If you really must bet on these games, don't be surprised if things go wrong...

New York Giants @ Washington

Neither of these teams has consistency right now and you are pretty much backed into the corner by the Giants destruction of the Pack last week. That's the safe bet, but consider that the Skins put up 38 points of their own last week and the water becomes murkier. The Giants are familiar with Griffin and were close to an upset in New York when these teams last met. if you really have to, go with the Giants I guess, but if you do, watch the deep ball on Cory Webster...

Seattle @ Chicago

Urgh. The Bears are a great team in waiting, but they suffered some key injuries last week and have no offensive line as far as me and Jay are aware. I have it on good authority that Lance Louis has been replaced by a 3 foot concrete bollard that will be lugged downfield by the other linemen, who needn't fear for their own jobs too much because it takes two of them to carry each bollard - although as far as I know that's the only reason Mike Tice hasn't benched them yet.

Anyway, the cold and wind won't faze Seattle at all, so it's worth wondering if Seattle could pull off a minor upset this week, which in turn would really set the NFC wild-card race alight, along with the bags of dog-crap that will greet the Bears team bus leaving Soldier Field. Still, the Bears are the safe option.

Cincinnati @ San Diego

I really like the Bengals lately but this one stinks. The Chargers are a better team than their results suggest, and at some point the ability or Rivers et al will probably triumph over Norv Turner's desire to lose one more game as Chargers coach. Maybe it'll be this week? It's rare that a team as good as San Diego are underdogs at home, and I'm not convinced that the Bengals are the real deal yet.