It's Week 15 and, amazingly, no team has clinched a playoff spot yet. Well, that's probably going to change. The Cardinals are in as long as the Cowboys/Eagles game isn't a tie, and the Patriots, Broncos and Colts can all clinch their divisions this week. We might even get some teams eliminated from the postseason this week. Crazy, I know.
Thursday Night: Arizona (Win)
Steelers (8-5) at Falcons (5-8): Pittsburgh-This one is important for all of us who care about things like teams that are actually somewhat deserving ending up in the playoffs. Because if the Falcons and Saints both lose this week (which is possible), we're guaranteed a sub-.500 NFC South "champion." I think the Steelers hold one of the AFC wild cards right now, but their hold is tenuous. They end the season with Kansas City and Cincinnati, so getting a win here to go to 9-5 is very important for the Steelers. Even though I have a feeling the Falcons are going to pull it out, Pittsburgh's the pick.
Packers (10-3) at Bills (7-6): Green Bay-The Bills are a popular upset pick this week. I can see why. They looked really good last week in Denver. Except I think it's a bit of a stretch to say they're going to knock off the Packers. Green Bay might be the best team in football, and playing in Buffalo in December isn't going to affect a team that's used to the snow. The Bills will keep it respectable, but Green Bay moves to 11-3.
Bengals (8-4-1) at Browns (7-6): Cleveland-Cleveland evidently doesn't want to make the playoffs. That's the only reason I can think of why they have Johnny Overrated starting this week. It's not Brian Hoyer's fault the defense let Andrew Luck walk down the field and engineer another game-winning drive last week. The Bengals, meanwhile, got crushed by the Steelers to cut their lead in the division to just a half-game. I've got a feeling they turn it around. Especially because I think Cleveland made a costly mistake by turning to Tebow 2.0 for no reason.
Texans (7-6) at Colts (9-4): Indianapolis-If Houston wants to complete an improbable playoff run, they need a win here. Otherwise, the Colts clinch the division and the Texans' chances at a wild card take a tremendous hit. I think that's what's going to happen, though. Indy's fighting for positioning, so they need a win to keep pace with New England and Denver.
Raiders (2-11) at Chiefs (7-6): Kansas City-Ending the Raiders' losing streak was embarrassing for Kansas City. Then the Chiefs lose in Denver and in Arizona. So, basically, they need a win big time. That's the only way they'll have any shot at making the playoffs. Fortunately, this time they're home. I just don't see a team as good as Kansas City getting swept by the Raiders.
Dolphins (7-6) at Patriots (10-3): New England-The Patriots have been waiting all season to avenge their Week 1 loss to Miami. Well, they finally get their chance to knock off the Dolphins. And if they do, it's another AFC East title. Of course, they're already thinking about the playoffs (more specifically holding off Denver for the 1-seed). But with things in the AFC so tight, even the Patriots could consider this a "must-win" game and it wouldn't be much of a stretch. Besides, do you really see New England losing twice to the same team in the same season? I don't.
Redskins (3-10) at Giants (4-9): Giants-The Giants won last week! Proving, at the very least, that they're not the worst team in the NFL (which we already knew, seeing as they're not even the worst team in New York). Now they've got a chance to win two in a row and clinch third place in the NFC East. We've already established that the Giants are better than the Titans. They've already beaten the Redskins once, too. With St. Louis and Philly left, this might be Tom Coughlin's final win as Giants head coach.
Buccaneers (2-11) at Panthers (4-8-1): Carolina-Hey everyone, Carolina won last week! This is news because the Panthers hadn't done that since Week 5. But amazingly, if they win out, they might actually end up in the playoffs. We know that, at the very least, an NFC South team isn't going to lose this week.
Jaguars (2-11) at Ravens (8-5): Baltimore-For everything they've been through this season, the Ravens are in a position to make the playoffs. Jacksonville at home is a nice little Week 15 gift for a team fighting for a postseason spot. They could even potentially move into first with a win and a Bengals loss. That's somewhere they haven't been since Week 7.
Jets (2-11) at Titans (2-11): Tennessee-For the second week in a row, the Titans host a New York team. They lost to the Giants last week, now they get the Jets in their first of back-to-back matchups against fellow two-win teams. The Titans are better than the Jets, though, so they won't be a two-win team when they play Jacksonville on Thursday in a game all of America is excited to be subjected to. Unlike this one, where only a handful of New Yorkers and Tennesseans will have the pleasure.
Broncos (10-3) at Chargers (8-5): Denver-San Diego is probably the best non-division-leader in the AFC, and they beat Denver last season. That's actually what started the Chargers' run to the playoffs. The Broncos know that San Diego's plenty capable of doing that again. But they've also got a chance to wrap up the AFC West this week. The Super Bowl loser usually doesn't make the playoffs. That's obviously not going to be the case this year. Because Denver's going to win the division again.
Vikings (6-7) at Lions (9-4): Detroit-The Lions-Packers showdown in Week 17 is really looking like the season-ending Sunday night game. Detroit has quietly put together a very good season, and they'll get to 10 wins if they beat the Vikings. The Lions are currently sitting in a playoff spot, but that could easily change depending on the Eagles-Cowboys result. In other words, Detroit better win so that they don't have to worry about that.
49ers (7-6) at Seahawks (9-4): Seattle-To say things have gone south for the 49ers this season would be an understatement. We knew that even before they lost to the Raiders. But now they're in a position where they have to win out in order to have any shot at the playoffs. In fact, they'll be eliminated if they lose to the Seahawks for the second time in three weeks. With the way both teams are playing, there's no way I see that not happening, setting up Seattle to take over control of the division with a win over the Cardinals next week.
Cowboys (9-4) at Eagles (9-4): Dallas-The game of the week is on Sunday night. Philly won on Thanksgiving, so a Dallas loss would all but guarantee the Cowboys a trip to Atlanta/New Orleans in the wild card round. It's not as if that would be a problem for the Cowboys, though. They're undefeated on the road this season. And they were given a huge gift last week when the Eagles lost to Seattle. Even though they're tied, the winner here takes control of the NFC East. I think that'll be the team that hasn't lost on the road all year.
Saints (5-8) at Bears (5-8): New Orleans-I'll once again reaffirm my belief that the Saints are the least bad team in the NFC South. Next week's matchup with Atlanta will probably determine the division, but it hopefully won't be to determine which team will be the 6-10 NFC South "champion." Fortunately, Chicago isn't good either, so a Saints win on Monday night is very doable. (Sidebar, this is the Bears' third straight non-Sunday game. I wonder when the last time that happened was.)
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 10-6
Season: 131-77-1
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