With two weeks left to play I used whatifsports.com
Steelers 28, Panthers 6
Carolina rookie Jimmy Clausen was only sacked and picked off once by Pittsburgh's top-tier defense, but were kept to just 49 yards on the ground on 32 carries. Clausen completed about half of his passes (14/32) for 167 yards and no touchdowns while Ben Roethlisberger threw for two touchdowns, one to each of his favorite targets--Hines Ward and Mike Wallace. The key to the game proved to be Pittsburgh's running game with 252 yards (6 YPA) on the ground. Rashard Mendenhall ran for 128 yards and a touchdown and Mewelde Moore finished with 66 yards and a touchdown. My Pick: Steelers
Saturday December 25, 2010
Cardinals 22, Cowboys 10
Merry Christmas, Arizona! Kitna's two interceptions were huge, and gave Arizona too many chances to not take advantage of. Steve Breaston, WIS's player of the game, caught four passes for 75 yards, giving Derek Anderson a dependable target to rely on in key situations. Two 52-yard field goals kicked by Jay Feely gave Arizona confidence as they came out with a 12-point victory in the end thanks to mistake-free football played on offense. My Pick: Cowboys
Sunday December 26, 2010
Bears 14, Jets 0
Nearly a week after Chicago clinched the NFC North title for the first time since 2006, Cutler was near-perfect yet again and the defense was perfect against New York's 18th-ranked offense. Chicago didn't even allow a field goal attempt in this shutout at home, as Brian Urlacher recorded a sack and Julius Peppers had an interception for the second consecutive game, one of two Sanchez interceptions in the game. More inconsistency from New York's Sanchez. My Pick: Bears
Bills 20, Patriots 10
Wow, Santa must've put Buffalo on the nice list, because there was no way they'd pull this win off if they weren't. New England's 30th-ranked passing defense finally caught up to them as Buffalo signal caller Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 187 yards and two first half scores on his way to victory. No interceptions in the game, either. If Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles can pull off a solid victory, Vick may surpass Brady in the MVP race after Brady's 10-point performance against Buffalo's 25th-ranked defense. My Pick: Patriots
Browns 20, Ravens 17
Cleveland didn't seem to have any problem with ruining Baltimore's chances at a division title, allowing Pittsburgh to clinch the AFC North with the Baltimore loss. Quarterback Colt McCoy only completed half of his 16 pass attempts, but his touchdown pass to Josh Cribbs ended up making a huge difference in the game as Cleveland's 25th-ranked run defense shut down Baltimore's run attack (34 attempts, 80 yards). A mistake-free McCoy allowed Cleveland to hold off Joe Flacco and Co. My Pick: Ravens
Rams 13, Niners 9
Coming in to this matchup, the Niners were one game behind the leading Rams (and Seahawks) and were fighting for a chance at the division title despite the 5-9 record. After Alex Smith's poor passing day (9/21, 85 yards, 1 INT), the Niners have been eliminated from contention. A solid running day from Anthony Dixon, who ran for 124 yards, but the rookie Sam Bradford, who threw three interceptions for the Rams, relied heavily on Steven Jackson to take them to victory. Jackson's 132 yards rushing was the icing on the cake in this game. My Pick: Rams
Titans 30, Chiefs 24
Both teams ran for over 200 yards but turned the ball over in the passing game. Titans' quarterback Kerry Collins threw for just 82 yards and two interceptions, but Javon Ringer's two touchdowns were enough to cancel out Matt Cassel's solid day through the air (18/30, 187 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT). Thomas Jones ran for 144 yards and a late fourth quarter touchdown to tie the game at 24 and send the game in to overtime. But, Ringer's second touchdown, a 56-yard run halfway through overtime, handed Kansas City its sixth loss of the season. Now all Cassel and Co. can do is pray for a San Diego loss so they can keep sole possession of the AFC West. My Pick: Chiefs
Dolphins 14, Lions 10
If only Miami hadn't fallen to teams such as the Browns and Bills within the last four weeks. Instead of being 7-7 coming in to this matchup with the now 4-11 Lions, they would be 9-5 and have a legitimate shot at a playoff spot. Instead, this meaningless victory puts them just one game over .500 and still at least two games behind the second wild card spot. Inconsistency has been the name of the game for Miami this season, which explains why they were up 14-0 at the half but nearly spoiled the lead by allowing Detroit back in the game with 10 third quarter points. A scoreless final quarter allowed Miami to squeeze out the win, but it was certainly a close call. My Pick: Lions
Jaguars 24, Redskins 18
Thanks to an 11-yard Ryan Torain touchdown run and a Graham Gano 41-yard field, Washington led 10-7 at the half. But, knowing they were fighting off Indianapolis for the AFC South, Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew came out in the second half with two third quarter touchdown runs. Down 21-10 late in the fourth quarter, Rex Grossman threw a 10-yard scorcher to Anthony Armstrong in the corner of the end zone. The two-point conversion was successful, but kicker Josh Scobee sealed the deal for Jacksonville with a 22-yard field goal with under a minute to play. Jacksonville is still alive in the race for the division after the victory. My Pick: Jaguars
Texans 31, Broncos 14
This wasn't even close. With Tebow making his second career start as an NFL quarterback, Denver threw for 250 yards, but miraculously enough had just five yards on the ground on, yes you heard it right, 22 carries. Houston's ninth-ranked run defense made Tebow and the offense one dimensional, allowing just two touchdowns, both of which were passing plays from under five yards out. Houston's four touchdowns, one coming in each quarter of play, came mostly on the ground with Arian Foster running for two (accumulated 117 yards on ground in game) and Derrick Ward running for one. With just six wins, Houston is obviously out of the playoff race, but that doesn't take away from this solid W. My Pick: Texans
Chargers 45, Bengals 20
San Diego quarterback Phillip Rivers continues his MVP campaign with a spectacular performance against Cincinnati's 17th-ranked passing defense (20/26, 327 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT). Without Terrell Owens in the lineup, Carson Palmer's struggles continued against San Diego. Cincinnati was more effective on the ground when it came to yardage (132-91), but San Diego's backs got the ball in the end zone three times, including two by third down and short yardage RB Mike Tolbert. Overall, San Diego's offense is clicking, and the victory ties them with Kansas City atop the AFC West heading in to the final week of play. My Pick: Chargers
Raiders 20, Colts 10
This loss for Peyton Manning (15/26, 162 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT) and his Colts basically opens the gates for the Jags to take the division, and allows them to control their own destiny in the final week of play. Jason Campbell didn't look too great (10/22, 130 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) but it was enough to get the job done and keep the 8-7 Raiders alive. Darren McFadden proved to be the deciding factor, being a threat in both the run game and pass game (67 rushing yards, 3 Rec., 35 yards). My Pick: Colts
Seahawks 26, Buccaneers 17
Josh Freeman's two interceptions led to Seattle touchdowns and put the Bucs out of the playoff race. The Seattle victory is certainly a good thing for NFL fans, though. It means that week 17's Rams/Seahawks matchup has a lot riding on it, the winner of the game will capture the NFC West division and host the sixth seed in the playoffs. It also means that the winner of the division will be a .500 team, which is good news considering many of us thought the winner would be a team with a losing record. Freeman and Tampa head coach Raheem Morris are sure to be disappointed with the loss, but no one else should be too disappointed with the outcome. My Pick: Seahawks
Giants 40, Packers 0
Luckily for Green Bay Aaron Rodgers was cleared to play this week. But, he must have still been affected by the big hit he took two weeks ago in this game because he stunk up the field with just 145 yards and two interceptions. He completed less than half of his passes, too, as Eli Manning and the G-Men scored four offensive touchdowns and four Lawrence Tynes field goals. Green Bay's ground game was just as ineffective as the passing game as they were outrun 202-47. In all, New York's offense converted 20 first downs, totaled 347 yards and no turnovers while Green Bay's stat line looked like this: 11 FDs, 176 total yards, two turnovers and three allowed sacks. R.I.P. Green Bay's playoff hopes. My Pick: Giants
Vikings 30, Eagles 22
You're probably thinking, 'why did he start Favre in this game? There's no way he'd play after this past Monday's game.' And, you're wrong, I did not start Favre in this simulation, but the rookie Joe Webb, who replaced Favre after he sustained a head injury against Chicago. And, despite Vick's great efforts (17/27, 191 yards 1 TD; 28 rushing yards), Webb prevailed with an eight-point victory over the NFC East's top team. Webb threw for 269 yards on 28 pass attempts and two touchdowns, both to Percy Harvin. Adrian Peterson's 111 yards and touchdown certainly helped the cause. After leading with 2:50 to play, Philadelphia was on the wrong end of a comeback, unlike last week's come-from-behind victory over the Giants. Webb's second TD pass (a 3-yarder) came with :56 to play, they then were successful on an onside kick and Adrian Peterson ran for a game-winning 44-yard score with :05 to play. What a game. My Pick: Eagles
Monday December 27, 2010
Saints 35, Falcons 21
The score doesn't tell the whole story. With division rival Saints and Falcons, the top two teams in the NFC, going head-to-head there's sure to be a fight. Drew Brees vs. Matt Ryan, Thomas/Bush vs. Michael Turner, Marques Colston vs. Roddy White. Can't beat this offensive heavyweight bout. The two went in to the tunnel at the half all knotted up at 21 points apiece. The two offenses came out in the second half struggling early on, with a scoreless third quarter. But, Brees' offense broke out for two fourth quarter touchdown passes, one to Thomas and the other to Devery Henderson. Both Atlanta's Roddy White and New Orleans' Henderson had great games through the air, but Reggie Bush, 102 yards and a touchdown on the ground, was the only player on either side to break 100 rushing yards. The win puts New Orleans (11-4) within a game of the 12-3 Falcons with one more game to play in the regular season. My Pick: Falcons
Standings after WIS's Week 16 Match-ups:
AFC North
z-Steelers 11-4
Ravens 10-5
Browns 6-9
Bengals 3-12
AFC East
*Patriots 12-3
Jets 10-5
Dolphins 8-7
Bills 5-10
AFC South
Jaguars 9-6
Colts 8-7
Titans 7-8
Texans 6-9
AFC West
Chargers 9-6
Chiefs 9-6
Raiders 8-7
Broncos 3-12
NFC North
z-Bears 11-4
Packers 8-7
Vikings 6-9
Lions 4-11
NFC East
y-Eagles 10-5
y-Giants 10-5
Redskins 5-10
Cowboys 5-10
NFC South
Falcons 12-3
Saints 11-4
Bucs 8-7
Panthers 2-13
NFC West
Rams 7-8
Seahawks 7-8
Niners 5-10
Cardinals 5-10
AFC Wild Card Race
Ravens 10-5
Jets 10-5
Chiefs 9-6
Raiders 8-7
Colts 8-7
NFC Wild Card Race
Saints 11-4
Giants 10-5
Packers 8-7
Bucs 8-7
Seahawks 7-8
y-playoff berth
z-division
*-home-field advantage
Photo Credit
Corey Wootton: AP Photo/Andy King
Javon Ringer: AP Photo/John Russell
Vincent Jackson: Ben Liebenberg/NFL
Lance Moore: AP Photo/Rob Carr
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