When the NFL season hits Thanksgiving, we generally have a pretty good idea of who's going to be in the playoffs. Well, Thanksgiving's next week, and outside of a handful of teams, we still have no idea. Mainly because a lot of teams that were supposed to be good aren't. I still think they can turn it around and we might see a team like Pittsburgh or Green Bay in the playoffs.
Bills (4-5) at Bengals (3-5-1): Cincinnati-We might be seeing the final seven games in Marvin Lewis' tenure as the Bengals' head coach. It seemed likely he was going to get fired unless Cincinnati finally won a playoff game this season. Well, now it looks like the Bengals aren't even going to make the playoffs. So, yeah, Cincinnati really needs to win this game if they want to have any shot at a wild card. The good news is the AFC North still seems winnable.
Steelers (4-5) at Browns (0-10): Pittsburgh-Man, that was a great game last week between the Steelers and Cowboys! Steelers fans don't care how good the game was, though, because it was another loss, and it dipped them below .500 on the year. They should be better than this. Enter the Browns and a chance to right the ship before that Thanksgiving night matchup with Indianapolis.
Ravens (5-4) at Cowboys (8-1): Dallas-The Cowboys are the best team in football. There's no doubt about that after last week's amazing game against the Steelers. During that game, the point was made up--and I think it's a valid one--that forget Rookie of the Year, people should be talking about Ezekiel Elliott as MVP. You've even had Tony Romo officially admit that he's officially been Bledsoed by Dak Prescott. At least that's been cleared up. They'll head into Thanksgiving on a nine-game winning streak.
Jaguars (2-7) at Lions (5-4): Detroit-Thanks to the Packers' and Vikings' sheer inability to win, the Lions have moved into first place in the NFC North. Minnesota's their Thanksgiving opponent this year, and that game is actually going to have relevance. Especially because the Lions will be 6-4 and no worse than tied for first place after they beat Jacksonville at home.
Titans (5-5) at Colts (4-5): Tennessee-Are the Tennessee Titans actually good? Because that's what it seems like. Especially after last week's humiliation of the Packers. The Colts are also coming off a win over Green Bay, but they're just 4-5 on the year (by the way, it's utterly ridiculous that the Titans haven't had their bye yet). I guess we'll see this week, but I've got a good feeling about the Titans in this one.
Buccaneers (4-5) at Chiefs (7-2): Kansas City-How come no one is talking about the Kansas City Chiefs? It's all Dallas, New England, Seattle, even Oakland. But what about the Chiefs? They were a playoff team last year and, oh yeah, they're 7-2, which is tied with the Raiders and Patriots for the best record in the AFC. Make that 8-2 heading into that Sunday night game in Denver next week.
Cardinals (4-4-1) at Vikings (5-4): Minnesota-Remember when everyone thought the Vikings were a lock for the Super Bowl after they started off 5-0? Well, their bye came at the most inopportune time. Because they haven't won since having Week 6 off. Arizona's got a lot of road games left (five of their last seven). They'll need to win a few of them if they want to get back to the playoffs, let alone the NFC Championship Game. The Vikings also need to win this one if they want to have any shot at getting back to the playoffs.
Bears (2-7) at Giants (6-3): Giants-After that little hiccup earlier in the season, the Giants have gotten back on track with four straight wins. They're actually sitting in the NFC's top wild card spot right now (and don't forget, they're the only team to beat the Cowboys this season). The Bears, meanwhile, aren't good, wins over the Lions and Vikings aside. They've struggled to score on the road all season, and I don't think that'll change here.
Dolphins (5-4) at Rams (4-5): Los Angeles-Two teams heading in vastly different directions face off in this one. Miami has won four in a row, including last week's triumph over the Chargers. Well, they've spent a whole week in Southern California, and now they take on the Rams before heading from one beautiful coast to the other. The Rams, meanwhile, badly need a win. They've had trouble scoring all season (they've won two! games this season where they've scored exactly nine points). Now they turn to No. 1 pick Jared Goff. For some reason, I see him leading LA to victory.
Patriots (7-2) at 49ers (1-8): New England-New England's aura of invincibility wore off last week against Seattle. Now they head cross country to face a not-very-good 49ers team. Even without Gronkowski, I think the Patriots will have a field day in Santa Clara.
Eagles (5-4) at Seahawks (6-2-1): Seattle-It sounds ridiculous to call the Eagles the best last-place team in football, mainly because they're better than half the teams in the NFC. Unfortunately, Seattle isn't one of them. The Seahawks confirmed their status as one of the NFC favorites when they went into Foxboro and beat the Patriots. Now they're back at home, where they're always tough.
Packers (4-5) at Redskins (5-3-1): Washington-What is up with the Green Bay Packers? They aren't this bad, so why can't they win? It's been three straight, including getting smacked by the Titans last week. While they should, in theory, beat the Redskins just like they did in the playoffs, I have absolutely no confidence in that team right now. Which is why I'm picking Washington.
Texans (6-3) vs. Raiders (7-2): Oakland-Who would've thought that when the NFL scheduled the Texans-Raiders game in Mexico City that it would end up being the best game of the week? They really ended up hitting a home run with this battle of first place teams. They also lucked out by scheduling the Mexico game before the wall goes up. Oakland has already proven that they're for real. I think they win another one and stay atop the AFC West.
This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 10-4
Overall: 91-55-2
No comments:
Post a Comment