Thursday
Game: Tennessee at Jacksonville
Pick: Jacksonville - These could very well be the two worst teams in football this year (Oakland and Tampa may have an argument as well). While Jacksonville has shown some signs of improvement in recent weeks, however, it's felt as if Tennessee has gotten worse. With the game at home, I'll take the Jaguars by a field goal.
Result: Jacksonville 21 Tennessee 13
Record: 1-0
Saturday
Game: Philadelphia at Washington
Pick: Philadelphia - Washington is a mess and has nothing but pride to play for over the final two weeks of the season. Philadelphia, meanwhile, finds itself a game back of Dallas in the NFC East and on the outside looking in as far as a Wild Card spot goes. So, to have any chance of making the playoffs, they'll likely have to win this one and their season finale against the Giants. With all of that in mind, I'm going to take the Eagles on the road by 10.
Result: Washington 27 Philadelphia 24
Record: 1-1
Game: San Diego at San Francisco
Pick: San Diego - Like with the before-mentioned game, one team has something to play for and the other doesn't. With their loss to Seattle last week, the 49ers fell to 7-7 and have been eliminated from playoff contention. San Diego is 8-6 and a game back of a Wild Card spot. So, like with the other Saturday game, I look for this game to play out in a similar fashion and for the team with something to play for, to come out on top. I'll take the Chargers by 4.
Result: San Diego 38 San Francisco 35 OT
Record: 2-1
Sunday
Game: Minnesota at Miami
Pick: Minnesota - Both teams are out of playoff contention, but while Minnesota has known this for a while and still seems to play like it means something, Miami was just eliminated this past week and has appeared to give up. The Dolphins have scored just 42 points in their past three games and appear to be anything but the potential Wild Card contender from earlier this year. I'll take the Vikings in a mild road upset by a field goal.
Result: Miami 37 Minnesota 35
Record: 2-2
Game: Baltimore at Houston
Pick: Baltimore - This game makes me nervous. Baltimore's offense hasn't been clicking of late, and on the road against J.J. Watt and company, I have a difficult time seeing the offense start clicking again in this game. However, with Houston's quarterback situation kind of up in the air and Baltimore's run defense being one of the best in the league this year, I'm going to give the slight edge to the Ravens. I'll go with Baltimore by 6.
Result: Houston 25 Baltimore 13
Record: 2-3
Game: Detroit at Chicago
Pick: Detroit - Jay Cutler hasn't been good at home this year, the Lions are fighting for an NFC North title, and with their defense being as great as it's been this year, I'm going to take the Lions at Soldier Field by a touchdown.
Result: Detroit 20 Chicago 14
Record: 3-3
Game: Cleveland at Carolina
Pick: Carolina - Would you look at that? Carolina's won two in a row and Cleveland's lost four out of five. Regardless of who plays at quarterback for the Panthers, with the game at home and for as awful as Johnny Manziel and the Browns offense looked this past weekend, I'll go with Carolina by 4.
Result: Carolina 17 Cleveland 13
Record: 4-3
Game: Atlanta at New Orleans
Pick: Atlanta - Earlier this year, it had been said that New Orleans couldn't win on the road, couldn't win at home, and Atlanta couldn't win on the road. It now seems like New Orleans has trouble losing on the road and has trouble winning at home. Atlanta's also 4-0 against the NFC South (1-9 against everyone else). Assuming Julio Jones suits up, I'll give the slight edge to the Falcons. Atlanta by 3.
Result: Atlanta 30 New Orleans 14
Record: 5-3
Game: Green Bay at Tampa Bay
Pick: Green Bay - Green Bay may only be 3-4 on the road this year, yet then again, Tampa Bay has just two wins overall. I'll go with the Packers to have a big bounce-back game in this one. I'll go with Green Bay by at least a couple of touchdowns.
Result: Green Bay 20 Tampa Bay 3
Record: 6-3
Game: Kansas City at Pittsburgh
Pick: Pittsburgh - Outside of their win against lowly Oakland this past weekend, Kansas City has been struggling of late. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, while very average on the road, has been solid at home. I look for those trends to continue and for the Steelers to win this one by a touchdown.
Result: Pittsburgh 20 Kansas City 12
Record: 7-3
Game: New England at NY Jets
Pick: New England - Rex Ryan has given Bill Belichick fits through the years. For as awful as the Jets secondary has been, though, I have a hard time seeing that happen in this contest. I'll go with the Patriots by at least 10.
Result: New England 17 NY Jets 16
Record: 8-3
Game; NY Giants at St. Louis
Pick: St. Louis - Look for the aggressive Rams defense to give Eli Manning fits, force a couple of turnovers, and be more effective offensively against the mediocre Giants defense than they were against the stout Arizona Cardinals defense. I'll take the Rams by 4.
Result: NY Giants 37 St. Louis 27
Record: 8-4
Game: Buffalo at Oakland
Pick: Buffalo - After their great win at home against Green Bay on Sunday, this game has almost all the ingredients for a letdown for the Bills. The only missing ingredient would be a decent opponent, which the Raiders are not. Expect a close game, but I'll still take Buffalo by 4.
Result: Oakland 26 Buffalo 24
Record: 8-5
Game: Indianapolis at Dallas
Pick: Indianapolis - Dallas is an incredible 7-0 on the road this year. However, they're just 3-4 at home, and with stud tailback DeMarco Murray being listed as questionable for the game (that may be optimistic), I'm going to look for Andrew Luck and the Colts offense to get back to their old ways against the sub-par Cowboys defense. I'll go with Indy by 4.
Result: Dallas 42 Indianapolis 7
Record: 8-6
Game: Seattle at Arizona
Pick: Seattle - It's really amazing what Bruce Arians has done with the injury-plagued Cardinals this year. They're 11-3 and will be starting their 4th different quarterback of the season in this game. I don't care how great of a coach Arians is, he's not going to be able to get his 4th-string quarterback Ryan Lindley to lead his team to victory over arguably the hottest team (and defense) in all of football. This is where Seattle takes the lead in the division. I'll take the Seahawks by 10.
Result: Seattle 35 Arizona 6
Record: 9-6
Monday
Game: Denver at Cincinnati
Pick: Denver - Peyton Manning may not be getting the gaudy numbers he's used to in the passing game. However, the team still looks better than it did last year and appears to be more playoff- and Super Bowl-ready than they were a year ago. They're running the football well, have shown great balance on offense, and have played better defensively. I'll take that winning combination over the inconsistent Cincinnati Bengals any day. I'm going with the Broncos by a touchdown.
Result: Cincinnati 37 Denver 28
Record: 9-7
Week 16 Record: 9-7 (.563)
Overall Record: 150-89-1 (.628)
Game: Tennessee at Jacksonville
Pick: Jacksonville - These could very well be the two worst teams in football this year (Oakland and Tampa may have an argument as well). While Jacksonville has shown some signs of improvement in recent weeks, however, it's felt as if Tennessee has gotten worse. With the game at home, I'll take the Jaguars by a field goal.
Result: Jacksonville 21 Tennessee 13
Record: 1-0
Saturday
Game: Philadelphia at Washington
Pick: Philadelphia - Washington is a mess and has nothing but pride to play for over the final two weeks of the season. Philadelphia, meanwhile, finds itself a game back of Dallas in the NFC East and on the outside looking in as far as a Wild Card spot goes. So, to have any chance of making the playoffs, they'll likely have to win this one and their season finale against the Giants. With all of that in mind, I'm going to take the Eagles on the road by 10.
Result: Washington 27 Philadelphia 24
Record: 1-1
Game: San Diego at San Francisco
Pick: San Diego - Like with the before-mentioned game, one team has something to play for and the other doesn't. With their loss to Seattle last week, the 49ers fell to 7-7 and have been eliminated from playoff contention. San Diego is 8-6 and a game back of a Wild Card spot. So, like with the other Saturday game, I look for this game to play out in a similar fashion and for the team with something to play for, to come out on top. I'll take the Chargers by 4.
Result: San Diego 38 San Francisco 35 OT
Record: 2-1
Sunday
Game: Minnesota at Miami
Pick: Minnesota - Both teams are out of playoff contention, but while Minnesota has known this for a while and still seems to play like it means something, Miami was just eliminated this past week and has appeared to give up. The Dolphins have scored just 42 points in their past three games and appear to be anything but the potential Wild Card contender from earlier this year. I'll take the Vikings in a mild road upset by a field goal.
Result: Miami 37 Minnesota 35
Record: 2-2
Game: Baltimore at Houston
Pick: Baltimore - This game makes me nervous. Baltimore's offense hasn't been clicking of late, and on the road against J.J. Watt and company, I have a difficult time seeing the offense start clicking again in this game. However, with Houston's quarterback situation kind of up in the air and Baltimore's run defense being one of the best in the league this year, I'm going to give the slight edge to the Ravens. I'll go with Baltimore by 6.
Result: Houston 25 Baltimore 13
Record: 2-3
Game: Detroit at Chicago
Pick: Detroit - Jay Cutler hasn't been good at home this year, the Lions are fighting for an NFC North title, and with their defense being as great as it's been this year, I'm going to take the Lions at Soldier Field by a touchdown.
Result: Detroit 20 Chicago 14
Record: 3-3
Game: Cleveland at Carolina
Pick: Carolina - Would you look at that? Carolina's won two in a row and Cleveland's lost four out of five. Regardless of who plays at quarterback for the Panthers, with the game at home and for as awful as Johnny Manziel and the Browns offense looked this past weekend, I'll go with Carolina by 4.
Result: Carolina 17 Cleveland 13
Record: 4-3
Game: Atlanta at New Orleans
Pick: Atlanta - Earlier this year, it had been said that New Orleans couldn't win on the road, couldn't win at home, and Atlanta couldn't win on the road. It now seems like New Orleans has trouble losing on the road and has trouble winning at home. Atlanta's also 4-0 against the NFC South (1-9 against everyone else). Assuming Julio Jones suits up, I'll give the slight edge to the Falcons. Atlanta by 3.
Result: Atlanta 30 New Orleans 14
Record: 5-3
Game: Green Bay at Tampa Bay
Pick: Green Bay - Green Bay may only be 3-4 on the road this year, yet then again, Tampa Bay has just two wins overall. I'll go with the Packers to have a big bounce-back game in this one. I'll go with Green Bay by at least a couple of touchdowns.
Result: Green Bay 20 Tampa Bay 3
Record: 6-3
Game: Kansas City at Pittsburgh
Pick: Pittsburgh - Outside of their win against lowly Oakland this past weekend, Kansas City has been struggling of late. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, while very average on the road, has been solid at home. I look for those trends to continue and for the Steelers to win this one by a touchdown.
Result: Pittsburgh 20 Kansas City 12
Record: 7-3
Game: New England at NY Jets
Pick: New England - Rex Ryan has given Bill Belichick fits through the years. For as awful as the Jets secondary has been, though, I have a hard time seeing that happen in this contest. I'll go with the Patriots by at least 10.
Result: New England 17 NY Jets 16
Record: 8-3
Game; NY Giants at St. Louis
Pick: St. Louis - Look for the aggressive Rams defense to give Eli Manning fits, force a couple of turnovers, and be more effective offensively against the mediocre Giants defense than they were against the stout Arizona Cardinals defense. I'll take the Rams by 4.
Result: NY Giants 37 St. Louis 27
Record: 8-4
Game: Buffalo at Oakland
Pick: Buffalo - After their great win at home against Green Bay on Sunday, this game has almost all the ingredients for a letdown for the Bills. The only missing ingredient would be a decent opponent, which the Raiders are not. Expect a close game, but I'll still take Buffalo by 4.
Result: Oakland 26 Buffalo 24
Record: 8-5
Game: Indianapolis at Dallas
Pick: Indianapolis - Dallas is an incredible 7-0 on the road this year. However, they're just 3-4 at home, and with stud tailback DeMarco Murray being listed as questionable for the game (that may be optimistic), I'm going to look for Andrew Luck and the Colts offense to get back to their old ways against the sub-par Cowboys defense. I'll go with Indy by 4.
Result: Dallas 42 Indianapolis 7
Record: 8-6
Game: Seattle at Arizona
Pick: Seattle - It's really amazing what Bruce Arians has done with the injury-plagued Cardinals this year. They're 11-3 and will be starting their 4th different quarterback of the season in this game. I don't care how great of a coach Arians is, he's not going to be able to get his 4th-string quarterback Ryan Lindley to lead his team to victory over arguably the hottest team (and defense) in all of football. This is where Seattle takes the lead in the division. I'll take the Seahawks by 10.
Result: Seattle 35 Arizona 6
Record: 9-6
Monday
Game: Denver at Cincinnati
Pick: Denver - Peyton Manning may not be getting the gaudy numbers he's used to in the passing game. However, the team still looks better than it did last year and appears to be more playoff- and Super Bowl-ready than they were a year ago. They're running the football well, have shown great balance on offense, and have played better defensively. I'll take that winning combination over the inconsistent Cincinnati Bengals any day. I'm going with the Broncos by a touchdown.
Result: Cincinnati 37 Denver 28
Record: 9-7
Week 16 Record: 9-7 (.563)
Overall Record: 150-89-1 (.628)
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