The Coin Toss: Multi-sport madness

Welcome to The Coin Toss, where I make some bold, unlikely predictions every week about some of your favorite professional sports. First, let's recap last week's predictions.

I had the Golden State Warriors defeating the Dallas Mavericks by 20 points. This was correct, as Golden State won by 21. I correctly predicted the Seahawks defeating the Patriots in Foxborough, as Seattle's defense led them to a win on a dramatic goal-line stand. So two of my bold, unlikely predictions were correct, and I was oh-so-close to a perfect week. I had the Saints beating the Broncos, but Denver blocked an extra point and returned it for a 2-point conversion, stealing the win from New Orleans. That makes me two for three last week. Now, let's get into some more NBA and NFL predictions...

Defending champion Cavaliers fall to Pacers

Believe it or not, the Pacers have the tools to make this happen. They have a point guard (Jeff Teague) that can keep pace with the Cavs' defense, a power forward (Thaddeus Young) that can stretch the floor and exploit Kevin Love on the perimeter and a lockdown defensive small forward (Paul George) that can stifle LeBron James. The Cavaliers have one of the league's best records and, of course, are the defending champions of the league. Indiana comes into this game with a losing record, but they should be particularly motivated by the chance to face Cleveland at home. Hopefully this prediction isn't too crazy, but I have the Pacers over the Cavs on Wednesday night.

Vikings and Cardinals combine for 24 points or fewer

Minnesota and Arizona are both great defensive teams that are streaky on the offensive side of the ball. They're second and third respectively in total defense, so this game should be a defensive slugfest. NFL teams have scored an average of 23.1 points per game this season. A game where the teams combine for less than 24 points is fairly rare and quite difficult to predict. The Cardinals participated in such a game this season when they tied with Seattle, 6-6. That was a defensive game and this one should be as well. Hence, I predict a low-scoring game; 24 points or less combined between the two teams.

Buccaneers prevail over Chiefs

Tampa Bay has been very inconsistent this season. They tend to win a game, lose a game, win a few, then lose a few. This has them sitting at 4-5, and they face a tough challenge in the 7-2 Chiefs this week. Don't let the record fool you though; the Chiefs are not an elite team. The teams they've beaten this season include the Chargers, Jets, Saints, Colts, Jaguars and Panthers, who have all been mediocre or worse. Their only impressive win came against the Raiders. The Chiefs are weak on offense but can stifle a team on defense. The Bucs have the potential to explode offensively and they'll need to if they want to beat KC. They certainly can, and I think they will. The Coin Toss' pick is in: Bucs over Chiefs.