Some people spend a whole lifetime striving for greatness. Others are simply born with it. We can only assume DrUHomes falls into the latter category. Last week was the third time they have ever taken part in our Pick Six contest – and the second in which they have called every single game correctly.
Nobody else had a clean sweep in week 13, so when we’re done with the necessary standing ovation it’s time for the rest of us to start bucking our ideas up. Here comes the latest round of games …
Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants (Sunday 8.30pm ET/Monday 1.30am GMT)
Victory would seal an NFC East title for the Cowboys. More than that, it would serve as revenge. The Giants are the only team to have beaten them so far this season, all the way back in week one. But times have changed just a little in Dallas in the meantime. Ezekiel Elliott, having barely played in preseason, rushed for 51 yards against New York – a full 32 fewer than in his worst performance since (and that came in week two, in case you were searching for a trend). Dak Prescott, similarly, averaged a paltry five yards per passing attempt in that season opener. From week two onwards, he has never dipped below 7.4. Alongside the two rookies’ development, you might consider that Jason Pierre-Paul was one of New York’s most active defenders in Dallas, racking up six combined tackles and a pair of quarterback hurries. He will not play on Sunday (or again this season, unless the Giants go deep into the playoffs) after undergoing surgery on a sports hernia this week.
Cowboys to win
San Diego Chargers @ Carolina Panthers (Sunday 1pm ET/6pm GMT)
Technically, both of these teams can still make the playoffs. Realistically, that ship has sailed. But if either is likely to carry on raging against the dying of the light, then I suspect it might be San Diego. The Chargers have not lost a game by more than eight points all season, whereas Carolina just got blown out 40-7 in Seattle. Ron Rivera’s decision to bench Cam Newton briefly over a dress code violation, justified or otherwise, does not appear to have done much good for morale. That said, Newton was struggling even before this latest saga. His completion rate over the past three games is a feeble 44.7%.
Chargers to win
Arizona Cardinals @ Miami Dolphins (Sunday 1pm ET/6pm GMT)
How quickly the narratives turn. One week ago, the Dolphins were among the NFL’s hottest teams – riding a six-game winning streak and mooted as a threat to New England atop the AFC East. Then they got crushed 38-6 in Baltimore. Conversely, the Cardinals – written off at 4-6-1 – pulled off an impressive home win over Washington and are now listed by the Las Vegas bookies as just a 1.5-point underdog in Miami. This despite the fact that their only road win to date came against San Francisco. Truthfully, I do find this an incredibly tricky game to call. Even with Tyrann Mathieu injured, Arizona’s No2-ranked defense has the talent to overwhelm the Dolphins much like Baltimore did. Mike Pouncey looks unlikely to return at center for Miami, and his team’s rushing average without him in the line-up this season is less than half (80.8 yards per game) of what it is when he is present (164.4 yards per game). But the Cardinals really have put on some hideous road shows in 2016, and this is an early kickoff on the East Coast. I’ve rarely felt so reluctant to back the more talented team.
Cardinals to win
Washington @ Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday 1pm ET/6pm GMT)
A once promising season has unraveled for Philadelphia with a run of five defeats in six games. But is the same starting to happen to Washington? Back-to-back losses against Dallas and Arizona have bumped Jay Gruden’s team down to the seventh seed in the NFC, and the Eagles would relish dealing a division rival a potentially fatal blow. The anticipated returns of both Ryan Mathews and Jordan Matthews – Philly’s top running back and receiver – certainly enhance their capacity to do so, but I still have my doubts. Carson Wentz has shown no signs of climbing over his rookie wall, whereas Kirk Cousins was thriving until he ran into a very good Arizona pass defense last week. He’ll also have left tackle Trent Williams back to protect him after completing a four-game suspension.
Washington to win
New York Jets @ San Francisco 49ers (Sunday 4.05pm ET/9.05pm GMT)
And there you were thinking we’d arrived at the bottom of the barrel when we made you pick the 49ers-Bears game last week. San Francisco went on to lose by 20 points, which was still 11 fewer than the Jets’ margin of defeat at home to Indianapolis on Monday Night football. On paper, this looks like a bad matchup for the Niners, whose one redeeming feature – Carlos Hyde – will likely be negated by a New York defense that gives up just 90.3 yards per game on the ground. But does anyone really expect Bryce Petty to breathe life into the Jets’ offense? In the end, I could find a thousand reasons why I dislike both sides. So I am reverting to a long-held thesis, which I failed to adhere to last week: never back really terrible football teams on the road.
49ers to win
Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay Packers (Sunday 4.25pm ET/9.25pm GMT)
To lose one of the league’s best safeties at any time would be damaging. To do so in the week before facing Aaron Rodgers might feel catastrophic to fans in Seattle. Earl Thomas is an irreplaceable defender, whose absence will certainly be felt on Sunday and for the rest of this season after he fractured his tibia. The Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel was quick to observe that the Seahawks lost the only other game he has missed in his career – against Tampa Bay two weeks ago. Correlation, though, is not causation, and Seattle’s greatest problems that day were on the other side of the ball. With Thomas Rawls starting to hit his stride, and the Packers’ own defense badly banged up – sack leader Nick Perry is out, while just about every other linebacker on the roster seems to be carrying some kind of injury – I’m not convinced we will see history repeated.
Seahawks to win
