Week 15 predictions
Friday 1:20am
Jacksonville Jaguars 20-27 Atlanta Falcons
I’m still in shock that Jacksonville scored 40 points last weekend, but I’m pretty sure it won’t happen again in the Georgia Dome. While the Jags’ defense has stepped their game up, the offense’s progress has been much less evident, while Blaine Gabbert is beginning to settle into the league a bit better, he will not be able to keep up with Matt Ryan and his explosive offense. Maurice Jones Drew will again be the man that Jacksonville will pin their hopes on, but with a playoff spot still to win for Atlanta, he will come up short.
Sunday 1:20am
Dallas Cowboys 30-17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Dallas fans keep getting put through the mill, week after week, and you can’t guarantee that they will win this week either, as we all know what Tony Romo’s record is like in December. But fear not Cowboys fans, I’m one of the camp that says stick a fork in the Bucs, and Raheem Morris for that matter, because they’re done. Last week’s Jacksonville debacle told you all you needed to know about the state of this organisation.
Sunday 6:00pm
Miami Dolphins 23-20 Buffalo Bills
Just as Tony Sporano was turning the Dolphins’ season around, they fired him. Hmm. Regardless of this, I would still say that Miami have enough to go to Buffalo and win. The Bills have had a completely opposite season to the Dolphins, with a great start and poor end, and they look like they’re already planning for next season.
Seattle Seahawks 16-13 Chicago Bears
This will be a battle of the defenses at Soldier Field, with Seattle’s defense looking more and more impressive every week, and Chicago having to rely on theirs with Caleb Hanie at QB and Marion Barber at RB. The difference in this game could be Seattle’s running back Marshawn Lynch, or as he is known now, ‘skittles’, for his sweet tooth on the field. He’s been in ‘beast mode’ more often than not over the past few weeks, and the Seahawks will need him in top form to win at one of the toughest road arenas in the league.
Carolina Panthers 17-27 Houston Texans
Even with rookie TJ Yates at QB and missing Andre Johnson, their main passing threat, the Texans have been impressive, grinding out wins in games where they had to rely on their defense and running game. The Houston defense under Wade Phillips has been one of the stories of the season, and now they have confirmed their place in the playoffs, it could take them a long way. The only question remaining, is how long it will be before the Texans start to rest their workhorses, like Arian Foster. If they do here, then Cam Newton could take advantage, but I think it’s a week early for that, so I’ll take the home team.
Tennessee Titans 31-17 Indianapolis Colts
I’ve watched Jake Locker closely the two times he’s played this season for the Titans, and I genuinely believe he has everything needed to be a franchise QB in the NFL. This will be a chance for him to impress, CJ2K to keep putting up big numbers and keep the Titans in the race for the playoffs. Indianapolis are improving with Dan Orlovsky at QB, but not fast enough for this game.
Green Bay Packers 34-13 Kansas City Chiefs
Another coach fired at KC, and what a time for it, in a week where you play the 13-0 Green Bay Packers. Even without Greg Jennings, this should be a walk in the park at Arrowhead for Aaron Rodgers and his men. Will be interesting to see how long Tyler Palko plays for, if at all, Kyle Orton has to be an upgrade and make Kansas City better.
New Orleans Saints 41-14 Minnesota Vikings
Drew Brees is on fire. The Vikings’ secondary is a mess. The game is in a dome. See what I’m getting at here? Blowout time.
Washington Redskins 20-30 New York Giants
The Giants will have taken huge amounts of confidence from their comeback against Dallas in Arlington, and they should carry it into this winnable game against Rex Grossman’s Redskins. Despite a gallant effort against the Patriots last week, I don’t see any way that Washington stops Eli Manning and Ahmad Bradshaw.
Cincinnati Bengals 27-10 St Louis Rams
The Rams got pummelled again by Seattle on Monday Night Football, and this game won’t be any easier for them. The Bengals have been so much better than anyone expected this year and they should pick up a win here, despite Steven Jackson and Brandon Lloyd doing some good things for St Louis on offense. Andy Dalton could strengthen his claims for rookie of the year in this game with a 300 yard, 3TD performance.
Sunday 9:05pm
Detroit Lions 35-27 Oakland Raiders
The two most penalised teams in the league meet on Sunday night, and it could get messy. Detroit are strong offensively but weak in their secondary, while Oakland have weapons on offense too, and even bigger problems on defense, problems that the Green Bay Packers brutally highlighted last week. Ndamukong Suh is back and will add huge potency to the Lions’ pass rush, but the real story could be a gigantic day for Calvin Johnson, I’m thinking 175 yards and 2TD’s. Matt Stafford could throw for over 400 yards as well.
Sunday 9:15pm
Cleveland Browns 10-17 Arizona Cardinals
One of the less appealing games this weekend, but interesting none the less. Arizona have looked a decent outfit in recent weeks, while Cleveland’s performance against Pittsburgh was more than respectable. The problem for Cleveland is their offense, Colt McCoy is not an NFL calibre QB, and until they can get Peyton Hillis back into 2010/11 mode, I can’t see them winning many games.
New England Patriots 31-23 Denver Broncos
Brady vs Tebow. Not a QB showdown that you would have said would be a primetime showdown. But Denver have been winning, by hook or by crook, and the Patriots will have to be very careful at Mile High to keep their ambitions of a first week bye in the playoffs intact. Brady and co. will come out very quickly and try to put so much distance between the two sides, that not even God’s representative on earth could catch them. Speaking of Tebow, it turns out that he had a posh dinner with Bill Belichick before the draft. Not sure New England fans would have liked Mr Tebow taking over the reigns at Foxboro’.
New York Jets 17-24 Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles did a great job on defense against the Dolphins, registering NINE sacks, and if they do the same against the Jets, you would think that they would win this game. But the Jets have finally found a rhythm on offense and their defense is as shut-down as ever. The big factor in this game could be the missing Jim Leonhard at safety for the Jets. He’s the signal caller for the defense, and him being injured limits some of the things that the Jets will be able to do on that side of the ball, so just on that, I think Mike Vick could have a better day than many expect.
Monday 1:20am
Baltimore Ravens 27-20 San Diego Chargers
I told you to wait on the Chargers, and it seems that they have finally found the way to win games again. However, this will be their toughest ask this season, playing against a Baltimore team in the hunt for the AFC’s no.1 seed. If Philip Rivers regresses into ‘early season mode’ at any point in this game, the Ravens will win, as the Chargers cannot afford any mistakes. But I think he will, and the Ravens will march on.
Tuesday 1:30am
Pittsburgh Steelers 23-13 San Francisco 49’ers
Before Patrick Willis got injured, I would have called this game a tight one, but now I think the Steelers will have too much. The Niners’ pass defense is not as good as its incredible run stopping capability, and when they go behind, the brittle RB Frank Gore and QB Alex Smith simply are not good enough to drag the team back into a game, especially a game against the impressively robust Ben Roethlisberger, and the age-defying Steelers’ defense.
