CHALKS & amp; 'DOGS \ Pro picks


December 11, 2004 at 12:00a.m.


New York Jets (+ 6) at Pittsburgh: The Steelers have won 10 games in a row, and the Jets have won three straight after a midseason slide. It's unlikely New York can catch New England in the AFC East, but the Jets lead the wild card race by two games and have Chad Pennington back at quarterback. However, the Jets are 0-9 in Pennsylvania. Make that 0-10 -- barely. STEELERS, 17-16.
Cincinnati (+ 11) at New England: The Bengals' comeback win in Baltimore last week was their most impressive in more than a decade. But the Patriots have been on a rampage since losing in Pittsburgh, and Corey Dillon should be up for his ex-mates. PATRIOTS, 31-17
Indianapolis (- 10.5) at Houston: Peyton Manning had five TD passes in a 49-14 win over the Texans in Indy and would break Dan Marino's season record of 48 if he does it again. COLTS, 34-26
St. Louis (+ 6.5) at Carolina: Chris Chandler starts in place of the injured Marc Bulger for St. Louis, which has a chance to win the NFC West at under .500. PANTHERS, 24-17
New Orleans (+ 7) at Dallas: Julius Jones has revived the Cowboys' offense. COWBOYS 31-20
Philadelphia (- 9) at Washington: Is there any reason to think the Eagles won't finish 15-1? EAGLES, 20-2
Oakland (+ 7.5) at Atlanta: Atlanta wraps up the NFC South. FALCONS, 24-20
Tampa Bay (+ 5.5) at San Diego: Bucs are coming on; San Diego might be down after big win. BUCS, 22-20
Seattle (+ 6.5) at Minnesota: Two feeble NFC contenders. VIKINGS, 37-30
New York Giants (+ 10) at Baltimore: These Giants look like the team that lost its final eight games last season. RAVENS, 24-6
Kansas City (off) at Tennessee (Monday night): This kind of matchup is the reason the league will be more flexible with prime-time games in the future. CHIEFS, 34-27
Chicago (+ 7) at Jacksonville: The Jaguars' six wins are by a total of 23 points. JAGUARS, 17-12
Cleveland (+ 11.5) at Buffalo: Who knows what would have happened if the Bills hadn't stumbled early. BILLS, 27-10
Miami (+ 11.5) at Denver: Jake Plummer's erratic ways won't matter here. BRONCOS, 24-10
Detroit (+ 9.5) at Green Bay: An indoor team at Lambeau in December? PACKERS, 32-9
San Francisco (+ 6.5) at Arizona: Even with Denny Green's QB shuffle ... CARDINALS, 24-15
XLast week: 7-8-1 (spread), 9-7 (straight up); Season: 92-97-4 (spread), 125-67 (straight up)
Associated Press
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