JC's Take: NFL Week 16 Picks

JC's Take: NFL Week 16 Picks

Hey guys, welcome back for my Week 16 picks. I'm in a time crunch today so they'll be a little shorter than normal.

Carolina Panthers vs Pittsburgh Steelers

Even before the season, did somebody really think this would be a good game for primetime on Thursday night? This one is easy: Steelers in a route. Jimmy Claussen may not make it to Christmas.

Pittsburgh 38  Carolina 9

Dallas Cowboys vs Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals are coming off of their worst performance of the year by losing at Carolina. They have no answers at QB and need to address that in the off-season. The Cowboys offense is surging under Jason Garrett and Jon Kitna may have one himself a chance to start somewhere next year. The Cowboys still appear to be trying and will win here. This is another game that people won't be excited about come Christmas night.

Dallas 34  Arizona 14

New England Patriots vs Buffalo Bills

The Bills have lost 14 straight against New England. The Bills have been getting closer and closer to beating them each year, but still haven't been able to pull through. I don't think they do it this week either. The Pats got a scare Sunday night from an Aaron Rodgers-less Packers team. Tom Brady and the offense continue to play well. I think i'tll be close, but the Patriots pull away late.

New England 35  Buffalo 27

New York Jets vs Chicago Bears

The Jets shocked everyone last week by beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh. They simplified the game plan for Mark Sanchez and didn't ask him to doo too much. The Bears clinched the NFC North last week against Minnesota. They're still playig for a first round bye. This should be a defensive struggle. I like Jay Cutler and the Bears offense to make one more play than the Jets.

Chicago 20  NY Jets 16

Baltimore Ravens vs Cleveland Browns

The Browns were playing hard mid-season but now seem to have phoned it in, especially after road losses to Buffalo and Cincinnati. Now they get a Ravens team coming off of a big win against New Orleans, and are back in a tie with Pittsburgh in the AFC North. The Ravens defense will be too much for Browns QB Colt McCoy, and Eric Mangini gets one step closer to unemployment.

Baltimore 24  Cleveland 13

Tennessee Titans vs Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs are 6-0 at home this season. They have a game lead in the AFC West and can't slip up here. The Titans fond themselves last week at home against Houston, looking like the team they were earlier in the year. The Chiefs need to hope their defense plays as well as they did last week. This one will be close to the end, as I think the Titans are a bit re-juvinated after last week. In the end though, I'll take the Chiefs with their home field advantage.

Kansas City 23  Tennessee 20

San Francisco 49ers vs St. Louis Rams

The winner of this one pretty much has the inside track at winning the NFC West. The Seahawks are so bad I don't expect them to win another game. The 49ers are apparently going back to Troy Smith at QB. The Rams Sam Bradford has cooled down a bit late in the season. Both teams have adequate defenses so points could be hard to come by in this one. I think the Rams are a better team overall and I like them to win here.

St. Louis 19  San Francisco 17

Detroit Lions vs Miami Dolphins

The Lions finally ended their long road losing streak last week. Can they make it two in a row? They very well might. The Dolphins looked bad last week against Buffalo. Chad Henne, other than one drive, looked particularly bad. The Lions are playing hard and match-up nicely against the Dolphins. The Phins have only won one home game this year, and I think they stumble again here, pushing Tony Sparano closer to unemployment.

Detroit 26  Miami 24

Washington Redskins vs Jacksonville Jaguars

The Redskins are a mess. From Donovan McNabb to Albert Haynesworth to Mike Shanahan to Dan Snyder, nothing is working. You know what Dan Snyder will do in the off-season? Throw more money at the problem to fix it. The Jags lost their AFC South lead last week at Indy. They're still tied with them, however, which means one slip up by the Colts and they're back on top. I like the Jags here, and I don't think it's close.

Jacksonville 30  Washington 14

San Diego Chargers vs Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals finally won game number three last week at home against Cincinnati. They'll be without T.O. the rest of the year, but it's not like having him out there made much of a difference. The Chargers have had ten days of rest to prepare for this game, so I like their chances. They're only one game back in the AFC West, and their team is better all around compared to Cincinnati.

San Diego 28  Cincinnati 14

Houston Texans vs Denver Broncos

Tim Tebow didn't look half bad in his debut last week. At least he gave a new coach something to think about when it comes to keeping him on the team next year. The Texans just looked like they didn't even show up last week for their game against Tennessee. But their offense is so much better than Denver's defense that they should still be able to win.

Houston 35  Denver 30

Indianapolis Colts vs Oakland Raiders

The Colts took control of the AFC South race last week, but they can't be celebrating yet. They have to take on a very tough Raiders team. The Raiders will lean on Darren McFadden to run through a suspect Colts defense, even though they shut down Maurice Jones-Drew last week. Peyton Manning needs to keep doing what he's been doing recently: not too much. As long as he does that I expect the Colts to win here. The Raiders will keep it close but Peyton wins it in the end.

Indianapolis 27  Oakland 23

New York Giants vs Green Bay Packers

This game is huge. The winner has the inside track on the last NFC Wild Card spot. The Giants are coming off that horrific loss at home against Philadelphia. It'll be interesting to see how they regroup here. The Packers almost took care of the Patriots on the road, but poor clock management at the end of the game prevented them from doing that. Aaron Rodgers is suppose to be back, which gives the Packers a slight edge. I'm taking them here, and I think Tom Coughlin has to start worrying about his job security.

Green Bay 24  NY Giants 21

Minnesota Vikings vs Philadelphia Eagles

Why was this game moved to primetime? Oh yeah Brett Favre, who probably won't even play this week. The Vikings look like they've given up. The Eagles have all the momentum after last week's comeback win against the Giants. Mike Vick and DeSean Jackson look almost unstoppable, and that won't change this week.

Philadelphia 38  Minnesota 21

New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons

Falcons win: they get home field (I'm already penciling in a home win agaisnt the Panthers next week). The Saints are coming off a tough loss at Baltimore last week. The Falcons offense is just too good for the Saints to stop at this point. I'm sure Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will try to come up with something, but Matt Ryan is just playing too well. I know he won't win it, but he should get some consideration for MVP. Falcons win a tight one.

Atlanta 28  New Orleans 24

That's all for this week. I'd like to wish everyone who reads my blog a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Until next time,

Justin C