This is an exciting time of the year. There are only 5 games remaining and a number of teams are fighting for a division title or even a playoff berth. The good teams will rise while the others will wither.
The AFC division leaders, the Patriots, Ravens, Colts and Chargers appear to be in the driver's seat, while only one team in the NFC, the Bears, have control of their divisional destiny. The two wild card spots in each conference will be hotly contested and will create a lot of exciting games down the stretch.
One team that currently occupies a playoff spot is the Kansas City Chiefs. After losing their first two games of the season and their starting quarterback, Trent Green, in the first game of the year, the Chiefs have rebounded with seven wins in their last 9 games.
This week the Chiefs visit the 3-8 Cleveland Browns and are favored by 5 points with a total of 36 1/2. While it is not an easy task giving up points on the road, I am going to take the Chiefs. There are a couple of positives going into this game, the Chiefs are coming into the game on 10 days rest, after playing on Thanksgiving night, their defense has not allowed more than 17 points in their last four games, they have a great running game led by Larry Johnson and Green has returned.
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I will be in Denver to watch the Seahawks and Broncos this Sunday night. The line on this game favors the Broncos by 3 with a total of 40. It will mark the debut of Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler.
The Broncos defense, after getting off to a great start allowing an average of just 7.3 points per game in their first 6 games, have stumbled, allowing 24.2 in their last five. The Seahawks appear to be getting healthy with the return of reigning league MVP Shaun Alexander and QB Matt Hasselbeck, but just two weeks ago the Seahawks defense allowed 49ers running back Frank Gore to rush for 212 yards.
The pick here is to take the over, even though the Broncos will be starting a rookie quarterback. I believe three touchdowns from each of these playoff contending teams is not too much to ask.
Recapping last week, we scored the most exciting two-win week of the year as the Tennessee Titans sent the New York Giants home scratching their heads when they came back from being down 21 points in the fourth quarter to win 24-21. The Patriots also beat the Bears, and hopefully you got out early to bet before the line moved too high. The season record now stands at 16-8.
I will back in a couple of weeks, but will be pulling for us in person. Let's root for many points on Sunday night.