Interesting Week Eleven - lots of close games, including the first tie game since 2002. Also, a one pointer (Pittsburgh and Chargers, the first ever 11-10 game in NFL history); two two pointers; a three point OT game; a couple four pointers, and three six pointers..

    Brad's NFL Picks was 12-3-1 last week, right when the the Jets won in New England on TNF 34-31 in OT; when the Broncos won in Atlanta 24-20; when Miami beat the Raiders (but only by two points) 17-15; when Green Bay whupped the Bears 37-3; when the New York Giants beat the Ravens 30-10; when Inplios beat the Texans 33-27; when Carolina held off the Lions 31-22; when Tampa beat the Vikings 19-13; when the Cardinals beat Seattle 26-20; when Pittsburgh beat the Chargers 11-10; when the Titans rallied to beat J'ville 24-14; and when the Cowboys beat Washington 14-10 on SNF.

    Brad's Picks was wrong when the Saints won at Arrowhead 30-20; when the Rams fizzled at San Francisco and lost 35-16; and when the Browns beat Buffalo on MNF 29-27 (with a minute and a half or so to go, it was Buffalo 27, Browns 26. They then traded FG attempts - Browns' was good, Bills' was not).

    And then there was the 13-13 tie between the Eagles and Cincinnati.

    Brad's Picks is 104-55-1 on the season.

    Home teams were 8-7-1 last week. Home teams are 95-64-1 on the season. Home teams have won 60% of the time this year, as compared with 54.7 % in 2007.

    Coast to coast teams were 0-2 last week as the Chargers lost at Pittsburgh and the Raiders lost at Miami. Visiting teams playing on the opposite coast are 6-19 on the year.

    George was 6-9-1 last week. George is 75-82-1 on the season.

    NFC 2, AFC 1 last week. On the season it's NFC 20, AFC 17.

    Teams off a bye were 2-2 last week, as Dallas and Tampa won, and Washington and Baltimore lost. Teams off a bye were 19-13 this year.

    Teams off a MNF game were 2-0 last week, as both San Francisco and Arizona won. Teams off a MNF game are 16-5 on the season.

    this week: the TNF game:

Cincinnati (1-8-1) at Pittsburgh (7-3) - Division game. Ben Roethlisberger has been getting sacked a lot lately, and has thrown a lot of picks lately, but the Steelers keep winning. Except for the loss to the Colts a couple weeks ago. Bengals have been playing hard, beating the Jags three weeks ago, 21-19, then a bye, then a tie with the Eagles last week. Bengals young QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was 29-44-0-261 and a TD pass - not bad against the Eagles D, especially when the run game was totally stalled (1.9 per carry). Steelers had a hard time putting the Chargers down last week, finally winning by a point (but you knew that). Bottom line is that the Steeler's D leads the league in run D, pass D, and total yards given up, and now we hear that the Bengals starting LT and LG are out. George takes the Steelers.

    the Sunday 11:00 MST games:

New York Jets (7-3) at Tennessee (10-0) - Tough call here. You all know about the Titans' D, but the Jets D is about as good, and even better against the run, thanks to DT Kris Jenkins. Two old QB's go at it - Brett Favre and Kerry Collins. Weather should be pretty good for football - 50 degrees or so at kickoff. Both teams have great ground games - Thomas Jones is averaging 4.5 per for the Jets (after just 3.6 per last year) and LenDale White and Chris Johnson are both averaging over 4 per for the T's. This should be a really good game. Gotta go with the home Titans. George likes the Jets.

Tampa Bay (7-3) at Detroit (0-10) - Tampa had a hard time at home against the Vikings, while the Lions played tough at Carolina. Daunte Culpepper has another week under his belt as the Lions' QB. Bucs just put their best RB, Ernest Graham, on IR, but they still have Warrick Dunn and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams was activated last week, a year after tearing up his knee. He didn't get any carries last week, but maybe in Detroit. Kevin Smith gained 112 on 24 in Carolina last week, and Culpepper had a good game, but for two INT's. I'm thinking Detroit gets a win here. George likes the Bucs.

Chicago (5-5) at St. Louis (2-8) - Rams have lost OT Orlando Pace for four weeks, and RB Steven Jackson will miss his second straight game. Bears' previously vaunted run defense gave up 200 ground yards to the Pack last week. Bears QB Kyle Orton was 13-26-0-133 after missing a week, and he only completed two passes to a wide receiver. But the Rams are just what the Bear's doctor ordered (Brian Urlacher has been snarling all week.) George however likes the Rams.

New England (6-4) at Miami (6-4) - Division game. Dolphins shocked the Patriots 38-13 at New England in Week Three. But that was when the Wildcat formation on offense was a new trick. Matt Cassell has had half a season to get comfortable at QB for the Patriots. Ditto for Chad Pennington as QB for the Dolphins. These two teams are really even on D and O. No love lost here. Joey Porter is already calling out the Patriots. Weather should be decent - 60's with sun, maybe a few showers. Dolphins weather. Pats just lost rookie CB Wheatley and RB LaMont Jordan likely won't play. Taking the Dolphins at home. George likes the Dolphins.

San Francisco (3-7) at Dallas (6-4) - Niners had a huge win over the Rams last week, scoring 28 in the second quarter and none in the second half. Dallas had a huge win at Washington as Tony Romo came back from a broken finger. Take Dallas at home. George will take the Niners.

Buffalo (5-5) at Kansas City (1-9) - Bills have lost 4 in a row. Is QB Trent Edwards really recovered from his concussion? Bills fans seem to think the problem is rather that the Bills have been riding the young QB's shoulders too much, and the oppo has gotten after that. Chiefs young QB, Tyler Thigpen, has been playing quite well (19-38-1-235 and two TD's last week vs. the Saints in a 30-20 loss). Chiefs have a terrible run D so if the Bills can get Marshawn Lynch going, they should be able to eke out a win at Arrowhead. But it's a close call - Bills played on Monday night, and now have to travel to Arrowhead. Weather should be good. I took the Chiefs at home last week against the Saints, and got burned. I'll try again. Chiefs at Arrowhead. George likes the Bills.

Houston (3-7) at Cleveland ( 4-6) - Brady Quinn is now 1-1 as the Browns starting QB, after a loss to the Broncos, then a win on MNF at Buffalo. Texans lost 33-27 at Inawps last week. Their young RB, Steve Slaton, slashed the Colts D for 156 on just 14 - that included a 71 yarder for six. Take away the big run, and he still averaged 6.5 per carry. Sage Rosenfels is starting at QB as Matt Schaub is out indefinitely with a torn MCL. Rosenfels plays well, but can't seem to get a win. I guess I'll take the Browns at home, although Rosenfels isn't that bad, and Slaton gives them a good chance. George likes the Browns also.

Philadelphia (5-4-1) at Baltimore (6-4) - Here's a pathetic note for you: when the Eagles/Cincinnati game ended in a tie, most of the Eagles players were dumbfounded. They thought you just kept playing. Donovan McNabb, when informed that nope, it ends in a tie, expressed disbelief that a Super Bowl game, for example, could end in a tie. Talk about dumb. Anyway, it looks like Brian Westbrook has serious injury problems, and he's about half of the Eagle O, and I'll take the Ravens at home. Except for their loss to the Giants at the Meadowlands last week, they've been playing good, and they're at home. George takes the Eagles.

Minnesota (5-5) at Jacksonville (4-6) - Vikings second trip in a row to Florida. They played the Bucs tough last week, losing by 6. Jags played the Titans tough last week, but scored zero points in the second half in a 24-14 loss. I don't think the Jaguars will lose two in a row at home. George likes the Jags also.

    the 2:05 MST game:

Oakland (2-8) at Denver (6-4) - Division game. Raiders played tough in Miami in a 17-15 loss last week, but it wasn't because of the offense. They did score two FG's, but the other points were off a 93 yard punt return and a safety. Raiders only gained 70 yards on the ground while giving up 222 on the ground. This call is a no brainer, as the Broncos have showed all kinds of life with young players stepping up. George likes the Broncos too.

    the 2:15 MST games:

Carolina (8-2) at Atlanta (6-4) - Division game. Jake Delhomme was only 10-19-0-98 (with one TD toss) last week at home against the lowly Lions. But the Panthers ground game saved the day with 264 yards (8.3 per) in a 31-22 win. Falcons lost by four at home to the Broncos (the Falcons first home loss this year) as the Broncos played an inspired game. Both teams have great running games, Atlanta's the better. Panthers won 24-9 at home in Week Four, but the Falcons have improved more since then, especially rookie QB Matt Ryan. Falcons won't want to lose two in a row at home. George likes Atlanta.

Washington (6-4) at Seattle (2-8) - Seahawks got QB Matt Hasselbeck back last week, but they still lost at home to the Cardinals, 26-20. And Hasselbeck's back is still bothering him. I'm taking a good Redskins team despite the long plane ride. George likes Seattle.

New York Giants (9-1) at Arizona (7-3) - Really big game here. These two teams might meet again in the playoffs. It's another long plane ride, but the Cardinals don't have a run game, and they've been getting by on their really good pass game, but the Giants' pass rush is going to be a hurt for Kurt Warner. George likes the Giants.

    the SNF game:

Inpiana (6-4) at San Diego (4-6) - Colts are on a roll. Chargers are talking about giving Coach Norv Turner a vote of confidence. LaDainian Tomlinson is angry, and the Colts have no run D. Should be a shootout, but I'm taking the Chargers at home. George likes the Colts.

    the MNF game:

Green Bay (5-5) at New Orleans (5-5) - Saints lost good young CB Troy Porter a few weeks ago, and now they've lost CB Mike McKenzie for the year. Packers are playing very good. Neither team has that much on D, so tune in and watch some scoring. I'll take the Packers. George likes the Packers.