to come up with many different schemes to frustrate Manning. They have also had major success with rookie tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, who have a total of eight touchdowns between them.
Winner: Patriots
The Eagles, 6-3, will square off against the Giants, 6-3. The Giants struggled last week against Dallas. They allowed 327 passing yards to John Kitna on only 13 completions. Their victories have come against teams with a winning percentage of just .370.
The Eagles were able to do whatever they wanted last week against Washington, starting the game with an 88 yard pass for a touchdown. Michael Vick is having his best season so far in the NFL. They also have two strong threats in Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson, who will be able to go deep against the flawed Giants’ secondary.
Winner: Eagles
Joe Beaudoin can be reached at jbeaudoin@spartans.ut.edu.