Time is running out for MDS.
My 11-game lead was maintained last week, when we split on a pair of disagreements. We both went 7-6.
For the year. I’m 134-72-1. MDS is 123-83-1.
We disagree on three games this week. For all sixteen Week 15 selections, scroll away.
49ers (-3) at Seahawks
MDS’s take: The 49ers can clinch the NFC West with a win on Thursday night, and I think they’re going to do it, with Brock Purdy showing he’s far from irrelevant.
MDS’s pick: 49ers 24, Seahawks 17.
Florio’s take: The Seahawks can’t stop the run. The 49ers have an unstoppable running game. It probably won’t be this close.
Florio’s pick: 49ers 27, Seahawks 20.
Colts (+4) at Vikings
MDS’s take: The Vikings aren’t as good as their 10-3 record suggests, but they are good enough that they shouldn’t have too much trouble with the Colts.
MDS’s pick: Vikings 28, Colts 14.
Florio’s take: It’s T-shirt and hat time for the Vikings. It’s “make plans for 2023” time for the Colts.
Florio’s pick: Vikings 30, Colts 17.
Ravens (+3) at Browns
MDS’s take: With Lamar Jackson, I’d pick the Ravens. With a completely healthy Tyler Huntley, I’d still pick the Ravens. With Huntley’s status in question and the Ravens possibly turning to undrafted rookie Anthony Brown? I think I have to pick the Browns.
MDS’s pick: Browns 17, Ravens 16.
Florio’s take: Deshaun Watson is too rusty to solve Baltimore’s defense.
Florio’s pick: Ravens 20, Browns 14.
Dolphins (+7.5) at Bills
MDS’s take: The Bills are the best team in the AFC, and they’re going to take a big step toward the No. 1 seed on Saturday night.
MDS’s pick: Bills 31, Dolphins 20.
Florio’s take: The Dolphins have adopted a full-blown “serenity now!” approach to the elements awaiting them on Saturday night.
Florio’s pick: Bills 34, Dolphins 21.
Eagles (-9) at Bears
MDS’s take: Jalen Hurts is going to run wild against a bad Bears defense. Justin Fields will have a few highlight-reel plays of his own, but not enough to keep this game close.
MDS’s pick: Eagles 31, Bears 17.
Florio’s take: The Bears are good enough to keep it close. But that ‘s about it.
Florio’s pick: Eagles 28, Bears 24.
Falcons (+4) at Saints
MDS’s take: Desmond Ridder‘s first career start is about the only thing that makes this game interesting. I think he’s going to struggle in a low-scoring Saints win.
MDS’s pick: Saints 14, Falcons 13.
Florio’s take: Desmond Ridder may end up being great. It still won’t be easy for him to win his first career start in the Superdome.
Florio’s pick: Saints 20, Falcons 17.
Lions (even) at Jets
MDS’s take: This may be the best game of the day on Sunday, with both teams fighting hard for wild card berths. I think the Lions will take this and continue to inch up the NFC standings.
MDS’s pick: Lions 24, Jets 21.
Florio’s take: The Lions return to MetLife Stadium. The Jets are a cut above the Giants, and the Jets know they need this one, badly.
Florio’s pick: Jets 27, Lions 20.
Steelers (+2.5) at Panthers
MDS’s take: Don’t look now, but the Panthers are contenders in the NFC South. They’ll keep it going with a win over the Steelers.
MDS’s pick: Panthers 20, Steelers 13.
Florio’s take: Carolina has a real shot at the NFC South title. But the Steelers are still trying to avoid Mike Tomlin’s first losing season ever. They should be able to stave it off for a week.
Florio’s pick: Steelers 17, Panthers 13.
Cowboys (-4) at Jaguars
MDS’s take: The Cowboys sleepwalked their way through a win over the Texans, but I think they’ll be back to their dominant ways against the Jaguars.
MDS’s pick: Cowboys 31, Jaguars 17.
Florio’s take: Jacksonville remains consistently inconsistent. The Cowboys should be more focused after avoiding a disaster against the Texans.
Florio’s pick: Cowboys 27, Jaguars 21.
Chiefs (-14) at Texans
MDS’s take: The Texans managed to keep it close in their loss to the Cowboys, but I think they’ll be back to their terrible ways against the Chiefs.
MDS’s pick: Chiefs 40, Texans 17.
Florio’s take: The Texans emptied the tank last week in Dallas. This week, a focused and driven Chiefs team will take full advantage.
Florio’s pick: Chiefs 41, Texans 24.
Cardinals (+3) at Broncos
MDS’s take: Two of the most disappointing teams in the NFL meet in a meaningless game. I’ll pick the Broncos in what figures to be an ugly game.
MDS’s pick: Broncos 13, Cardinals 12.
Florio’s take: Short week, deflating loss, front office upheaval. The Broncos get a much-needed win over the Cardinals, even if it’s too late to save coach Nathaniel Hackett.
Florio’s pick: Broncos 21, Cardinals 13.
Patriots (even) at Raiders
MDS’s take: The Patriots are still competing for the AFC wild card, and they’ll take care of business against Josh McDaniels and the Raiders.
MDS’s pick: Patriots 24, Raiders 17.
Florio’s take: The Patriots keep making a late-season push for the playoffs, with Bill Belichick finally avenging his loss to Josh McDaniels from 2010.
Florio’s pick: Patriots 27, Raiders 23.
Titans (+3) at Chargers
MDS’s take: The Titans are probably going to win the AFC South, but that says more about the division than it says about them. The Chargers should beat the Titans handily.
MDS’s pick: Chargers 28, Titans 21.
Florio’s take: The Chargers are finding their footing, and the Titans have fallen and can’t get up.
Florio’s pick: Chargers 30, Titans 24.
Bengals (-3.5) at Buccaneers
MDS’s take: The Buccaneers are still probably going to win the NFC South, but they sure aren’t looking like a playoff team. The Bengals are poised to win the AFC North.
MDS’s pick: Bengals 28, Buccaneers 17.
Florio’s take: The Buccaneers are starting to sense that they’re not good enough to make it to the Super Bowl. So why bother making it to the playoffs?
Florio’s pick: Bengals 27, Buccaneers 16.
Giants (+4.5) at Commanders
MDS’s take: The winner of this game is in great shape in the NFC wild card race. The loser is not. I think the Commanders are going to get a big win and the Giants are trending toward missing the playoffs.
MDS’s pick: Commanders 27, Giants 17.
Florio’s take: The Commanders could be very dangerous if they get to the playoffs. The Giants are in very real danger of not getting to the playoffs.
Florio’s pick: Commanders 24, Giants 17.
Rams (+7) at Packers
MDS’s take: Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield is one of the few things making this game interesting, but I don’t think he’s going to repeat his impressive performance from last Thursday. This time the Rams are going to struggle and the Packers are going to cruise to an easy win.
MDS’s pick: Packers 28, Rams 13.
Florio’s take: Baker Mayfield will have enough magic to keep it close, but not to close it out. Not against a Packers team that still has designs on making it to the playoffs.
Florio’s pick: Packers 28, Rams 27.
How in the world can anyone pick the Panthers over the Steelers?? We should have no problem dominating in this game. Nobody wants to face the Steel City in December.
Saints over Falcons – The Saints defense will have a field day with this rookies first start!
Panthers over Steelers – The Panthers are playing better than in the beginning and the Steelers are just falling short this year..
Bengals over Bucs – the Bengals seemed to have worked out many of their earlier flaws and playing good in the back half of the season… Bowles and Leftwich are 2 anchors keeping this ship from going anywhere!
What the??! Seattle scoring 17-20 points against that Niners D? Did they pick up Marshawn Lynch?
Reminder for SEA fans: Should’ve ran the ball.
As Mike likes to say, dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things. GB is in the top 5 of being dysfunctional LA 24 GB 17.
Here in Philly the team with the best record in the NFL is playing the underdog card again going into the Dallas game ,they should be ashamed of themselves that they can’t handle being the best team in football and have to rally around dog masks again!
A Packers team that still has designs on making it to the playoffs?
We get back on track to start to stack this Sunday in Carolina! There is a reason Baker Mayfield begged for his release from the Panthers. He knew the Black and Gold was coming to town and he got out just in time! In the regular season Baker Mayfield is 2-5 against the Steelers with 9 touchdowns and SIX INTERCEPTIONS! Not exactly PFT Offensive Player of the Week material. He went out to Hollywood to be a star because he knows there is 0.000% chance the Rams will make it to the Super Bowl and have to face the Steelers! Stay focused, stay humble, stay insolent! GO STEELERS!
I would LOVE the jaguars to beat the cowboys for Dougie P. Come
On Duval, help the birds put the division away this week. It’s happening one way or the other but it would make me laugh if the Xmas eve game ended up being meaningless a week before.
Also, let’s go Falcons! Keep that top 5 saints pick in tact for the eagles
Got a funny feeling the falcons are going to surprise the saints with QB play at least a little. Probably enough that the saints lose.
I might be biased, but I feel the Lions will beat the Jets by 10
sumyousername says:
December 15, 2022 at 12:10 pm
What the??! Seattle scoring 17-20 points against that Niners D? Did they pick up Marshawn Lynch?
Reminder for SEA fans: Should’ve ran the ball.
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Love this!! It should be a daily reminder to the Seahawks fans that their coach ran the worst play call in NFL history. Lol
The Thursday curse lives. MDS and Florio take the same team on Thursday almost guaranteed victory for Seattle tonight.
Locks of the week: *For entertainment purposes only
Bengals -3.5
Commanders -4.5
Panthers -2.5
Hawks +3.5 (Thursday MDS/Florio pick curse)
footballer23 says:
December 15, 2022 at 12:04 pm
How in the world can anyone pick the Panthers over the Steelers?? We should have no problem dominating in this game. Nobody wants to face the Steel City in December.
Not sure who “Steel City” is or who’s playing them, but the Panthers are playing the Steelers – who have a 21st ranked defense and a 25th ranked offense.
Just for your awareness, there are only 32 teams.
Platinum (upset) Picks of the Week: (1) Jaguars (+4) over the Cowboys. Classic trap game. The Cowboys will be caught looking ahead to their game with the Eagles and will view Jacksonville as a mere tuneup. Trevor Lawrence is on a roll, Dallas’s secondary is banged up, and the Jags sniff a chance, with Tennessee’s troubles, to win the AFC South. Jaguars 24, Cowboys 23. (2) Buccaneers (+3.5) over the Bengals. The “health” pick. Winfield, Edwards and Murphy-Bunting all practiced Wednesday, so Tampa’s secondary is near full strength. Conversely, Higgins and Boyd are nicked up. One or both are likely to be ruled out. Burrow still has the otherworldly Chase, but he will be doubled without consequence. Tampa Bay 27, Cincinnati 24.
Patriots 30 Raiders 13 It is time to send McDaniels packing. Look for the defense to get multiple turnovers off of a vulnerable line and offense and for Hunter Henry to produce crazy numbers to propel the Pats to victory.
Bills 38 Fins 10 A blowout of epic proportions thanks to the cold weather and Tua being more injured than he is letting on.
Lions 24 Jets 17 Lions are on a hot streak thanks to Goff producing more than he has in years and the so called worst defense in the league stepping up to stop Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins. Jets will have trouble with the Lions.
Upset alert Bucs 27 Bengals 20 Burrow seems to be overlooking the Bucs thanks to their blowout loss to the 49ers that is a mistake that old man Tom will pounce on.
Lock of the week Ravens 13 Browns 3 Browns should have stuck with Brissett because Watson looks god awful. Look for the Ravens to take the AFC North lead by the end of the week. I doubted them last week because Lamar was out I will not do that again.
“Reminder for SEA fans: Should’ve ran the ball.” Come on – still? Lynch was 1 for 5 from the 1 in the season, Pats had the heavy D line in, a stuff would have required that Seattle burn its last TO then have only one more play. So they went with the play with a 99% chance of success. Carroll picked the right play, Malcolm Butler made a better play.
“Patriots 30 Raiders 13 It is time to send McDaniels packing.” Packing? LV has lost 7 of 8 by one score. How about some roster adjustments before firing the coach? The coach doesn’t play the game (or blow 17 point leads).
Broncos 6, Cardinals 3.
Upset alert Bucs 27 Bengals 20 Burrow seems to be overlooking the Bucs thanks to their blowout loss to the 49ers
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He is? Source?
The Loins to me are the most interesting team inn the NFL — like the Dirty Dozen, a collection of cast-offs and misfits with something to prove — and a head coach who encourages that worldview. I’m not in the picks business, never bet on sports, but that Loins-Jets game will be the highlight of the weekend for me. And the city of Detroit deserves a winner. Bigly.
Steelers (+2.5) at Panthers
Steelers would be +9.5 if Kenny “wickedly mediocre” Pickett were starting. Nobody fears the Steelers, the NFLs cure for insomnia.
Denver beat NE luckily when Sammy Morris fumbled late in 2009, not 2010. NE was rebuilding then, too.
LOL
People get nervous when NE strategically and slowly rebuilds to set up winning teams for many years thereafter.
mhouser1922 says:
December 15, 2022 at 1:19 pm
Platinum (upset) Picks of the Week: (1) Jaguars (+4) over the Cowboys. Classic trap game. The Cowboys will be caught looking ahead to their game with the Eagles and will view Jacksonville as a mere tuneup.
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Dallas might well lose, but enough with the trap game comments. People have been saying that for three weeks now. It’s not like they haven’t had the Dec. 24 game circled since Dak returned.
The Patriots long snapper is hurt and may not play. Expect the Raiders to put extra pressure on Tucker Addington, the guy they just signed off the street to back up Joe Cardona. It could cause some special teams issues for the Patriots which could loom large in a pickem’ game.
I don’t see the Bears putting up much of a fight against the Eagles. Their defense is a mess. Feels like one of those games the network will be switching away from before it’s done.
The Titans play like two teams: the good Titans and the bad Titans. Bad Titans have been the order of the day the past three weeks, but will we see good Titans for a change?
Alot of people thinking a blowout for the Fins in Buffalo..i dunno about that.
That game should be a lot closer than people think. Miami needs to win badly, and even though the Bills also really need to close out the season winning every game to have the 1 seed, I think the fins are out to prove that they belong and will fight hard. The weather is a factor but if only to slow down the Miami speedsters… it might come down to who decides to really try and run the ball which at home favors Buffalo who has healthier backs and of course Allen. It should be a great Sat night snow game that alot of the country cant watch because of the horrible NFL network.
gronkhof says:
December 15, 2022 at 1:33 pm
“Reminder for SEA fans: Should’ve ran the ball.” Come on – still? Lynch was 1 for 5 from the 1 in the season, Pats had the heavy D line in, a stuff would have required that Seattle burn its last TO then have only one more play. So they went with the play with a 99% chance of success. Carroll picked the right play, Malcolm Butler made a better play.
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Having one more down and a timeout to spare is precisely the reason to try run. If it didn’t work they had a timeout and a fourth down play.
With a crowded field what could go wrong actually did.
Instead of being a back to back championship they became an also ran.
It’s great to remind the Seahawks fans of the pain
This week’s ATS locks of the week: Cowboys and Chargers. Upset of the week: Commanders. Last week’s record: 3-0.
If the Jaguars beat the Cowboys Stephen A. will be must watch TV the next day!
“The Buccaneers are starting to sense that they’re not good enough to make it to the Super Bowl. So why bother making it to the playoffs?”
I think the answer to this question can be found in 2007. I don’t think a team can look better than the 18-0 Patriots did that year. But they didn’t win it all. And it’s hard for an eventual Super Bowl champion to look much iffier than those ragged, inconsistent Manning Giants who stumbled their way into the playoffs and won it twice.
So, completely agree that the Bucs are not playing well enough (and playing worse than said Giants were). But they know that once you make it to the playoffs, then it’s 0-0 and only a few games need to be figured out.
purplengold says:
December 15, 2022 at 12:16 pm
A Packers team that still has designs on making it to the playoffs?
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Well, they are still mathematically in the race and the Rams are not. So with that in mind the Packers are a pretty solid pick. I pick the Packers 27-13.
I have a feeling Taylor will run through the Vikings defense and colts win
I don’t hate the Bills’ pick. I hope the Dolphins win, but hope is fleeting.
Don’t discount the Rams; they have a head coach.
GoodellMustGo says:
December 15, 2022 at 1:47 pm
Upset alert Bucs 27 Bengals 20 Burrow seems to be overlooking the Bucs thanks to their blowout loss to the 49ers
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He is? Source?
4112Rate This
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Interview he gave today Burrow stated he does not have any weaknesses. He is baiting the Bucs. Bad move on his part.
People get nervous when NE strategically and slowly rebuilds to set up winning teams for many years thereafter.
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Was N’Keal Harry part of that strategy? Jarrett Stidham? How about spending huge $$ on Jonnu Smith, Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor?
bobhk says:
December 15, 2022 at 3:31 pm
gronkhof says:
December 15, 2022 at 1:33 pm
“Reminder for SEA fans: Should’ve ran the ball.” Come on – still? Lynch was 1 for 5 from the 1 in the season, Pats had the heavy D line in, a stuff would have required that Seattle burn its last TO then have only one more play. So they went with the play with a 99% chance of success. Carroll picked the right play, Malcolm Butler made a better play.
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Having one more down and a timeout to spare is precisely the reason to try run. If it didn’t work they had a timeout and a fourth down play.
With a crowded field what could go wrong actually did.
Instead of being a back to back championship they became an also ran.
It’s great to remind the Seahawks fans of the pain
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Coulda, woulda, shoulda. They could have given it to Lynch and he could have been stripped of the ball and NE could have recovered…
Then perhaps you and others would be taunting fans with, “what a stupid play call. Lynch was 1 for 5 running from the 1 yard line. What were they thinking! A quick toss across the line and they score 6 points!”. Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda…
jimmysee says:
December 15, 2022 at 1:55 pm
The Loins to me are the most interesting team inn the NFL — like the Dirty Dozen, a collection of cast-offs and misfits with something to prove…..
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I’m rooting for the Lions as hard as anyone but let’s not call them a collection of cast-offs. Years of bottom 5 finishes have enriched its roster with top 5 draft picks. See what I did?
You read it here! Miami
Detroit and Vegas will all win!
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