Oakland started off Week 15 with an Overtime win against San Diego, for what might be the last home game played in Oakland. Personally, I'd like to see the Raiders stay in the Bay Area, but they clearly need a new stadium. Still, the Black and Silver look like they've got a bright future ahead of them wherever they make their home.
In the Saturday Night game, we saw that Kirk Cousins doesn't understand the difference between kneeling down vs. spiking the football to stop the clock when you don't have any timeouts remaining. It didn't matter in the grand scheme of things though as the Eagles handed the Redskins the NFC East title. Chip Kelly's seat is going to get mighty hot in 2016.
New England -3
at NY Jets
The Patriots are likely looking at the No. 1 overall seed and home field advantage in the AFC yet again this season. The Jets are trying to hang on and get a wild card spot, and they'll likely need to beat the Pats at MetLife to do it. This should be another classic rivalry game, as the Jets know they pretty much have to win out to continue playing after next week. Brady's record against the Jets is pretty impressive, so it's hard for me to pick against him, especially based on the fact that Ryan Fitzpatrick has only had 1 win against the Pats in his entire career. I think the Jets throw everything they have at New England, but fall just short in a close game. Patriots 27 Jets 24.
Houston -3.5
at Tennessee
With Mariota out for this week and Houston starting Brandon Weeden, this isn't exactly the game CBS was hoping for. Still, if Houston takes care of business against the Titans and Jaguars they'll be hosting a playoff game as the AFC South Champs, and if you watched Hard Knocks this year, that didn't look possible at the start of the season. Even with Weeden leading the Texans, I still like the way they've found ways to win games this year, and DeAndre Hopkins is a better receiver than anything Tennessee has to offer. The Titans continue to be a mess, and look to be drafting again early in 2016. Houston 23 Tennessee 16.
Cleveland
at Kansas City -10.5
Christmas was not kind to the Cleveland Browns as Armonty Bryant and DeAnte Saunders found that the Ohio State Highway Patrol is little more hard-nosed with their naughty list than St. Nick. Manziel hasn't played poorly in his starts this year, but his teammates haven't been able to help much, outside of Gary Barnidge, as the Browns sit at 3-11. Kansas City meanwhile has won 8 straight games, and looks poised to head to the postseason after starting the year 1-5. Cleveland hasn't been able to stop teams from scoring, and though Kansas City doesn't always light up the score, they'll do enough to win this one comfortably. Chiefs 31 Browns 17.
Indianapolis
at Miami -2.5
At the beginning of the season this looked like a really good Week 16 matchup between 2 playoff teams, but now Indy is on the outside looking in, and Miami is on the phone with Sean Payton's agent. Matt Hasselbeck is expected to start, but he's starting to show his age as he struggles to stay upright behind a weak offensive line. This is a really tough game to predict, because Indy has something to play for, but Miami is the healthier team and playing at home. The key for the Dolphins is getting Hasselbeck out of his comfort zone, by hitting him early and often. I think they limit his effectiveness by blitzing early, and we see Charlie Whitehurst by the day's end. Dolphins 27 Colts 22.
San Francisco
at Detroit -9.5
Matt Stafford and the Lions have found ways to lose this year, despite being extremely competitive in most of their games. The Lions jumped out to a big lead against the Saints on Monday Night, then hung on for the win. On the West Coast, the Jim Tomsula era looks to be coming to a close in San Fran, much to surprise of no one. Winning 4 games has been impressive so far, considering expectations, and the 49ers may get to 5 wins this year, but it won't be this week. Lions 30 49ers 20.
Dallas
at Buffalo -6.5
Oh Cowboys and Bills fans...if only this was 1993. With both teams suffering a number of injuries and having their seasons secured to end next week, give me the Bills to get the win at home. No Tony Romo, no Dez, and a banged up Witten, plus having to play on the road doesn't spell success for Dallas. Bills 24 Cowboys 17.
Chicago
at Tampa Bay -3
If this game was in Chicago, I'd go with the Bears, but the 3 point line pretty much means Vegas thinks these teams are evenly matched so they're giving the edge to Tampa Bay, and so am I. Doug Martin is 2nd in the league in rushing, sitting only 9 yards behind Adrian Peterson heading into the final two weeks of the season. Moreover, Jameis Winston has been about what we expected, he's looked like a rookie at times, but also made some dynamic plays and Tampa's selection...so far...looks to have been a smart one. The Bears got trounced by the Vikings last week, and I think it was a mistake to get rid of Lovie Smith in the first place, as they haven't had much success since he left. Give me the Bucs to get a win over Chicago at home 26 - 21.
Carolina -6.5
at Atlanta
Carolina took the Falcons to the woodshed 2 weeks ago in Charlotte, beating them 38-0, and you can bet Dan Quinn used that game, and the late game team photos by the Panthers, as motivation for this week. A win by the Panthers secures that the NFC runs through the Queen City, but Carolina, who jumped out to a big lead against the Giants has had a history this year of letting teams back into games. The Falcons got a much needed win last week against Jacksonville, and this game will be a lot closer than 38-0, but I still don't see Atlanta being able to outscore the Panthers, with the way Cam Newton is playing. Panthers 31 Atlanta 24.
Pittsburgh -10
at Baltimore
Normally, you wouldn't see this kind of line in a Steelers-Ravens game, but Pittsburgh has Antonio Brown at wideout and Big Ben under center, and Baltimore has the option of starting Matt Schaub, Ryan Mallett, or Jimmy Clausen. The Steelers look poised to make a run in January, and they should win comfortably against a banged up Ravens team that can't wait for 2016 to get here. Steelers 34 Ravens 16.
Jacksonville
at New Orleans -3
Blake Bortles looks like he might be the best overall QB out of the 2014 class, though Teddy Bridgewater and the Viking faithful would vehemently disagree with that. With Drew Brees struggling with a torn plantar fascia, I don't see why you'd risk getting Brees hurt for the long term by playing him in this game. Whether the Saints decided to trade him in 2016 or try and make one more run with him at the helm, an injured Drew Brees helps no one. Reports out this morning are that Brees will play and being that this could be the last game for the Payton-Brees Era in New Orleans, I'll go with the Saints to get a win at home. Saints 35 Jags 31.
St. Louis
at Seattle -12
Seattle has looked mighty tough the last month of the season, and they'll continue their winning streak against the Rams at home this week. There's not much to say here. Seattle wins and covers against a Rams team that's likely headed to L.A. Seahawks 28 St. Louis 13.
Green Bay
at Arizona -4.5
This could be a playoff preview with the Packers heading to Arizona to take on the Cardinals. The Packers sit with a 1 game lead on Minnesota, and a Week 17 showdown in Lambeau, but they can clinch the NFC North with a win today and a Minnesota loss. Green Bay has had troubles on defense, but with The Honey Badger out for the year, it's Arizona's defense that has questions swirling around it heading into the playoffs. I'd look for Rodgers to avoid throwing to Patrick Peterson and focus on the other side of the field with Mathieu out and he's still an elite QB, but I like the offensive weapons and supporting cast in Arizona more than I do Green Bay. Despite multiple injuries in the running game, Arizona finds ways to get production running the football and keeps rolling. It looks like Andre Ellington will play today, but David Johnson has been awfully good filling in for him. Cardinals 27 Packers 24.
NY Giants
at Minnesota -6
The NY Giants will be without their best player, not named Eli Manning, this week against Minnesota. Unless you have been living off the grid, you're likely familiar with the Norman-Beckham showdown last Sunday. When I wrote that it would be must see television, that's not exactly what I was expecting. Beckham clearly should have been ejected multiple times after throwing punches at multiple players and launching himself head first at Josh Norman, and Norman deserved a fine for his unnecessary roughness throughout the game on Beckham. The League acted to correct the failures by the officials to adequately controls the game on both sides, and for once I actually agree with the punishment for both players. Now, as for this week, Minnesota still has the NFC North crown in its sights with Green Bay having to go to Arizona, and the having the league's leading rusher suit up against a porous New York run defense. Without Beckham, I don't think the Giants have enough weapons to compete with a more disciplined Vikings team, and with Washington clinching the NFC East last night, the Giants don't have nearly as much to play for this week. Minnesota gets it done at home and Week 17 in Lambeau is for the NFC North title. Minnesota 31 New York 20.
Cincinnati
at Denver -3
The NFL was hoping this would be Peyton Manning vs. Andy Dalton and a preview of the possible AFC Championship, but as fate would have it, NFL fans are treated to a Monday Night Football showdown between AJ McCarron and Brock Osweiler. Cincy got a vital win on the road against the 49ers last week, while Denver has lost two in a row to Oakland and Pittsburgh. With Osweiler having more experience, a better defense, and playing at home, I'm going with the Broncos to get a close win against the Bengals. This game could very well decide who gets a 1st round bye in the playoffs and who has to play in the Wild Card Round, so both teams will come out guns blazing, but I believe in Osweiler more than I do AJ McCarron. Broncos 28 Bengals 24.
With Christmas behind us and the New Year and Playoffs quickly approaching, we're likely to see some unusual games come January. Cheers to the rest of the holidays!
