Games of the Week! 4 Games You Don’t Wanna Miss!

Week 9 is upon us and this weekend offers some really exciting matchups to key in on. From some heated Divisional Battles to a great match up in the Mile High City under the bright lights on Monday Night! We got it covered. Let’s get going…

Baltimore Ravens vs Cincinnati Bengals
This is now a clash for staying power in the AFC North. The Bengals along with the Steelers lead the North with a 5-2 record and the Ravens, after a big win against Denver, are nipping on their heels. A Ravens win will knock the Bengals down to their 3 loss level and after losing to them in Week 5 by 3 points you can bet they want revenge! Cincinnati is playing very well, the last time these two matched up Cedric Benson rushed for over 100 yards breaking a long Ravens streak of holding opposing rushers under that mark. Carson Palmer is playing very well this year as well as he seems healthy and is clicking with Esteban OchoCinco. The Bengals have the 3 headed attack on offense but the big story for them this year is their Defense. Even with the loss of sack leader Antwan Odom for the season with an Achillies injury, the Bengals have been playing solid on D’ and have a nice differential at +35! The Ravens meanwhile rebounded in a big way last Sunday against the then undefeated Broncos. Ed Reed played like a beast, forcing fumbles and crushing guys on D’ and forcing bad punts with pressure on Special Teams. When a Safety can also return punts you know you have a playmaker back there. The Ravens D’ brought pressure, pressure, pressure against the Broncos and they looked like the Raven D’ of old. Speaking of differential, the Ravens are +83 in that catagory and we expect that stat to increase this week. We like the Ravens to return serve, go on the road and beat the Bengals, the way the Bengals did to them!

 

Miami Dolphins vs New England Patriots
This is another Divisional battle but this time it’s the the AFC East. Everytime Miami travels to New England we have images of the Wildcat formation and Ronnie Brown having his way with the Patriot D’. This New England team has been clicking of late, thanks to games against teams that didn’t have a win when they faced them. The Pats all world QB Tom Brady seems to be hitting his stride after overcoming a horrible knee injury that ended his 2008 season in just the first game of last season. Brady, Moss and Welker have been lighting it up once again bringing visions of the 2007 record breaking season.  When the Pats get their offense going they are tough to beat, period. The Dolphins face the task this week of climbing back into the East race and beating the Pats would go a long way toward that. The Dolphins have battled the best the NFL has to offer so far in the Colts and Saints and they played admirably in losing efforts but they proved they can battle with the best of them. The questions will be, can the young Cornerbacks of Sean Smith and Vontae Davis hang with Wes Welker and Randy Moss and/or can the Patriots slow down the two headed monster that is Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Interesting matchup to be sure, but in the end we like the home team to win this one and the home team is the New England Patriots!

Dallas Cowboys vs Philadelphia Eagles
Here is another matchup for Divisional supremacy! This one is very important for both teams as the Giants have allowed these two loss teams to climb into first place. The Eagles dropped a tough one in Oakland but keep in mind they played that game with a banged up O-Line and Richard Seymour took advantage. Now that the O-Line for Philly is healed up and protecting McNabb, he can do what he does best! Throw it deep to his young talented Wide Outs! McNabb to DeSean Jackson for one bomb a game seems to be a regular occurrance and then add in the up and coming Jeremy Maclin and it doesn’t take long to see this team is loaded on offense. The D’ is still solid and forces Turnovers and they are proving to be a tough team to beat. For the Cowboys, they are also starting to put it together. Tony Romo hasn’t had a turnover in a few games and a new Number 1 receiver has emerged in the form of Miles Austin. The young man out of Monmouth University has been going off lately after setting a Franchise Record with over 250 yards receiving. The Cowboys are also starting to get solid play out of their Defensive superstar in DeMarcus Ware who can make life miserable for opposing QB’s. The Cowboys are going to need to keep constant pressure on McNabb so the Deep Show doesn’t get going. We don’t see that happening and like the Eagles to win one in the City of Brotherly Love!

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos finally lost a game in 2009 and it came much later than anyone expected, especially in Bristol! The Broncos have been the suprise team so far this year and have done so with efficient Offense and a dominant Defense. After 8 weeks the Broncos D’ is the number 1 ranked unit in the NFL but they were picked apart pretty good in Baltimore last week. Much of that had to with the fact that the Denver offense couldn’t really get going and the D’ was out on the field longer than they wanted. Denver is looking to bounce back against the Super Bowl Champs who have found a new swagger thanks to 2nd year RB Rashard Mendenhall. The Steelers, behind Mendenhall, have gotten back to their smashmouth ways. Big Ben has also been playing well hooking up with his talented offensive weapons in Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes. For two straight weeks the Broncos play a team coming off their bye week but this week the Broncos will be ready! We like Denver to win at home under the bright lights on Monday Night Football!