Proving time for Bengals, Ravens
It’s proving time for the Bengals. And maybe the Ravens, too.
Cincinnati sits atop the AFC North along with Pittsburgh at 5-2, and the Bengals have beaten the Steelers and Ravens. Next week, they visit the Steel City.
So this is make or break time for a team usually too fragile to handle such pressure. And usually too inept to put themselves in this position.
But these Bengals have impressed with their moxie and their versatility. They’re favored by three points.
“We’re in a good spot right now,” quarterback Carson Palmer said. “Being 5-2 and tied for first in the division — it’s ours to lose, really. We just need to hang on for as long as we can and finish the season with a bunch of wins and see what happens as far as the playoff picture’s concerned.
“But that’s a little far down the road for us right now. It’s about Baltimore, and then it’s about Pittsburgh. I don’t even know who we play after that, honestly.”
Sweep both games and it would take a monumental collapse for Cincinnati to not make the playoffs, no matter who else is on the schedule.
Baltimore got back to winning by handing Denver its first loss. The Ravens were awfully sloppy in their three-game slide, but were close at the end of all three defeats.
They also are carrying a grudge after falling at home to Cincy four weeks ago.
BEST BET: RAVENS, 21-20
| Houston (plus 10) at Indianapolis |
Texans are 1-13 against the Colts. This is best Houston team since entering the NFL.
UPSET SPECIAL: TEXANS, 27-24
| Washington (plus 10) at Atlanta |
Falcons need some home cooking after losses at Dallas and New Orleans.
FALCONS, 24-10
| San Diego (plus 3) at N.Y. Giants |
Chargers on the upswing, Giants in a slump. Both trends end here.
GIANTS, 27-20
| Dallas (plus 3) at Philadelphia |
When they have their focus, Eagles are as good as anybody. Where will their heads be this week?
EAGLES, 27-23
| Pittsburgh (minus 2½) at Denver (Monday night) |
Ravens exposed some of Denver’s weaknesses. Steelers can do that even better. But it will be close.
STEELERS, 19-17
| Green Bay (minus 10) at Tampa Bay |
Packers’ OL woes won’t matter against movable Bucs.
PACKERS, 24-10
| Arizona (plus 3) at Chicago |
Suddenly, Cardinals are more reliable on the road. So …
CARDINALS, 24-17
| Miami (plus 10½) at New England |
Time for Patriots to start putting away a stunningly weak division.
PATRIOTS, 31-17
| Carolina (plus 14½) at New Orleans |
Panthers could keep it close with their running game and some takeaways. Oops, that’s New Orleans’ modus operandi.
SAINTS, 34-20
| Tennessee (plus 6) at San Francisco |
Both teams are better than their records. Niners are more impressive.
49ERS, 20-16
| Detroit (plus 9½) at Seattle |
Even this banged up, Seahawks can handle the truly feeble.
SEAHAWKS, 20-7
| Kansas City (plus 7) at Jacksonville |
Jaguars are like a seesaw. This week, they’ll be up.
JAGUARS, 17-12
RECORD:
Versus spread, 3-9 (51-58-2 season); Straight up, 9-4 (80-36 season)
Best Bet: 4-4
Upset Special: 5-3
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NFL StandingsSeptember 9th, 2009 NFL Standings
All Times ESTAMERICAN CONFERENCE
East
W L T Pct PF PANew England 5 2 0 .714 198 98N.Y. Jets 4 4 0 .500 177 134Miami 3 4 0 .429 176 177Buffalo 3 5 0 .375 123 169SouthW L T Pct PF PAIndianapolis 7 0 0 1.000 197 91Houston 5 3 0 .625 198 168Jacksonville 3 4 0 .429 133 177Tennessee 1 6 0 .143 114 211NorthW L T Pct PF PACincinnati 5 2 0 .714 163 128Pittsburgh 5 2 0 .714 167 129Baltimore 4 3 0 .571 199 137Cleveland 1 7 0 .125 78 209WestW L T Pct PF PADenver 6 1 0 .857 140 96San Diego 4 3 0 .571 185 159Oakland 2 6 0 .250 78 201Kansas City 1 6 0 .143 105 181NATIONAL CONFERENCEEastW L T Pct PF PAPhiladelphia 5 2 0 .714 203 133Dallas 5 2 0 .714 197 136N.Y.
Indians 5, Orioles 3August 30th, 2009 Indians 5, Orioles 3
Cleveland Baltimoreab r h biab r h biSizemr cf 5 0 1 0 BRorts 2b4 0 0 0ACarer ss 5 0 2 0 CIzturs ss4 0 2 1Choo dh 5 0 0 0 AdJons cf3 1 0 0JhPerlt 3b 4 1 1 1 Markks rf4 0 2 1Valuen 2b 3 2 1 0 Reimld lf3 0 0 0LaPort lf 4 1 4 0 Wieters dh4 0 1 0AMarte 1b 4 1 2 3 Mora 3b4 0 1 0Shppch c 4 0 1 0 Wggntn 1b3 1 1 0Gimenz rf 3 0 0 0 Scott ph1 0 0 0JCarrll ph-rf 1 0 1 1 Moeller c2 1 2 1Totals 38 5 13 5 Totals32 3 9 3
Cleveland 000 103 010—5Baltimore 100 010 100—3DP_Cleveland 3, Baltimore 1. LOB_Cleveland 7, Baltimore 5.
Preseason NFL StandingsAugust 6th, 2009 Preseason NFL Standings
All Times EDTAMERICAN CONFERENCE
East
W L T Pct PF PAMiami 4 0 0 1.000 59 39New England 3 1 0 .750 98 83N.Y. Jets 2 2 0 .500 108 99Buffalo 1 4 0 .200 72 106SouthW L T Pct PF PATennessee 3 2 0 .600 102 104Houston 2 2 0 .500 67 85Indianapolis 1 3 0 .250 50 84Jacksonville 1 3 0 .250 88 86NorthW L T Pct PF PABaltimore 4 0 0 1.000 84 39Pittsburgh 3 1 0 .750 71 37Cincinnati 2 2 0 .500 73 54Cleveland 2 2 0 .500 73 70WestW L T Pct PF PASan Diego 2 2 0 .500 81 60Denver 1 3 0 .250 65 71Oakland 1 3 0 .250 79 107Kansas City 0 4 0 .000 42 64NATIONAL CONFERENCEEastW L T Pct PF PADallas 2 2 0 .500 88 92N.Y.
Milwaukee 9, Cincinnati 6July 17th, 2009 Milwaukee 9, Cincinnati 6E_Taveras (4). DP_Cincinnati 2.
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