“Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana, that’s the town that knew me when!”
The song “Gary, Indiana” was famous in the musical, The Music Man. Can Gary, Indiana be famous for the Monsters of the Midway? The Bears’ search for a new stadium has crossed the state line to Northwest Indiana. Tell me if you heard this story before, because you have. Back in 1995 this idea was hatched to build a new stadium in Gary, which at the time they dubbed the name Planet Park. The state of Illinois is being stingy with the funds to help the Bears open up the state of the art facility in Illinois. The Bears purchased primo land in the Northwest Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, where once was the horsetrack named Arlington Park. It’s a 325 acre site where they could build a stadium. The Bears could move their headquarters there. Then they build up the land with hotels, restaurants, and shops. The Bears picture a dome stadium, perhaps with a retractable roof. That could land the state and city of Chicago the Superbowl. When the Bears are not playing, concerts could make it a hot spot during the summer months.
“Our fans deserve a world class stadium. Our players and coaches deserve a venue that matches the championship standard they strive for every day”
These are the words spoken by the Chicago Bears President Kevin Warren, who is head of this operation. Warren says the Northwest Indiana search is not a leverage play. The Bears have been in the city of Chicago for over a century. The Bears have never owned a stadium as they played at Wrigley Field, home of North-side baseball in 1921. In 1970 the Bears moved to the lake front to Soldier Field and have been there since. In 2002 & ’03 Soldier field was renovated. Gutted out. As they placed a space ship on top of the old pillars.
The Bears are playing in the oldest stadium in the league. The Governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, wants the Bears to address the 500 million outstanding debt they still have from that renovation back in 2003. The Bears came up with a 5 billion dollar plan in Arlington Heights. Then their focus was building a stadium next to Soldier Field on the lakefront. The mayor of Chicago liked the idea, but the Governor and state legislators were not buying what the Bears were selling. The Bears have looked into other spots in Cook County, Illinois. Then last spring the Bears turned their attention back on to Arlington Heights as they own the property. The Bears are seeking 855 million in public funding. The state of Illinois says that the Bears will not be a priority in 2026. Now the Bears are kicking the tires on moving across state lines to Northwest Indiana and perhaps Gary, where not too long ago was added a Hard Rock casino to their city.
The Bears leaving Soldier Field means I think immediately about all the history that took place there. The Bears are seeking a dome wherever they go. It stings a little because that takes all those cold weather games out of the equation. When the Bears go dome for their new home, it leaves the Packers the only team in the NFC North playing outside in the winter. I feel like football is heading that way professionally where every team will be housed in a dome, which is a shame. I think the current home for the Bears is a dump. If you are in nosebleed seats, you have to go down two levels to wait in a long line for the bathrooms which is big issue. The amenities are not there like at most stadiums where you have multiple places for beverages and food. Plenty of places to purchase your merch. The history of the 1980’s Bears is that the city of Chicago is still celebrating all those guys from the ’85 team that won the Superbowl. That’s all we’ve got as Bears fans. Getting to the lake is a pain in the ass. The stadium does not have restaurants and bars right across the street. It’s like planes, trains, and automobiles to go down there on a Sunday. The bus from the bar adds more money, but it’s worth it. Most stadiums you can go across the street to get your drink on.
Leaving the city of Chicago to open up a state of the art stadium in the burbs would be better for everyone. Many NFL teams play in the burbs in present day. Arlington Heights is easier for most Bears fans to get to the game. To actually have a spot to tailgate. To actually find a bathroom. I could get over what Packers fans have to say being the only team playing outside, because Soldier Field is a dump. Would I like a stadium with retractable roof to play games outside when it is nice out? Sure, but it’s not a deal breaker. It still has that dome feeling. But the amenities would be there. It will make game day different, but it can make it interesting at the same time. I think the only way is to go dome to help pay off the 855 million in public funding and it would give the state a huge sum of tax money. Adding the Superbowl, any of the professional sports drafts, or March Madness, would all mean the state of Illinois will get their money back in the long term. Perhaps these wind bags could balance the books on this broke state we call a home.
If the Bears move to Indiana, I still think it’s easier to get to the game than the lakefront. They would still be called Chicago if they played their home games in Indiana. The entire Northwest Indiana area are mostly Bears fans. It’s not like you are entering Indianapolis Colts territory. Most people that live in Northwest Indiana are from Chicago because they left the state with the high taxes. Both New York football teams, the Giants and Jets, play in the state of New Jersey in the stadium they share. We have seen leverage acts before with the White Sox talking about moving to Florida, but the state caved in and made them a new stadium. The Chicago Cardinals left the Windy City in 1960 after playing 40 years here. The state of Illinois would have egg on their face if the team moved to Indiana. Seeing Hoosier country rake in all that extra money would be pretty funny on these aristocrats we call the Governor and his stooges. It may sting for some Bears fans at first trying to grasp going to Indiana to watch their team. The Bears have made the post-season in year one of the Ben Johnson era. They have finally found a quarterback in Caleb Williams. We have not had one since the 1940’s with Sid Luckman, who played at Wrigley not Solider Field. It is a good time for Kevin Warren and his staff to play hardball and if Indiana is the better option because of those politicians, then go with it I say. Indiana is cheaper on gasoline. After going to the Bears game, we can fill up for cheap and head home. If the Bears continue to win, any move will be easy if the product on the field is solid each season. Calling them the Gary Bears may not come off the tongue very easily. Win some Superbowls, and I think Gary could slide easier off the tongue. GO BEARS!!!
Last week was the best week we had in straight pick-em and it was a 16 game slate. We lost picking the Chiefs to beat a bad Titans team. Which everyone in the football world picked Chiefs over Titans. The Ravens screwed us. Maybe Lamar Jackson had to get home early to play video games after exiting with a back injury in the New England game. The Lions wish they held on to Ben Johnson as Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers beat Detroit. We did well with picks like Bears over Packers. Maybe got lucky with Seahawks over the Rams on that epic Thursday night game. The Panthers pick was savvy over a troubled Buccaneers team. Hopefully the figgy pudding over the holidays doe not ruin our Spidey senses for week 17. Week 17 has many tricky match ups we hope to conquer.
SEASON RECORD: (156-84)
We are out to seek more justice in the NFL while we slay the majority of the week 17 match ups coming at you right up the middle of the defense.
NFL WEEK 17 STRAIGHT PICK-EM
DALLAS COWBOYS (6-8-1) AT WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (4-11)
The Washington Commanders may not be thankful for their Christmas gift at the QB position on Jesus’s birthday. In his second stint with Washington, Josh Johnson will be the starter since Jayden Daniels is shut down for the season. The other Washington quarterback, Marcus Mariota, is out with an injury. The Cowboys come in losing three straight games and were eliminated from the playoffs with a loss from the Chargers last week. Washington has been eliminated for awhile as this game looked great on paper before the season started. Now it has that feel of eating fruit cake and being forced to do so. Johnson in ten seasons in the NFL has 1 win in 9 starts. The one win came in 2018 in his first stint with Washington as they were known as the Redskins at the time. Johnson had more wins playing in the spring leagues as he suited up for the San Diego Fleet in 2019 in the Alliance of American Football league. Then in 2020 in the XFL first reboot with the LA Wild Cats. I think Johnson will be able to engineer some scoring drives for Washington. That Dallas defense has been let down the last three weeks. I know Dak Prescott will be able to generate more points than Johnson off one of the worst defenses in the league the Commanders have.
OUR PICK: COWBOYS
DETROIT LIONS (8-7) AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS (7-8)
The Lions are falling apart at the worst time of their season. The Vikings, even though they are eliminated from the post-season, are on a hot streak as they won three straight games. The Lions need to win out and need help to make it into the post-season. The Vikings will be without their starting quarterback JJ McCarthy who was injured early on last week in a win versus the Giants. The other Vikings rookie QB will make his second start. Max Brosmer finished the Giants game by going 7-9 for 52 passing yards no turnovers. It’s better than the 4 interception game he had in his first NFL game he started versus Seattle. Vikings won the first meeting between these two teams. I think the Vikings can generate some points on offense as the Lions defense is very giving around the Holidays. They were on Thanksgiving versus the Packers. The Lions defense should be able to contain Brosmer. The Vikings defense will come after Jared Goff, but the Lions offense will counter with short passes and a solid running game to avoid trouble from their pressure. Lions need this game while Brosmer just does not want to look foolish out there in front of an entire nation watching.
OUR PICK: LIONS
DENVER BRONCOS (12-3) AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (6-9)
Can the Kansas City Chiefs play spoilers and be like the Grinch that stole the Denver Broncos Christmas? The Broncos winning streak of 11 games was snapped by Jacksonville last weekend with a beat down ON Denver. Could the Chiefs give the division rival another loss to help the Patriots get the number 1 seed in the AFC? The Chiefs will be without the face of the franchise in Patrick Mahomes. They lost their second string quarterback Gardner Minshew early in the game last week in another loss versus a bad Titans team. It will be up to Chris Oladokun making his first start in the NFL against one of the best defenses in the league which the Broncos have. The Chiefs will give the Broncos a game because it’s Christmas and everyone is watching. I do not like the Chiefs chances in this. Broncos will want to get that bad Jaguars loss out of their mouths quickly and take care of business in this one. They are very close to securing the number 1 seed which gives them the first round bye in the AFC post-season. The Broncos defense shuts down the Chiefs offense which seals the deal and keeps the number 1 seed in their grasp.
OUR PICK: BRONCOS
SATURDAY GAMES
HOUSTON TEXANS (10-5) AT LA CHARGERS (11-4)
Last time the Chargers and Texans got together was in January of 2025 in the wild card round. The Texans defense devoured Justin Herbert as they sacked him while picking him off 4 times in a 32-12 rout. I would say the Texans defense is better this go round. The Texans have won seven straight games but did not play the Raiders, a bottom feeder of the league, very well. The Chargers aerial attack bombarded the Cowboys defense with Herbert having a big game. The Chargers have won 4 straight. The Chargers have the top wild card and probably will not catch the Broncos. The Texans still have a chance at the AFC South division title. The Chargers are in the post-season while Houston still needs to nail down their berth. The Chargers have the Bills on their heels with the second wild card spot so a loss and Bills win would not go well for LA. Who wins this game? I think Jim Harbaugh’s teams are hard to beat a second time around even though these teams have not played each other since the wild card round. Herbert is the better QB than the Texans’ CJ Stroud. Can the Chargers defense contain Stroud and the Texans offense? Even though this a road game for Houston, it may look like a home game for them as Chargers have no fans. I think Herbert’s memories will play a factor as the Texans change the entire structure of the AFC post-season seedings with a win.
OUR PICK: TEXANS
BALTIMORE RAVENS (7-8) AT GREEN BAY PACKERS (9-5-1)
Ravens running back Derrick Henry needs only 64 rushing yards to pass up former Cowboys star Tony Dorsett on the NFL all-time rushing list. Henry will then be in the top ten running backs in yards all-time in NFL history and could continue to move up the charts in years to come. The running game is what both teams will need in this Saturday night game. The Packers will not have their starting QB. Jordan Love has been ruled out with a concussion he suffered versus the Bears. For the Ravens, Lamar Jackson is doubtful due to a back injury he suffered in the loss to the Patriots. The back up QB for the Packers is Malik Willis who suffered a shoulder injury versus the Bears filling in for Love. The Packers 3rd string QB is Clayton Tune. The Ravens will have to rely on Tyler Huntley in a must win game for the Ravens if Jackson can’t go. The Packers are still chasing the Bears for the NFC North title and are in the post-season due to the Lions losing on Thursday vs the Vikings.
The Packers should thank the two former Aaron’s who once suited up for the green and gold. Aaron Rodgers helped his old team beating the Lions last week. While Aaron Jones helped his former team beat the Lions once again on X-mas as he is suiting up for the Vikings these days. Huntley is 1-0 this season filling in as a starter for the Ravens as he beat the Bears this season. Huntley is 6-9 all-time as a starter in the NFL. Willis went 2-0 as the Packers starter last year in 2024. He was running the ball with big chunks of yardage last week vs the Bears. Huntley was not impressive filling in when Jackson left the game vs the Patriots. I like Willis.
The Packers are at home. The Ravens have not played well most of the year even with Jackson behind center most of the time.
OUR PICK: PACKERS
THE SUNDAY TILT
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (5-10) AT TENNESSEE TITANS (3-12)
Is this the farewell stretch for the Mormon Missile, the Saints’ Swiss Army Knife for the last 9 seasons? Hill is 35 years old, will be a free agent next season, and could decide to call it a career. The Saints have been marching winning their last three games in a row. The Titans may no longer be the laughing stock of the league as they are 2-1 in their last three coming off a win versus the Chiefs minus Patrick Mahomes. Cam Ward has thrown six touchdown passes in the last three games. He had only seven in the first 12 games. You have to like what Tyler Shough has done for the Saints this season. He has already set the franchise record for most wins as a quarterback breaking Archie Manning’s rookie record of 3 wins. The Saints head coach Kellen Moore has got something in Shough who has played well and is 4-3 as the starter now. The Titans have been doing well with their running game. I like the Saints defense stopping Tony Pollard, bringing the Titans running back to a grinding halt. Shough will do his thing which is not fancy but gets the job done. The Mormon Missile will have a big play in this one to end his career with somewhat of a bang. But not a whimper as Saints marched to their 4th in a row.
OUR PICK: SAINTS
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (12-3) AT CAROLINA PANTHERS (8-7)
If the Panthers beat the Seahawks in this game, since they beat the Rams weeks ago you could say they would have wins over the best two teams in the NFC conference. The Seahawks are already in the playoffs and need to win this while hoping the 49ers and Rams lose to clinch the NFC West. If the Seahawks win the division, they certainly will have the first round bye which is the number one seed in the NFC. The Panthers win and Buccaneers lose, they win the dreaded NFC South. The Panthers beat the Buccaneers last week and play them again in week 18. The Seahawks won a wild one that went to OT to knock off the Rams last week. If Seahawks lose, they may be coming back to Carolina in the post-season in the wild card round. Can Sam Darnold knock off one of his former teams he has played for? Seattle is the better team. I think their defense can halt the Panthers rushing attack and limit Bryce Young. Darnold will focus on getting the win rather than getting any kind of revenge on a former team. The Seattle offense will be able to generate enough points to give Panthers fans high blood pressure for a rematch against the Buccaneers in week 18.
OUR PICK: SEAHAWKS
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (11-4) AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (8-7)
Imagine if Phillip Rivers had a few more games than only the two recent ones in this comeback tour, he may have better outcomes. On Monday in the Colts loss to the 49ers, in that first half Rivers was wheeling and dealing. He finished the night tallying 277 passing yards with two touchdown passes but could not stop the bleeding. The Colts have lost 5 straight games now. They face one of the hotter teams in the league, the division rival Jaguars who have won six straight. Earlier this month, the Jags held Jonathan Taylor to 74 rushing yards and won big in Jacksonville versus the Colts. If the Colts want to win this game, they need Taylor and Rivers to have their biggest games of the year. The Colts are still alive somehow but need to win out. They need help as well. The Jags win the division with a win and need a Texans loss. Taylor at home in the last 3 games versus the visiting Jaguars has torched them for 546 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns.The Jags have a top notch run defense this season like earlier in the month. Trevor Lawrence is red hot and the Colts defense has too many injuries to stop the Jaguars QB and running game. Old man Rivers is good for at least one pick in this game. Say good bye to the Colts season after this game. It was a nice run by Rivers though as he played well coming back at 44 years of age.
OUR PICK: JAGUARS
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (9-6) AT CLEVELAND BROWNS (3-12)
Can Shedeur Sanders join two other Browns rookie quarterbacks by beating the Mike Tomlin-led Steelers in their first start against Pittsburgh? He can join the Browns greats such as Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Brandon Weeden. The Browns defensive end, Myle Garrett, tied the single season sack record last week versus the Bills. With one more sack, he could break both TJ Watt’s and Michael Strahan’s previous record of 22 sacks. The Steelers are in control over the AFC North. They need a win or a Ravens loss on Saturday to win the division and cement themselves into the post-season. The Browns gave the Bills a battle last week on their home turf. Mistakes by the Bills may have kept the Browns alive. I like the Steelers in this one to get the job done. Garrett gets the sack. The Steelers get the win and will get a takeaway or takeaways from you know who, Shedeur Sanders, who has 8 interceptions already and is 1-4 as the starring QB for the Browns this season. The Steelers will run the ball down the Browns throats and keep Cleveland perhaps looking at another QB in next year’s draft.
OUR PICK: STEELERS
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (7-8) AT MIAMI DOLPHINS (6-9)
Right now the Miami Dolphins are the only Florida NFL team that will be home for the post-season. They have time to take down their X-mas lights. The Dolphins can also prevent the Buccaneers making the post-season by giving them a loss this weekend. The Buccaneers have to win out to be able to win the NFC South, their only way to get into the post-season. The Buccaneers started off hot at 6-2. Since then they have dropped 6-7 games. Last week they lost to the Panthers and play them once again in the final week of the season. The Panthers could be dropped by Seattle this week which a Buccaneers win keeps them alive. The Dolphins are starting their rookie QB once again. Quinn Ewers will be making his second start of his NFL career. In his first versus a bad Bengals defense, he tallied up 260 passing yards but threw two picks as the Dolphins were blown up. Bake Mayfield has not shone in weeks, however I think he has a big game here to get by the Dolphins and make week 18 a showdown versus the Panthers.
OUR PICK: BUCCANEERS
ARIZONA CARDINALS (3-12) AT CINCINNATI BENGALS (5-10)
Before Arizona, the Cardinals played in St.Louis. Before Arch-town they played their home games at the old Comisky Park in Chicago, where they probably played the most cold games of their franchise history at home. In present day I would say the Cardinals will be affected by the cold weather in Cincinnati being from Arizona in the dry heat. Maybe Cincinnati has a dry cold. Joe Burrow put up over 40 points of offense on the Dolphins last week. The Cardinals have given up 40 points or more twice in the last three games. The Cardinals defense has been decimated with injuries. They have lost seven straight games. They have locked in a definite top ten pick in next year’s draft. Jacoby Brissett will face a bad Bengals defense in this match up. Burrow vs Brissett in cold conditions, even in warmer conditions, I have to give the nod to Joe over Jacoby. The Bengals will light up the scoreboard. The Cards will score about 20 points and lose by two scores or more.
OUR PICK: BENGALS
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (12-3) AT NEW YORK JETS (3-12)
The Jets rookie quarterback Brady Cook is not doing any cooking on the field as he started two games and played in 3 total contests. The Patriots are still looking to clinch the AFC East and go perfect on the road as they come in 7-0. In 11 quarters of frozen meats with Cook: He has 6 interceptions, 3 fumbles which he lost only 1, while being sacked 17 times. He has engineered two touchdown drives. He has thrown 1 touchdown pass. Meanwhile Drake Maye engineered a comeback win over the Ravens in a big win they needed in order to stay ahead of the Bills last week on Sunday night football. This game seems unfair for the Jets. Perhaps losing out they can get a better draft pick come April. This one should be a blow out for the Patriots.
OUR PICK: PATRIOTS
NEW YORK GIANTS (2-13) AT LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (2-13)
The Raiders will be without their star defender Mad Maxx Crosby who has been dealing with a lingering knee injury. He will be at home for the final two games of the Raiders season. He can quickly forget how bad this season was for the silver and black, and the visiting New York Giants. Both teams have the same record at 2-13 and have lost 9 straight games. The winner here snaps the 9 game losing streak. The loser here will get the number 1 draft pick next season. It’s a win/win. If it ends up in a tie, do they split the first pick down the middle? Which half would your team want? The Raiders offense had some life last week versus the Texans. The Giants lost another close game. Geno Smith will become the interception king after this contest because he is tied with Dolphins QB, Tua Tagovailoa. Give me Jaxson Dart to have his best game as a rookie this season as the Giants open the playbook and land their first road win of the season giving Pete Carrol the number 1 draft pick. Which he planned the entire time since he took the Raiders gig.
OUR PICK: GIANTS
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (10-5) AT BUFFALO BILLS (11-4)
Can the Bills get their white whale? The Eagles are the only team that head coach Sean McDermott and Josh Allen have not beaten in their tenure. The last time these two teams met, it was an epic game where the Eagles won. Both Allen and Eagles QB Jalen Hurts threw multi-touchdown passes and scored multi-times. Can the Bills defense stop the Eagles running game with Saquon Barkley? The Bills have had plenty of injuries piling up but they have won 4 straight games. The Bills defense have made plays in crunch time in those 4 victories. The Eagles have already clinched the NFC East. They come into week 17 as the number three seed and want to improve their seeding by winning on the road and leapfrogging the Bears. The Bills have clinched a playoff spot and are one game back of the Patriots with two games left on the docket. Bills may not win the AFC East, but they need stay ahead of the Texans and could jump the Chargers who are one seed ahead of them. This will be a good game. I like the Bills at home. I can see them playing much better than their performance last week vs the Browns even though they won. The Eagles have beaten cream puffs the last two weeks. Before that, they took on losses to the Chargers and Bears.
OUR PICK: BILLS
THE SUNDAY NIGHT GAME
CHICAGO BEARS (11-4) AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (11-4)
This is a big game for both the 49ers and Bears. Both teams have already clinched a playoff spot. Both teams are still in the hunt for the number 1 seed in the NFC conference. Both teams will be cheering for Seattle to lose who have a 12-3 record. The Bears lead their division after beating Green Bay last Saturday in an epic OT game. They need to win and with a Packers loss, they win the division. The 49ers are in the second spot in the NFC West with the same record as the Rams at 11-4 and both teams are chasing Seattle who is ahead of them by 1 game. This game is important for seeding for the 49ers just in case Seattle wins earlier, they want to keep ahead of the Rams who play on Monday night. The Bears have the most victories this season trailing in the last two minutes of the game with 6. The 49ers have won 5 straight games by double digits coming into this Sunday night melee. The Bears have gotten off to too many slow starts this season and have to make that comeback to win the game. The Bears converted on a onside kick last week versus the Packers late in that game which is unheard of nowadays. That play helped the Bears bring that game to overtime. When the Bears are good and face the 49ers when they are good, it has not worked out for Chicago over the decades. This game has a shoot out written all over it even though both defenses are not Bengals-like. Both offenses have a ton of talent and Brock Purdy and Caleb Williams are just clicking on all cylinders seeing the field perfectly. The slow start will doom the Bears as the 49ers will prevent the comeback as Chicago’s luck runs out, this week at least.
OUR PICK: 49ERS
THE MONDAY NIGHT GAME
LA RAMS (11-4) AT ATLANTA FALCONS (6-9)
Will the Rams continue to feast on Holiday bird by beating the Falcons on Monday night? I’m sure most of the Rams players indulge in turkey or perhaps goose on Christmas. Perhaps Kirk Cousins will be the jive turkey the Rams dogs on defense devour. The Rams come in already having clinched a playoff spot. A win over Atlanta and some help from other teams could help them get a better seed in the post-season. The Falcons have some insight information on the Rams. Will it help Atlanta that their former defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris, is the Falcons head coach? The Falcons are second in the league in sacks this season. Only problem is Matthew Stafford is very good versus the blitz and is very hard to sack because he delivers the ball out quickly. Cousins all-time on Monday football, his record is 3-10. However he is 3-1 in the last 4 games. The Rams are coming off that wild game versus Seattle with a debatable ending that did not go their way. I like Stafford getting the best over Cousins in this one. Falcons are too up and down for me to pick them even though Captain Kirk is playing better. Eventually Atlanta will bend and break, not being a part of the post-season.
We had faith in the wrong teams last week picking the Cowboys and the Chiefs thinking they had some life left in them. How do you figure the Ravens shut out the Bengals? Joe Cool was cooled off with that Ravens defense. The Giants continue to screw us. We did pick a nice upset getting the Saints over the Panthers as our gem of the week.
SEASON RECORD: (143-81)
We are transforming and rolling out week 16.
NFL WEEK 16 STRAIGHT PICK-EM
THE THURSDAY NIGHT GAME
LA RAMS (11-3) AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (11-3)
NFL week 16 comes out of the gates with a shoot out at the O.K Corral of the NFC West with the second meeting between the Rams and Seahawks this season. The Rams won the first meeting between these two teams. It was not a high scoring shoot out as defense was played as the Rams picked off Sam Darnold 4 times that game. Matthew Stafford is having an MVP season. The Rams will be without one of their star wide receivers Davante Adams. Both teams feature well-balanced offenses as they can run the ball and attack you in the air with the best of them in the NFL. The Seahawks have the better run defense. I give the Rams the better pass defense and they’re very good at getting to the opponent’s quarterback. It seems unfair that both teams are in the same division because they may be 1-2 the best in the conference. The Rams loss from the Panthers could haunt LA if they lose this one. Seattle has to split this series or they have no chance at winning the NFC West. This will be one of the best games of the week. I like Seattle at home. The thing that jumps out to me when these teams met November 16th was the score. Rams won it 21-19. Darnold had a bad game with 4 interceptions and look how close that game was. No way Darnold has that bad game this go around. I like Seattle this time.
OUR PICK:SEAHAWKS
THE SATURDAY GAMES
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (9-5) AT WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (4-10)
The Eagles got back on track with a Raiders opponent that is like that girl in the old neighborhood who would be very giving during the Holidays coming to her after a break up. Most importantly, Eagles snap a 3 game skid. The Commanders had a rare win last week versus a Giants team that I thought would win that match up. Marcus Mariota did not do much behind center completing only 52.6% of his throws. It’s only the second start he has won this season filling in for Jayden Daniels. He has had 7 starts and will start this game. This is a rematch of the NFC Championship from last year. Both teams are nowhere close to their former selves from last year. If Eagles win along with a Cowboys loss, they would win the NFC East which would be the first repeat in that division in 20 seasons. The Eagles offense will thrive versus a bad Commanders defense. The Eagles will stop Washington’s running game that has been up and down all season. I don’t have faith Mariota is going to beat you throwing the ball. Eagles win their second in a row.
OUR PICK: EAGLES
GREEN BAY PACKER (9-4-1) AT CHICAGO BEARS (10-4)
The first game between the Bears and Packers was epic. A close game as the Packers defended the Bears from tying things up with under a minute to play and got the win at their place. I know the sequel will not be Weekend at Bernie’s II. The Packers lost to the Broncos last week while the Bears took care of business versus the Browns which resulted in the teams flip flopping in the NFC North as Chicago is in first place. The winner of this match up can clinch a playoff spot with a Lions loss. The Packer lost their best pass rusher last week in that loss to the Broncos as Micah Parsons’ season will end with a knee injury.
Caleb Williams may have had his best game of the season versus the Browns. Williams has 3 games left to break a single season record held by Erik Kramer for most passing yards in one season in Bears history. He needs 689 passing yards to beat Kramer’s 1995 record of 3,838. The history is never on the Bears side in this rivalry. Last time the Bears beat up the Packers consistently, you have to go back to the 1980’s. Current Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is 12-1 all-time versus the Bears. Now the Bears team belongs to another mad genius in Ben Johnson, and you just have to believe that he is the guy to turn this rivalry around and stop it being one sided. The Packers QB Jordan Love is 4-1 all-time versus the Bears. When these two teams have something on the line like in the 2010 NFC Championship, it always goes Green Bay’s way. History is not on the Bears’ side. The coffee has not settled in my mindset while I write this. I pick the Bears to win at home, slay the Packers demons, and swing this rivalry into a two way street. Without Parsons, Williams may have a game Bears fans will remember for years to come.
OUR PICK: DA BEARS
THE SUNDAY TILT
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (6-8) AT NEW YORK GIANTS (2-12)
The ghost of the future could have these two quarterbacks facing off in a NFC Championship someday. Suddenly JJ McCarthy is on fire the last two games with both victories for the Vikings. He is now 4-4 as a starter and set a career high in passing yards last week vs the Cowboys. Meanwhile Jaxson Dart has 13 touchdowns to 4 interceptions for the Giants and is 2-7 as their starter this season. McCarthy now has 11 touchdown passes to 11 interceptions. A few weeks back, he had more interceptions. The Giants do not have any kind of killer instinct in any close games. Another problem like last week when they fell behind to the Commanders and fought back. Same results & no killer instinct to finish games. The Vikings will throw everything including the kitchen sink at Dart with all kinds of creative blitz packages. I don’t trust the Giants to find a way to win this one even if they get out of the blitzkrieg. McCarthy has sizzled against bad passing defenses such the Commanders and Cowboys, and now the Giants which are lumped in the same category and same division.
OUR PICK: VIKINGS
BUFFALO BILLS (10-4) AT CLEVELAND BROWNS (3-11)
The Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is one sack away from tying Michael Strahan and TJ Watt’s single season record of most sacks. If Garrett gets 1.5 sacks, he will break the record. On the other side of this match up, Josh Allen for the Bills needs 1 more touchdown to be the youngest and fastest player to reach 300 scores. The Bills can clinch a playoff berth with a win and would need either the Texans or Colts to lose this weekend. The Browns rookie quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, comes off a 3 interceptions game versus the Bears in Chicago last week. While the Bills erased a 21 points deficit to beat the Patriots on the road last week. The Browns defense will keep things interesting for a little while. I think the Bills can generate points off the Browns defense. I think the Bills defense will get creative and find ways to rattle Sanders’ cage, getting some takeaways in the process. I think Garrett will tie the record while Allen gets the scoring record. Bills will win and sweep the entire AFC North in the process.
OUR PICK: BILLS
LA CHARGERS (10-4) AT DALLAS COWBOYS (6-7-1)
I’m off the Cowboys band wagon as I continue to have picked them the last few weeks thinking they would get back on track. I found myself not believing in the Chargers picking against them the last few weeks. The Chargers last week eliminated the Chiefs from post-season play.
Now the Chargers fans and players can wave to Travis Swift going home for the post-season since he likes to wave at guys being ejected from the game. Will the Chargers have a let down here vs Dallas? If the Eagles win Saturday, the Cowboys will be ousted from playoff contention. The Chargers still need to maintain their spot as top wild card in the AFC. I think Justin Herbert will play well against the Cowboys defense that went back to their old ways from the beginning of the season. Jerry Jones’ trades at the deadline looked good for a short time. I’m going Chargers and now watch the Cowboys win this one is just my luck.
OUR PICK: CHARGERS
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (7-7) AT CAROLINA PANTHERS (7-7)
The NFC South is the worst division in the NFL. The Panthers and Buccaneers are playing to win the NFC South and will play each other twice in the next 3 weeks starting with the first match up Sunday. The Buccaneers have lost two straight games, both to divisional opponents. The Saints swept the Panthers last week. The Saints have been a thorn in both these two teams. Baker Mayfield seems to have slowed his roll weeks ago. The Buccaneers defense has not been anything to write home to mom about. The Panthers offense has issues up and down, so you never know what you will get. All the teams in the NFC South do not do what they are told when I pick them or against them. I think the Panthers will get the first major blow in this series. They are 4-2 at home. They are 6-0 coming off a loss. They shocked the Rams a few weeks back. They have a pulse unlike the Buccaneers. The talk is always that it will be Mayfield to dazzle us in grit performance and guide this team to a division title. I’m not seeing it. Maybe he will pull it out in the second meeting in Tampa. This round I like the Panthers.
OUR PICK: PANTHERS
CINCINNATI BENGALS (4-10) AT MIAMI DOLPHINS (6-8)
Both the Dolphins and Bengals laid clunkers last week on the field. The Bengals were shut out by the Ravens. Both teams have been eliminated from the post-season play with those losses. The Dolphins will bench their starting QB Tua Tagovailoa and start rookie Quinn Ewers who the Dolphins drafted in the 7th round this year. He will make his first start versus a bad defense the Bengals have. Ewers has played in one game versus the Browns where he threw 8 passes & completed 5 of them. If Joe Burrow says he’d like to play we will see what he does on the field this week. The Bengals looked like they called it a season versus the Ravens last Sunday. I think the Dolphins should go in another direction than rely on Tua in the future. The Bengals defense will make Quinn look good, but they should still be able to contain him because he is a rookie 7th rounder. I think Burrow will have a big game here just to get rid of the bad taste in his mouth and get his team back on track. Now with no pressure of the post-season, he will be able to let it rip. His talented receivers will be able to exploit a Miami defense that is playing better, but overall is not a great unit.
OUR PICK: BENGALS
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (6-8) AT TENNESSEE TITANS (2-12)
“Ding dong the Chiefs are dead,” has been sung from the mountains to the prairies as Kansas City has been eliminated from the post-season. I find it odd if you are a Titans fan and having your rookie quarterback saying he wants his say who the next head coach will be. Maybe Cam Ward needs to do a little more on the field before we have him being involved at making key decisions for the franchise. You could say he may have a better thought process than the guys in the Titans front office getting rid of Mike Vrabel a few years ago. The Chiefs back up quarterback may be the Grinch that stole Christmas here for the Chiefs being an inside job. With Patrick Mahomes out for the rest of the season with the knee injury he suffered vs the Chargers, Gardner Minshew is the starting quarterback for the Chiefs. Minshew can get the job done as he has a record of 17-29 as a starter in the NFL. Everywhere he has played in his career, either a starter or back up, he has seen action on the field and has made more than one start each season. Not saying Minshew hurt Mahomes. Somehow Minshew has that spell that is cast down wherever he plays because he finds the field every year. Even with a guy like Mahomes who has played every game of his career. Minshew still finds the field. Back to the game. The Chiefs will win this game with Minshew as the QB as they are the better team while breaking a three game skid.
OUR PICK: CHIEFS
NEW YORK JETS (3-11) AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (4-10)
Brady Cook vs Tyler Slough sounds like something from the Clash of the Titans in some low rated Bowl game in college football. Cook’s first start was horrific versus the Jaguars. Three interceptions. Meanwhile Slough is 3-3 as the starter as he has beaten Carolina twice. Can Slough beat a team that does not reside in the same division the Saints reside in? The Jets have fired their defensive coordinator. The Saints will have some of their young rookie playmakers out with injuries. I like the Saints defense in this one to prevent Cook from actually getting something cooking in this contest. Slough is not making the mistakes with the football and growing more confidence with every start.
OUR PICK: SAINTS
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (2-12) AT HOUSTON TEXANS (9-5)
The Raiders offensive line trying to defend the Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. will be a nightmare for the silver and black. The Texans are playing for the post-season and still eyeballing the division title, have won six straight. Meanwhile the Raiders keep trotting out Geno Smith as their starting quarterback and getting the same results. Raiders are last in the NFL in points per game with 14. Would Kenny Pickett be any better than Smith? Bad offensive line can’t give these guys any time. Maybe the Raiders need Kenny’s Brother Joe Pickett to come in and show how things should be done. Houston has the best defense in the league. The Raiders are just a chew toy for these guys as this one will be a rather easy victory for them.
OUR PICK: TEXANS
ATLANTA FALCONS (5-9) AT ARIZONA CARDINALS (3-11)
Kirk Cousins may have had his best game as a Falcons quarterback last week vs the Buccaneers. He threw for 373 passing yards in a win along with three touchdown passes. This may have been his best game since before that injury in his last year in Minnesota for the Vikings. Meanwhile the Cardinals have lost 6 straight games. Their defense has been decimated with injuries and in the last two games have given 40 or more points. Captain Kirk Cousins may cash in on another big day at the office against a team that is 1-6 this season at home. The Falcons defense are a little more put together than the Cardinals health-wise. They should be able to keep the Cardinals offense in check when the game is on the line. Falcons will fly higher by the time the clock reaches zeros in this contest.
OUR PICK: FALCONS
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (10-4) AT DENVER BRONCOS (12-2)
The Broncos have won 11 straight games while the Jaguars have won 5 straight games. The Jaguars have the Colts and Texans on their heels for the division race. A Chargers loss and Broncos win gives Denver the AFC West title. The Broncos defense is one of the best units in the game. They are the best unit in the red zone. The Jaguars offense ranks number 13 in the NFL in the red zone. Trevor Lawrence has the most touchdown passes with 10 in the red zone. Other interesting tidbits include that Denver is one of the quickest defenses in the league to get pressure on the QB. While Lawrence has been one of the most difficult quarterbacks to get pressure on. Beating the Broncos in Denver will be difficult. I think Green Bay should have won there last week. I think Lawrence can be effective versus the Broncos defense because he has been red hot in the last 4 games with 9 touchdown passes and no interceptions. The Jaguars defense is good at getting takeaways. Look for them to create one on Bo Nix as the Broncos’ winning streak comes to an end. The Jaguars will stay ahead of the Texans and Colts.
OUR PICK: JAGUARS
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (8-6) AT DETROIT LIONS (8-6)
Both teams need this game badly. The Steelers beat up the Dolphins on Monday night while the Lions lost to the Rams. Lions are tough at home and usually do well the next week if they come off a loss. The motor city is one of Aaron Rodgers’ ole stomping grounds playing for the Packers all those years, he is familiar with Ford Field. The Steelers will be again without TJ Watt who was out last weekend with a collapsed lung. The Steelers defense played well last week without him. They will also be without Nick Herbig who injured his hamstring in the Dolphins game. The Lions offense is a different animal than the Dolphins literally. The Steelers defense will have to contend with all their fire power they have. Rodgers will engineer some scoring drives but not enough to keep up with the Lions high octane offense at home. The Steelers looked good two weeks in row. The Lions defense will get more stops than the Steelers defense and keeps the Lions’ playoff chances alive. While the Steelers will have another crack at the Ravens for the entire enchilada.
OUR PICK: LIONS
THE SUNDAY NIGHT GAME
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (11-3) AT BALTIMORE RAVENS (7-7)
How do the Patriots respond after the Bills snapped their 10 game losing streak as the go on the road to face Baltimore? The Ravens shut out Joe Burrow and the Bengals, which is very hard to do with those top notch receivers they have. The Patriots were out to clinch the division last week and had a 21-0 lead on the Bills and had the second half collapse and lost 35-31. The Ravens lost the very first game to Buffalo as they watched Josh Allen erase a double digit lead late in that game for a loss. The Patriots are 6-0 on the road this season.
The Ravens are 3-5 at home and another loss would give them one of the worst records of all-time eating home cooking. The Ravens are desperate & they need to win to keep their eye on the prize, the AFC North division, which Steelers are 8-6 coming into week 16. The Ravens do have another game versus Pittsburgh. The Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel bitched and moaned about the officials after the loss with Buffalo. Will that have a carry over into this game if the ball or calls don’t go their way? I like the Ravens snapping the Patriots’ road winning streak. Once you get hit like the Pats did, it’s hard to get your feet back from under you. Drake Maye has not been in many close games this season where the ball is in his hands for the game winning drive or tying things up. Lamar Jackson has won many close games in his career and in these situations. I can see the Ravens winning this one in a close affair to keep alive for their late push on the Steelers and the AFC North title.
OUR PICK: RAVENS
THE MONDAY NIGHT GAME
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (10-4) AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (8-6)
In Phillip Rivers’ return to the NFL with the Colts, they lost a close one to the Seahawks 18-16. Your first game facing Seattle is a real challenge.The 49ers beat up on the Titans to get their 10th win of the season. The 49ers have won 4 straight games while the Colts have lost 4 straight games. This is the 3rd game this Colts team has been held under 20 points. The Colts had a very easy schedule most of the year & now they are going through the meat grinder part of it which started with Seattle, now the 49ers, then Jaguars and finishing with the Texans. That’s a hard task for a 44 year old QB to take on. Rivers completed 66.7% of his passes last week for only 120 passing yards. He did throw a touchdown pass and an interception. The 49ers did give up points to a bad Titans offense. The Colts could put a few more points on the board than usual in this one. I think the 49ers are the better team and even if Rivers was younger and completely rust free, maybe the Colts would have the better shot. If the 49ers can slow down Jonathan Taylor, which I think they will, and have Rivers try to beat them through the air. They will just come up short. Rivers will make a mistake with a costly interception. The 49ers need a win to clinch a playoff spot & they will get it. Brock Purdy will have another solid game and be clutch at the same time.
The return of Phillip Rivers will make things interesting in week 15. Can the Colts survive? In week 15, there are lots of solid match ups to decipher.
LAST WEEK: (7-7)
Last week we broke even at 7-7. Many upsets and picks that were chosen backfired to get 7 losses. This week I have my playoff mentality going as every match up is very important for seeding. I’m sure we will have plenty of crazy outcomes, as that is the norm. We stride for the winning record each week. We strive for excellence every week, but we have not provided that. We will stay optimistic with our week 15 picks though.
SEASON RECORD: (133-75)
WEEK 15 STRAIGHT PICK-EM
THE THURSDAY NIGHT GAME
ATLANTA FALCONS (4-9) AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (7-6)
The AFC South is a crap shoot trying to predict the winners. The New Orleans Saints upset the Buccaneers last weekend and beat the Panthers weeks ago. The Falcons come into this short Thursday game losing their last three games. The Falcons are very unpredictable. Atlanta seems to play better at home than on the road.The Buccaneers have had problems keeping their playmakers on the field. Baker Mayfield is banged up.
When is Kirk Cousins going to find his old self before that brutal injury he suffered last year in Minnesota? He is 1-3 as the starter since filling in for Michael Penix Jr. who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. Captain Kirk is 37 years old and seeing Joe Flacco at 40 playing better than him. Aaron Rodgers at 42 is playing better. Now the return of Phillip Rivers. If he plays better, than maybe it’s time Kirk hangs up the spikes. Anything can happen on a short week. From watching these teams with my eyes, Tampa Bay is the better team. The NFL wants to make all of them half blind. I just don’t see Atlanta rebounding from the beat down Seattle gave them last week, this soon. Tampa Bay has more on the line here and they will find a way with a gutsy performance by Mayfield to get the Buccaneers back in the win column.
OUR PICK: BUCCANEERS
THE SUNDAY TILT
BALTIMORE RAVENS (6-7) AT CINCINNATI BENGALS (4-9)
Joe Burrow beat Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on Thanksgiving night as he returned from an injury earlier in the season. The Ravens have lost two straight games and a biggie versus the Steelers last Sunday. Jackson vs Burrow has Lamar with the better record of 6-2. Lamar Jackson is 4-0 in Cincinnati where he has thrown 15 touchdown passes to 1 interception. Burrow threw two picks late in the game last week versus Buffalo that cost them a win. Before those two picks, Burrow and that Bengals offense was rolling in Buffalo. Jackson in the last 4 games has not been very good, throwing 1 touchdown pass to 4 interceptions. Both teams’ defenses are not very good. I guess you chalk up Ravens D being better. Last year during this time span, Burrow and the Bengals played very well down the stretch. With Burrow being back, the team overall is playing better. I’m going with the hotter hand in this one. Burrow defends his home turf versus Jackson and has the bigger game setting the Ravens further back from repeating as AFC North champions.
OUR PICK: BENGALS
BUFFALO BILLS (9-4) AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (11-2)
Since the Buffalo Bills traded Stefon Diggs to Houston, now with the Patriots he is 2-0 versus his former team. Diggs torched the Bills this season in the first meeting and his return to Buffalo earlier this season. The Patriots have won 10 straight games. The Bills have won two straight games. If Patriots win this game, they sweep the Bills and will win the AFC East which the Bills have owned for the last few years. Patriots have won 21 division titles since the AFL AND NFL merger back in 1970, which is 4th most in the NFL. This game will be different from the earlier match up. More on the line, if you are the Bills. This is a game they need. The Bills have played well against teams with better records. I think Josh Allen will put on his superman cape in this one and make a statement against this Patriots team and a man named Diggs. I think this go around the Bills can run the ball better on this Patriots defense that has a few injuries. I like how the Bills defense has made some huge impact plays the last few weeks that have changed the momentum of the games. The Patriots’ two losses have occurred at home.
OUR PICK: BILLS
LA CHARGERS (9-4) AT KANSAS CITY (6-7)
I’m sick of picking the Chiefs as I feel they are done, dead in the water. But something in my gut tells Patrick Mahomes is like that slasher movie killer when you think he’s dead and the movie is over, he comes at you again. If the Chargers win this game, it would be the first time they have swept Kansas City in a season since 2013. The Chiefs have lost two straight games and Mahomes has never missed the playoffs. The Chiefs are 5-2 at home. They are 1-6 in one possession games this season. The Chargers had a big win on Monday night which took OT to beat the Eagles and they are chasing the Broncos for the AFC West title. If Chargers win one more game, they will hit double figures in wins two years straight under Jim Harbaugh. The Chiefs should stop throwing the ball to the MEATHEAD Travis Swift as he had another costly error for them last week on an important 4th quarter drive vs the Texans that could have changed the tide of the game. The Meathead has cost the Chiefs multiple victories this season. The Chiefs defense will rise up in this one like they had great moments vs the Texans last Sunday night. This game will be Mahomes’ rally cry. The Chiefs are better at home and you know they will make one last try like a slasher killer to get on track and make the playoffs. It will be cold in Kansas City and they will benefit with a big win to even up their record at sevens.
OUR PICK: CHIEFS
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (2-11) AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (8-5)
Combined, both these teams have lost 10 straight games. The Raiders have 7 of those defeats. While the Eagles shockingly have three. The Raiders is offense one of the worst in the league. The Raiders should be playing to lose to get the first pick in the draft and select a quarterback. Geno Smith is the newest version of the Crab Man Jameis Winston as the interception king. The last time the Raiders scored 20 or more points in a game, you have to go back to early November when they scored 29 in an OT loss versus the Jaguars. The Eagles defense can feast on a bad Raiders O-line. The Raiders are the perfect team after a break up, losing streak, etc etc, for opponents to get back on track. Eagles will soar high as the Raiders will lose and may suffer some frost bite at the same time playing in the Philadelphia cold elements.
No snowballs in this game towards the big fat man in the the stands watching. Not needed with a victory. However they are Eagles fans and most of them appear on the naughty list.
OUR PICK: EAGLES
NEW YORK JETS (3-10) AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (9-4)
The Jets are going to start their rookie quarterback Brady Cook who filled in last weekend for the injured Tyrod Taylor, who left the game with a groin injury. Cook is undrafted from Missouri University & threw two interceptions in his NFL debut, both in the red zone. He also fumble twice but the Jets recovered bot of them. Meanwhile the Jaguars have won 4 straight games. They are leading the AFC South by 1 game. Cook will make his first start in the NFL against a Jaguar defense that is tied for second in takeaways. Trevor Lawrence in the last three games is stringing his best performances of the season. Cook will probably not be the next Brady terrorizing the AFC East for years to come. He may play better getting all the first team reps in practice during the week. The Jaguars are playing better and should keep rolling along.
OUR PICK: JAGUARS
ARIZONA CARDINALS (3-10) AT HOUSTON TEXANS (8-5)
Trey McBride may be the best tight end in the game. With Travis Kelce deteriorating and George Kittle always injured, McBride is young and has already been up and coming. This season he has 93 grabs for 937 yards and 8 touchdown catches. Last year he had 111 grabs. Jacoby Brissett is 5-1 all-time versus the Texans in his career. Let’s come back to earth now. The Cardinals have lost 5 straight games. The Texans have won 5 straight games. This is not the Houston defense Brissett has beaten in his career. The Cardinals will be without their star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. who will miss the game with a heel injury. Look for the Texans to focus on McBride. Brissett will be doomed with the Texans pass rush from the start of the game. CJ Stroud should have his way with the Arizona defense and keep the Texans march to the post-season alive.
OUR PICK: TEXANS
CLEVELAND BROWNS (3-10) AT CHICAGO BEARS (9-4)
This could be one of the coldest games in Bears history as the temperatures should hover around 10 degrees. I should remind Shedeur Sanders about the wind chills at a hasty -10 degrees. Sanders is overrated in my opinion, only completing 52.4% of his passes. He has 3 interceptions in 4 games. He likes to fumble the ball. Sanders was the starter last week when the Browns lost to the worst team in the league, the Titans. The Bears came very close versus the arch-rival Packers. The loss broke their long 5 game winning streak that included a big win in Philadelphia. In cold games, teams want to run the rock. The Bears can do so averaging 152.6 yards on the ground per game. Cleveland has a great defense that should help keep them in this game for awhile. The Bears defense will cause all kinds of problems for Sanders who will turn over the ball multiple times, is my prediction. The Browns are not playing for anything. Eventually against the cold and the Bears running game, they will give in like bad Dawgs going to the vet to get neutered.
OUR PICK: DA BEARS
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (3-10) AT NEW YORK GIANTS (2-11)
Which team will get flushed in this toilet bowl game of the week? Combined, the Giants and Commanders have lost 15 straight games. Washington has 8 of them while New York is guilty of 7 straight losses. The Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka is still looking for his first win since taking over for the fired Brian Daboll. Washington keeps trotting Jayden Daniels onto the field and getting the same results. He gets injured. Last week again with the elbow. The Giants had a bye week last week. The Commanders were shut out by the Vikings who scored over 30 points off Washington’s defense. I like Jaxson Dart in this one. I think he could have one of his best games of the season against this Commanders defense. The Giants defense is not the flaming heap that the Commander defense is. The G-Men on defense could slow down Marcus Mariota. This game will most likely be ugly. The Giants get a W for the interim guy.
OUR PICK: GIANTS
CAROLINA PANTHERS (7-6) AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (3-10)
The New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback is still looking for his first ever win at home. Tyler Shough has two victories since taking over the Saints starting job and he has beaten the Panthers and Buccaneers on the road. Last week it was the Buccaneers. If Tyler can earn 1 more victory before regular season comes to an end, he will tie the great Archie Manning for the most victories by rookie QB in Saints history. Archie went 3-5-2 in his rookie season of 1971. The Panthers come off their bye week after upsetting one of the best NFC teams in the league, the Rams, in week 13. This looks too easy as we can say Panthers. It was week 10 when the Saints marched in Carolina and beat them. The Saints have nothing at stake while the Panthers have a chance to win this flaming heap they call the NFC South. The Panthers have not done well lately when they are favored. I smell an upset in the air. The Saints seem dialed in on division opponents. Look out Arch, Tyler is tying your record in this one.
OUR PICK: SAINTS
TENNESSEE TITANS (2-11) AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (9-4)
Last week we saw a Tony Pollard sighting for the Titans. I did not think the Titans running back was still in the league. Pollard had a great day at the office helping the Titans earn their second victory of the year. He ran for 161 rushing yards with two touchdowns. The 49ers come of their bye week as they have won three straight games. The last time a Titans team won consecutive games, you have to go back to November of 2022. The Titans played their best game of the season in that win. They beat the Browns who may be checked out for the season and a rookie quarterback in Shedeur Sanders. The Titans offense has only averaged 15.5 points per game this season. Cam Ward has been sacked 49 times this season. The 49ers defense will be able to handle the Titans offense. Brock Purdy will have a clean game. The 49ers need this win to stay in striking distance of both the Rams and Seahawks, two teams in the division. Then you have other NFC teams trying to grab a wild card spot if you can’t win that crazy NFC West. The 49ers will not break this week.
OUR PICK: 49ERS
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (8-5) AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (10-3)
Can the 44 year old quarterback Phillip Rivers who has stolen all the headlines this week come back from retirement and win a big game against a hot Seattle team? The Seahawks have won three straight games. The Colts are desperate and that’s why they brought back Rivers because they have lost 3 straight games and are falling out of the playoff picture. The Seahawks are 5-1 at home this season. The Colts are missing some pieces especially the back end of the defense. The Seahawks have an explosive offense. The Seahawks defense is a strong unit. I’m not sure if I would start Rivers in this one. Another loss puts the Colts further back in the division and post-season. Rivers is the best chance the Colts have right now. He’s a competitor. He will be rusty. I don’t think he can win a shoot out style of game in his first start back since 2021. It’s a great story, so let’s hope Jags and Texans lose to make next week interesting for Rivers’ second game just in case he loses his first.
OUR PICK: SEAHAWKS
GREEN BAY PACKERS (9-3-1) AT DENVER BRONCOS (11-2)
The Packers and Broncos come into this week both sitting at the number two seed in their respective conference. The Packers beat the Bears last week, took over first place in the division, and now have won 4 straight games. The Broncos continue to be in cruise control as they have won 10 straight games. With a Broncos win, they can clinch a playoff berth. Both teams have an elite quarterback hunter. The Packers have Micah Parsons while Broncos have Nik Bonitto. Both hunters have 12.5 sacks coming into this game. The Broncos defense has the better D unit over the Packers as a whole. This game will come down to which QB has the bigger game: Bo Nix or Jordan Love? I think Love with his arm will dial it up long distance and hook up on some big pass plays to put away the Broncos and snap their 10 game winning streak to make a statement.
OUR PICK: PACKERS
DETROIT LIONS (8-5) AT LA RAMS (10-3)
Remember when Matthew Stafford was the starting quarterback for the Lions while Jared Goff was the Rams guy? Since that trade, the Rams have won a Superbowl with Stafford while the Lions have been a staple in the post-season the last two years. Goff leads the head to head match up all-time vs Stafford 3-1 in 4 meetings including a playoff game where Jared won. The Rams are the number 1 seed in the NFC. They have Seattle right on their rear though in the division and the number 1 seed spot. The Lions come off a big win over a hot Cowboys team that needs wins because the Bears and the Packers are ahead of them in the division. The Rams rebounded nicely versus the Cardinals last week after being upset by the Panther in week 13. This will be a shoot out. I like the Rams defense better than the Lions to make the key stops to stop the bleeding.
OUR PICK: RAMS
THE SUNDAY NIGHT GAME
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (5-8) AT DALLAS COWBOYS (6-6-1)
JJ McCarthy had a huge game last week coming off a concussion that sidelined him for a game. The Cowboys lost in a shoot out on Thursday night versus the Lions in Detroit. The Cowboys are well rested and need to get back on track after the Lions snapped their winning streak. The Vikings beat up on the Commanders last week where McCarthy picked apart the worst pass defense in the league. Can he have the big style game on the road? The Cowboys average 32.6 points at home where the Vikings offense on the road does not quite match up with Dallas. The Cowboys need to win out pretty much if they want to make the playoffs. The Eagles will eventually win a game. The Cowboys are going to try to win the division, but just in case they need to also stay in the wild card hunt which is crowded right now. This is a perfect opponent to get back on track. The Vikings defense is solid, but Dak Prescott will get this Cowboys offense rolling as they should hit high 20’s in points or lower 30’s. The Vikings offense will not get that much off the Cowboys defense. The Cowboys have played well and had some chances with the Lions until Detroit pulled away. Cowboys stay alive in the playoff push.
OUR PICK: COWBOYS
THE MONDAY NIGHT GAME
MIAMI DOLPHINS (6-7) AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS (6-7)
The Dolphins have won 4 straight games coming into this Monday night match up. The Steelers will be without their best pass rusher, TJ Watt, who was hospitalized experiencing lung discomfort. The Steelers come off an impressive win over their arch rival Baltimore Ravens last week. If the Dolphins lose they will be eliminated officially from the post-season. The Dolphins have played better football in this 4 game win streak. The Dolphins defense are still the weakest link in this match up which the Steelers will exploit. Last week perhaps the temperatures were not under 40 degrees in New Jersey where they beat the Jets. I know Pittsburgh means it will be colder temperatures and that does not work for the Dolphins as they have lost 13 straight games when the thermometer reads under 40. Fish popsicles for all Steelers fans after the game. Being a night game, it should be colder in Pittsburgh. Dolphins will once again miss the post-season.
The Indianapolis Colts were cruising to the post-season with aN 8-2 record leading the AFC South. The two hottest teams in the AFC have been the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos. The Colts were keeping up with those two teams eyeing the number 1 seed. During pre-season, the Colts decided to give Daniel Jones the starting nod over their number 1 pick, Anthony Richardson. The former quarterback for the New York Giants has resurrected into Indiana Jones who was having his best season in the NFL this season. The Colts have the best running back in the league with Jonathan Jones. Suddenly the wheels fell off the bus as the Colts have lost three straight games. Jones is lost for the season tearing his right Achilles tendon last weekend. Former Colts and Charger Phillip Rivers is coming out of retirement to try to save this season for Indianapolis, the team he called home for one season. It was the last team Rivers has played for.
Why not just insert Anthony Richardson into the starting job to be Daniel Jones’ replacement for the rest of the season? Instead of bringing a guy out of retirement, it makes a lot of sense. Richardson has been on the injured list since way back from pre-season. During warm ups he fractured his orbital which are tiny little breaks around the eye socket. Richardson was drafted in the 1st round of the 2023 NFL draft 4th overall out Florida University. He does have a winning record at 8-7 as a starter in the NFL. He has only completed 50.6% of his passes. He has thrown 13 interceptions to only 11 touchdown passes. He has been injury prone as the eye socket is not the first of his injuries he has had in the NFL. The Colts do have a rookie quarterback in Riley Leonard, who they drafted in the 6th round from Notre Dame. He has seen some action in two games, has an interception, and has tallied 145 passing yards. Filling in for Jones he did hurt his knee in that game. He may be able to start versus the Seahawks. The Colts also activated another veteran quarterback, a journeyman Brett Rypien, who may see action as well. Rypien is 2-2 as a starter in his NFL career. He has played in 11 total games. He has 4 touchdown passes to 9 interceptions. Now you see the reasons for giving Phillip Rivers a call. Rivers then did a workout for the Colts. The coaching staff obviously seem satisfied to then have the front office sign him. We may see Rivers back on the NFL field after the Seattle game this weekend.
Phillip Rivers is 44 years of age. He has not played in the NFL since the Colts playoff game in Buffalo on January 9th of 2021. The Colts lost that game to the Bills 27-24. Rivers had a pretty good game throwing for 309 passing yards with two touchdown passes and had one interception. In 2020, his last year in the NFL, during regular season he started 16 games and went 11-5 as the Colts starter that season. He was completing 68% of his passes while throwing 24 touchdown passes to only 11 interceptions. Rivers has the gunslinger mentality & he is not afraid to throw a interception as he had 209 of them over a 17 year career in the NFL. He also threw 421 touchdown passes and tallied up 63,440 passing yards along the way. He was drafted in the first round 4th overall in the 2004 NFL draft. Rivers was an 8x Pro Bowler. He played in 12 post-season games as he had a record of 5-7 in the playoffs and never made it to the Superbowl.
Phillip Rivers has gone toe to toe against the best quarterbacks of his time in Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Brady played until he was 45 years of age. Rivers has played with two 40 or older quarterbacks backs that are still in the league playing in today’s NFL. Joe Flacco, now with the Bengals, started with the Browns earlier this season. He is 2-8 as a starter this season. He has completed 60.2% of his passes while throwing 15 touchdown passes to 10 interceptions and he is 40 years of age. Aaron Rodgers beat the Ravens last week to help put the Steelers in first place by themselves. Rodgers is 42 years of age and he has completed 65.4% of his passes and thrown 20 touchdown passes to 7 interceptions. He is 7-5 as the starter for the Steelers this year. If these two guys can be productive, why can’t Rivers make a successful comeback? The Colts have a solid offensive line. Best running back in the league. He also has some play makers that Daniel Indiana Jones had no problems hitting in stride this season.
The Colts record stands right now at 8-5 and they have lost three straight games. The Texans are 8-5 as well in the NFC South but have won the first meeting of the year two weeks ago. The Jaguars are winning the division and they are currently 9-4. The Colts lost to the Jags last week. The AFC conference is stacked with many teams trying to claim three wild card spots, if they can’t win their division. It’s very hard for three teams in the same division to make the post-season but it has happened. After the Seahawks game this weekend, the Colts play the 49ers and have rematches against both the Texans and Jaguars. Phillip Rivers has stayed in shape as he has coached some high school football which has been a successful program that has turned into a state powerhouse. He has also coached his own son, Gunner Rivers, a highly touted 2027 Quarterback prospect. Gunner has been the quarterback for the Catholic high school in Alabama, St. Michael. Rivers has ten children so he has been busy and not a couch potato since his retirement. His body has healed since his last throw in the NFL. I think in today’s NFL game the league protects the quarterback position so guys can thrive in their 40’s if they have longevity. Not sure I would run Rivers out against the Seahawks defense. I think he could play well versus the 49ers defense. This may be the only chance the Colts have to save their season. It’s not like quarterbacks are growing on trees where teams can just pluck one when they need one. Rivers may be the best chance they got. He knows the Colts offense. I believe he uses a similar style when he coaches as well. It would be a great story if he guides the Colts to the playoffs. Remember Nick Foles did the same thing for the Eagles and helped them win their first ever Superbowl beating the Patriots in that one. I think it will be tough because of all the teams in the thick of things. They would need to win most of all these games and would have to rely on help from other teams. The Colts dug themselves a gigantic hole losing three straight games. You never know with a gunslinger, they could get hot and things could happen.
Something is very wrong with how College football runs their operation. Head coaches can get out of their contracts and take other jobs before their season concludes. It seems in most of the sports, players themselves can opt out, become free agents, and transfer to another institution. How many times are there where players skip bowl games because they do not want get hurt for the upcoming NFL draft? Then conferences taking on way too many teams, more than they can handle. They call one conference the Big Ten because it was named after 10 teams in the Midwest of the heartland. Now you have teams from the East and West coast were added to the Big Ten. They have not changed the name to actually how many teams are presiding in that conference. Too many teams. Too many bowl games which most are watered down. To declare the National Championship every year was a joke with the rankings which still are a joke. The College football playoffs went to four teams & now it has expanded to a 12 team format. When the University of Notre Dame saw their ranking after the weekend concluded, a University that expected to be seated in the 12 team format, they went ballistic. Like a kid in a neighborhood game not liking the results, they took their ball and went home. The Fighting Irish declined any part of any bowl game they would get because of the snub they got in the rankings and not being in the playoffs. Does the Catholic school University have the right to walk away from being in a bowl game? Is this University that kid you knew in that pick up game of whatever sport you were playing? If it did not go his way, he would leave with the ball while throwing a tantrum.
Notre Dame does have a gripe here as they came into the weekend with a ranking of number 11. The Fighting Irish have been ranked ahead of the Miami Hurricanes for weeks in the weekly rankings. The University of Alabama were destroyed in the SEC title game by the University of Georgia. The Crimson Tide finished the season 10-3 with that loss. The Hurricanes beat the Fighting Irish earlier in the year by a score of 27-24. After Notre Dame suffered two straight losses out of the gate, they won ten in a row. Miami finished with the same record as Notre Dame at 10-2. The Hurricanes moved up due to BYU losing as they had the tie breaker head to head beating the Irish earlier this season. BYU finished the season 11-2. Somehow Alabama moved up and are one of the 12 playoff teams while Notre Dame and BYU are two teams ousted at the very end. Now they get the booby prize playing in one of the bowl games that are not any of the big and proud ones. It seems like the Irish were led to believe they would make the College Football playoff format by the ESPN weekly ratings show. Declining a bowl game, the Catholic university is giving a giant F-U to ESPN which televises most of the bowl games.
Notre Dame’s Athletic Director went on the Dan Patrick Show and said: “Like, where’s the logic? Where’s the rationale? Why are we being kind of punished and the only ones that seem to be moving in the wrong direction, and yet winning and having an unbelievably dominant end of season”.
The selection show on ESPN is part of a 7.8 billion deal with the college football post-season. Notre Dame has an independent deal with NBC. The selection committee said that Alabama looked very good versus Auburn at least in the first half of that contest. They mentioned Notre Dame had a strong game in their last contest versus Standford. The Fighting Irish are only mad at the selection committee. Not other schools or the ACC, which they made a deal with the conference to play 5 teams from the conference each season. In College Football, Notre Dame is an independent. The University felt like the ACC was attacking their school for this decision they made. Notre Dame has many other sports that play in the ACC. Notre Dame was not the only university to decline a bowl bid. Iowa State and Kansas State backed out of any bowl game bids because each program is going through a head coaching change. The Big 12 fined each school $500,000 for declining a bowl bid. Every conference wants to see more of their own schools in post-season play or in bowl games in general to feel the power over other conferences.
What happened to the old saying, “When the going gets tough the tough get going?” What kind of message are Notre Dame and other schools sending to the athletes when they back out? When you play football or any sport, it’s always the theory of “next man up” since we started playing when we were kids. Why can’t teams play when their current coach takes another job somewhere else? I think the ESPN selection show is a bunch of BS as well. Notre Dame does have a beef there. Going out to play the bowl game and showcase the talent to rub their faces in it would be a better option than closing down the shop too early. What about some players that may be seniors and will not get a chance to play in a bowl game because you gave up? The line, “Always next year or tomorrow,” is one of the worst in sports.
Why does ESPN have so much power just because of the money and telecasts? Is this the same network that has a chubby for the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox 24/7? Maybe Alabama is their cash cow in College football for ESPN over the Catholic institution. College football has many problems. The playoff system that they have in place is horrific. You may need more divisions along with more playoff formats in college football because there’s too many teams. Too many overpacked conferences. The transfer portal seems worse than any professional sports free agency. Then the coaches getting out of contracts is a joke. In basketball, players treat the college level like a minor league system to the pros. Then in football you have the players that will sit because they seek riches in the NFL. College football is a league with too many moving parts that they can’t control. Too many cooks in the kitchen. It’s that simple. It comes down to money and greed like everything in sports, it seems. Notre Dame will be the butt of many jokes and memes because they quit when they hit a bump in the road. I would be embarrassed if I was a die hard fan of this historic institution. In the end, who you hurt the most is the students and the fans of the Fighting Irish. Trying to get justice would have been playing the bowl game while getting the morons in the selection committee fired. Finding a better solution so this shenanigans does not occur again. Most of the time these guys are not good at what they do when it comes to ranking teams. I feel like I just watched an episode of dodge ball on the playground at ten years of age. They may be better experts on ranking the teams than what we have in place over at the Network.
I started out of the gates really bad with 2 losses on Thanksgiving day last week. Then the Bears upsetting the Eagles gave me 3 losses in the first 4 games. I rebounded with a very nice Sunday only losing 1 match up as the Panthers upset the Rams. My Monday night pick was a pipe dream going Giants over the Patriots.
OVERALL SEASON RECORD:(126-68)
NFL WEEK 14 STRAIGHT PICK-EM
THE THURSDAY NIGHT GAME
DALLAS COWBOYS (6-5-1) AT DETROIT LIONS (7-5)
The Cowboys come into this short week versus the Lions red hot. The Lions may not have their number 1 weapon of offense in wide receiver Amon-Ra St.Brown who left the Thanksgiving match up versus the Packers with an sprained ankle. The Lions have already lost their starting tight end for the remainder of the season in Sam LaPorta. The Cowboys are one of the top offenses in the league. They have also rebuilt their defense at the trade deadline and it has paid off. The Lions have struggled lately losing 2-3 games and barely getting by the Giants which took OT to do so. The Lions play better at home. The Lions defense are not stopping teams. I just can’t see Jared Goff short-handed keeping pace with the Cowboys offense. I think the Cowboys can put up points on that Lions defense to get out of Detroit on a short week with a win especially St.Brown not playing or if he does, not giving 100 percent,
OUR PICK: COWBOYS
THE SUNDAY TILT
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (8-4) AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (8-4)
The Colts will not have have their hot sauce on defense. Sauce Gardner will miss this AFC South showdown which this game means a lot to both teams. The Jaguars are red hot winning three straight games. The Colts have lost two straight games. They have also lost 3 out of the last 4 games and you just feel this Indianapolis team crumbling right now. Daniel Jones is playing with a broken fibula. The Jags offense is clicking at the right time. Their defense has done well most of every game except in the 4th quarter. The Colts have not won in Jacksonville since 2014 which that streak will continue after this game.
OUR PICK: JAGUARS
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (3-9) AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS (4-8)
The Commanders showed me something last week even with the loss giving Denver a battle to the end which took overtime. The Vikings offense was on life support with the other rookie quarterback not named JJ McCarthy. The good news is McCarthy will be back behind center, if that is good news for Viking fans watching the growing pains unfold this season. Can Marcus Mariota find a way to beat this Vikings defense? The Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell wants to dumb down the offense for McCarthy and just let him play and react after being out with a concussion. Dan Quinn has this Commanders defense playing better which has not been the case most of this season. This game to me is a coin flip. I think the QB whisperer O’Connell finally gets through to his rookie QB and we see a Viking offense that will take off and generate just enough points to beat this Commanders team. The Viking defense will make a huge impact in this game as well to secure the win at home.
OUR PICK: VIKINGS
CINCINNATI BENGALS (4-8) AT BUFFALO BILLS (8-4)
Joe Burrow is a thorn in the side to teams at this time of the year. Last year the Bengals made a playoff push and the team got red hot the last few weeks. They did not get the help from other teams to get in the back door of the post-season. Burrow came back last week and beat Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Burrow is 2-0 versus Josh Allen. The Bills came off an impressive win versus the Steelers last week which their defense stood tall. The Bills have taken on multiple injuries as Joey Bosa will miss this game and he came up big last week versus Aaron Rodgers. Burrow will have all his weapons in this one. The Bills have lost to teams with a losing record this season. This game looks all wrong for Buffalo. I do like the Bills running game versus a bad Bengals defense. The Bills at home they play much better there. This will be a game. Bills will prevail and find a way to finally beat Burrow and cool off his fire in December.
OUR PICK: BILLS
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (9-3) AT ATLANTA FALCONS (4-8)
The Seahawks are 5-1 this season on the road. The Falcons have been in games with Kirk Cousins under center since he took over for the injured Michael Penix Jr. The Seahawks won last week versus Minnesota which was not Sam Dranold’s best game. Look for the Falcons to bring everything including the kitchen sink at Darnold like the Vikings did. The Falcons offense has consisted of running the football and short passes which Seattle’s defense should be able to contain. Cousins has not been good at throwing the ball down field. You need a well-balanced offense to beat this Seattle defense. I think Darnold will have better results than he had last week and hit on some deep passes while avoiding the pressure for some big plays which result in another win in an epic three team race in the NFC West.
OUR PICK: SEAHAWKS
TENNESSEE TITANS (1-11) AT CLEVELAND BROWNS (3-9)
Can Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns set the single season sack record versus the Titans? Garrett comes in already with 19 sacks. He needs 3.5 sacks to join Michael Strahan and TJ Watt who have the record of most sacks in one season with 22.5. Cam Ward of the Titans is the most sacked quarterback in the NFL this season. If Garrett gets 4 sacks, he sets the record in front of the Dawg pound. Even if he does not set the record this weekend, he has weeks left to break the record this season. This match up features Cam Ward vs Shedeur Sanders – two rookie quarterbacks. You better get used to this match up because this is the next Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning in the AFC for years to come. Most likely not because one of these guys will be washing cars in a few seasons. The Browns defense is the key in this match up. The Titans will not generate enough points. The Browns offense will squeak by with just enough offense to win their 4th game of the year.
OUR PICK: BROWNS
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (6-6) AT BALTIMORE RAVENS (6-6)
Not sure what neighborhood is Mr. Aaron Rodgers’? Mr. Darkness may have to retreat to his cave. We saw him retreat to the blue tent last week. The Ravens found out Joe Burrow is not rusty in his return from the injury list. Both these AFC North teams are struggling even though this game is a first place battle between the two teams. They will meet twice before the end of the season. The Steelers can’t stop the run. Derrick Henry should have a big game. Rodgers is broken in multiple pieces. He has tainted the Steelers with his presence this season. The natives in Pittsburgh are chanting for the firing of their head coach, Mike Tomlin. Tomlin might get his first losing season with Rodgers as his QB. He has held on to the Steelers head coaching job like the Pope, which seems forever. I think this is going to get uglier for the Steelers. Even the original Mr. Rodgers of the neighborhood changed his last name to Robinson because of Aaron.
The Ravens will come after whoever is the QB for the Steelers. Lamar Jackson will rebound and have a better game. It’s the running of the Ravens that will get Baltimore to first place by themselves.
OUR PICK: RAVENS
MIAMI DOLPHINS (5-7) AT NEW YORK JETS (3-9)
The Miami Dolphins in cold weather are priceless. Miami head to New Jersey to play the Jets winning three in a row, their first winning streak of the season. Meanwhile the Jets are coming off a victory last week when they stunned the Falcons. The Jets have won 3 out their last 5 games. The Jets offense is starting to generate points. The Dolphins defense has gotten better. The Dolphins have been running the ball well which will be needed in colder temperatures. The Jets defense has also been playing better.The Jets defense are last in the league at finding ways to get turnovers. The Dolphins are a perfect team to change that stat around. The Dolphins have lost 7 straight games including the playoffs in temperatures 45 degrees or lower. The Jets will enjoy their meal of fish sticks after this game.
OUR PICK: JETS
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (2-10) AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (7-5)
If you are in Northern Ireland in County Down, stop by Laverty’s pub. They are watching American football and giving out free pints. New Orleans Saints fans are all over the world, believe it or not. I can’t say that is a fact but they do have a kicker that hails from Northern Ireland. Charlie Smyth made his NFL debut last week and boomed a 56 yard field goal versus the Dolphins. At least somebody is watching Saints football. The Saints will travel once again to Florida to take on the Buccaneers this time. Baker Mayfield, who was questionable to play last week, showed grit ending a Buccaneers losing streak to stop the bleeding. That win kept them in front of the Panthers who upset the Rams last week. The Saints, you don’t know what to expect. They have played teams very hard even though they lack the talent to win the games. They have another wide receiver emerging with Devaughn Vele who is not Irish. He had 8 catches last week versus the Dolphins and a touchdown. I like to see Smyth beat the Buccaneers with a walk off 60 yard field goal which would send Laverty’s on a beer run because they would drink it all in the celebration. The Buccaneers defense should put a damper on things with the Saints offense. Could be multiple kicks by Charlie. The Buccaneers will be able to control the clock in this one with their running game. Mayfield and company will not overlook this game with a match up next week versus the Panthers.
OUR PICK: BUCCANEERS
DENVER BRONCOS (10-2) AT LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (2-10)
Geno Smith is heading straight down JaMarcus Russell avenue dressed in the Raiders silver and black. Smith is on pace for the lowest QB Rating of all-time held by the first round bust, Russell. The Raiders are allowing the second most sacks in the NFL. That is not great news for the Raiders this week hosting the Broncos front 7 that like to kill the quarterback. The Broncos have Pat Surtain II back in the secondary which he will shut down the Raiders only true offensive weapon in tight end Brock Bowers like he has done before. Smith’s bookends of his career, back with the Jets and now with the Raiders he has been awful. Smith and Pete Carroll seem to have pissed off the devil at some point because this combination of QB along with head coach has gone so bad. I don’t trust anything the Raiders have. Broncos will roll to their 10th straight victory while giving the Raiders their 7th straight loss.
OUR PICK: BRONCOS
LA RAMS (9-3) AT ARIZONA CARDINALS (3-9)
How will the Rams respond after losing to the Panthers last weekend? The Cardinals have lost 4 straight games and are 1-5 at home this season. Matthew Stafford did not have MVP numbers last week like he had all season. Jacoby Brissett has started 7 games already for Arizona and is 1-6 as the starter. The Cardinals have been in most of those games with chances to win late. Brissett is completing 67.5% of his passes and has thrown 13 touchdown passes to 4 interceptions. This is a division game, so the Cardinals will give the Rams a good game like they do with all their opponents. Good is not enough obviously. I like the Rams defensive to make a stand. Stafford will not have to do everything as the running game will help get him and the offense back on track. Rams get their 10th win.
OUR PICK: RAMS
CHICAGO BEARS (9-3) AT GREEN BAY PACKERS (8-3-1)
I think someone had to pinch me seeing the Bears beating the Eagles last week for the Black Friday game. The Packers have won three straight games. The Bears are one of the hottest teams in the NFC & have won 5 straight games. With the Rams losing their game last week, the Bears are the number 1 seed in the NFC. I must be dreaming. I should also be ready for the collapse because it’s the Chicago way in this town’s sporting landscape. This will be the first meeting of the year between the Packers and Bears with another coming in 2 weeks. This game has division implications and also the conference seeding for the post-season. Jordan Love is 3-1 versus the Bears as he thrown 6 touchdowns to 1 interception in his career vs Chicago. Caleb Williams slayed the Packers in the last game of the season last year. He is 1-1 all-time versus the Packers. History has not been on the Bears’ side in decades. You have to go back to the 80’s when the Bears kicked around the Packers in that decade. Ben Johnson is the X-factor. Can Johnson’s plan be executed to perfection by the Bears? I think the Bears can run on the Packers defense as Green Bay has some injuries up front on that D-line. I have bet against the Bears for weeks and they continue to throw it back in my face. I hope they do. History is not on the Bears side as Green Bay always knocks Chicago down a few pegs if we are feeling good about ourselves.
OUR PICK: PACKERS
THE SUNDAY NIGHT GAME
HOUSTON TEXANS (7-5) AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (6-6)
Will the Texans put the final nail in the Chiefs coffin? This is a huge game for both teams. The Chiefs need to win this one for survival. They will not win the AFC West with the Broncos light years ahead. The Chargers are in front of them. Plenty of other teams like the Texans are ahead of them for a wild card spot. The Texans are chasing two teams in their division as well – the Colts and Jaguars. Those two teams are playing each other this weekend. If the Texans lose, it will be hard to get back up. The Texans have won 4 straight games. The Chiefs are 5-1 at home this season. The Texans defense has played lights out the last several games and they may be the best unit in the league. Patrick Mahomes will be a caged animal and will do anything to break free. Watch him do one of his best Houdini acts of his career and have a monster game to keep the Chiefs alive for at least one more week. Houston playing in the cold weather will favor the Chiefs defense. That final nail will come at some point for Mahomes and the meathead, Travis Swift.
OUR PICK: CHIEFS
THE MONDAY NIGHT GAME
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (8-4) AT LA CHARGERS (8-4)
The Eagles were gashed by the Bears running game on Black Friday. The Chargers had an easy win over the Raiders, but Justin Herbert injured his non throwing hand. Will that injury come back to haunt the Chargers? The Eagles have now lost two straight games and suddenly the defense, which did very well versus the NFC North teams, has vanished. The Chargers last week rebounded coming off their bye week, but the Jaguars loss to me is still lingering in the rear view mirror before the week off. The Raiders are a cream puff. I can’t see the Eagles losing three straight games here. Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley are due for an explosive game. The hurt hand on Herbert sways me into a verse of “Welcome to the Hotel California,” performed by the Eagles.
Many people from around the Chicagoland area will tell you Pat Fitzgerald got a raw deal being fired from the University of Northwestern in 2022 . Fitzgerald was the face of the Northwestern University football program for decades as a player, assistant coach, & then taking over as the head coach. He was a local guy who grew up on the southside of Chicago. It was not the record at the end that would get the coach fired. He was suspended & then fired because graphic incidents of hazing with his players emerged on his watch. Fitzgerald claimed he did not know anything about it. The investigation by the University says it was a well known thing. In August of 2025, Northwestern University settled a lawsuit with their former head coach which ended that chapter. Now Fitzgerald will return to the Big Ten with a different school and program. Michigan State has signed Fitzgerald to a 5 year deal worth 30 million for him to be their next head coach. Fitzgerald, a local kid from the Chicagoland area, played linebacker for the Wildcats for 4 seasons and suddenly Northwestern had a solid football program in the Big Ten conference.
Pat Fitzgerald as a player put life into a dead football program that was in the grave for decades rotting. He played linebacker for the Wild Cats from 1993-96. In 1995 the Northwestern Wildcats had a 10-1 record and were awarded with a trip to the Rose Bowl. It was only the university’s second bowl appearance and first since 1949. That’s how bad Northwestern was, which was known for their academic accomplishes more than their sports programs. During the same year the Wildcats beat Notre Dame in South Bend who were ranked number 9 at the time, as Fitzgerald had 11 tackles in that game. It was the first time Northwestern had beat the Irish since 1962. The Wildcats also beat Michigan that year 19-13 and they were ranked number 7. Fitzgerald was a wild man in that game with 14 tackles, two of them were loss of yards on the plays. It was the first time the Wildcats beat Michigan since 1959. Fitzgerald averaged 13 tackles a game in 1995. The awards he achieved on the college gridiron would lead you to think he would have been at least drafted by an NFL team. He was 2x winner of the Bronco Nagurski award along with being a 2x winner of the Chuck Bednarik award. He won the Jack Lambert award in 1996. He was 2x All-American along with being a 2x Big Ten defensive player of the year. In 1997 he earned the Big Ten medal of honor. In 2003 he was inducted in the Northwestern Hall of Fame. In 2008 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. After college he did sign with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent. He was given his walking papers after two preseason games and then went into coaching. He worked with a few other college programs. Then in 2001 he resurfaced on the Northwestern campus as a defensive backs coach.
Pat Fitzgerald continued to climb the ranks of the coaching world with Northwestern. It was the sudden death of Randy Walker who was the head coach of the Wildcats that gave Fitzgerald his first chance at being a head coach at the college level. From 2006 until 2022, it was all Pat Fitzgerald running the Northwestern football program. He played at Northwestern. He worked as an assistant coach for 5 seasons & then had a long run as head coach at Northwestern where which he set new records for the long history of the school. His record overall was 110-101. His 110 wins, and 64 wins in the Big Ten conference, are school records. He was the first ever coach at Northwestern to take his team to back-to-back bowl games. He had 5 straight seasons from 2008-12 where his team reached a bowl game. Then he had his team getting to 4 straight bowl games from 2015-18. He took the Wildcats to ten bowl games and won 5 of them. He won two coach of the year awards. Most recently was 2020 when he had his team at 7-2 and in the Big Ten Championship. They would go on to play in the Citrus Bowl and win it versus Auburn University. After that he did not do too well. His teams only won 4 games in his last two seasons going 3-9 in 2021 then 1-11 in 2022. From 2019-22, his record as a head coach was 14-31. Perhaps Northwestern should have fired him for his record rather than the alleged hazing incidents.
For Michigan State University, they continue down the same path hiring guys that have created drama or scandals for the program and school. In 2023, the University fired Mel Tucker who was the Spartans head coach at the time for sexual misconduct allegations. Tucker sexually harassed an anti-rape activist who was a vendor the school hired as a speaker to speak to the team. What a fucker, the Tucker was trying to get laid from a anti-rapist who probably would not like strong come-ons the coach may have been throwing at her. Who knows what else he was doing. Then recently the university fired Jonathan Smith, a guy who inherited NCAA violations from that other guy we named. He was fired for his team performance on the field which did not even last two full seasons. Some will say how the hell did Pat Fitzgerald get fired? All the details were published about the hazing incidents by two former players that played for Northwestern in the school newspaper. The school’s investigation came up empty about Fitzgerald knowing anything. The Penn State situation years and years ago was worse with allegations against their famous head coach, Joe Paterno. He was part of the cover up of his assistant coach Jerry Sandusky when he sexually assaulted children. Paterno denied accusations that he knew about it. The FBI investigation back then concluded Paterno and others failed to protect the children. Penn State University settled law suits from the Paterno family back in 2020. Fitzgerald sued the school in a wrongful termination lawsuit. In August of 2025, Northwestern University settled that lawsuit with their former head coach.
Pat Fitzgerald may have known about the hazing going on in his program. How much do you think he knew? If he did not know about this man, did get fired for the wrong reasons? The hazing incidents are probably disturbing especially in the world we live in today. Times have changed. The old ways are being abolished. This has been going on since mankind started as we have evolved and we certainly think we are getting better. Many people that don’t want to see Fitzgerald get a second chance in life probably have beliefs about whether criminals deserve a second chance in society. Why we let murderers out to kill again is just absurd. This is about universities and higher learning. They should know better is their rational. Fitzgerald as a player probably went through some type of hazing. He may have not batted an eye because he went through it and life went on, he survived. Did the hazing change? It most certainly could have. Not really clear evidence like a smoking gun to prove he knew. This is hearsay nonsense. Why would the University have settled with Fitzgerald on the lawsuit? It tells me that there is a smoking gun and they made a mistake. I’m sure the university is tired and wants this to conclude. About 8 colleges contacted Fitzgerald about a job offer. Why wouldn’t you kick the tires on Fitz being he is a solid coach? Ending the lawsuit puts Fitzgerald back in play. Will any future evidence come forward on this hazing incident? This is the roll of the dice for Michigan State. New stuff pops out of the woodwork all the time. From my perspective, I don’t know Fitzgerald personally even though he is from the same stomping grounds where I hale from. I always thought he was a good guy with great character. I would not want my daughter or son to have their life ruined from something like hazing. Most everyone in this world is popping some kind of medication for some emotional distress. It is real. No evidence is the big sticking point here. When these things happen why should only the football head coach be fired? All the higher ups in the food chain of the university should be canned because it happened on all their watch. How do we know all those higher ups did not know what was going on? One thing I could tell you a fact about. No hazing will happen at Michigan State as you know Fitzgerald will be all about preventing that from happening to him again. Overall for right now this is a great hire by the Spartans. I know Fitzgerald will get this program better.
I did feel like Charlie Brown with my picks from last week.
LAST WEEK’S RECORD: (9-5)
SEASON RECORD: (115-63)
NFL WEEK 13 STRAIGHT PICK-EM
THE THURSDAY THANKSGIVING DAY GAMES
GREEN BAY PACKERS (7-3-1) AT DETROIT LIONS (7-4)
When division games are played on Thanksgiving, they normally turn out well. Even with winning records, both the Lions and Packers are looking up at the Bears leading the NFC North. That can’t be right. This is is a big game for both teams. Both these teams struggled to get by the Giants. Both teams score under ten points versus the Eagles in recent weeks. The Packers defense was impressive vs the Vikings. JJ McCarthy for the Vikings has struggled though throwing more interceptions than touchdown passes. The Lions offense lost one of their key weapons in tight end Sam LaPorta. The Lions offense can still hum with the best of them. I give the Packers a slight edge on the defensive side of the ball over the Lions. The Packers on opening day this season held the Lions offense to 13 points. The Packers have not been humming quite as they like to on offense. Can Jordan Love take advantage of a questionable Lions secondary? The Lions have the better running game over the two teams. I like how the Lions play at home. They also always play better on Thanksgiving Day. This game is too close to call. It is hard to sweep teams in the same division. I like the Lions winning this one in the last minute of the game in a battle the entire way. It sets the tone of some great football games in week 13.
OUR PICK: LIONS
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (6-5) AT DALLAS COWBOYS (5-5-1)
The Chiefs saved their season in a win versus the visiting Colts last week. The Cowboys are in the same boat as the Chiefs and they had a big win versus their arch rival, the Eagles, last week. The Cowboys have won two straight games since their bye week and are creeping up in the NFC conference. Both teams probably have no chance to win their own division. The Chiefs and Cowboys are fighting to land a wild card spot. In big games, Patrick Mahomes has gotten the job done for the Chiefs in the past over the Cowboys QB, Dak Prescott. The Cowboys on paper have the better offense. The Chiefs have the better defense. The Cowboys defense is better with the additions they added at the trade deadline. Overall, it’s a better unit and not the laughingstock of the league like it was. The Chiefs sit at 1-4 on the road this season. The Cowboys are better at home where they are 3-1. The Chiefs are favored to win this one. The Cowboys have the extra emotion playing for their fallen teammate, Marshawn Kneeland, who committed suicide over the team’s bye week. I like the Cowboys rushing attack over the Chiefs. The Chiefs will have a hard time running the ball versus the Cowboys’ front seven. The Chiefs are without their starting guard, Trey Smith, & that will eventually hurt Mahomes. The Cowboys’ new addition, former Jets defensive lineman, is trouble with a capital T for the Chiefs to handle. He will be the X-factor to help his team win their 3rd straight and sets the Chiefs back once again this season.
OUR PICK: COWBOYS
CINCINNATI BENGALS (3-8) AT BALTIMORE RAVENS (6-5)
HE’S BACK!!! Joe Burrow is back from his injury from earlier this season, and he will start the game for the Bengals. Can Burrow save the Bengals season? The Ravens have saved their own season winning 5 straight games after starting 1-5 out of the gates. The Ravens find themselves on top of the AFC North which is familiar territory for Lamar Jackson and company. With six games left for the Bengals, they pretty much need to win them all and hope other teams help them during that span to make it into the playoffs. The Bengals will have their star wide receiver returning, J’aMarr Chase, after getting suspended by the league 1 game for spitting on Steelers defensive back Patrick Ramsey. Burrow may be rusty. With those receivers he has, the Bengals will still score some points. Can Burrow win a shoot out in his first game from the injury? We have been waiting for the Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson since he has been back from his injury to have that big offensive game which he has not had. Jackson going against the Bengals defense means he could have a big night. The Ravens can lean heavily on their running game as well with Derrick Henry in the back field to kill the clock and keep Burrow on the sideline. It’s a division game. It will be close most of the way. The Ravens pull away late in this one to win their sixth straight while the Bengals lose their 5th straight.
OUR PICK: RAVENS
THE BLACK FRIDAY GAME
CHICAGO BEARS (8-3) AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (8-3)
Shop until you drop or watch football on Friday afternoon the day after Thanksgiving. Which do you choose? The NFL has me sold watching football on BLACK FRIDAY!!! Can you place the Bears in the same conversation as the Eagles as two of the top teams of the NFC Conference? The Bears keep winning. The Eagles were snake bitten by the rebrand of those Cowboys last Sunday. The Eagles are defending champs and they have brought NFC North offenses to a screaming halt holding the Packers to just 7 points. Then the Lions to only 9 points. The Bears have the luxury of playing an easy schedule because they were horrific last year. The Bears did beat the Steelers last week. It was a Steelers team minus Aaron Rodgers who owns the Bears when he played for Green Bay. The Bears have beaten teams like the Saints, Raiders, Commanders, Giants, & Bengals without Joe Burrow, Vikings, and the Cowboys. That was when their defense was giving up way more than a whorehouse giving out free mints. The Bears losses have come from Ravens, Lions, and Vikings in week 1. You have to believe the Eagles will rebound from the division loss. They are playing this game in Philly. I don’t see any last minute heroics from Caleb Williams with that Eagles defense. The Bears defense is banged up & the Eagles should be able to run the ball well. Jalen Hurts should have no problem moving the offense with their aerial attack. The Bears need the Eagles to get in a bus crash on the way to the stadium to win this game.
OUR PICK: EAGLES
THE SUNDAY TILT
ATLANTA FALCONS (4-7) AT NEW YORK JETS (2-9)
The Falcons broke a long losing streak with their back up QB Kirk Cousins, who got it done in New Orleans last week. The Jets will have their back up QB facing Captain Kirk as they trot out Tyrod Taylor once again for his second start in two weeks.
The Jets former interim head coach will making his first appearance facing his old team. The X-factor Jeff Ulbrich is now the Falcons defensive coach. Ulbrich was the Jets defensive coordinator until he got promoted last year. The year of DARKNESS RETREAT with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. Ulbrich has his current Falcons defensive unit number 3 in the league in sacks. The Jets, despite some changes on their current defense, have played well against the run which is the Falcons’ bread and butter. Jets have won each game when they face their opponents back up QB as Cousins will be the third. Falcons are playing outside. Atlanta has not won two games in a row. I like how the Jets have been playing as they have been battling. They could have mentally cashed out weeks ago. I like an upset here.
OUR PICK: JETS
HOUSTON TEXANS (5-4) AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (8-3)
Will Anderson Jr. is BEAST MAN from He-Man Masters of the Universe. He was all over Josh Allen last week as the Texans defense is for real as they had 8 sacks. The Colts have a kink in their armor. Indianapolis Jones, AKA Daniel, played his worst game as the starting QB in Indianapolis versus the Chiefs. Anderson Jr. former Texan & Mario Williams with six straight games with a sack. The Texans have won three straight and are back in the playoff picture. They have this winning streak because of Davis Mills, the back up QB who started all three games. The Colts still have the best running back in the game with Jonathan Taylor. The Texans will have their starting QB CJ Stroud back behind center. This is the first match up of the season between these division rivals. The Colts are 6-0 at home this season. I think Jones will be a sitting duck behind center playing with a fracture in one of his legs. I think Texans will get a spark from Stroud. The Texans defense will contain Taylor’s efforts, win the first one, and make things really interesting in the AFC South.
OUR PICK: TEXANS
ARIZONA CARDINALS (3-8) AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (6-5)
Will Baker Mayfield suit up for the Buccaneers? The Buccaneers back up is veteran Teddy Bridgewater as Mayfield has a shoulder injury. The visiting Cardinals have their back up QB behind center for several weeks with Jacoby Brissett. The Cardinals are not winning games, but they are playing in many close games. They have lost three straight. The Buccaneers have also lost three straight as injuries have hurt Tampa Bay at their playmaker positions. The Cardinals will not make it to post-season as they are playing spoiler. The Buccaneers are lucky teams in the division like Panthers and Falcons have not strung victories together during this losing streak. This will be a close game. Mayfield will play, gut this one out, and help his team break this current losing streak. He’ll find the win column and keep the Buccaneers ahead in the NFC South.
OUR PICK: BUCCANEERS
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (2-9) AT MIAMI DOLPHINS (4-7)
After the Saints rookie quarterback, Tyler Shough, won his first ever start, New Orleans regressed against a bad Falcons team. Meanwhile Miami was on their bye week and they have won two straight. The Dolphins have played better at home where they have a 3-3 record. Last week the Saints running back, Alvin Kamara, twisted his ankle and had to leave the game. They may not have Kamara’s services this week. Which leaves a rookie running back or the Saints’ Swiss Army knife.
Taysom Hill, AKA the Mormon Hill, can play tight end, wide receiver, quarterback, and running back. He has a career of 34 rushing touchdowns, but if the Saints have him carry the full load, they may be in trouble as he averaged only 2.2 yards per carry this season. The Dolphins defense is not very good but during this win streak they have played better all of a sudden. The Dolphins running back, De’von Achane, has been hot carrying the rock as he seeks his 3rd straight game with 100 or more rushing yards. The Saints on offense have problems scoring points. The Dolphins offense will get at least 20 or more points which will be enough to get another W in the win column.
OUR PICK: DOLPHINS
LA RAMS (8-2) AT CAROLINA PANTHERS (6-5)
The Carolina Panthers are the box of chocolate from which no one in the world knows what to expect.
The Panthers defense last week picked off Brock Purdy three times. However Bryce Young threw two interceptions versus the 49ers D. The Panthers can win a shoot out with Atlanta and shit the bed versus the Saints. Panthers are 3-2 at home and are still in the conversation for now about the post-season. Now you face a better team in the Rams than the 49ers, like you did on Monday night. Young is too erratic for my taste. The Rams offense is rolling. Matthew Stafford is the best QB right now in the league. The Panthers have a good defense, but those wide receivers are too much for them to handle. The Rams defense can stop the Panthers offense. How does a Panthers offense keep up with the best team in the NFC right now in scoring? That is the biggest question. I think you know the answer.
OUR PICK: RAMS
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (8-3) AT CLEVELAND BROWNS (3-8)
Now all of sudden Shedeur Sanders is the best thing since sliced bread because of his first start. Yes, he is the first Cleveland rookie QB to win his first start since the 1990’s. This breaking a string of 17 games. Why did the Raiders fire their offensive coordinator after this game? Chip Banks running that Raiders offense has done a very bad job. Sanders completed 11-20 throws which is good for 55% for 209 passing yards. He did throw a touchdown pass but also threw a pick. I’m not buying what he is selling, or the Browns organization, or his following. The 49ers team is a different animal. History is not on the 49ers side. The 49ers last time they won in Cleveland you have to go back to 1984. The Browns defense has kept them in most games this season. Jim Schwartz, the D-Coordinator in for the Browns in 3 games versus Kyle Shanahan’s offense, has held the 49ers to 15.7 points per game. Brock Purdy will have to do better than he did on Monday night versus the Panthers throwing three picks. I believe Purdy will rebound and have a flawless game. Christian McCaffrey will help doing the heavy lifting running the ball and taking short passes for scores. If I was a betting man, I bet Sanders will have a bad day at the office versus the 49ers defense that can get turnovers. That unit will be licking their chops ready to go beast mode on the rookie.
OUR PICK: 49ERS
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (7-4) AT TENNESSEE TITANS (1-10)
The Jaguars are chasing the Colts in the NFC South while the Texans suddenly caught fire and are chasing both Jacksonville and Indianapolis. Could the Jaguars look past the Titans due to facing the Colts next week? Cam Ward has upped his game as the QB rating is creeping up. Ward has had back to back games where he engineered two scoring drives to pull within one score of their opponents in the 4th quarter. The Jags are one of the teams that give up the most points in the 4th quarter. The stat that favors the Jaguars defense is they have tallied up 9 sacks in the last two games. Ward is the most sacked quarterback in the NFL. The Jaguars has a hot back in their back field in Travis Etienne Jr. the last few games. The Titans defense has their share of problems with running backs this season getting chunks of yardage. The Jaguars defense will get the pressure on Ward and that offensive and create a few turnovers to put away the Titans in this one. The Titans are playing better. I think Jacksonville will not give this game away.
OUR PICK: JAGUARS
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (4-7) AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (7-3)
Oh if only the Vikings had a quarterback this season. The Vikings defense has played solid most of the year. Former Viking QB Sam Darnold will face his old team from last year where he stayed there one season and led Minnesota to the post-season. The Viking starting QB JJ McCarthy is out with a concussion in this game. He has thrown more interceptions than touchdown passes this season, his rookie season. Vikings veteran QB Carson Wentz is out with a shoulder injury. Now the Vikings are relying on an undrafted rookie in Max Brosmer, who played in the Big Ten last year with the Gophers at the University of Minnesota. I would love the underdog story of the undrafted QB playing football at the local University & then playing with the pro team and winning games. This is a tall task to ask for any kid trying to win in Seattle and starting his first ever game. The Seahawks have a great defense. Darnold has done well leading the offense this season and rebounded last week from his worst game two weeks ago versus the Rams. The Vikings have averaged 16.8 points per game in the last six games where they have lost 5 of them. I just don’t see Max coming out blazing in his first start in the NFL in a stadium that gets loud.
OUR PICK: SEAHAWKS
BUFFALO BILLS (7-4) AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS (6-5)
The Steelers will have Aaron Rodgers back this week versus the Bills. Rodgers sat out last week versus the Bears with a fractured wrist on his non-throwing hand. The Bills will be without their two stud offensive linemen in Spencer Brown and Dion Dawkins. Josh Allen was sacked 8 times in the Bills loss to the Texans a week before Thanksgiving. The Steelers will rely heavily on the run as the Bills have had problems stopping it this season. The Steelers defense has done very well at creating turnovers. The Bills have been making plenty of mistakes as Josh Allen has thrown 5 interceptions in last three games. The Bills are having some fumble issues as well. The thing the Bills could do is run the ball with James Cook who is one of the best running back in the NFL this season. He is averaging 5.4 yards per carry and has 8 touchdowns. The Steelers have 5 games they have allowed 30 points or more. The Bills do better at home than on the road. Some of the road losses the Bills offense have scored under 20 points. After some big losses this season, the Bills have came back and have won the next game. I think the mentality of the next man up will play big for the Bills. I think this team will come together and find a way to beat the Steelers on the road and get back on track.
OUR PICK: BILLS
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (2-8) AT LA CHARGERS (7-4)
The Raiders fired their offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. I think it’s time for the entire Raiders offense to walk the plank, especially their quarterback Geno Smith. The Chargers were embarrassed last time out as the Jaguars tortured LA for 35 points and left Justin Herbert eating the Florida turf. The Chargers coming off their bye week probably welcome the Raiders with open arms. The Raiders have lost 5 straight games. The Chargers are 3-0 versus the Raiders since he has taken over as head coach for LA. I think the Chargers addressed their offensive line issues in the bye week. They will have a better plan to protect Herbert. The Chargers defense will play better because their last time out there was not pretty. Before the Jaguars, the Chargers defense was playing well. The Raiders should start their back up Kenny Pickett. Smith will get the nod while the Chargers get back in the win column.
OUR PICK: CHARGERS
THE SUNDAY NIGHT GAME
DENVER BRONCOS (9-2) AT WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (3-8)
Both the Broncos and Commanders are coming off their bye week. The Commanders last time we saw them in Europe were losing a close game to the Dolphins. The Broncos have won 8 straight games. The Commanders have lost 6 straight games. The Commanders will have Scary Terry McLaurin back from an injury.
However, the Commanders will not have their starting quarterback as Jayden Daniels will miss another game. His replacement veteran Marcus Mariota is 1-4 behind center this season as the starter. The Broncos are the best defense in the NFL. The Commanders have one of the worst even though their head coach Dan Quinn is calling the plays on defense. Their defense did better versus the Dolphins. The Broncos should have no problems dismantling the Commanders offense. Look for Bo Nix and the Broncos offense to have better overall performance on the scoreboard in this one. The Broncos streak stays alive and well.
OUR PICK: BRONCOS
THE MONDAY NIGHT GAME
NEW YORK GIANTS (2-10) AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (10-2)
The Giants lost another game giving up the lead late. The NFC North teams have had their way with New York as the Lions won last week in over time. The Packers came back to beat the Giants the week before. Then The Bears did it. Meanwhile the Patriots have struck lightning in a bottle and now have won 9 straight games. The Giants have lost six straight games. The Patriots will have a bye next week and could be winners of ten straight. The Giants fired their defensive coordinator as the coaching staff continue to be shaken up. They fired Shane Bowen and now Charlie Bullen will call the defense. The way this week has played out, I see the Patriots stumbling here.
The Patriots have some injuries at the offensive line. I can see Drake Maye ending up on Dexter’s table. Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns of the Giants defensive line will have a huge impact in this game and give Maye his worst game of the season. Burns already has 13 sacks this season. A new voice calling the plays. Plus, the Giants are getting their rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart back from his concussion he suffered during the Bears game. Dart is a duel threat and will not turn over the football like the others -Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson. I see the Patriots looking at their bye week and overlooking the G-Men who have been losing to many close games. Now they figure it out.
In honor of Shedeur Sanders making his first ever start in the NFL, we honor him with one of the biggest busts in the NFL. The Boz,. Brian Bosworth, was supposed to be the next Dick Butkus at linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks. The hype from Deion Sanders’ kid will be under the microscope in his first start versus the Raiders. Sanders’ son, who bombed at certain team’s interviews before the draft, I see will get a rude awakening in his first start in the NFL. This is why he was not picked in the first round of the NFL draft.
LAST WEEK’S RECORD: (10-5)
SEASON RECORD: (106-58)
THE THURSDAY NIGHT GAME
BUFFALO BILLS (7-3) AT HOUSTON TEXANS (5-5)
The Bills rebounded from the bad Dolphins loss at home giving the Buccaneers a beat down putting up 44 points. Meanwhile the Texans have won 2-0 with their back up QB behind center in Davis Mills. The Texans just survived beating a bad Titans team & needing a walk up field goal to win that one. The week before that they shocked the Jaguars with a come-from-behind win in the 4th quarter. The Texans will need more than 16 points to beat this Bills team. Mills will get the start once again for CJ Stroud who has been out with a concussion. What do we expect from the Bills? Will they play down to the competition? Houston has a solid defense and beat the Bills last season. The Bills still have losses to the Dolphins & Falcons this year. Allen was Superman last week having the monster game versus the Buccaneers. The Bills have some injuries on both sides of the ball. Anything can happen in these Thursday games on short weeks. I like the Bills getting out of Houston with a win.
OUR PICK: BILLS
NEW YORK JETS (2-8) AT BALTIMORE RAVENS (5-5)
The Jets will bench Justin Fields in this game in favor of veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor. The Ravens have won 4 straight games and are looking to have a winning record for the first time this season. I think we’ve seen the last of Fields being a regular starting quarterback in this league. Taylor, like Fields, had his chances as a starter in the NFL. Now he’s just a permanent back up with a career record of 28-29-1 when he is the starter. Can the Jets win this game? The Jets defense has tallied 8 sacks in the last two games. The Ravens offensive line recently has been shaky as Lamar Jackson is getting sacked 3.2 times per game which is a career high for the Baltimore QB. Can the Jets bring everything including the kitchen sink on Jackson? The Ravens defense has gotten better with guys coming back from injuries. The Jets will run the ball. Taylor’s dink and dunk short passing game is not going to beat this Ravens team. The Jets have two quarterbacks that are the same . They can’t throw the ball down the field consistently. Jackson’s hamstring is getting better. The Ravens will get their 27 to 28 points they’ve been getting and hold the Jets into the teens to win this game and perhaps find themselves in first place in the AFC North when week 12 concludes.
OUR PICK: RAVENS
CLEVELAND BROWNS (2-8) AT LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (2-7)
The Cleveland Browns will give Deion Sanders’ kid Shedeur his first start ever in the NFL at quarterback. The Browns defense has to be licking their chops playing the Raiders offense where Geno Smith has thrown more interceptions than touchdown passes. However Mad Max Crosby may have an epic Sunday versus the Browns offense with rookie Shedeur Sanders getting the start behind center. This game has two solid defenses. This game also features two junior varsity offenses. Sanders saw some action last week filling in for the other Browns rookie quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, who was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Sanders was supposed to have been selected in the first round. He dropped to the 5th round. He looked bad last week versus the Ravens. He completed 4 passes out of 16 attempts for 47 yards. He threw 1 interception and also fumbled the ball. Crosby could show the entire football world that Deion’s son is a fraud at the quarterback position. This could get ugly very quickly. The Browns do have a veteran quarterback in Bailey Zappe waiting in the wings as the back up. Zappe would give the Browns their best chances to win this game. The last time a Browns rookie quarterback won in his debut, you have to go back to 1995 in Eric Zeier.
It has been 17 consecutive losses for the Browns rookie quarterbacks making their debut ever since. I’m not sold on Sanders. I think Pete Carroll, as bad as the Raiders have been, finds a plan to beat the Browns and the turd they are trotting out on the field.
OUR PICK: RAIDERS
NEW YORK GIANTS (2-9) AT DETROIT LIONS (6-4)
The New York Giants have had NFC North opponents on the ropes in two consecutive games. They are unable to FINISH THEM!!! The Giants let the Bears and Packers come from behind late in the game to beat them. The Lions offense went dormant versus the Eagles last weekend. More bad news is the Lions lost their tight end Sam LaPorta who underwent back surgery. He has been placed on injured reserve and most likely is done for the year. The Crab Man, Jameis Winston, is getting the start for the G-Men in this one while rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart is still in concussion protocol. Winston, king of the pick-six, threw an interception last week versus the Packers with under a minute left as the Giants were driving & trying to tie that game up. The Lions still have plenty of play makers to get that offense back on track. The Lions are at home. Winston will make mistakes as the Giants have shown they can’t finish their opponents.
OUR PICK: LIONS
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (6-4) AT CHICAGO BEARS (7-3)
This will be the first game of Aaron Rodgers’ career where he faces the team he owns in another uniform. Rodgers all-time is 25-5 versus the Bears which includes a playoff game when he even said, “I own you.” Can the Bears serve up a cold dish of revenge versus the former Cheesehead? Is Rodgers going to play? That is the million dollar question. Rodgers suffered a fractured wrist on his non-throwing hand in last week’s win over the Bengals. Rodgers did not play in the second half. Meanwhile the Bears have won three straight games. The last loss coming from an AFC North opponent, the Ravens. If Rodgers can’t go, they have a capable back up QB in Mason Rudolf who is 9-8-1 as a starter in his career. Rodgers is a game time decision. I feel like he will play, so he can slay the Bears once again. The Bears defense will have problems with multiple line backers ruled out in this one. The Steelers defense is very good at getting to the quarterback and creating turnovers. I feel the Bears have been lucky during this three game winning streak. I think Rodgers or Rudolf will generate the points off this wounded Bears defense to go on the road and get the victory to stay ahead of those Ravens who are in the rear view mirror of Pittsburgh.
OUR PICK: STEELERS
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (9-2) AT CINCINNATI BENGALS (2-7)
It was one magic loogie from wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase that has him suspended in this game versus the visiting Patriots.
Last week Chase and Steelers trash-talker Patrick Ramsey had more than words in an altercation. Chase spit on the Steelers defender and Ramsey pushed the Bengals receiver after the magic loogie came out of his mouth. The Patriots don’t have to defend the Bengals’ best playmaker in this one. The Patriots have won 8 straight as Drake Maye is on fire. The Bengals have allowed 27 or more points in 9 consecutive games. This is a horrific defense the Bengals have and the Patriots offense should easily have their way. The Patriots can concentrate on the other Bengals playmaker, Tee Higgins. The Patriots defense is solid so taking Higgins out leaves Joe Flacco with not many other options that are game changers.
OUR PICK: PATRIOTS
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (4-6) AT GREEN BAY PACKERS (6-3-1)
For the Vikings this is must win game as they find themselves at the bottom of the division and have lost two straight games. Last week they lost to the Bears on a walk off field goal after taking the lead with under a minute left on the clock. The Packers escaped New York with a victory barely.
The Packers did not escape from the Big Apple like Jake Plissken. It was a struggle and you know the crab Man will deliver the opposing team a gift of the interception. The Packers have lost two straight games before the Giants win. One loss came from the Panthers. Both teams have struggled and both teams need this game because the division is so good, everyone has a winning record except the Vikings. JJ McCarthy has thrown 8 interceptions in 5 games. He was able to give his team the lead late in that game versus the Bears. The Vikings have a solid defense but are not getting the turnovers like they did at the high rate they did last season. The Vikings should easily stop the Packers running game which has not been good. Jordan Love will make a mistake in this one. The Vikings are better on the road than at home with a 3-2 record. The X-factor, Aaron Jones Sr., running back for the Vikings, will want to have a big game against his former team. I like the Vikings stunning Green Bay in Green Bay.
OUR PICK:VIKINGS
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (8-2) AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (5-5)
Can Indianapolis Jones, aka Daniel Jones, slay one of the AFC’s bigwigs? The Colts have been reborn with Daniel Jones at quarterback and have the number one running back in the league in Jonathan Taylor. Can they put the final nail in the Chiefs season and keep them out of the playoffs? The Chiefs were handed a loss coming out of their bye week last week by the Broncos. Andy Reid’s teams have dominated coming back from a bye. The Colts coming off their bye week are well rested and have their defense looking at full strength. The addition of Sauce Gardner from the Jets should help keep the Chiefs receivers in check. The Chiefs have lacked a running game most of the season. They will need to rely on their defense and Patrick Mahomes if they want to stay alive and make a playoff run. The Colts have lost both games on the road as they have a 2-2 record. The Chiefs have been better at home where they are 4-1. I can’t believe the Chiefs will just go away. This is where the NFL script pulls the wool over our eyes as Patrick Mahomes will be Superman combined with all the Avengers and have a monster game to save their season. Look for the meathead Travis Kelce to have a big game as well. The Chiefs will get the phantom calls by the referees and come up with a big play afterwards that will give them the win. I would love to see the Colts win this one. I think the Chiefs defense like they have done in the past make the big stand here. The Chiefs will use this game to get on a tear in the next few weeks. It’s all in the script.
OUR PICK: CHIEFS
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (6-3) AT TENNESSEE TITANS (1-9)
The Titans may have played their best game last weekend versus the division rival Texans. Houston won on a walk off field goal. The Seahawks, despite Sam Darnold throwing 4 interceptions at the Rams, still had a chance to win that game as they lose their 3rd game of the season. The Titans offense is one dimensional. They have one of the worst rushing attacks in football. Seattle is ranked number six in the NFL versus the run. Cam Ward is expected to throw the ball more because of the lack of running game. Ward has one of the worst QB ratings in the NFL. In this game I expect Seattle to get back on track playing a team they should be able to beat up and not even work up a sweat.
On any given Sunday, the NFL wants any team to beat anybody. You can see the league maybe will flip the script on any game on any Sunday. Since we don’t get previews of the NFL manuscripts I pick Seattle.
OUR PICK: SEAHAWKS
ATLANTA FALCONS (3-7) AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (2-8)
It only took the Saints rookie quarterback two starts to win his first game in the NFL as a starter. The Saints coming off their bye week last time they played Tyler Shough delivered, as New Orleans knocked off the Panthers. Meanwhile Atlanta is a team in shambles right now. This was the team that this season they had high hopes. They have lost 5 straight games. They have lost their starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. for the season with a knee injury. Their top wide receiver Drake London is out with a knee injury. Now they have to rely on aging quarterback Kirk Cousins, who may be ready to be sent out to the pastures by the time this season ends. Cousins is 1-5 in the last six starts, a guy that has not been able to get over the season ending injury he had back in his last season in Minnesota. The Saints defense has come to life. They will not have one of Shough’s weapons because Brandin Cooks wanted to be released from the team and the Saints granted his wish. Look for Alvin Kamara to continue his late in the season efforts with another solid running game. Chris Olave should be able to burn the Falcons defense. I like the way the rookie handled himself two weeks ago with the Panthers. He makes smart decisions and takes what the defense gives him. The Saints continue their roll.
OUR PICK: SAINTS
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (8-2) AT DALLAS COWBOYS (4-5-1)
The Eagles are rolling right now and winning games because of their defense. Last week they held the Lions high octane offense to under 10 points. The week before, they held the Packers to a touchdown. The Eagles defense has been halting their opponents’ running game due to the return of their line backer Nakobe Dean. Opponents are averaging 3.9 yards per rush now which was much higher weeks ago. The Cowboys have made some changes on their defense as they made some trades bringing in guys like Logan Wilson, Quinnen Williams, and DeMarvion Overshown. Then in secondary, they have Donavan Wilson and Malik Hooker back from injuries. The Cowboys tested their revamped defense against a bad Raiders team on the last Monday night game and they passed with flying colors. I sense an upset here in the works. The Cowboys’ emotions are high right now playing hard for their fallen teammate. Marshawn Kneeland committed suicide on the bye week after the Arizona game. Dak Prescott has won 18 consecutive games versus divisional opponents at home. The Eagles offense has not scored many points in the last few weeks but are still winning games. The Cowboys offense will score points off the Eagles defense. Jalen Hurts will not match Prescott score to score. I think this newly revamped Cowboys defense will get a true test with the Eagles and play well to help them win this game that will get Dallas to the .500 mark and be in the thick of things for the post season run.
OUR PICK: COWBOYS
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (6-4) AT ARIZONA CARDINALS (3-7)
The Jaguars rebounded last week from the loss Houston hung on them, a huge comeback that gave Texans the win. The Jaguars offense exploded on the Chargers as they put up 35 points in a beat down of LA. The Arizona Cardinals are not a very disciplined team as they continue to rack up penalties at a high rate. The Cardinals’ Jacoby Brissett had to throw the football 57 times last week because the team got behind very quickly to the 49ers and the running game they had was not working very well. The penalties & some injuries mean the Cardinals struggle is real. I think that the Jaguars can bring that same offense to Arizona. Running back Travis Etienne Jr. found the end zone twice. Trevor Lawrence and this Jaguars offense has been well balanced for the last few weeks and should put up points versus the Cardinals defense. The Jaguars defense will find ways to create turnovers. Brissett threw two interceptions last week & I think he will throw 1 or more this week.
OUR PICK: JAGUARS
THE SUNDAY NIGHT GAME
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (6-4) AT LA RAMS (7-2)
The Buccaneers are collecting the frequent flyer mileage. Last week going up North to Buffalo, and now traveling across the country to play in LA. The Rams are one of the hottest team in the NFC right now as they have won 5 straight games. The Buccaneers have lost two straight games and have a Christmas list of injuries at the skill positions on offense. Baker Mayfield with the lack of weapons still has made a game out of each contest win or lose. The Rams may have the MVP of the league right now in Matthew Stafford. He is blowing up the competition with the aerial attack. He has 27 touchdown passes to only two interceptions, just mind blowing. We know the Buccaneers like to blitz and Stafford responds being number 1 in the league with 20 touchdown passes under pressure. The Buccaneers defense is good, but great offenses can score on them like Buffalo last week hung 44 points on the scoreboard. The Rams defense can get the job done as they picked off Sam Darnold 4 times last week. Right now I just can’t see the Buccaneers matching scores with the Rams right now. Baker Mayfield will make a mistake or two trying to do too much which the Rams will capitalize on.
OUR PICK: RAMS
THE MONDAY NIGHT GAME
CAROLINA PANTHERS (6-4) AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (7-3)
Last week the 49ers got back their stating quarterback in Brock Purdy who missed several weeks due to an injury. He did not disappoint. Purdy threw three touchdown passes versus the Cardinals as he went 17-26 for 200 passing yards in a rout versus Arizona. The Panthers are that annoying team you can’t predict this season. You think they will beat the Saints and they don’t. You think they will lose to the Falcons, but then they win in OT last week versus the dirty birds. Bryce Young looks average one week & then turns into Joe Montana the next week. I can see the Panthers getting some points off a 49ers defense that has taken on too many injuries. From my vantage point, the 49ers look like the better team overall. Purdy is Mr.Reliable and the 49ers have been reliable so far for picking them this season to win or lose. Like Simon says. In the back of my mind, the Panthers will make me regret this pick like usual.
The Wild shamrock 