Three weeks left of the regular season, and there’s still a whole lot of movement that can happen in the playoff picture. Even John’s Browns are still alive!
GAME OF THE WEEK – THURSDAY NIGHT – Los Angeles Chargers (10-3) at Kansas City Chiefs (11-2), KC by 3.5 – Huge game here. A win by the Chiefs puts them one step closer to the top seed in the AFC, but a win by the Chargers would suddenly put them in the driver’s seat for the AFC West. Huge stakes here, and fortunately for the Chiefs, they’re playing at home on a short week, which gives them a huge advantage. Looking forward to this one. Chiefs 34, Chargers 27
SATURDAY – Houston Texans (9-4) at New York Jets (4-9), HOU by 6.5 – Disappointing loss for the Texans against the Colts this past week, ending their nine-game winning streak, but they get to right the ship against a lousy Jets team and continue a push for the second seed. Texans 24, Jets 13
SATURDAY – Cleveland Browns (5-7-1) at Denver Broncos (6-7), DEN by 3.5 – The Cleveland Browns are playing some pretty solid football lately, and look like a completely different team with Hue Jackson gone. Going into Denver and picking up a win is never an easy task, but right now they just look like a team with their arrow pointing up, unlike the Broncos, who have been unreliable and mediocre all season long. UPSET! – GPODAWUND 27, Broncos 20
Arizona Cardinals (3-10) at Atlanta Falcons (4-9), ATL by 9 – The Falcons are looking like a team that’s completely given up, and the Cardinals could only manage to score three points in a home game against the Lions. Get ready for some shitty football. Falcons 20, Cardinals 7
Detroit Lions (5-8) at Buffalo Bills (4-9), BUF by 2.5 – Nothing on the line here. Detroit looked bad against the Cardinals in victory, Buffalo looked bad against the Jets in defeat. When in doubt, take the home team. Bills 23, Lions 20
Green Bay Packers (5-7-1) at Chicago Bears (9-4), CHI by 4 – The Packers actually have a realistic path to the playoffs if they win out. Of course, that’s a WHOLE lot of faith to place in a team that’s looked like hot garbage for most of the last two months. Still, the Packers did show some signs of life against Atlanta, finally putting together a complete team performance. The Packers have also won in Chicago eight times in a row, for what that’s worth. This Bears defense is capable of putting the hurt on great offenses. Unfortunately for them, the Packers don’t have a great offense. UPSET! - Packers 20, Bears 17
Oakland Raiders (3-10) at Cincinnati Bengals (5-8), CIN by 3 – It’s the curse of Hue Jackson. The Bengals might not win another game this year. UPSET! – Raiders 33, Bengals 20
Dallas Cowboys (8-5) at Indianapolis Colts (7-6), IND by 3 – The Cowboys earned a bit of breathing room by taking down the Eagles in week 14, while the Colts battled back into the wild card hunt by knocking off the division-leading Texans. Right now it’s a foregone conclusion that the Cowboys will win, meaning the Colts have a lot more on the line in this game. Still, with the way the Cowboys have been playing defense lately, it sure is hard to pick against them. UPSET! – Cowboys 27, Colts 23
Miami Dolphins (7-6) at Minnesota Vikings (6-6-1), MIN by 8 – Oddsmakers putting a whole lot of faith in a Vikings team that has looked like crap on offense for a couple weeks in a row, especially against a Dolphins team still playing for a playoff spot themselves. This is about as big as a late-season interconference game can get, with huge wild card implications. Right now, the Vikings just don’t like a team capable of scoring enough points to win much of anything, even if their pass defense is playing lights out. UPSET! – Dolphins 27, Vikings 20
Tennessee Titans (7-6) at New York Giants (5-8), NYG by 2.5 – Don’t look now, but the Giants are finally starting to put the pieces together after a 1-7 start. They’re not going to make the playoffs this year, but this momentum could very well carry over into the 2019 season. Giants 24, Titans 20
Washington (6-7) at Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9), JAX by 7 – Two teams that are sinking fast. The Jaguars are only favored because Washington has 21 players on IR and is going to be starting a quarterback who was playing a charity flag football game just over a week ago. Jaguars 20, Washington 10
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-8) at Baltimore Ravens (7-6), BAL by 8 – The Ravens are yet another team in the crowded 7-6 logjam in the AFC that also includes the Colts, Titans and Dolphins. I trust them far more than the Bucs to come out with a win here, keeping them in the playoff hunt. Ravens 27, Bucs 23
Seattle Seahawks (8-5) at San Francisco 49ers (3-10), SEA by 5 – Seattle’s going to be heading into San Francisco on a short week. It’s essentially wrapped up the fifth seed in the NFC, but there’s still some football to play. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the 49ers score an upset, but I’ll take the safe bet. Seahawks 30, 49ers 17
New England Patriots (9-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5-1), NE by 2 - Shocking losses for both teams last week, but the Steelers’ loss to the Raiders could have been a season-jeopardizing blow. Now they have to take on the Patriots, a team they’ve historically struggled against, and if they lose and Baltimore wins they’ll suddenly be looking up in the divisional standings. Yikes. Patriots 34, Steelers 21
Philadelphia Eagles (6-7) at Los Angeles Rams (11-2), LAR by 8.5 – Have to believe the NFL was hoping for a more compelling matchup out of this game at this point of the season. The Rams need to keep winning to have a shot at the #1 seed, as they’ve now fallen behind New Orleans once again based on tiebreakers. Rams 37, Eagles 19
New Orleans Saints (11-2) at Carolina Panthers (6-7), NO by 6.5 – The Panthers have lost three straight and look like a team that’s completely out of it. A win for the Saints keeps them in control of the top seed in the playoffs. These two teams will meet again just two weeks from now. Saints 31, Panthers 17