Browns at Bengals: How much more can be said about Cincinnati, that’s not repetitious ? Not a whole lot ! They’ve lost 10 in a row, and even Terrell Owens is publicly expressing frustration with the coaches, which of course is most unusual for him, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. To be fair however, he has certainly played well this season, and only needs 17 yards to become the third NFL player to reach 1,000 yards in ten different seasons. At this stage, the team statistics probably don’t mean all that much, because sooner or later, the Bengals will manage to win a game. Is it this week ? They are ranked 15th in passing, 30th in rushing, and defensively are 15th against the pass, and 24th in stopping the run. The Browns, since their bye week of October 31st, have three wins and three losses. They were defeated by the feisty Buffalo Bills, 13-6 last week. Cleveland is 27th in passing, 17th in rushing, 16th defending the pass, and 23rd in stopping the run. Peyton Hillis now has 994 yards and nine touchdowns in his last 11 games. In the previous game with Cincinnati, he ran for 102 yards and a touchdown. Jake Delhomme struggled against the Bills, only throwing for 86 yards. and a total of 187. Colt McCoy will start this week, after being out with a sprained ankle since November 21st. He was the starter when the Browns upset both New Orleans and New England.
Browns 33 Bengals 23.
Redskins at Cowboys: Since Jason Garrett took over as coach, Dallas is 3-2, but the losses have been good efforts against tough opponents, including last week’s 30-27 defeat by the Eagles, and a 30-27 game with the Saints. Washington’s season is also becoming one to forget about. Mike Shanahan has been criticized for his handling of both Albert Haynesworth, now suspended for the rest of the season, and Donovan McNabb, who has now been benched for this game, and whose time with the Redskins is obviously finished. He was having his worst season ever as the regular starter, with a rating of 77, and a career high 15 interceptions. This would mean that Rex Grossman will be starting the game. Washington has lost 5 of their previous 6 games. The Redskins are 10th in passing, 26th in rushing, and defensively, they are 29th against the pass, while ranking 28th in defending the run.
Cowboys 36 Redskins 17.
Texans at Titans: About the only thing interesting in this game, would be the anticipation of a rematch of the brief mixed martial arts demonstration, between Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan, and Texans receiver Andre Johnson. They were each fined $25,000 by the league, but were not suspended. Both teams are 5-8, and are three games back of division leaders Jacksonville. One more loss for both teams will eliminate them from the playoffs. Houston has one win and six losses since their bye week of October 24. Last week’s defeat was a respectable 34-28 OT loss to the Ravens. The Texans are 7th in passing, 7th in rushing, while being 32nd in stopping the pass, and 6th against the run. The Titans have lost six straight,with their last win coming against the Eagles, 37-19, on October 24. They are ranked 30th in passing, 13th in rushing, 26th against the pass, and 21st in stopping the run.
Texans 27 Titans 16.
Jaguars at Colts: A division title is at stake in this game. The Jags are one game up on the Colts, and can clinch the title with the win. If Indianapolis is victorious, they would have a good shot to win the division, as they hold the tiebreaker with Jacksonville. The Jags are 5-12 against the Colts since 2002, and are 2-6 on the road. Over the last six games, 5-1, the Jaguars are averaging a league best 193 yards rushing per game, behind the fleet foot work of Maurice Jones-Drew. He is second in the league with 1,278 rushing yards, and has six straight 100 yard games. The Colts defense is allowing 141 yards rushing per game, the fourth worst in the NFL. The Jags also have Rashad Jennings in their backfield, and according to ESPN.com, he has totaled 206 yards over the last three games, to add to that strength. The Colts rank last in rushing, with 79 yards per game. Joseph Addai has missed seven games in a row with nerve problems in his left shoulder. Austin Collie has been bothered by concussion problems. The Jags are 28th in defending the pass, and 18th in stopping the run. They are also 29th in passing yards. To now one’s surprise, Indianapolis is first in passing yards. Traditionally, these are the sort of games, that Peyton Manning thrives in, most of the time.
Colts 33 Jags 31.
Chiefs at Rams: The Rams are tied with Seattle for the NFC West lead, and the Chiefs are in first in the AFC West. Matt Cassel was out of last week’s game after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on December 8. He is the fifth-highest rated passer, and has thrown 19 touchdowns, and one interception in his last eight starts. Brodie Coyle will start if Cassel can not play, and is 0-10 lifetime as a starter. Kansas City have lost five of six on the road. Rams rookie quarterback Sam Bradford failed to throw a touchdown pass in back to back games for the first time. St. Louis is ranked 31st in touchdown efficiency in the red zone, at 36%. The Rams are also 4-2 at home. The Chiefs are first in rushing, 28th in passing, 22nd against the pass. and 15th in stopping the run. They had won three straight, before losing to San Diego badly, 31-0, last Sunday. St.Louis also lost badly, as in the 31-13 defeat by New Orleans last Sunday. They rank 19th in passing, 18th in rushing, 20th in pass defense and are 12th against the run.
Rams 24 Chiefs 19
Bills at Dolphins: Miami is 1-5 at home, while Buffalo is 1-5 on the road. The Bills have won three of their last five, including their 13-6 win over the Browns last week. They are 25th in passing, 12th in rushing, while ranking 4th against the pass, and 32nd against the run. The Dolphins playoff hopes are still alive after their 10-6 shocker over the slumping Jets. They are 17th in passing, 19 in rushing, 6th against the pass, and 7th in stopping the run. Miami has won four of five against the Bills, including two straight at home. Chad Henne has thrown 8 touchdowns and 10 interceptions , while losing six straight starts at Sun Life Stadium, as noted in ESPN.com. Miami’s defense has allowed only 13.8 points on average, and 264 yards in their last five games. Ryan Fitzpatrick has thrown a touchdown pass in 14 straight games. That is only four games behind Jim Kelley’s team record. Lee Evans suffered a season ending ankle injury against Cleveland.
Miami 27 Buffalo 15
Eagles at Giants: These teams have identical 9-4 records, so at this stage, this game could be one of the best this season. New York has lost five straight to Philadelphia. The Giants are tied for the league lead with 39 sacks, and are the only team to hold Michael Vick from scoring a touchdown. Eli Manning has thrown for 24 touchdowns and a league leading 19 interceptions. . In his last four games against the Eagles, Manning has been intercepted seven times, with four of those picked by Asante Samuel, who leads the league with seven. Samuel is back to the roster, after missing three games with with a knee injury. Giants Pro Bowl receiver Steve Smith is out for the season with a knee injury,while Hakeem Nicks returned last week. The Eagles DeSean Jackson is also coping with a sprain in his left foot, after making four catches for 210 yards. He is expected to play. Philly is 6th in passing, 5th in rushing, while they are 17th against the pass, and 11th in stopping the run. The Giants are 12th in passing, 4th in rushing, while ranking 2nd against the pass, and 5th against the run. The Giants last loss, was to the Eagles, 27-17, on November 21st, and they have won three in succession since. Philadelphia has only lost once in their last six, to Chicago by 31-26 on November 28.
Eagles 28 Giants 24.
Lions at Buccaneers: The Buccaneers are this year’s Cinderella team in the NFL. They have matured beyond any level that may have been expected of them. They are pretty easy to understand, in that they will defeat teams that have a losing record, and although they haven’t won over a top team, they twice gave the Atlanta Falcons everything they could handle. Tampa Bay ( 8-5) is 5-0 in games decided by three points or less. The Bucs have lost key personnel lately, including defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, linebacker Quincy Black, center Jeff Faine, and cornerback Aqib Talib, who was tied for second in the NFL with six interceptions. Linebacker Geno Hayes was arrested for disorderly conduct and trespassing on Monday. The Lions have lost an NFL record 26 straight road games. Quarterback Matthew Stafford is out with a shoulder injury, and Shaun Hill has a finger injury. Hill’s status is uncertain, which could mean that Drew Stanton may start again. He threw for 117 yards, a touchdown, two interceptions, and ran for 44 yards. Calvin Johnson is second in the league with 12 receiving touchdowns. The Bucs are 21st in passing yards, 11th in rushing, 11th in defending the pass, and 27th in stopping the run. Detroit beat Green Bay 7-3 last week, after having lost five straight previously. They are 11th in passing yards, 27th in rushing, while defensively they are 13th in stopping the pass, and are 22nd against the rush.
Buccaneers 24 Lions 20.
Cardinals at Panthers: You would have to be either a die hard for either team to watch this game, or perhaps you aren’t feeling well,and are extremely bored. The Panthers had their one win against the 49ers on October 24. Most of their recent losses have been blowouts, other than a 24-23 defeat by the Browns on November 28. The Cardinals beat the Broncos 43 –13 last week, after losing seven in a row. With two teams like this, you might as well flip a coin.
Cardinals 27 Panthers 19.