Denver (minus 4) at Carolina

Broncos “manning up” behind Peyton and coach John Fox, who was fired by Panthers. BRONCOS, 31-24

Detroit (minus 2) at Minnesota

Lions trending upward, Vikings the other way. That ends here. VIKINGS, 21-20

Atlanta (minus 2) at New Orleans

Falcons will lose this season, just not here. FALCONS, 34-28

Buffalo (plus 11) at New England

Simple fact: Patriots are matchup nightmare for Bills. PATRIOTS, 36-23

Oakland (plus 71/2) at Baltimore

Simple fact II: Raiders don’t handle travel to East Coast well. RAVENS, 30-21

Dallas (pick ’em) at Philadelphia

Once a prime matchup, now an eyesore. COWBOYS, 21-17

St. Louis (plus 111/2) at San Francisco

Niners don’t often have such a big spread. Maybe too big … 49ERS, 20-10

New York Giants (minus 4) at Cincinnati

Giants need to rekindle offense and sliding Bengals might provide opportunity. GIANTS, 22-17

San Diego (plus 3) at Tampa Bay

Vincent Jackson can’t wait to get back at Chargers. BUCCANEERS, 33-17

Tennessee (plus 6) at Miami

Until Titans stop someone on defense, we’re not picking them. DOLPHINS, 26-14

New York Jets (plus 61/2) at Seattle

Watch out for Seahawks in NFC wild-card race. SEAHAWKS, 17-13

Houston (plus 1) at Chicago

On a neutral field, would pick Texans. Not in Soldier Field, especially at night. BEARS, 19-16

Kansas City (plus 121/2) at Pittsburgh

Steelers getting back to power game, will pummel awful Chiefs. STEELERS, 30-13

Barry Wilner, The Associated Press