The final couple of weeks of the NFL regular season are always difficult for punters, with teams at all ends of the motivational spectrum making it especially difficult to predict performance.
Despite that, SportsJOE is ready to overlook that sense of trepidation lurking at the back of our minds and dip our toes in the murky Week 16 waters…
Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans (UNDER 42 points)
Baltimore (9-5) are a pair of victories away from nailing down a play-off spot, while Houston’s (7-7) hopes were almost extinguished by last week’s loss to Indianapolis. Neither offence has been firing on all cylinders in recent weeks, with the Ravens only putting up 20 against Jacksonville, while the injury-plagued Texans are down to their fourth quarterback, the newly resigned Case Keenum. In contrast, both have been excelling on the defensive side of the ball, so we;’re expecting another low-scoring affair.
New England Patriots at New York Jets (Jets +10.5)
Call us crazy, but the Jets (3-11) are still playing hard for a coaching and management regime widely expected to be pink-slipped in just over a week. And nothing motivates Gang Green like the sight of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady on the opposite sideline. Geno Smith is back under centre for the Jets after Michael Vick had his turn, and his best performance this season was probably the 27-25 defeat by the Patriots (11-3) in Foxborough Week 7. The double-digit line is enough for us to take the home team.
Buffalo Bills at Oakland Raiders (Raiders +7)
Yep, another home underdog. Like the Jets, the Raiders (2-12) are still playing hard, safe in the knowledge that the progress shown by rookie quarterback David Carr makes the number one draft pick is worth less to them than the likes of Tennessee and Tampa Bay. Oakland has also been competitive at home, winning their last two and also performing well in defeats by San Diego, Arizona and, at least early on, Denver. The Broncos offence ended up running away from the Raiders, but the Bills (8-6) and passer Kyle Orton aren’t nearly as potent, giving Oakland every chance of sticking within a score.
Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers (Panthers -4)
The Johnny Manziel Era began in pretty terrible fashion last week as the Browns (7-7) were shut out against the Bengals. Cleveland’s season has fallen apart over the last three weeks, going from AFC North contenders to all but eliminated from the play-off race. The Panthers (5-8-1) should have Cam Newton back after the quarterback’s horrible car accident and are still somehow alive thanks to the awfulness of the NFC South and have over the past fortnight begun to resemble the unit which went 12-4 last season.
Odds via Ladbrokes
