The Armchair Quarterback’s Guide To The NFL: Week 15

The Armchair Quarterback’s Week 15 Predictions

Last week was another good week for the Armchair Quarterback picks, going 13-3 overall. That puts the overall record at 138-70 on the season. I’m feeling pretty good about this week’s picks, so hopefully another good week is on it’s way. Let’s get to it.

Chargers at Broncos

While I must admit that Phillip Rivers is playing great football (and that’s not easy for me to do because I’m NOT a Rivers fan), their defense leaves a lot to be desired. They may have slowed down one of the Manning brothers last week, but I don’t expect them to do the same against Peyton this week. I think the high flying passing offenses could make this one of the more enjoyable Thursday night games to watch, but in the end, I just don’t think the Chargers will be able to keep up with Denver. They just have too many offensive weapons to deal with.

Chargers 31
Broncos 40

Redskins at Falcons

An epic battle of NFL futility in a game that will have some real impact on the order of the first few picks of the draft. Last season this looked like a possible NFC title game, but oh how things have changed. The Falcons may be having a bad season but at least their head coach isn’t sabotaging his own team in order to try and get fired. I’ll take the Falcons in this one.

Redskins 24
Falcons 27

49ers at Buccaneers

I’m a coward. My gut is telling me to pick an upset here. The 49ers are feeling good about themselves coming off their home win against what I think is the best team in the NFL (Seattle). The problem is, they may overlook a very scrappy Bucs team that has now won 4 of their last 5 games. If I wasn’t a coward I would call for this upset, but I just can’t do it. I’ll take the better team (49ers) in a close one.

49ers 20
Buccaneers 17

Seahawks at Giants

The Giants may have won a few games after starting the season winless, but they were picking on some REALLY bad teams in those wins. Seattle, on the other hand, is one of (if not THE) best team in the league. I just don’t see the Seahawks dropping two games in a row.

Seahawks 27
Giants 17

Eagles at Vikings

The Eagles are rolling. If Peyton Manning wasn’t rewriting the NFL passing record book I think LeSean McCoy would be getting a lot more MVP hype. The guy is amazing. Meanwhile, Adrian Peterson was knocked out of the game last week and was still in a walking boot on Tuesday. You add that to the fact that Nick Foles is playing great and I think the Eagles have to be the pick here.

Eagles 31
Vikings 21

Patriots at Dolphins

I think the Pats luck has to run out eventually. They’ve just lost too many people to injury. I haven’t picked Miami to win very often this season, but I’m going to take them here. That probably means you should put everything you own on the Pats to win because I never seem to pick the Phins correctly.

Patriots 20
Dolphins 24

Bills at Jaguars

A month ago I would have picked the Bills here without any hesitation. Now there is definitely some hesitation. I really like Gus Bradley and think he has passed on some real mental toughness to the Jaguars. Although I think the Bills are dangerous, I think the Jags are on a mission.

Bills 23
Jaguars 26

Texans at Colts

I refuse to pick the Texans again this season after ALL the times I picked them only to be let down. The fact that they are facing the current division leaders doesn’t help matters much. The Colts may have struggled a little without Reggie Wayne, but they’ll have enough to pull this one out.

Texans 24
Colts 27

Bears at Browns

This one is interesting to me. The Bears have a great offense and a putrid defense while the Browns have a good defense and mediocre offense. So who will prevail? I think in the end the Bears offensive weapons will be just a little too much for the Browns.

Bears 29
Browns 27

Chiefs at Raiders

(Homer alert) The Chiefs steamrolled the Redskins last week and seem to have found their “swagger” again. Meanwhile, in Oakland, they have lost 5 out of 6 games and seem to be struggling. Alex Smith seems to finding his groove within Andy Reid’s offense. That should continue against an Oakland defense that has struggled to stop the pass at times.

Jets at Panthers

I wouldn’t want to be the Jets here. The Panthers are a very good football team and I don’t see them losing two games in a row. Especially not at home to a team with a losing record. Look for Cam Newton to pull out a physical slugfest.

Jets 16
Panthers 20

Packers at Cowboys

If I felt like there was a decent chance that Aaron Rodgers might play I might have to think about this one. The bottom line is that without Rodgers the Packers aren’t very good. The Cowboys may be up and down, but with a rough loss last week this could be a prime bounce back game for them.

Packers 23
Cowboys 31

Cardinals at Titans

The Cardinals are another team that I have picked wrong a lot this year. I just didn’t (and still don’t, to an extent) think that Carson Palmer had anything left to give. The defense for Arizona is legit though and I’ll take them over a hard fighting Titans team that really needs to find their answer at QB before they can move forward.

Cardinals 24
Titans 23

Saints at Rams

The Rams have been scrappy since Sam Bradford went down. I just don’t think they’ll be able to keep up with the high flying Saints offense. They’ll keep it respectable, but in the end, too much Drew Brees and company.

Saints 27
Rams 20

Bengals at Steelers

I’m a strong believer in the Bengals. I like everything about their team when Andy Dalton is playing well. That’s the key. If Dalton doesn’t fall apart, I wouldn’t be shocked to find them in the AFC title game. The Steelers just seem like they’re “off” this season. Maybe it’s time to admit that the Todd Haley hire was a mistake.

Bengals 24
Steelers 17

Ravens at Lions

This is actually the game with the most playoff implications this week. If Detroit wants to keep pace with Chicago they need to win this one. If Baltimore wants to keep up with Miami in the wild card hunt, they need this one as well. I keep going back and forth and think this one is a toss up. Normally in a toss up game I lean towards the home team, but Reggie Bush’s status is still up in the air so I’m going to take the Ravens in this one.

Ravens 31
Lions 30

Now on to the Armchair Quarterback Odds and Ends of the Week………