Just Football

Sometimes, we just need to forget everything but football.

The Patriots, thanks to their 42-14 pummeling of the Texans, are back in The Conversation. They’re now the consensus pick of pigskin pundits and bobbleheads to rep the AFC in the Super Bowl. (Pigskin Transitive Law: New England beat fellow division leaders Denver and Houston; they lost to Baltimore but the Ravens appear to be busy self-deporting themselves from the playoffs and lose the tiebreaker if the playoffs started today.) Then again, everything could change on Sunday. It almost always does.

NYG at ATL – The Falcons will be looking to recover some street cred after getting a collective wedgie in Carolina last week. The G-Men are working on another of their patented out of nowhere who cares if we can’t win a game in November late season surge to the playoffs. You know how there’s always that team that nobody wants to play in the playoffs? That was the Giants last year. This year, the Falcons seem to be the team that everybody wants to play in the playoffs. They could go a long way to changing that perception with a win over the Giants. Unfortunately for Atlanta, New York actually needs this game with Washington and Dallas as objects that may be closer than they appear in the rear view.

Giants 48, Falcons 20

GB at CHI – Is there a one-game lead that seems safer than the Packers’ single digit advantage over the Bears?  Okay, sure, there aren’t that many one-game leads but still. I’d call Chicago’s Jay Cutler to Brandon Marshall offense one dimensional but given the fact the Bears cannot keep Cutler upright and clearheaded I guess it’s really zero dimensional. The Bears are so beaten up they’ve even had to replace their kicker.

WSH at CLE – So much for that Browns’ winning streak. Can you imagine what R.G. III’s standing will be in the Washington locker room when he plays on that leg and leads the Skins to victory? [Edit] Kirk Cousins gets the start; Washington still rolls...

Skins 31, Browns 17

MIN at STL – Adrian Peterson vs. Jeff Fisher’s Mustache. Although Fisher’s Mustache is coming off back to back wins that has taken the Rams to 6-6-1, which is a big frickin’ deal if you’re the St. Louis Rams. On the other hand, Adrian Peterson. While that is pretty good that is in fact all the Vikings have at this point. I’ll take Jeff Fisher’s Mustache at home.

Rams 20, Vikings 16

DEN at BAL – Peyton Manning loves games like this way more than Joe Flacco does. The jimmies on that sundae? The Broncos’ defense will be out to show the Ravens’ defense who the big dog is now. The stinging memories of Baltimore’s embarrassing collapse of a week ago will be dulled and forgotten long before this game is over, replaced midway through the 3^rd quarter after Manning’s 4^th TD pass by the horrifying vision of a road game in the Wild Card round. Okay, Pittsburgh probably won’t run the table and Baltimore is sure to win at least one more game but how good will the Ravens be able to feel about that AFC North championship after Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts come to town and blow them out in the first round?

Broncos 34, Ravens 23

IND at HOU – Against New England, J.J. Watt didn’t have a sack, didn’t have a pass defensed, didn’t have a tackle for a loss and his forced fumble was recovered by Brandon Lloyd for a Patriots’ TD. Watt has got to be thinking, “This will not stand, you know? This aggression will not stand, man!” After being whipped naked through the streets of Foxborough on national television, the entire Texans roster should be looking for a hobo to kill. As for the Colts, life is all about timing. And this is clearly very bad timing. My advice? Don’t dress like hoboes. I’m looking at you, Andrew Luck.

Texans 41, Colts 27

PIT at DAL – Did the Steelers really lose to the Chargers last week? Seriously? The Chargers? Pittsburgh didn’t fire their offensive coordinator after that game but they did suspend RB Rashard Mendenhall for truancy. Put a tick mark in the Distractions checkbox for the Steelers. Not to be outdone on the drama front, Dallas owner/GM Jerry Jones has left it up to Dez Bryant whether he plays or sits with a broken finger. Bryant may be best described as “easily confused” so I’m not sure if understands the coded message (play or you’re a pussy) sent by Jones. I wonder if the encrypted content (we can’t win without Dez Bryant) has been decrypted by the rest of the Dallas roster.

Steelers 27, Cowboys 13

SF at NE – It’s a foregone conclusion Bill Belichick has studied the film from the Niners’ games with the Rams. If the Rams dominance of the 49ers isn’t some coincidental twist of pigskin fate and there’s something of substance in Jeff Fisher’s game plans, we can expect to see more of the same from the Patriots Sunday night. Or the Patriots will do something completely different. That’s how they roll. Speaking of how the Patriots roll, do you think we will ever see all 53 members of the New England roster listed as questionable for Sunday’s game? Whatever. I think the defense will need to step up and win this one. Mayo, Spikes and Hightower need to dominate the Monday morning SportsCenter highlights of this game.

Patriots 30, 49ers 17