Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl – only 3 weeks of Football left! sniff*sniff 🙁

NFL ON FOX GAMES: GREEN BAY AT DETROIT, 1 P.M. ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Green Bay has won 10 straight against the Lions and 18 of the last 20.Packers coach Mike McCarthy is 9-0 against the Lions with a 14.5-point average margin of victory. Also, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has dominated Detroit, completing 70 percent of his attempts for 1,523 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions. His passer rating against the Lions is 105.3. With DE Kyle Vanden Bosch out, with a new, untested starter at cornerback in Brandon McDonald and a rookie strong safety in Amari Spievey, Rodgers should have another big day. Green Bay plans to rotate rookie running backs James Starks and Dimitri Nance, hoping to give each player 12 carries. Starks had 73 yards on 18 carries last week.

CB Charles Woodson is a proven Lion-killer. In Week 4, he had a pick-six against the Lions, his third in three years. He also had 13 tackles and made three straight huge plays that effectively killed the Lions’ last scoring drive in a two-point game. Woodson will try to negate Lions WR Calvin Johnson as Drew Stanton starts again at quarterback. Packers WR Greg Jennings has three straight 100-yard receiving games and leads the league since Week 6 with 43 catches for 761 yards and eight touchdowns. A victory would extend the Packers’ winning streak in Detroit to five. The only time the Packers have won more than five straight in Detroit was 1936-’44, when they captured nine in a row at University of Detroit Stadium and Briggs Stadium.

ATLANTA AT CAROLINA, 1 P.M. ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Falcons will try to jump on the Panthers with RB Michael Turner and not back off. Atlanta lost at Carolina last season, so it is unlikely the Falcons will take the 1-11 Panthers for granted. Turner has gone over 100 yards in his last four games against Carolina. Panthers rookie QB Jimmy Clausen played well in the first half in Seattle before self-destructing in the second half. He finally connected on a long pass with WR Steve Smith, a 39-yarder. It was Smith’s longest gain of the season. Smith has just seven receptions of 20 yards or more this year. He is on pace for 664 receiving yards, which would be his lowest output for a season in which he was healthy. Smith had 982 receiving yards last year and 5,152 yards between 2005-08. With Chris Gamble still slowed by a hamstring injury, Panthers CBs Richard Marshall andCaptain Munnerlyn will have to slow down Falcons WR Roddy White, the league’s reception leader with 91. White is having a record-breaking season.

TAMPA BAY AT WASHINGTON, 1 P.M. ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Bucs (7-5) believe they still have a shot at 10 wins, but they have to win today and at home against Detroit and Seattle before finishing the season at New Orleans. Still, they have lost two straight and QB Josh Freeman has struggled lately. TheRedskins figure to keep a safety over the top of rookie WR Mike Williams, Freeman’s favorite target. Freeman needs to make more consistent plays with TE Kellen Winslow and also make some deep throws to Arrelious Benn. It won’t be easy behind a totally new offensive line.

The Redskins get RB Ryan Torain back for this game and that should help their play-action game with Donovan McNabb. The good news for McNabb is that WR Santana Moss (team-high 64 receptions) will be going against CB E.J. Biggers as Aqib Talib became the fourth starter in two weeks to land on IR. Biggers held his own against Roddy White last Sunday after Talib got hurt in the second quarter. The Redskins ran for just 103 yards on 29 carries in losing their past two games. McNabb has 15 interceptions and he’s been sacked 35 times this season.

ST. LOUIS AT NEW ORLEANS, 4:05 P.M. ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Saints have scored 30 or more points in five games this season, including their last four, as Drew Brees has gotten his passing game going. TheRams have to keep the game from becoming a track meet, which means a lot Steven Jackson running the ball and limiting big plays by the Saints. Brees figures to attack Rams CB Quincy Butler, who starts for the injured Ron Bartell. The Saints are finally getting healthy, too. RB Pierre Thomas (left ankle) returns and he’ll be rotated into action with Reggie Bush and Chris Ivory. Thomas has missed nine consecutive games since being injured on Sept. 26 against the Falcons.

The Rams are also hurting at linebacker withNa’il Diggs out for the season after tearing a pectoral muscle last Sunday. David Vobora is expected to start in Diggs’ strong-side spot with Chris Chamberlain at weak-side linebacker. This would be the sixth switch of starters there since the season started. The Rams’ best defensive player, LDE Chris Long, will go against RT Jon Stinchcomb, who was a Pro Bowl pick a year ago. Stinchcomb has been hampered by nagging knee and shoulder injuries this season. Long has 6.5 sacks — one fewer than RDE James Hall — and he leads the league in quarterback pressures. Of course, it is difficult getting to Brees, who has quick feet and a quick release.

SEATTLE AT SAN FRANCISCO, 4:05 P.M. ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The 49ers went back to QBAlex Smith, who was 1-6 as a starter this season, because they had to reduce the offensive load for Troy Smith and with Frank Gore done for the season, they needed to be able to use the entire playbook. “Right now, we just feel with the experience, and Alex having more of a feel for the entire playbook, it just allows us to open up our offense more,” coach Mike Singletary said. The 49ers also hope to be able to utilize RB Brian Westbrookmore on the edges of the offensive line and also throw to him like the Eagles did.

Seattle’s defense gets DT Colin Cole back after he missed five games with a high ankle sprain. With the 6-2, 330-pound Cole playing the Seahawks held opponents to 77.5 rushing yards a game in the first seven games of the season. Without him, the Seahawks have given up an average of 165 yards a game. Cole’s return will allow Junior Siavii to roam around the defensive front. But on the receiver front, both Mike Williams (sprained left ankle and foot) and Ben Obomanu, who suffered a deep cut on his right hand, may not play. Williams leads the team with 52 catches. The Seahawks will try to build on last week’s season-high 161 yards on the ground. Seattle has scored just 27 total points in the first quarter this season, worst in the league. Look for Smith to attack Seattle CB Kelly Jennings with Michael Crabtree, hoping to take advantage of his size advantage. Some of Gore’s best games — 144, 207 and 212 yards — have come against Seattle.

N.Y. GIANTS AT MINNESOTA, 8 P.M. ET (MONDAY)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: With Minneapolis suffering the worst storm since 1991, the NFL has pushed this game back until Monday night. This will allow the Giants, who were stranded in Kansas City last night, enough time to get to Minnesota and prepare for the game. It was going to be hard for the fans to get to the Metrodome for the game on Sunday. Giants QB Eli Manning, who will start his 100th consecutive game, is 0-4 against the Vikings, plus the Giants can’t forget last season’s 44-7 loss in the final game of the season. The Giants played like dogs that day.

The good news for Manning is that receivers Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks are scheduled to return to action as well as LT David Diehl. Behind a makeshift offensive line, Manning hasn’t been sacked in the last five games. But he will face more pressure from Jared Allen and Kevin Williams, two players who have been playing better lately.

The big news, though, could be the end of Brett Favre’s starting streak at 297 games. He plans to test his strained right shoulder in warm-ups, and there’s a chance that it will prove too painful for him to play, opening it up for Tarvaris Jackson. The Giants have the second-best pass defense in the NFL, plus they have 35 sacks. The Giants want to stack the line against Adrian Peterson, who hasn’t fumbled in 256 touches this season. He had 12 fumbles last year. Peterson has 1,123 yards and 11 TDs while averaging 4.8 yards a carry. The Giants have an effective 1-2 rushing tandem inBrandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson is expected to play with a broken thumb. Giants CB Terrell Thomas has five INTs and three forced fumbles and leads the NFL with 22 passes defensed.

OTHER SUNDAY GAMES

Cleveland at Buffalo: Eric Mangini has four more four games to prove to Browns boss Mike Holmgren that he should keep his job. The Browns are 5-7 right now and have won two straight games. Cleveland finished strong under Mangini last year, winning their last four games. Browns QB Jake Delhomme didn’t throw an interception last week against the Dolphins, who held RB Peyton Hillis to 57 yards rushing. Hillis needs 38 yards to reach 1,000 rushing yards and become the first white runner in the league since Craig James in 1985 with the Patriots to reach that mark. He should do it, because Buffalo has allowed six teams to rush for at least 200 yards this season. Browns rookie CB Joe Haden has an interception in four straight games and hopes to do the same to Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh: The Steelers lead the series and own a 26-14 record in Pittsburgh. The Steelers won the first meeting in Cincinnati 27-21, but struggled in pass defense againstCarson Palmer, who passed for two touchdowns and 248 yards. The Steelers plan to use more five- and six-defensive-back sets in the rematch. On offense, the Steelers believe they can run and throw on the Bengals. They hope to run and take some heat off Ben Roethlisberger, who will play with a surgically repaired nose. Terrell Owens burned CB Bryant McFadden for 10 catches and 141 yards in the first game.

Oakland at Jacksonville: After losing road games at Tennessee and Pittsburgh by a combined score of 70-16, Raiders coach Tom Cable decided to have his players arrive at 6:25 a.m. for meetings this week and practice three hours early to better prepare for the time change. “I just felt like we needed to really think about what it takes to go out there,” Cable said. Oakland’s third-ranked running attack is averaging 149 yards per game, but no running back is hotter than Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew. Jones-Drew is coming off a career-best 186-yard game and has 1,117 yards on 266 carries. Oakland’s front four has been super lately, and DE Lamarr Houstonsacked Philip Rivers twice last Sunday.

Denver at Arizona: Hall of Famer John Elway continues to discuss a front-office position with the Broncos. However, the Broncos don’t seem to want to make any executive, scouting or coaching changes other than finding a head coach to replace Josh McDaniels. The Broncos have a great chance to win with the Cardinals starting rookie QB John Skelton. His backup, Richard Bartel, was home last week in Texas hunting wild hogs. Bartel was Daunte Culpepper’s backup with Sacramento of the UFL this season. The Cardinals are 6-1 at home against AFC teams in coach Ken Whisenhunt’s four seasons.

Kansas City at San Diego: Chiefs QB Matt Cassel didn’t even make the trip to San Diego and might even miss next week’s game against the Rams because of an emergency appendectomy early Wednesday. QB Brodie Croyle, who hasn’t played this season, will start for the Chiefs in an AFC West game that the Chargers must win. Croyle did start the 2009 season opener against Baltimore when Cassel was out with a knee injury. RB Jamaal Charles, who had a 56-yard TD run in the season-opening win over San Diego, has only 222 yards against the Chargers in his three-year career. WR Vincent Jackson is expected to see his first action of the year for San Diego.

New England at Chicago: The Patriots are going to play special attention to Bears DE Julius Peppers, who coach Bill Belichick says is one of the league’s best defenders. Look for a lot of max protection with TE Alge Crumpler helping out the offensive tackle. The Bears turned around their season when offensive coordinator Mike Martz started to balance out the offense. In their five-game winning streak, the Bears have rushed 163 times compared to 137 Jay Cutler pass attempts. In the 4-3 start, Chicago passed 59 more times than they ran it. Tom Brady has never played in Soldier Field.

Miami at N.Y. Jets: Jets coach Rex Ryan literally buried the game ball from the blowout loss to the Patriots on Monday night. The only bright spot in that game was the rushing attack, one that gained 152 yards for a solid 4.9-yard average. Look for more of the same as the Jets look to rebuildMark Sanchez’s lost confidence. The good news for the Jets is that Dolphins QB Chad Hennehas been inconsistent. In the first meeting, Dolphins WR Brandon Marshall had 10 catches for 166 yards and a touchdown. But Darrelle Revis will be covering Marshall today. He facedAntonio Cromartie when Revis had a hamstring injury.

Philadelphia at Dallas: The Cowboys are looking for their fourth straight win over the Eagles, who are in first place in the NFC East. Dallas is one Roy Williams turnover away from being 4-0 under interim head coach Jason Garrett. Good news for the Cowboys is that Philadelphia’s red-zone defense has been falling apart in its last five games. The Eagles have surrendered 14 red-zone touchdowns in 17 opportunities in the last five games, even though they managed to win four of those five. For the season, they have allowed 26 TDs in 33 opponent trips inside the 20, which is a league-worst 78.8 percent failure rate. In the last 12 years, no team has advanced to the NFC championship game with a defensive red-zone rate higher than 70 percent.

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