NFL Picks 2013: Week 17

If week 15 was a head scratcher, week 16 wasn’t much better.

Several more upsets dropped three of us to 9-7 and one to 8-8 heading into the regular season’s final weekend. So, like most NFL teams, we hope to be hitting our stride as the playoffs hit, but like many, we are sort of limping to the finish line.

Regardless, it’s overall been a solid season for our straight-up picks. Here are the standings heading into week 17.

There are still playoff positions up for grabs and several head-to-head games with win-or-go-home ramifications. Some, such as the Packers/Bears and Eagles/Cowboys tilts, feel as though they’re mostly determining who gets to lose to the wild card participants in the first round of the playoffs, but others will determine division champions and bye weeks.

And here is who we think will win:

Game of the Week: San Francisco at Arizona – For as well as New Orleans and Seattle have played most of the season, there is still a chance that the Saints fail to make the post-season or that the Seahawks could have to travel to Green Bay for the playoff opener. At least one really strong team will be left out of the NFC playoffs this season. And this game affects all of those scenarios. And both of these teams are among the hottest and strongest in the NFC as the season wraps up. There are a couple of head-to-head games on the schedule that will determine division championships. But the participants in those games are on cold streaks heading in and arguably are not particularly deserving of the postseason either way. So this game is the more compelling in our eyes. (Due to the holidays and various personal situations, there will not be a Game of the Week guest post this week)

Game of the Weak: Washington at New York Giants – These two proud franchises have hit the skids this season, with New York hoping to avoid double-digit losses and Washington fighting for a top two pick in the draft – only to have to turn that selection over to St. Louis as the last piece of the RGIII trade. Both teams had high expectations coming into the season but both have pretty much been playing out the string since the first quarter pole of the season. On Sunday, their dismal seasons – and possibly the coaching tenures for both Mike Shanahan and Tom Coughlin – will come to an end.

 Loading ...