We've reached the point in the season where there are Saturday night games, and, of course, those two Saturday night games are big ones when it comes to the playoff picture. The Jets can beat the Cowboys and still fall behind the Steelers on tiebreakers (even though they're currently ahead of Pittsburgh), and Philly-Washington next week could determine whether Eagles-Giants will be the Sunday night game in Week 17 or not.
But as long as we don't have ketchup vs. mustard again, we should all be able to handle the Saturday nights fine. After all, there's been Saturday night games in the playoffs for how long?
Thursday Night: Tampa Bay (Loss)
Jets (8-5) at Cowboys (4-9): Jets-I wouldn't be completely surprised if Dallas managed to get a win here. The Cowboys have reached the point where they know they're most likely going to be a spoiler and nothing else, even though they technically can still win the NFC East if everybody finishes 7-9. Problem is, the Jets know they could finish 11-5 and miss the playoffs. They're gonna do everything in their power to make sure that doesn't happen, starting with extending their winning streak to four. Which is vital with games against the Patriots and Bills remaining.
Texans (6-7) at Colts (6-7): Indianapolis-For all the attention the NFC East has gotten for it's lack of a .500 team, people are conveniently forgetting it's the same situation in the AFC South. The 6-7 Colts meet the 6-7 Texans for first place and the inside track at the 4-seed. Indy got their butts kicked in Jacksonville last week, which was certainly a surprise, and I have no idea who the Colts will have at quarterback in this one. Which is why this pick comes with some trepidation. That Houston defense is scary no matter who's at quarterback, but it took the Colts this long to actually lose a division game. What are the chances they lose two in back-to-back weeks?
Bears (5-8) at Vikings (8-5): Minnesota-There are currently 15 teams still alive in the NFC playoff picture, but that's just because they haven't been mathematically eliminated yet. The Vikings and Seahawks have a two-game lead for the wild cards. They're going to be in. Minnesota will all but clinch with a home win over the Bears. Then they can wait around and see if any of the other like seven things they need to happen does to make it official.
Titans (3-10) at Patriots (11-2): New England-Wasn't it nice last week when New England was the 3-seed in the AFC? Then the Broncos and Bengals have to go screw that all up, and the Patriots somehow clinched the division when the Dolphins lost on Monday night. Now they get to play Tennessee in their final home game of the regular season (the Winter Classic's at Foxboro, so the Pats hit the road for their last two). If they were a college team, this would be your typical Senior Day game against a cupcake opponent.
Panthers (13-0) at Giants (6-7): Giants-This is the only game that can possibly come between the Panthers and 16-0. The Giants have been in this role before, and they're always up to the challenge. Remember, they should've beaten the Patriots in Week 10. They also beat New England in the Super Bowl that time. But, actually, the game that's more similar to this one is their regular season game against Denver in 1998. The defending champion Broncos went into the Meadowlands at 13-0 and lost. To Kent Graham! Another No. 10 (who's significantly better than Kent Graham) had a career game on Monday night, and the Giants need this. No one would be surprised to see the '72 Dolphins popping the champagne on Sunday night.
Bills (6-7) at Redskins (6-7): Washington-Another extremely tough one to call. Buffalo needs to win out if they have any hope of getting into the playoffs at 9-7 (even that won't be enough). It's just as important for Washington, which ends at Philadelphia and Dallas. The Redskins are 6-1 at home and winless on the road. That could be huge over the final two weeks. If they don't beat the Bills at home, there's no chance of them winning the NFC East.
Falcons (6-7) at Jaguars (5-8): Jacksonville-Oh, how the Falcons have fallen. Atlanta has dropped six straight and now goes on the road for the third consecutive week to take on a much-improved Jaguars team. I get it now. Gus Bradley has what actually resembles an NFL football team in northern Florida. And let's keep in mind, they scored 51 points last week! (On RedZone they said that was a franchise record, but they beat the Dolphins 62-7 in the playoffs in Dan Marino's last game, so that's definitely not right.) It sometimes took them three games to get to 51 in the past. One team's going one way. One team's going the other.
Chiefs (8-5) at Ravens (4-9): Kansas City-Who's the hottest team in football this side of Charlotte? That would be the Kansas City Chiefs. Seven in a row with no signs of letting up. The crazy thing, though, is that they need to keep winning. Because the Jets and Steelers aren't going to just let Kansas City waltz into the playoffs. Against Baltimore, they should make it eight and maintain their wild card lead.
Packers (9-4) at Raiders (6-7): Green Bay-Green Bay's streak against Oakland is something ridiculous. It's been a long time since the Packers lost to the Raiders, which I think may even cover their entire time in LA. Of course, they met in Super Bowl II, but the most memorable game in this series has to be that Monday nighter after Brett Favre's father died. Believe it or not, that was 12 years ago almost to the day, and it was the Packers' last trip to the East Bay. We've already established that the Packers don't lose to the Raiders, and by winning this one, they'll clinch a playoff spot.
Browns (3-10) at Seahawks (8-5): Seattle-The Seahawks are rolling. And Arizona's got a very difficult remaining schedule, so it's still possible they could win the NFC West. That would be huge, since this is a very different team at home. Cleveland, meanwhile, isn't even a good team. Yes, they won last week, but that was at home against the equally-bad 49ers. And, I've got news for you Cleveland, Johnny Immature is NOT an NFL quarterback. However, he'll get to see one this week as Russell Wilson continues this torrid stretch he's on.
Broncos (10-3) at Steelers (8-5): Denver-Without question, this is the game of the week, and NBC probably would've flexed it into Sunday night if CBS hadn't protected it as the national late game. That loss to the Raiders was really bad for Denver, especially since they've got Pittsburgh and Cincinnati in the next two games. A Broncos win gives division titles to both them and the Bengals, but the Steelers have new life in the AFC North. Like Giants-Panthers, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the home team come away with a win here. I've got a feeling the Broncos will bounce back, though.
Dolphins (5-8) at Chargers (3-10): Miami-Will this be the Chargers' final game in San Diego? I sure hope not, and I don't think so (it's the Rams that are going back to LA). But if it is, it'd be nice to see them end an era with a win. Thanks to the Browns' win last week, San Diego's back in the running for the No. 1 pick. They move closer to it after the Dolphins win, which I know is probably a crazy pick, seeing as Miami is flying cross-country on a short week after a Monday night game.
Bengals (10-3) at 49ers (4-9): Cincinnati-Things can't just be easy and straightforward for the Bengals, can they? Andy Dalton breaks his hand in a home loss to the Steelers when Cincinnati had a chance to clinch the division. Now they turn to A.J. McCarron at least until the end of the regular season. Fortunately, they've got a two-game lead on Pittsburgh and McCarron's first game is against San Francisco. That big lead the Bengals built because of their great start could come in really handy, but I'm worried this is last year's Cardinals all over again. Cincy should get a win here, at least. Fun fact: Because this one got flexed out of Sunday night, both Bay Area teams are playing at home at the same time, which is odd enough, but they're both playing interconference games on the opposite network (the Raiders are on FOX and the 49ers are on CBS).
Cardinals (11-2) at Eagles (6-7): Arizona-NBC wanted this one on Sunday night, and I'm still convinced it's Philly that's going to win the NFC East. The Cardinals know they're going to the playoffs, but they also know a victory here is vital. They want to have the division wrapped up before they play Green Bay and Seattle in their final two games. Of course, Arizona is also thinking about a first-round bye, as well, which makes that Packer game next week really significant. The Eagles, meanwhile, will be in a very interesting spot. They'll know how the rest of the division did, so their fate will still be in their own hands. Philly's final two matchups against Washington and the Giants will likely determine the NFC East.
Lions (4-9) at Saints (5-8): New Orleans-On the second-to-last Monday night of the season, we get a dud. That's not the NFL's fault (they didn't know the Lions and Saints were both going to suck), but if ESPN had a choice to flex out their games, I'm sure they would've with this one. Anyway, New Orleans will pick up win No. 6, which could, amazingly, put them into a three-way tie for second (all of which determines next year's schedule and nothing else).
This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 9-7
Season: 128-81
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