All times Eastern
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4:05 pm Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams (-13, 46 1/2) - In the second half of their season opener, the Rams dominated Oakland, outscoring their hosts, 23-0 for a 33-13 victory. The Rams have everything in place for another run at a division title and good results in the playoffs.
Arizona looked feeble in its 24-6 home loss to the Redskins and are up against it on this trip to LA. The Rams hammered them, 33-0 and 32-16 last season and the Cardinals look worse this year than their 8-8 squad of 2-17.
Coin Flip: Los Angeles Rams
PREDICTION: Rams 40 Cardinals 10
4:05 pm Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers (-6 1/2, 47 1/2) - Pounded, 48-17 by the Jets in their home opener, the Lions are one of the more pathetic teams in the league and will be lucky to win more than six games this season.
On the other hand, the 49ers are fresh under the guidance of QB Jimmy Garoppolo and should make amends for their 24-16 loss at Minnesota in week 1.
Coin Flip: San Francisco
PREDICTION: 49ers 30 Lions 16
4:25 pm New England Patriots (-1, 45) at Jacksonville Jaguars - Tough to go against the Patriots and a healthy Tom Brady, but Blake Bortles and the Jaguars may turn out to be the new face of the NFL.
Last season, the Jags went 10-6 and advanced to the conference championship, losing at New England, 24-20. A win here would go a long way toward securing home field for the playoffs should both teams get there again. Jacksonville's defense is like a bag of hammers and New England's pass receivers - outside of superstar Rob Gronkowski - leaves much to be desired.
Coin Flip: Jacksonville
PREDICTION: Jaguars 27 Patriots 20
4:25 pm Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos (-5 1/2, 46) - A real toss-up of a game considering the strengths and weaknesses of each team, but any analysis leads to the conclusion that this will be a close call. The Broncos played over their heads in last week's 27-24 win over Seattle, while the Raiders were outplayed by a more organized group in the LA Rams.
The Raiders should fix what was broken in the Rans game and may notch a win here. No matter what the points are a must.
Coin Flip: Oakland
PREDICTION: Raiders 26 Broncos 24
8:20 pm New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys (-3 1/2, 42 1/2) - Neither of these teams is very good, so this game doesn't have the usual NFC East ambiance. While the Giants may not be a playoff contender, the Cowboys have proven nothing other than that they stink.
It's too bad the NFL can't change this game because they really could use the ratings. If there are any protests in Dallas, it could be in the stands, as the fans deserve better players and coaching.
Coin Flip: NY Giants
PREDICTION: Giants 23 Cowboys 13
Monday, September 17
8:15 pm Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears (-3, 43) - The Bears sure looked solid for three quarters on Sunday night, but their 24-23 loss to the packers had to be deflating.
Seattle battled hard, but eventually fell to the Broncos, 27-24, in Denver last week, and they'll be hungry for a victory and a good showing on Monday night. It is the second straight road game for Seattle, but it's too early in the season for that to matter. This could be very close and probably will be an exciting game, but the Seahawks are going to be better organized and will likely have some trick plays to confuse Chicago's revamped defense.
Coin Flip: Seattle
PREDICTION: Seahawks 21 Bears 17
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