NFL Picks: Cowboys and Giants set for showdown
Published 8:37 am Thursday, December 29, 2011
The last week of the regular season can sometimes be confusing. Teams making the playoffs are resting starters and teams that aren’t making the playoffs may check out.
There are a lot of different playoff scenarios for who makes the AFC playoffs this weekend, but we do get a special treat on Sunday night game when the playoffs start a week early for the Giants and Cowboys.
Whoever wins that game moves on and it should be a fight to the finish as each team has been equally inconsistent this year.
Here are the picks:
Detroit at Green Bay
Neither team has much to play for so I have no idea who will be on the field, but I think the Packers will leave their starters in long enough to secure a win for their home crowd.
PACKERS 24, LIONS 13
San Francisco at St. Louis
The 49ers have a chance to lock up a bye week and I don’t see them wasting it against a Rams team that is terrible against the run.
49ERS 24, RAMS 3
N.Y. Jets at Miami
I wonder if Rex Ryan is still running his mouth about how his team is headed for the Super Bowl.
DOLPHINS 20, JETS 17
Chicago at Minnesota
The Bears’ defense was embarrassed against the Packers on Sunday night and that doesn’t happen very often. They’ll be playing for pride against the Vikings.
BEARS 17, VIKINGS 14
Buffalo at New England
It seems like so long ago when the Bills upset the Patriots in week three and it looked like they had a chance to compete for a Division Title.
PATRIOTS 33, BILLS 17
Carolina at New Orleans
The Saints just don’t seem to lose games at home. Too bad they may have to win two road games to get to the Super Bowl.
SAINTS 41, PANTHERS 20
Washington at Philadelphia
I wonder if it was Vince Young’s dream to play for a .500 team when he pronounced the Eagles the ‘dream team’ in the preseason. If that’s true, the Eagles can make Vince a happy man with a win on Sunday.
EAGLES 27, REDSKINS 13
Indianapolis at Jacksonville
Maybe the Colts got sick of hearing about how they weren’t trying to win, but they’ve put together a nice two-game winning streak after losing their first 14 games.
COLTS 20, JAGUARS 17
Tennessee at Houston
The Texans may be resting starters as they don’t have a shot at a first round bye.
TITANS 20, TEXANS 16
Tampa Bay at Atlanta
I’ll never understand how the Bucs went from a feisty, young 10-6 team last year to the pathetic mess they’ve been this season. Maybe they need to find the reset button or take a mulligan.
FALCONS 31, BUCS 10
Baltimore at Cincinnati
If the Bengals didn’t play in the same division as the Ravens and Steelers, they probably would’ve made the playoffs.
RAVENS 26, BENGALS 20
Pittsburgh at Cleveland
The Steelers don’t lose to the Browns, especially when the game has any meaning and Pittsburgh still has a shot at a bye week.
STEELERS 30, BROWNS 10
Kansas City at Denver
The revenge of Kyle Orton! Despite being cut by the Broncos, Orton quietly brought the Chiefs into the playoff hunt until his squad lost a tough one on a late field goal to the Raiders last week.
Still, nothing could please him more than knocking his old team out of the playoffs.
CHIEFS 23, BRONCOS 13
San Diego at Oakland
The Chargers had a chance to give themselves a shot last week, but got blown away by the Lions. The Raiders could get in the playoffs with a win so they’ll be on the ball.
RAIDERS 27, CHARGERS 20
Seattle at Arizona
The Seahawks finish off a solid run with one more meaningless win.
SEAHAWKS 28, CARDINALS 17
Dallas at N.Y. Giants
With neither team dominating on defense and neither team running the ball that well, it’s probably going to come down to quarterback play.
Tony Romo has had a better season than Eli Manning, but he’s only won one elimination contest in his career. More often than not, he makes a season ending mistake.
Manning won a Super Bowl in 2007 by stepping up when no one expected him to.
GIANTS 34, COWBOYS 30
Last week: 10-6; overall: 148-90