Miami 34, NY Jets 10 - The Dolphins proved to be far better than I had predicted. The first meeting between these two teams earlier this season felt like a pitiful affair, with the Fins winning almost by default, because they were not quite as bad as the Jets were. But both teams were in a different place back then. Now, the Dolphins showed that their recent recovery is for real. They absolutely pounded Gang Green on the road, in the cold weather, leaving absolutely no doubt. It is their fourth win a row, and they are making a real push for the playoffs. Not sure if they will actually manage to reach the postseason or not, but they have clearly rebounded from what was a disastrous start to their season. Most impressive. My pick: Inaccurate
Seattle 37, Atlanta 9 - The Falcons can be surprisingly tough at home in Atlanta. Sure enough, they proved to be tough throughout the first half, and the teams were dead even at 6-6 by halftime, in what seemed like a defensive struggle. Then came the second half, and the Seahawks, who felt like the much better team, began to assert their dominance. They poured on the points, their defense shut down the Falcons O, and they pounded their much weaker opponents like a boxer wearing out a weaker opponent in the later rounds. Another impressive win by Seattle, as they continue to keep pace with the Rams, both teams tied atop the NFC West, with San Fran nipping at their heels. Meanwhile, this loss officially eliminates Atlanta from playoff contention. My pick: Accurate
Tennessee 31, Cleveland 29 - There were really no playoff stakes or anything on the line for this game. These two teams entered with some of the worst records in the NFL. In fact, the Titans stood alone with the worst overall record in the league. But they jumped out ahead of Cleveland early. The Browns battled back and took a lead, but the third and early fourth quarters belonged to the Titans, who scored two touchdowns and a field goal to go from 14-17 down at halftime to a solid 31-17 lead. To their credit, the Browns battled back once again, scoring two touchdowns in the final minutes. Not sure why they went for the two-point conversion on the first touchdown, but it failed. It also meant that they had to go for the two-point conversion after the second touchdown, and that failed, too. Ball game. My pick: Inaccurate
Minnesota 31, Washington 0 - My sense this season was that the Vikings were better than their record indicates. After seeing this result, that feels more true than ever. I always felt that they could be a very dangerous team. But they have the misfortune of being in a very, very tough division, with three serious contenders who are all playing well and making real playoff bids. The Vikings, meanwhile, just could not seem to put it together. However, they absolutely managed to pull it together solidly in this one. The defense pitched a shut out, and overwhelmed the Commanders on both sides of the ball, leading to an absolute blowout win. If only they could have had these kinds of results earlier in the season, they might still be in the playoff picture. My pick: Accurate
New Orleans 24, Tampa Bay 20 - The Bucs really could ill afford to lose a game like this. They have been on the slide, and so they need to get back to winning. Instead, they lose at home to the lowly Saints, failing on a golden opportunity to capture sole possession of first place in the NFC South. They fall to 7-6 and are tied with the Carolina Panthers for first in the division. Still, there is plenty of football left to be played, as the Bucs and Panthers will meet twice between now and the end of the season. So it is still wide open. As for the Saints, they earn a rare win this season to improve to 3-10. My pick: Inaccurate
Jacksonville 36, Indianapolis 19 - Not sure if the Jaguars will be able to follow through and clinch the AFC South division title. However, they put themselves in as good a position as possible, a scenario which seemed highly unlikely even just two weeks and change ago. They jumped out early and held a 28-10 halftime lead. then basically coasted the rest of the way. With the win, the Jaguars improve to 9-4 on the season, and own sole possession of first place in the AFC South, at least for now. As for the Colts, they drop their third straight game to fall to 8-5 and, almost unthinkably (given how how they were to start the season), are now on the outside looking in at the AFC playoff picture. They may turn to 44-year-old Philip Rivers to take over quarterbacking duties for the duration of the season, to show how desperate their quarterback situation has become, following an injury to Daniel Jones. My pick: Accurate
Buffalo 39, Cincinnati 34 - It sure looked like Cincy was on their way to a second straight win on the road. They seemed to be leading and in control for the vast majority of this game. Then the Bills came alive and exploded in the fourth quarter, pulling some magic out. That is what true contenders, true elite teams, usually can do. Granted, Buffalo sure flirted with disaster. But in the end, they won and keep some pressure on the Patriots while anticipating that huge meeting to come, which still could decide the AFC East race. As for the Bengals, this probably does not officially eliminate them, but their season is surely done. Still, they have looked mighty impressive ith Burrow back behind the helm. My pick: Buffalo
Pittsburgh 27, Baltimore 22 - These results are confounding. Indeed, both of these teams are almost impossible to figure out so far this season. Just when the Ravens seemed to be coming into themselves and on the verge of being considered serious title contenders, they drop back-to-back games against divisional opponents, and fall back in the overall AFC playoff picture. The Steelers, behind Aaron Rodgers, proved to be a bit too much in this one, winning a huge game on the road to take over sole possession of first place in the very bizarre AFC North. My pick: Inaccurate
Denver 24, Las Vegas 17 - The Broncos did not officially clinch the AFC West title with this win, or anything. Yet, with their 10th straight win to improve to 11-2, coupled with KC's loss later on in Sunday Night Football, Denver absolutely eliminated the possibilities of the Chiefs winning yet another AFC West title. Also, the Broncos are the top seed in the AFC, at least for now. Granted, there is a lot of football left to be played, but that is where things stand at this moment. They did it by playing not overwhelmingly well, but by doing enough to earn a win, something which the Broncos are getting quite used to by this point. A solid road win against a tricky division rival, as Denver just keeps on rolling. My pick: Accurate
Green Bay 28, Chicago 21 - It feels like ever since the Brett Favre era, the Bears usually get the worst of this rivalry. Sometimes, Aaron Rodgers owned them. Other times, Brett Favre owned them. In this 211th meeting between the two iconic franchises (the most between any two teams in the NFL), Jordan Love and the Packers won. Love also seems to have the Bears number. In fact, Green Bay won for the 27th time in the past 31 meetings between these two franchises. But the Pack is tough to beat, and Lambeau Field is a tough place for a road team to have to play. However, there will be a rematch in a couple of weeks, and this one will be at Soldier Field in Chicago. So they still have a chance to exact a measure of revenge and take an important, even possibly crucial, step towards ending the Green Bay dominance in this rivalry. For now, the Packers sit atop the NFC North standings at 9-3-1, while the Bears are second at 9-4. My pick: Accurate
LA Rams 45, Arizona 17 - The Rams left no doubts with this win. Coming off that loss to the Panthers, they could not afford to drop this one as well. But they took care of business, earning a very solid, convincing blowout win on the road against a division rival. They stay in a first-place tie with the Seahawks, both at 10-3, with the two teams soon to face one another again, in Seattle. For the Cardinals, this long season continues, as they fall to 3-10 with their 10th loss in a span of 11 games. My pick:LAccurate
Houston 20, Kansas City 10 - This felt like a far more important game than merely what it does for the AFC playoff picture. First of all, it appears that it marks the end of a great, even a historic, run by the KC dynasty. No matter what happens now, they will not add a 10th straight AFC West title to their name, because that isolated and improbable possibility became mathematically impossible following this Chiefs loss, coupled with the Broncos winning again. Even the playoffs seem to be only a possibility now for Kansas City, as they very much are on the outside looking in, and need a lot of help. That is because the Houston Texans, with their record-setting, number one defense, slammed the door on KC last night. Part of it was simply sloppy play. Dropped passes and missed opportunities for the Chiefs. Yet, Houston's very tough defense had quite a bit to do with that, as well. Rarely do you see Kansas City look so sloppy and ineffective like they seemed to be in last night's game. Again, though, it feels like this win, behind a stellar performance particularly by that might impressive Texans defense, further legitimizes this Houston team as a possible Super Bowl contender. Their defense really does appear to be something special, as they go on the road and slam the door shut on the once might Kansas City Chiefs, who's playoff hopes are really merely flickering at this point in time. My pick: Inaccurate
LA Chargers 22, Philadelphia 19 (OT) - Thought that this would be the game where the Eagles finally iron out the wrinkles in their game and grab the NFC East lead by the throat. Instead, they were mistake prone and looked...well, not quite right. They showed glimpses of why they were champions last year, like Saquon Barkley breaking free for the long touchdown run. But Jalen Hurts three four INT's and lost another fumble for a total of five turnovers. That is a career high for him. And Philly just made too many mistakes. Frankly, it was almost shocking that they managed to stay in this one, that it went into overtime. Hell, Philly was in scoring position and might even have scored the TD to win, except for a final interception that bounced off the hands of a Charger defender and right into the hands of another defender to ice he win for the Chargers. Ball game. The Chargers improve to 9-4 on the year with the win, and still hold a slim chance against the Broncos in the AFC West race. As for Philly, they remain in first place in the NFC East at 8-5, but have now dropped three straight games. They also missed a golden opportunity to put the questions of winning another division title to bed, as Dallas remains alive and still have a shot. Worse, this is beginning to feel eerily reminiscent of what happened two seasons ago, when the Eagles saw a once promising season suddenly fell apart after a 10-1 start, as they finished 11-6 and lost in their first (and only) postseason game. If they want to avoid that fate this time, they need to straighten matters out in a hurry. My pick: Inaccurate
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