Peyton Manning is 4-9 against Tom Brady and the Patriots in his career. With that said, I've talked to a great many people who firmly believe the Broncos will beat the Patriots this Sunday night in Foxborough. The problem with this prediction is that the Broncos possess a poor defense that performs especially poorly on the road. The Patriots aren't perfect this season, but their strength of schedule has been tougher than that of the Broncos. This matchup, nevertheless, will the two greatest quarterbacks of our generation against one another in what could be one of the final years they're both still playing in the NFL. Peyton Manning is still a great field general, but his body no longer appears strong enough to withstand the punishment of a regular season. Tom Brady is still effective and healthy, but his team is only a shadow of its former dominant form. It's been nearly a decade since the Patriots won their last Super Bowl, and despite their consistent winning, it's fair to wonder if they'll get back to championship form before Brady retires.
For now, the Patriots and Broncos appear to be the best teams in the AFC. That may be largely due to the copious amount of mediocrity that appears to have enveloped this typically strong half of the NFL, but at 9-1 and 7-3, the Broncos and Patriots are far from mediocre. Peyton continues to win games despite numerous injuries, and Brady continues to win despite the loss of some of his most potent receiving weapons and defensive supporting cast. It is for this reason that the Broncos-Patriots game is unquestionably the game of the week and could end up being the best game of the regular season.
There are a handful of other notable games that are well worth paying attention to this weekend. The first of which is the Steelers-Brown game. Both teams find themselves 4-6 and yet somehow still right in the thick of the playoff hunt. Both of these teams will also be uncharacteristically rooting for a Ravens win as it would prevent the Jets from distancing themselves from the field of other teams in the hunt for the final wildcard spot. The Steelers are one of the hottest teams of all of the 4-6 AFC teams, and they beat an impressive Detroit Lions team last week by a solid margin. The second notable game is the Chargers at Kansas City. I don't believe the Chargers are a playoff team as they have been awful on the road this season and will soon find themselves in the loudest environment in the AFC. Next, of course, is the Ravens-Jets game. This is the Ravens' absolute last stand. A loss would put the playoffs almost totally out of reach and put the Jets in the driver's seat for the final spot. We'll see if Dennis Pitta suits up, but I highly doubt it. We'll see if the Giants can continue their recent winning streak against the Cowboys in New Jersey. If the Giants can pull out a win, the NFC East race will be incredibly tight with the Eagles barely leading the charge. The Colts have a tough matchup on the road in Arizona. It's tough to know which Colts team will show up from week to week, but I believe in Andrew Luck. The Redskins could beat the 49ers on Monday night, but that will be a tough task as the 49ers are a strong, fairly complete team. Well without further ado, let's get to the picks!
WEEK 12 NFL PREDICTIONS
STEELERS AT BROWNS- The Browns have an elite defense this season and play well at home, but the Steelers appear to have found an offensive groove recently. Jason Campbell has finally started to look like the crappy quarterback we remember from several years ago, and the Steelers have an elite pass defense that should be enough to stifle the Browns offense. STEELERS 24-17.
BUCCANEERS AT LIONS- The Bucs have looked better lately, but the Lions should get a boost with the return of Nate Burleson and play very well at home. Let Revis try to cover Megatron...LIONS 34-20.
VIKINGS AT PACKERS- The Vikings have improved enough with the return of Christian Ponder to be able to beat a Rodgersless Packers team. VIKINGS 28-21.
CHARGERS AT CHIEFS- If the Chargers couldn't beat the Redskins or Dolphins on the road, I have no idea how they'll beat the Chiefs. CHIEFS 27-19.
BEARS AT RAMS- The Rams have been the victims of a difficult schedule. The Bears have a battered, porous defense, but their receiving weapons are simply too potent to not put up enough points to win this game. The last Rams win was a total anomaly. BEARS 31-23.
PANTHERS AT DOLPHINS- The Panthers are on a roll right now that the Dolphins are simply not strong enough to stop. The Panthers have arguably the best defense in the NFC and Cam Newton is playing out of his mind. PANTHERS 35-16.
JETS AT RAVENS- The Ravens are at their best when their backs are against the wall. The Ravens have only lost one home game this season and the Jets have only won one game this season. The Jets offense simply doesn't have enough to get it done against a hard-nosed Ravens defense. As soon as the Ravens take a lead and force Geno to throw the ball, it's over. The Jets don't have the wide receivers or quarterback execute big plays down field on the Ravens secondary, and the Jets don't have good enough cornerbacks to stop the Ravens' speedy wideouts from beating them deep. Get ready to run, Dee Milliner. RAVENS 27-20.
JAGUARS AT TEXANS- I honestly don't care who wins this game, but without any glimmer of hope or major reason to pick one of these losers or the other, I guess I'll go with the home team. TEXANS 17-14.
TITANS AT RAIDERS- The Titans aren't a terrible team, but the Raiders are solid at home. I like Terrell Pryor in this matchup. RAIDERS 31-26.
COLTS AT CARDINALS- I know I said I believed in Andew Luck...but I don't believe in the Colts on the road against a winning team. The Cardinals have won 5 of their last 7 games with their only losses during that time period to the 49ers and Seahawks. I think the Colts are still a better team, but if they allowed the Titans to put up 27 points, I believe they'll allow Larry Fitzgerald and company to put up at least as much. CARDINALS 28-24.
COWBOYS AT GIANTS- The Giants have finally gotten better defensively. They're on an impressive winning streak that followed an embarrassing losing streak to begin the season. The Cowboys will be much healthier coming off of a bye week, but their defense will still be woefully inadequate. This will be a shootout. The Giants have rounded into a more complete team and the Cowboys have only won a single road game this season. GIANTS 34-31.
BRONCOS AT PATRIOTS- I've learned not to bet against the Patriots at home...unless it's the playoffs and the Ravens are in town. The Peyton Manning has some impressive receiving weapons at his command, but his defense is simply atrocious. I expect a big game from Rob Gronkowski and the Patriots defense to hold the Broncos to field goals at critical moments. This game should be frigid and we all know how poorly Peyton Manning's body holds up in cold weather. PATRIOTS 42-34.
49ERS AT REDSKINS- The 49ers don't have great receivers, but they don't NEED great receivers against the Redskins. I have a weird feeling that RG3 will come out of this game as soon as he's taken a couple of major hits. Protect your future investment, Washington, this season is done anyway. 49ERS 26-13.
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
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