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| Sunday, October 15 By Dave Goldberg Associated Press | |||||
| Mike benched Bubby for Brian. Bubby walked out, then came back and verbally mangled Mike.
Yes, John Elway's absence does make a difference to the Denver Broncos, who open the regular season Monday night by entertaining Miami at Mile High Stadium. This is the third game in nine months between teams that didn't play each other between 1985 and 1998. The last one was the most important -- a 38-3 victory by the Broncos at Mile High in a divisional playoff game last January. But Elway was the quarterback then. Brian Griese, who has thrown all of three passes in his pro career, will be the quarterback against the NFL's quickest defense. OK, there are intangibles, such as the Broncos winning 24 straight at home dating to Dec. 10, 1995, Mike Shanahan's first season as coach. But they did drop that infamous playoff game to Jacksonville in 1997, a loss they said helped propel them to two straight Super Bowl victories. The Broncos are favored by six. Three reasons to go with Miami:
Minnesota (minus 4) at Atlanta:: A chance for the Vikings to get some quick revenge for January's loss in the NFC title game.Morten Andersen won't miss the way Gary Anderson did. Falcons 27, Vikings 24. San Francisco (plus 5) at Jacksonville: Five reasons the Jags will win: Mark Brunell, Fred Taylor, Jimmy Smith, Keenan McCardell and the 49ers secondary. Jaguars 34, 49ers 24. New England (plus 7) at New York Jets: Not even close. Jets 34, Patriots 16. Pittsburgh (minus 6) at Cleveland: The Browns are back, the Browns are back, the Browns are ... Steelers 17, Browns 3. Dallas (plus 2½) at Washington: The Redskins' weakness (offensive line) vs. the Cowboys' weakness (defensive line). Even if Deion plays ... Redskins 22, Cowboys 18. Carolina (plus 3) at New Orleans: Ricky Williams starts earning his bonus. Saints 17, Panthers 12. New York Giants (plus 5½) at Tampa Bay: Mirror image. Good defense, questionable quarterbacking and both teams are looking up after down seasons. Bucs 17, Giants 16. Detroit (plus 9½) at Seattle: Greg Hill is right. He's no Barry Sanders. Seahawks 27, Lions 10. Oakland (plus 9) at Green Bay: Green Bay's weakness (offensive line) vs. Oakland's strength (DL). But Brett Favre and Lambeau Field over Rich Gannon. Packers 24, Raiders 19. Buffalo (minus 3) at Indianapolis: Are the Colts really improved? This is a good test. Colts 27, Bills 23. Cincinnati (plus 8½) at Tennessee: A nice clean opener for the Titans. Titans 31, Bengals 10. Arizona (minus 3) at Philadelphia: Even money that the crowd starts chanting for McNabb in the first quarter. Cardinals 17, Eagles 3. Kansas City (minus 3½) at Chicago: The Chiefs do play defense. Chiefs 20, Bears 6. Baltimore (plus 1) at St. Louis: A long day for Kurt (not Curt) Warner. Ravens 16, Rams 0. Last season: 120-115-5 (spread), 155-85 (straight up). | ALSO SEE
NFL Week 1 previewsWeek 1 injury report Griese steps into Monday night spotlight Jaworski: Griese is the word Theismann's Sunday night spotlight | ||||
