Memo to Ravens: Don’t kick away a playoff berth to the Bengals the way you did in 2004.
Last week’s 11-5 performance moves my season-long record to 148-92 (.616). Thankfully, I’ve had another solid year of picks.
I’ll take that performance into the last week of the NFL regular season–a final week that’s quite different today from what it had been traditionally. That’s because in 2010 the League put into effect a new scheduling method, making all Week 17 games intradivisional contests. The change was designed to increase playoff-berth and division-title suspense as the regular season wound down.
It wasn’t a bad idea, either. This year, as in year’s past, several teams will go into Week 17 with a lot at stake. With that in mind, I expect some contests to be solid, perhaps even spectacular.
(This week all games will be played on Sunday afternoon.)
Pittsburgh 30, Cleveland 0: I’ve been saying it for about a month and a half now: “It’s going to happen. The Browns are going to be 0-16.”
Dallas 20, Philadelphia 17: Dallas was my pre-season pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. That’s not to be. What’s worse, with everything on the line the Cowboys gave away a home game to beat-up, anemic Seattle. Left tackle Tyron Smith’s back flared up and Dallas flamed out. Luckily for the ‘Boys, the Eagles – with home-field advantage locked up – won’t have much to play for. I think they’ll rest a few first-stringers.
New York Giants 16, Washington 13: The Giants have lost 13 games in a season for the first time in their nine-decade history. Yowza! That’s especially hard to believe because this team had a talent-laden roster and high hopes going into 2017. The good news is that they’ll wrap up the season against a Redskins team that has benefited the last two weeks from playing at home against the likes of Arizona and Denver.
New England 34, New York Jets 20: The Buffalo Bills went into Foxborough last week and battled the Patriots … until a questionable, overturned replay call changed the course of the game. This week New England will turn its attention to the Jets — a team that lost its competitive spirit about a month ago.
Houston 23, Indianapolis 13: These two teams are playing out the string. The season is a big disappointment for the Texans, a team that won the AFC South Division each of the last two years. But I think they’ll end the season on the winning side. The Colts simply make too many mistakes at crucial times.
Minnesota 38, Chicago 17: Last week the Bears benefitted from playing at home against the winless Browns. There won’t be any benefits this week against the dominant Vikings.
Green Bay 19, Detroit 17: Here’s a flashback: Nine years ago the Lions also faced the Packers in the last game of the season. Detroit went into the game 0-15, lost, and finished the season winless. The Motor City isn’t that desperate this year, but I predict the game outcome will be exactly the same. These Lions look like a beaten bunch.
Baltimore 23, Cincinnati 20: This Sunday’s slate of NFL games has more late-afternoon games than those that start at 1 p.m. And this contest stands out as “one to watch.” For the first time in their 22-year history, the Ravens end the season with two straight home games. At stake is a playoff berth. Memo to Ravens: “Don’t kick away a playoff berth to the Bengals the way you did in 2004.”
Buffalo 24, Miami 12: The Bills are doing their part to end the league’s current, longest playoff drought (1999-2016). But the problem now is that they can’t do it all by themselves. A Ravens’ win renders Buffalo’s playoff chances moot. But no matter what, I think the Buffalo will win the finale against a Miami team that was 2016 playoff participant (fluky as that was).
Tennessee 27, Jacksonville 23: At home last week the Titans showed a lot of heart and fight against a LAR team that looked like it could blow Tennessee out of the water. I expect the same kind of showing against the Jaguars, a team that has literally nothing on the line. Why? No matter how this game turns out, Jacksonville can neither improve on its current #3-seed nor fall to the #4-seed.
Carolina 31, Atlanta 20: If the NFL had flexed a game into to the Sunday-night slot, this game would have been the League’s best option. While the NFC South could have three playoff teams, “could” is a mighty big word. The Falcons have been too inconsistent to keep up with the Panthers and Saints.
New Orleans 40, Tampa Bay 17: The Saints should go marching into Tampa Bay and have their way with the downtrodden Buccaneers–a team that many analysts (including yours truly) thought would be a sleeper pick in the NFC. Instead, Tampa Bay sleepwalked through the season.
Kansas City 27, Denver 10: Speaking of sleepwalking…. The Broncos – one of the league’s most consistent franchises the past couple of decades – have fallen victim to horrible quarterback play and ill-timed mistakes. This week they end the season at home. But not even noisy, passionate Bronco fans will be able to will Denver to a win–not against these resurrected Chiefs.
Los Angeles Chargers 30, Oakland 20: Twenty-five years ago the Chargers got off to a 0-4 start and ended up making the playoffs. Will history repeat? Well, LAC needs to win this game and get some help to complete that script. While I’m not convinced the Chargers will get the help they need, I do think they’ll beat the Raiders.
Los Angeles Rams 31, San Francisco 27: The Rams are division winners under the Los Angeles banner for the first time since 1985. But the question this week is whether they’ll keep their foot on the gas with a playoff spot secure. They’ll be playing a 49ers team that has come alive with a four-game winning streak … thanks, in large part, to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. While there’s nothing at stake in this game, it could be one of the week’s most entertaining contests.
Seattle 23, Arizona 17: At this time last week I really thought the injury-riddled Seahawks were all but dead and buried. Then the all-too-generous Cowboys gave them a lifeline. Now back with a pulse, Seattle suddenly has a good chance of making the playoffs. Arizona won’t interfere.
