"The Stack" 12-20-19
Dak Prescott VS Carson Wentz. Dallas VS Philadelphia. The NFC East division title is at stake.
The Stack is back on this Football Friday and it is a different type of Football Friday that we have today. The college football bowl season kicks off (YAY!...RIGHT?...Right?...right?...Buehler?) We have two bowl games today and we will pick Saturday’s NFL games in a special edition of “the stack” tomorrow, but right now, let’s get to some previews and predictions for week 16 in the NFL in “the stack” for today, Friday, December 19th:
Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl (Nassau, Bahamas)
7-5 Buffalo VS 7-5 Charlotte 2 PM ET ESPN
First bowl game of the season in a place where everyone should be for the holidays on vacation. It is Charlotte’s first ever bowl game. I don’t have a great feel about this game, but Charlotte may just be happy to be there.
Predicted winner: Buffalo
Confidence points: Low double digits
Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl (Frisco, TX)
7-5 Utah State VS 6-6 Kent State 7:30 PM ET ESPN2
Jordan Love is the quarterback for Utah State. He has pro potential. But he was cited for a controlled substance (pot) the other week and who knows if he is going to play along with the other two players that were with him. If Love plays, I like Utah State. If he doesn’t, I don’t know if
Utah State can win.
Predicted winner: Utah State
Confidence points: Mid 20s
3-11 New York Giants @ 3-11 Washington 1 PM ET FOX
It sounds like Eli Manning won’t be starting for the Giants. That’s a shame, because if he played, I think the Giants win. They may still win with Daniel Jones, but Dwayne Haskins has been playing a little better for Washington as of late. I think Washington closes their home campaign with a
win.
Prediction: Washington 27 Giants 24
11-3 New Orleans Saints @ 8-6 Tennessee Titans 1 PM ET FOX
I picked the Titans last week and they burned me. If I pick them again this week, will they disappoint me yet again? Probably, but their backs are against and I don’t see Drew Brees going 29 for 30 against the Titans stout defense. Especially with the great Herman Boone passing away this week, remember the Titans. Win Tennessee! Win!
Prediction: Titans 24 Saints 20
8-6 Pittsburgh Steelers @ 5-9 New York Jets 1 PM ET CBS
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has done a fabulous job this year navigating through injuries and the carousel at quarterback. Can Devlin “Duck” Hodges redeem himself this week? While it would be nice to see Jets running back Le’Veon Bell exact revenge against his former team, I don’t see it happening. That Steelers defense is too good.
Prediction: Steelers 20 Jets 10
1-13 Cincinnati Bengals @ 3-11 Miami Dolphins 1 PM ET CBS
I wish these two teams were winless going into this game. I would have wanted it in primetime to determine the number one overall pick in the draft. Neither team is winless though. The Dolphins have been playing better and will find a way to win this game.
Prediction: Dolphin 19 Bengals 15
5-9 Carolina Panthers @ 6-8 Indianapolis Colts 1 PM ET FOX
Neither team has playoff aspirations. The Colts just got blown out on MNF. The Panthers are starting rookie quarterback Will Grier. It looks like neither team really wants to win so I’ll go with the home team by default.
Prediction: Colts 28 Panthers 20
12-2 Baltimore Ravens @ 6-8 Cleveland Browns 1 PM ET CBS
Can you believe that the Browns actually beat the Ravens back in week 4? Blew them out, actually if I recall. That’s not happening this week. As much as I want to see the Browns win and keep their slim playoff hopes alive, they are so dysfunctional right now (so Browns, am I right?), that I can’t see them coming close to beating Lamar Jackson and company.
Prediction: Ravens 41 Browns 24
5-9 Jacksonville Jaguars @ 5-9 Atlanta Falcons 1 PM ET FOX
Both teams had big come-from-behind wins last week in the Bay Area. The Jaguars may be playing with a little more energy now that Tom Coughlin is out, but Atlanta is the more talented team. I think they figure out a way to get the win.
Prediction: Falcons 23 Jaguars 17
6-8 Oakland Raiders @ 5-9 Los Angeles Chargers 4:05 PM ET CBS
It’s the Chargers last ever game in their “home” stadium, the soccer stadium. It’s also likely Philip Rivers last home game too. I can’t see him losing this one, especially since both teams have no playoff hopes on the line.
Prediction: Chargers 27 Raiders 23
3-10-1 Detroit Lions @ 5-9 Denver Broncos 4:05 PM ET CBS
Both teams have had largely forgettable seasons, but one team has a rookie quarterback who is playing pretty well. The other team has Matt Patricia as their head coach who has been guaranteed to come back next year with expectations of competing for a playoff spot. I’ll go with Drew Lock and the Broncos.
Prediction: Broncos 30 Lions 13
4-9-1 Arizona Cardinals @ 11-3 Seattle Seahawks 4:25 PM ET FOX
Only one Seahawks victory this season has been by double digits. That was against the Cardinals in Arizona back in week 4. I know Kyler Murray and the Cardinals have played better for the most part since then, but going up to Seattle is a whole different ballgame. I don’t see it going well despite all of the Seahawks injuries on defense.
Prediction: Seahawks 27 Cardinals 16
7-7 Dallas Cowboys @ 7-7 Philadelphia Eagles 4:25 PM ET FOX
The de facto NFC East championship game. A win for the Cowboys guarantees them the NFC East. A win for the Eagles all but guarantees them the division title. Dak Prescott’s shoulder is hurting and that is a grave concern for the Cowboys, but he will play. I know what the Cowboys are like when they are firing on all cylinders. I haven’t seen that from the Eagles. I don’t know if we will see that Sunday either.
Prediction: Cowboys 27 Eagles 20
10-4 Kansas City Chiefs @ 7-7 Chicago Bears 8:20 PM ET NBC
The Chiefs are really playing well right now on both sides of the ball. If the defense keeps playing as well as they have the last couple of weeks, this team is going to the Super Bowl. They’re going against a team that was eliminated from playoff contention last week. Andy Reid is the teacher and Matt Nagy is the student. Advantage teacher. You know, because he has hall-of-famer Patrick Mahomes and Nagy has Trubisky.
Prediction: Chiefs 31 Bears 20
Coming up Saturday: Saturday NFL Network triple-header predictions plus predictions for Saturday’s five bowl games.
