Game of the Week 1

Pittsburgh (8-3) at New England (7-4)

Who would have thought the best story line of Week 13 would be the Steelers defense against Matt Cassel? But there it is after the Pats' interim QB became only the fifth QB in NFL history to pass for 400 yards in consecutive weeks -- joining the immortal ranks of Dan Marino, Dan Fouts, Phil Simms and, uh, Billy Volek.

LINE: Pats by 1.

JERRY: Steelers by 5.

New Orleans (6-5) at Tampa Bay (8-3)

You think Reggie Bush intentionally tells fibs? Last week he swore he would play but didn't. This week he says, "I know I said that last week, but it's definitely a go this week." Uh, huh. Hey, they never had trouble with you fibbing at USC, did they?

LINE: Bucs by 4.

JERRY: Bucs by 7.

Miami (6-5) at St. Louis (2-9)

Remember when Jim Haslett got the Rams Interim Coach gig and how they beat Washington and Dallas? It's six weeks later now and a reporter asked Haslett what he would say to fans to defend his team. His answer: "Why would I want to?"

LINE: Fish by 8.

JERRY: Fish by 12.

Carolina (8-3) at Green Bay (5-6)

Crunch time for the Cheeseheads. Says Pack Coach Mike McCarthy: "We've got the holidays coming. Everybody, regardless of their business, is challenged to focus." Hey, what about Santa Claus? He's making list, he's checking it twice.

LINE: Pack by 3.

JERRY: Pack by 6.

Indianapolis (7-4) at Cleveland (4-7)

The reborn Colts going for their fifth victory in November while the Browns' last loss to Houston was called "sickening" by team owner Randy Lerner. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but it's rarely good when your boss thinks your work is "sickening."

LINE: Colts by 5.

JERRY: Colts by 3.

Baltimore (7-4) at Cincinnati (1-9-1)

Beware the Bengals. Interim Coach Marvin Lewis says his club will be "spoilers" for the rest of the year. I wrote a "spoiler" once. Before Star Trek II -- The Wrath of Khan -- opened, I wrote that Spock dies. The Trekkies almost killed me.

LINE: Ravens by 7.

JERRY: Ravens by 9.

San Francisco (3-8) at Buffalo (6-5)

Bills WR Josh Reed said they had a "players only" meeting before beating Kansas City (good timing) to decide "whether we wanted to keep playing or just lie down." Visualize that. Everybody in favor of just lying down, say, "Aye."

LINE: Bills by 6 1/2.

JERRY: Bills by 10.

Denver (6-5) at E. Rutherford Jets (8-3)

What's wrong with the Broncos? WR Brandon Marshall has an answer -- "Immature." Well, he should know, as Orlando's own Marshall was wrestling this summer with family members, slipped on a fast-food wrapper and fell into a TV.

LINE: Jets by 7 1/2.

JERRY: Jets by 14.

Game of the Week 2 Kansas City (1-10) at Oakland (3-8)

GanGreene Game of the Year. Talk about awful -- Raiders Coach Tom Cable is thinking division title. And it is possible 8-8 could win the AFC West. Meanwhile, WR Ashley Lelie on scoring against Denver, the team that dumped him: "It's like being wronged, like having your ex-girlfriend cheat on you." OK, that's confusing.

LINE: Raiders by 3.

JERRY: Chiefs by 3.

E. R. Giants (10-1) at Washington (7-4)

You find philosophers everywhere. Washington WR Santana Moss explains a shoving match at Seattle: "You get in the heat of the moment and the heat of the moment gets the best of you." That old devil "heat of the moment" made me do it.

LINE: Giants by 3 1/2.

JERRY: Giants by 9.

Atlanta (7-4) at San Diego (4-7)

Who wants to win more than Falcons RB Michael Turner, returning to San Diego where he stood around and watched LaDainian Tomlinson become a star? He has 318 more rushing yards and 7 more TDs than L.T. -- so who's the star now?

LINE: Chargers by 4 1/2.

JERRY: Falcons by 2.

Chicago (6-5) at Minnesota (6-5)

Da Bears have declared a do-over. Explains MLB Brian Urlacher: "It's our new season. We're as good as we can be right now. We're 1-0 in our new season." Brilliant, Brian -- start a new season when you face Kansas City. But this is different.

LINE: Vikes by 3.

JERRY: Vikes by 6.

Jacksonville (4-7) at Houston (4-7)

How come ESPN doesn't have enough clout to dump this mediocre bore? Here's our One Actual Fact of the Week: The Texans are the only NFL team to never be on Monday Night Football.

LINE: Texans by 3.

JERRY: Texans by 8.

Last week

OK, I slipped a little. After two weeks of 12 victories each, I dropped to 10-6 straight up (109-66-1 for season) and 8-7-1 against the spread (86-84-6 for season). But I'm still feeling pretty good about myself even though collectively you guys should be feeling great. Why does it seem like you're ganging up on me? Maybe because you are?

Beat Jerry

Actually you dropped a notch, too, but only a notch. Four players tied at 14-2, but the tie-breakers produced last week's champion in Charlie Lang of Leesburg. Doesn't that have a ring of royalty -- Lang of Leesburg? "Oh, you mean you're one of the Leesburg Langs? Impressive." You were impressive, Charlie, especially because our entries hit a seasonal high at 2,302. And, yes, you can still get in on some of the fun by going to OrlandoSentinel.sportsballot.com -- registering and making your picks. Each correct pick is worth a raffle ticket and a chance to win some fabulous prizes.