NFL Picks: Washington is in turmoil
Published 9:51 am Friday, December 13, 2013
Here are the picks:
Washington at Atlanta
The Redskins have reached the lowest point a franchise can reach during the season. Mike Shanahan spent much of last week deflecting a story about him apparently packing his stuff and being ready to leave before Washington’s playoff game last year. Now the Redskins are going to ‘shut down’ Robert Griffin III for the rest of the season. I’ve heard of healthy players taking the rest of the season off in the MLB and NBA, but it’s pretty uncommon in the NFL. Even worse, Shanahan hinted that he didn’t even want Griffin as his quarterback when he spoke of how he never would’ve traded up for him.
Things are not going good in Washington.
FALCONS 27, REDSKINS 13
Chicago at Cleveland
The Bears are doing the unthinkable. They’re switching back to the turnover prone Jay Cutler at quarterback after Josh McCown played like a pro bowler over the past three weeks. Normally I say you play your starters over your back-ups in all cases, but McCown was playing at an unbelievable level and I don’t have a lot of trust in Cutler.
BROWNS 27, BEARS 20
Houston at Indianapolis
The Colts have qualified for the playoffs, but they need to use these last three weeks to sharpen up if they want to go anywhere in the playoffs.
COLTS 31, TEXANS 21
New England at Miami
The Patriots’ offense was rolling with Rob Gronkowski and now they’ll have to adjust to playing without him again. The Dolphins are on the verge of the playoffs and they’ve always played New England tough, especially in Miami.
I’m smelling an upset.
DOLPHINS 27, PATRIOTS 24
Philadelphia at Minnesota
LeSean McCoy ran for more than 217 yards and two TDs in the snow last week. Just imagine what he’ll do in a dome.
EAGLES 34, VIKINGS 17
Seattle at N.Y. Giants
The Seahawks will bounce back from their loss at San Francisco
SEAHAWKS 28, GIANTS 14
San Francisco at Tampa Bay
The Bucs have been playing a lot better in the past few weeks, but the 49ers are peaking at the right time.
49ERS 23, BUCS 17
Buffalo at Jacksonville
The Jags will continue to aggravate their fans by winning meaningless games and hurting their draft stock.
JAGUARS 17, BILLS 10
Kansas City at Oakland
The Chiefs shouldn’t have much problem in Oakland.
CHIEFS 30, RAIDERS 10
N.Y. Jets at Carolina
The Panthers will take care of business at home.
PANTHERS 31, JETS 13
Arizona at Tennessee
Cardinals’ defense will set the tone.
CARDINALS 20, TITANS 9
New Orleans at St. Louis
The Saints will have to make sure they stay balanced and run the ball against an aggressive front four, but they’ve got the weapons to get it done.
SAINTS 27, RAMS 14
Green Bay at Dallas
The Packers have their backs to the wall and if their defense was ever to answer the call, now is the time. The Cowboys can run on Green Bay all day, but sometimes they get caught up in passing the ball too much. If that happens on Sunday, the Packers could go back to their old ways of forcing turnovers and setting up the offense.
However, I don’t have faith in the Packers unless Aaron Rodgers is playing. I agree that the Pack can win, but I can’t pick them. I would feel like too much of a homer.
COWBOYS 30, PACKERS 21
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
The Bengals seem to have recovered from their mini-slump.
BENGALS 27, STEELERS 20
Baltimore at Detroit
The Lions on a big stage at home against the defending Super Bowl Champs. There’s only one way this game can end – heartbreak for Detroit.
RAVENS 31, LIONS 28
Last week: 12-4; overall: 119-83