A busy pre-holiday week caused me to miss picking Thursday’s game, and to miss all but the last three minutes of the actual contest.  It was a classic, and the Jacksonville Jags need to be recognized for the game they played.  At 7-6, they took on the 4th-ranked Colts defense and came away with the following stats:

25 FIRST DOWNS
10-16/3RD DOWN
4-4/RED ZONE
139 RUSH YARDS
ONLY 22 PENALTY YARDS
1 TURNOVER
31 PTS (only the Pats have put up more on Indy, 34 in the 4th-&-2 Game)

David Garrard tossed 3 scores with one pick.  The Jags threw everything they had at the Colts and it wasn’t enough.  And it wouldn’t have mattered if the game would have been 120 minutes long, the Colts would have just kept scoring.  I don’t know what team I can pick over Indianapolis or New Orleans, so there’s my Super Bowl prediction.

Goin’ out on a reeaal limb there.

MARQUEE

DALLAS at NEW ORLEANS: A very watchable game for the casual NFL fan, featuring tabloid star power on one side, and actual NFL star power on the other.  There’s no way that Dallas has the cojones to knock off the Saints at home, so I may as well not waste our time here.  New Orleans 27, Dallas 20.

CINCINNATI at SAN DIEGO: I want to say that this is pretty much the same game as above, unfortunately.  The Bengals organization is in shock over the death of Chris Henry under bizarre circumstances, and the Chargers will be playing at home on an 8-game win streak.  The Chargers won’t be taking it easy on Cincy, and the Bengals will likely be grateful for that, because it will allow them 3 hours of escape from this past week.

Late Bengals WR Chris Henry

I want to pick the Bengals because I like them, and even though Henry was a troubled individual, he was their troubled individual, and his nature doesn’t make his death any easier for his teammates.  Can’t speak for his family.

But San Diego simply is playing at a very high level right now.  I hope this is a quality product, and I gotta take the Chargers.  SD 34, Cincy 27.

SAN FRAN at PHILLY: I like this game, and maybe that is wishful thinking.  But I like how the 49ers get turnovers in big bunches.  I’m still picking the Eagles but this will be a good one, I promise.  Philadelphia 25, SF 21.

CHICAGO at BALTIMORE:  I know what you’re thinking, but there’s something really compelling about this game too.  It will go one of two ways: either the Bears’ offense completely melts down and Jay Cutler has to be removed from the game; or the Chicago offense will put together it’s best performance of the year, because the Ravens defense is still good enough to sharpen their focus all week.

I nominate Ray Lewis as Bad MF of the decade.

I’m guessing that the first scenario is more likely, but it is during this time of the season when a team has been eliminated from contention and the pressure is off – which could mean solid execution by Chicago in all three phases. Baltimore however, is still actually playing for something, which means a lot more.  Ravens 27, Bears 23.

MINNESOTA at CAROLINA: This is a trap game for Minnesota if there ever was one.  They had an emotional, convincing victory at home over a good team last week, and now they travel to a natural surface, possible inclement weather at night, against a team perceived to be far inferior.  I would consider this a trap game for any team in the same situation, but given Minnesota’s traditional propensity to drop late-season games, I can’t help but pick the upset.

I live in the Twin Cities. I’m tired of the Vikings. So here is some alternative visuals.

I know that the Vikings are likely to win this game.  If I was putting money on it, I’d say Minnesota wins, and even covers the 9-pt. spread.  But I don’t bet, so I’ll take the Panthers in the Upset Special: Carolina 24, Vikes 21.

EH, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

MIAMI at TENNESSEE: I think this game has a few good highlights in it, but probably also a lot of runs straight up the gut for gains of 3 or less yards.  If you’ve got this game on in your market or if you get all the games, keep checking on this one to see what it’s boiling down to in the 4th.  With all the running, it will probably be a pretty short game.  Titans 26, Dolphins 23.

GREEN BAY at PITTSBURGH: The Steelers lost to Cleveland at home, so how can I pick them over a team that I think is one of the best in the league right now?  It’s true that the Packers didn’t leave me that impressed in their win over Chicago last week, but Pittsburgh’s O-Line is so bad that I can’t imagine much going the way of the Steeler offense.  Packers 30, Steelers 14.

NEW ENGLAND at BUFFALO: I think that the Patriots have the potential to whip ass in this game, but I don’t think you should care.  Patriots 35, Bills 13.

ATLANTA at NY JETS: Both these teams hover precariously around .500, and are still capable of both getting stomped and administering stompings on any weekend.  The Jets, they’re at home: 17-10.

NY GIANTS at WASHINGTON:  The ‘Sk*ns are way cooked, and even though the Giants are still barely alive in the playoff hunt, they don’t deserve to be.  I just don’t think they’ve earned it.  And as proof, I’m taking the D.C. Football Franchise to win:  Racial Slurs 24, Giants 16.

MISMATCHES

I’ll take the favorites to win by the score of 34-9:

ARIZONA at DETROIT
HOUSTON at ST. LOUIS
OAKLAND at DENVER

FLUSH THIS POO

CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY
TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

I guess I’ll take the home teams, since I have to.  Gross.  HOME 13, AWAY 10 in both of these dreadful and monotonous affairs.

Email: nick.thomas@flyingpigskin.com