* Detroit 20, Chicago 19: The only thing that worries me here is that it’s a Monday night game and the opponent isn’t Dallas or San Francisco. Are the Bears good enough for the Lions to beat? Pick vs. spread: Chicago.
* Minnesota 23, Tampa Bay 21: What happened to all that bold talk from Sam Wyche? Pick vs. spread: Tampa Bay.
* San Francisco 30, Buffalo 23: Years ago, these two met in one of the most forgettable Super Bowls ever played. And now . . . ah, forget it. Pick vs. spread: Buffalo.
* NY Jets 5, St. Louis 3: My favorite quote is Jets owner Leon Hess telling his team last week, “Let’s show the world we’re not a bunch of horses’ rear ends!” Wow. Talk about inspiration. Pick vs. spread: Jets.
* Indianapolis 28, Carolina 20: Between Jim Harbaugh and Elvis Grbac, people are now referring to Michigan as “that passing school.” Pick vs. spread: Indianapolis.
* Green Bay 17, Cincinnati 13: David Shula has been ordered not to win any more games, lest he have a better record than his father. Pick vs. spread: Cincinnati.
* New England 21, New Orleans 10: Don’t look now, but the Patriots might make the playoffs. Pick vs. spread: New England.
* Miami 24, Atlanta 17: Speaking of dear old dad, don’t you get the feeling they’re piling a little too much blame on him, and not enough on players who can’t tackle a shopping bag? Pick vs. spread: Miami.
* Kansas City 26, Oakland 24: If they had separate Super Bowls for each conference — and that sounds like a pretty good idea — this would be it for the AFC. Pick vs. spread: Kansas City.
* San Diego 28, Cleveland 9: Considering the Browns are now an orphaned team, nobody is showing them any mercy. Pick vs. spread: San Diego.
* Denver 27, Jacksonville 20: The Jaguars, after looking like a miracle, are back to looking like an expansion team. Pick vs. spread: Jacksonville.
* Pittsburgh 14, Houston 13: Who’s scraping the rust off of Steve McNair? Pick vs. spread: Houston.
* Dallas 28, Washington 20: Remember when this was a marquee game? Remember leisure suits? Pick vs. spread: Washington.
* Philadelphia 26, Seattle 20: All these people screaming about how great a record Philly has should realize that most of the teams they beat would lose to a Winnebago. Pick vs. spread: Philadelphia.
* Last week: 9-7.
* Season: 72-64 (I got a late start).
* Last week vs. spread: 7-9.
* Season vs. spread: 63-70-3.
* Mitch vs. Curt (vs. spread): Curt Sylvester leads Albom by seven games, 70-63-3 to 63-70-3. The sports writer with the best record gets his choice of teams in the Freep’s annual Great Super Bowl Debate. The debate will appear the day before Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, Ariz.
* Best pick last week: Pittsburgh 19, Cleveland 17 (Steelers won, 20-17).
* Worst pick last week: Atlanta 28, Arizona 6 (Cardinals won, 40-37, in overtime).
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