Just one week ago, the introduction to my column focused on how long it has taken to reach the point where playoff clinching scenarios must be considered when assessing games. Now, they are littered throughout this article.
As football fans, we should be grateful for how Week 14 unfolded. The teams with big leads in their divisions either locked up their respective titles or will easily in the coming weeks. But, the rest of the races grew tighter. The Chargers and Chiefs both won, and they will play against one another. Detroit and Green Bay won, and the latter is reportedly getting back Aaron Rodgers. And, of course, the Patriots lost, the Steelers won, and the two will battle for the edge in the race for the AFC’s top seed. Which can also be won by Jacksonville! The same team who knocked off the Seahawks.
It doesn’t end there.
Last week, we had a snowstorm completely derail reality, the Browns almost win a game, and a double-digit underdog pull off an outright win on Monday Night Football.
This week, we get football on Saturday, a handful of teams trying to save their seasons, and can’t-miss matchups in Kansas City and Pittsburgh. With three weeks to go in the regular season, we are bound to see chaos somewhere along-the-line. And with the way the schedule is playing out, we are in store for unparalleled entertainment, this weekend.
Below are predictions for each game against the spread. Spreads have been taken from various websites and are subject to change. The spread in parenthesis denotes the selected team. An asterisk denotes a confidence pick.
*Confidence Picks – 2017 Season: 40-39-4 (Last Week: 3-4)
(2016 Season: 53-67-3) (2015 Season: 69-45-2) (2014 Season: 61-46-2) (3-Year Total: 183-158-7)
All Picks Against Spread – 2017 Season: 106-94-8 (Last Week: 8-7-1)
(2016 Season: 123-136-8) (2015 Season: 143-117-7) (2014 Season: 149-114-4) (3-Year Total: 415-367-19)
Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts
After an optimistic introduction regarding the potential for a thoroughly enjoyable week of NFL action, we start with a dud.
Week 15 begins with the battle of Peyton Manning’s former teams – I wonder if there is any animosity. It will, however, be a far stretch Peyton Manning of 2003 against Peyton Manning of 2013, as we will be treated to Trevor Siemian against Jacoby Brissett. Grab some popcorn.
We can’t be too greedy. Last week, we had arguably the best Thursday Night Football matchup of the year on paper, and it completely delivered. Then, a few days later, we had a thoroughly entertaining game in the snow between the Bills and Colts. If, nothing else, during Indianapolis’ home game against the Broncos on Thursday, we can reflect upon the last time we saw them play – “saw” being used loosely, as visibility was incredibly low.
Unfortunately, we cannot take anything from Indianapolis’ most recent game, as the weather – while fun to watch – prevented either team from playing a normal game. We must throw out the statistics and enter Week 15 as we did Week 14.
Even if we remove