With only 4 weeks left in the regular season (including this week) the playoff picture still remains largely the same. No new teams enter into the picture, but the position of the seeds have changed a bit. With the Eagles loss to the Seahawks and the Vikings win over the Falcons, the Vikings move to the #1 spot, based on strength of victory. Let's look at the current picture:
AFC:
#1: Steelers (10-2)
#2: Patriots (10-2)
#3: Titans (8-4)
#4: Chiefs (6-6)
#5: Jaguars (8-4)
#6: Ravens (7-5)
Wild card:
Ravens @ Titans
Jaguars @ Chiefs
In the hunt:
LA Chargers (6-6), Buffalo (6-6), Oakland (6-6), NY Jets (5-7), Miami (5-7), Cincinnati (5-7), Houston (4-8), Indianapolis (3-9), Denver (3-9)
Eliminated:
Cleveland (0-12)
NFC:
#1: Vikings (10-2)
#2: Eagles (10-2)
#3: Rams (9-3)
#4: Saints (9-3)
#5: Seahawks (8-4)
#6: Panthers (8-4)
Wild card:
Panthers @ Rams
Seattle @ New Orleans
In the hunt:
Atlanta (7-5), Detroit (6-6), Green Bay (6-6), Dallas (6-6), Washington (5-7), Arizona (5-7), Tampa Bay (4-8)
Eliminated:
Chicago (3-9), San Francisco (2-10), NY Giants (2-10)
Division/Playoff clinching scenarios:
As always with picks/predictions, I have a "bragging contest" with Cardinal Viking, my roommate. When I wrote the blog for Week 13 last week, Cardinal Viking held a 2-game lead on me in overall record. As far as records go, let's take a look:
My record:
12-4 (picked the Bears over the Niners last week and the Eagles fell quite short against the Seahawks, I picked the Eagles.)
Cardinal Viking's record:
10-6 (picked the Bears over the Niners and picked the Broncos over the Dolphins, as did I)
With December upon us, as well as the Christmas/Holiday season. People shopping, breaking the bank, and spending money on food with good company. For those who probably hate Christmas songs can quickly to move down to the latter part of the blog, here's the cool video of the week, with 'Ole Blue Eyes:
Week 14 will begin at Atlanta, Georgia and will end in Miami, Florida. The week consists of a Thursday night game, 8 early games, 5 late games, a Sunday night game, and a Monday night game. FOX will handle the double-header for the week while CBS will have the single game. There are no teams on bye week. And now it is time for the picks:
New Orleans @ Atlanta: Saints. The Saints come off a win against the Panthers last week while the Falcons lost to the Vikings. The week opens up in a classic NFC south match up. The game could be a huge offensive showing for the both teams as both defenses aren't that grand. I'd like the Falcons a bit more if I trusted the Falcons offensive weapons a bit more. The Saints defense has been good for the past while and I'll trust them enough to beat a team that lost to the Dolphins in the Falcons.
Chicago @ Cincinnati: Bengals. Both teams come off losses last week as the Bears lost to the 49ers and the Bengals lost to the Steelers. Much of the talk this week is the Bengals performance against the Steelers in terms of suspensions and injuries. As far as I want to give the Bears the benefit of the doubt, the Bengals still have a pretty good defense, better then the Bears I'd say. Better proven quarterback in Andy Dalton for the Bengals.
Dallas @ NY Giants: Cowboys. The Cowboys come off a win against the Redskins last week while the Giants lost to the Raiders. The Ben McAdoo era is over and the Steve Spagnola's reign as Head Coach begins as the Giants will start Eli Manning against the Cowboys. The Giants are pathetic this season and the Cowboys won't lose to a 2-10 team, I mean come on.
Detroit @ Tampa Bay: Buccaneers. Both teams come off losses last week as the Lions lost to the Ravens and the Buccaneers to the Packers. It's been a while since I've last picked the Buccaneers. The Lions are pretty much back to their old selves this point of the season despite being in the middle of a playoff hunt. It will depend on if Matthew Stafford of the Lions can play. I don't trust the Lions but I don't trust the Buccaneers either so. It was a toss-up and I picked the Buccaneers.
Green Bay @ Cleveland: Packers. The Packers picked up a win against the Buccaneers and the Browns lost to the Chargers. As a Packers fan, if you lose to the Browns, don't even think about bringing back Aaron Rodgers this season, you need a high draft pick, not another playoff run.
Indianapolis @ Buffalo: Bills. Both teams come off losses last week as the Colts lost to the Jaguars and the Bills lost to the Patriots. The game is a tale of two teams. A team that isn't going anywhere but down (Colts), while the other team has some direction even though it probably will miss the playoffs yet again (Bills). I have been picking on the Bills fairly often this season and some of the time it has backfired on me. So I'll take the Bills as a safe pick.
Minnesota @ Carolina: Vikings. The Vikings picked up a win against the Falcons while the Panthers lost to the Saints. The Vikings long road trip has so far been good to the team in purple. I'll take the Vikings because Case Keenum has been playing lights out so far this season, and I can't sense that this will be a trap game for the Vikings. It could possibly be one.
Oakland @ Kansas City: Raiders. The Raiders got a win last week against the Giants and the Chiefs lost to the Jets. The game will come down to the offense who can put up the most points and the defense that can stop the most as it will probably be a game much like their first matchup of the season. I'll take the Raiders.
San Francisco @ Houston: Texans. The 49ers picked up their 2nd win of the season beating the Bears while the Texans lost to the Titans. The 49ers got a win against a bad Bears team and it wasn't a complete rout, so I'll take the Texans based on the fact that there is more weapons and more well built than the 49ers.
NY Jets @ Denver: Jets. The Jets picked up a win last week beating the Chiefs while the Broncos lost to the Dolphins. I tend to go with Denver at home due to the homefield advantage with the high altitude. The Broncos lost to the Dolphins. The Jets have proven me and a lot of people wrong this season, so I'll take the Jets. Meh.
Tennsseee @ Arizona: Cardinals. The Titans come off a win against the Texans and the Cardinals lost to the Rams. I'm taking the Cardinals based on the fact that there is a definite advantage for the Cardinals in terms of passing offense. The Cards are 10th in pass offense, the Titans are 25th in pass defense. That's based on my research. Trust me.
Washington @ LA Chargers: Chargers. The Redskins come off a loss to the Cowboys while the Chargers won against the Browns last week. The Chargers are taking advantage of a weak AFC this season after going 0-4 to start off the season. The Redskins seem to be the team that is starting to fall off the rails and looking forward to another missed playoffs.
Philadelphia @ LA Rams: Eagles. The Eagles come off a loss to the Seahawks and the Rams beat the Cardinals last week. The best game of the week will be played at sunny Los Angeles. The game features two 2016 Draft QB's in Carson Wentz of the Eagles and Jared Goff of the Rams. The game will depend on which defense shows up to their respected teams. This game will be a offensive showcase. I feel the Eagles will pull off.
Seattle @ Jacksonville: Seahawks. Both teams come off wins last week as the Seahawks beat the Eagles and the Jaguars beat the Colts. The Seahawks have been playing well so far this season and the Jaguars have as well. Despite the loss of Richard Sherman of the Seahawks, their defense is still battle tested and the Jaguars will have their hands full with Seattle's offense.
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh: Steelers. Both teams got wins last week as the Ravens beat the Lions and the Steelers beat the Bengals. The loss of Ryan Shazier will be a big loss to the Steelers but I still feel the Steelers will get a win as long as the Triplets stay on their game and take it to the Ravens defense.
New England @ Miami: Patriots. Both teams got wins last week as the Patriots beat the Bills and the Dolphins beat the Broncos. The week ends as Tom Brady & Company go to sunny Florida to take on the Dolphins. I like the Patriots based on the fact that they dominate their divisional rivals and I feel this will still be the case in this game. I won't pick against Tom Brady.
Local TV Schedule (subject to change, via 506sports)
CBS Single:
Minnesota @ Carolina
Jim Nantz, Tony Romo
FOX Early:
Green Bay @ Cleveland
Thom Brennamen, Chris Spielman
FOX Late:
Philadelphia @ LA Rams
Philadelphia @ LA Rams
Joe Buck, Troy Aikman
For more info on which game will be played in your area, check out: NFL Maps, Week 14
Record:
Week 1: 10-5
Week 2: 10-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 4: 11-5
Week 5: 7-7
Week 6: 7-7
Week 7: 8-7
Week 8: 12-1
Week 9: 6-7
Week 10: 9-5
Week 11: 8-6
Week 12: 14-2
Week 13: 12-4
Overall: 122-70
Cardinal Viking, my roommates record:
Week 1: 7-8
Week 1: 7-8
Week 2: 13-3
Week 3: 8-8
Week 4: 11-5
Week 5: 4-10
Week 6: 7-7
Week 7: 10-5
Week 8: 11-2
Week 9: 7-6
Week 10: 9-5
Week 11: 12-2
Week 12: 13-3
Week 13: 10-6
Overall: 122-70
See you guys next week!
-Tom
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