1:00 PM EST
Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts
Once again, everyone is in the race for the AFC South division crown. After losing to the Houston Texans last week, the Indianapolis Colts saw their hold on first place slip away. Meanwhile, a resurgent Ryan Tannehill has kept the Tennessee Titans in the rearview mirror ever since the team benched Marcus Mariota. A lot is on the line in this meeting as a loss for either team would lessen their chance of getting past Houston and into the playoffs. For their part, the Colts enter this game nursing a fair amount of injuries. Starters Marlon Mack and Eric Ebron will both miss the game knocking out two useful weapons for Jacoby Brissett. The Titans defensive backs should be very familiar with the first-time starter, not just because of their divisional rivals but because Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan we’re teammates with Brissett in New England. With the dome closed in Indianapolis look for the weather to not affect here — unlike elsewhere around the NFL today.
PREDICTION: Colts 28 , Titans 20
San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens
Depending on who you talk to, or who you root for, this game presents a matchup of the two best teams in the league right now. The San Francisco 49ers are one of two teams with a 10-1 record and the Baltimore Ravens (9-2) beat the other one. For the 49ers, their defense has been the catalyst to their success this season. Their defensive line is as potent as any in the league and rookie defensive end Nick Bosa is playing like his hair is on fire to begin his NFL career. They’ll need their usual output and then some at the line of scrimmage as Baltimore relies heavily on a new age smash mouth run scheme to outmuscle their opponents. Yet, it’s not all inside power runs with this team. Lamar Jackson has firmly cemented himself in the MVP conversation and he can burn you with his legs and with his arm. Though, with adverse weather conditions expected in Maryland, it’ll be worth watching to see if either team can have success throwing the ball.
PREDICTION: Ravens 24 , 49ers 10
New York Jets vs. Cincinnati Bengals
After an inexplicable benching, Andy Dalton is back in as the Cincinnati Bengals starting quarterback. It seems the team is desperately hoping to avoid an 0-16 season. While they get one quality veteran back on the field, wide receiver (and potential free-agent-to-be) A.J. Green will miss his 12th straight game this season. First-year head coach Zac Taylor has struggled to put his stamp on this offense but with injuries and head-scratching roster decisions it’s hard to blame him. The New York Jets have seemingly turned a corner now that their franchise quarterback, Sam Darnold has recovered from his bout with mononucleosis. The offense of late has been humming in a way that should cool the seat of Adam Gase for the rest of the season. On defense, they’ve been a lot more inconsistent but after a 34-3 drubbing of the Oakland Raiders a week ago they should enter this game feeling good about themselves. Well, at least until they’ve played 60 minutes and become the team that surrendered first wins to Miami and Cincinnati.
PREDICTION: Bengals 27 , Jets 21
Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
THIS GAME WILL BE A FIGHT. TWO SIDES THAT DON’T LIKE EACH OTHER THROWING PUNCH AFTER PUNCH, HOPING TO LAND A HAYMAKER AND LAY THEIR OPPONENT FLAT. THERE’S NO LOVE LOST BETWEEN THESE TWO AND THE GAME SHOULD BE AN ALL-OUT BRAWL! With that said, and the situation from a few weeks ago alluded to and successfully talked around, it’s hard to envision anything of note happening in this game. Sure there’s still some ill-will leftover and these teams never liked each other to begin with but both teams have to know every eye in the NFL offices will be watching to see if anyone acts up again. Plus, Larry Ogunjobi and Mason Rudolph are the only two people from the scuffle that will take the field today. With Pittsburgh not having Juju Smith-Schuster and James Connor nursing injuries it just seems like the Steelers won’t have enough offensive firepower to take advantage of Myles Garrett’s absence.
PREDICTION: Browns 23 , Steelers 20
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Miami Dolphins
Once considered the worst team to ever set foot on a football field, the Miami Dolphins gritted out two wins and have since passed that title onto the Cincinnati Bengals. However, just because their not the worse team in 100 seasons doesn’t mean that they’re good either. Brian Flores should be commended for making sure this team didn’t go down in the history books but hopefully the front office uses their draft capital to help retool and rebuild this roster. For the Philadelphia Eagles, their season was given new life on Thanksgiving when the Buffalo Bills went and handled the Dallas Cowboys, dropping them to 6-6. A road win of their own would bring them even with Dallas at the top of the NFC East and make for one hell of a close to the season in that division as the two teams are scheduled to face off one more time in Week 16. Look for Carson Wentz to get his groove back attacking the Dolphins defense today.
PREDICTION: Eagles 24 , Dolphins 12
Washington Redskins vs. Carolina Panthers
The Washington Redskins have turned the page and given the keys to rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins. He’s played pretty poorly but last week he was able to lead his team to victory over the Detroit Lions. Second-year running back Derrius Guice is back from injury and rookie wide receiver — and former Ohio State Buckeye teammate of Haskins — Terry McLaurin form the trio of the future for this franchise. However, in the present, Washington hasn’t done much for their fans to cheer about this season. That is likely to continue as the Carolina Panthers are the superior team. Christian McCaffrey is putting together an all-time great season at the running back position and looking over the Redskins depth chart they don’t have anyone who seems capable of slowing down McCaffrey. Kyle Allen has come back down to Earth after his initial hot start replacing Cam Newton but this game should give him a chance to pad his stats some more. If Carolina hopes to remain in the playoff race these are the types of games that become must-win scenarios for them.
PREDICTION: Panthers 33 , Redskins 10
Green Bay Packers vs. New York Giants
The Green Bay Packers were just embarrassed on national television last week, losing 37-8 to the NFC-leading San Francisco 49ers. As the season had progressed many believed that this group had the potential to be the most complete Packers team since they won the Super Bowl in 2011. Yet, in their three loses the offense or defense (and sometimes both) have not been able to hold up their end of the bargain. A trip to the Meadowlands should help one of those units get back on track. Aaron Rodgers could use another big performance as he had in Oakland to get himself back in the MVP conversation. The Giants’ defense has not exactly been world beaters this season and I would not choose any of their cornerbacks as my first option to defend Davante Adams. On the other hand, the Achilles heel of Green Bay’s defense has been defending the run and New York just so happens to have one of the best backs in the league. Saquon Barkley’s follow up to his outstanding rookie season has been a disappointment but if he were to explode for a huge game against any team it would likely be the Packers. Weather will likely be an issue but I still foresee this game becoming a shootout.
PREDICTION: Packers 35 , Giants 27
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
The battle for Florida will likely be one to forget. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a pair of 1,000-yard receivers (Chris Godwin and Mike Evans) but Jameis Winston remains a walking turnover. The Bucs also have no consistent run game to rely on making their offense one-dimensional and forcing them to rely on the hit or miss accuracy of Winston more than they would like to. On defense, Shaq Barrett has been awesome and a great find but as a group, they often come up just short of making the big plays when they’re needed most. Jacksonville has gone back to Nick Foles but he has not made it back to Super Bowl MVP level yet — he hasn’t made it back to 2019 Week 1 level yet. Leonard Fournette has been impressive and the breakout season from D.J. Chark has been awesome to watch. Yet, with Jalen Ramsey now playing across the country the defense and this team have lost some of its swagger. They no longer look anything like the team that dominated the AFC en route to the conference championship game a year ago. With that said, there’s still a fair amount of talent and going up against Winston could be just what the doctor ordered for this group.
PREDICTION: Jaguars 17 , Buccaneers 9
4:05 PM EST
Los Angeles Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals
Things have not been going according to plan for the Los Angeles Rams this season. They have been overtaken in their division by the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. Jared Goff has regressed after receiving a new wealthy contract. Limiting Todd Gurley hasn’t done the offense any good. Sean McVay’s genius status is now being called into question. The Super Bowl hangover has been a real thing for this team. The Arizona Cardinals have stuck with the rookie pairing of coach Kliff Kingsbury and quarterback Kyler Murray and rode their roller coaster of a season to three wins so far. While the wins haven’t shown up in droves to date there are some good things to take away from this year. First, Murray looks good. Second, besides the Seahawks, Arizona has given San Francisco their two toughest games of the year. Third, Kingsbury’s offense hasn’t been a complete disaster. In the end, I think the talent disparity proves too much for Arizona to overcome.
PREDICTION: Rams 31 , Cardinals 21
4:25 PM EST
Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Just a few weeks ago this matchup loomed as a potential division deciding meeting between the upstart Oakland Raiders and the underachieving Kansas City Chiefs. However, with the Raiders seemingly overlooking the New York Jets last week, the game no longer has that same feeling of importance. A win by Oakland puts them right back into serious contention for the AFC West but ultimately it might be too little too late for Jon Gruden’s team. The Chiefs will tell you that injuries have put a damper on what was expected to be a big year for this group. One of those injuries was suffered by reigning MVP, Patrick Mahomes. His dislocated kneecap scared most initially but he returned to action quicker than originally expected and for the most part, he’s looked like himself. In their previous meeting, Kansas City used an explosive second quarter to put the Raiders away and Mahomes finished with 443 yards and four touchdowns. Another big game is likely in store for him this time as the teams meet at Arrowhead.
PREDICTION: Chiefs 38 , Raiders 24
Los Angeles Chargers vs. Denver Broncos
This game will likely serve as the start to the Drew Lock era in Denver and if we’ve learned anything about John Elway’s eye for quarterback talent one thing should be crystal clear, Lock might not be that great. The list of quarterbacks who’ve faltered after being handpicked by Elway is as long as the heights of those same players. Brandon Allen looked capable in his time stepping in for the injured Joe Flacco, however, Lock was taken in the 2019 NFL Draft with the intention of him taking over for Flacco down the line. Now he will likely get a chance to show what he can do. Unluckily for him, it’ll come on the same day that the Los Angeles Chargers get both of their starting safeties back from IR. Derwin James and Adrian Phillips were part of the reason why the Chargers amassed a 12-4 record last year. Though head coach Anthony Lynn said both will have their snap counts monitored, it’s easy to envision them making impact plays during their time on the field. Some word has come out that if Philip Rivers continues to struggle — seven interceptions in the last two games — the team could look to make a switch at quarterback. That won’t happen today as the team can get back on track with a win in the Mile High City.
PREDICTION: Chargers 28 , Broncos 17
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