NFL Preview – Week 17

Giants @ Vikings, Sunday 1pm
Ahad: The Vikings are leaking oil. They can finish anywhere from 2nd to 4th in the conference. The Giants have nothing to play for and I believe Jacobs is not playing. Look for the Vikings to try and get things in the right direction for the playoffs and pull this one out. Pick: Vikings
Matt: What a disappointing season for the Giants. They just fell apart defensively. The Vikings need to get back on the winning track heading into the playoffs. The Giants will play hard but I think the Vikings will get the win. Pick: Vikings
Mike: The Viks may be falling apart, but at least they aren’t the Giants. I think that Panthers loss ended the year for the Giants. Pick: Vikings
Evan: Vikings are better and have motivation X2 = seeding, and the fact they have played like shite for the past month. Pick: Vikings

Steelers @ Dolphins, Sunday 1pm
Ahad: The Steelers will keep their faint playoff hopes alive. Pick: Steelers
Matt: These two teams need a win and some help to make the playoffs. The Steelers have a better chance to get in if they get the win. The Dolphins are going in the opposite direction right now losing two in a row. I say both teams trends continue. Pick: Steelers
Mike: I’ve been with the Steelers for a few weeks now. They’ll probably come up a bit short for the playoffs, but miracles happen, look at last year for the Eagles. Pick: Steelers
Evan: I agree, pick: Steelers

Packers @ Cardinals, Sunday 4:15pm
Ahad: Cards are playing for a shot at the 2 seed. I believe they can match up again next week in the first round of the playoffs. Either way, the Cards at home are tough to beat. Pick: Cards
Matt: These teams could play again next week, so it will be hard to pick based on who plays and just how much of their typical game plans they will show. I think both will play all out, though. I give Green Bay the slight edge. Pick: Packers
Mike: I’ve not been feeling the Packers this year and the Cards might just be getting hot again heading to the playoffs. Pick: Cardinals
Evan: This is a toss up for me. Do they both fight for the three seed, or take it easy and settle for the 4? I never thought I would say this – but I think the Cardinals experience beats the Pack. Pick: Arizona

Eagles @ Cowboys, Sunday 4:15pm
Ahad: The NFC East comes down to this and possibly the two seed in the NFC. The Eagles suffered a huge loss last week when Jackson went down with a torn ACL. He has been the anchor on the o-line all season. Cole is an adequate replacement, but the guards replacing Cole (Jean-Gilles and possibly Stacy Andrews) are definite downgrades. The Cowboys will look to take DeSean out of this game by taking away the deep ball and the possibility of the big play. They will have to get the ball into Celek and the running backs in the middle of field to open things up. The Cowboys defense has played well lately and will look to exploit the changes on the Eagles offensive line. This will be a close game that will probably be decided by turnovers. In that respect, the Eagles have had a lot more success than the Cowboys. Look for that trend to continue. Pick: Eagles
Matt: Nice write-up, Ahad. Should be another good one between these two. The Eagles just have to win to get the #2 seed. The Cowboys can get it with a win and some help. I almost prefer for Dallas to go on the road in the playoffs. They haven’t always been as dominant at home, but they do seem to get the job done on the road. I figured you 3 guys would probably end up going with the Eagles, so I will stick with my team. Pick: Cowboys
Mike: Ahad seems to be on top of things. At least Westbrook is back. McNabb just needs to keep his accuracy and not look like he did in the 2nd half last week. Matt knows us well enough. Pick: Eagles
Evan: I have to go back to picking the other team so as not to jinx the birds. I believe this has worked three weeks in a row. Pick: Cowboys

Bengals @ Jets, Sunday 8:20pm
Ahad: These teams could end up playing each other next also. The Jets are still fighting to get into the playoffs and need this victory a lot more than the Bengals do. For those reasons, the Bengals might keep things vanilla this week and rest some of their key players. Pick: Jets
Matt: The Jets just need to win to make the playoffs. That is kind of amazing to think about considering how inconsistent they were this year, mainly on the offensive side of the ball. They do a lot of things well that could give them the edge in a playoff game like play stout defense and run the ball well. The Bengals would like to get the #3 seed so they will be playing their main guys. It should be a low scoring game between two good defenses, but I like the Jets to come out on top. Pick: Jets
Mike: I’m confused how the Jets are in the hunt. I think they’ve just hit a lot of teams at the right time. That may be happening again with the Bengals. I just think the playoffs will be weakened by the Jets presence. Pick: Bengals
Evan: Bengals will run the 4 different plays all game. Pick: Jets