Games to watch this week:
Arizona at Tennessee: Arizona looks to keep their lead in the NFC West, where they're currently leading San Francisco by 3 games, and Tennessee looks to keep their winning streak alive--Tennessee will probably have to win out in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Jacksonville at San Francisco: San Francisco looks to tighten the NFC West race and hopefully close it to a 2 game lead by Arizona with a win against Jacksonville and an Arizona loss to Tennessee. San Francisco does have to play Arizona 1 more time this season.
Indianapolis at Houston: Indianapolis barely got past Houston the last time they played in Indianapolis, where Indy won 20-17. Houston has shown spurts of being a great team, but their schedule doesn't show it at 5-5. 4 of Houston's 5 losses have been by a 7 points or less (2 of those losses being by 3 points). We'll see if Houston can hand Indianapolis their first loss and get redemption for the outcome of the last meeting. A win by Indianapolis puts them within a max of 2 more wins of clinching the AFC South.
Tampa Bay at Atlanta: Atlanta has been in a free fall after their great 4-1 start, reversing that record and going 1-4 in the past 5 games. Tampa Bay has shown some great play in their win against Green Bay and their close game against Miami in weeks 9 and 10, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them potentially upset Atlanta. A loss by Atlanta and a win by New Orleans will give New Orleans the NFC South title this week.
Chicago at Minnesota: In this NFC North rivalry, Chicago looks to break their 3 game losing streak and tighten up the NFC North race where Green Bay is currently 3 games behind Minnesota. With a strong showing in the late part of this season, Chicago could make a run at a playoff spot. This week also kicks off Minnesota's late-season hell hole schedule, where they play Chicago twice, Arizona, Cincinnati, Carolina, and the New York Giants.
Pittsburgh at Baltimore: Battle of the AFC North teams, where the division is wide open for the taking--only 2 games separates Cincinnati (1st place) and Baltimore (3rd place) in the division. This is their first meeting of the season. They'll meet again in week 16. This is the Sunday Night Football game for this week.
New England at New Orleans: Matchup of the week, no doubt, is this weeks Monday Night Football game in New Orleans. With a New Orleans win and an Atlanta loss, New Orleans clinches the NFC South. With a New England loss, their AFC East lead can be cut down to 1 game with a Miami win against Buffalo -- and Miami plays New England next week.
My Picks:
Tennessee > Arizona
San Francisco > Jacksonville
Indianapolis > Houston
Atlanta > Tampa Bay
Minnesota > Chicago
Baltimore > Pittsburgh
New Orleans > New England
