We go into Week 14 with several tantalizing match-ups, and with my record for the year standing at 62%.
From 1961-1977, the NFL regular season was 14 games long, so, with this week being Week 14, it would mean the end of the campaign and time to prepare for the playoffs. Those days are long gone, though. So let’s get ready for some football!
Dallas 24, Chicago 16 (Thursday night): Both of these teams played on Thanksgiving, so they are getting a typical week’s rest in-between games. Dallas has underachieved greatly–not having beaten a team with a winning record all year despite a talented roster. Yet, even though the Cowboys are on the road, it would be hard to see Mitch Trubisky stringing together back-to-back strong games.
Baltimore 27, Buffalo 16: Before this season, the Ravens had never won in Seattle or even played in the Los Angeles Coliseum. But they checked off both boxes and got big wins in both places. Now, it’s off to Buffalo, where the Ravens are 0-2 lifetime. With a club-record eight-game win streak and a 10-2 record for the first time in franchise history, this team is motivated with the Super Bowl in its sights. That said, Buffalo is in a position to over the AFC East if the Pats stumble. This could be the NFL’s GOW.
Cleveland 19, Cincinnati 16: The Browns will be at home, playing out the string against a bunch of bad teams–and they don’t come any worse than the cross-state Bengals. Even with Cleveland likely to again finish with a losing record, there’s no way they allow the Bengals to get a second straight win. Right?
Green Bay 39, Washington 19: Back in the early 1980s, these two teams met in Lambeau Field for what at the time was the highest-scoring game in the history of Monday Night Football. The Packers won that night and should easily win this time, too.
New York Jets 27, Miami 3: The Jets, the home team for this game, were one of my sleeper picks in the AFC. I felt they could finish second to the dynastic Patriots in the AFC East. That won’t happen, of course, but with improved health, a defense rounding into form, and a healthy quarterback, that’s more than enough against the doddering Dolphins–a team that somehow beat Philadelphia last week.
Indianapolis 30, Tampa Bay 27: We’re almost into college bowl season so that this one could be the “Tony Dungy Bowl.” Dungy coached both franchises, and his Colts staged a Monday-night rally for the ages in Tampa Bay some years back with Dungy wearing blue. This is a tough game to pick, but since the Colts have more to play for and the Bucs aren’t playing well at home, I’ll take Baltimore’s former team.
Houston 23, Denver 20: Considering what I said about the Colts-Bucs game, you might consider this one the “Gary Kubiak Bowl.” Kubiak played for Denver and coached in both places. But these days, I’m sure he’d rather be in Houston right now.
Carolina 30, Atlanta 16: Atlanta, as expected, came crashing down to earth as New Orleans got revenge and won the NFC South with a month to spare. This game is about getting into a position to challenge the Saints in the future. For now, Carolina seems to have a better plan.
Minnesota 34, Detroit 20: This game will be one-sided. The Vikings have everything to play for, the Lions nothing.
New Orleans 31, San Francisco 30: Here’s another candidate for GOW. Gosh, though! What a string for the 49ers–Packers, Ravens, and Saints consecutively with two of three on the road. The Saints are hungry for the top seed and home-field advantage in the NFC and should eke out a win here. The ‘Niners, on the other hand, dropped from the NFC’s No. 1 to No. 5 seed after losing to the Ravens.
Pittsburgh 24, Arizona 21: Over the last 15 years or so, plenty of assistant coaches and players have been riding a shuttle between these two teams. They also met in Super Bowl 43 in Tampa. A controversial touchdown catch gave Pittsburgh its sixth and most recent Super Bowl. This isn’t a compelling matchup now, but it should be close. You know that Terrell Suggs can’t wait to see the Black and Gold again. (Give credit to the Steelers for resurrecting their season.)
New England 26, Kansas City 17: It’s December, and the Patriots are at home. The Chiefs are a playoff team, but it doesn’t look like their defense is getting better. In yet another candidate for GOW, if the New England offense can find a rhythm, this one might not be close.
Tennessee 24, Oakland 22: The Titans are an enigmatic bunch that has confounded me all year. But despite a 5-1 surge, I’m still not sold on them being a playoff team. This week they travel to Oakland to take on a Raiders squad that showed no fight at all in a loss at Kansas City. So I’m going with the travel team.
Los Angeles Chargers 13, Jacksonville 9: Before the season began, hopes were high for both of these teams. Not now.
Seattle 40, Los Angeles Rams 23 (Sunday night): No doubt you’ve seen TV ads for “My Pillow.” They say it’s the softest pillow you can find. The Rams used one at home when they played the Ravens in what had to be one of the softest, most pathetic performances I’ve seen. More pillows are likely on order with the Seahawks coming to town. Seattle is a hungry, first-place team.
Philadelphia 20, New York Giants 12 (Monday night): Any game between these two brings back memories of Chuck Bednarik, Sam Huff, and players of that ilk. But that was then, this is now. So how the league saw this as a match-up deserving primetime attention is beyond me. The Eagles, battered and bruised, are the better team. Their only chance is to win this game and, then, hope they can keep winning to set up an all-or-nothing Week 16 home game with the Dallas Cowboys.
