The critics of the Atlanta Falcons will have to wait
until January to have their doubts answered about this team. After Atlanta
wraps up the number one seed in the playoffs and homefield advantage throughout
with a win over the Lions in week 16, their next meaningful game will be
January 12th or 13th. The development of young players
and the different ways in which they attack teams on both offense and defense make
this a much scarier team than the one that lost to the Giants last January. The
Falcons continue to roll as the Lions will find it impossible to slow down
Atlanta’s plethora of offensive weapons.
Atlanta- 33
Detroit- 21
New Orleans at
Dallas
Tony Romo deserves to be in the conversation as the most valuable
player in the league. By no means am I saying he should win or get a vote, but
his name should be mentioned. Romo has the third most attempted passes and has
still managed to complete over 65% of those passes. He has led several game
winning drives and truly is the only reason the Cowboys find themselves in a
three-way tie atop the NFC East. This will be an exciting game to watch not
only because of the offensive firepower on both sides, but also because of the
stakes for the Cowboys. In a high-scoring contest, expect Romo to come through
in the clutch again for Dallas as he leads a game winning touchdown drive in
the final quarter against the Saints.
New Orleans- 30
Dallas- 35
Tennessee at
Green Bay
The scariest aspect of this Green Bay Packers team is
that they have yet to play a complete game and are still 10-4 in position to be
the number three seed in the NFC. The scariest aspect of this Titans team is
that this is what they should expect from Jake Locker for the rest of his
career. His performance last week against the NY Jets illustrated that he does
not have the appropriate skill set to be a viable NFL starter. Inaccurate
throws downfield coupled with a serious insecurity throwing the ball are a
recipe for failure. Week 16’s game against the Packers will magnify those
concerns. As Aaron Rodgers is completing pass after pass, Locker and the Titans
offense will stall drive after drive. Packers win by two touchdowns.
Tennessee- 21
Green Bay- 35
Indianapolis at
Kansas City
While the opponent in week 16 shouldn’t exactly strike
fear into the Indianapolis Colts, looking ahead to week 17 could. If the Colts
somehow manage to lose to the worst team in the league, the Kansas City Chiefs,
they will be forced to beat the Houston Texans to secure a playoff spot. That won’t happen. There are rumors that GM Scott Pioli and Head
Coach Romeo Crennel will not return to the team in 2013.The next contingent of
Chiefs leadership has a lot of work to do. Their first order of business is to
find a franchise quarterback just as the Indianapolis Colts did this
off-season. Hopefully the Chiefs learned their lesson when they signed Matt
Cassel, but they should definitely look to develop their own quarterback rather
than sign one in free agency. With the Colts season on the line and absolutely
nothing to play for but draft position for the Chiefs, Indianapolis will take
care of business at Arrowhead Stadium and lock up an AFC Wildcard spot.
Indianapolis- 28
Kansas City- 20
Buffalo at
Miami
While the Miami Dolphins knew they were beginning a rebuilding
process in 2012, the Buffalo Bills expected to compete. With both teams
eliminated from playoff contention, it is time to ask which of these AFC teams
is best cut-out for future success. I’ll take the Dolphins. The rebuilding process
essentially took less than a year and there could be an argument for Joe
Philbin in the Coach of the Year debate considering the expectations of the Dolphins
coming into this year and where they are now. But that is next year and this is
now. In week 16, expect a more explosive Bills offense to win this game with
big plays from playmakers Stevie Johnson and C.J. Spiller.
Buffalo- 24
Miami- 21
San Diego at NY
Jets
Would it be ok to predict a tie? How ugly were the Chargers
and Jets week 15 games? Mark Sanchez proved why he should never start another
game in his career. The Jets got four years of incredibly bad decision-making
and four years riddled with turnovers. It is time to move on. Moving on is what
the Chargers will be doing this off-season with the help of a new Head Coach
and the departure of Norv Turner. Philip Rivers was once considered a member of
the elite class in NFL quarterbacks. Now he is with the likes of Mark Sanchez
and other turnover prone quarterbacks. Traveling across country to play in a
meaningless football game is tough. However, expect Greg McElroy to struggle in
his first start as the Jets offensive woes continue.
San Diego- 27
NY Jets- 17
Washington at
Philadelphia
Remember when the Washington Redskins were 3-6 and Mike
Shanahan was being ridiculed for his comments about finding out which players
would fit best with the Redskins next season? That seems like three seasons
ago. The Redskins have rattled off five straight wins and find themselves
controlling their own destiny with two games remaining. The questioned decision
to draft Kirk Cousins has already paid off considering injuries to RGIII and
the potential for future injuries with the number of hard hits he takes with
his aggressive play. With two more wins
to end the season, the Redskins can complete a miraculous run into the
post-season. It will not be easy though. Until turnovers plagued the Eagles in
the second half of their week 15 game, they were playing an extremely close
game with a very good Bengals team. Now they will get back LeSean McCoy who can
seriously help relieve the pressure off Nick Foles. In week 16, the NFC playoff
picture will become that much clearer as the Philadelphia Eagles upset the Redskins
with a turnover-free performance from Foles and the Eagles offense.
Washington- 23
Philadelphia- 27
Cincinnati at
Pittsburgh
This is a rematch of a week seven AFC North contest that
was completely dominated by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cincinnati Bengals only
managed 185 yards of total offense as Andy Dalton only completed 14 passes for
an average of 3.8 yards per pass. Since that week seven game, the Bengals have
won five of their last seven thanks to a superior defensive effort. That
defensive effort will be the difference in this game. The Bengals will get
after Big Ben and win the field position battle solidifying the final AFC
Wildcard spot.
Cincinnati- 23
Pittsburgh- 17
St. Louis at
Tampa Bay
The most inconsistent player in the league this year has
been Josh Freeman. It has been a tale of three different seasons for him and
consequently his teammates. Freeman started the year with five interceptions and
two sub-150 yard passing performances in five games. He then went on a mid-year stretch where
he threw 16 touchdown passes in six games with only one interception. In the
final third of the year, Freeman now has five interceptions in three games
completing about 50% of his passes. The Buccaneers have some serious thinking
to do as to whether or not they want to lock up Freeman as their franchise
quarterback. In a meaningless week 16 home game against the Rams, the better
Josh Freeman will show up and lead the Bucs to their seventh win of the year.
St. Louis- 24
Tampa Bay- 30
Oakland at
Carolina
Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers offense remembered
how to score again. They have scored 30 points or more in three of their last
four games and Cam Newton has ten touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last
five games. The Panthers opponent in week 16, the Oakland Raiders, shut out the
Kansas City Chiefs last week. Does that mean the Panthers should fear being
shut down by the Raiders defense? Not a chance. The Panthers offense will put
up another 30 points in week 16 as the Panthers win their third straight.
Oakland- 17
Carolina- 35
New England at
Jacksonville
The outcome of this game is not in question. The only
question is how much. How much are Tom Brady and Bill Belichick looking forward
to bouncing back after a Sunday Night football loss last week? They have to be
two of the most competitive people in the league. Losing simply is not in their
vocabulary. This game won’t be close. Don’t expect the Patriots to let up when
they get up big either.
New England- 42
Jacksonville- 10
Minnesota at
Houston
The Houston Texans can’t be satisfied. They have the best
record in the AFC and not many people are giving them the respect they deserve.
In fact, a good majority of football analysts are predicting an upset of the
Texans in week 16 when the Vikings visit Reliant Stadium. The Vikings find
themselves in the thick of the NFC playoff race for one reason and one reason
only; Adrian Peterson. Take him off of this team and they probably win three
games this year. Isn’t that the definition of the most valuable player? So can AP
carry the Vikings past the Texans and into the playoffs en route to breaking
Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing-record? Not so fast. The Texans will
look to make a statement this week. Shutting down Adrian Peterson and holding
him to less than 80 yards rushing will be that statement. As soon as the Texans
jump out to an early lead, they will force the ball into Christian Ponder’s
hands and it could get ugly.
Minnesota- 14
Houston- 31
Cleveland at
Denver
There have been rumblings in Cleveland asking for Pat
Shurmur’s job. Those rumblings should be quieted immediately. The Cleveland
Browns are by far the youngest team in the league and their three stand-out
players on offense, Brandon Weeden, Trent Richardson, and Josh Gordon, are all
rookies. In my opinion, the job Shurmur has done is a miracle. Getting a young
team to play at the level he has after a 2-8 start to the season should give
Shurmur at least another year as the Browns Head Coach. This week 16 game will
not be one he will want to add to his resume. Peyton Manning and the Broncos
will cruise to their tenth straight victory and the Browns will fall to 5-10.
Cleveland- 13
Denver- 34
NY Giants at
Baltimore
In the famous story Jack
and the Beanstalk, the first line read by the Giant reads “Fee fi fo fum I
smell the blood of an Englishman”. Instead of the English man, it is the blood
of the New York Giants in the water and the Redskins and Cowboys are circling
prepared to capture the NFC East title. While the Giants have lost control
of the division, the Baltimore Ravens are fading fast in the AFC. Three
straight losses now have the AFC North in question and the inconsistencies of
the Baltimore offense are the culprits for their struggles. The team in week 16
that can get out to an early lead will win this game. Battered and bruised egos
would be further deterred if they go down early in a game of such importance. With
their season on the line, Eli Manning will carry the G-men to victory as the
Ravens division title hopes come down to a week 17 matchup with the Bengals.
NY Giants- 31
Baltimore- 24
Chicago at
Arizona
It took the Arizona Cardinals about 135 minutes of
football time to score an offensive touchdown. Watching their offense is like
watching a car crash. It is so ugly and disturbing that it is captivating. Ugly
and disturbing is also an accurate description of the Chicago Bears offense
since week ten. In the past six weeks the Bears have only managed to score 67
points total and an average of 11.2 points per game. What looked like an absolute lock to make the
playoffs is now in serious question. So which of these teams with futile
offensive efforts will come away with the win in week 16? The Chicago Bears
will lose their fourth straight game as the Cardinals defense will pressure Jay
Cutler into a turnover riddled performance.
Chicago- 16
Arizona- 20
San Francisco
at Seattle
It was only two seasons ago when the NFC West was the
laughing stock of the league. The Seattle Seahawks made it into the playoffs in
Pete Carroll’s first year as Head Coach, but with a paltry record of 7-9. The
fate of this division seemed to change with the Seahawks upset of the Saints in
those same playoffs and the addition of Jim Harbaugh to the San Francisco 49ers
after leaving Stanford. This Monday
Night Football contest will not only be extremely exciting to watch, but it
will also demonstrate that the NFC West has two legitimate Superbowl
contenders. Both teams feature dynamic young quarterbacks that can electrify
with their superior running abilities and uncanny decision making. Both teams
feature ball-hawking defenses with defensive fronts with the ability to get
after the quarterback without blitzing every play. There is a lot on the line
in this rematch of a week seven Thursday Night game that ended in a 49ers 13-6
victory. This is a much different Russell Wilson and a much different Seahawks
team. The confidence Wilson gained from the fourth quarter comeback against the
Bears in week 13 has clearly influenced his play over the last two weeks. In a
playoff clinching game, Wilson’s incredible rookie season will reach a defining
moment as he leads Seattle past the 49ers.
San Francisco- 17
Seattle- 24
