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December 28, 1:00PM ET
Repeat this piece of 2008 NFL incredulity after me: The Atlanta Falcons are playing for a first-round playoff bye. They need help from the Saints, which just might be forthcoming.
Prediction: Atlanta Falcons 40, St. Louis Rams 9
St. Louis Rams
Atlanta Falcons
Fans Say: The Fans are Split
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Tempted to pick the Bills. Very tempted, because the winds-will-be-strong-Sunday forecast from weather.com, on my PC, comes up in bright red letters "HIGH WINDS'' for gameday -- and my new underrated combo-platter at running back is Marshawn Lynch and Fred "Drag 'Em Into The End Zone'' Jackson. Last six games: 120 rushing yards per game, 5.0 yards per carry. But this game is too important for the Patriots' D to not bring the big-boy pads.
Prediction: New England Patriots 28, Buffalo Bills 20
New England Patriots
Buffalo Bills
Stupid Chiefs. They can't even lose right. They solidify third place instead of fighting for second in the Matthew Stafford Draft Derby.
Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs 20, Cincinnati Bengals 13
Kansas City Chiefs
Cincinnati Bengals
History, sweet history. Sports Quiz: Name the last quarterback of a winless NFL team. I'll give you a second. Need more time? Answer below, in Arizona-Seattle game.
Prediction: Green Bay Packers 31, Detroit Lions 13
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Vince Young lives! Imagine on Draft Day 2006 if I told you Young would be reduced to the Jim Sorgi role by the end of Year 3 in the NFL. You'd have told me I was crazy. Well, you'd be right there, but not because of the Vince Young answer.
Prediction: Tennessee Titans 28, Indianapolis Colts 13
Tennessee Titans
Indianapolis Colts
Desperate team wins. Plus, I can't see Tom Coughlin using knee-plagued Brandon Jacobs much, if at all, on the fake turf of the Metrodome. Smart thing here would be to make sure Jacobs has three weeks of real rehab before the Jints' playoff opener on Jan. 10 or 11.
Prediction: Minnesota Vikings 19, New York Giants 12
New York Giants
Minnesota Vikings
This defies logic, because John Fox is not going to be keen on his team finishing the season in a slump, nor is he going to be pleased that the Panthers have gone all the way from a 2 seed to 5 in the span of eight days. But Sean Payton's team has been explosive in home games this year -- scoring 24, 31, 30, 34, 37, 51 and 29 points at home -- and Drew Brees has an outside shot to make history, needing 402 passing yards to break Dan Marino's all-time single-season record. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but neither did Buffalo winning in Denver and the Jets losing in Seattle. It's football.
Prediction: New Orleans Saints 38, Carolina Panthers 35
Carolina Panthers
New Orleans Saints
December 28, 4:15PM ET
Don't ask why. I don't know. I do know that Brett Favre, Alan Faneca, Nick Mangold, Thomas Jones, Tony Richardson and Kerry Rhodes are going to play every play like it's their last. Corny. Also true. I also think there's a chance Chad Pennington might be a little too geeked up for this seminal event in his life. And I think the crowd will go from angry at the start to euphoric once it sees the Jets in control of the game -- if not their destiny -- midway through the second half.
Prediction: New York Jets 26, Miami Dolphins 24
Miami Dolphins
New York Jets
Not sure what's louder by game's end -- boos for Terrell Owens or chants to fire Andy Reid. Dallas has won one road game in the past 13 weeks, by the way. I'm picking the Cowboys because I don't like the Philly offense -- at all -- and because I think Tony Romo's tired of hearing what a useless player he is when the games get very big.
Prediction: Dallas Cowboys 24, Philadelphia Eagles 20
Dallas Cowboys
Philadelphia Eagles
Solving nothing. No one trusts the Cardinals to do anything but show up at the stadium for the Wild Card game.
Prediction: Arizona Cardinals 20, Seattle Seahawks 16
Seattle Seahawks
Arizona Cardinals
Game ends at 4:01. At 4:01.01, Randy Lerner is dialing Bill Cowher's cell number.
Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers 38, Cleveland Browns 11
Cleveland Browns
Pittsburgh Steelers
December 28, 8:15PM ET
Midway through the fourth quarter, a muscular man with sunglasses and Padres cap on sneaks into the stadium, stands in the end zone, and watches the final minute or so tick off the scoreboard, with Philip Rivers completing a two-point conversion pass to win the game. The man smiles knowingly, and sneaks out of Qualcomm while the fans blow the roof off the place. Strange. No one notices Ed Hochuli leaving.
Prediction: Denver Broncos 39, San Diego Chargers 38
Denver Broncos
San Diego Chargers
Job haiku for the Redskin coach: Memo to Jim Zorn: Don't trust an owner till the Calendar says "JAN"'
Prediction: San Francisco 49ers 23, Washington Redskins 17
Washington Redskins
San Francisco 49ers
Ronde Barber is mad. Derrick Brooks is mad. Monte Kiffin, who doesn't have a mad bone in his body, is mad. The last game in the proud pro coaching history of Kiffin will not go like the past three.
Prediction: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30, Oakland Raiders 0
Oakland Raiders
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In the past 10 games, Baltimore's lost to the full-strength Giants and replay-fortunate Steelers. That's it. The Ravens have won five road games, toyed with Philly and Washington at home, and built up the confidence of Joe Flacco for his first playoff start ever -- at either the Dolphins, Jets or Pats, most likely. Flacco played only one of them this year, Miami. At Miami. And he had his highest-rated game of the year (120.2), a 27-13 win over the Fish.
Prediction: Baltimore Ravens 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 9
Jacksonville Jaguars
Baltimore Ravens
Tough one to pick, because you don't know the Houston motivation, and the Bears obviously have hopes for a division title. It comes down to not trusting the Bears' offense to win a biggie.
Prediction: Houston Texans 24, Chicago Bears 20
Chicago Bears
Houston Texans