Thursday
Game: San Diego at Denver
Pick: Denver - Unless Denver plays Seattle on the road, chances are I'll pick them. If they face the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, however, I don't know which way I'll go. Except Philip Rivers and the Chargers to put up a few points, but not enough for the win. I like the Broncos by 10.
Result: San Diego 27 Denver 20
Record: 0-1
Sunday
Game: Washington at Atlanta
Pick: Atlanta - The only thing these two disappointing teams have to play for is pride since they're a combined 7-19. It appears as if some of the Redskins players have called it quits on head coach Mike Shanahan, though, and with the game at home and the team playing better the past couple of weeks, I look for the Falcons to win their 4th of the season. I like Atlanta by 4.
Result: Atlanta 27 Washington 26
Record: 1-1
Game: Chicago at Cleveland
Pick: Cleveland - While Chicago may have more to play for than the Browns, Cleveland has played most everyone tough this season, and in conjunction with their rugged defense, Jason Campbell has been a very efficient quarterback for them this year. I like the Browns to finally win a close one at home. Cleveland by 3.
Result: Chicago 38 Cleveland 31
Record: 1-2
Game: Houston at Indianapolis
Pick: Indianapolis - As uncomfortable as I am with picking the struggling Colts, Houston has lost 11 consecutive games, and I have an even more difficult time picking them. The Texans led the Colts by 18 points in their first meeting, before they found a way to blow yet another lead. Given all of that history, I'll take the Colts by a touchdown.
Result: Indianapolis 25 Houston 3
Record: 2-2
Game: New England at Miami
Pick: Miami - While I was leaning toward New England all week, I had a sudden change of heart. The Pats have been finding almost miraculous ways of winning games in recent weeks. With this game on the road for the Patriots and Miami fighting for their playoff lives, I'm going to go with the Dolphins in the upset. I like Miami by 3.
Result: Miami 24 New England 20
Record: 3-2
Game: Philadelphia at Minnesota
Pick: Philadelphia - With Adrian Peterson hampered by an ankle injury and the Eagles having won five straight games, I look for the high-flying Philadelphia offense to have a field day against the struggling Vikings defense and for the Eagles defense to do enough to warrant a rather convincing victory. Eagles by two touchdowns.
Result: Minnesota 48 Philadelphia 30
Record: 3-3
Game: Seattle at NY Giants
Pick: Seattle - The Giants started the year 0-6, before winning five of their next six to go to 5-7. They then got pummeled by San Diego 37-14 this past weekend to drop them to 5-8 and out of playoff contention. With the Giants having nothing to play for and looking more like that 0-6 than 5-1 team this past Sunday, I look for the Seahawks to bounce back from their last-minute loss to San Francisco with a rather convincing win on the road in this one. Seahawks by 14.
Result: Seattle 23 NY Giants 0
Record: 4-3
Game: San Francisco at Tampa Bay
Pick: San Francisco - With Tampa Bay winning four of their last five, this is a tougher game for me to pick than one might think. However, with Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers getting Michael Crabtree back and opening up their offense due to it, I think I'll go with the Niners in a close one. San Francisco by 6.
Result: San Francisco 33 Tampa Bay 14
Record: 5-3
Game: Buffalo at Jacksonville
Pick: Buffalo - Even though Jacksonville has won four out of five games, I'm still having trouble picking them. Keep in mind, these four wins have come against teams with a combined record of 13-39 by a total margin of 20 points. While Buffalo's rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel has struggled in recent weeks, I look for the tailback tandem of C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson to have success against the Jags defense and take the pressure off Manuel in the process. I'm going with the Bills by a touchdown.
Result: Buffalo 27 Jacksonville 20
Record: 6-3
Game: Kansas City at Oakland
Pick: Kansas City - Kansas City got just what they needed this past Sunday following three straight losses - a match-up with the Washington Redskins. After their 45-10 blowout of the 'Skins, look for the revitalized Chiefs to continue their success with a two-score win on the road against the Raiders.
Result: Kansas City 56 Oakland 31
Record: 7-3
Game: NY Jets at Carolina
Pick: Carolina - While the Panthers defense looked somewhat mediocre this past Sunday night, they should be back and ready to dominate the highly inconsistent Jets offense. Rookie quarterback Geno Smith has struggled mightily against top-tier defenses this season, so I wouldn't expect anything else here - especially on the road against an angry Carolina club. I like the Panthers by a couple of scores.
Result: Carolina 30 NY Jets 20
Record: 8-3
Game: Green Bay at Dallas
Pick: Dallas - This pick will again depend on the health of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. If Rodgers is healthy and starting, I may very well go with Green Bay. However, until that time, I'll give the home-field advantage to the Cowboys, who don't have much of a defense, but have enough weapons on offense to counter Matt Flynn and company (if he should start). I'll go with Dallas by 10.
Result: Green Bay 37 Dallas 36
Record: 8-4
Game: Arizona at Tennessee
Pick: Arizona - While I don't think Tennessee is a bad football team, they've just seemed to find ways to lose in recent weeks. Worse yet, Arizona is starting to play very good football on both sides of the ball. While they relied heavily on their solid defense earlier in the season, their offense, led by Carson Palmer, has picked things up in recent weeks, and I look for these trends to continue in this game. I'll go with the Cardinals by 10.
Result: Arizona 37 Tennessee 34 OT
Record: 9-4
Game: New Orleans at St. Louis
Pick: New Orleans - New Orleans has gone through some extreme ups and downs these past couple of weeks. They were blown out by Seattle on the road 34-7 last week before beating up Carolina 31-13 at home yesterday. Look for a bit more stability from the Saints in this game, as they improve to 11-3 with a convincing win over St. Louis. I'll go with the Saints by 17.
Result: St. Louis 27 New Orleans 16
Record: 9-5
Game: Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
Pick: Pittsburgh - This is a do-or-die game for the Pittsburgh Steelers. If they lose this game, they'll need a miracle to make the playoffs, since the best they could finish would be 7-9. With the game at home tonight, I'll give Pittsburgh a slight edge in this one. For as good as the Bengals have been at home, they're 3-4 on the road, and quarterback Andy Dalton has tended to be quite turnover prone in those contests. I'll go with the Steelers by 4.
Result: Pittsburgh 30 Cincinnati 20
Record: 10-5
Monday
Game: Baltimore at Detroit
Pick: Detroit - One can probably flip a coin on the outcome of this game, and that's largely due to the inconsistencies of both teams. Baltimore has appeared to be much stronger at home than on the road. Detroit, meanwhile, has seemed to forget how to hang onto the football, especially in the red zone. With the game at home, though, I'm going to give a slight edge to the Lions, who, like the Ravens, are fighting for their playoff lives at the moment.
Result: Baltimore 18 Detroit 16
Record: 10-6
Week 15: 10-6 (.625)
Overall: 137-86-1 (.614)
Game: San Diego at Denver
Pick: Denver - Unless Denver plays Seattle on the road, chances are I'll pick them. If they face the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, however, I don't know which way I'll go. Except Philip Rivers and the Chargers to put up a few points, but not enough for the win. I like the Broncos by 10.
Result: San Diego 27 Denver 20
Record: 0-1
Sunday
Game: Washington at Atlanta
Pick: Atlanta - The only thing these two disappointing teams have to play for is pride since they're a combined 7-19. It appears as if some of the Redskins players have called it quits on head coach Mike Shanahan, though, and with the game at home and the team playing better the past couple of weeks, I look for the Falcons to win their 4th of the season. I like Atlanta by 4.
Result: Atlanta 27 Washington 26
Record: 1-1
Game: Chicago at Cleveland
Pick: Cleveland - While Chicago may have more to play for than the Browns, Cleveland has played most everyone tough this season, and in conjunction with their rugged defense, Jason Campbell has been a very efficient quarterback for them this year. I like the Browns to finally win a close one at home. Cleveland by 3.
Result: Chicago 38 Cleveland 31
Record: 1-2
Game: Houston at Indianapolis
Pick: Indianapolis - As uncomfortable as I am with picking the struggling Colts, Houston has lost 11 consecutive games, and I have an even more difficult time picking them. The Texans led the Colts by 18 points in their first meeting, before they found a way to blow yet another lead. Given all of that history, I'll take the Colts by a touchdown.
Result: Indianapolis 25 Houston 3
Record: 2-2
Game: New England at Miami
Pick: Miami - While I was leaning toward New England all week, I had a sudden change of heart. The Pats have been finding almost miraculous ways of winning games in recent weeks. With this game on the road for the Patriots and Miami fighting for their playoff lives, I'm going to go with the Dolphins in the upset. I like Miami by 3.
Result: Miami 24 New England 20
Record: 3-2
Game: Philadelphia at Minnesota
Pick: Philadelphia - With Adrian Peterson hampered by an ankle injury and the Eagles having won five straight games, I look for the high-flying Philadelphia offense to have a field day against the struggling Vikings defense and for the Eagles defense to do enough to warrant a rather convincing victory. Eagles by two touchdowns.
Result: Minnesota 48 Philadelphia 30
Record: 3-3
Game: Seattle at NY Giants
Pick: Seattle - The Giants started the year 0-6, before winning five of their next six to go to 5-7. They then got pummeled by San Diego 37-14 this past weekend to drop them to 5-8 and out of playoff contention. With the Giants having nothing to play for and looking more like that 0-6 than 5-1 team this past Sunday, I look for the Seahawks to bounce back from their last-minute loss to San Francisco with a rather convincing win on the road in this one. Seahawks by 14.
Result: Seattle 23 NY Giants 0
Record: 4-3
Game: San Francisco at Tampa Bay
Pick: San Francisco - With Tampa Bay winning four of their last five, this is a tougher game for me to pick than one might think. However, with Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers getting Michael Crabtree back and opening up their offense due to it, I think I'll go with the Niners in a close one. San Francisco by 6.
Result: San Francisco 33 Tampa Bay 14
Record: 5-3
Game: Buffalo at Jacksonville
Pick: Buffalo - Even though Jacksonville has won four out of five games, I'm still having trouble picking them. Keep in mind, these four wins have come against teams with a combined record of 13-39 by a total margin of 20 points. While Buffalo's rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel has struggled in recent weeks, I look for the tailback tandem of C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson to have success against the Jags defense and take the pressure off Manuel in the process. I'm going with the Bills by a touchdown.
Result: Buffalo 27 Jacksonville 20
Record: 6-3
Game: Kansas City at Oakland
Pick: Kansas City - Kansas City got just what they needed this past Sunday following three straight losses - a match-up with the Washington Redskins. After their 45-10 blowout of the 'Skins, look for the revitalized Chiefs to continue their success with a two-score win on the road against the Raiders.
Result: Kansas City 56 Oakland 31
Record: 7-3
Game: NY Jets at Carolina
Pick: Carolina - While the Panthers defense looked somewhat mediocre this past Sunday night, they should be back and ready to dominate the highly inconsistent Jets offense. Rookie quarterback Geno Smith has struggled mightily against top-tier defenses this season, so I wouldn't expect anything else here - especially on the road against an angry Carolina club. I like the Panthers by a couple of scores.
Result: Carolina 30 NY Jets 20
Record: 8-3
Game: Green Bay at Dallas
Pick: Dallas - This pick will again depend on the health of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. If Rodgers is healthy and starting, I may very well go with Green Bay. However, until that time, I'll give the home-field advantage to the Cowboys, who don't have much of a defense, but have enough weapons on offense to counter Matt Flynn and company (if he should start). I'll go with Dallas by 10.
Result: Green Bay 37 Dallas 36
Record: 8-4
Game: Arizona at Tennessee
Pick: Arizona - While I don't think Tennessee is a bad football team, they've just seemed to find ways to lose in recent weeks. Worse yet, Arizona is starting to play very good football on both sides of the ball. While they relied heavily on their solid defense earlier in the season, their offense, led by Carson Palmer, has picked things up in recent weeks, and I look for these trends to continue in this game. I'll go with the Cardinals by 10.
Result: Arizona 37 Tennessee 34 OT
Record: 9-4
Game: New Orleans at St. Louis
Pick: New Orleans - New Orleans has gone through some extreme ups and downs these past couple of weeks. They were blown out by Seattle on the road 34-7 last week before beating up Carolina 31-13 at home yesterday. Look for a bit more stability from the Saints in this game, as they improve to 11-3 with a convincing win over St. Louis. I'll go with the Saints by 17.
Result: St. Louis 27 New Orleans 16
Record: 9-5
Game: Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
Pick: Pittsburgh - This is a do-or-die game for the Pittsburgh Steelers. If they lose this game, they'll need a miracle to make the playoffs, since the best they could finish would be 7-9. With the game at home tonight, I'll give Pittsburgh a slight edge in this one. For as good as the Bengals have been at home, they're 3-4 on the road, and quarterback Andy Dalton has tended to be quite turnover prone in those contests. I'll go with the Steelers by 4.
Result: Pittsburgh 30 Cincinnati 20
Record: 10-5
Monday
Game: Baltimore at Detroit
Pick: Detroit - One can probably flip a coin on the outcome of this game, and that's largely due to the inconsistencies of both teams. Baltimore has appeared to be much stronger at home than on the road. Detroit, meanwhile, has seemed to forget how to hang onto the football, especially in the red zone. With the game at home, though, I'm going to give a slight edge to the Lions, who, like the Ravens, are fighting for their playoff lives at the moment.
Result: Baltimore 18 Detroit 16
Record: 10-6
Week 15: 10-6 (.625)
Overall: 137-86-1 (.614)
Comments
Post a Comment