The Great NFL Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week Fifteen

Happy Thursday friends! The NFL season is winding down and the playoff races are coming down to the wire which sets up an exciting weekend of games probably for the remainder of the season. We have a slew of divisional games that will go a long way in determining who has the best shot at one of the top four playoffs seeds, we also have an exciting and long overdue rookie debut, and of course an epic battle in the ultra competitive NFC South! Wowza! Just kidding, no need to watch any games involving that division.

But it is nice to see there are still some close division races. I distinctly remember some of the early 2000s Colts and Patriots teams locking up one of the two top spots by week 15 or 16. Then we’d have to watch Jim Sorgi and Matt Cassel finish out the year. God forbid you had any fantasy players you needed to make a championship push from either team. Makes it anticlimactic when there isn’t much jostling to be had at the top but this year just about every division leader is in the hunt for a first round bye. Except the winner of the NFC South, of course.

On a personal note, I am JACKED UP. The story of the hometown hero coming to save the Cleveland Browns didn’t pan out for Brian Hoyer. I think a lot of my friends and maybe a lot of you were under the impression I didn’t like Hoyer. It’s absolutely not true. I was hoping that he would have made the quarterback decision for head coach Mike Pettine difficult this year and next. I was hoping he would have forced Johnny Manziel to sit and learn how to be a pro for at least one full season, if not two. Hey, it didn’t hurt Aaron Rodgers at all.

But the things I saw between the lines of the incredible comeback wins and clutch throws finally came back to bite Hoyer and the Browns. The inaccuracy, the below average arm, the perplexing pass decisions, the singular dimension of his style of play and the inability to rise above the circumstances of a particular game could no longer be ignored. 

Hoyer is out and now it’s Johnny Football time. Whether or not you’re a believer in Manziel, Sunday afternoon at First Energy Stadium is going to be a wild time to say the least. On to the picks!

Last week: 14-2 (Lester 1-0)

Season: 128-86-1 (Lester 5-8)

• Dare I say it? The Los Angeles Rams are freaking hot! Sorry, meant St. Louis Rams. For now.
• Right now the Steelers are 1-2 against the NFC South. Let’s make that 1-3.
• Washington, Washington. Six-foot-eight, weighs a f——ing ton. He’s coming, he’s coming, he’s coming. 
• My sleeper pick for the game of the weekend, if there is such a thing.

• I think the Raiders have maxed out their win total for the year. 
• I like the idea of proud Ohio State alum JJ Watt throwing a wrench into the AFC playoff picture.
• Lester bounced back last week, let’s see if he nails down the pick in Johnny Football’s debut. I need to find this shirt in a dog size. 
• Come on Jags, do us a favor and win this game? You owe the Browns. 

• I wish when Aaron Rodgers threw the football, it made a laser sound effect. I like the first one the most, it sounds very powerful and final.
• Somehow, the division is up for grabs in this game. Yuck.
• *Throws up into an airplane sick bag* Do I have to make a pick!?
• The Chargers always give the Broncos and Peyton Manning fits but I think Manning will be in “F-You” mode.

• If you look at their logos, it’s almost like the Lion is running away from the Viking. *eats another shroom*
• Joe Buck: “Welcome to America’s game of the week, should be a good one with playoff implications between division foes Seattle and San Francisco.”
• Troy Aikman: “You’re absolutely right, Joe. These are two teams that ARE division rivals and are BOTH trying for the playoffs. Should be a good one to watch.”
• Telemprompter: *Joe and Troy nod a lot*
• This guy that works out at my gym is from Philly originally. He has a lot of good, witty cracks about the Cowboys so I guess I’ll side with humor. Plus it’s December so we’re probably due for a ridiculous Tony Romo meltdown. 
• I bet this game looked a lot better when the prime time scheduling was made up over the summer.