I hope you have been following along on Twitter, as the picks are made there whenever they aren't made here! It's been a while since the last post, but let's get right back to it! In case you missed it, the current playoff picture going in to this week's games has also been posted! Let's get to the picks!
Week 1 - 7-8-1
Week 2 - 9-7
Week 3 - 6-10
Week 4 - 7-9
Week 5 - 10-6
Week 6 - 5-9
Week 7 - 8-6
Week 8 - 10-5
Week 9 - 11-2
Week 10 - 7-7
Week 11 - 8-6
Week 12 - 9-7
Week 13 - 12-2-1
Season so far: 109-84-2
Thursday:
Raiders over Rams (home) - loss
This is a lost season for the Rams while the Raiders have played well as of late. We might not see Matthew Stafford suit up the rest of this season (potentially ever) for the Rams, which means we could see John Wolford, Bryce Perkins, or newly acquired Baker Mayfield playing QB for the Rams.
Sunday:
Vikings over Lions (home) - loss
The Eagles fan in me wants this to be wrong for obvious reasons. Thinking with my mind, though, I see this one being a high scoring affair with the better team coming out on top. I wouldn't be surprised if the Lions win, though. They have played better lately and the Vikings can be thrown on. The Vikings also seem to only play close games (only three games decided by more than one score) regardless of their opponent. They also probably have the best overall player in this matchup in Justin Jefferson.
Ravens over Steelers (home) - win
This could be a tough one because of QB Lamar Jackson not likely to play for the Ravens. Tyler Huntley played Lamar Jackson-esque in relief last week and will likely be asked to do it for a few games, depending on Jackson's recovery. Also, the Steelers have played well over the past month or so and have gotten then back in to the playoff picture. This aligns with the return of T.J. Watt to the lineup. This also aligns with head coach Mike Tomlin always having his guys ready to go. That's hall of fame stuff.
Bengals (home) over Browns - win
The Bengals winning three straight over the Chiefs is not too surprising. What is? The fact that Joe Burrow's Bengals have yet to beat the Browns in his short career. I think it finally changes this weekend with the Bengals coming in hot and the Browns still bringing QB Deshaun Watson up to speed.
Bills (home) over Jets - win
It's an important stretch for both of these AFC East teams and it may come down to who wants it more. The Jets got a critical win over the Bills earlier this season and will looking for an ever important sweep for potential tiebreaking purposes. The Bills, recently placed back atop the AFC, will be looking to hold their position and prevent the AFC going through Kansas City. Again.
Cowboys (home) over Texans - win
The Cowboys continue their stretch against the AFC South with a visit from their in-state rivals. While the game against the Colts was close until the fourth quarter, this one looks like it won't be close at all.
Eagles (duh!) over Giants (home) - win
This is the first meeting of the season for these two and the game has heavy importance. The Eagles are still in the driver's seat of the division and conference as well as control their own destiny when it comes to the playoffs. The Giants have only won once since starting 6-1 and have the hardest schedule of any team currently in playoff position. The teams have also trended in different ways with the Eagles having adjusted some of their issues in recent weeks (run defense, special teams) while the Giants have had struggles (offense, finishing games) lately.
Titans (home) over Jaguars - loss
The Titans need this one. They've had a bad two weeks against the NFL's elite and now look to get right against their divisional opponent that has shown a little life. Yes, the Jags where blown away by the Lions last week, but the progress from QB Trevor Lawrence has shown and the team is capable of pulling an upset. (See: Win over Baltimore)
Chiefs over Broncos (home) - win
The Chiefs have to shake off their Bengals kryptonite and prepare for an elite defense in Denver while in altitude. While the Chiefs under Mahomes has a stellar November/December record, they also are just as amazing in road divisional games. It will have to continue as they want to keep pace with Bills atop the AFC.
Seahawks (home) over Panthers - loss
If I were a voter, I'd probably pick Geno Smith as the comeback player of the year. Slightly edging out Giants RB Saquon Barkley. It's go time for the Hawks as they are behind in the division and in the bottom part of the wild card race. This game has strap written all over it and they can't be caught looking forward to the showdown against the 49ers in a week.
49ers (home) over Buccaneers - win
I think their defense could win the day against the Bucs (who have their own great defense) in a low scoring affair. A lot will be determined by how the QBs play. Will Tom Brady connect with his targets or will QB Brock Purdy be able to make the right plays. My thought process says that Brady will struggle more, despite being better than Purdy, because the 49ers defense is just that much better than the rest of football's.
Dolphins over Chargers (home) - loss
This one hurts being that I like Justin Herbert. But, even though both teams need this, the Dolphins just seem to be better and have the horses to flat out outscore the Chargers. I feel like this could be a shootout. And I'm sure the Dolphins want to erase that bad week against the Niners.
Monday:
Patriots over Cardinals (home) - win
I feel that this could go either way but, the Cards haven't been great at home. The Pats are still in the mix for a playoff spot and may be playing with more intensity. Meanwhile, I feel as if the Cards (even though I haven't seen Hard Knocks) might be just playing out the string at this point. Which could also start spelling the end for their head coach.
Now that the games have ended, let's see where we are!
Wins: 8
Losses: 5
On the season:
Week 1 - 7-8-1
Week 2 - 9-7
Week 3 - 6-10
Week 4 - 7-9
Week 5 - 10-6
Week 6 - 5-9
Week 7 - 8-6
Week 8 - 10-5
Week 9 - 11-2
Week 10 - 7-7
Week 11 - 8-6
Week 12 - 9-7
Week 13 - 12-2-1
Week 14 - 8-5
Season so far: 117-89-2
I must say, after a shaky first month, we've been going quite well with the picks! We can't get the all right (ANY GIVEN SUNDAY) but we've stayed ahead of the curve pretty well. See you on the next post when we'll do the updated playoff picture and the picks for week 15!
留言