Week 12 Preview

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Atlanta Falcons

The 5 – 5 Falcons travel to Florida to take on the 1 – 9 Buccs. If the Falcons fail to win this game, the Saints will be able to clinch the division on Monday night with a win over the Patriots. Therefore this is a huge game for the Falcons, not only to keep the division alive, but to keep them alive in the race for the wild card spot. Michael Turner is still not a defiant return for the Falcons, but the performance of Jason Snelling in the last game proved it’s not too much of a loss. Snelling, although no Michael Turner, ran for 76 yards against the Giants last week, and he should have a big day here against the last ranked defence against the run. If the Buccs are to stick with the Falcons in this game they will need to try and force QB Matt Ryan into mistakes. Ryan has made quite a few mistakes lately, and the Buccs have Ronde Barber and Aqib Talib in the secondary, who could take advantage of any loose throws. Also they would need a mistake free game from their rookie QB Josh Freeman. I don’t think the Buccs have enough and I believe the NFC South isn’t tied up this week.

Lee’s Prediction: Buccaneers 7 Falcons 21

Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills

The 3 – 7 Bills host the 5 -5 Dolphins in this AFC East clash. The Dolphins are deifying all of their major injuries and their bad start to hang around, and keep the Patriots interested in the AFC East. The loss of RB Ronnie Brown was seen by many as the end of their chances as he is a major part of their offence. But up step Ricky Williams, who last week ran for 119 yars and 2 TD’s and also had 19 yards receiving and a TD. He should be in for a big day here again against the 31st ranked defence against the run. The Bills are though quite good against the pass (9th ranked) and their secondary is very good at creating turnovers. They will need to prove this against the young 1st year starting Miami QB Chad Henne. Henne has though only thrown 4 INT’s this year; he has played mistake free football for a youngster. The Bills will be looking for another big day from WR TO. TO was bought in this year to give the Bills the explosive, downfield plays, which he has not done until last week. Last week TO had 9 catches for 197 yards and a TD. He will look to repeat this against the 2 rookie CB’s on Miami. To do this though, the Bills will have to keep Joey Porter, Jason Taylor and co away from Ryan Fitzpatrick. I believe this is where Miami win the game.

Lee’s Prediction: Bills 10 Dolphins 21

Washington Redskins @ Philadelphia Eagles

The 6 – 4 Eagles and the 3 – 7 Redskins meet in the City of Brotherly love for this NFC East matchup. The NFC East is going to be a really close race on the run in between the Eagles, Giants and Cowboys. With the Cowboys winning on Thurs, but the Giants losing, this is a huge game for the Eagles. The Redskins sadly will not be troubling anybody in this race, although I’m sure they will enjoy playing spoiler. The problem the Redskins have had this year has been offence. They are poorly ranked in all offensive categories, which is a shame, as they have one of the best defences in the league. They are actually ranked first in the NFL against the pass. The worry they have in this game is that they have not only lost number 1 RB Clinton Portis, but also his replacement Ladell Betts. I believe this will make them one dimensional as they will struggle to get the run game going. Philly will then be able to shut down the pass. Philly may struggle to put up points against this defence, but I believe that the big play ability of Jackson, Maclin and co, will get them enough

Lee’s Prediction: Redskins 7 Eagles 17

Seattle Seahawks @ St Louis Rams

The 3 – 7 Seahawks take on the 1 – 9 Rams in this NFC West clash. This game will have no bearing on the playoff picture what so ever, it is just for divisional pride. In week 1 of the year the Seahawks beat the Rams 28 – 0, but since then they have been decimated with injuries. The offences in this game will be polar opposites of each other. The Rams will rely heavily on RB Steven Jackson. Although Jackson is a beast, he may struggle against a fairly decent run defence that will without doubt load the box against him. The Seahawks on the other hand will pass, pass and pass again. The Rams aren’t great in any defensive category, and I believe Matt Hasselbeck and co will slice the through the air.

Lee’s Prediction: Seahawks 21 Rams 14

Carolina Panthers @ New York Jets

The 4 – 6 Panthers travel north to take on the 4 – 6 Jets. This is going to be a game between very similar teams. Both the Panthers and the Jets have shaky QB’s, good run games and decent defences. So which team will come out on top, and keep their slim playoff hopes alive? I believe that if the Jets stick to their solid run game at home, don’t ask the rookie QB to do to much and keep turnovers to a minimum, they will win. For the Panthers to win, they need to force Sanchez to throw the ball, and in this situation, their 4th ranked pass defence will have a field day. Also they will need to get Steve Smith involved. But, at home, I take the Jets.

Lee’s Prediction: Panthers 14 Jets 17

Cleveland Browns @ Cincinnati Bengals

The 1 – 9 Browns are the last obstacle in front of the 7 – 3 Bengals, to complete a sweep of the AFC North. The Browns have proven to me over and over that they are probably the worst team in football. Their defeat to the Lions last week just compounded this thought in my mind. They were up big in that game, and still managed to lose. The Bengals really let down last week against the lowly Raiders. I don’t believe that this will happen again here though, against a divisional rival, with last week looming over them, I believe they take the Browns apart, and confirm themselves as the cream of the AFC North crop.

Lee’s Prediction: Browns 3 Bengals 28

Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans

When this game took place just a couple of weeks ago, all the talk was about how the Texans were going to overthrow the Colts, and take control of the AFC South. That didn’t happen as kicker Kris Brown missed a FG for the Texans as time expired to give the Colts a 20 – 17 win. The Colts since then have continued to just about win games, but are now 10 – 0, while the Texans look up at them from their 5 – 5 perch. Expect the same sort of game as last time as both teams will air the ball out, with productive QB’s Manning and Schaub. I do believe though that the Colts have a better defence, even with the injuries, and like all great teamns, just find a way to win.

Lee’s Prediction: Colts 35 Texans 28

Kansas City Chiefs @ San Diego Chargers

This AFC West clash is between the 3 – 7 Chiefs, and the 7 – 3 Chargers. The teams met a month ago, when the Chargers hammered the Chiefs 37 – 7. I believe that the same team will win, but not by quite such a big margin. The Chiefs have looked ok in recent weeks, with Jamaal Charles at RB and the WR play of Chris Chambers. Also Chris Chambers will really want to prove a point here against his former team. I do believe though that the Charger defence is too good and will shut down this team. Also with the return to form of LT, and the form of Rivers and co in the pass game, the offence will have too much for this poor Chiefs defence.

Lee’s Prediction: Chiefs 10 Chargers 21

Jacksonville Jaguars @ San Francisco 49’ers

The 6 – 4 Jaguars travel to San Francisco to play the 4 – 6 49’ers. This is a massive game for both teams in their quest for a playoff spot. In all seriousness both teams are probably looking at a wildcard berth to get in now, so every win is vital. The Jags are without doubt a rush 1st team behind pocket rocket MJD. This is not a major problem for the 49’ers as they are ranked 6th against the run. Limiting the production of MJD will be the way that the 49’ers can get the victory. The 49’ers offence is far from full of points. They will be looking for rookie WR Michael Crabtree to have a big day against this 25th ranked pass defence. This should help take the pressure off RB Frank Gore, who may struggle against this defence. This should be a very close and interesting game, I look forward to this one.

Lee’s Prediction: Jaguars 17 49’ers 13

Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings

The 4 – 6 Bears host the 9 – 1 Vikings in this NFC North matchup. This should be a total miss match. The Vikings are arguably playing the best football in the league at the moment, and to be honest, not many teams are playing worse than the Bears. The one weakness in the defence of the Vikings is in the pass game, but can you seriously see Jay Cutler, the INT machine, causing them any problems. Also I can’t see the Bears defence stopping both Farve and co in the passing game , and Adrian Peterson. No, this is an easy game to pick.

Lee’s Prediction: Bears 10 Vikings 28

Arizona Cardinals @ Tennessee Titans

This should be a very interesting game. The 7 – 3 Cardinals travel to Tennessee to take on the resurgent 4 – 6 Titans. The Titans have won their last 4 games, and now everyone is talking about them as a playoff contender. They will have a test on their hands here though as the Cardinals are 4 – 0 on the road this year. The test for the Cardinals in this game will be if they can keep RB Chris Johnson and QB VY quiet. The Titans now have bought the option to their playbook, so it will be interesting to see how the Cardinals adjust to this. The Cardinals are ranked 8th against the rush, so they should limit the Titans as much as can be expected. The Cardinals are a pass heavy team, but have now all of a sudden developed a run game, with the emergence of rookie Beenie Wells, and Tim Hightower. The Titans defence should be ok against the run game, but they may struggle against Warner and the pass. I believe this may be the week the Titans dream comeback comes to an end.

Lee’s Prediction: Cardinals 28 Titans 24

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens

Sunday Night Football is a AFC North clash between the 6 – 4 Steelers and the 5 – 5 Ravens. This will be a hard hitting rivalry game, as both teams will have their playoff hopes on the line. It looks like the Steelers will be without QB Big Ben who suffered a concussion last week. This wouldn’t be so bad, but the backup QB Charlie Batch is also out with a broken wrist. This will leave 3rd QB Dennis Dixon. Undoubtedly this is going to put a lot of the offence onto RB Rashard Mendenhall. This Steelers rush offence is not great, and may struggle even more against this 5th ranked Ravens rush defence. The Steelers will look to get at QB Joe Flacco, who has struggled in recent weeks. Flacco will be pleased to learn he will not have to come up against the Steelers best defensive player Troy Polamalu. I think that Flacco and RB Ray Rice will be more productive than Dixon and Mendenhall. I think the Ravens win this one.

Lee's Prediction: Steelers 14 Ravens 21