Chicago at Detroit
The Chicago Bears might be best suited punting the ball
away on 1st down allowing their defense as much time on the field as
possible. The Detroit Lions might be best suited investing in the company that
produces penalty flags used by the NFL referees with the amount of penalties
enforced against them. This will not be a pretty end to what has been a hugely
disappointing season for the Detroit Lions. IN week 17 a Chicago defense that
leads the league in takeaways will look to feast on Matthew Stafford and the
Lions offense which ranks 3rd in the league in giveaways. With a victory in this game, the Bears will be
checking the scoreboard often to see updates on the Packers-Vikings game. This
could be one of the few weeks in the history of these storied franchises where
one team is rooting for the other. The Bears get exactly what they need in week
17 to become a Wildcard team in the NFC.
Chicago- 28
Detroit- 24
Jacksonville at Tennessee
Despite finishing as one of the doormats in the AFC, you
have to appreciate the fight the Jacksonville Jaguars gave the New England
Patriots last week. But if the first season under head coach Mike Mularkey looked
like a circus, wait until Tim Tebow arrives in Jacksonville next year. Next
year will also prove to be instrumental in the development of a young Tennessee
Titans team. The maturation of Jake Locker has been slowed tremendously by
constant injury and we could see the end of Chris Johnson’s days in Tennessee.
Meaningless football games like this late in the season often turn into tryout
sessions for future rosters. The Jaguars will be the hungrier team in week 17
as they finish the 2012 season on a positive note.
Jacksonville- 24
Tennessee- 21
Houston at Indianapolis
The expectation for the Indianapolis Colts entering the
2012 season was four wins. After beating the Kansas City Chiefs in week 16, the
Indianapolis Colts locked up their 10th win of the season and a
WildCard spot in the AFC. The tragedy that fell upon Indianapolis when word
broke about Chuck Pagano’s diagnosis transformed into a source of inspiration
for an incredibly young football team. Pagano will make his return to the sidelines
after overcoming his battle with leukemia as the Colts take on the Houston
Texans. Inspiration will not be enough to overcome talent this week for the
Colts. The Houston Texans will simply dominate this game in the trenches and
put too much pressure on Andrew Luck. Expect the Houston Texans to come away
from this Sunday with a first round bye and homefield advantage throughout the
playoffs as they defeat Indianapolis.
Houston- 27
Indianapolis- 20
Green Bay at Minnesota
While the incredible return of Adrian Peterson has simply
defied all logic and existing medical knowledge of serious knee injuries, it
has also carried the Minnesota Vikings within a game of making the playoffs.
The Vikings will have to end their season on a four game win streak and beat
the Green Bay Packers to become the 6th seed in the NFC. Unfortunately
for Minnesota, AP won’t be able to defend Aaron Rodgers. A rematch of a week 13
game in which the Packers won 23-14 will end in a very similar fashion. Despite
Minnesota’s success on the ground game, their lack of a consistent passing
attack will hinder their ability to complete a comeback after getting down
early. The Packers secure a first-round playoff bye and the NFC number two seed
and eliminate the Vikings from playoff contention with a win in week 17.
Green Bay- 30
Minnesota- 21
Miami at New England
There have been discussions and arguments about which of
the top three AFC teams need homefield advantage the most. I think the team
that needs it least, or does not need to have it to make it the furthest in the
playoffs, is the New England Patriots. As long as the Pats are in, defeating
Tom Brady has proven to be a nearly impossible task in January. With a win this
week Tom Brady could lead the Patriots to a seventh 12 win season in his tenure
and would also lead the Pats to an undefeated record against AFC opponents in
2012. The Patriots defeat the Dolphins, improving to 6-0 against division
opponents and lock up the 3rd seed in the AFC.
Miami- 14
New England- 30
Carolina at New Orleans
How disappointing is it that this game means absolutely
nothing to both of these NFC South teams? Cam Newton has not even come close to
matching his rookie campaign and Drew Brees has thrown a league high 18
interceptions. The best news the New Orleans Saints have had in a while is that
Sean Payton will sign a five year deal to remain their head coach. His return
in 2013 will bring serious culture change to a team with much higher
expectations then a .500 record. The Saints achieve that .500 record with a win
in week 17 against the Carolina Panthers.
Carolina- 28
New Orleans- 35
Philadelphia at NY Giants
Aren’t the NY Giants supposed to be playing at their best
in December? Not this season. They have lost three of four games this month and
unless they get a miracle will not make the playoffs to defend their
championship. While the Eagles have little to play for, Michael Vick does. This
is a tryout for him for the 2013 season and I think another New York team could
be extremely interested in how he does. Vick will play well, but he alone will
not be able to beat the Giants at Met Life Stadium.
Philadelphia- 24
NY Giants- 27
Cleveland at Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Steelers
will not be representing the AFC in the playoffs. Injuries to key defensive
players and a lack of consistency on offense have limited their opportunity for
success. They end a disappointing 2012 season facing off with division foe the
Cleveland Browns. Either Thad Lewis or Josh Johnson will be the starter at
quarterback for the offensively challenged Browns and that QB could also be
without star rookie runningback Trent Richardson. Dick Labeau will feast on the
inept offense, shutting out the Browns to end the season.
Cleveland- 0
Pittsburgh- 28
Tampa Bay at Atlanta
The Atlanta Falcons will most likely treat this game like
the third preseason game. Matt Ryan and the Falcons starters should play into
the 3rd quarter and then Luke McCown and the back-ups will take
over. Tampa Bay fans must be wondering if back-ups have taken over in the Bucs
last five games as they have lost all five. Make that six as they travel to
Atlanta and continue to struggle on both sides of the ball.
Tampa Bay- 14
Atlanta- 33
NY Jets at Buffalo
New York football fans cannot wait for this season to end
to finally put an end to their misery. Both these New York teams seriously underperformed
in 2012 specifically at the quarterback position. It’s not even worth
discussing those issues considering how well documented the Jets struggles have
been. Bills win the final game of the year with a strong effort from C.J.
Spiller
NY Jets- 16
Bills- 21
Baltimore at Cincinnati
The Baltimore Ravens needed that game last week against
the New York Giants. The defense limited the New York Giants offense and Joe
Flacco and the Ravens offense finally started to click again. In week 17, the
Ravens meet their division rival Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals are locked in
as the number six seed in the AFC and will most likely face-off with the New
England Patriots in the playoffs. Expect the Ravens offense to use Ray Rice in
a quick passing attack to limit the Bengals pass rush as the Ravens finish the
2012 season 11-5.
Baltimore- 27
Cincinnati- 23
Dallas at Washington
The NFC East division title champion will be determined
by the outcome of the season finale between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington
Redskins. This game features quarterbacks who have an uncanny ability to escape
the pass rush and extend plays with their feet. It is also a rematch of a
Thanksgiving Day game where the Washington Redskins managed to hold off the
Cowboys comeback. Since Thanksgiving, Tony Romo has played with a tenacity and
intensity that clearly demonstrates how badly he wants to fight off his late
season demons. With help from his defense that will slow down a banged up RGIII,
Romo and the Cowboys become the NFC 4 seed as NFC East champions with a win
over the Redskins.
Dallas- 30
Washington- 24
Kansas City at Denver
With Tim Tebow at quarterback at the end of the 2011
regular season, the Denver Broncos were averaging 19.3 points per game. With
Comeback player of the year and MVP Peyton Manning the Broncos are 2nd
in scoring averaging 29.5 points per game. The Kansas City Chiefs actually
improved their scoring offense as well; from 13.3 to 13.9….It is safe to say
that Kansas City Chiefs need to find a quarterback this off-season. Locking up
the two seed in the playoffs won’t be enough for Manning. He will look to dominate
an inferior Kansas City team and lead the Broncos offense to their 11th
game this year with 30+ points.
Kansas City- 9
Denver- 31
Oakland at San Diego
Third string quarterback Terrelle Pryor was recently
announced as the starter this week for the Raiders surpassing backup
quarterback Matt Leinart. Dennis Allen and the Oakland Raiders realize that
Carson Palmer is not the future in Oakland and are hoping to find out if Pryor
can fill that void. The future can’t come soon enough for the San Diego
Chargers either as Norv Turner will be coaching his final game at Qualcomm
Stadium. Turner will end his tenure as Chargers head coach with a win as Philip
Rivers and the Chargers passing offense finally connect.
Oakland- 17
San Diego- 27
Arizona at San Francisco
The real key to this game is not something that will take
place on the field. Rather the final score of this game could be heavily
influenced by the outcome of the Green Bay Packers-Minnesota Vikings game.
Barring an upset of Green Bay, the 49ers will have nothing to play for and could
end up resting some starters. Either way, the 49ers should easily defeat the
Arizona Cardinals whose offensive line has a proclivity for allowing sacks. They
have given up 56 sacks throughout the season leading to a 25% third down
conversion percentage, another worst in the league statistic that the Cardinals
own. With Aldon Smith constantly attacking Cardinals quarterback Brian Hoyer,
expect multiple turnovers and a relatively easy victory for San Francisco.
Arizona- 12
San Francisco- 27
St. Louis at Seattle
After locking up a NFC Wildcard spot in week 16, the
Seattle Seahawks still have their sights set on an NFC West title. Their recent
tear over their last three games has culminated in a final score of Seahawks
150 and Opponents 30. Russell Wilson may have become the front runner for
Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pete Carroll should definitely be in
discussion for coach of the year. Blowing out the Rams in week 17 will further
enhance those resumes. This is clearly not a team a top seed in the NFC wants
to meet in the playoffs. The last thing the Seahawks should do is pull off the
gas pedal and disrupt their momentum heading into the playoffs. Seattle
continues to dominate in week 17 with a fourth straight convincng victory
completing an undefeated season at home.
St. Louis- 10
Seattle- 24
Earlier
in the season, the Houston Texans were destined to be the number one seed in
the AFC, and the Cincinnati Bengals were destined to miss the playoffs
altogether. However, with a late season push by Cincinnati winning seven of
their last eight, and a late season collapse by Houston, a rematch of a
2011-2012 Wildcard game has formed. Quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Matt Schaub
have struggled in December, particularly on passes downfield. Matt Schaub has
severely underthrown receivers despite benefiting from having an exceptional
rushing attack, completing only 49% of his passes on pass attempts of ten yards
or more. Andy Dalton has failed to connect with star receiver A.J. Green only
completing one pass of 20+ yards in the Bengals last five games. So which
quarterback will end his December woes and carry their team to the Divisional
round? With help from a turnover ridden performance from Houston, Andy Dalton
will lead the Bengals past the Texans to advance in the playoffs.
Adrian
Peterson is the only reason the Vikings stand any semblance of a chance in this
game. But that victory over Green Bay in Week 17 was a fluke. Peterson rushed
for another 199 yards last week, bringing his total to 409 rushing yards and a
7.4 yards per rush attempt average in games against the Packers. Green Bay will
bring nine or ten guys into the box and force the Vikings to create offense
through the air. Not only will Green Bay’s defensive game plan primarily focus
on slowing down Peterson, but there are numerous Packers players, specifically in
the secondary, who should have been seriously ridiculed in the film room for
their efforts tackling last week. It definitely is not an easy task to ask a
cornerback to tackle Peterson, but some of those players barely even attempted
to get in the way. This Wild card game will be much different. Christian Ponder
will have to throw on several 3rd and long situations creating
opportunities for turnovers. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will handily defeat
the Vikings at Lambeau field setting up a Divisional round matchup next week
against the San Francisco 49ers.
The
Colts make their return to Baltimore in an AFC Wild Card game. There is no
doubting the impact that Ray Lewis has had throughout his career, but his
physical impact on this game will be minimal. It is possible that his
leadership skills, the intensity he brings, and the mental impact will be
evident, but not enough to fix what has been an underachieving defense.
However, the inspirational impact of a coach and leader in Chuck Pagano was severely
underestimated. The Colts, with contributions from numerous rookie players,
shocked the NFL this year by making the playoffs. While Andrew Luck has turned
the ball over 19 times, his poise in pressure situations has culminated in seven
comeback wins already. Number eight is going to occur when his team needs it
most late in this win or go home contest. Despite surrendering several big
plays from Ray Rice, the Indianapolis Colts will battle back like they have all
season to move on to the Divisional round to face the New England Patriots.
This
should be an exciting game to watch considering the unique abilities of both
mobile, rookie quarterbacks. Russell Wilson and RGIII have drastically altered
the futures of Seattle and Washington, giving each team a significant chance at
a playoff berth every season they remain healthy. Offensive Coordinators Kyle
Shanahan and Darrell Bevell have had to manipulate their gamplans to
accommodate their rookies talents mastering the read-option in Seattle and the
pistol read-option in Washington. While the stories surrounding this game will
center around Wilson and RGIII, the defense that executes their gameplan to
limit the opposing quarterback will determine the outcome of this game.
Washington’s defense led by coordinator Jim Haslett has improved tremendously
since their bye week, forcing 15 turnovers and surrendering 20 points per
game. Seattle’s defense has been stout all year and could prove to be the perfect krytonite to the dynamic rushing attack of the Redskins. In the most exciting game of the four this weekend, the Seahawks will stop RGIII to set up a matchup in the Georgie Dome next week with the Atlanta Falcons.
