Last week was one for the record books. The Redskins start their third string QB and beat the Cowboys on the road and the Saints decided to finally play some football and ran over (literally) the Packers, handing me a loss in the Lock and the Upset categories.

The only one I got right was the Cardinals outlasting the Eagles in the Game of the Week.

So I guess I’d better stay with the hometown team again this week, right? Riiiiiiight!

Let’s shake things up this week and go off the beaten path a little. Take a look!

This week’s Lock of the Week (6-2).

This came down to two games for me. My first thought was to take the Bengals over the Jags. I mean, after cruising for a couple of weeks, Cincinnati appeared to be themselves again last week. Meanwhile, Jacksonville has been playing their best lately and are still one of the worst teams in the AFC. So it only makes sense to pick this game.

But then I looked further down the schedule and spotted a battle in the great northwest. Okay, battle may not be the word that first came to mind. Slaughter is more like it!

So I’m going with the Seattle Seahawks over the visiting Oakland Raiders in a big way.

Take my description above of the Jags and apply it to the Raiders. They are no longer getting blown out of the water every week, but they are still losing every week. And they are playing at the top of their game!

And now they have to travel to the loudest stadium in the league to play a team that is desperate for a victory. Not only do I think the Seahawks will win, I think they will return to their winning formula of run, run, run, run, pass, run, run, etc.

The result won’t be pretty if you’re a Raiders fan, but then that’s nothing new for you this season, or should I say this decade?

Seattle scores early and often in this blowout victory over the Raiders!

This week’s Upset of the Week (3-5).

I had three games to choose from this week. I’ve got Arizona scheduled to “upset” the Cowboys in Dallas, but chose to take a break from the hometown team this week. I’ve also got the Redskins going to Minnesota and celebrating the return of RGIII in a big way, but decided that these two teams are both so bad that you can’t trust either one of them.

So I’ve decided go with the battle of the vacation beach towns and pick the visiting San Diego Chargers over the Miami Dolphins.

I know the Dolphins have been playing better ball lately, so I don’t expect them to simply roll over and die, but I do expect the better team to win this game. And although they haven’t been playing as well lately as they were in the first few weeks of the season, the better team is clearly San Diego.

The Chargers running game has been severely lacking over the past few weeks, so I don’t expect them to put up forty points against a pretty decent Dolphin defense. However, their passing game is too good for Miami to stop and will put it in the end zone at least three times.

This will be enough against a mediocre Miami offense that will struggle to move the ball this week. Look for the Chargers to stay in control all game and win by ten points.

This week’s Game of the Week (5-3).

Once again, I naturally drifted toward picking the Arizona – Dallas game this week, since it would be a battle of the top two teams in the NFC. But after last week’s dismal display against the Redskins on MNF, and Romo nursing a couple of broken bones in his back, I’m not sure this will end up being a “Game of the Week” caliber game.

So I’ve decided to travel across the country to sunny Massachusetts (just checking to see if you’re paying attention!) and go with the matchup everyone has been talking about all week. The New England Bradys versus the Denver Mannings.

What? You say there are actual teams in those two cities? They’re called the Patriots and Broncos? Are you sure? All I’ve heard from the talking head experts this week is Brady versus Manning. And the Bradys must play pretty good defense, too, since they have single handedly beaten the Mannings ten out of fifteen times!

So there actual teams involved here? Hmmm, that may change things. Let me take look at some of the stats.

So Denver has the most powerful offense in the NFL. And their defense has been playing pretty darned good lately, too. Their numero uno running back is coming back, even though the number two RB has been lighting it up for the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, the Patriots began the season looking impotent at best (and pathetic at worst). However, even without any big named receivers on the roster, Brady has been on fire over the past four weeks, looking like the future QB that we all know he is.

And neither Brady nor Manning actually play defense, so the fact is they don’t actually play each other!

So who do we go with in this iconic battle? Well, if you listen to the experts, spewing all of the historical statistics, it’s a no-brainer that you have to pick Brady and the Patriots (sounds like a sixties pop band, doesn’t it).

But I’ve never liked pop music (die-hard rocker, here!), and I don’t think that historical stats decide football games, especially when you’re dealing with a couple of guys like these two.

Bucking all of the experts’ opinions, I think that this will be a great battle, but the visiting team is clearly the better team and simply has too many weapons to lose such an important game. The Broncos are on their way to the number one seed in the AFC, and this will be another victory on that path.

The Denver Broncos will pull away in the second half and beat the New England Patriots handily.

There are some great games on the menu this week. Go and enjoy!!