For some teams, an entire season of work has boiled down to this one simple axiom – win and they’re in. For teams who don’t hold their playoff fates in their own hands however, it’s a little more complicated.
So without any further ado, let’s take a look at the games that will determine who goes home and who plays on, who succeeded in 2007 and who flopped, and we’ll start with the best team in the NFL this year, hands down.
New England (15-0) at New York Giants (10-5): Let’s get this one out of the way first – even with the chance to play spoiler, the Giants are not going to beat New England this weekend. The Pats are determined to put together a perfect season, and even in a situation when most teams would rest their starters and prepare for the playoffs, New England coach Bill Belichick will keep the intensity high and probably play his stars through most of the game. Welcome to 16-0, Pats. Now it gets hard. Score: New England 27, NY Giants 17.
Dallas (13-2) at Washington (8-7): The Redskins have been amazingly resilient in the aftermath of safety Sean Taylor’s murder, and after beating Minnesota last weekend, they now control their own playoff destiny. A win over Dallas will put them in the playoffs, and with the Cowboys locked into the No. 1 seed in the NFC and wideout Terrell Owens banged up, I think the ’Skins will capitalize. Todd Collins has played well since subbing for injured Jason Campbell a few weeks ago, and Washington’s defense, with the memory of Taylor still strong, will be the deciding factor in getting Washington into the playoffs and a likely first-round matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.. Score: Washington 24, Dallas 20.
San Francisco (5-10) at Cleveland (9-6): The Browns nearly killed their playoff chances with a loss to Cincinnati last week – now, they need to beat the 49ers and hope the Tennessee Titans lose. With a 1 p.m. start time on Sunday, the Browns will be up first, and they’ll have no problem handling San Francisco. The ’Niners only barely got by shorthanded Tampa Bay last weekend, and the ravenous Cleveland home crowd will be fired up from the first whistle. Cleveland wins it to stay in the race. Score: Cleveland 24, San Francisco 13, which will end up being inconsequential because ...
Tennessee (9-6) at Indianapolis (13-2): Assuming the Colts rest their starters for a significant portion of the game, there’s no way the physical Titans are going to lose with a playoff berth in sight. The Titans control their own destiny, meaning that if they win, it doesn’t matter what Cleveland does earlier in the day. And with Peyton Manning and the rest of the Indy offense probably watching from the sidelines, Tennessee will lock up their spot in the playoffs, even though the stay will probably be short-lived. Score: Tennessee 20, Indianapolis 17.
San Diego (9-5) at Oakland (4-11): The Chargers need to win this week to clinch the No. 3 seed in the AFC, which sounds unimportant until you consider what’s at stake – possibly avoiding the Patriots until the AFC Championship game. Even though San Diego is also likely to try to give its stars some time off, the Raiders are nowhere near good enough to do anything about it. The Chargers will finish their second-half surge by throttling punchless Oakland. Score: San Diego 31, Oakland 10.
Quick picks: Pittsburgh will tune up for the playoffs by beating Baltimore, Houston will upset Jacksonville as the Jaguars rest up, the Jets will end the season on a high note by beating Kansas City, Green Bay will right the ship by beating Detroit and Denver will send the Vikings home for good with a season-ending loss.
Last week’s record: 7-3. Overall: 114-44.