Sorry for the delay in getting this out. I had the day off yesterday and was not at home. Actually, I spent part of the day at the Staples Center where I was witness to a Hall of Fame career in the making as Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers scored 47 points against the Indiana Pacers in a 114-107 victory. Griffin shot 79% from the field. It was beautiful.
Green Bay 48, Atlanta 21
Atlanta has been living dangerously for much of the season, and it finally caught up with them in this offensive masterpiece from the Packers. The Packers' defense wasn't exactly sitting idly by as they sacked Matt Ryan several times, and forced four turnovers, one of them brought back for a touchdown.
Chicago 35, Seattle 24
Seattle did a good job of moving the ball and limiting mistakes but couldn't overcome the rushing and receiving juggernaut of running back Matt Forte who racked up about 140 yards of total offense.
New York Jets 28, New England 21
Dewey defeats Truman.
Pittsburgh 31, Baltimore 24
I can't really comment much about the actual content of the game except to say that this contest was clearly rigged in favor of Pittsburgh. Phantom calls against the Ravens throughout the game literally took points out of their column and added them to the Steelers'. There were several non-calls for ridiculous late hits as well. It's just really hard to win a football game when you are playing against both the opposing team and the refs.
Here are my predictions for this weekend:
Green Bay 27, Chicago 24
It's a rubber match that should live up to expectations. Both teams are superb, but I think Aaron Rodgers gives the Packers the edge.
New York Jets 20, Pittsburgh 17
If the Jets can beat the Colts and the Patriots in their own stadiums in successive weeks, why wouldn't they be able to beat Pittsburgh?