New York Jets (- 4) at San Francisco 49ers: Brett Favre and his run-happy group of green grinders lost at San Diego and at Oakland earlier in the season, so West Coat trips are not exactly their thing. But that was before Favre really grasped the offense and Thomas Jones was running like he was Gale Sayers. Coming on the heels of an extremely disappointing and damaging performance at home against Denver, the Jets will be amped up to win this game and maintain their lead in the AFC East. 49ers feature back Frank Gore will get squashed by run-stopping monster Kris Jenkins, and San Fran’s pass offense is not good enough to fully take advantage of New York’s shaky secondary. Look for Favre and Jones to help the Jets win the time of possession battle big-time. Prediction: New York 27, San Francisco 17.
Kansas City Chiefs (+ 9) at Denver Broncos: Denver is consistently inconsistent. The Broncos win games they should lose (at Atlanta, at New York Jets) and lose games they should win (at Kansas City, home to Oakland). Yep, Denver has already lost to Kansas City once this year, and that was way before the Tyler Thigpen Era was in full force. It is highly unlikely that the Chiefs will win this game, but extremely likely they will keep it close. Thigpen is passing well, Larry Johnson is running well and keeping his spit to himself, and Denver has only won two games by more than nine points this year. Prediction: Denver 28, Kansas City 20.
New England Patriots (- 4.5) at Seattle Seahawks: Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel has back-to-back 400-yard passing days to his credit during the past month. Seattle has the worst pass defense in the NFL, allowing over 260 yards through the air per game. This is a match made in Heaven. During this year of being Tom Brady-less, New England has followed a pattern of beating teams it should beat and losing to teams with winning records. Well, Seattle stands at 2-10. You think a Bill Belichick-coached team will lose an important December game against a hapless 2-10 squad? Prediction: New England 31, Seattle 13.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers (- 3): Carolina is undefeated at home this season. Tampa Bay is also undefeated at home this season. But Tampa Bay is not the home team here, Carolina is. Now the Buccaneers bludgeoned the Panthers as badly as Plaxico Burress’ thigh earlier in the season when the two teams met in Tampa. Carolina should be hungrier than an inmate on a hunger strike for revenge, especially in the friendly confines of its home stadium. Prediction: Carolina 17, Tampa Bay 12.
