The Gridiron Gentlemen’s Prediction Club: Week 13
On Thursday the site went down & took a large chunk of our posts with it, leaving us with a couple of issues. Firstly, I couldn’t get on to do this post, meaning the Thanksgiving games have happened already, you’ll just have to trust who we went for. Secondly, we lost last week’s post, so I’ve got no idea who won. As a result, we’ll write off last week & head straight into this week.
Thanksgiving…
As I said above, we couldn’t get on the site to get the predictions in, but it doesn’t mean we didn’t predict them. So here are who we went for.
Chicago Bears 17 – Detroit Lions 34
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Bears |
Philadelphia Eagles 33 – Dallas Cowboys 10
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Eagles |
Seattle Seahawks 19 – Philadelphia Eagles 3
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Niners |
So coming out of Thanksgiving, we’re all 2-1 except Adam, whose 1-2, let’s look at the Sunday line-up.
Sunday
San Diego Chargers @ Baltimore Ravens
The Chargers have hit a streak of 2 wins against teams with losing records. Phillip Rivers has been disappointing since the decent run he had at the start of the Season & thinking that he isn’t even in the running for a Probowl spot, let alone league MVP should say how much his Season has spun out of control. The Ravens could be considered sneaky Super bowl contenders with decent players in pretty much every unit & being a team that can actually hold their own against the Super bowl favourite Patriots. If this was a matchup being played a couple of games into the Season it would be game of the week.
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Chargers | Ravens |
Cleveland Browns @ Buffalo Bills
The Bills last week in their home away from home, destroyed the New York Jets. This week they go up against a Browns team that has struggled stopping Defensive Tackles & unfortunately the Bills have the best in the league. The Browns were lucky to get away from the Falcons game with a win, mainly due to a poor game from Brian Hoyer. Hoyer in the last minute was able to put a drive together to get the win, but the game ended with more than a few question marks surrounding the QB that could soon be replaced by Johnny Manziel.
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Bills | Bills | Bills | Bills | Bills | Browns |
Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans
The Titans are looking way more exciting with Mettenberger at the helm, okay, slightly more exciting, okay, okay, they’re slightly more watchable. The fact is though they’re now scoring points. The Texans suffered a blow at QB with Ryan Mallett going on IR, pretty much as soon as he got his 1st start. So the first thought that comes into my mind, is that there could actually be potential upset. One thing is for certain. It probably won’t be a great game.
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Urgh Titans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans |
Washington @ Indianapolis Colts
Washington have made the change at QB, putting Colt McCoy in after Kirk Cousins & RG3 have both failed to impress, which probably gives them the best chance to win. Washington’s Defence could be their best shot at winning this one, if they can get as good a rush on the Colts as the Jaguars did last week. That being said, it doesn’t seem to make much difference with Andrew Luck playing as well as he is.
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts |
New York Giants @ Jacksonville Jaguars
A battle here between 2 teams that have been on something of a disappointing run. The Giants have a lacked little spark in all players named something other than Odell Beckham Jr. The Jags seem to have used up a chunk of good will that would have them looking like they’ve found some key pieces, in particular at QB, where Bortles has failed to impress. This could be an interception fest.
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants |
Carolina Panthers @ Minnesota Vikings
After a week off the Panthers have to hope they can put together a decent performance on the Offensive Line. Really both teams have shown to be fairly similar. Each team has a crappy Offensive Line & they both have a pretty good Defence. There could be double digit Sacks in this game & we might not even see Cam Newton finish the half. However if the Panthers win, they could go top of the Division… yeah, that NFC South.
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Panthers |
New Orleans Saints @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Is there a more disappointing team this year than the Saints this year? If it wasn’t bad enough that they were losing, it has been made worse by the fact that they are losing at home, where they’d previously been pretty much unstoppable. The NFC South’s failures have been the AFC North’s successes, with this Division seemingly beating up on the NFC South. However the Steelers have been prone to mistakes & maybe being a little complacent. This could be a decent game & maybe, just maybe, it could be the springboard for a Saints comeback. But we’ve said that before.
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Steelers | Saints | Steelers | Steelers | Saints | Steelers |
Oakland Raiders @ St Louis Rams
The Raiders won a game last week, which is more than the Rams did. Both teams however have had questionable records despite actually playing pretty well. The Rams front 7 has been exceptional & seems to be ridiculously deep. The Raiders Offensive Line however have played very well & could put up some resistance for the Raiders. This will almost certainly be a low scoring game.
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams |
Cincinnati Bengals @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bengals seem to have found some form after the Thursday night debacle that was the Browns game. With a fully healthy AJ Green, the Offence has been potent & they’ve begun to look like a decent playoff team again. The Bucs have issues with Discipline. Unable to get a grasp on games & beating themselves with endless penalties & poor clock management. This could be a rough game for the Bucs.
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals |
Arizona Cardinals @ Atlanta Falcons
I don’t think I have to go into too much detail with this game. The Falcons have one of the worst Offensive Lines in the league. The Cards have one of the best Defences in the league. This could be over quickly. The only real hope the Falcons have is if they can subdue the Cardinals back up QB.
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Cards | Cards | Cards | Cards | Cards | Cards |
New England Patriots @ Green Bay Packers
This could be the game of the regular Season. The Patriots look like the most complete team in the league with talent all over the field. The Defence after a rocky start has pulled it together & look good stopping the run & pass, with a solid 6 man pass rush doing getting it done. the Offence beats teams in a number of different ways, mostly thanks to an Offensive Line that looks pretty much unbeatable. The Packers may not look as complete as the Patriots, but Aaron Rodgers is currently playing better than pretty much everyone in the league. Eddie Lacy has got better with every game & looks like one of the most complete backs in the league. If you watch 1 game…
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Packers | Packers | Packers | Patriots | Packers | Packers |
Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs
A close game here that could have some serious implications to the AFC West. The Chiefs like a tough team to beat. But a loss to the Raiders exposed their obvious deficiencies. The Broncos won last week but have looked less than convincing after a strong start to the Season. With both teams within a game of each other this game has potential to upset the balance of this Division.
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Chiefs | Broncos | Chiefs | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos |
Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets
Is there a more dysfunctional team than the Jets? After a run of poor performances the Jets have gone back to Geno Smith, who in turn was dreadful. That being said he never sacked himself. Miami are experiencing a decent run & were unlucky not to come away from last week’s game against the Broncos with a win. Tannehill has played great, the Defence has played incredibly, but this could be the kind of game the Dolphins over look. Also it’s a nice look at next year’s matchup at Wembley.
| Dan | Dylan | Duncan | Alex | Russ | Adam |
| Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins |
So that’s week 13, just 4 more to go… enjoy folks.