Last Week: 8-6

New York Giants (0-5) at Chicago Bears (3-2)

Don't be fooled by the hype! - The Giants genuinely suck this year. Eli Manning is doing his best to throw an interception for every TD his brother throws and they’ve given up at least 3 turnovers (and at least 30 points) in each of their first five games this year. Jay Cutler’s Cutlets showed a lot of heart against New Orleans in a game I thought they’d get crushed in. Alshon Jeffrey had a career game (218 yds & a TD), establishing himself as a 2nd option threat. Their defence was commendable against Drew Brees too. Eli could still torch them, but as always turnovers will cost NYG. Is there anyone left in the Giants team who hasn’t fumbled? Tom Coughlin’ll be dropping his clipboard next.

Wildcard’s Pick: Bears by 10

Cincinnati Bengals (3-2) at Buffalo Bills (2-3)

Riddle me this: Cincinnati have conspired to beat Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, yet lost to Brian Hoyer’s Browns in between. They’ll beat Buffalo, methinks, but it’s a matter of by how much. 210 yards and 2TDs ought to win it for Andy Dalton, but he hasn’t exactly been setting the league alight. Not like that flaming mop of hair he sports (or his equally fiery eyebrows that make him look like the ginger Wonder Twin). I almost wrote ‘Flaming Moe’ then. Aah, now there’s a fond pop cultural memory…

Wildcard’s Pick: Oh, right. Umm, Bengals by 7

Detroit Lions (3-2) at Cleveland Browns (3-2)

Man, this is hard to pick. Detroit was anaemic without Calvin Johnson. If he plays this week, game over. But without him, this could be tight, supposing Cleveland can get that same Brian-Hoyer-production outta Brandon Weeden. It’s worth wondering if Cleveland should have made a run for Josh Freeman. In fact, Matt Flynn would be a decent fit here. That guys deserves a chance someplace, it seems like he gets cut more often than a bipolar Bieber fan’s wrist.

Wildcard’s Pick: Playin’ it safe with a 5 point Lions win

Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4)

The smack talk has already started here, with Philly WR DeSean Jackson calling out TB cornerback Darrelle Revis by declaring that he’s too fast him. It doesn’t really matter against a winless team with a rookie QB. All they need is Nick Foles to give them some more of what he served up in Mick Vick’s absence against the Giants.

Wildcard’s Pick: Philly by 6

Green Bay Packers (2-2) at Baltimore Ravens (3-2)

Baltimore is a poor 3-2 team. When Joe Flacco threw that late pick I thought for sure they were done. But they managed to rally against a Miami team not used to winning games yet. Absolutely no way they win the Superbowl again, but the playoffs are likely if they can start playing up to their abilities. Excluding Terrell Suggs, because if he plays any better, then mountains will fall and seas will dry up. Green Bay has plenty of their own issues. But Aaron Rodgers counteracts them all for now.

Wildcard’s Pick: Packers by 7

St Louis Rams (2-3) at Houston Texans (2-3)

Oh, Matt Schaub. What happened? This game is less about who wins, and more about who implodes first. Schaub has been leading this team to the playoffs, but this year he looks a shrivelled shell of a man. Not content with burning his jersey in the carpark, fans have taken to assaulting him at his own home. Obviously something is wrong with Schaub, but you’re not getting a better QB than him midseason without trading away your shot at the postseason. It’s tough to watch, but somehow they just have to ease him through this till he regains his confidence. For now, Matty looks like a dead man walking. He’s New Hampshire shack Walter White. He’s coked-out Tony Montana. He’s every single character in the history of war films that ever showed off a picture of his sweetheart before flying ‘one last mission’. Or the cop about to retire from the force to sail around the world in pension-funded matrimonial bliss (23 secs in). He either takes the bull (Rams?) by the horn this week or the internet lynch mobs will get him.

Wildcard’s Pick: Texans by 10. When in doubt, handing the ball off to Arian Foster ain’t a bad idea

Oakland Raiders (2-3) at Kansas City Chiefs (5-0)

Have you seen the Chiefs schedule? They do have Denver twice and they host Indy in week 16, but every other game is one they should win. They can realistically go 12-4 or 13-3. Alex Smith is showing us exactly what he always did for San Fran: solid, safe game-management, which gets progressively more out of control the more he throws. I do enjoy his read-option stuff though. Oakland gave Terrelle Pryor a boost of confidence by cutting rival Matt Flynn. Pryor’s a good player to watch, but he’s got a long way to go to make this one competitive.

Wildcard’s Pick: Chiefs by 13

Carolina Panthers (1-3) at Minnesota Vikings (1-3)

Cam Newton was bleedin’ awful last week! How does a guy as nimble as he get sacked for a safety? I’m sick of picking them and being proven wrong. I refuse to back them anymore. PROVE ME WRONG CAROLINA! (…like you always seem to do). I’m not sure if I like Josh Freeman with Minnesota or not. He could be a great success, I mean he’s without doubt more talented than the status quo, but this team is Adrian Peterson’s team, whereas Freeman is a longball hurler. Greg Jennings will be a happy man at least. I’ll wait to see how this one evolves.

Wildcard’s Pick: Vikings exact some good ol’ fashioned Norse wrath with a 7 point win

Pittsburgh Steelers (0-4) at New York Jets (3-2)

Only one Superbowl winning QB has ever started 0-5 in a season. And Eli Manning is that one (he set the record last week, haha!). Big Ben Roethlisberger had better get used to losing, because it’ll be happening a lot this year. LeVeon Bell may prove to be worth something (I’ve taken a fantasy gamble on the guy), but he’ll never be Adrian Peterson with a sieve for an offensive line. The Jets, meanwhile, just beat Atlanta. Not sure if that’s a sign of how underrated NYJ are, or how average the Falcons actually are. Win this and they may just end the week in lone first place though...

Wildcard’s Pick: Jets by 3 – it won’t be worth watching

Tennessee Titans (3-2) at Seattle Seahawks (4-1)

Seattle at home. That’s all that needs saying.

Wildcard’s Pick: Seahawks by 14

Jacksonville Jaguars (0-5) at Denver Broncos (5-0)

This game features the biggest line ever offered in Vegas (Denver minus-28). It’s already over but for the formalities. Denver will blow the Jags out early, and cruise for 3 quarters. Which is why you may wanna take Jacksonville to cover that line – Peyton will have his feet up, sippin’ mojitos on the sideline by halftime. One of the many things that last week’s thrilling shoutout in Dallas overshadowed was just how hit and miss this Denver D is. They’re all about high risk/reward plays, which backfired big time against a stunning performance from Tony Romo. Suddenly we remember that this is the same team that was incinerated by Joe Flacco in the AFC Champ game last year. Fun fatc: Denver’s 51 points against Dallas match Jacksonville’s 51 points all season.

Wildcard’s Pick: Denver wins without even trying. Broncs by 24

Arizona Cardinals (3-2) at San Francisco 49ers (3-2)

San Francisco is looking a lot better, but it’s still not pretty. That blowout win week 1 vs Green Bay seems so long ago. The Houston win was gifted to them, wrapped up with a pretty little bow by Matt Schaub. Kaepernick had himself a 3TD lead despite having only 40 yards. He’s struggling big time, is Kap, as teams trap him in the pocket and force him to throw. Key receivers are missing too; in fact the 49ers are missing guys across the board. But a win here and they’re 4-2 and looking promising despite it all. Arizona, surprisingly, are winning games due to their strong defence, and with no thanks to the arthritic arm of Carson “Back in my day…” Palmer.

Wildcard’s Pick: 49ers by 10

New Orleans Saints (5-0) at New England Patriots (4-1)

Now that the Saints can win games on both sides of the ball, they are suddenly back to their 2010 best. The Pats, meanwhile, have just been scraping through. Hopefully Rob Gronkowski is back because A) I’m sick of talking about him being injured every week and B) to tell the truth, I kinda miss the guy. Jimmy Graham has it too easy right now. With ‘Party’ in the lineup, you can go ahead and christen this game ‘The Clash of the Tight Ends’.

Wildcard’s Pick: Saints are the real deal; they’ll take it by 6

Washington Redskins (1-3) at Dallas Cowboys (2-3)

It was the best of Romo, it was the worst of Romo. But mostly it was the best. He threw an untimely interception (which has sadly become his reputation – despite actually being statistically really good in the 4thQ), but aside from that one throw, this was the single best game of his career. Romo’s performance clouded the fact that his D gave up 51 points at home. Which is beyond unacceptable. I think that these days, Romo is strong willed enough to bounce back, and he’s having a superb year as it is (along with WR Dez Bryant, who may just be the league’s most dangerous receiver after the catch). Washington is very bad. Like, almost Giants bad. Dallas should roll over them, although they never do make things easy on themselves. The biggest talking point for this Redskins team is how racist their name is. Even the President called them out.

Wildcard’s Pick: Cowboys by 6

Indianapolis Colts (4-1) at San Diego Chargers (2-3)

If any player has earned his shot in the spotlight, it’s Andrew Luck. He’s got the best elements of Peyton Manning and the best elements of Tom Brady (“Luck be a Brady toniiight…”) whilst still being very much of the new generation. Phil Rivers has been having a great year himself (aside from last week’s Oakland game, played well past his bedtime), but Indianapolis are just out of their league. Having taken out Seattle, these Colts are suddenly a deep playoff threat. And Andrew Luck is fast becoming the best fourth quarter QB in the NFL.

Wildcard’s Pick: You always get Luck-y with Andy. Colts by 6

BYE: Atlanta Falcons (1-4), Miami Dolphins (3-2)

The Wildcard is a staff writer for The Niche Cache. He is the author of such bestselling sports books as ‘A Boy Named Suh: The Ndamukong Story’, ‘Superstition & Sports: Why It’s All YOUR Fault That Your Team Lost That Game’ and ‘The Reggie White Album’. He is currently working on a screenplay for a buddy cop film about the enduring partnership between talented pretty-boy Tom Brady and his gruff, stoic yet highly successful coach, provisionally entitled “Bill Belichick Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself”