{"id":516,"date":"2015-12-24T11:10:21","date_gmt":"2015-12-24T15:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thisfootballblog.com\/?p=516"},"modified":"2015-12-24T11:10:21","modified_gmt":"2015-12-24T15:10:21","slug":"week-sixteen-picks-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thisfootballblog.com\/?p=516","title":{"rendered":"Week Sixteen Picks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Week fifteen turned out pretty OK for me. I finished 12-4 straight up, 10-5-1 against the spread. That lifts me to 139-85 (.621) straight up and 108-111-5 (.493) against the spread on the season. In all cases, I’ll take it.<\/p>\n

Here’s what not to expect in week sixteen.<\/p>\n

San Diego<\/a><\/strong> (+6) at Oakland<\/a>
\n<\/strong>I get that there’s a lot of emotion associated with the fact this will be Charles Woodson’s last game Oakland<\/a>. I know I’ll be rooting for Woodson to go out with a big game. But I don’t think Woodson’s sendoff is a reason to pick the Raiders. I think the fact that the Raiders are the better team is a reason to pick them. And I think the fact that they’re playing at home on a Thursday night is a reason to pick them to win by more than six. Oakland by a touchdown.<\/p>\n

Washington<\/a> (+3) at Philadelphia<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>The prize in the riveting battle for the 2015 NFC East title will be a first-class ass-kicking by the Seahawks in the Wild Card round. Who wouldn’t want that? Racists by two.<\/p>\n

Chicago<\/a> (+3) at Tampa Bay<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Both of these teams are headed nowhere in 2015. But the Bears appear determined to get there faster. Bucs by a field goal.<\/p>\n

Carolina<\/a> (-7) at Atlanta<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>The Panthers still have something on the line. Not sure anyone needs to know much more about this game. Carolina by 20.<\/p>\n

Dallas<\/a> (+6) at <\/strong><\/strong>Buffalo<\/a><\/strong>
\nThis game’s got memorable written all over it, doesn’t it? Bills by 10.<\/p>\n

San Francisco<\/a> (+9.5) at Detroit<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Ugh. This one, too. Prediction? Here’s a prediction: I won’t care any more about this game while it’s being played or after it’s been played than I do right now. Lions by a touchdown.<\/p>\n

Cleveland <\/a><\/strong> (+12.5) at Kansas City<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>It will be absolutely shocking if this is still a game at the end of the first quarter. Chiefs by 21, minimum.<\/p>\n

Indianapolis<\/a><\/strong> (+1.5) at Miami<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/strong>Is this really how the Colts’ season ends? Yes. Yes, it is. Dolphins by four.<\/p>\n

New England<\/a><\/strong> (-3) at NY Jets<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Yeah, the Patriots need to win this game in order to clinch the AFC one seed. Or they could always do it next week in Miami. And most important of all for New England is getting healthy for the postseason. So I expect the Patriots to go at about 75 percent strength, which means I only expect them to beat New Jersey by four.<\/p>\n

\"BradysInflatedStatsGame14\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Pittsburgh<\/a> (-10) at Baltimore<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>I haven’t bought into the hype around Pittsburgh quite yet. Not sure I will. But the Ravens have been done for weeks, and they haven’t really been anything to worry about all season. Steelers by 20.<\/p>\n

Houston<\/a><\/strong> (+4.5) at Tennessee<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Wait the Texans are getting<\/em> points in this game? Really? Sign me up. Houston by a field goal.<\/p>\n

Jacksonville<\/a> (+3.5) at New Orleans<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>I’m not sure how or when I arrived in a world where the Jaguars could conceivably go into New Orleans and beat the Saints, but here I am. Here we all are. Only maybe don’t take your shoes off, because I’m not sure we’ll be staying long. New Orleans by a touchdown.<\/p>\n

Green Bay<\/a> (+4.5) at Arizona<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>The Cardinals might not be better than the Packers by all that much. But they’re probably better by enough to be able to win at home and sew up the NFC two seed. Arizona by a field goal.<\/p>\n

St. Louis<\/a> (+13.5) at Seattle<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>A win here and the Seahawks probably don’t need to put much effort into their week 17 matchup with the Cardinals. They’ll have the five seed, which means an easy Wild Card round trip to the NFC East “champion.” Seattle by 16.<\/p>\n

NY Giants<\/a> (+5.5) at Minnesota<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>The Vikings move one step closer to the back-to-back losses in Green Bay that will end their season and their postseason. Fun. Minnesota by seven.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati<\/a> (+3.5) at Denver<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>In which the Broncos defense secures the two seed, ensuring at least three more weeks of talk about the Broncos quarterback situation. Denver by six.<\/p>\n

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