COVID was the opponent of the week in the NFL, and it led to a last-minute, widely distributed schedule spanning six days (Thursday-Tuesday). The chaos didn’t affect me, though. I went 12-4 in Week 15, raising my year-to-date mark to 139-84-1 (.620). Key games are on the docket this week in the ongoing race to the playoffs.
NOTE: All games on Sunday afternoon unless otherwise noted.
San Francisco 19, Tennessee 13 (Thursday night) – The absence of Derrick Henry from the Titans’ lineup has brought quarterback Ryan Tannehill back to the pack. Going into Week 15, he was 25th in the league in passer rating, the NFL’s eighth-worst. I always thought it was easy for him to play over his head when he had a running game to protect him, and now he has been exposed. San Francisco, when healthy, is one of the league’s most complete teams. Traveling east on a short week is never easy – it burned the ‘Niners back in 2011 when they had to go to Baltimore for Thanksgiving – but it’s the visitors that have more of the necessary consistency to win this one, having won five of six to grab the NFC’s No. 6 playoff seed.
Green Bay 33, Cleveland 20 (Saturday afternoon) – It’s a short week for both teams but the Packers, once again, are ensconced at home in their Lambeau Field fortress. And I don’t see the Browns staying close against the team with more division titles (29) than any team in NFL history–especially after a heartbreaking, last-second home loss to Las Vegas last week. The Pack still has a top seed for which to play.
Arizona 30, Indianapolis 24 (Saturday night) – The Colts take the field for a second straight Saturday with another daunting opponent awaiting them. It should be a fun, competitive game to watch, but even Indianapolis’ recent 7-2 stretch won’t be enough to derail the host Cardinals, a team toughened by a much more rugged division and one that has a top conference seed for which to play. But two straight losses, including their first road loss at Detroit, of all places, raise legitimate questions.
Baltimore 24, Cincinnati 20 – Ravens supporters stormed City Hall after last week’s game in a “Stop The Slide” rally. Wait, that didn’t happen, but with three straight losses for a second consecutive year, another season’s division-title chances may have been severely damaged by the one-point home loss at Green Bay. Baltimore is a resilient team, to be sure. Still, three straight games with questionable-at-best two-point conversion decisions might cause the Ravens to miss the postseason entirely after being the top AFC seed less than a month ago. The Bengals’ defense came up big in the challenging Denver environment and helped that team finally take the AFC North lead. This is an absolutely crucial game for both teams to settle the division and, for all intents and purposes, which of these two will play deep into January. Battered, bruised and beat-up Baltimore makes a last stand here, with memories of a home blowout loss to the Bengals firmly in the Ravens’ minds.
New England 26, Buffalo 17 – Well, I didn’t think the bye week would rob the Patriots of their edge, but that’s exactly what happened. They came out flat in a Saturday road loss at Indianapolis. Eight penalties and a 20-0 deficit were just way too much to overcome, and the loss let Buffalo back into the AFC East Division mix for this major showdown at Foxborough. I don’t see the Patriots making that many mistakes at home. Instead, they should be able to recapture the consistency they had over a seven-game winning streak and beat the Bills.
New York Jets 10, Jacksonville 6 – This is Week 16’s “Game Of The Weak.”
Los Angeles Chargers 40, Houston 9 – Oh, my! This one is a mismatch. At least Houston was helped last week by its first kick-return score in 12 years.
Tampa Bay 34, Carolina 17 – December shows the true identity of every team in the league. The Buccaneers are defending champions and had been rounding into form for a January title defense … before multiple injuries and a shutout home loss to New Orleans. But despite Tom Brady getting blanked for the first time in 15 years/255 games and having Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Leonard Fournette out, the Panthers have run out of gas and are merely playing out the string.
Atlanta 27, Detroit 24 – The Lions have won two of three – never thought I’d be typing that sentence – as their season-long tendency to hustle and play hard is paying off. Amazingly, the Falcons still have an extremely outside shot at an NFC playoff berth and will do anything to stay relevant.
Minnesota 23, Los Angeles Rams 20 – I haven’t had many “hunch plays” this year, but this is one for Week 16. The inconsistent, up-and-down Vikings have managed to win four of six to snag a playoff spot with three weeks to go. What’s more, they have occasionally shown that they can play with anyone in the league. They’ll be at home for this one against a Rams team, and I have a sneaking suspicion the Vikings will want to send a message to the rest of the league by showing a toughness few believe they have.
Philadelphia 19, New York Giants 16 – The Giants simply can’t score, can’t stop anybody, and keep making mistakes at just the wrong times. They did those same things against Dallas last week and fell at home by 15 points. Because the Eagles aren’t as good as the Cowboys, this game should be closer.
Kansas City 31, Pittsburgh 23 – It took until the fourth quarter and overtime, but the Chiefs were still able to win an absolutely-crucial AFC West Division game at Los Angeles last Thursday. The victory gives KC the inside track towards a sixth straight first-place finish and the ten-day mini-bye that goes with it. Pittsburgh deserves credit for its doggedness (it forced four turnovers last week), but the Steelers are, simply put, nowhere near the Chiefs’ level right now.
Denver 29, Las Vegas 13 – The host Raiders have ridden the up-and-down rollercoaster more than most teams in this league. They return home from Cleveland to face a Denver team that boasts one of the league’s best defenses, but the Broncos still don’t quite have everything together. Still, I feel they have enough to hold off Vegas–even with Drew Lock possibly having to again fill in for Teddy Bridgewater, who exited last week’s game with a head injury.
Seattle 23, Chicago 18 – The Seahawks run into a beleaguered Chicago team that doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing from the general manager on down. The Bears have lost eight of nine to fall to 4-10, and they were eliminated last Monday night at home by the Vikings.
Dallas 37, Washington 20 (Sunday night) – Dallas has registered an eye-popping 20 sweeps in just over 60 years. A few short weeks ago, Dallas got off to a big lead and won this year’s first matchup in Landover (with, as usual, plenty of its fans on hand). This Sunday, the Cowboys should complete sweep No. 21 relatively easily in this home game. A win will get them one step closer to their 25th division title, which is second-most all-time to Green Bay’s 29.
New Orleans 26, Miami 17 (Monday night) – Both teams have suffered injury and playoff-chance damage that may be too much to overcome, but I’ll take the Saints at home, especially after coming up with a road shutout over Tampa Bay last week. With six straight wins, Miami is the second team in history to reach 7-7 after starting 1-7. Note: Younger fans won’t believe this, but this matchup has a historical connection to Baltimore. In 1992, as the city practically begged the NFL for an expansion team, the league agreed to put on a preseason game at Memorial Stadium between the Saints and Dolphins. In between the awarding of the game and the day of it, Hurricane Andrew caused extensive damage in both Miami and New Orleans, so the “Give Baltimore The Ball” night turned into one that raised money for disaster relief in both cities.
