San Diego now sits at 7-7 with games left against Oakland and Kansas City. They’ll need some help, but those are clearly two winnable games. Wouldn’t the playoffs be so much better with a Phil Rivers first-round meltdown at Cincinnati? He’d be yelling at his teammates even though it’s probably his fault. That’s what I really want for Christmas.
Locks of the Week:
JACKSONVILLE +1 over Buffalo
You’re going to ask, “Wait, you’re locking up the Jaguars this week?” My response: “Damn right I am!” The Jaguars have won three in a row and are now killing their draft position. I’m not a Jaguars fans (maybe there aren’t any left to begin with), so I don’t care. I care about the fact that they’re playing hard every week and showing plenty of improvement on the defensive side of the ball. The Bills have been inconsistent all years, so I’ll take the points.
Reggie: Buffalo
DALLAS -7 over Green Bay
Aaron Rodgers isn’t playing and it’s the right decision. In reality, the Packers aren’t winning the Super Bowl and it’s not worth wasting Rodgers now if there’s a chance he’ll have to spend the whole offseason rehabbing if reinjured. If he doesn’t play, the Packers aren’t putting up points in a road game. We saw this situation in Detroit against a bad defense and remember what happened? Dallas might actually be able to enjoy an easy game for once.
Reggie: Green Bay
New Orleans -6.5 over ST. LOUIS
The common take on the Saints is they can never get their offense going as well on the road. That’s an understandable take–but don’t forget this game is in a dome. There’s no reason they shouldn’t roll through things as if it were a home game. Their defense has been providing a great pass rush all season and should wreak havoc once again.
Reggie: New Orleans
Baltimore +7 over DETROIT
The Ravens surely aren’t a great road team, but they also never get blown out. Their worst loss of the season was in Week 1 to Denver and they haven’t lost a game by more than six points since. Chalk it up to an improved defense.
Reggie: Baltimore
Trap Game of the Week:
Washington +7 over ATLANTA
It’s pretty clear the Redskins have given up on the season, but the injection of Kirk Cousins could provide an offensive spark. Washington obviously wasn’t getting enough done offensively before the move. Their defense still sucks, but so does Atlanta’s. This should be a high-scoring affair and the winner should be determined by which team has the ball last.
Reggie: Washington
Rest of the Picks:
MINNESOTA +6 over Philadelphia
The Vikings’ offense is a bit of a dumpster fire right now with Adrian Peterson likely out and possibly Toby Gerhart as well with hamstring issues. This is a typical game for Philadelphia to have a letdown after a five-game winning streak, which has led them to a one-game lead in the division. At least their long snapper fits into the city’s personality pretty well. He’d probably boo Santa, too.
Reggie: Minnesota
New England PK over MIAMI
It’s all hands on deck with the Rob Gronkowski injury, but New England showed there is life after Gronk with their win last week.
Reggie: New England
CLEVELAND PK over Chicago
Won’t it be awesome when Jay Cutler struggles against a better defense and people question whether Josh McCown should’ve kept the starting job? The Bears are showing a lot of loyalty to a quarterback who’s not going to be back on the team next year. Alshon Jeffrey has been killing it recently, but Cutler will look to force the ball to Brandon Marshall per usual and that should end up in at least one bad intereception.
Reggie: Chicago
Houston +6 over INDIANAPOLIS
The Colts would be the clear choice here if they actually knew how to get off to a good start and blow teams out. Unfortunately, they’ve shown continuously that they’re not capable of doing so.
Reggie: Indianapolis
TAMPA BAY +6 over San Francisco
It’s another major letdown opportunity with the 49ers riding in high after last week’s win over Seattle. The Buccaneers have played pretty well at home recently with wins in their last three home games.
Reggie: San Francisco
Seattle -7.5 over N.Y. GIANTS
It’s never a good sign when a team’s captain comes out and says they need to be careful because their opponent is the type of team that embarrasses people. It means that captain believes his team is capable of being embarrassed. Justin Tuck, I believe the Giants can and will get embarrassed too. Besides, you can’t handle Russell Wilson as a two-sport star! Guy might actually go play baseball if he picks up a couple early career concussions.
Reggie: Seattle
OAKLAND +5 over Kansas City
I’m not really sure if Oakland can do anything in this spot, but I find it weird Vegas keeps giving Kansas City small spreads to cover as road favorites. At least Oakland has a better defense than Washington’s so a first half blowout is less likely.
Reggie: Kansas City
N.Y. Jets +12 over CAROLINA
The Jets are going to have rely on the fact that their defense has to keep them in this game. Carolina doesn’t have an explosive passing game, so that should help things out. Geno Smith, as always, just needs to not completely lose his shit.
Reggie: New York Football Jetz
TENNESSEE +3 over Arizona
Arizona is only 2-4 on the road this season, so do they deserve the points as a road favorite? Are they really that good? Tennessee’s got an underrated defense and should at least keep this interesting. Plus we really are due for a Carson Palmer meltdown.
Reggie: Tennessee
PITTSBURGH +3 over Cincinnati
The Steelers’ season is done, but they’re not going to let a division rival come into their house without saying something. OK, that sounds a little too cliché, but Cincinnati hasn’t been nearly as effective on the road as at home. (Sneaky stat here: The Bengals are 6-0 at home this year.) They struggled at Miami and Baltimore in losses and only beat Buffalo and Detroit by a field goal. I’ll take my chances with the three points.
Reggie: Pittsburgh
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 9-7
Season: 98-111-2
Survivor: 10-4
Locks: 23-20
Reggie’s Picks: 102-107-2
“