Week 16 NFL Preview

Now on to seeing what's on tap for the second to last week of the NFL Season:

Dolphins vs. Bills

For the Dolphins, the stakes are high as this is a must win for them if they want to keep up in the playoff race and/or possibly overtake the last spot if Baltimore stumbles. The Bills have nothing more than pride to play for as they and the Titans are holding up the 5-9 corner of the NFL Standings.

Dolphins 28 Bills 17

Saints vs. Panthers

This game is very crucial for both teams. The winner of this match up moves into the #2 seed in the NFC and gets in line for a first round bye. The loser of the game goes into the wild card battle and has to fend off Arizona just to make sure they get into the playoffs. My first instinct is go with the Saints because they've been there before. My second instinct is that their road struggles have extended to teams that are well below their talent level (Jets, Rams). I think Cam Newton busts out big time in this game.

Panthers 34 Saints 14

Vikings vs. Bengals

The Vikings have their top 3 rushers battling injuries but i'm not sure whether it matters as it this point they may be better off not winning to jockey for draft position. The Bengals are looking to solidify and clinch their playoff spot and maybe sneak into the 2-seed should New England falter down the stretch.

Bengals 24 Vikings 20

Broncos vs. Texans

The Broncos are in the playoffs but still have work to do to secure home-field advantage through the playoffs. The Texans have gone from being a train wreck to being a burning dumpster fire. They could bounce back next year with Bridgewater, a new coaching staff and better luck in close games but for now this game could get ugly.

Broncos 49 Texans 13

Titans vs. Jaguars

The first game that is a battle of teams that are both eliminated. The Titans nearly pulled off a crazy comeback in the last few minutes on Sunday only to lose in overtime, only to have nobody notice because of Zeplen's magic Packers outfit and their crazy comeback against the Cowboys was happening at the same time. They're probably in for a letdown in this one.

Jaguars 17 Titans 14

Colts vs. Chiefs

A possible playoff preview as these teams would be going up against each other if the playoffs were to start today. I'm leaning towards the Chiefs on this one as their offense is peaking at the right time and it seems like the Colts peaked around mid-season and have eased their way into the playoffs from there.

Chiefs 38 Colts 17

Browns vs. Jets

The Browns are jockeying for draft position to fix their sorry QB situation, the Jets the only question is whether Rex Ryan gets fired in a couple weeks or is brought back for another season.

Jets 10 Browns 0

Buccaneers vs. Rams

A couple of bad teams that have at least shown some signs of pride over the second half of the season. The Rams are coming off a nice upset of the Saints and I think that momentum carries over into Sunday.

Rams 24 Buccaneers 3

Cowboys vs. Redskins

The Cowboys are coming off a pretty awesome collapse against the Packers but still have a chance to redeem their season by winning the NFC East and possibly saving Jason Garrett's job. The Redskins are auditioning Cousins for trade bait and have no real incentive to win ( or at least that's how they've been playing).

Cowboys 42 Redskins 21

Giants vs. Lions

The Giants are already out of the playoff picture while the Lions tend to play like they are out of it at times coming off a loss to Justin Tucker's foot. My gut instinct is that the Lions meltdown continues and that they will go into next season with a new coach (they have too much talent to lose as often as they have the last couple years).

Giants 17 Lions 3

Cardinals vs. Seahawks

The Cardinals are in a must win situation and need help to prevent themselves from being the best team to miss the playoffs (maybe if they gave Ellington the ball more often than Mendenhall they wouldn't be in this situation). Meanwhile, the Seahawks are very close to clinching home field advantage and playing at home where they are just about unbeatable.

Seahawks 31 Cardinals 7

Steelers vs. Packers

In this week's episode of Zeplen and the magic outfit, will the Packers win another game with the power of him being in the magic outfit for the entire game. Will the Steelers be mathematically eliminated anyway before the start of this game? Will the Packers all-time record improve to 2-0 in games that i've watched at Rooster Creek. How will Matt Flynn follow up to last week's comeback? Stay tuned and find out.

Packers 35 Steelers 20

Raiders vs. Chargers

The Raiders at the 1:25 slot, the scheduled game prompting Heather and I to find somewhere else to watch the Packers game. Chargers look in line for another possibly meaningless win.

Chargers 28 Raiders 17

Bears vs. Eagles

Hey, Eagles its okay that you gave up 48 to the Vikings of all people but listen up. We did you a solid favor by beating the Cowboys last week, you think you can return the favor by beating the Bears on Sunday? Thank you.

Eagles 38 Bears 17

49ers vs. Falcons

The Falcons are basically playing out the string and getting ready to (hopefully) return to relevance in 2014. The 49ers are playing their last game at Candlestick and need to win to possibly eradicate the Cardinals playoff hopes.

49ers 28 Falcons 14