Season total: 153-71
This should be a wild week. There are numerous teams still in the playoff hunt, so a lot of the games have serious playoff implications. At this point of the season, I feel like I’m really flying blind. So many of the games look tricky, but, much like the teams playing for the playoffs or for pride, I want to finish strong. Welcome to football Sunday, Saturday edition.
Here are my picks:
Raiders at Chiefs
The Raiders are sinking fast, while the Chiefs seem to be experiencing another upsurge. Kyle Orton played well last week against Green Bay. The best hope for Oakland in this one is if KC suffers a letdown after their HUGE win over the Packers last week. Winner: Chiefs
Cardinals at Bengals
Arizona is hot right now, while Cincy has been cold, cold, cold. Somehow, I see the Bengals pulling this one out and staying in the race for one more week. Winner: Bengals
Dolphins at Patriots
I don’t care how many yards Reggie Bush has this season. I don’t care how well he’s playing. I don’t care that he ran for over 200 yards last week (even though it was against the Bills, which, at this point, is like 80 yards against another team, really). I think he’s an arrogant little douchebag, and I hate that he plays for the Dolphins. Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I think that Miami could give New England a little bit of grief in this one, but they won’t be able to hold on for four quarters against the war machine that is Brady-to-Gronkowski. Winner: Patriots
Broncos at Bills
I would not be surprised to see Denver rush for 400-plus yards in this one. What, you don’t think that Timmy Tebow is going to be super-pumped that it’s Christmas Eve? Winner: Broncos
Buccaneers at Panthers
Tampa Bay is truly, truly awful. The season can’t end soon enough for them. I see a big day for Cam Newton. Winner: Panthers
Vikings at ‘skins
A battle between two teams that are going nowhere. I see Adrian Peterson getting a little more involved this week, and Minnesota’s offence being the difference in the game as a result. Winner: Vikings
Jaguars at Titans
Tennessee still has faint playoff hopes. If that doesn’t motivate them, then nothing will. Winner: Titans
Giants at Jets
Who’s the visiting team here? I look at this game, and everything about it says that it’s a bad matchup for the Giants. The Jets should win. They won’t. Winner: Giants
Rams at Steelers
I don’t care who’s playing QB for Pittsburgh this week. They are not losing to the worst team in the league. Winner: Steelers
Browns at Ravens
Baltimore is so close to winning the AFC North that they can taste it. I’m sure they’re still plenty pissed about their performance against the Chargers last week, too. Winner: Ravens
Chargers at Lions
Knowing that Vincent Jackson will suit up for San Diego would make me feel a lot better about this pick. I expect a high-scoring game, with somewhere in the neighbourhood of 800 yard passing. San Diego’s ground game will be the difference here. Winner: Chargers
Eagles at Cowboys
Dallas got smoked like a salmon when these two met in Philly earlier this season. It’s going to happen again. Winner: Eagles
49ers at Seahawks
Seattle has played extremely well to get to where they are, but they will not be able to get it done against San Fran’s defence. Winner: 49ers
Sunday Night
Bears at Packers
It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was looking ahead to this game as the last, best chance to keep Green Bay from going 16-0. Now, not only is the undefeated season no longer in play, but I don’t even see this game as being very competitive. Winner: Packers
Monday Night
Falcons at Saints
The Falcons built their hopes around being able to compete with the Saints this season. They’re not quite there right now. New Orleans’s offence is rolling right now. Drew Brees will, most likely, break Dan Marino’s record for passing yards in a season, in only 15 games. This is a marvellous achievement. However, it’s interesting to note that in 1984, when Marino threw for 5084 yards, there were only 2 other QBs who finished the season with over 4000 yards. This season, there are already 6 QBs with over 4000 yards passing (including Brees), and that there are 4 more who will most likely surpass 4000 yards as well. It’s a different game now, folks. Winner: Saints
Merry Christmas, everybody.