With seven weeks still left to play, the first team was officially eliminated from playoff contention last Sunday, as the Colts moved to 0-10 with a home loss against the Jaguars.  Indianapolis’ injured quarterback, Peyton Manning, can now focus on getting healthy for next year, rather than rushing back to try to save this season, while his team are likely to win the race for Andrew Luck, the projected first pick in next year’s draft.  Elsewhere, the Saints maintained their position at the top of the NFC South by winning in overtime against the Falcons.  Atlanta elected not to punt on fourth and short in their own territory during the extra period, a decision which backfired and ended up costing them the game, as well as joint first place in the division.  In the AFC West, San Diego lost their fourth game in a row, going down at home to the Oakland Raiders; while the Broncos won again, this time in Kansas City.  The Bears beat the Lions in Chicago, tying the two teams for second place in the NFC North behind the Packers, who maintained their 100% start to the season with an impressive 45-7 win over the Vikings on Monday Night Football.

The San Francisco 49ers moved another step closer to securing one of the top two seeds in the NFC, beating the Giants last week – New York have just a one game lead in their division now, as the Cowboys thrashed the Bills 44-7 in Dallas.  The Eagles lost another lead in the fourth quarter, this time at home to the Cardinals – leaving both teams with a 3-6 record for the season.  Philadelphia were highly touted before the season as Superbowl contenders, yet look unlikely to even make the playoffs at this point.  The Steelers moved into first place in the AFC North, as they defeated the Bengals while the Baltimore Ravens suffered a surprise loss in Seattle against the Seahawks.  New England returned to winning ways, having been beaten the previous two weeks, by overcoming their AFC East foes, the New York Jets, in New Jersey.

This week’s biggest game sees the Bengals travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens, the winners will tie Pittsburgh in the AFC North, as the Steelers have their bye week.  The Giants play the Eagles at the MetLife Stadium – Philadelphia may be without their starting Quarterback, Michael Vick, who suffered broken ribs in their last game with the Cardinals.  There is a battle of the “Bays” as the Green Bay Packers host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the home team trying to move to 10-0 ahead of their Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit.  Their opponents for that game, the Lions face the Carolina Panthers, while the Bears are at home to the Chargers, with San Diego trying to avoid a fifth consecutive loss.  The Broncos, who only allowed Tim Tebow to attempt 8 passes last week (2 of which were completed), play the Thursday night game against the Jets; while the Monday Night game is unlikely to be competitive, as the Chiefs travel to New England to face the Patriots.

Predictions

Last week, 9-7; Season 77-69

Home teams in bold

Jets -4.5 over Broncos

Bills +2.5 over Dolphins

Ravens -7.5 over Bengals

Jaguars -0.5 over Browns

Cowboys -7.5 over Redskins

Lions -6.5 over Panthers

Buccaneers +14.5 over Packers (note, I’m picking against Green Bay just to not jinx them for the rest of the season)

Raiders +1.5 over Vikings

Seahawks +2.5 over Rams

Cardinals +9.5 over 49ers

Titans +6.5 over Falcons

Bears -3.5 over Chargers

Giants -3.5 over Eagles

Patriots -14.5 over Chiefs