Week 15 Predictions

49ers at Seahawks
The weather is going to be wild as two of the NFL's best backs will be playing. It will be a low-scoring affair. Seahawks 14, 49ers 7

Cowboys at Falcons
With Dallas coming off a tough loss, and Atlanta rebounding, this will be a hard fought game to the end. It could be time for Tony Romo to break out of his two game funk. Cowboys 21, Falcons 17

Browns at Ravens
The Browns typically have trouble within their division, though they gave Baltimore a run for their money earlier this year. But the Browns were the home team then. Ravens 20, Browns 3

Lions at Packers
While the Packers were getting written off prior to their win last week, anybody should be able to beat the Lions. Packers 30, Lions 20

Texans at Patriots
Although the Pats finally lost to an inferior team, that was on the road against the Dolphins, who always give the Pats fits. Patriots 24, Texans 20

Jaguars at Titans
Tennessee is on a roll, edging out victories against superior opposition. But against the probably playoff bound Jaguars, who are on a mini-streak of their own, there's a good chance it will end. Jaguars 20, Titans 17

Dolphins at Bills
Both teams are coming off of upset victories that have them at 6-7. Both teams have winning records in their last six games. All their losses in those recent games were to teams with winning records. There is no way to make a logical prediction in this game, except to take the home team by default. Bills 21, Dolphins 18

Jets at Vikings
One week ago, the Jets looked like they had an easy road to the playoffs. We'll account their loss to intradivisional rivalry, and pick them over the Vikings, 2-5 in their last 7 games. Jets 24, Vikings 17

Steelers at Panthers
The Panthers are falling fast. The Steelers can still play when they want to, and they are on a roll. Steelers 24, Panthers 17

Buccaneers at Bears
Not many games on the week 15 schedule that will be over by the start of the 4th quarter. This is one of them. Bears 24, Buccaneers 3

Redskins at Saints
Another game that will probably be over quickly. Brees passes for over 300 yards. Saints 27, Redskins 13

Broncos at Cardinals
The rookie QB's picked back to back face off. Arizona has won 3 of 4 and Denver has lost 4 straight. Cardinals 27, Broncos 17

Eagles at Giants
Game of the week here, very huge. One wonders how long Jeff Garcia or Eli Manning can keep up their solid play. New York had a huge comeback in week 2, but I don't think they'll need it this time around. Giants 27, Eagles 20

Rams at Raiders
The two teams that ditched Los Angeles. Neither team has been remotely good of late. Expect little scoring here. Rams 13, Raiders 10

Chiefs at Chargers
San Diego is looking unstoppable. They finally had a rout last week, but after 5 straight close calls against teams such as Cleveland and Oakland. This one will be close too, and it's hard to pick against San Diego. Chargers 27, Chiefs 24

Bengals at Colts
Can Rudy Johnson run for 200 yards? Stay tuned. The Bengals are on fire lately and the Colts have struggled big-time. I don't know if a Cincy win makes this an upset, but I think they'll pull this one out. Bengals 30, Colts 27

NFL Power Rankings Post Week 14

I apologize for missing the past few days. Franchise in Focus will return December 16 with the Chicago Cubs.

1. Chargers 11-2 (E) Congrats to LaDainian Tomlinson for his TD record. If there's a formula for keeping him out of the endzone, someone needs to find it quick.
2. Bears 11-2 (+2) Congrats to Devin Hester for his TD record. Grossman, while not amazing, did nothing to screw it up.
3. Ravens 10-3 (+2) This is looking like the one team that could give the Chargers a big run for their money.
4. Saints 9-4 (+3) Domination took place in that rout of the Cowboys. Drew Brees might just be the best quarterback in the league.
5. Bengals 8-5 (+3) Yes, it was the Raiders, but it was convincing, and the Colts and Patriots were just that bad.
6. Colts 10-3 (-4) Allowing two guys 100 yards on 10+ per carry is just ridiculous.
7. Patriots 9-4 (-4) That offense should be ashamed.
8. Cowboys 8-5 (-2) Suddenly, one more misstep and they're in big trouble in the division.
9. Jaguars 8-5 (+1) Maurice Jones-Drew is looking like one more in a long line of Rookie of the Year candidates.
10. Seahawks 8-5 (-1) Yeah, it was a bad loss, but I really can't see putting them any lower.
11. Eagles 7-6 (+3) The big jump probably reflects more so on the 7-5 teams that embarrassed themselves this weekend.
12. Giants 7-6 (+4) See above.
    
13. Falcons 7-6 (+5) See above again. It wasn't pretty but they got it done.
14. Chiefs 7-6 (-2) A poor showing, but it did occur against Baltimore's stingy defense. Damon Huard might be a better fit here than Trent Green.
15. Titans 6-7 (+2) Eerily reminiscent of Vick against the Vikes in 2002, Vince does it again.
16. Broncos 7-6 (-3) I kept KC above the Titans but couldn't do the same with Denver, who just gave up while the game was still in reach.
17. Jets 7-6 (-6) To the Bills? In today's league, just when you think a team is breaking out...
    
18. Steelers 6-7 (+1) Ok, it was a nice win, but I didn't plan on seeing Anderson doing in a start what he did in relief the week before anyway. Congrats to Willie Parker.
    
19. Panthers 6-7 (-4) As much as you could blame Delhomme for the loss to Philly, you still would much rather have him than Weinke.
20. Bills 6-7 (+1) Everybody saw the Jets' easy remaining schedule and many thus penciled them in, but it was clearly too early. Willis McGahee said so.
21. Dolphins 6-7 (+1) A large collection of the middle of the pack teams only got murkier. In reality, who really knows how to rank teams 11-22?
22. Vikings 6-7 (+2) Ok, they won, but it was the Lions after all.
23. Packers 5-8 (+6) Favre has always been able to bring it against the 49ers, and it continued.
    
24. Cardinals 4-9 (+3) A good win for this team. Add an offensive linemen, and maybe we take them seriously again in 2007? Nah, never works out....
    
25. Rams 5-8 (-2) They lost because of defense and special teams. The offense put up 27, maybe the Chicago D should be a little worried about that?
26. Browns 4-9 (-6) They've been all over the place. That was a horrible follow up to a great win against the Chiefs.
27. Redskins 4-9 (-2) I'm close to saying Betts is a better fit in the District than Portis.
28. 49ers 5-8 (-2) Losing to the Saints was understandable. Losing to the Packers was a regression.
29. Texans 4-9 (-1) They couldn't quite find a solution for Vince Young's legs. They almost did, but not quite.
30. Buccaneers 3-10 (+2) The defense actually kept them in the game for a while. The Bucs, Raiders, and Lions all suck, and at this points they're ratings fluctuate pretty much based on how much they suck from week to week.
31. Lions 2-11 (-1) See above.
32. Raiders 2-11 (-1) See above.