Dallas 30, Washington 23 - The Cowboys will not be a playoff team this year. Unless you are a fan of the Cowboys, this probably is not a huge surprise. After all, this franchise seems spotty at best when it comes to actually reaching the playoffs in the last decade or more, if we're being honest. Yet, their offense still ranks among the best in the league, and they do have talent. They might not be consistent, and they generally do not beat the better teams in the league. But this year's version of the Washington Commanders also does not rank anywhere near the top of the league, so a win by the 'Boys here really was no major surprise. With the win, the Cowboys improve to 7-8-1 on the year, while Washington falls to 4-12. My pick: Accurate
Minnesota 23, Detroit 10 - The Lions are out of the playoffs officially now. They had little chance heading into this game, and everything would have had to go perfectly. And while Detroit's defense played very well, allowing Minnesota very little offensive productivity, the Detroit offense was another matter. The fact of the matter is that you cannot produce six turnovers in any game and still hope to win. If you do, it is a minor miracle. But the Lions seem to be out of miracles this season. Despite the Vikings hardly producing any serious offensive output, they capitalized off of Detroit's whopping six turnovers. And that was enough for them to win. Simple as that, really. The Lions, I had believed early this season, would likely win another division title, and probably have another crack at the Super Bowl. But I was wrong. This edition of the Detroit Lions really are not very good, not disciplined and, frankly, not deserving of being anywhere near the postseason. They will be staying home in January once the playoffs come. Both teams walk away from this one at 8-8, although for Minnesota, this was their fourth straight win. They apparently will be ending this season more or less on fire. My pick: Inaccurate
Denver 20, Kansas City 13 - The Chiefs right now remind me a little bit of the Bengals. What I mean is, they look like an entirely different team when their starting quarterback is out. Yes, I know, this is true of most teams. But like the Bengals, the Chiefs feel like a legitimate title contender with Mahomes in the lineup, and it felt like they were in every game. Without him, it feels like they are capable of losing every game, even to a lowly team like the Titans. So a loss to the Broncos in this game really was no surprise. Of course, Denver needed this win, because a win here, coupled with a loss by the Chargers when they host the Houston Texans this weekend, gives the Broncos the AFC West title. It would also render the big showdown between the Broncos and the Chargers in the regular season finale almost meaningless, or at least it would not mean the Broncos risk losing the division title with a loss. So the Broncos, while not exactly exploding with energy and efficiency, nevertheless managed a solid, seemingly ugly win in frigid Kansas City to improve to 13-3, forcing the Chargers to have to win out in order to keep their divisional title hopes alive. A solid win for Denver, while the season continues to unravel for the Chiefs, who fall to 6-10 after suffering their fifth straight loss. My suspicion is that a lot of changes will be coming to Kansas City during the offseason. My pick: Accurate
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