NFL THURSDAY NIGHT PICK

I suffered one of my worst prediction weeks ever, but I probably wasn't alone. There were some stunners and frankly, I'm still  just under .500. This week's games begin with a good one from the NFC East.

Last Week: 5 - 11
Overall: 15 - 17

Washington (1 - 1) 24 @ New York Giants (0 - 2) 20: The NFC East is suddenly more interesting, given the injuries to the Cowboys' top two offensive players and the slow start by the Eagles. The other two teams in the division do battle tonight in the Meadowlands. The Redskins lost in week one to a decent Miami team on a punt return for a touchdown, then surprised many with a strong performance against the Rams, who were coming off a big victory over Seattle. The Giants could easily be 2 - 0, blowing two big fourth quarter leads to Dallas and Atlanta. That being said, Eli Manning isn't getting the ball down the field and I think Washington's defense is pretty good. If Kirk Cousins can create some big plays, the 'Skins could make it tough for New York to score enough points to pull out a win. This is a fierce rivalry, as most of them are in this division. Wide receivers DeSean Jackson of Washington and Victor Cruz for the Giants are both out of this game due to injury. Those are a couple of big weapons that will be on the sidelines, which will put more pressure on the quarterbacks to make some plays. I think the difference will be the ability of the Redskins' defense to stifle the Giants, who are three point favorites because they're playing at home.

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Roughing the Passer - A PK Frazier Novel" and my first, "Illegal Procedure - A PK Frazier Novel", available in print and e-formats at Amazon.com, iBooks and Smashwords. The third installment, "Offsetting Penalties" is due out in the fall.