Definitely a lot of great games this week as so many teams are still in the hunt and unfortunately some very good teams will be left out while some very weak divisions are letting some teams into the playoffs that really don’t deserve it (ahem, Cardinals). I would be really pissed if I were a Cowboys or Eagles fan left out as one of those two pretty good teams will be out while possibly an 8-8 Cardinal team will be playing a home game on Wildcard Weekend. The Broncos/Chargers also have played pretty poorly for one of them to sneak in as the Dolphins or Patriots might be sitting at home next with with a better win loss record. Not the end of the world but something that bothers me as we enter this final week of the regular season. The good news is that for the most part the teams that deserve to be there are going to be and most of these deserving bubble teams control their own destiny this week as we have a great slate of games and playoff seed scenarios:
Oakland Raiders (+13) At Tampa Bay Buccaneers — The Bucs need the Cowboys to fall to the Eagles in order to get in and I expect them to beat the Raiders pretty handily however I see the Raiders covering this very large spread. The Raiders are pretty bad but the Bucs haven’t been that dominating as of late and won’t cover this near 2 touchdown spread.
New York Giants (+6.5) At Minnesota Vikings – I do like the Vikings to win here as they need this win to clinch the division and the Giants don’t need this win at all, however 6.5 points is way too much as I know Coughlin will play his starters much longer than he should as he did last year. Only x-facter is if Adrian Peterson goes nuts as he sometimes does, and if that happens the Vikes will blow out the Giants late in the game as I’d expect Coughlin pulls some starters as they do have a bye next week in the first round of the playoffs.
Dallas Cowboys (+1.5) At Philadelphia Eagles — The last time these two teams played this season the Cowboys won 41-37 in one of the most exciting games of the season. I expect the exact opposite in Philly as nasty weather and cold weather affect both teams and I see a defensive struggle where one clutch play will decide the outcome. Another minus for those liking the chalk, if the Bucs win early which is very likely the Eagles may be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs before this afternoon game even begins…
Denver Broncos (+8) At San Diego Chargers — Even without Hochuli I see the Broncos easily covering here as I see this game being very high scoring but close til the end however I do see the Chargers winning and sneaking into the playoffs as the Broncos should have put this playoff race away weeks ago. The Broncos now deserve to get left out as this game totally reminds everyone of Hochuli-gate.
And just in case you are wondering I am now 19-18-1 with my picks going into the final week so I’d definitely take my picks with a grain of salt but I’m feeling pretty lucky going into the playoffs as I turned around my losing streak mid-season and hope to close the season out on the plus side.