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| Austen's headed to Philadelphia to watch his former love, Mark Sanchez, but still refuses to pick the high-flying Eagles. (Getty) |
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
Stally: The Bucs aren't the worst team in the league. Last weekend's 14-13 home loss to the Bengals was their seventh loss by a score (eight points) or less. However, they're 2-10 and going on the road against a Detroit team that bounced back in a big way on Thanksgiving. This one won't be as close as many of Tampa Bay's other losses.
Austen's Seven-Point Pick
Indianapolis over @Cleveland
Stally: The Colts, similar to the Saints, are one of those teams that has a quarterback that Austen just loves and as a result, he thinks they're one of the best teams in the league. At least, the Colts are actually good, unlike New Orleans, but I can't see putting this much confidence in an 8-4 team going on the road to a 7-5 team. I agree with the pick, just not the confidence.
Stally's Six-Point Pick
San Francisco over @Oakland
Stally: The 49ers are a team about which it's fair to say I overrate. I haven't quite given up on the thought of the team that lost the Super Bowl on a couple of non-calls two seasons ago. But, can you blame me for taking them against the 1-11 Raiders? I doubt it, especially since this game doesn't involve any sort of travel aside from a 45-minute bus ride up the 880 highway.
Austen's Six-Point Pick
St. Louis over @Washington
Stally: At least Colt McCoy can make the Redskins look half-competent, but they're still not good. The Rams are finally free for their insanely difficult schedule. Despite St. Louis' 5-7 record, they're closer to being 7-5 in performance and should win this one handily.
Stally's Five-Point Pick
@New Orleans over Carolina
Stally: Where the heck is Austen on this pick? The Panthers are a horrible football team, and it's a great chance to take his beloved Saints. Carolina is on a seven-game winless streak and a trip to the Big Easy will be anything but. The Saints won 28-10 in Carolina just over a month ago, this game might not even be that close.
Austen's Five-Point Pick
New England over @San Diego
Stally: The Patriots didn't play particularly well in Green Bay and almost beat one of the best teams in the league in one of the hardest places to win. The Chargers can certainly provide a challenge, but the Patriots are very solid and playing well. I also like that New England went straight from Wisconsin to San Diego. That avoids a lot of the travel issues shortly before the game and also should have given the team some time to bond as a group.
Stally's Four-Point Pick
Houston over @Jacksonville
Stally: Despite being a little inconsistent, I like the Texans. They're not great and will probably be on the outside of the playoffs, but they're much better than the Jaguars. I think this game will be lopsided.
Austen's Four-Point Pick
Dallas over @Chicago
Stally: I took a little pause with Dallas going on the road, although the Thursday night factor played no role as both these teams played a week earlier on Thanksgiving. Austen gave no pause at all and was rewarded with a 41-28 win.
Stally's Three-Point Pick
@Minnesota over New York Jets
Stally: This is the first game in which I'm not super confident, but the Vikings are better than perceived (5-7 record) and the 2-10 Jets have yet to win on the road (0-5).
Austen's Three-Point Pick
Seattle over @Philadelphia
Stally: We haver our first disagreement and it's a sizable one. Austen has eight confidence points on Seattle, while I put three on Philadelphia. While not as confident as Austen, my pick symbolizes more than just a flier on an upset, and in fact, the Eagles are favored by a point. Not only is Philadelphia at home where they've gone 6-0 so far, but the Eagles are 9-3 while the Seahawks are 8-4. I think Austen is still riding the coattails of his Seattle Super Bowl prediction last season.
Stally's Two-Point Pick
@Cincinnati over Pittsburgh
Stally: The Bengals look like a weak 8-3-1 team, but that record has to count for something, right? The Steelers have been incredibly inconsistent with three of their five losses to sub-500 teams, so I like the home team in this rivalry game.
Austen's Two-Point Pick
New York Giants over @Tennessee
Stally: If Austen were on the blog this week, he'd point out how the Titans have the least amount of talent on either side of the ball as any team in the league. I agree. The Giants are pretty dreadful as well, but they should snap their seven-game losing streak in this one.
Stally's One-Point Pick
Baltimore over @Miami
Stally: This is only the second game on which Austen and I disagree. He likes to pick against the Ravens, and while I like to do that as well, I try not to let my bias against them weigh heavily on the decision. This will be a close game with big playoff implications, but I like the Ravens just a little bit more.
Austen's One-Point Pick
Kansas City over @Arizona
Stally: We both took the Chiefs with a single confidence point. That's not a ringing endorsement, but it's just too difficult to go with Cardinals QB Drew Stanton, who hasn't gotten his offense to score more than 18 points in any of his three recent starts.
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