CHALKS AND 'DOGS | Pro picks

Miami (+13) at New England: New England is favored by 13 points, a huge spread in the NFL. That reflects both the Patriots' excellence and the abysmal nature of the Miami offense, which has just two touchdowns in four games, all losses. PATRIOTS, 18-6
Tennessee (+ 3) at Green Bay: Brett Favre and Steve McNair are injured, but both are supposed to play. The Packers can't lose three straight at Lambeau, can they? Yes. TITANS, 20-17
St. Louis (+ 6 1/2) at Seattle: Seattle is allowing just 4.3 points a game. The Rams will nearly quadruple that and still lose. SEAHAWKS, 24-17
Oakland (+ 9) at Indianapolis: Kerry Collins was awful last week. But two years ago, he threw for 366 yards and four TDs in Indy with the Giants and won 44-27. COLTS, 49-44.
Detroit (+ 7) at Atlanta: The Lions demonstrated against the Eagles that they're not quite ready for big games. Atlanta's defense is. FALCONS, 22-10
Carolina (+ 5 1/2) at Denver: The Panthers are capable of a surprise. BRONCOS, 20-17
Buffalo (+ 7) at New York Jets: For what it's worth, the Bills are the NFL's best winless team and the Jets may be the worst unbeaten one. But John Abraham against a shaky offensive line and a fumble-prone Drew Bledsoe means no upset. JETS, 27-21
New York Giants (+ 3 1/2) at Dallas: "He's a very good friend of mine and so on and so forth," former Tuna helper Tom Coughlin says of Bill Parcells. "But it's the Dallas Cowboys against the New York Giants." For bragging rights as the second-best team in the NFC East ... GIANTS, 17-16
Baltimore (pick 'em) at Washington: For bragging rights on the Beltway. Ray Lewis rebounds after one of his worst games. RAVENS, 20-16
Cleveland (+ 6) at Pittsburgh: Another commuter rivalry. Big Ben (Roethlisberger) is doing well with a low-risk game plan. STEELERS, 21-13
Jacksonville (+ 2 1/2) at San Diego: Is there a reason the Chargers can't win? CHARGERS, 17-11
Minnesota (- 4) at Houston: The Vikings have problems outdoors, so the Texans will keep the roof open. TEXANS, 24-23
Tampa Bay (+ 3) at New Orleans: The Saints are a dysfunctional family. The Bucs get a boost from Chris Simms. BUCS, 16-15
Arizona (+ 1 1/2) at San Francisco: The Cardinals have been in every game. The 49ers haven't. CARDINALS, 17-13
XLast week: 9-4-1 (spread), 9-5 (straight up); season: 33-25-2 (spread), 43-17 (straight up)
Associated Press
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