Don’t bet the house (or the Dolphins)

Packers over Panthers

* Brett Favre is 38, has thrown for more than 60,000 yards in his professional career and owns more NFL touchdown passes and interceptions than anyone. And when Vinny Testaverde sticks out his hand to greet Favre before the game, Testaverde tells him, “How ya doing, kid?”

Giants over Lions

* Which is the most embarrassing statement ever uttered about the Detroit Lions? “The Lions have won one playoff game since 1957.” Or: “The Lions were held to minus-18 rushing yards last week by the Arizona Cardinals.”

Colts over Chiefs

* No Marvin Harrison, no Dallas Clark, no Anthony Gonzalez and now no Dwight Freeney. The temptation is to christen the Colts “The Incredible Shrinking Defending Champions,” except for Peyton Manning’s interception total.

Jaguars over Chargers

* The Norv Turner Effect, in a nutshell: Turner took over a team loaded with such glittering names as LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates and Philip Rivers and turned it into a team whose No. 1 big-play hero is a second-year cornerback named Antonio Cromartie.

Eagles over Dolphins

* More confusion than usual broke out around Miami when the Dolphins announced John Beck would be their starting quarterback against the Eagles. Beck is a rookie from Brigham Young. He is not to be confused with the pop singer Beck, whose 1993 single “Loser” is often confused as the 2007 Dolphins fight song.

Vikings over Raiders

* Teams congregate in massive pregame huddle for some soul-healing Sunday therapy. Topic of the day: “So you were wrong about Randy Moss. You are not alone.”

Browns over Ravens

If Brian Billick knows so much about quarterbacks, why are his Ravens starting Kyle Boller on Sunday against Derek Anderson, who was waived by the Ravens in 2005 as apparent partial payment to the city of Cleveland for stealing the old Browns in 1996?

Buccaneers over Falcons

* The Falcons have been accused of bumbling, fumbling and stumbling this season, but tanking is a new type of charge. What to make of this: The Falcons, who began the season 1-6, just won back-to-back games with Joey Harrington at quarterback -- and Coach Bobby Petrino is thinking about benching Harrington for Byron Leftwich. Why isn’t the league looking into this?

Bengals over Cardinals

* Donde esta “Ocho Cinco?” Chad Johnson was missing amid the action during last week’s 21-7 victory by Cincinnati over Baltimore. All of the Bengals’ points came via field goals by Shayne Graham, aka “Veinteuno.”

Saints over Texans

* Bringing Reggie Bush and Mario Williams together on the same field causes one to wonder: If the Houston Texans had a chance to do it all over, which player would they now select with the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft? The answer, of course, is Vince Young.

Steelers over Jets

* Ben Roethlisberger has 22 touchdown passes in 2007, six shy of Terry Bradshaw’s franchise mark for a single season. Is this the game Roethlisberger breaks the record?

Rams over 49ers

* Sleeper preseason picks in the NFC, the Rams and 49ers have already written their epitaphs for their 2007 seasons. “We Slept Here.”

Cowboys over Redskins

* Quarterbacks who have started for the Redskins since 1995 have included Gus Frerotte, Trent Green, Brad Johnson, Tony Banks, Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel, Patrick Ramsey, Mark Brunell, Jason Campbell. This might help explain why the Redskins have won one game at Texas Stadium since 1995.

Patriots over Bills

* Back in 1972, the Bills swept the Patriots. The 1972 Dolphins are hoping very much some of that history repeats on Nov. 18, 2007.

Seahawks over Bears

* The first flex-schedule victims of the 2007 season. Headline for this very sad saga: “What Happens To NFC Champions After They Lose The Super Bowl?”

Broncos over Titans

* First, Travis Henry lost his job in Tennessee to LenDale White and Chris Brown. Then he moved to Denver, got hurt, and watched his replacement, Selvin Young, rush for 109 yards and a touchdown in last week’s victory over Kansas City. Instead of gaining ground, Henry continues to lose it.