Not only are playoff spots up for grabs, but the 2013 NFL Picks Blog title is up for grabs, too, and with Mike Cole in the lead by eight games, John Beattie is pulling his goalie (?) and putting a full-court press (?) on his counterpart and hoping Mr. Cole can slip up in the final go-around.
Check out their picks below.
All lines are from Bovada as of Thursday. If lines are off on Bovada Thursday, Yahoo! lines will be used for those games.
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Panthers
Why: My plan of picking against the Falcons and Texans at all costs will be put to the test in a big way this week. -MC
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Titans
Why: See above. -MC
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Steelers
Why: The only thing worse than the Browns? That would be the Browns with nothing to play for. -MC
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Giants
Why: The Giants stink, but at least they’re not a clown show like the Redskins are. Washington gave it all they had last week trying to ruin Dallas’ season, and that probably means they’ll have little left against the Giants. -MC
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Bengals
Why: Really no good reason. This line flat-out sucks, and I’m now terrified that Beattie will catch me this week.
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Jaguars
Why: That’s a lot of points to cover for a team that’s already wrapped up its division. -MC
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Jets
Why: I don’t expect this to be a very high-scoring game, and part of me thinks that Rex Ryan will be able to push the right buttons one last time. -MC
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Lions
Why: Week 17 is the worst. That is all.
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Patriots
Why: Patriots jump out to a big lead early(ish), and end up getting a 10-point win, which is just enough to cover the spread. -MC
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Saints
Why: Get the same feeling I got with the Patriots pick here, although 13-point spreads in Week 17 are no fun. Really hoping the Bucs don’t even board the plane. -MC
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Broncos
Why: Because Peyton Manning has records to break still. -MC
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: 49ers
Why: Have I mentioned how much I hate this week? -MC
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Chiefs
Why: This line is just begging me to take the Chiefs, and despite the fact that they really don’t have anything to play for, I’ll take the bait anyway. -MC
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Seahawks
Why: This sure seems like one of those times where one of the league’s top contenders wants to prove they’re OK and bounce back after a bad loss before they go into the playoffs. -MC
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Packers
Why: Aaron Rodgers is back, and while that doesn’t exactly fix all of the other problems the Packers have, at least they’re not the Bears, right? Right? -MC
John: Against Mike’s pick
Mike: Eagles
Why: Because Kyle Orton is starting at quarterback for the Cowboys, and the Eagles put up a million points last week. -MC
JB: 5-10
MC: 8-7
MC: 109-121-8
JB: 101-129-8