We are down to the final four weeks of the 2024 NFL season and what a campaign it has been. A true roller coaster ride of surprises, disappointments, and the Kansas City Chiefs marching on as defending champions with just one loss on their record.
What the remainder of the season boils down to now is determining which teams will reach the post season and how they will be seeded. Buffalo, Kansas City, Philadelphia, and Detroit are already in. That means four division winners are yet to be determined and two wild card teams that will sneak in.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are inching closer to winning the AFC North as the Texans also have a two-game lead in the south and close to winning the division. The Atlanta Falcons are blowing it in the NFC South and virtually handing the division title to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while the NFC West might be the worst division in football, but the Seattle Seahawks are trying to fend off the challenges of the Rams with the Cardinals and 49ers not quite out of the race yet.
Teams vying for a playoff spot include the Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers, and Denver Broncos in the AFC with the Colts and Dolphins not quite out of it yet. In the NFC, the Vikings are probably a shoo-in with Green Bay looking good. The Commanders are still in fairly decent shape to make a run the Rams still have a shot if they don’t win their division.
From this point forward all the aforementioned teams will be in critical situations for their four games that remain. For the worst teams in the league, they just want to get December and the first week of January over so they can start rebuilding for 2025. Then there are teams that may or may not end up with the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Those teams include the currently 2-11 New York Giants, the 3-10 Carolina Panthers, the 2-11 Raiders, the 3-10 Browns and Titans, and with the same record the New England Patriots and to many’s delight, Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.
Let’s break down this week’s games.
Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco: Week 15 of the NFL begins on Thursday with an NFC West showdown in California. The Rams are one game out of the division lead and the 49ers are still battling despite being in last with a 6-7 record. Los Angeles has been playing outstanding of late and I believe they continue that trend here. Rams 30 / 49ers 24
Kansas City at Cleveland: The way Jameis Winston is playing, he’ll make some good plays but can be counted on for turning the ball over. It would be a shock if the Chiefs lost here but they’ve been just getting by. A win is a win, right? But Kansas City is bound to stumble at some point. My gut says Cleveland could pull and upset but my wiser self says no way. Chiefs 38 / Browns 17
Cincinnati at Tennessee: The Bengals only won in Dallas because of what might have been the dumbest mistake all season by a player on a blocked punt by the Cowboys that Amani Oruwariye attempted to recover only to muff the ball and the Bengals recovered which resulted in a Ja’Mar Chase touchdown reception three plays later to win the game. The stupidity was such that Micah Parsons went to the locker room before the game ended in frustration. The Titans are simply not good, and Joe Burrow will take advantage of that. Bengals 35 / Titans 23
Washington at New Orleans: The Saints have the slimmest of chances to make the playoffs so here they can play spoiler as the Commanders are vying for a wild card. With nothing to lose and heavy pressure on Washington, I like the home team. Saints 27 / Commanders 24
Baltimore at New York Giants: Now if the Ravens lose this game they do not deserve to get to the playoffs. There is like no chance New York comes out on top here. Then again, the Ravens like the Steelers lost to the Browns when expected to win. Ravens 45 / Giants 6
Dallas at Carolina: The Panthers nearly upended the Eagles last week on the road. The Cowboys will be damaged after the way they lost to Cincinnati. Bryce Young may have finally found his footing in the NFL and the Panthers have been playing respectable football despite their record. Dallas has had a season full of controversy and lack of chemistry. I think their season really starts to decline with the start of that taking place last Monday night. Panthers 25 / Cowboys 17
New York Jets at Jacksonville: Aaron Rodgers may be the biggest joke of the NFL this season. If he brings the Jets to Jacksonville and loses to Mack Jones and the rest of the Jags, it will just be an exclamation point on how he single handily destroyed this team this season. Rodgers has more haters now than ever before and has fans rooting against him and the Jets. Jaguars 23 / Jets 17
Miami at Houston: The Dolphins are fighting for their playoff lives while the Texans have something to prove to their fans to show they are the same playoff team from a season ago. This will be a wild one and probably high scoring. I like the Texans in a shootout. Texans 34 / Dolphins 31
Indianapolis at Denver: This may be the Colts’ last shot at a wild card but boy, having to play in Denver against a Broncos team that has a rookie quarterback playing at a much higher level than earlier in the season? Ouch to be a Colts fan. Broncos 33 / Colts 24
Buffalo at Detroit: Absolutely, hands down, game of the day. If Buffalo wants to be a serious Super Bowl contender, they better show up in this one. The Lions are roaring. Just mowing teams down this season and they will be pumped to the utmost degree facing the Bills. Let’s see how Josh Allen, the prospective M.V.P., does against this nasty Detroit defense. Lions 31 / Bills 14
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia: I had this game pegged as an Eagles victory however, after Philadelphia’s game against Carolina that they nearly lost, this Steelers team is not the Carolina Panthers. But what convinces me more about the possibility of a Pittsburgh victory is the in-fighting and discombobulation of the Eagles locker room. It began with an interview of wide receiver AJ Brown following the win over Carolina when asked what was wrong with the offense of Philadelphia he said, “passing game.” Obviously, a shot at quarterback Jalen Hurts. Making matters worse was Brandon Graham, a team captain coming out after that saying the relationship between QB and receiver had deteriorated in recent weeks. This situation helps the Steelers. As I said, this is not the Panthers the Eagles will be seeing. It appears George Pickens will sit for the second straight game with a hamstring injury, but it’s the Steelers defense that will be the highlight. Can they stop Saquon Barkley? That will be the focus for Cam Heyward the rest of the defense. With the Eagles turmoil going on, I like Pittsburgh to snap their nine-game winning streak. With a win the Steelers will have won their third straight. Steelers 24 / Eagles 21
New England at Arizona: The Cardinals are in a must-win situation. The Patriots are playing for next season and finding out who will be sticking around for 2025. Cardinals 30 / Patriots 20
Tampa Bay at Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers have won eight of 13 but have not given the impression they might be a serious playoff threat. The Bucs are trying to close out first place in their division and this one should be a dogfight. Chargers 23 / Bucs 21
Green Bay at Seattle: Another of a handful of great games on the day. Playing in Seattle is always tough, and the Packers fight hard. Should be a doozy. Seahawks 27 / Packers 24
Chicago at Minnesota: The Vikings are cruising, and Sam Darnold might be the biggest surprise of the season. The Bears can’t win this one. Vikings 34 / Bears 10
Atlanta at Las Vegas: This might be Kirk Cousins last stand in Atlanta and perhaps elsewhere. If he can’t beat the Raiders, then Michael Penix is the answer. If Cousins plays lousy again, many will be scratching their heads if he starts the following week. The Raiders can throw out the playbook and go with a playground game plan. They have nothing to play for and nothing to lose. Raiders 17 / Falcons 14
Running Pick Record from Week to Week
Week 1: 12/15
Week 2: 8/16
Week 3: 8/16
Week 4: 11/16
Week 5: 7/14
Week 6: 9/14
Week 7: 9/15
Week 8: 11/16
Week 9: 10/15
Week 10: 5/14
Week 11: 11/14
Week 12: 7/13
Week 13: 13/16
Week 14: 8/12
Week 15: TBD
