Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Football Pick

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Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-14): Taking the Steelers as a double digit favorite is always scary, and especially this season considering they haven’t beaten anybody by that kind of margin, even allowing a late touchdown last week to the Lions to win by just 8 – and yes, I’m still a little bitter about that. But this match-up begs me to take the Steel City, and I won’t fight it. If you’ve read my picks, you know I love picking against a team that won last week and probably should have lost. When your quarterback goes 2-17 you should lose. When it’s against a defensive secondary that had 3 of 4 starters out with injury, you should really lose. When the most your entire team can score is two field goals, in a game where you were handed two turnovers deep in the opponents zone – you should definitely lose. But the Browns defied reality, beat logic, and tricked reason – and they got the win last week. The Steelers can run the ball, haven been doing it effectively since Rashard Mendenhall took over starting duties, and they can throw the ball very effectively as well. The Browns offense is brutal and their defense is rated at the bottom of the league in both passing and rushing. What can I say, this is the safest survivor pick this week, two touchdowns is a lot, but I’m taking the Steelers.

Carolina Panthers vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL Pick

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Carolina Panthers (-3) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Panthers have actually been a better road team than a home team over the years, especially when it comes to covering. Another thing begging me to bet the Bucs, Carolina should have lost last week. They were down 17-2 midway through the 3rd quarter. Now, they aren’t often a road favorite, and historically the Panthers aren’t a great favorite bet, but all things are going out the window this week because I don’t see Carolina losing to the Bucs to go 1-4. Carolina isn’t one of the bottom 5 teams in football, and the Bucs are. I thought the Bucs would be decent this year, but the re-build is going to be tough, and Carolina has enough to get it done. Defensively, they’ve actually been solid, but the offense has put them in absolutely no place to succeed. With Tampa Bay struggling to stop the run, I think DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart have great weeks leading their team to victory. Steve Smith has a knack for getting into the end-zone against this division rival, and I expect him to make a visit in Week 6. A tough pick for me, my rules tell me Bucs, my mind tells me Carolina – you know what they say, mind over gambling on the Bucs!

Kansas City Chiefs vs Washington Redskins NFL Pick

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Kansas City Chiefs (+7) @ Washington Redskins: This is a real excitement filled contest! For the fifth time this season (which makes that every single week so far) the Redskins are going up against an opponent without a win. Yes, despite being 2-3 on the season, 1-3-1 ATS, the Redskins opponents have been winless prior to meeting the Skins. Lucky for opposing teams, the Redskins have given opponents their first win of the season 3 times. They’ve managed to play close games, though, another reason to take the Chiefs this week in D.C. Another reason to take the Chiefs? They always cover against Washington, at least in the last 5 match-ups they have. What else? I like what I saw from Matt Cassel last week, and from the looks of it he’s getting a little more comfortable with his new offense. KC has played tough with some good teams this year, despite losing by double digits to both Baltimore and New York, they played solid football in both games. They’re winless so far, but if it’s up to the Redskins, that will change. KC’s secondary and run defense can be exposed, but there’s not much positive coming out of Washington these days, so I’ll just take the Chiefs and that free touchdown. This brings the question, should Washington be favored by a touchdown against anyone? I think not.