After a 9-5 record this past week, I’m hitting my mid-season stride and I’m ready to sneak into the playoffs with a wild card and create some postseason damage. Without further redo, I proceed to make this upcoming NFL week’s predictions.

Inidanapolis vs. Carolina: This just in: the Colts are not only a dynamic offensive football team spearheaded by the magnificence of Peyton Manning, they’re a team that can smack you in the mouth on defense as the Jaguars learned early and often last Monday night. As it is, the Colts, statistically-speaking, are a team with few flaws as offensively, they’re third in both scoring and total offense in NFL annals and sixth in both rushing and passing offense. Remarkably, Indianapolis is third in scoring defense and first against the pass. Now when the casual NFL fan thinks of the Colts, passing on both sides of the ball is the hallmark of the team’s success. While the myopic media continues to glorify Tom Brady and his run toward history, the classy Colts are epitomized as always by their stellar field general Manning, who has thrown for 1,578 yards and 11 scores in just six games. As for the Carolina Panthers, it has not been their good fortune to have the stability at quarterback that Indianapolis has experienced. Nevertheless, there is reason for optimism on Tobacco Road as 43-year old signal-caller Vinny Testaverde led Carolina to a road victory at Arizona two weeks ago. Although Testaverde thinks that incumbent David Carr will get the nod against the Colts, either way the Panthers should be in good shape at QB. That’s good news because Carolina’s traditionally-stout defense has been anything but spectacular. This will be a shootout, which naturally means I’m going with the Colts. Call the final Indianapolis 35 Carolina 24

Detroit vs. Chicago: The Lions continue to defy expectations and with every successive victory, QB Jon Kitna’s claims that Detroit can win 10 game this season seem all the more reasonable. Although they were outgained by 250 yards at the hands of the Buccaneers last week, they still gutted out a victory which shows that Rod Marinelli’s squad can find ways to win even when they’re not playing their best. Although the running game has been anemic, TB Kevin Jones promises to make this a more solid area of the Lions’ offense while Kitna has orchestrated the #7 passing offense in the NFL which averages 243 yards per game. The defense is 30th statistically, so if they can force turnovers (they’ve been +4 in the turnover battle in victories this season), they should be able to win once again. As for the Bears, they deserve credit for coming back against the Eagles, but when you allow a team to drive 97 yards for the winning score without any timeouts, that’s on the defense, so that was Philadelphia’s gaffe rather than Chicago’s success. Since Brian Griese’s insertion into the Bears lineup, the offense has been more consistent but Chicago must focus primarily on stonewalling the Lions because as we learned when these teams met earlier this season in Detroit, if it’s a shootout the Lions will win. I think Detroit’s solid enough to steal this one on the road so in a close call, I’ll call it Lions 28 Bears 24

Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati: We now know that while the Steelers are still a solid team, they’re not necessarily ready to assume the role of an elite team. I knew that Mike Tomlin would have his struggles against a Mike Shanahan-coached team although in all fairness, his QB Ben Roethlisberger failed to sufficiently prepare against a Broncos defense which despite the final statistical tally proceeded to stymie Pittsburgh throughout much of the ballgame. Meanwhile the Bengals got themselves off the mat with a big victory over the Jets and since this game’s in Cincinnati the chance exists for the Bengals to win yet another divisional matchup against the Steelers. While Pittsburgh still ranks first in total defense in the NFL, surrendering 250 yards per game, the Broncos found success against the Steel Crew with an intermeidate passing game engineered by an excellent quarterback. Now, they face an even better QB than Jay Cutler in the Bengals’ Carson Palmer. Palmer (1,717 yards, 13 TD’s) could easily surpass the 2,000 yard mark on the season in this one as Cincinnati averages 273 passing yards per contest. Much pressure will be on the Steelers’ cornerback duo of Ike Taylor and Deshea Townsend as they were often beat on crossing routes employed by the Broncos, although the Bengals definitely prefer vertical routes with fleet-footed wideouts Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. This will be exempt of much defense as the Bengals should once again gash the Steelers and force them into an up-tempo ballgame. Since Pittsburgh fails to win many of these high-scoring affairs (due to the fact that they prepare to run the ball whenever they can) the deficit may be too insurmountable so I expect the Bengals to win in a tight one. Call it Bengals 37 Steelers 34

New York Giants vs. Miami: The NFL is ready to take its product to Europe where reportedly there are numerous fans chomping at the bit to see excellent NFL action as this game will originate from London. Because this game involves the Miami Dolphins, it’s a bit difficult to call this “excellent” action with a straight face. Despite Miami’s futility, the Britons are enraptured that they’re going to be in the UK to battle the vastly-improving Giants. The time has come in my opinion for Dolphins coach Cam Cameron to go with former Brigham Young standout John Beck at quarterback, as Cleo Lemon fails to spark the Miami offense sufficiently. The Giants, while not stellar in any particular facet of offense or defense, rank ninth in total offense and eighth in total defense, thus exemplifying the team concept to a fullness. Eli Manning’s (1,525 yards, 13 TD’s) star continues to rise and the Giants’ defense has retained its recent penchant to get to the quarterback as they sacked San Francisco signal-caller Trent Dilfer six times last Sunday. I think that the Dolphins can keep this close but Manning to receiver Plaxico Burress (eight receiving touchdowns) will become a common theme, even against a Dolphins defense (14th against the pass) which has been respectable in repelling opposing teams’ aerial attacks. Call the final Giants 27 Dolphins 20

Philadelphia vs. Minnesota: I really do like the Vikings, but Tarvaris Jackson must complete more than 45 percent of his passes if Minnesota is to continue in its progression as one of the NFL’s up and coming teams. The Eagles are as disappointed in themselves as any media figure possibly could be and Vikes coach Brad Childress was a pupil under Philly coach Andy Reid so I think the teacher will have some lessons which will be excruciatingly taught to his student. Philadelphia’s loss to the Bears was inexplicable and I believe that they’re going to come out at the H.H.H. Metrodome this Sunday and take out their frustrations on a tough yet offensively-deficient Vikings squad. Look for the Eagles (eighth in total offense) to find success against a Vikings pass defense which is still last in the NFL after Tony Romo obliterated it. In this one, I like Donovan McNabb (1,447 yards, 7 TD’s thus far) to exceed the 300-yard mark while tossing four touchdowns as the Eagles win going away, 31-14. The Vikings are still a young team on the rise but Jackson will have to show he’s the man. Against an Eagles defense that’s eighth against the run (88 yards a contest) it will be tough sledding for Adrian Peterson, so the Vikings have no chance.

Cleveland vs. St. Louis: This is the week the Rams finally get in the win column, as the Browns, last in total defense in the NFL, giving up 413 yards per game, and 30th against the run (150 yards per contest surrendered) will have to deal with Steven Jackson, who when healthy (this is the first time in a month) is among the NFL’s elite tailbacks. An effective running game can finally unleash the Rams’ surprisingly dormant offense as Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce and Randy McMichael should all be able to expose those defenders who will try to cover them if the running game works. Meanwhile, the Browns’ offense has also been lights out as QB Derek Anderson (1,496 yards, 14 TD’s) and receiver Braylon Edwards (29 rec, 552 yards, 7 TD’s) will expose a Rams defense that definitely isn’t anything special. However, the Browns’ defense is once again the worst in the NFL and the resurgent Rams (for this week anyway) should rally around their hard-working coach Scott Linehan to give him the initial victory of the season. Call the final Rams 41 Browns 34

Oakland vs. Tennessee: Four weeks ago, the Oakland Raiders felt pretty good about themselves after they went into Miami and smacked the pathetic Dolpins to improve to 2-1 and lead, in the interim, the AFC West. How swiftly things have cascaded downward in the past three weeks. As the Broncos and Chargers continue to improve with every passing week and the Chiefs seem to have found themselves, the Raiders are once again the division’s worst team. Regardless of the myopia of Raider Nation, things are not going to get better this season, especially with a trip looming to Nashville, Tenn. to battle the unflappable Titans. How many teams, after blowing a 25-point lead with their reserve QB, would find themselves swiftly enough to steal the game back as the Titans did last week against the Texans? I would have to think that not many teams possess that level of resolve. Many NFL purists have always said that it’s essential to run the ball and in turn to stop the run. Tennessee excels in both areas, as they’re fifth in running offense (144 yards per contest) and first against the run (technically they allow 59.7 yards but I’ll round up to 60). This enables them to have a shot even when their star QB Vince Young is banged up. Fortuitously for the Titans, Young expects to be back against the Raiders. Because Tennessee doesn’t prefer to play the up-tempo game in most cases, look for Young and tailbacks LenDale White and Chris Brown (nearly 700 yards combined on the season) to control the tempo. Call the final Titans 24 Raiders 6

Buffalo vs. New York Jets: A new era has commenced in western New York with Trent Edwards replacing J.P. Losman as the Bills’ starting quarterback. Thus, while Losman possesses a powerful arm, he was too enigmatic and inconsistent, two flaws which Edwards seems to lack. I have to admit that I marvel at the consistency this team possesses because after pulsating losses to the Broncos and Cowboys on game-clinching kicks by Jason Elam and Nick Folk, respectively threatened to decimate their season, they’ve responded positively by smacking Baltimore last weekend. While Buffalo is anything but a statistical masterpiece (they rank 18th or worse in all NFL stat categories), this is also true for the Jets, so since both of these teams are less than spectacular, I’ll go with the Bills because Edwards has beaten the Jets once already and under Chad Pennington, the Jets are a trainwreck. The best Jets action this season occurred when Pennington, WR Laveranues Coles (six receiving touchdowns on the season), punter Ben Graham and head coach Eric Mangini played football with Elmo on Sesame Street. That’s pretty pathetic. Call the final Bills 23 Jets 16

Houston vs. San Diego: Because no one knows when or where this game will occur, I’ll forego the analysis. Nevertheless, if this matchup takes place, the Chargers will win 38-27. The Texans are vastly improvng, but the Chargers are a buzzsaw that continues to pick up mometum. Nevertheless, the Texans’ future is still quite bright so Houstonians may rejoice.

Jacksonville vs. Tampa Bay: The Jaguars, while a really good team in the AFC received a crucial blow when QB David Garrard incurred an ankle injury against the Colts Monday evening. Recent reports out of Jacksonville have stated he could miss up to a month. This is terrible for the Jags because the inexperience of reserve signal-caller QB Quinn Gray prevented Jacksonville from having any offensive success against the stalwart Indy defense. Meanwhile, the defense will make it hard on the Buccaneers as they only allow 14 points per contest. Meanwhile, the Tampa defense is fifth in total defense and fifth against the pass, so points will be hard to come by in this one. However, the Buccaneers have the good fortune of superior stability at quarterback to the Jaguars, as Jeff Garcia (1,504 yards, seven touchdowns) continues to impress. Garcia should toss for about 275 yards in this game and a pair of scores. In other words, he’ll do just enough to lead the Buccaneers to victory. Call the final Buccaneers 17 Jaguars 14

Washington vs. New England: Even as the Rams obtain their first victory of the season this weekend, the Patriots shall lose their first game. Unlike the Colts, the Patriots have not yet been challenged so they’ll be astonished at how well the Redskins can play defense. Despite the fact that they were outgained by 250+ yards against the Cardinals, the stout Washington defense set up 14 of the ‘Skins 21 points last weekend and forced the Cards to attempt to win the game on a 55-yard field goal (which of course they missed). Washington ranks eighth or higher in every defensive stat category, and QB Jason Campbell continues to improve (1,181 yards, five touchdowns) and promises to be among the league’s elite quarterbacks as his career progresses. The key for the Redskins’ success offensively is to have receivers Antwaan Randle El and Santana Moss break through against a New England secondary which ranks fourth in the NFL. While the Patriots’ offense has currently been unstoppable (40 points and 433 yards, that’s first in the NFL in both categories), the Redskins have the personnel to match up with the Pats’ embarrassment of riches. Beyond that, the Redskins have taken seven consecutive games from the Patriots and New England will be looking ahead to Indianapolis. To me, this won’t be the surprise that it will to the mass media at large (remember I’ve chided them for their myopia in this column already) but the Redskins will win, 28-24.

New Orleans vs. San Francisco: This is perhaps the easiest game to handicap in the NFL this weekend as the Saints have found themselves while the 49ers continue to stumble and render all of last season’s success meaningless. Meanwhile, after a less than stellar start to the ‘07 campaign, Saints QB Drew Brees (1,394 yards, five touchdowns) is playing like the birthmark-laden gunslinger that Saints fans know and love. While Deuce McAlister is lost for the season, head coach Sean Payton is beginning to unsheath Reggie Bush, who is gradually becoming a solid NFL all-purpose player, similar to Eric Metcalf and Glyn Milburn in a previous era of the league. As for San Francisco, they rank 11th against the pass defensively, so they could have some success against Brees. However, this is the only area in which the 49ers have excelled so look for Bush to bust out in this game for about 250-275 all-purpose yards as the Saints win going away 34-13

Green Bay vs. Denver: The Packers are about to be exposed as a flawed team which has ridden an early wave of momentum to their currently successful start. They continue to struggle while running the ball (66 yards per outing, again like the Titans’ rush defense, I rounded up) and everybody’s favorite drunkard, Brett Favre continues to make an excess of stupid mistakes. For all intents and purposes, the Packers are a less stellar version of the Steelers, and we all know how the Broncos handled them at home last weekend. As for the Broncos, they’re definitely not statistical mavens themselves, but they are ready to turn the tide on the season and the reason is primarily QB Jay Cutler (1,406 yards, 7 TD’s thus far) as he has led the Broncos to rank fifth overall in total offense while they rank ninth and 11th in rushing and passing offense respectively. Finally, the Broncos are scoring touchdowns in the red zone as they were 4-4 in such situations against Pittsburgh. Additionally, on the defensive side of the ball, the Packers obviously can’t run so that puts the onus on Favre to win the game. The Broncos traditionally have stymied the overrated Favre more than any other quarterback they’ve faced as he’s completed only 51 percent of his passes against the Broncos in his career. This week, Champ Bailey should be back so things should be hard on Favre. Furthermore, Favre has never thrown a touchdown pass at Denver and that trend should continue. Sorry, cheeseheads but once again while the Broncos are sharing the national spotlight with the Rockies, they’ll make a massive statement by smacking the Packers, 34-9. These are the true Broncos, thankfully those performances which occurred before the bye are in the past where they belong. (Sorry for the unexpected burst of bias at the end, when I begin covering the NFL full-time, I’ll be objective about every team.) Until then, GO BRONCOS!!!