Opinion Corner: Packers, Giants prove capable

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Last week was a stark reminder that underachieving teams are still dangerous on a weekly basis in the NFL.

The Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers found that out, losing to the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants, respectively.

Yours truly picked both correctly, but I still found myself in awe while watching Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers carve up the Texans’ celebrated pass defense like a Thanksgiving turkey.

On the other side, Eli Manning did the same with the 49ers. Both are all-pro signal-callers with the ability to put their teams on their broad shoulders and carry them across the finish line.

Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Miami, Philadelphia and San Diego have byes.

The picks:

Tennessee (2-3) at Buffalo (3-3): I don’t know how Tennessee beat Pittsburgh last week, and I don’t know how they’ll beat Buffalo this week. Bills 34, Titans 23

Cleveland (1-5) at Indianapolis (2-3): OK, so this game is kind of a Toilet Bowl. But rookie quarterbacks squaring off in Brandon Weeden of Cleveland and Andrew Luck of Indy should make for some interesting football, especially with how many times they’ll throw it to the wrong uniform. Indy 34, Cleveland 26

Baltimore (5-1) at Houston (5-1): Probably the game of the week, and with Houston coming off the pounding it received from Green Bay, it’s likely to rebound with a better effort. Texans 23, Ravens 20

Green Bay (3-3) at St. Louis (3-3): Oddly enough, this could be a game the Rams win. Green Bay has the ability to be a great team, but it’ll be games like this that plague them this year. This is a game the Pack should win. Packers 24, Rams 13

New Orleans (1-4) at Tampa Bay (2-3): The Saints needed the bye week badly, and they should be ready to get win No. 2 against a rival. Saints 31, Bucs 27

Dallas (2-3) at Carolina (1-4): Dallas really isn’t that great of a team. It has weapons galore, but again, it can’t find an offensive identity. Cam Newton is salivating at all the chances he’s going to get when Dallas fails to get first downs. Panthers 38, Cowboys 34

Arizona (4-2) at Minnesota (4-2): I would have picked these two teams to have a combined three wins at this point, rather than a respectable 8-4 record. The edge goes to the Vikes in the Metrodome. Vikings 24, Cardinals 21

Washington (3-3) at N.Y. Giants (4-2): Washington is the lesser opponent, which is why it will win this game. The Giants play down to their opponents. Redskins 30, Giants 27

Jacksonville (1-4) at Oakland (1-4): The real loser in this one? The people who have to sit through this game. Raiders 27, Jaguars 23

N.Y. Jets (3-3) at New England (3-3): The winner of this one is promised a leg up in the AFC East. Hard to go against Belichick and the Pats at home. Patriots 23, Jets 20

Pittsburgh (2-3) at Cincinnati (3-3): Both of these defenses have been disappointing this season, considering they were expected to carry their teams. Steelers 20, Bengals 17

Detroit (2-3) at Chicago (4-1): Everyone was so positive Detroit was going back to the playoffs. It takes more than a flash in the pan to make it in this league. Something’s not right with Detroit QB Matt Stafford. Bears 38, Lions 24

Last week: 7-6

Season: 48-36

Sun sports writer Chris Aarhus can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by email at caarhus@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, nfl