TODAY’S PICKS
LIONS AT BUCCANEERS Kickoff: 10 a.m.
Outlook: QB Matthew Stafford is still hurting, and the Lions appear to be falling out of playoff contention. If they lose this week, that dream is officially dead. The Buccaneers are downright bad, but while the Lions may have their quarterback in the lineup, they’ll more than likely be without two of their best offensive linemen and their top running back. Tampa Bay nearly won last week on the road in Green Bay, and with Jameis Winston back to full strength, it should come out firing this week. An effective run game is the best weapon against the Lions, and the Bucs seemed to finally steady that part of that last week. The Lions could be due for a letdown.
Line: No line
Pick: Bucs, 23-20 BEARS AT BENGALS
Kickoff: 10 a.m. Outlook: While other young quarterbacks are thriving, Mitchell Trubisky seems to be stuck in neutral. The Bears would like to mitigate his struggles by running the ball, but Jordan Howard has been ineffective, too, in recent weeks. They’ve run out of things to play for, other than a Trubisky-led future. At 5-7, Cincinnati still has a chance to luck its way into the less-than-competitive AFC Wild Card, so this game is absolutely vital for them. Rookie running back Joe Mixon nearly led them to victory over Pittsburgh last week, but he’ll almost certainly miss Sunday’s game as he remains in the concussion protocol. Still, the Bengals have enough in the run game to get past the Bears. Line: Bengals by 6.5 Pick: Bengals, 24-17 COLTS AT BILLS
Kickoff: 10 a.m. Outlook: Even if Tyrod Taylor is able to play through a knee injury in this game, the damage he usually does with his legs will be mitigated. The Bills still have a puncher’s chance at the playoffs, which didn’t seem possible a few weeks ago, when backup Nathan Peterman took over. No team allows more points while on the road than the Colts, though, so the Bills offense may actually have a shot to get into a rhythm. That could mean a big game for LeSean McCoy. The Colts have lost six of their last seven, and unless Peterman is under center, we’d bet on another ‘L’ here.
Line: No line
Pick: Bills, 19-16 SEAHAWKS AT JAGUARS
Kickoff: 10 a.m. Outlook: Seattle might have lost half of its players to injury, but Russell Wilson is still at quarterback, and judging by his recent play, that’s all that matters. Wilson has been a one-man wrecking crew as of late, basically outdueling the Eagles on his own a week ago. The Jaguars defense is dominant, but even that might not be enough to stop Wilson. To do that, they’ll need a mammoth effort from the defensive front, as well as topflight corners Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye. A few turnovers could turn this game in Jacksonville’s favor, but with Seattle’s defense looking good in recent weeks, the Jaguars probably won’t score enough to keep up with Wilson.
Line: Jaguars by 2.5 Pick: Seahawks, 23-16 RAIDERS AT CHIEFS
Kickoff: 10 a.m., CBS Outlook: The AFC West is a mess, and while the Chargers look like the class of the division at the moment, both of these teams are tied in first. That makes this a huge game. The Raiders have won four of their last six, but haven’t exactly looked good doing it. The Chiefs continue to fall apart, with four straight losses, but at least the offense seemed to find itself last week. If that continues, this could be a high-scoring game, as neither defense has been able to stop anyone in recent weeks. The Chiefs will be without top corner Marcus Peters, and that could mean a big day for Derek Carr and the Raiders passing game.
Line: Chiefs by 4
Pick: Raiders, 31-30 VIKINGS AT PANTHERS Kickoff: 10 a.m.
Outlook: If you’re still doubting Case Keenum at this point, it may be time to accept that the Rams’ former quarterback is at the helm of a potential Super Bowl team. The Vikings are that good. This is a tough matchup for Keenum and Co., but things just seem to be working for them lately. Similarly, Cam Newton has a brutal matchup ahead, with his No. 1 wideout, Devin Funchess, banged up and facing top corner Xavier Rhodes. He’ll need to do damage with his legs to get much of anything going against Minnesota. The Panthers are the more desperate team here, even though they have the easiest schedule of any potential playoff team in the NFC South.
Line: Vikings by 2.5
Pick: Vikings, 22-17 PACKERS AT BROWNS
Kickoff: 10 a.m. Outlook: Brett Hundley will quarterback the Packers for at least one more week, and all he needs to do to keep the Packers’ playoff hopes alive is to beat a team that hasn’t won a game all season. Should be easy enough. They’ve been relying on running back Jamaal Williams, who has more carries than every running back not named Le’Veon Bell over the past month. If the Browns can protect the ball, it’s not impossible that they could make a few big plays and keep this one close. But the stars seemed to be aligning for Aaron Rodgers to return next week with the Packers still alive.
Line: Packers by 3
Pick: Packers, 26-19 COWBOYS AT GIANTS
Kickoff: 10 a.m. Outlook: Ben McAdoo is out. Eli Manning is back in. Alas, it probably won’t matter. The Giants’ season is doomed, and the rest of it might be better spent tanking for a high draft pick. They’re allowing 400 yards from scrimmage per game, and while the Dallas offense hasn’t exactly been thriving lately, this is an ideal bounceback spot. That’s especially true for Dak Prescott, who hasn’t surpassed 180 passing yards in a month. Here’s betting he changes that here, even as the game script calls for a heavy dose of Alfred Morris.
Line: Cowboys by 3.5 Pick: Cowboys, 27-13 49ERS AT TEXANS
Kickoff: 10 a.m., Fox Outlook: Could the 49ers really win two in a row to start the Jimmy Garoppolo era? It just might happen. The Texans have been a sieve in the secondary. They’ve been much better against the run, meaning Carlos Hyde may have tough time finding room here. The same could be said for Houston running back Lamar Miller, as the 49ers have improved significantly against the run over the past month. More than likely, this will be an ugly, low-scoring game that’s won by whoever holds the ball longer. Line: Texans by 2.5
Pick: 49ers, 20-17 WASHINGTON AT CHARGERS
Kickoff: 1:05 p.m. Outlook: Arguably the hottest team in the NFL, the Chargers have rolled in their past three, and there’s no reason to think that will stop here. Philip Rivers has put on a show in recent weeks, with 343 passing yards per game in his past three. That has a lot to do with Keenan Allen, who’s been probably the best receiver in the league over the Chargers’ win streak. Washington is down so many weapons on offense that it’ll be hard to keep up with that kind of firepower. If anything, Jay Gruden may opt to rely on Samaje Perine and the run game, where the Chargers are weakest on defense.
Line: Chargers by 6 Pick: Chargers, 33-24 JETS AT BRONCOS
Kickoff: 1:05 p.m. Outlook: Fresh off their most impressive victory of the season, the Jets are in good position to win consecutive games for just the second time all season. The Broncos are flat-out bad right now, even on defense. They’ve allowed 33 points per game over their past six weeks, and this week, they run into a Jets offense that seems to have found its identity in recent weeks. That identity? Josh McCown. He’s been fantastic over the past month, and while Denver’s pass defense still has the makings of a good unit, it’s hard to doubt him at the moment.
Line: Jets by 1
Pick: Jets, 26-23 TITANS AT CARDINALS
Kickoff: 1:05 p.m. Outlook: The only effective element of the Cardinals offense, since elevating Blaine Gabbert, has been Larry Fitzgerald. In case you hadn’t noticed, Fitzgerald was already pretty effective without him. Adrian Peterson and the run game have been inconsistent, while the Titans have been consistently great against the run over the past month, allowing just 65 rush yards per game. The offense has gotten production out of the run game, but Marcus Mariota and the passing game hasn’t given them much. Four of the past five Tennessee wins have come by four points or less, Line: Titans by 3
Pick: Titans, 24-20 EAGLES AT RAMS Kickoff: 1:25 p.m., Fox
Outlook: For the first time, the top two quarterbacks from the 2016 draft will face off in a matchup that could play a serious part in deciding NFC playoff positioning. Jared Goff and Carson Wentz are on top of their games right now and have been dominant in the red zone and on third down. Whoever does better on that crucial down may very well win this game. Either way, it’s likely to be close. The Eagles will be eager to put last week’s loss behind them, while the Rams have a chance to make a huge statement. To do that, they’ll need a huge effort out of their defense in slowing down Wentz. Line: Rams by 1
Pick: Eagles, 31-27 RAVENS AT STEELERS
Kickoff: 5:30 p.m., NBC Outlook: Sixteen of these two teams’ last 22 meetings have been decided by one score or less. This doesn’t feel like it should be one of them. The Ravens offense may have scored 44 last week, but don’t be fooled. This is still an inferior group, and against the Steelers defense, it’ll have much more trouble moving the ball. That said, Pittsburgh has played down to its competition all season, narrowly beating the Colts, Bengals, and Packers over the past month. One of these days, the Steelers are going to get burnt.
Line: Steelers by 4.5 Pick: Steelers, 22-20
Last week against the spread: 7-8-1 Season record: 95-90-4