Oh, Kansas City. Just when we were ready to take you seriously, you dig an early hole against Oakland and then give your All-World running back one touch in the last two series. You wanna know why everyone thinks you’ll lose your first playoff game if you make it there? It might’ve been worse had Latavius Murray not sustained a concussion given how he beasted for a 90-yard touchdown. Yikes. At least for once this Thursday night game was eminently watchable.
Locks of the Week:
PHILADELPHIA -11.5 over Tennessee
Maybe last week was a reality check for Mark Sanchez, but Tennessee just gave everything in a loss to Pittsburgh and their defense isn’t good enough to contain the Eagles.
Kyle’s pick: Philadelphia
INDIANAPOLIS -11.5 over Jacksonville
The Colts can’t hang with really good teams, but they’re great at beating the crap out of the bad ones.
Kyle’s pick: Indianapolis
Dallas – 3.5 over N.Y. GIANTS
I said it last week and I’ll say it again. The Giants have not performed well against good teams this year. They couldnt’t even take a gift from the 49ers last week. The Cowboys could put up 200 rushing yards in this one.
Kyle’s pick: Dallas
Tampa Bay +6.5 over CHICAGO
If Tampa plays as well as they have in the last two weeks, what makes them that different than Chicago? Neither team plays defense and both can make big plays down the field with their receivers. Plus there’s the old narrative of Lovie Smith vs. his former team. If his players like him just a little bit, they’ll play extra hard for him in this spot.
Kyle’s picks: Tampa Bay
Trap Game of the Week:
MINNESOTA +9.5 over Green Bay
There’s no reason to pick Minnesota in this spot given how bad they’ve looked against above-average defenses, but sometimes picks don’t make sense. The Packers play New England next week and I’ve learned my lesson on trap games after Kansas City fell flat last night.
Kyle’s pick: Green Bay
Rest of the Picks:
HOUSTON -2.5 over Cincinnati
Maybe Ryan Mallett is the answer. He doesn’t need to be great to make Houston viable. He just needs to be better than Ryan Fitzpatrick and make a few big plays while the defense does the rest.
Kyle’s pick: Cincinnati
NEW ENGLAND -7.5 over Detroit
The Pats are a machine right now. Matthew Stafford just doesn’t seem to be clicking on all cylinders and seems to struggle in big road spots.
Kyle’s pick: Detroit
ATLANTA -3.5 over Cleveland
They key with any Falcons game is the opposing pass rush. Cleveland’s ain’t much. This will be your typical pass-heavy vs. run-heavy game, and I’ll take the passing team in the dome.
Kyle’s pick: Cleveland
Arizona +6.5 over SEATTLE
This is clearly a Drew Stanton at Seattle line and I’m not scared. With the way Arizona’s defense has been playing and as mediocre as Seattle’s has looked, I’ll take all the points I can get.
Kyle’s pick: Arizona
Miami +7.5 over DENVER
Denver is all sorts of banged up and Miami has proven their defense allows them to hang in there with anybody.
Kyle’s pick: Miami
SAN FRANCISCO -9.5 over Washington
I’m not sure how you can back Washington in any capacity right now other than leading the league in disputes between head coach and starting quarterback. The only reason I’m not buying into it as a trap game is because the 49ers are at home.
Kyle’s pick: San Francisco
N.Y. Jets +4.5 over BUFFALO
This game moves to Detroit on Monday night, which should make for a weird crowd environment. The Jets looked invigorated before the bye week and should come out firing against their division rival. Sammy Watkins is the only player the Bills have to abuse the Jets’ secondary, so look for Rex Ryan to shut him down.
Kyle’s pick: Jets
NEW ORLEANS – 3.5 over Baltimore
So much for the Saints’ home dominance. They look quite human now, but Baltimore always plays with a little less bite on the road. The loss of Jimmy Smith should make their defense too vulnerable to what the Saints should be able to do on offense. This is my last ride believing in the Saints and I’ll jump ship if they lose.
Kyle’s pick: New Orleans
This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 5-8
Season: 84-77-1
Survivor: 7-2
Locks: 16-15-1
Kyle: 85-76-1