Things are starting to get interesting in the NFL. During the Bills-Dolphins game on Thursday night, they flashed up a graphic with the AFC playoff picture and 12 teams were on it. That's right. Midway through the season, only the Raiders, Jets, Jaguars and Titans have no chance at making the playoffs in the AFC. And the Steelers and Ravens are tied for last place in the AFC North at 6-4, while New Orleans, the first-place team in the NFC South is 4-5! Crazy stuff.
At least some of this madness will start to get settled out soon. This week we've got some good ones that might prove to be very important down the road.
Thursday Night: Miami (Win)
Vikings (4-5) at Bears (3-6): Minnesota-So...I've officially given up on Chicago. The Bears are winless at home, but were at least respectable in road games. Then they went to Lambeau and got shellacked by the Packers. This team's not as good as I originally thought. I won't have any confidence in the Bears' ability to win a home game until they actually show me they can.
Texans (4-5) at Browns (6-3): Cleveland-It's mid-November and the Cleveland Browns are in first place. And their schedule continues to be favorable. I was skeptical when they hired him, but right now I'd have to say Mike Pettine is one of the leading candidates for Coach of the Year. This week's opponent is J.J. Watt and Houston, and the Texans need to find a way to steal this one if they want to stay in the playoff hunt. Will they be able to do that? I'm not so sure.
Seahawks (6-3) at Chiefs (6-3): Seattle-This is one of those big matchups this week I was talking about. The Chiefs are a-comin'. They've won four in a row. The defending champs have won three straight. But they're both in second place behind very good teams in Denver and Arizona. The loser here might be looking at a wild card at best. With Carson Palmer's injury, the Seahawks smell blood in the water. They'll go into Kansas City and get the victory.
Broncos (7-2) at Rams (3-6): Denver-Speaking of the Broncos, they head to St. Louis. Ever since Peyton came to town, Denver has been remarkably consistent. The Broncos simply don't lose to teams they should beat. Yes, they're 7-2. But their losses are to Seattle and New England. Not exactly bad losses. The Rams beat the Seahawks, but they play them all the time. The Broncos they don't. Denver should win pretty handily.
Bengals (5-3-1) at Saints (4-5): New Orleans-Good news, Bengals fans! The game's not in primetime, so there's a chance! Except going to New Orleans ain't exactly easy, the Saints' loss to the 49ers last week notwithstanding. The Saints being in first place isn't weird. Them being in first place with a losing record is. Hopefully New Orleans pulls it out and we don't have another week with a sub-.500 first place team.
49ers (5-4) at Giants (3-6): San Francisco-The 49ers might've saved their season with last week's victory in New Orleans. The Giants need to win this one in order to save theirs. They've lost four straight and the schedule's not getting any easier. This is the game during this run of playoff teams that I think they've got a chance at stealing. I'm picking San Francisco, but I'm not counting the Giants out.
Buccaneers (1-8) at Redskins (3-6): Washington-Just like the Giants, Lovie Smith's Tampa Bay Bucs badly need a win. Last week's game against Atlanta looked to be their chance, but they ended up dropping that one pretty handily. Now they get the Redskins. Problem is it's in Washington. When two not-good teams face each other crazy things can happen, but I've gotta think Washington's got the upper hand.
Falcons (3-6) at Panthers (3-6-1): Carolina-It's been a strange journey for the 2014 Carolina Panthers. They were 3-2. They're 0-4-1 since, and they have four straight losses since the tie. They're clearly headed in the wrong direction. With that being said, four of Carolina's last six games are in the division, which is great for them, and it gives them plenty of opportunity to get back to the top of the NFC South. I'll take the Panthers at home.
Raiders (0-9) at Chargers (5-4): San Diego-The Raiders are still talking to San Antonio about moving. Because Mark Davis is evidently as senile as his dad and can't use simple logic to realize that LA just makes way too much sense. That's why they're 0-9. Make that 0-10. The franchise is simply clueless.
Eagles (7-2) at Packers (6-3): Philadelphia-One of the marquee games of the week will probably go a long way in determining playoff positioning in the NFC. They're both on a roll. They've each won four of their last five. This is one of the first big tests for Philadelphia, too. Keep in mind they haven't played the Cowboys yet. The Packers are favored (as they should be), but I can see the Eagles going into Lambeau and pulling out the victory.
Lions (7-2) at Cardinals (8-1): Arizona-Little did FOX know when they moved Eagles-Packers to 4:00 that Lions-Cardinals was going to be just as marquee a matchup. This is Arizona's first game since Carson Palmer was lost for the season, so let's see how much of an impact that has on the team with the best record in football. Taking on the Lions defense isn't exactly the most fun thing to do when you have your starting quarterback, let alone your backup. Huge game. Winner has the inside track towards at the very least a first round bye, if not home field advantage in the NFC (or, in the Cardinals' case, the entire postseason). In Arizona, I give the slight edge to the home team.
Patriots (7-2) at Colts (6-3): Indianapolis-This matchup has lost some of its cache ever since Peyton went to Denver. Brady vs. Luck isn't quite at that level yet. This is a huge one, though. The Patriots are on a roll. They've scored a lot of points during their five-game winning streak. Except the only good team they've beaten during this run was Denver, who they had the chance to play at home. That will probably matter down the road, just like the Colts' loss to the Broncos could have a bearing on postseason seeding. But if the Colts beat the Patriots, they'll all have three losses and be 1-1 against each other. That could make things very interesting in the AFC the rest of the way. Andrew Luck likes the spotlight. The Patriots need a reality check. That adds up to a Colts victory on Sunday night.
Steelers (6-4) at Titans (2-7): Pittsburgh-Losing to the Jets was a very Steelers thing to do. Every time you start thinking Pittsburgh is on the rise, they go and lose a game they really have no business losing. Roethlisberger was unstoppable for two straight weeks. Then they go and lose to the Jets? You can't do that and expect to win a division as competitive as the AFC North. They really can't afford to slip up again in Nashville on Monday night.
BYE: Baltimore (6-4), Dallas (7-3), Jacksonville (1-9), Jets (2-8)
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 8-5
Season: 95-52-1
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