Thursday, August 31
Picks: Jags over Titans in tight one




Never mind that Jacksonville lost 20-19 at home to Tennessee.

Jevon Kearse
Jevon Kearse and the Titans will try to end the Jaguars' 11-game winning streak.
Never mind that the Jaguars lead the Titans by two games in the AFC Central with two games to go and need only one victory to clinch the division.

Never mind that to get home field for the AFC playoffs, the tiebreakers mandate that the Jaguars need a win over Cincinnati -- not the Titans -- a week later.

The Jaguars are still favored by three points in their game in Nashville on Sunday. It makes sense, up to a point.

The Jags are the better team, although they've beaten no one with a winning record. They're coming off a lethargic 24-14 victory in Cleveland and will be looking to sharpen their game for the playoffs.

But the Titans have the same incentive.

And although they're 11-3, they have a win over St. Louis, the NFC's equivalent of the Jaguars. They've never lost a game in Adelphia Coliseum, where they're 7-0, and they've got Jevon Kearse, who might not just be the league's Defensive Rookie of theYear, but its Defensive Player of the Year, too.

Hard call. Jaguars 20, Titans 19.

Kansas City (plus 3) at Seattle: Despite four consecutive losses, the Seahawks can take control of the AFC West with a win. Freefall. Chiefs 16, Seahawks 15.

Green Bay (plus 3) at Tampa Bay: Tony Dungy thinks the Bucs will bounce back from the Oakland debacle. He's usually right about such things. Bucs 24, Packers 16.

Minnesota (minus 3) at New York Giants: Except for Randy Moss, the Giants match up pretty well against the Vikings. And Randy's making mistakes these days. Giants 27, Vikings 23.

New York Jets (plus 4) at Miami (Monday night): The Jets won 28-20 in the Meadowlands two weeks ago. And they're still playing hard. Jets 6, Dolphins 3.

Denver (plus 4½) at Detroit (Saturday): Denver plays for pride. Detroit plays for the playoffs. And the Lions play much better indoors. Lions 26, Broncos 21.

Dallas (minus 8) at New Orleans (Friday): The Cowboys are nothing special, but the Saints are nothing. Unless Jake Delhomme is Kurt Warner ... Cowboys 26, Saints 3.

Chicago (plus 10) at St. Louis: Tough call. Do the Rams let up against the feisty Bears now that they've clinched all they can clinch? A little. Rams 24, Bears 15.

Buffalo (minus 3) at New England: Go with playoff incentive.Bills 23, Patriots 10.

Carolina (minus 3) at Pittsburgh: Go with playoff incentive. Panthers 18, Steelers 6.

Indianapolis (minus 13½) at Cleveland: Go with home-field incentive. Colts 37, Browns 11.

Washington (minus 7) at San Francisco: Go with playoff incentive. Redskins 42, 49ers 22.

Cincinnati (plus 7) at Baltimore: Go with playoff incentive. Ravens 31, Bengals 26.

Oakland (minus 3) at San Diego: Go with ... never mind. Raiders 20, Chargers 3.

Arizona (plus 2) at Atlanta: Arizona has incentive ... sort of. Cardinals 17, Falcons 6.

Last week: 10-5 (spread); 11-4 (straight up). Season: 103-108-7 (spread); 135-83 (straight up).







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