Let’s get the easy pick out of the way. The Minnesota Vikings travel to Ford Field to take on the Detroit “0-16 here we come” Lions. The Lions have more holes in their squad than the 7th Cavalry had at Little Big Horn. The Vikes, fresh off a huge win over the Chicago Bears will easily roll over the hapless Lions by a hefty margin. Look for Gus Frerotte and Company to strike early and often. Minnesota improves their record to 8-5 while the Lions drop to 0-13. Vikings by 17.

The Jacksonville Jaguars visit Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears. Still smarting from their 34-14 loss to the Vikings last week, the Bears will be out for blood. They also need a win to keep pace with the Vikings. Kyle Orton is due for a big game and Matt Forte will run roughshod through the Jags porous defense. Bears by 10.

The Green Bay Packers host the Houston Texans at home. Tough one to call. The Packers stayed close to the high flying Carolina Panthers for the entire game, but again came up on the short end of a 35-31 tally. Houston isn’t a playoff caliber team yet, but they’re headed in that direction. Their Monday night 30-17 win over the Jags was pretty much a one-sided affair. The Texans jumped out to an early 16-3 lead at the half and played dead even ball in the second half, as each team traded off touchdowns like kids playing two hand touch. Even though the Packers still have a mathematical chance at winning the NFC North, they need to peel off four wins in a row while the Bears and Vikings need to completely tank their last four. Long odds by any standard. The one plus in the Green Bay column is that they’re playing at home — they just can’t seem to buy a road win this season. The Texans are an up-and-coming team who improves every year. Texans by 10.