St. Louis Rams vs. Houston Texans
A few weeks ago, the Houston Texans were minutes away from beating the Seattle Seahawks, a team that many have picked to not only win the NFC West, but to make it to the Super Bowl. Former Ravens safety Ed Reed even hyped the game as a potential Super Bowl matchup. And then Matt Schaub all but handed the Seahawks a chance to win in overtime. Instead of taking the sack, he threw an ill-advised pass that was easily intercepted by Richard Sherman and run back for a touchdown. A week after that crushing defeat, Schaub didn’t wait until the end of the game to throw things away for the Texans. Three plays into the first drive, Schaub was picked off by 49ers cornerback Tramaine Brock and, like the turning point of the Seattle matchup, the interception was also run back for a touchdown. It was Schaub’s fourth game in a row with a pick six. Schaub’s poor play continued to hamper Houston’s attempts to get back into the game, and after three interceptions the veteran quarterback was benched and T.J. Yates was left to helm a sinking ship.
For the matchup against the Rams, Texan’s coach Gary Kubiak is sticking with Schaub, and as unpopular a decision as that may be back in Houston, where Schaub’s jersey was burned in the stadium parking lot after the loss to Seattle, I don’t see Yates as a true alternative. However, I don’t think Kubiak will wait long to bench his inconsistent starter if Schaub’s mistakes continue to plague the Texans against the Rams. If he throws yet another interception, expect Yates to be under center for the next drive.
While the serious threat of losing his starting job hangs over his head, Schaub has everything going for him to return to form (and maybe even the favor of the Houston fans) against the Rams. The St. Louis defense has only three interceptions all year; by contrast, the 49ers snagged three just last weekend against Schaub. St. Louis may also be without cornerback Cortland Finnegan for the second week in a row, which can only help the struggling Texans quarterback. Even Las Vegas has the game going in the Texans’ favor. This could very well be a definitive week for Schaub’s career, as Kubiak said it was a “tough decision” to stick with him after the woeful play in San Francisco. Another bad outing against an NFC West team will only make only make that decision tougher. All Schaub has to do is not throw a pick and beat up on the lowly Rams. If he can’t do that, maybe it really is time for a change in Houston.
Prediction: Texans win 21-10.
Tennessee Titans vs. Seattle Seahawks
Even though the Titans beat the Seahawks at CenturyLink the last time they played in 2010, I just don’t see any way the Titans pull off a win this week. First off, that win was three seasons ago, and both teams look drastically different now. Secondly, Ryan Fitzpatrick is again playing in the place of the injured Jake Locker, and while he put up a touchdown against the Chiefs last week, he also gave up two interceptions. Finally, the Seahawks haven’t lost at CenturyLink for ten consecutive home games, and I don’t see the Titans as the team to end that streak. Honestly, short of the Denver Broncos or perhaps the New Orleans Saints avenging that completely unexpected playoff defeat in 2011, I don’t see anyone who is going to threaten the Seahawks or the 12th Man in Seattle.
I don’t know if there’s all the much more than needs to be said.
Prediction: Seahawks win 28-6.
Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco has righted the ship—convincing wins over both the Rams and the Texans have quieted critics who saw the 49ers slumping into irrelevancy this season. That said, the team is not living up to their full potential: injuries and absences continue to plague the lineup, and Colin Kaepernick, who still has the NFL’s best-selling jersey, even edging out Peyton Manning in that category, has not looked like the upstart backup quarterback who beat out Alex Smith for the starting job last year, destroyed Green Bay in the playoffs, and was mere yards away from securing the 49ers sixth Super Bowl victory.
This matchup will come down to how well two strong defenses play against each other, with both having a lot to feel confident about after the Cardinals roughed up the Panthers last week, sacking Cam Newton seven times and picking off three of his passes, and the 49ers routed the Texans, taking full advantage of Schaub’s recent poor play and stifling a once proud offense. If the Cardinals can neutralize a resurgent Frank Gore and take advantage of Kaepernick’s pedestrian play of late, this could easily become a close and bruising contest.
While San Francisco has history on its side in this contest, the game is really going to come down to the 49ers’ defense continuing to play at a high level without a number of impact starters, and Kaepernick returning to the form of last year. For weeks now, Kaepernick’s foot has made its way onto the injury report, which now begs the questions as to whether this has anything to do with the nimble quarterback rarely breaking out of the pocket as he did so frequently and effectively last season. If his foot is hampering his running game, Kaepernick needs to find the consistency in his passing game that he demonstrated against the Packers on opening day. Patrick Peterson will likely shadow Anquan Boldin all afternoon, so Vernon Davis and others will need to find ways to get open. While the 49ers defense has more than proven itself the last few games, San Francisco needs to show that they can do more than just hand the ball off to Frank Gore.
Prediction: 49ers win 21-14.
A few weeks ago, the Houston Texans were minutes away from beating the Seattle Seahawks, a team that many have picked to not only win the NFC West, but to make it to the Super Bowl. Former Ravens safety Ed Reed even hyped the game as a potential Super Bowl matchup. And then Matt Schaub all but handed the Seahawks a chance to win in overtime. Instead of taking the sack, he threw an ill-advised pass that was easily intercepted by Richard Sherman and run back for a touchdown. A week after that crushing defeat, Schaub didn’t wait until the end of the game to throw things away for the Texans. Three plays into the first drive, Schaub was picked off by 49ers cornerback Tramaine Brock and, like the turning point of the Seattle matchup, the interception was also run back for a touchdown. It was Schaub’s fourth game in a row with a pick six. Schaub’s poor play continued to hamper Houston’s attempts to get back into the game, and after three interceptions the veteran quarterback was benched and T.J. Yates was left to helm a sinking ship.
For the matchup against the Rams, Texan’s coach Gary Kubiak is sticking with Schaub, and as unpopular a decision as that may be back in Houston, where Schaub’s jersey was burned in the stadium parking lot after the loss to Seattle, I don’t see Yates as a true alternative. However, I don’t think Kubiak will wait long to bench his inconsistent starter if Schaub’s mistakes continue to plague the Texans against the Rams. If he throws yet another interception, expect Yates to be under center for the next drive.
While the serious threat of losing his starting job hangs over his head, Schaub has everything going for him to return to form (and maybe even the favor of the Houston fans) against the Rams. The St. Louis defense has only three interceptions all year; by contrast, the 49ers snagged three just last weekend against Schaub. St. Louis may also be without cornerback Cortland Finnegan for the second week in a row, which can only help the struggling Texans quarterback. Even Las Vegas has the game going in the Texans’ favor. This could very well be a definitive week for Schaub’s career, as Kubiak said it was a “tough decision” to stick with him after the woeful play in San Francisco. Another bad outing against an NFC West team will only make only make that decision tougher. All Schaub has to do is not throw a pick and beat up on the lowly Rams. If he can’t do that, maybe it really is time for a change in Houston.
Prediction: Texans win 21-10.
Tennessee Titans vs. Seattle Seahawks
Even though the Titans beat the Seahawks at CenturyLink the last time they played in 2010, I just don’t see any way the Titans pull off a win this week. First off, that win was three seasons ago, and both teams look drastically different now. Secondly, Ryan Fitzpatrick is again playing in the place of the injured Jake Locker, and while he put up a touchdown against the Chiefs last week, he also gave up two interceptions. Finally, the Seahawks haven’t lost at CenturyLink for ten consecutive home games, and I don’t see the Titans as the team to end that streak. Honestly, short of the Denver Broncos or perhaps the New Orleans Saints avenging that completely unexpected playoff defeat in 2011, I don’t see anyone who is going to threaten the Seahawks or the 12th Man in Seattle.
I don’t know if there’s all the much more than needs to be said.
Prediction: Seahawks win 28-6.
Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco has righted the ship—convincing wins over both the Rams and the Texans have quieted critics who saw the 49ers slumping into irrelevancy this season. That said, the team is not living up to their full potential: injuries and absences continue to plague the lineup, and Colin Kaepernick, who still has the NFL’s best-selling jersey, even edging out Peyton Manning in that category, has not looked like the upstart backup quarterback who beat out Alex Smith for the starting job last year, destroyed Green Bay in the playoffs, and was mere yards away from securing the 49ers sixth Super Bowl victory.
This matchup will come down to how well two strong defenses play against each other, with both having a lot to feel confident about after the Cardinals roughed up the Panthers last week, sacking Cam Newton seven times and picking off three of his passes, and the 49ers routed the Texans, taking full advantage of Schaub’s recent poor play and stifling a once proud offense. If the Cardinals can neutralize a resurgent Frank Gore and take advantage of Kaepernick’s pedestrian play of late, this could easily become a close and bruising contest.
While San Francisco has history on its side in this contest, the game is really going to come down to the 49ers’ defense continuing to play at a high level without a number of impact starters, and Kaepernick returning to the form of last year. For weeks now, Kaepernick’s foot has made its way onto the injury report, which now begs the questions as to whether this has anything to do with the nimble quarterback rarely breaking out of the pocket as he did so frequently and effectively last season. If his foot is hampering his running game, Kaepernick needs to find the consistency in his passing game that he demonstrated against the Packers on opening day. Patrick Peterson will likely shadow Anquan Boldin all afternoon, so Vernon Davis and others will need to find ways to get open. While the 49ers defense has more than proven itself the last few games, San Francisco needs to show that they can do more than just hand the ball off to Frank Gore.
Prediction: 49ers win 21-14.