Philadelphia Eagles (-7) @ Dallas Cowboys
FOR THE THIRD season in succession, the Dallas Cowboys face a win-and-you’re-in final regular season game and, sadly for fans of America’s team, it’s likely to end the same way the last two did, in defeat.
In 2011, Dallas lost 31-14 to the New York Giants while last year’s 28-18 loss to Washington featured no fewer than three Tony Romo interceptions. The good news — maybe — for Cowboys fans this year though is that they’ll probably face the Eagles without the former Eastern Illinois University quarterback as he struggles to recover from a herniated disk.
Instead, Dallas will probably face the Eagles with Kyle Orton at quarterback and while Orton has plenty of regular season NFL experience (almost 70 games), he’s not accustomed to starting in games of this magnitude.
For the Eagles, they’ll have to play a lot better than they did in week seven when they lost 17-3 at home to Dallas but will hope the absence of Romo will mean an increased workload for Demarco Murray. Though Murray has had a lot of success in recent weeks, the Eagles have held their last four opponents under 100 yards rushing and doing the same in Sunday night’s late game will go a long way towards securing a playoff berth.
Verdict: You don’t always get what you deserve but the Eagles, Nick Foles and Chip Kelly deserve a crack at the postseason. Eagles by 6.
Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears
With no word on whether or not Aaron Rodgers will suit up for this game, there is still no line available as the injured Green Bay quarterback is said to be worth between 7-8 points for his employers and nobody in Vegas wants to be stung by a late announcement one way or another.
The Bears go into the game knowing they’ve already blown one shot at winning the NFC North title and have gone from having one of the league’s most respected defences to one of the worst. Indeed, only two teams in the NFL allow more points per game than Chicago’s 29.7.
Most teams have beaten the Bears on the ground where they rank dead last, giving up 161.5 yards per game. On Sunday they face a much-improved Green Bay rush attack who have Eddie Lacy and, it must be said, an improved offensive line to thank for forcing teams to actually defend the ground game. Better still for the Packers, Lacy’s best day in the backfield this season came against the Bears when he rushed for 150 yards and a touchdown.
Verdict: If Rodgers plays, the Packers will be in the postseason. If he doesn’t, how can you trust the Bears? Green Bay by 3+
And the rest*
Carolina Panthers (-7) @ Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals (-7)
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts (-13)
New York Jets @ Miami Dolphins (-7)
Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings (-2.5)
Washington @ New York Giants (-3.5)
Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-7.5)
Houston Texans @ Tennessee Titans (-7.5)
Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots (-10)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints (-13)
San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals
Denver Broncos (-13) @ Oakland Raiders
Kansas City Chiefs @ San Diego Chargers (-11)
St Louis Rams @ Seattle Seahawks (-13)
*Teams are picked to beat the spread, not necessarily win the game.
