Games of the week

Lions at Vikings. Minnesota (5-0) is favored by 1.5 over Detroit (5-1) and is coming off a bye. Lions lost Hutchinson last week with a broken leg, and that is almost certainly part of the reason the Vikings are the favorite. Still, I like the Lions. They have the best offensive line in football and the best running back tandem in Montgomery & Gibbs. Goff is playing extremely well and he has lots of weapons. Minnesota has a stout defense and plenty of weapons of their own at receiver. I just don't think they have enough. Smart money thinks this will be a high scoring affair; I think it will be a very entertaining game.

Texans at Packers. Green Bay (4-2) is favored by 3 over Houston (5-1). These teams are pretty evenly matched. Neither team is a world beater at running the football but both feature terrific quarterback play and gifted receivers. The loss of Nico Collins hurts the Texans more than a little. Green Bay isn't as good at rushing the passer (they're no slouches either) but they have a superior secondary. I'm a Bears fan. I hate the Packers. I have hated them since 1986 when Charles Martin broke Jim McMahon. But I have to admit they're a good football team. Houston is 5-1 but three of those wins have come against teams with losing records, and they beat the Bears in week two when Chicago was frankly a mess on offense. I'll take the Pack here, but I hope I'm wrong.

Ravens at Buccaneers. Baltimore (4-2) is favored by 3.5 over Tampa Bay (4-2). The Ravens are looking like the team that had the best record in the AFC last year, and adding Derrick Henry - an absolute stud at running back - has definitely improved them. Their defense has slipped a bit against the pass, but running on this team is extremely difficult once again. Tampa meanwhile just keeps winning football games. They're the only team this year to hang a loss on Detroit. On paper the Ravens win this game nine out of ten times. I think they'll win Monday night, but don't be surprised if it's a close game. Tampa Bay is a better football team than most think.

The only other game that looks really close to me is the one between Jacksonville and New England on Sunday morning, and both teams are so bad that this matchup has little appeal. The Seahawks/Falcons game looks evenly matched on paper but I do not believe in Seattle.