Picking Football Games, Week 16

Merry Christmas to All!  With Christmas falling on a Saturday this year, we get an extra treat of two NFL games (and the Madden documentary), giving those of us who don't want to watch 35 NBA games another sports viewing option!  There are a lot of games with playoff implications across the board, too.  Of the 15 games left on the schedule, only three have no bearing on the playoff races (two if you actually consider Atlanta to be "in the race").

Thursday Night: Tennessee (Win)

Browns (7-7) at Packers (11-3): Green Bay-Last week was great for the Packers!  They became the first playoff team, clinched the NFC North and took over the No. 1 seed.  Now they're in the driver's seat with three weeks left.  As for the Browns, they had a rough Week 15.  Their game was delayed from Saturday to Monday, they had a chance to take over first place...and they ended up in last instead!  If that's not enough, they went from regular rest to a short week for a game in Green Bay!  A rough week for the Browns indeed!

Colts (8-6) at Cardinals (10-4): Indianapolis-Look out for the Indianapolis Colts!  You wanna talk about a team that's getting hot at the right time, you're looking at it.  The Arizona Cardinals, on the other hand, are going backwards.  They were 8-1.  They're 2-3 since, with losses to Carolina and Detroit.  They haven't even clinched their playoff spot, yet.  Fortunately, there are a bunch of scenarios where they clinch that don't involve them winning.  Because I'm not sure about that part.

Lions (2-11-1) at Falcons (6-8): Detroit-Good for the Lions!  That win over the Cardinals was unexpected, and they certainly deserved it.  And, as a result, they no longer have the No. 1 pick!  Now, wouldn't it be something if they make it two wins in a row?  Don't bet against it.  Of course, Atlanta's wins have come against teams like the Jets, Panthers and Jaguars, teams that are in a similar boat as Detroit.  I just have a feeling the Lions can pull it off though!

Ravens (8-6) at Bengals (8-6): Baltimore-This is perhaps the biggest game of the weekend.  The winner takes over first place in the AFC North, and if it's Cincinnati, they'll have the season sweep, so it would effectively be a two-game lead with two to play.  The Ravens have been in a free fall for the past few weeks, but the division is still theirs for the taking.  They also know that, because the Bengals hold the tiebreaker, they're currently on the outside looking in.  Something tells me that doesn't sit well with them and they'll want to do something about it.

Rams (10-4) at Vikings (7-7): Rams-Suddenly, the Rams are tied for first in the NFC West!  They've got three very tough games remaining, however, starting this week in Minnesota.  The Vikings are in a tough spot.  They're arguably the best of those five teams fighting for the two wild card spots, but the schedule's doing them no favors.  They have to win either this one or next week's matchup at Lambeau, plus Week 18 against the Bears, to have any shot.  So, it unfortunately doesn't look good for them to make the playoffs.

Bills (8-6) at Patriots (9-5): New England-Losing in Indianapolis last week might've been a good thing for the Patriots.  Because you got the feeling that they thought they were unbeatable, so a reality check was needed.  Speaking of needed, the Bills got exactly what they needed against Carolina.  Now, can they snap their trend of alternating wins and losses?  If they don't, the Patriots will be AFC East champions for the 17th time in 19 years.

Jaguars (2-12) at Jets (3-11): Jets-It's finally here!  The Game of the Year in the NFL!  A Christmas present for us all!  Maybe the winner can be Wake Forest's opponent in the Gator Bowl (the Jaguars are obviously going back to Jacksonville anyway).  Of course, they promoted this as the matchup of the two quarterbacks who were taken 1 and 2 in the draft, but is Zack Wilson even playing?  Regardless, they find themselves in pretty much the exact same position again this year.  The Jaguars currently have the No. 1 pick.  The Jets are currently No. 4.

Giants (4-10) at Eagles (7-7): Philadelphia-The Giants won the first game against the Eagles.  Philadelphia hasn't lost since, and has jumped into playoff position as a result.  And, frankly, the Eagles' chances of getting in are actually pretty good.  They've got the three division teams left, but that finale in Dallas could be against a Cowboys team that has nothing to play for.  If they get swept by the Giants, though, do they really deserve to be a playoff team?

Buccaneers (10-4) at Panthers (5-9): Tampa Bay-I've never seen a Brady-led offense look as bad as the Bucs did last week.  Yes, they were missing some key players, but you can bet that tape is circulating.  It also delayed their clinching of the division, which they should take care of this week.  You know Brady won't have two bad games in a row.  The Panthers have had a lot of bad games in a row.  Thus, Tampa rebounds and wraps up the NFC South.

Chargers (8-6) at Texans (3-11): Chargers-Once again, the Chargers look like a playoff team.  We all thought that at the beginning of the season, then questioned how good they actually were after some really bad performances, and now they're back to where they were earlier in the year.  Even last week, when some might argue they should've won, that probably says more about the Chiefs than the Chargers.  The Texans, however, are not the Chiefs.  They should keep hold of their wild card, which is all they've got left to play for.

Bears (4-10) at Seahawks (5-9): Seattle-Here's the craziest thing about this matchup--they both have top 10 picks, but neither one will actually be picking!  So, this game is really to determine whether the Giants' or Jets' second top 10 pick will be higher.  And the answer to that question should be the Giants, who have the Bears' pick.  Because, thankfully, after way too many national games, people are finally off the delusion that the Bears are a good team or even one worth watching.

Steelers (7-6-1) at Chiefs (10-4): Kansas City-Why am I surprised that the Steelers got a random win to keep themselves above .500 and still technically in the playoff hunt?  I shouldn't be.  That's been Pittsburgh's M.O. all season, even if it'll inevitably lead to an 8-8-1 finish.  As for their game in MO, don't expect a repeat of last week's performance.  Not with the way the Chiefs have been playing.  They should maintain their hold on the 1-seed and lock up their playoff spot.

Broncos (7-7) at Raiders (7-7): Denver-Just like seemingly every other team in the AFC (except for the Jaguars, Jets and Texans, of course), both of these teams are still in the wild card mix.  It's safe to say that the loser of this game no longer will be, though.  So it's big for both of them, especially since they've both got a pair of tough ones to close it out.  The Broncos got that extra day off, so I'll give them the nod here.

Washington (6-8) at Cowboys (10-4): Dallas-Dallas clinched a playoff berth when San Francisco lost on Thursday night, and the Cowboys can make their inevitable NFC East title official with a Sunday night victory over Washington.  The Cowboys are suddenly thinking bigger, though.  No team was a bigger beneficiary of the Cardinals' and Bucs' losses last week.  Suddenly, they're the 2-seed, which means avoiding the Wild Card Game against the Rams and avoiding the Divisional Playoff Game in Green Bay.  In other words, look out for the Cowboys.

Dolphins (7-7) at Saints (7-7): New Orleans-There's one thing about Miami's winning streak that I didn't even realize until I looked at it more closely the other day.  They've won six straight, but five of the six were at home and the only road game was against the Jets.  So, give them credit for taking advantage of that long home stretch, but now they have to get it done on the road if they want to jump into the AFC playoff picture.  Speaking of jumping into the playoff picture, New Orleans did just that with that win in Tampa.  And, after this, they've only got the Falcons and Panthers left.  The Saints are gonna get a wild card.

This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 11-5
Overall: 143-81-1