THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23
Carolina 2-12 at Pittsburgh 10-4 8:20 PM [Line: Pittsburgh by 14]
Carolina has the worst record in the NFL. If that holds up, they will get the #1 pick in next year's draft. Presumably that pick will be QB Andrew Luck from Stanford. The Panthers already have a pretty solid running game and a decent defense; their disastrous season can be blamed almost solely on awful play at the quarterback position. If Luck is really the next Peyton Manning (as some have suggested), Carolina could be seriously competitive as early as next season.
RJ's Pick: Steelers by 20
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25
Dallas 5-9 at Arizona 4-10 7:30 PM [Line: Dallas by 6.5]
Forget about 5-9. The Cowboys are 4-2 in the Jason Garrett era, and those two losses were by a combined six points against two very good teams.
RJ's Pick: Cowboys by 11
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 26
Washington 5-9 at Jacksonville 8-6 1:00 PM [Line: Jacksonville by 7]
The Redskins have dropped four straight. Mike Shanahan has a lot of work to do in the offseason, especially fixing the defense and figuring out what to do at quarterback. Donovan McNabb is understandably unhappy and Rex Grossman is almost certainly not the answer.
RJ's Pick: Jaguars by 13
Detroit 4-10 at Miami 7-7 1:00 PM [Line: Miami by 3]
The Lions broke their NFL-record road losing streak last week. The Dolphins are just 1-6 at home this season despite their .500 record. Miami is the only NFL team this season with just a single home victory. You'd think a team with a 6-1 road record would be a shoo-in to qualify for the postseason, but the Dolphins will be watching the playoffs at home. (FYI: I will be attending this game, so if you are watching at home be on the lookout for a physically intimidating-looking** guy wearing a Matthew Stafford jersey and a Detroit Lions visor and holding a $7.00 "adult beverage" with a death grip.)
Article comments
1 - C2E
Well I went 16-0 again last week, making me 224-0 for the Season. Of course I always post a few misleading picks so as not to wreak havoc in the gambling world and become a target for elimination. See if you can spot my misleading picks this week...
Merry Christmas!
Steelers over Panthers
Cowboys over Cardinals
Ravens over Broncos
Bears over Jets
Patriots over Bills
Eagles over Vikings
Buccaneers over Seahawks
Rams over 49ers
Dolphins over Lions
Jaguars over Redskins
Chiefs over Titans
Colts over Raiders
Texans over Broncos
Giants over Packers
Chargers over Bengals
Falcons over Saints
2 - RJ
Merry Christmas to you as well!
3 - brian
I love when you do the following:
"Darren McFadden is having quite the breakout season. The Colts have placed Austin Collie on IR after he suffered his third concussion of the season last week."
AKA Oakland gets a plus... Indy gets a minus... but for no reason listed you THEN to on to Indy to more than double spread! :P
4 - RJ
FINAL SCORES:
STEELERS 27, CAROLINA 3 - RJ 1-0 [1-0 ATS]
ARIZONA 27, DALLAS 26 - RJ 1-1 [1-1 ATS]
WASHINGTON 20, JAGUARS 17 - RJ 1-2 [1-2 ATS]
LIONS 34, MIAMI 27 - RJ 2-2 [2-2 ATS]
RAMS 25, SF 17 - RJ 3-2 [3-2 ATS]
KC 34, TITANS 14 - RJ 4-2 [3-3 ATS]
BEARS 38, JETS 34 - RJ 5-2 [4-3 ATS]
NE 34, BILLS 3 - RJ 6-2 [5-3 ATS]
5 - RJ
FINAL SCORES:
RAVENS 20, BROWNS 10 - RJ 7-2 [6-3 ATS]
DENVER 24, HOUSTON 23 - RJ 8-2 [7-3 ATS]
BENGALS 34, SD 20 - RJ 8-3 [7-4 ATS]
COLTS 31, OAKLAND 26 - RJ 9-3 [8-4 ATS]
6 - RJ
FINAL SCORES:
GB 45, GIANTS 17 - RJ 10-3 [9-4 ATS]
TB 38, SEATTLE 15 - RJ 11-3 [9-5 ATS]
VIKINGS 24, EAGLES 14 - RJ 11-4 [10-5 ATS]
NO 17, FALCONS 14 - RJ 11-5 [10-6 ATS]
7 - RJ
Through 16 weeks:
135-105 straight-up
118-113-9 against the spread
8 - RJ
ESPN's NFL "experts" in Week 16:
Allen 6-10
Golic 10-6
Hoge 8-8
Jaworski 8-7
Mortensen 7-9
Schefter 7-9
Schlereth 8-8
Wickersham 7-9
Accuscore 10-6
Pick 'em 8-8
9 - RJ
ESPN's NFL "experts" through 16 weeks:
Allen 137-103 Golic 150-90 Hoge 149-91 Jaworski 146-77 Mortensen 148-92 Schefter 130-110 Schlereth 147-93 Wickersham 140-100 Accuscore 157-83 Pick 'em 150-90