Cohen's Week 9 NFL Picks

It is now Halloween night. Perfect for a ghoulish good time, and some really frightening, disturbing, horrifying picks!

JETS (4-3) @ BILLS (5-2): We are really going to learn a lot about both of these teams. The Jets have the biggest conundrum in all of football. Brett Favre has been horribly inconsistent; he is throwing balls up for grabs, and he is not protecting the football. Favre's erratic play is hurting the Jets. If the Jets are to turn their season around, Favre has to cut out the interceptions and become more responsible with the football. Defensively, the Jets are terrible. The have lots of sacks, but their secondary can't stop any wide receivers. The Chiefs had guys open all day long against the Jets secondary last week. That will have to change against the high-flying Bills.

As for Buffalo, they need this game to stay in front of the Patriots. Even without Tom Brady, if the Patriots move into first, they will be hard to catch, and the Bills know it. The Bills have owned the Jets recently, winning three straight dating back to 2006. Last year, Trent Edwards had his way with New York in two meetings and should have a lot of success against that poor Jets secondary. PICK: BILLS 20, JETS 10.

Packers (4-3) @ Titans (7-0): Okay, I am now convinced that the Titans are for real. Their impressive victory on Monday Night against the banged up Colts showed me that they can win games even with the old arm of Kerry Collins. Collins picked apart the Colts secondary, leading a second half comeback. The Titans scored 23 unanswered points in the second half to pull away from Indy. By the way, the Titan defense was just one drive away from holding the Colts to under 20 points. They have held six of their seven opponents under 20 points this season.

Aaron Rodgers got a new contract with Green Bay, extending the quaterback's stay in Lambeau until 2014. Rodgers has thrown for more yards and less interceptions than the man he replaced this year. He looks like the real deal. The Packers are coming off a bye, so rust may be a question here in this one. PICK: TITANS 34, PACKERS 26.

DOLPHINS (3-4) @ BRONCOS (4-3): The Dolphins are good. Last week, the fish ripped up the Bills without a big effort from Ronnie Brown. Chad Pennington picked apart a formidable Bills defense for 301 yards. Pennington has thrown seven touchdowns, and only three interceptions this year. He has protected the ball, and given Miami a chance to win every week.

The key to the game, however, will be how Brown does against the league's worst defense in the Broncos. The Broncos give up 154 yards on the ground per game, so expect Brown to have a big day. I also think that Jay Cutler will struggle against that blitz happy Miami defense. PICK: DOLPHINS 23, BRONCOS 14.

COWBOYS (5-3) @ GIANTS (6-1): A year ago at this time, the Cowboys were a juggernaut while the Giants just were starting to find themselves. A few weeks later in the playoffs, the Giants upset the world when the beat the Boys in Dallas during the divisional playoffs, en route to Super Bowl XLII. Logic would tell you that Dallas is due for some vengence, but with the Cowboys considering starting former Jets bum and reject, Brooks Bollinger at quaterback, you know the Giants are licking their chops. How does Bollinger keep finding a job?

Expect to see either Brad Johnson or Bollinger eating field turf all night long. It should be pretty cold and dark at 4:00 pm, the first night of standard time for Dallas. PICK: GIANTS 41, COWBOYS 3.

PATRIOTS (5-2) @ COLTS (3-4): Okay Indianapolis, this is your Super Bowl. Lose this game to a team that does not have: Tom Brady, Laurence Maroney, and Rodney Harrison, and you don't deserve to go anywhere but golfing this winter. The Colts have been awful this year. Peyton Manning is no longer Peyton. For a guy in his 11th season, he looks more like Dan Marino did in his 17th and final season in 1999, which means finito!

If the Colts can find a way to establish a ground game, which has been hard for them, they should be in control of this game, but you never know.

The Patriots have been a shocking suprise. Even with Brady gone, the Pats have found ways to win. Matt Cassell has been mediocre, but all he is asked to do is give the ball to Randy Moss and Wes Welker all day, and let them win the game. The Pat's defense is not as good as it used to be. Sure, they give up on 206 yards through the air, but they surrender 113 yards per game on the ground. Not exactly a formula for success. So this game will be about who wants it more. Survival is the mission. PICK: COLTS 31, PATRIOTS 24.