Week 16: Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Stally: Who's been naughty and who's been nice?  In the NFL, we're about to find out.  There are several clinching scenarios for the playoffs this weekend, and a lot more elimination scenarios.

Santa came early on Thursday for the Dallas Cowboys, who clinched the division and NFC's best record by virtue of a Philadelphia upset over the New York Giants.  Additionally, the Patriots (division and first-round bye), Seattle Seahawks (division) and Oakland Raiders (playoff berth) can all put an extra log on the fire and relax this holiday weekend, as they'll all be playing football past New Year's Day.

As per usual, Austen isn't going to have time to weigh in this week, so Elf Stally will take care of the write-up. Here's a look at the rest of the league and what I expect to unfold in Week 16 in order of confidence points:

16 - @New England over New York Jets

In Week 16 last year, the Patriots literally kicked away the conference's best record by electing to kick in overtime to the Jets, who promptly scored a game-winning touchdown.  That was last year's Jets, this is this year's Jets, whose poor coach was in the hospital on the night before game day.  That was also in New York, and this one is in New England.  The Jets will be delivering the gifts this year.

15 - @Green Bay over Minnesota

The Packers are back to playing good football, and the Vikings (?!) ... yuck!  Talk about being naughty, the Elf on the Shelf is not giving good reports on the Vikings right now.

Week 15: Two-Minute Drill

Despite a slow start, Aaron Rodgers and
the Packers are gaining confidence each week.

Stally: I've missed kickoff, so it's time to run a two-minute drill.  One sentence maximum per game.

Here are my picks in order of confidence points:

16 - @Atlanta over San Francisco

Stally: The Niners are playing some truly awful football, if you even want to call it that.

15 - @Seattle over Los Angeles

Stally: The Rams have looked terrible for several weeks, so I got this one right on Thursday.

14 - Green Bay over @Chicago

Stally: The Packers are a very confident group despite early season struggles.

13 - @Houston over Jacksonville

Stally: At 2-11, the Jaguars have become an easy team to pick against on a weekly basis.

Week 14: Bye-Bye, Byes

Before we begin, let me just take a minute to play this tribute video to one of the greatest bands to have ever walked this Earth ... and if you haven't listened to their Christmas album yet, then your heart is two sizes too small ...

Now let's get back to football, where we finally get to say "bye-bye" to bye weeks.  There are four weeks left in the NFL and every team is now through its bye, even Cleveland and Tennessee, whom I know we all missed seeing on the field last week.

Matthew Stafford and the Lions take the top pick this week,
which surely is a Stubborn OXen Blog first for Detroit.

There is one bye that continues, as Austen is on an indefinite bye from the blog.  I'll keep plugging along with my own picks, which probably are going to end up a game or two worse than your own (so take them with a grain of salt).  Without the safety net of Austen picking the favorite and letting me hide behind my underdog pick, I tend to get exposed every time I pick the 49ers to win for the first time since early September (which will happen again later in this blog).

Here are my picks in order of confidence points:

16 - @Detroit over Chicago

Stally: The Lions offense is good, we all knew that, but the defense?!  It just shut down Drew Brees in New Orleans, that's far more impressive than most of us thought it would be.  Detroit is shaping up to be a top contender in the NFC, and it's hard to imagine a lowly Bears team picking up this win on the road.

Week 13: Challenging the Bookies

Keep an eye on Jamies Winston and the Bucs as
they head to San Diego with playoff hopes alive.

Stally: Austen is out again this week, so it's just my picks for this one.  I'm taking seven underdogs according the book used on Yahoo! Fantasy, so we'll see how this turns out.  I have a feeling not well, but I'm sticking to my guns.

Here are my picks in order of confidence points:

15. @New England over Los Angeles

Stally: The Rams could frustrate Tom Brady and the Patriots (maybe, they gave up 49 points last week after having gone four straight without giving up more than 17), but their offense isn't going to score enough points to make it competitive on the road.

14. @Oakland over Buffalo

Stally: The Raiders prove each week that they're worthy of being talked about as a Super Bowl contender.  The Bills seem to be having a good season but at 6-5, they're far from elite.

13. Denver over @Jacksonville

Stally: The clock has struck midnight for Cinderella, as the Broncos aren't winning the games they managed to pull out last year.  But, they'll still roll over a hapless Jaguars team.

Week 12: Stuffed on Turkey

The Cowboys' star rookies might dress like ragamuffins,
but they look pretty good on the field!

Stally: Austen travelled to upstate New York this weekend to get loaded up on turkey, so we missed our traditional Thanksgiving Day post.  I've already had two turkey dinners myself, but am slowly waking up in enough time for some NFL football.

Here are my picks for the week in terms of confidence points, as Austen will spend the entire day driving along I-90 (or something like that) ... fun ...

16. New England over @New York Jets

Stally: This is the one game of the week that I really just can't find a way that the underdog wins.  I mean, even if Tom Brady, who is questionable, shockingly misses the game, I still go advantage Patriots.

15. New York Giants over @Cleveland

Stally: Every week I point out that the Browns are still winless, and every week they lose again by a sizable margin.  That won't change against a 7-3 Giants team exceeding expectations.

14. Seattle over @Tampa Bay

Stally: Seattle is hitting its stride, and that's bad news for anyone in its way.

Week 11: This is the World that We Live In

Tom Brady good. Colin Kaepernick bad. That is the boys'
detailed analysis of the Pats-49ers Week 11 matchup.

With the landscape of the NFL changing, the game projections become all the more complicated. The Chiefs and Raiders are two of the best teams in the AFC. The Lions are outclassing the Packers and Vikings. And the Titans are in prime position to win a terrible AFC South.

This is the world that we live in. Here we go.

Stally's Seven-Point Pick
New England over @San Francisco

Stally: The Patriots struggled against the Seahawks, but are still one of the Super Bowl front runners. There's no way they lose to 1-8 San Francisco.

Austen: My head will explode if the 49ers beat the Patriots. The Pats might have to lose 2-3 quarterbacks to injuries for the 49ers to even have a shot. 

Austen's Seven-Point Pick
Pittsburgh over @Cleveland

Austen: The Steelers have been playing well below where they need to be playing if they are going to make the playoffs, but the Browns are no match to the Steelers, no matter how poorly they play. 

Stally: The Browns aren't going to win a game this season, so keep picking against them with full confidence.

Week 10: Week in Review

The SOB boys made some glaring errors in their predictions
this week, but that's why they say Any Given Sunday.

Well Stally got to the pick this week, so here is his pre-game analysis along side my post-game analysis. Here we go:

Austen's Seven-Point Pick
@Arizona over San Francisco

Stally: Definitely one of the easiest picks of the year.

Austen: Well it was an easy pick for me to make, but it was not so easy for the Cardinals to win. It took a last second field goal in order for the once dominant Cardinal to knock off possibly the worst team in the NFL. Colin Kaepernick has given life to the 49ers, but that is still no excuse for an Arizona team fighting for their playoff lives. 

Stally's Seven-Point Pick
@Baltimore over Cleveland

Stally: There's nothing easier than picking against the Browns on Thursday night to bank a 1-0 start to the week.

Austen: After looking about as good as a team can look without winning a game in the first half of the season, the Browns have headed towards full blown dumpster fire status. They will always be the least talented team on the field, but at least they were fighting earlier in the season. This is going to be the second ever 0-16 team in NFL history. 

Week 9: The Boys Are Back!

Dak Prescott has the Cowboys looking up.

The boys are back!

No, not the Cowboys, although they're back too.  But after a hiatus for Austen's move to a new apartment and Stally's trip football trip to Carolina (Gamecocks and Panthers), the Stubborn OXen boys are back for Week 9.

Oh yeah, and we have Round 2 of our fantasy head-to-head in our famous keeper league too, so that should be interesting.

Here are our picks:

Stally's Seven-Point Pick
@Green Bay over Indianapolis

Stally: I'm not ready to tout the Packers as one of the league's best.  There are flaws, and there are no running backs in Green Bay.  However, the Colts are a mess right now, and the Pack is good enough to win this one easily at home.

Austen: The Colts' defense is non-existent and Aaron Rodgers is back to looking like, well, Aaron Rodgers. This should be a blowout.

Austen's Seven-Point Pick
@Kansas City over Jacksonville

Week 7: Stally Goes Solo

After a no-call last week, the Seahawks are sitting pretty,
and the Falcons are looking to bounce back.

Stally: Austen is still in the moving-in process with Emily.  This means that not only has she ruined our fantasy football league with her ridiculously good team, but now she's going after the blog.  Although with the way Austen and I haven't been able to pick games, we might want to cede power to her on this one anyway.

Here are my picks for the week:

@Cincinnati over Cleveland (15 confidence points)

The Bengals aren't very good at 2-4, but they've had one of the toughest strengths of schedules and have at least managed a couple of wins.  The Browns have managed a single win and might not at any point.

Austen: Cincinnati (13)

@Atlanta over San Diego (14 confidence points)

The Falcons lost in Seattle on a tough call.  That win would have made them 5-1, and one of the best teams in the league.  This week, they should pick up that fifth win and reassert themselves as one of the league's best.

Austen: Atlanta (10)

Week 6: Stally's Thoughts

The Patriots are on to Cincinnati, and we all know how that goes.

Austen and I had time to make our picks, but with Austen and Emily getting ready to move and a lack of internet at the new apartment, it's all me this week on the thoughts.  -Stally

Austen's Eight-Point Pick
@Arizona over New York Jets

Stally: Ouch.  It's bad when Austen picks against his beloved Jets with the first pick, but there's just not a lot going right for that team right now.

Stally's Eight-Point Pick
@New England over Cincinnati

Stally: "We're on to Cincinnati," Bill Belichick.  #NuffSaid

Austen's Seven-Point Pick
Pittsburgh over @Miami

Stally: There's a huge disparity between these two teams, and I would be shocked if the Dolphins won.  Not to mention that home-field advantage doesn't often seem to help Miami.

Week 5: Brady's Back

This guys is back. Ugh.

Tom Brady is back.  Deflategate is officially over.  All is right in the world.

Stally's Seven-Point Pick
New England over @Cleveland

Stally: There is very little chance that the worst of 32 teams in the NFL finds a way to beat Tom Brady in his return to the NFL.  He's been known to lay a whooping on this league when he has something to prove, which has seemed like pretty much every game since he was drafted 199th in the 2000 draft.

Austen: Brady will put on a show and play angry. Browns have no chance.

Austen's Seven-Point Pick
@Minnesota over Houston

Austen: No team has played better the first quarter of the season than the Vikings. I will stick with them at home against any team, let alone a Texans team that has yet to find any consistency on offense or defense. 

Stally:  Despite having lost both their franchise QB and franchise RB, the Vikings are shaping up to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender.  I can't disagree with this pick at all.

Stally's Six-Point Pick
@Green Bay over New York Giants

Stally:  The Giants have failed to impress, and the Packers are at home and coming off a bye week, so they should be rested and ready to dominate.

Austen: The Packers do not lose coming off a bye, and they rarely lose at home. Don't need to think twice about this game. 

Week 4: No Faith in LA

Who are these LA Rams?

Two weeks ago, both Stally and I had all our eggs in the basket of the Seahawks crushing the Rams. That did not work out so well for us. Call us stubborn if you will, but we are sticking with putting it all on the Rams being a very bad football team.

With injuries all over the NFL, it becomes ever increasingly difficult to predict. However, here are our picks for the week.


Austen's Eight-Point Pick
@Arizona over Los Angeles

Austen: I do not care that the Rams have won two in a row. I do not care that the Cardinals just got their butts handed to them by the floundering Bills. This is going to be a blow out. Talent always wins out. 

Stally: It's hard to believe that the Rams (2-1), who were shutout 28-0 to open the season in San Francisco, are somehow doing better in the standings than the Cardinals (1-2), who made it to the NFC Championship Game last year.  That just needs to change!

Stally's Eight-Point Pick
@New England over Buffalo

Stally: It doesn't matter who starts at QB for the Patriots.  Bill Belichick's teams never lose at home to the Bills.

Austen: This is a crazy amount of confidence to put into a team who really has no idea who their starting quarterback is going to be. If Rex Ryan loses this game in spectacular fashion, he might not have a job on Monday. 

Week 2: Football Returns to LA (Kind Of)

Los Angeles has been known for a lot of things, but football has
not been one of those things for a long time. LA will have to
wait a little longer to add that to their resume.

Stally's Eight-Point Pick
Seattle over @Los Angeles

Stally: Woof!  The Rams are far worse than any of us expected.  I mean, we thought they wouldn't be great, but a 28-0 loss to a lowly 49ers team?!  The Rams.  Are.  Terrible!

Austen: Nuff said. 

Austen's Eight-Point Pick
@Carolina over San Francisco

Austen: The Panthers might be 0-1 but the 49ers are one of the worst teams in the league. Do not let the 49ers romping of the Rams confuse you. They are a very bad football team. Carolina will be angry after last week's loss. This will be a blowout. 

Stally: I agree with this pick completely.

Stally's Seven-Point Pick
@New England over Miami

Stally: Jimmy G looked very comfortable in Week 1.  Miami puts up a good fight at home in this matchup each year, but usually gets runs over in New England.

Austen: This is a little too much confidence in the Pats, but I do not disagree with the outcome. The Dolphins fought hard against the Seahawks, but came up short. They will come up short again.

Week 1: NFL 2016 Kicks Off

Jimmy Garoppolo has a lot of ground to make up
to get the Patriots performing like Tom Brady did.

It's football season!  Let's get to our picks ...

Austen's Eight-Point Pick
@Seattle over Miami

Austen: Jay Ajayi was supposed to be the Dolphins' starting running back. He is a healthy scratch. DeVante Parker was supposed to be their big downfield threat that helped Ryan Tannehill take the next step in his career. He is injured and will miss this game. So far so bad for the Dolphins. Does not help they have to go to the hardest place to win in the NFL (Seattle). They will lose big. 

Stally: Agreed.  This was an easy pick.

Stally's Eight-Point Pick
@Indianapolis over Detroit

Stally: I think we'll see a strong resurgence from the Colts this season, and I don't see a lot I like about the Lions.

Austen: The Colts defense is is absolute shambles. This is way too high to take a team that has a lot to prove, even if the Lions are also a work in progress. 

Austen's Seven-Point Pick
Carolina over @Denver

Super Bowl 50: Out with the Old, In with the New

SPOILER ALERT, Stally and I are both taking the Panthers. The season of Cam Newton rolls on, as he just won both the league MVP and the Offensive Player of the Year award.

This is the second year in a row that we get to see the two top teams in the AFC and NFC battle it out in the Super Bowl. This year, we get a historically great defense matched up against the highest scoring offense in the league, highlighted by a revolutionary offense schemed up by Panthers' offensive coordinator Mike Shula. This is strength vs. strength.

Peyton Manning gets his last shot at that elusive second Super Bowl victory. Cam Newton gets to put his MVP skills on display to over 100 million people, instead of being hidden in the small market of Charlotte. Who will win out? Here is how the SOBs see it playing out:

Austen: 

Why the Panthers will win:

While watching the Panthers play, it is hard to find any weakness with this team. They can beat you about 1,000 different ways with the most complex run game in the NFL. They love taking shots down the field with their fast receivers. And Greg Olsen is a game wrecker over the middle of the field and is the best tight end in the league not named Gronkowski. 

There is a lot of focus on the Panthers top-rated offense, but their defense is no slouch either. They have the best and most athletic linebacker corps in the NFL. Defensive tackles Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei are a force to be reckoned with in the middle of that defensive line. Oh, and there's this guy Josh Norman who is playing the best football of any cornerback in the league. Not sure if you have heard about him... (Stally: Odell Beckham, Jr. has...)

This is the most complete team the NFL has seen in years. I cannot fathom a way in which the Panthers lose this game. But just for the fun of it:

How the Broncos can pull off the upset:

The only way the Broncos win this game is if Von Miller is the best player on the field today. The combination of DeMarcus Ware and Miller is the Broncos only hope of slowing down the Panthers' offense. If they can keep the run plays from breaking to the outside for chunk yards and make Cam Newton play from inside the pocket, they have a chance. 

Peyton Manning might be a shell of his former self, but he is still capable of making 2-4 game changing plays for this team. If they ask him to do much more than that, they are going to lose. Manning had a great start to the AFC Championship game, but did basically nothing for the rest of the game. He only has about 1-2 quarters worth of slinging the ball around, so they have to make the most of those throws, especially once they get into the red zone. If the Broncos come out kicking field goals, they are going to lose this game. 

The Broncos can only win this game in a tight defensive struggle, and you do not win those types of games without a strong showing from your run game. We all know what we are going to get from Ronnie Hillman (plenty of unspectacular running plays mixed in with one or two splash plays), but CJ Anderson was supposed to be their breakout star at running back this season. While things did not work out that way, a big performance in the Super Bowl could go a long way for this NFL future. If the Broncos are to maintain a lead for any portion of this game, Anderson is going to have to be their battering ram in between the tackles to wear out the Panthers' defense and keep Cam Newton off the field. 

A lot needs to go right for these Broncos, but they definitely have what it takes to knock off the Panthers this week. 

Score Prediction:
Carolina 23, Broncos 13

Stally:

I'll keep it a little shorter because I agree with most of what Austen said.

Why the Panthers will win, because ...

They have the league MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in Cam Newton, the Coach of the Year (two of the last three years) in Ron Rivera, and a defense highlighted by the likes of Luke Kuechly.

I was a doubter earlier in the season, but the Panthers fully won me over.  They've crushed two teams in the playoffs that I thought were Super Bowl contenders (Seattle and Arizona).  I'd be shocked if Denver was able to punch enough holes in them on either side of the ball to pull off the upset.

But,

The Broncos will pull off the upset, if ...

The defense plays better than it did against New England.  I strongly believe Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in the history of the league.  I don't want to sound like a Patriots apologist with my analysis because Denver's defense played out of its mind against New England, but the Broncos had a favorable matchup to put Brady on the ground.  New England had no one that could run the ball and no one that could block, and Denver dialed up a blitz snap-after-snap that put pressure on Brady ... and that was barely enough to win.

Cam Newton is a different beast.  He can take off running, and he also has a much more solid running back than Brady had (in the form of Jonathan Stewart [great first name]).  It will be much tougher for Denver to knock Newton out of his rhythm, because he's such a big, strong, and mobile player.  If the secondary can lock down the receivers, it could allow the linebackers to stack the box and focus more on containing Stewart and pressuring Newton.

I might not sound convincing, but I had the same doubts Denver could beat New England and highlighted the same path to victory, a strong defense.  It could happen, but it would be a surprising upset.

Score Prediction:
Carolina 38, Denver 16

Conference Championships: All About the QBs

Sunday's meeting could be the final playoff
installment of Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning.

There are four teams left in the running for this year's Super Bowl and all have a unique storyline surrounding their quarterback.

The AFC Championship will feature what could more than likely be the final playoff installment of Bill Belichick/Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning.  In fact, the main storyline in Denver could revolve around this possibly being Peyton Manning's final season, meaning a win could give him one last chance to win a second-career Super Bowl.  The storyline for New England is a little different.  With a win, the team would set a record for Super Bowl appearances (nine) and Super Bowl appearances by either a coach or a quarterback (seven for both Belichick and Brady).  Additionally, should New England win this year's Super Bowl, Brady's five Super Bowl rings would stand alone as football's ultimate champion.

The NFC Championship storyline takes a much different shape.  It features the (relatively) young Cam Newton leading a Carolina team that surprised the league with a 15-1 record.  On the other side of the field is Carson Palmer, a great quarterback in his own right, but one that at the age of 36 has never made a Super Bowl appearance.  For Newton, this could be the start of something special.  For Palmer, it would be more of a John Elway-esque opportunity to earn a title late in his career.

Here are our picks for the games.

Austen's Eight-Point Pick
New England over @Denver

Austen: I had to grab this game before Stally nabbed it. The Patriots are the more balanced team than the Broncos, who have one of the least efficient offenses in the entire NFL this season while Peyton Manning is under center. The Patriots defense is second in the NFL in sacks and is going to give Peyton fits all day. Jamie Collins is suiting up for this matchup and is the Pats most versatile and dangerous defensive player. He is going to make numerous big plays in this game to help the damn Patriots to yet another Super Bowl. 

The Broncos only hope is that Chris Harris is a lot healthier than he appears and is able to shut down Julian Edelman. I think Edelman and Gronk make enough big plays for this offense to keep them ahead the entire game in a surprisingly low-scoring affair. 

Stally: I don't want to seem like an over-confident fan, but if the Patriots lose this game, I'd be vastly disappointed.  Not just because my favorite team missed an opportunity to make a record ninth Super Bowl appearance, but because New England is better than Denver and should win this game.

The Broncos shouldn't have beat the Patriots earlier in the season, and needed an illegitimate offensive pass interference penalty on Rob Gronkowski to stall a Pats drive, turn momentum, and climb back in the game.  And, they shouldn't have won last week against an undermanned Steelers team.  If Fitzgerald Toussaint had just run downhill for a first down in the fourth quarter, instead of cutting into a defender and fumbling, this game would be Pittsburgh at New England.

Denver's defense is very good, and that will give it a chance to win.  But, Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in the history of the league, so it would be very surprising to see him make many costly mistakes.  If the Broncos do win, it will because they put together a better game plan, not because they have the better team, and the odds of Bill Belichick getting outcoached in such a big game seems quite unlikely.

SCORE: New England 27, Denver 17

Stally's Eight-Point Pick
@Carolina over Arizona

Stally: I've been stuck in Charlotte for almost a week, so I joked with Austen that I was going to take my "hometown team."  The Panthers have the X-factor in Cam Newton.  Just when you think the defense has done everything right, Newton busts out a 20-yard run on 3rd-and-long and moves the chains.

Arizona's opportunity comes from its balance.  It has the most complete team in the league when you factor in, run and pass offense and defense, but it doesn't boast the dominant flashiness of Carolina.  Seattle fell down 31-0 and couldn't make enough of a run to recover to beat the Panthers last week.  While no team should be expected to over come that deficit, the Cardinals can learn from it.  They need to contain the Panthers (and their fans) early and allow themselves to play to their strengths and win the game in the fourth quarter.

I don't think that will happen though.  Look for the the Panthers to come out with the fire early and manage to ride that to a nail biting win.

SCORE: Carolina 23, Arizona 20

Austen: As much as it hurts to pick against our fellow Trojan, Carson Palmer, I have to agree with Stally here. Do not let the gaudy numbers fool you, Palmer had a horrible day last week against the Packers. Carolina is worlds better than the Packers on the defensive side of the ball, so Palmer is going to have to really pick up his game and find that magic he had in the middle of the regular season. 

This is the game to watch today because no matter what Stally says, these are the two best teams left in the playoffs. Both teams have explosive offenses and both have top-five defenses. This is the matchup we have waiting to see all season long. The Panthers have been the best team in the league all year, so I cannot bet against them at home. 

Divisional Round: The League's Elite Eight

A win at Seattle earlier in the year had Cam Newton and
the Panthers pointing toward their Super Bowl chances.

In recapping the Wild Card Round, the Packers surprised both of us.  After stinking their way through the second half of the season and losing the NFC North, they bounced back in a big way and wiped out the helpless Redskins.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks struggled mightily on offense in the Minnesota cold, barely winning on a horribly missed field goal.  Cincinnati scorned Austen's support by taking two 15-yard penalties to set up Pittsburgh's game-winning field goal and make Stally look smart.  The week started with little surprise as the Chiefs showed the terrible Texans to the exit door to a tune of 30-0.

This week will be similarly difficult to pick, as the NFL is now down to its best eight teams with no clear front runner to win the Super Bowl.  Here are our picks:

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

Wild Card Round: Who Shows Up?

Are these two (Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins) the best two
quarterbacks playing this weekend? Statistically, yes they are.

Well we finished off one wacky NFL season and it is time to get into everyone's favorite time of year, the playoffs. Strength vs. strength. The best against the best. This is the football everyone wants to watch. There is a lot of parity in this week's playoff matches, which always makes it fun to watch.

Only Teddy Bridgewater and Brian Hoyer have a lower passer rating than Aaron Rodgers out of all the quarterbacks playing this week (yes, even AJ McCarron has a higher passer rating than Rodgers in the few games he has played). This is going to be a wild week. There is a reason it is called Wild Card Weekend.

I am sure there are plenty of fans that are wishing their team made it past the regular season (including myself), but there is little argument this year that these are the best teams in the league. There are few years that you can say that, but these teams have been the best all year long and all have a legit shot at taking home the Lombardi Trophy. This might be the strongest cast of Wild Card teams in my lifetime, as I could see any of these four teams making a run at a title.

Enjoy these games because football will be gone before you know it. But first, check out how Stally and I predict how these games will shake out.

Week 17: Regular Season Finale

Austin Davis is no savior for the Browns.

With the Carolina Panthers at 14-1 and the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans at 3-12, it wouldn't be fair to say that parity exists completely in the NFL.  But the league is certainly stratified to a point that many teams are equal to one another.  That's no more apparent than the Week 17 playoff and seeding scenarios.

In most years, the top few teams or division winners could take the final week off.  In 2015 (or, um, 2016), oddly enough, only the 8-7 Washington Redskins are locked into a playoff spot as the fourth seed in the NFC.  Every other playoff contender could shape their future with a win and/or favorable outcomes among their closest competitors.

Here's look at who the we're picking (or disagreeing) on in this week, including an outline from Stally on what the teams will be playing for (where applicable):

Austen's Eight-Point Pick
Pittsburgh over @Cleveland

Austen: Despite the fact that I like his first name, Austin Davis is not going to beat out Big Ben and one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL. They are coming off of a crushing loss to a division rival last week, and it will not happen again this week. 

Stally: Pittsburgh must be embarrassed to know that their season might be over because it provided Baltimore with two of its five wins on the season.  The Steelers need to win and have the Jets lose (at Buffalo) in a game happening concurrently.  The Steelers will win this one, so it'll all come down to if Bills Coach Rex Ryan can stick it to his old team.