Brad's NFL Picks - Week 15 - 2010

     Brad's Picks was 8-8 last week. Here's the good, bad and really bad from last week:

     the good:

Bucs 17, Washington 16.   Reds could have tied the game with a point after but a flotched snap prevented that, and the Bucs escaped after another nail biter.

Jacksonville 38, Raiders 31.    I watched this game, and it was a good one. Hats off to the Raiders for playing a tough game on the east coast against a good team trying to win their division.

Pittsburgh 23, Bengals 7.   Steelers got 14 off two Carson Palmer INT's run back for TD's.

Falcons 31, Carolina 10.   Yawn.

San Francisco 40, Seahawks 21.   Hawks turned it over five times.

New Orleans 31, Rams 13.  Good teams take care of business against lesser teams.

San Diego 31, Chiefs 0.  Chiefs were without Cassel, but this was still a little payback for the Week 1 loss at Arrowhead.

Ravens 34, Houston 28. OT.   Ravens led 21-0 with 42 seconds left in the first half. Then Houston came alive with a Matt Schaub TD toss to Andre Johnson to close the half. 28 - 28 at the end of regulation. Then Josh Wilson intercepted Matt Schaub and ran it back 12 yards for the TD in OT.

     the rest after the jump:

      the bad:

Colts 30, Tennessee 28.    A Titans TD as time expired made it look closer than it was.

Buffalo 13, Browns 6.   10 - 6 at the half. Bills pretty much dominated all the stats except for points.

Detroit 7, Packers 3.  Packers lost QB Aaron Rodgers to a concussion in the second quarter, but it was shaping up to be a defensive struggle anyway.

Dolphins 10, New York Jets 6.  Dolphins are 6 - 1 on the road this year (1 - 5 at home). Someone explain that to me. Better yet, explain it to the Dolphins.

Eagles 30, Dallas 27.    It was close, but the Eagles put an end to three straight losses to the Cowboys. There were still over four minutes to go after the scoring stopped.

     the really bad:

Arizona 43, Broncos 13.   It's official. The Broncos are the worst team in the NFL.

Patriots 36, Chicago 7.    Patriots beat a 9-3 team by 29 points. On the road.

Giants 21, Detroit Vikings 3.   Brett Favre's all time regular season record of 297 straight starts came to an abrupt end two days after the 28 year storied career of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome came to an abrupt end, crushed under the weight of too much snow. Much like the Vikings were crushed by the Giants.

     It was AFC 1, NFC 1 last week, so on the season it's AFC 29, NFC 27. Home teams tied with the Visitors at 8 (helped a bit - maybe - by the fact the Vikings had to travel to Detroit for a "home" game). On the season it's H 115, V 93. Brad's Picks is 125 - 83.

     this week: the TNF game:

San Francisco (5-8) at San Diego (7-6)  -  A California battle. I'll take the Chargers at home. They're the better team and have always played well in December.

     the 11:00 MST Sunday games:

Kansas City (8-5) at St. Louis (6-7)  -  A Missouri battle. I'll take the Chiefs at Arrowhead, a tough place to play in December. Chiefs will (probably) have Matt Cassel back at QB - he's been practicing, although a bit limited, after his appendectomy a week ago. Weather: upper 30's, some sun, some clouds.

Washington (5-8) at Dallas (4-9)  -  Division game. Take Dallas. They're 3-2 with Interim Head Coach Jason Garrett at the helm, and both of those losses were really close.

Houston (5-8) at Tennessee (5-8)  -  Division game. Titans played the Colts tough last week on Thursday, losing by two points. Kerry Collins threw three TD's and 0 INT's. Texans played the Ravens tough, losing in OT on MNF when Matt Schaub threw to the wrong guy. Weather should be decent in Nashville, sunny and in the high 30's. Titans have had four more days to get ready for this game.

Arizona (4-9) at Carolina (1-12)  -  Yawn. I'll take the Panthers at home. Cards are probably still thinking about the big win over the Broncos (yawn).

Philadelphia (9-4) at New York Giants (9-4)  -  Division game. Eagles are 5-1 lately. This is interesting. Probably a playoff berth at stake. Eagles won 27 - 17 in Week 11. Vick was hit a lot. I'll take the Giants at home in New Jersey.

Detroit (3-10) at Tampa Bay (8-5)  -  Lions are playing much better than they did the last several years, but I'll take the Buccaneers at home.

Cleveland (5-8) at Cincinnati (2-11)  -  Division game. Hard to believe that Cincinnati swept the division last year and finished at 10-6. Cleveland won the first game this year 23 - 20 in Week 4. Take the Browns, I guess.

Buffalo (3-10) at Miami (7-6)  -  Division game. Amazing, but true. Dolphins are 1-5 at home this year. They won in Buffalo in Week One 15 - 10. Bills lost their top receiver, Lee Evans, for the year. Dolphins get their second win at home?

Jacksonville (8-5) at Unplace (7-6)  -  Division game. Jags won the first game in Week Four 31 - 28. So this one is for the Division. If the Jags win, they win the division. I'll take the Jaguars because the Colts can't stop the run (29th) and the Jags are 2nd best at running the ball.

New Orleans (10-3) at Baltimore (9-4)  -  Road trip for the Saints, and it's outdoors. But the weather should be decent - upper 30's, some clouds, some sun. Ravens played in Houston on Monday night and had to go to OT. Saints had an easy game against the Rams in the Big Easy. Saints are rounding into form while the Ravens have been sputtering some.

     the 2:05 MST game:

Atlanta (11-2) at Seattle (6-7)  -  Weather should be decent - 40's, maybe a shower or two, but decent. Long road trip for the Falcons, but they are the much better team.

     the 2:15 MST games:

Denver (3-10) at Oakland (6-7)  -  Division game. Weather will probably be decent. Broncos won't. Take the Raiders.

New York Jets (9-4) at Pittsburgh (10-3)  -  Are the Jets overrated? Mark Sanchez threw no INT's the first five games of this season, but has thrown 12 in the last 8 games. Jets lost their last two games - a blow out at New England and a home loss to the Dolphins. Their nine wins have been by a total of 71 points, about 8 per game. Steelers defense should take care of Sanchez.

     the SNF game:

Green Bay (8-5) at New England (11-2)  -  Aaron Rodgers left the game last week at Detroit with a concussion. He hasn't been practicing and it looks like a game time decision. But I'd take the Patriots at home even if Rodgers was A-OK.

     the MNF game:

Chicago (9-4) at Minnesota (5-8)  -  Division game. Bears got pounded at home by the Patriots last week, while the Vikings had to play a "home" game in Detroit on Monday night, where they got pounded by the Giants. The game will be played at the University of Minnesota stadium in Minneapolis. Weather should be in the low teens, but otherwise decent.

Bears won 27-13 in Week 10, but the Vikings were without two receivers and their center, and Favre threw three INT's. Anyway, Favre still has numbness in his shoulder and arm, and Tarvaris Jackson has been placed on IR with ligament damage in one of his toes. So that leaves rookie Joe Webb, a 6th round pick out of UAB. Unless the Vikings decide to start Patrick Ramsey, signed earlier this week. Ramsey was absolutely pathetic a few years ago in Denver, and has bounced around since then. Okay, more information than you need or want. Take the Bears. Cold weather in Minneapolis will likely benefit the Bears more than the domer Vikings.