Thursday Night Football - Washington at Dallas - Washington is on the road, but they have been playing far more impressively as of late, and just look a lot hotter than Dallas, a team that has been cooling off lately. Yes, the Cowboys have lost three in a row, right as they needed to start getting serious about a playoff push. Now, the 'Boys are on the brink of official elimination, and without Eliot starting, and with all of the turmoil in Big D, they seem to be running on empty. Hard to see how they win this one, frankly. My pick: Washington
Denver at Miami - A battle between two teams who have gone flat lately, and who are both largely already out of the playoff picture. Both of these teams have been really floundering, although Denver's losing streak is starting to reach serious proportions. I honestly do not remember the Broncos looking this inept for so long and consistently during the course of a season. They have not won a game in two months! They played the Raiders tough last week, which is an encouraging sign, and could lend one the belief that they could finally snap the streak and win in Miami. But the Dolphins, despite how badly they have played, still have some talent, and frankly, should be able to win this game. But neither team is a sure bet, right? My pick: Miami
Detroit at Baltimore - Another huge game! This will be a battle of two teams battling to remain in the playoff hunt for their respective conferences. The Lions saw their chances to qualify seriously hurt with the loss to Minnesota on Thanksgiving, and their confidence had to have been shaken from that. Baltimore, meanwhile, is starting to look very hot. The division title is out of reach, but as of right now, they have a playoff spot, which means that they control their own destiny. With the momentum from recent wins, coupled with home field advantage and a possibly downtrodden Detroit team, the Ravens should take this one. My pick: Baltimore
Houston at Tennessee - The Texans more or less fell out of relevance completely as the season wore on, while the Titans are proving themselves more and more legitimate with each passing week. They now host the Texans, the division winner for the prior two years, but this should be a changing of the guard kind of game. Whatever very slim hopes Houston might have going into this game will likely be ended after this one is over. Tennessee is improving quickly, and have a wildcard with Mariota at the helm. They are finding ways to win, even when they do not play especially well, and that is the mark of a dramatically improving team. The Texans, meanwhile, still look mediocre, and will have to start looking into preparing for next season. My pick: Tennessee
Indianapolis at Jacksonville - The Colts have been out of the AFC South race for quite a while. But the Jaguars badly need to recover from that disappointing loss in Arizona last weekend. After all, they have to keep up with the Titans, and possibly even jump ahead should the Titans be upset. So, you know that Jax will be fired up. The Colts stink on the road (and generally are just not that good, period), and the Jaguars should benefit from home field advantage, as well as just generally being the far better team right now. My pick: Jacksonville
Kansas City at N.Y. Jets - The Jets season has to be over at this point, and you would figure that the Chiefs would win this game, simply because they need to. However, KC has been having some serious issues as of late, especially on offense. You can almost feel the pressure that they are under. This is not the same team that raced off to that hot 5-0 start, and stood as the league's only remaining undefeated team. The Chiefs are in serious jeopardy of outright losing a division lead that at one point seemed insurmountable. Meanwhile, the Jets have played a lot of opponents tough, especially at home in the Meadowlands. I like Gang Green to show up once more, and pull off another major win, as Todd Bowles comes closer to keeping his job for next year. My pick: N.Y. Jets
Minnesota at Atlanta - Wow! What a game this one should be! The Vikings are red hot, possibly even the hottest team in the league, and certainly among the top three or four, along with the Eagles, the Steelers, and of course the Patriots. But they now go to Atlanta, where they will face a dangerous and talented team that seems to be coming into their own again this season. Yes, the Falcons are starting to be hot as well, and they have to fight for their playoff lives right now! What an intriguing match-up this makes this particular game, and it just might wind up being the game of the week! It could go either way, and that makes this a tough game to call. However, the Vikings streak will likely end sooner or later, and Atlanta needs this one more than Minnesota. So, I likely will have to pick the home team to edge out the red hot visiting team in this particular game. My pick: Atlanta
New England at Buffalo - The Bills have home field advantage for this one, but that is the only advantage I see them having here. Well, they did win last weekend, and they do have a winning record at the moment. Also, clearly, they feel the pressure, as they are fighting for their playoff lives. Will it be enough? The Pats are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, and trying to keep pace with Pittsburgh in the race for home field advantage. Also, New England usually is good with the killer instinct, and they surely smell blood, sense that the division title is theirs for the taking up in Orchard Park this weekend. Buffalo has a chance to finally make the playoffs for the first time in the 21st century, but my suspicion is that the Pats will set them back a bit with a win this Sunday. My pick: New England
San Francisco at Chicago - Two of the worst teams in the NFC face off against one another at Soldier Field in the frigid Windy City this weekend. This might just be the last, and certainly will be the best, opportunity for both teams to get at least one more win before the season ends. The 49ers finally beat the Giants a few weeks ago, eliminating the possibility of a winless season. But they lost to Seattle last weekend, and going on the road to the inhospitable confines of Chicago in December might be a bit too much for them. My suspicion is that the early enthusiasm from glimpses of a possibly brilliant future come back to Soldier Field on Sunday, at least for one more game. Da Bears should be able to get another notch in the W column here. My pick: Chicago
Tampa Bay at Green Bay - The battle of the bays. The Packers still have a slim shot at the playoffs, although they are on life support. Meanwhile, the Bucs have basically been eliminated for several weeks already, unofficially. They are getting hot, but can they stay hot on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field in December? That is a tall order, especially after the Pack played one of their best games since Rodgers was injured last week. Not sure that it will be nearly enough to even make the Pack a serious contender, but they should be able to win this one, at least. My pick: Green Bay
Cleveland at L.A. Chargers - The Chargers are really getting hot, and surely feel that they have a real chance at history. Only one team in NFL history came back from an 0-4 start to qualify for the playoffs, and not only was it the Chargers back in 1992, but they outright won the division title. Surely, the Chargers feel that history might repeat, as they can beat out the Raiders, and possibly the Chiefs, if KC continues their recent collapse. Whether or not they can do it, the Chargers surely want to avenge their late season loss to the Browns last season, which allowed Cleveland to avoid the winless season. Not this time, at least not this game. Not against a fired up Chargers team, out in the West Coast. No reason to doubt the Chargers here in this contest. My pick: L.A. Chargers
Carolina at New Orleans - Big game! Huge showdown between the two top teams in the NFC South, although it is likely too early to suggest that the winner will take the division. The Saints finally saw their eight-game winning streak snapped out in L.A. last weekend, while the Panthers just managed to hold off the Jets to finally catch New Orleans. This will be a tough game, and frankly, it could go either way. The Saints seem to have established a more conservative style of play, with a tough defense and a solid running game. Plus, they still have Drew Brees passing, plus home field advantage. All of that would seem to give the Saints the edge in this one. My pick: New Orleans
L.A. Rams at Arizona - Two NFC West teams meet in the desert of Arizona. The Rams are still red hot, and hoping to cling to their narrow lead over Seattle in the NFC West. But Arizona pulled off a major win last week to keep their playoff hopes alive, and absolutely need to win this one, as they have no margin for error. The Cardinals got walloped the last time that these two teams met, when the Rams crushed the Cards in Los Angeles. But will home field advantage change things that dramatically, or are the Rams just too good for Arizona to handle? Remember that L.A. has one of the hottest offenses in the league right now, and they will be throwing everything that they have got in order to try and eliminate a division rival, as well as to stay ahead of the tough Seahawks, and other teams more generally in the NFC Playoff picture. I like the visiting team to complete the sweep in this contest. My pick: L.A. Rams
N.Y. Giants at Oakland - The Giants have one of the worst offenses in the league, yet they take perhaps the best player on that offense out of the starting lineup for this game. In Eli Manning's place will be Geno Smith, who was adequate at best sometimes with the Jets. He is not used to starting, and the offense still has obvious issues with a weak offensive line, no serious running game, and a ton of injuries with their wide receivers. They not only have not scored 30 points in about two years, but they have not even put up 20 points in what feels like forever. And they will now go on the road, back to the West Coast, to face a hot team fighting for their playoff lives? No, I don't think so. The Raiders should just win, baby. My pick: Oakland
Sunday Night Football - Philadelphia at Seattle - Another huge game with enormous playoff implications! The Eagles are so close to officially clinching the NFC East, that they can taste it! But the Seahawks need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. As of right now, they might not even make it if they keep losing tough games. But they are still right on the heels of the Rams, with a showdown coming up soon between those two teams. Seattle has lost a few games here and there that they likely should have won, so they obviously would want to win a big road game like this, if they can manage to tame Philly enough to pull off the upset. But the Eagles have pulled off nine in a row for a reason, and so it will be a tall order. Surely, the Eagles are not unbeatable, and are destined to lose a game somewhere along the line, right? I will pick an upset, although this game likely can go either way. My pick: Seattle
Monday Night Football - Pittsburgh at Cincinnati - I know that I am not exactly being partisan here, but I would really love to see the Bengals win this game. Frankly, the Steelers are tiresome, and admittedly, I hate to see them enjoy success while Roethlisberger - the NFL's answer to Donald Trump - is at the helm. After all, Pittsburgh has owned the Bengals in particular (as well as the Browns) for a very long time now. These games just usually do not go Cincy's way. However, the Bengals are at home, and they will be fighting for their playoff lives. They have also actually been playing well as of late after a disastrous 0-3 start. Will it be enough? Most likely not. Not against the consistency that the Steelers bring forth. Hate to say it, but it seems unlikely that the Bengals can pull off an upset here. My pick: Pittsburgh
No comments:
Post a Comment