Week 17: Division-Deciding

Despite how lowly Atlanta and Carolina have played, the
miserable NFC South is still up for grabs between the two. (Getty)

It's the final week of the regular season.  Fantasy football season is over.  Among the three leagues that the OXen shared this year, Austen won one, Stally won one, but both missed out on the prized keeper league championship, which was won by the surprising team of Josh Barker.

In real football, many divisions are on the line this weekend, so it should be a great week to be a football fan.  All 16 games will be played on Sunday, so pull up a chair and make a day out of it!

Here's who we're picking:

Austen's Eight-Point Pick

Dallas over @Washington

Austen: I might have surprised Stally with this one, but I still think the Cowboys are one of the best teams in the league (and might be the best road team in the league). The Redskins are anything but, and they already used up their upset last time these two played. It is not going to happen again when the Cowboys have the opportunity to get a first-round bye in the playoffs. 

Stally: Yes, the Cowboys are the best road team in the league as proven by their 7-0 record.  (The Bengals at 5-2 are the only other team to have lost two or fewer.)  I was surprised this was the first pick, but don't disagree with the premise.

Week 16: Rex's Last Stand

Remember when Tom Brady vs. the vaunted Jets defense was
always one of the best games of the year? Neither do the SOBs.

With just two weeks left in the regular season (I know I cannot believe it either), almost every single game this week has playoff implications. There are definitely some games that look like blowouts, but with the way this year has played out, I would not be confident in much of anything right now.

I cannot remember the last time there were so many teams still alive in the playoff race at this point in the season. Check out how the SOBs think this week will play out.

Stally's Eight-Point Pick
New England over @New York Jets

Stally: Austen and I generally make our picks in order of our confidence points in our Yahoo! Pick 'Em Group.  It makes sense to pick the game in which you have the most confidence at that time.  But, I couldn't break tradition on this one.  I always pick the Patriots with the utmost overconfidence when they play the Jets, so why change now when my team is 11-3 and Austen's is 3-11?

The Jets nearly beat the Patriots in New England earlier this year, and Rex Ryan always gets the team up to beat the hated Pats.  This one will be close, closer than the records would dictate, but one team is much better than the other and that's New England.  It's the pick for this one.

Austen: I mean there is nothing nice I can say about this Jets team right now, so I cannot blame Stally for his homerism. I expect this game to be close, but there is a good chance the Jets hang around only to be blown out in the second half. As much as I would love it, I cannot see a way in which the Jets pull out a win. 

Week 15: Lucky Number 13

The SOBs will be paying extra close attention to the Panthers-Bucs
game because the boys are facing off in fantasyland and each have
one of the top two rookie wide receivers in the league.

I know I am here to talk about real football, but Stally and I are facing off in fantasy, so I cannot help mention it. Throw in the fact that USC's season is over and I will be rooting for the Jets to lose out on the season in order to possibly get the first pick in the draft, so you cannot really blame me for caring more about fantasy football than real football, right?

Either way, there are a ton of big games with tons of playoff implications, as this year looks to be one of the more exciting Wild Card races in recent memory. There are so many teams still alive it is ridiculous. Hell the four win Panthers still have a shot!

As usual, it should be another exciting week of football, unless you are a New York football fan. Enjoy our breakdown!

Austen's Eight-Point Pick
@Baltimore over Jacksonville

Austen: I did not even know that Denard Robinson was out for the year when I took the Ravens this high. Jacksonville is a terrible terrible football team and they are now down arguably their best player. This is going to be a disaster. Even Ravens fans should not bother watching this game.

Stally: There are a few pretty obvious picks this week and this is one of them.  Hate them as much as us or hate them more than us, the Ravens are rounding into their usual late season playoff form.  On the bright side for the Jags: only one week until they get to beat Tennessee again!

Captain Hindsight Strikes Again!

Austen got to see his Trojan brothers face off against each
other over the weekend, and the better man definitely won.

Sorry for my absence from the internet once again this weekend. It has been a crazy fall, but an even crazier NFL season. Over the last month, the Rams have probably been the most dominant team in the NFL. That's not a misprint, that's real life. Too bad they won't make the playoffs anyway. Anyone wonder what could have been had Sam Bradford stayed healthy all year long?

Anyway, we had another fun week of football, so here is my breakdown of what happened in last week's games.

Stally's Eight Point Pick
@Green Bay over Atlanta

I had a lot of confidence in Green Bay winning, but we all know Atlanta has the offense to keep up with the Packers. However, their defense might be the worst in the league and it is going to be the reason they end up losing the worst division in the history of the NFL. I can't imagine Mike Smith lasting past midnight of December 28th (the final day of the regular season).

Week 14: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Austen's headed to Philadelphia to watch his former love, Mark
Sanchez, but still refuses to pick the high-flying Eagles. (Getty)

Stally: Austen is headed to Philadelphia for the Eagles-Seahawks game today.  Just another reason why the Jets should have kept the faith in Sanchez: so Austen doesn't need to drive clear across New Jersey to see a good quarterback play a home game.

Here are a look at the picks and my thoughts on the games:

Stally's Eight-Point Pick
@Green Bay over Atlanta

Stally: The Packers just beat the then-9-2 Patriots at Lambeau, it's hard to imagine they'll lose to the 5-7 Falcons.  Atlanta is notoriously a warm weather and/or dome team, and I give them little chance to perform on the frozen tundra of Green Bay.

Austen's Eight-Point Pick
@Denver over Buffalo

Stally: I say this every week, but the Broncos have been dominant at home since Peyton Manning joined the team in 2012.  They're 6-0 at home this season, but they can't sleep on the Bills.  Buffalo boasts one of the toughest defenses in the league, and Denver can't let the visitors gain any confidence.  Manning and Co. will need to put up points early to avoid a potential upset.

Stally's Seven-Point Pick
@Detroit over Tampa Bay