Week 15 Predictions

New Orleans 20, Chicago 28 - New Orleans has trouble winning on the road. With a competent (?) offense and a passable defense, the Bears are also fighting for a playoff spot while the Saints are all but out. I don't see the Saints spoiling the Bears' postseason aspirations in Chicago.

Tennessee 30, Houston 17- The Texans don't beat the Titans unless Sage Rosenfels is quarterback. Matt Schaub will probably get knocked out (again), and the Texans will be spending another season in the AFC South's basement.

Detroit 10, Indianapolis 37 - Possibly the league's hottest team against the worst team possibly in NFL history. Prediction 37 for the Colts is probably conservative.

Seattle 26, St. Louis 14 - Tough loss against the Patriots on the Seahawks' final possession to the Patriots at Qwest Field in week 14. Look for them to bounce back on the road against the Rams, who would be ranked at the bottom of every major statistical category if it weren't for the Lions.

Green Bay 27, Jacksonville 24 - With Fred Taylor's thumb injury probably ending his season and possibly ending his career in Jacksonville, the Jaguars can't wait for this season to be over. If it weren't for the San Diego Chargers, they'd definitely be the league's biggest disappointment after making it to the Divisional round of the playoffs last year. Meanwhile the Packers are nearly out of the race as well and the Green Bay defense, whose deficiencies were once masked by Brett Favre and the offense, has been exposed. This game is really more about bragging rights.

Buffalo 20, NYJ 33 - The Jets had two huge wins over the Patriots and the Titans, but then dropped two in a row to the Broncos and the 49ers. The alarming thing (or maybe it's a good thing come playoff time, if the Jets make it that far) about their losses is that the offense performed worse against higher-level defenses. Tied for first in the AFC East with New England and Miami, the Jets basically need to win out in order to guarantee a playoff spot.

San Francisco 13, Miami 27 - Miami has been scraping by, with a 16-3 victory over Buffalo in Toronto in week 14. Like the Jets, they need to win their remaining games in order to make the playoffs. What makes the situation interesting is that the Dolphins and the Jets play each other in week 17- neither will be able to rest their starters, and the additional Chad Pennington/Brett Favre drama makes it that much juicier.

Tampa Bay 24, Atlanta 31 - No NFC South road team has won a divisional game this year. That's pretty amazing, and the Bucs' defense got trounced by the Panthers on Monday Night Football in week 14. Atlanta doesn't have nearly the talent or depth at pretty much every position, but at home in the Georgia Dome they turn into a different team.

San Diego 31, Kansas City 24 - Sadly, amazingly, ridiculously, however you want to put it- the Chargers aren't out of the playoffs at 5-8 with 3 games to go. They must win all of their games including week 17's finale with Denver to get in by virtue of the third tiebreaker (record in common games). Denver also must lose all of their games, which could very well happen since the Broncos have been one of the most roller coaster teams this season.

Minnesota 20, Arizona 27 - Arizona locked up their first division title in 30-something years last week, and unfairly they have to face the Vikings and the Williams Wall. It doesn't matter too much as the Cardinals don't run the ball anyways, but the Cardinals still want to win and try to get a home playoff game. Does anyone see Arizona traveling to an NFC East stadium and winning? Didn't think so.

Pittsburgh 17, Baltimore 14- If you like defensive games, it doesn't get much better than this. These two teams are brutal to each other, and it should be fun to watch Ray Lewis cream Mewelde Moore.

Denver 21, Carolina 34 - In addition to the NFC South home team's perfect divisional record, NFC South home teams have lost something like 2 home games total. Denver just beat the Jets while the Panthers just destroyed the Bucs. Expect a shootout.

New England 27, Oakland 6 - This prediction hinges on the status of Matt Cassel, whose father recently passed away. I expect him to play and put up a Favre-ian like performance in Oakland (the good kind).

NYG 27, Dallas 23 - Probably the most storied divisional rivalry in recent years, Dallas is coming off of a tough-to-swallow loss to Pittsburgh while the Giants got outmuscled in Philadelphia. Last year the Giants harassed Tony Romo in both their second divisional matchup in Dallas as well as in the Divisional Round. The Cowboys are in the midst of their usual late-season collapse, while the Giants will be looking for someone to take out their anger on.

Cleveland 27, Philadelphia 36 - The Eagles' late season run should continue against the Browns, who have lost both of their starting quarterbacks. On Monday Night I'd even expect the Browns to put up some points, but I don't see them winning this one.