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| For the second week straight, the best matchup is on Monday night. It's a Christmas miracle! |
Last week: 8-8
Regular season: 99-89-4
St. Louis Rams at Buffalo Bills
Danny Amendola and Stevie Johnson are both nicked up, so this game will be decided by the running backs. At this point of his career, Steven Jackson can't match Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller.
The Pick: Bills (-3)
Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
Back in Week 4, the Panthers couldn't get the final two yards they needed to upset the Falcons in the Georgia Dome. Minutes later, Matt Ryan was telling them to get the f**k off his field. When an 11-1 team faces a 3-9 team with a spread this small, I'll take it.
The Pick: Falcons (-3.5)
Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns
The Browns have been sneaky competitive lately, going 4-3 after an 0-5 start. But only one of those victories has come by more than a six points.
The Pick: Chiefs (+6.5)
Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts
Despite the dramatic win, Andrew Luck had an poor game against the Lions (read our PFF recap if you don't believe me). The Titans took the Colts to overtime last time these teams played, and this one should be just as close.
The Pick: Titans (+5.5)
New York Jets at Jacksonville Jaguars
I have a theory that the Jets would have put Greg McElroy in last week, even if Tim Tebow were healthy. Ironically, if Tebow had chosen the Jaguars over the Jets in free agency, he'd likely be starting for them right now.
The Pick: Jaguars (+2.5)
Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings
If Christian Ponder is going to become a franchise quarterback, he eventually needs to throw the ball downfield. We chart Deep Passing (balls that travel 20+ yards past the line of scrimmage) at PFF, and Ponder has completed a grand total of six deep throws for 179 yards this season.
The Pick: Bears (-2.5)
San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers
So the Chargers are finally going to fire Norv Turner, which some of their fans wanted to do since the day he was hired. Turner never got enough credit for going 32-16 with three playoff wins in his first three season in San Diego, but since then he's flopped in one of the easiest divisions in the league. The Chargers need this change.
The Pick: Steelers (-7)
Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Eagles have been riding the Bryce Brown wave the last two weeks, staying in games with his long runs and losing them with his careless fumbles. The Buccaneers have the best rushing defense in the league.
The Pick: Buccaneers (-7)
Baltimore Ravens at Washington Redskins
The RG3 hype machine is running on all cylinders, and for good reason. He leads the league with a 100.17 PFF QB Rating. Maybe I'm overrating the loss of cornerback Cedric Griffin, or maybe I'm just being skeptical, but I think the rookie hits a speedbump this week.
The Pick: Ravens (+2.5)
Dallas Cowboys at Cincinnati Bengals
Dallas since 2000: 4 playoff berths, 2 division titles, 1 playoff win
Cincinnati since 2000: 3 playoff berths, 2 division titles, 0 playoff wins
Take away the big stadium and the boastful owner, and what's the difference?
The Pick: Bengals (-3)
Miami Dolphins at San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers aren't playing the Rams this week, so they should win convincingly.
The Pick: 49ers (-10)
New Orleans Saints at New York Giants
Drew Brees is 4-0 lifetime against the Giants, and has won each game by at least 21 points. In those games, he has 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. New York's defense just isn't built to beat him.
The Pick: Saints (+5)
Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks
Brandon Browner's suspension will hurt the Seahawks, but not this week. Seattle could line a CFL secondary out there and they'd still stop Ryan Lindley.
The Pick: Seahawks (-9.5)
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
Read my full PFF preview for Sunday Night Football here. Will this be the year that the Lions end their 21-year drought at Lambeau Field? Not with a banged up secondary.
The Pick: Packers (-6)
Houston Texans at New England Patriots
The Texans have surrendered an average of 352 passing yards in their last three games. Even with Johnathan Joseph returning, I don't think that Houston can hold the Patriots offense.
The Pick: Patriots (-3.5)
Follow me at @PFF_Pete
Odds found here
Image found here.
"Seattle could line a CFL secondary out there and they'd still stop Ryan Lindley."
ReplyDeleteFunny, since Browner came from the CFL.