Well, almost nobody. If I was wearing yellow & black I'd feel like I was guaranteed something this weekend. Let's hook em up!
Saturday, January 9
Kansas City (-3.5) at Houston: We can safely say that the Chiefs are the hottest team in the NFL right now. As we all know by this point since we're reminded during every other Dustin James tweet, the Chiefs have won ten straight games after starting 1-5.
THE CHIEFS STARTED 1-5! THEY'VE WON 10 STRAIGHT! 1-5! 10 STRAIGHT!
Indeed. Since that's constantly mentioned, I feel obligated to point out that the Chiefs played only one team with a winning record during the last ten games (Denver, with Peyton Manning throwing four interceptions & being taken out of the game and then disappearing for weeks), while that 1-5 start featured games against five teams that ended up making the playoffs. Ironically enough, their one victory during that stretch came in Houston against the Texans. Kansas City is becoming a sexy pick because they're on quite the hot streak, but one has to wonder how much of that is due to their competition, and what will happen once they face off against superior teams.
The Houston Texans aren't exactly a superior team. They did get to 9-7 and avoid the embarrassment of making the playoffs with a losing record, but ending the season with Colts/Titans/Jaguars as your final three games is as easy a way to get a three game winning streak as possible. That being said, the Texans have a dangerous defense featuring JJ Watt, the homefield advantage, and the revenge factor in their favor. Kansas City may have beaten them to begin the season, but now they have a chance to end the Chiefs' season in the most painful way, an exit from the playoffs in the first round. A style of exit that the Chiefs and their fans have become all too accustomed to over the past twenty-two years.
Pittsburgh (-3) at Cincinnati: Speaking of teams & fans that are accustomed to not participating in the second weekend of the playoffs, the Bengals celebrated the 25th anniversary of their most recent playoff victory this past Wednesday. Well, "celebrated" is probably the wrong term. "Shook their head at" is probably more appropriate. It's been twenty-five years of frustration for the Bengals, and a pretty high percentage of that frustration has been caused by their bitter rivals from Pittsburgh.
We could spend a long time recapping the various accomplishments the Steeler franchise has attained since the Bengals' most recent playoff victory, but the most appropriate to note here is their ownership of the Bengals in the city of Cincinnati. The Steelers have gone 21-5 in Cincinnati since the 1991 season, and 12-2 since Marvin Lewis took the reins of the Bengals.
And people have the unmitigated gall to say I'm being too negative when I say that the Steelers are going to win. I've been watching this team for over twenty-five years now. I know how this works. They always lose playoff games. They always lose primetime games. They always lose to the Steelers. That's three strikes, and we haven't even mentioned the quarterback situation. Not that it matters, it's not like Andy Dalton is even an average January quarterback, so AJ McCarron at least can't be worse than what we usually get. I actually think he might not be terrible because he's got all that experience playing national title games at Alabama & knows all about clutch situations. He's also the kind of guy that doesn't care that the Bengals are supposed to lose. So don't be completely shocked if he performs well this weekend.
The Bengals' main hope lies in the protective boot on DeAngelo Williams' foot. Williams suffered an ankle injury on Sunday, and if he's unable to go on Saturday, Pittsburgh will be pretty slim at the running back position. The Steelers will pass most of the time anyway, but if they can't run the ball they can't take time off the clock and the Bengals will get more opportunities to keep up. They'll also need to get turnovers like they did when these teams met in Pittsburgh. I don't like the chances of any of this...but at least there's something.
Sunday, January 10
Seattle (-5) at Minnesota: Minus five is not only the current spread for this game, it's also pretty close to the likely temperature at kickoff in Minneapolis. The current high for Sunday is being forecast at 1 degree Fahrenheit.
Yes it is, Ollie. The Vikings will be really happy to have their new domed stadium next season, but for now they're stuck playing one of the toughest, most physical teams in the NFL in some of the coldest temperatures in the history of football. Should be fun! The Seahawks blew the Vikings out not all that long ago, and if Marshawn Lynch is back, that'll make the Seahawks' game plan real easy: Keep on runnin'. Good season for the Vikings, they're ahead of schedule and could be dangerous for years to come with Teddy, Coach Zimmer & the ageless AP. But Seattle's on a roll and it's their time.
Green Bay (-1) at Washington: People say that the Packers got off lucky this week since they get to travel to Washington while the NFC North Champion Minnesota Vikings have to host the Seattle Seahawks. Kirk Cousins has been playing pretty well against inferior defenses lately, but one wonders if he'll return to Earth this week. Green Bay's defense has been their strength for most of this season and have kept them at a playoff level even with Aaron Rodgers & the offense having a less than stellar year. Rodgers insists that they will show up when it matters, and even if he's had a bad season I know better than to doubt Aaron Rodgers at this point.
Washington's been interesting this season and I love Kirk Cousins doing enough to get a huge contract, but I just don't see it going much longer. They've feasted on bad teams, only playing three winning teams this season. They lost to those three teams. The Packers have a winning record. Might be a problem.
Last Week: 9-6-1
2015 Regular Season: 137-113-8
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