Graphics by Ryan Leopando – Arch City Sports
LOCKS OF THE WEEK
Scott Batchelor
Chiefs over Raiders – I know. It’s a cop out. The Chiefs are playing at home against one of the worst teams in the league. But my lock picks are low and I need to get my stock back up. In all honesty the Chiefs were embarrassed by the Raiders a couple of weeks ago in a huge upset allowing the Raiders to get their first win. The Chiefs are looking to bounce back from a big loss last week and stay relevant in a very tough AFC wildcard race. Simply put, the Chiefs have something to play for. A loss here all but knocks them out of playoff contention.
Buzz Baumer
Ravens over Jaguars – The Jacksonville Jaguars travel to take on the Baltimore Ravens. Raven QB Joe Flacco has had a good season quietly. The running game of Justin Forsett after taking over the suspension and release of Ray Rice has also sparked and allowed Joe Flacco to take advantage of cheating secondary. I don’t think anyone on Jacksonville’s defense can stop veteran WR Steve Smith. Jaguars rookie QB Blake Bortles will have a hard time adjusting to the chaos that is the Raven defense playing in front of a hostile M&T Bank Stadium. I see the Ravens winning this one easily.
Ravens 28 – Jaguars 10
Ryan Leopando
Ravens over Jaguars – The Ravens are fighting for a playoff spot. Jacksonville hasn’t won a game on the road all year, not to mention they let up almost 400 yards of total offense to opponents per game (377).
Ravens 27 – Jaguars 13
Jeremy Karp
Packers over Bills – Ok let’s face it: is there a hotter team in the NFL right now besides the Packers? Aaron Rodgers has been on an absolute tear as of late, and this week, he and the Packers’ face the Buffalo Bills, who are essentially out of the playoff race after a conference loss to Denver last week. Both teams know what it’s like to play in cold, winter weather, which should bring fans an interesting non-conference game, where one team aims to continue to look as Super Bowl favorites…while the other looks to show that improvements have been made throughout the season. While the Bills defense is underrated, there is nothing overrated about the Packers offense.
Nick Yahl
Packers over Bills – Green Bay is coming off one of their biggest wins of the year on Monday night football with Aaron Rodgers throwing for 327 yards and 3 TD’s. Packers will take this one on the road despite a close game.
Packers 31 – Bills 21
Ryan Melosi
Colts over Texans – Always like taking a home team. Indy looked horrible last week offensively, expect them to get back on track.
Colts 34 – Texans 21
Billy Perry
Browns over Bengals – Johnny Manziel will prove that he can play at this level and make the Browns forget about Brian Hoyer.
Browns win 34 – Bengals 24
Mick Lite
Ravens over Jaguars
