Carolina 20, Atlanta 17 - The Panthers basically dominated this game, yet allowed the Falcons a touchdown late in the fourth to have a prayer of a chance to pull off an improbable comeback win. Still, the Panthers preserved the important win, because this was a huge divisional showdown for second place in the NFC South. And really, Carolina deserved the win, because they consistently played better than Atlanta. The Panthers remain within striking distance of the division leading Saints, while the Falcons drop yet another game, and look frankly like a mediocre, struggling team at this point, teetering on the brink of being irrelevant. My pick: Accurate
Tennessee 23, Baltimore 20 - Joe Flacco returned for the Ravens, and he had a very good day, completed 34 of 52 pass attempts for 261 yards and two touchdowns. However, Mariota had a big game for Tennessee as well, completing 19 of 28 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns, as well. The Titans kept threatening to pull away, and the Ravens kept finding ways to keep it close. But in the end, a muffed onside kick by Baltimore preserved the win for Tennessee. A huge win for them, and a bad and costly loss for the Ravens, who continue to fall farther behind in both the AFC North and the overall playoff race. My pick: Inaccurate
Jacksonville 23, Cincinnati 7- This game went according to plan. Most likely, you expected a convincing Jax win, and that is exactly what they gave you. They did not explode for a record amount of points or anything, but they scored often enough, and prevented the Bengals from scoring all but one touchdown. The Jaguars thus gave the home crowd reasons to cheer, and stayed with the Titans atop the AFC South, while the Texans fell, making this a two-team race now. An important win for the Jaguars, while this loss probably takes the Bengals out of any realistic playoff scenario. It is very difficult to see how they can recover and make it in now. My pick: Accurate
Philadelphia 51, Denver 23 - Once again, the team with the best record in the league hosted a very bad team, and it showed. The Broncos were outgunned, outhustled and outmuscled in a game that, frankly, was a laugher. Philly scored 51 points! And the Broncos just did not have anything to try and slow Philly down, or to keep up offensively, as their season continues to just spiral out of control. The Eagles earn another solid win to stay very comfortably ahead in the NFC East, although Dallas is still on their tail. As for the Broncos, they continue to fall into complete irrelevance for a season that once appeared quite promising. My pick: Accurate
Indianapolis 20, Houston 14 - Okay, this was the one that I really was not expecting, and did not see coming. The Colts looked just awful going into this one, like one of the worst teams in the league. Yet, they managed to earn an important road game at their division rivals expense. Houston seems to be one of those teams who seem capable of playing up or down to the level of their competition. They played tough at Seattle and at New England, but then play miserably at home against the lowly Colts. By falling to Indianapolis, the Texans might just have completely knocked themselves out of the division race, and even any realistic hopes that they had of making the playoffs. Brutal loss for those guys, but an impressive win for Indy! My pick: Inaccurate
L.A. Rams 51 N.Y. Giants 17 - What can you say about this game? If you are a Rams fan, then surely it was a great game. But for a Giants fan like me, it looked pretty unreal. The Giants just could not stop the Rams at all, and allowed 51 points - which ranks among the top 5 amounts of points that the G-Men have ever allowed in a home game. And New York could not score much, either. This was just complete and utter domination of one team over another, and once again, the Giants looked bad, really bad. Frankly, they looked like just about the worst team in the league. My pick: Accurate
New Orleans 30, Tampa Bay 10 - A game that went the way most people likely would have expected. The Saints are just hot right now, and Tampa Bay is not. So, a convincing home victory was what you would expect from the Saints, as they stay atop the NFC South. The Bucs continue their downward spiral, already basically out of relevance in the NFC South, and in the playoff picture overall. The Saints defense once again played lights out, and continue to look like one of the toughest units in the league these last few weeks. Impressive win for New Orleans! My pick; Accurate
Arizona 20, San Francisco 10- Jimmy Garoppolo made news this week as San Francisco's new quarterback for the future, but he did not start this one. C.J. Beathard was, and he completed 24 of 51 pass attempts for 294 yards and an interception. But Drew Stanton had a better day passing for the visiting Cardinals, as he completed 15 of 30 pass attempts for 201 yards and two touchdowns, also with one interception. Larry Fitzgerald grabbed five of those receptions for 70 yards, as he continued his career mastery over the 49ers. Arizona dominated the time of possession, and were able to establish an effective running game against San Francisco's defense. The Niners were also hurt by penalties and mistakes, as the Cardinals were able to enjoy a convincing win against their division rivals to reach .500 yet again. Meanwhile, the 49ers drop to 0-9, for now, the worst record in the league. My pick: Accurate
Washington 17, Seattle 14 - Washington managed to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the day, getting past the Seahawks in the very hostile environment of Seattle. In a very low-scoring affair, Washington nonetheless outdid Seattle in what is supposed to be the bread and butter style for the Seahawks - a tough, physical, grinding, smashmouth kind of football game. Seattle rallied from down, and had a solid final quarter, pushing as you would expect a championship caliber team to do. They even managed to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. But in the end, Washington still came up with the goods, and were able to get what proved to be a game winning a touchdown themselves. the Seahawks just could not get past their own mistakes, including penalties and turnovers, and it really cost them in this game, especially with the Rams destroying the Giants. My pick: Inaccurate
Dallas 28, Kansas City 17 - The Chiefs needed this one to stay well ahead in the AFC West. But Dallas, we can agree, is starting to once again be a very tough place for road teams to play. Dallas managed to take a solid 14-3 lead for halftime, with a very late touchdown to build that 11-point lead just before the half. KC's Tyreek Hill had the prettiest touchdown reception of the day, complete with a hesitation to allow his blockers to do their work, as well as some admittedly sloppy bit of attempted tackling by the Cowboys defenders. That made it close again, and the Chiefs kept it close for a while. But in the end, Dallas was the better team, and earned an important, even crucial, home win against a solid opponent to keep their hopes alive. KC still holds the lead in the AFC West, but with Oakland winning, it is starting to be a race again. My pick: Accurate
Sunday Night Football - Oakland 27 Miami 24 - Miami had some chances to avoid this costly loss, but the Raiders. It was tight for most of the game, although Oakland held the lead for most of it. Ultimately, they were able to take a more sizable 27-16 lead in final quarter, to put this one out of reach. Marshawn Lynch. The Raiders offense finally began to resemble the exposive unit that many expected them to be this season! It was enough to earn an important, and very timely, win, as they draw closer in the AFC West on a week that saw Kansas City, a team that was threatening to pull away and make this race a laugher, also lose. As for Miami, another costly loss sees them now trailing the Bills in the AFC East by one game, and the Pats by two games. My pick: Inaccurate
Monday Night Football - Detroit 30 Green Bay 17 - Detroit earned a convincing win at a place where they have rarely won before since the early 1990's. Yes, since Favre took over in Green Bay, and then Rodgers, the Lions have barely ever found a way to win - only managing one win at Lambeau during that entire time, and that was a couple of years ago. But last night, Detroit dominated from the beginning to the end. Matthew Stafford was on fire, and Detroit even got a rare rushing touchdown, while the Packers offense, sans Rodgers, was thoroughly contained by the Lions tough defense. Green Bay managed to get a garbage time touchdown in the final seconds - literally the final play - to make this one look more respectable, but in fact, the Lions dominated, earning exactly the kind of win that could help them get this season back on track. My pick: Accurate
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