We were a very mediocre 9-5 last week, but still a respectable 55-21 this season. So now off to this week's picks, with the home team listed in caps:

BENGALS over Texans: As much credit as Josh McDaniels and the Broncos are getting for their 5-0 start, it is just as amazing that -- except for that amazing, last-minute, 87-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Orton to Leon Hall to Brandon Stokley -- the Bengals would be the undefeated team that everyone was talking about. Cincinnati shouldn't need more last-minute heroics from Carson Palmer to win at home against Houston.

PACKERS over Lions: The Lions are certainly an improved team, but their schedule has been brutal lately -- aside from their victory over Washington, they've had to play the Saints and the Bears on the road, and the Vikings and Steelers at home. Winning at Green Bay is also too tall an order.

JAGUARS over Rams: Last week I said Jacksonville had proven itself to be a better team than everyone expected. Then the Jags went out and lost by 41 points in Seattle. The Rams, though, haven't won a game in a year (Oct. 19, 2008 was their last victory) and they are getting smoked just about every week.

VIKINGS over Ravens: Baltimore's defense showed cracks against the Bengals last week -- especially in giving up 120 yards to Cedric Benson -- and playing the undefeated Vikings in Minnesota could pose more problems.

Giants over SAINTS: This has the potential to be one of the signature games of the regular season, pitting two undefeated teams and featuring a host of compelling story lines. I believe the Giants are the best team in football, and their balance -- number one overall defensively, number two offensively -- gives them a great shot to win even in a tough environment like New Orleans.

STEELERS over Browns: With Pittsburgh riding an 11-game winning streak against Cleveland, this once-intense rivalry is turning into a twice-a-year demolition job. The Browns' 6-3 victory over Buffalo only further demonstrated the fact that the Browns can do nothing on offense, no matter who their starting quarterback is.

BUCCANEERS over Panthers: Tampa Bay is an awful team, but playing against the Panthers seems a great chance for the Bucs to get their first victory. The Panthers don't play with much confidence on offense, which is a good thing for a Tampa Bay team that is 28th in total defense. Cadillac Williams had a bad week against Philadelphia but should rebound against the Panthers' 30th-ranked rush defense.

REDSKINS over Chiefs: Washington should win this one and become one of the worst 3-3 teams in recent memory. In order for this team to win, it must play a very bad team. At home. Thankfully, the Redskins have already hosted St. Louis and Tampa Bay -- who are both 0-5 -- and here comes Kansas City, who is also 0-5.

Eagles over RAIDERS: With the JaMarcus Russell experiment now a widely accepted failure, Oakland has no reason to believe that its years-long string of agony will let up. Playing against tough NFC East foes like the Giants (last week) and the Eagles (this week) will only produce ugliness.

SEAHAWKS over Cardinals: With Matt Hasselbeck back and coming off a super performance against Jacksonville, this suddenly looks like the most intriguing of the 4 o'clock games. Arizona is back to looking like the team that couldn't put together two decent efforts during the regular season in 2008, and not like the team that got very hot in the playoffs. A win by Seattle stakes that team's claim to being the best in the NFC West once again.

PATRIOTS over Titans: We all know that the Patriots never lose back-to-back games. And we all know that an 0-5 Titans team -- no matter how talented Bill Belichick says they are -- are not going to change that.

JETS over Bills: There aren't many better teams than Buffalo to help the wounded Jets defense get its swag back.

FALCONS over Bears: This is a Sunday night matchup that is well worth watching, and one that could turn into a real shootout between Matt Ryan and Jay Cutler. The Falcons are a great home team, and they made a nice statement by coming out of the bye week and putting a hurting on a 49ers team that had been playing pretty good defense.

CHARGERS over Broncos: Give Denver a ton of credit, but this improbable winning streak is bound to end, and end soon. San Diego needs this win to get back into the AFC West race (which at this point is Denver and no one else), and the Chargers track record is that when they need a win, they manage to get it.