The Tribune

WEEK 9

Browns at Bengals

RENALDO: At one point this used to be “The Battle Of Ohio.” Now it’s a title better suited for the weekly fight between LeBron’s barber and the progression of his receding hairline. I believe in this version of the Bengals and this version of Andy Dalton. What I don’t believe in - Johnny Manziel and Mike Pettine’s “on again, off again” relationship.

BENGALS over Browns

SANNIE: Like I said last week, the Bengals are undefeated and the Browns are intent on messing up my final few months with this last name.

BENGALS over Browns

Dolphins at Bills

RENALDO: There was an immediate knee-jerk reaction to last week’s massacre at Foxboro. First - that both the Dan Campbell era and season are over. Second - same old Dolphins. Then you realise the Pats are really good and would have destroyed the Fins no matter who was coaching. This is a different ballgame and a better test. It doesn’t help that the Bills return five offensive starters who didn’t play last week, including Tyrod Taylor, Karlos Williams, right tackle Seantrel Henderson, right guard John Miller and Sammy Watkins. That means they’re pretty close to the team that throttled the Dolphins 41-14 in September. My only saving grace is Rex Ryan’s horrible coaching ability after a week off. “My record off a bye week is horrendous,” Ryan said Monday. In six years with Jets, Ryan’s teams went 1-5 after the bye, including last year’s 38-3 loss to the Bills in Detroit.

DOLPHINS over Bills

SANNIE: As much as I want the Dolphins to work for Renaldo’s sake, I have to go with the Bills on this one. The Dolphins got ripped last week, they need this win, but I’m not sure they will get it. (Sorry Renaldo)

BILLS over Dolphins

Packers at Panthers

RENALDO: Green Bay’s loss was understandable - on the road at Mile High Stadium against an undefeated team and the best defence in the league.  The Packers have been a surprising bust scoring 17 points or less in three of four games last month. That doesn’t seem right. This team has Aaron Rodgers. It’s not time to panic, but we may have overestimated how well Rodgers would be able to get on this season despite the loss of Jordy Nelson.

PACKERS over

Panthers

SANNIE: I love Cam Newton I swear I do. The smile, way he dresses, everything, but I just can’t go with him. The Packers have a great record so far, and while I want to stand by Cam, my need to beat these boys is greater.

PACKERS over

Panthers

Jaguars at Jets

RENALDO: Does anyone have an idea who’s playing quarterback for the Jets this week? The poo-poo platter of signal callers include a Ryan Fitzpatrick desperately in need of thumb surgery, an untested rookie in Bryce Petty or a healthy Geno Smith. That all sounds awful and none of it sounds like it gets you a win, even against Jacksonville.

JAGUARS over Jets

SANNIE: Even though the Jets lost to the Raiders, which gave Eddie bragging rights for another week, I am going to choose them this week because their roster is unattractive.

JETS over Jaguars

Rams at Vikings

SANNIE: I literally  know nothing about these two teams, so I am going to randomly choose the Rams.

RAMS over Vikings

RENALDO: Is Todd Gurley now the best running back in the NFL? I’m not sure when this happened, but I suppose it did and we barely noticed. Adrian Peterson is third in the league with 633 yards on 140 carries, but Gurley is ranked fifth with 575 yards on just 94 carries. The Vikings’ passing game has struggled with Teddy Bridgewater ranked 28th and Nick Foles continues to be ranked just behind Colin Kaepernick in “almost” interceptions. This game comes down to defence and the running game.

RAMS over Vikings

Washington at Patriots

RENALDO: It’ll be great to see the Washington Racial Slurs face their turn against the Evil Empire. Everyone has their chance to get embarrassed on national television and this is theirs. After this win, the Patriots are guaranteed to finish the season with a record of .500 or better for the 15th consecutive season. What’s the over/under on the amount of times a Patriots defender asks Kirk Cousins “You like that!?” My guess is 475,000.

PATS over Washington

SANNIE: The Patriots are undefeated, it only makes sense to take them. It really makes sense when I hear people around here refer to Tom Brady as a “god.”

PATS over Washington

Titans at Saints

RENALDO: The premature obituary to Drew Brees’ career has to be one of the most notable flops the media (just me) has made in history. It’s right up there with “Dewey Defeats Truman” headline following the 1948 US presidential election. The Titans have their own “Change The Culture” opportunity after getting rid of Ken Whisenhunt who had an amazing 6-44 win loss record as a head coach in his last 50 games. Mike Mularkey is good at developing quarterbacks, but he’s not the hero Dan Campbell is.

SAINTS over Titans

SANNIE: The Titans have won one game…hmmmm, doesn’t take a genius to figure out they would be the wrong choice.

SAINTS over Titans

Raiders at Steelers

RENALDO: Easily the game of the week. I’m pretty certain there are people out there still absolutely pissed about Franco Harris’ Immaculate Reception. That sparked a run in the 70s where they met in the playoffs for four consecutive years, but the last time these teams met in the playoffs was 1983. This game has direct playoff implications, something we haven’t been able to say about this rivalry in a long time. The Steelers are missing Le’Veon Bell, Big Ben still looks tentative, Derek Carr’s numbers suggest he’s a legit top five quarterback right now and Jack Del Rio may be the real Dan Campbell.

RAIDERS over Steelers

SANNIE: The Raiders have surprisingly been doing a good job lately. I even picked them twice, but something tells me their luck is about to run out. Sorry, Eddie.

STEELERS over

Raiders

Giants at Buccaneers

SANNIE: This one is tough, not because I know these teams (because I don’t) but I promised to pick the Bucs. However, something tells me that won’t be the best choice, sorry Donovan.

GIANTS over Bucs

RENALDO: There’s no reason to have any optimism about anything the Giants can do defensively. If Jameis Winston leads the Bucs to 30 points we shouldn’t be surprised because the defensive unit is a sieve. Dead last in total defence and hitting the road after giving up a record seven touchdown passes last week to Drew Brees. At this point it doesn’t matter if Jason Pierre-Paul has eight fingers or one hand. The Giants need all the help they can get.

BUCS over Giants

Falcons at 49ers

RENALDO: It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that that 49ers have folded up shop and expect to lose every single game for the remainder of the season. That’s the message you go for when you make Blaine Gabbert your starting quarterback right? It has to be. I’ve never seen an NFL quarterback look more overwhelmed than Gabbert did during his tenure with Jacksonville. Maybe Ryan Leaf or Akili Smith, but that’s where the list ends.

FALCONS over Niners

SANNIE:  The Real Housewives of Atlanta trailer is out! Sunday is the big day. I will be glued to my TV.

FALCONS over 49ers

Broncos at Colts

RENALDO: There’s no way Andrew Luck is healthy, Chuck Pagano is all but fired already, but on the upside, the Colts no longer have a guy named “Pep” calling their plays. Good for them. Peyton Manning has looked horrible much of the year, and even in his best game he still didn’t throw a touchdown, but if there’s one game he’s assured to get up for…it’s this one. The Broncos just held Aaron Rodgers to 77 yards passing. Luck may finish with an NFL record -4 yards.

BRONCOS over Colts

SANNIE: The Broncos are also undefeated, seems like the obvious choice.

BRONCOS over Colts

Eagles at Cowboys

RENALDO: So despite cutting Joseph Randle, Christian Michael with an overwhelming 12 carries on the season, and resting all their hopes in Darren McFadden, the Cowboys’ front office is doubling down on their DeMarco Murray decision. Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said he had no regrets about the way the Murray decision went, even as the team’s offence plummets. The Cowboys are the jealous ex-boyfriend who tries to convince the world he doesn’t miss his ex-girlfriend although it’s painfully obvious to everyone that they were made for each other. The worst part, the new guy she’s with is a bum…but just slightly better than you this week.

EAGLES over Cowboys

SANNIE: I’m going to go with the Eagles, only because they seem to be the least terrible of these two teams.

EAGLES over Cowboys

Bears at Chargers

SANNIE:  Bears or Chargers, hmmmmm.  I have no clue what to do here, I guess “eenie, meenie, miny, mo” will do.

BEARS over Chargers

RENALDO: Both of these teams face injury concerns, but the Chargers are a decimated team. They lost three players to the IR list, including Keenan Allen, the AFC’s receptions leader. In all, 12 players left the Ravens game due to injury and defensive stalwarts Eric Weddle and Manti Te’o remain inactive. Philip Rivers has thrown for over 1,500 yards, 10 touchdowns and just three interceptions in the last four games, but the Chargers are 0-4 in those contests. Despite all that, I still trust Rivers more than I trust Cutler without Matt Forte in the backfield. God, I hate picking these games.

CHARGERS over Bears