THERE ARE STILL eight playoff places up for grabs as we enter the penultimate week of the NFL regular season but don’t expect the postseason picture to become much clearer this weekend.

Key games:

Indianapolis Colts (8-6) @ Oakland Raiders (7-7)

DOI: This column is written by a Raiders fan so expect harsh and unfair criticism of the silver and black to follow. A must-win game for both teams, someone is going to leave the Oakland Coliseum with their playoff hopes in tatters.

The Colts are starting to get some important players back from injury but the loss of Austin Collie to his second concussion of the season last week may well be a deciding factor in this game. I still believe you can’t win too many games in the NFL without a running game and the Colts don’t have one.

The Raiders, on the other hand, are tied for first place in rushing touchdowns in the NFL this year. They are also 100% in divisional games. Despite that, to qualify for the playoffs, the Raiders must win their final two games and hope for favours because they’ve lost to teams as bad as Tennessee and San Francisco.

Result: You never know which Raiders you’re going to get but QB Jason Campbell is 4-0 at home this year.  As a fan, I expect the Raiders to lose this by 21 points but as I pundit I think they’ll keep their playoff hopes alive by 6-9 points.
New England Patriots (12-2) @ Buffalo Bills (4-10)

An interesting game that will test whether or not the Pats have (as they seemed to against Green Bay last week) really taken their foot off the pedal.

The Buffalo Bills are, perhaps, the most underrated team in the NFL. They’ve been steadily improving all season, with their four wins coming in the last six games. They also ran the Patriots pretty close when the two met earlier this year.

The Patriots, meanwhile, looked anything but potential Super Bowl winners in a hard-fought win against an injury-ravaged Green Bay last week.

Indeed, were it not or a game-changing 71-yard run by a 22-stone offensive lineman (see below) and a botched play call on the final drive by a rookie Packers QB, they may well have lost that game.

Result: I genuinely believe that, if they can keep the Patriots to less than 30 points, the Bills will win this game by a field goal or two. I also know I’m going to look very stupid come Tuesday if they don’t.

New Orleans Saints (10-4) @ Atlanta Falcons (12-2)

This game represents the only really juicy divisional match-up in the NFL this weekend and even that is tempered by the fact that the Falcons have all but tied up the NFC South.

The Saints, however, still need a win (or an unlikely Tampa Bay loss against the Seahawks) to guarantee a playoff berth. As predicted, they came up short against the Ravens last week and, in all honestly, looked more like the team that lost to the awful Arizona Cardinals than defending Super Bowl champions.

The Falcons, meanwhile, are virtually unbeatable at home thanks to an outstanding year from QB Matt Ryan who, if Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles wasn’t having such an unlikely resurrection, would be a shoe-in for the MVP (most valuable player) in the league.

Result: The Saints have more to play for but will come up short in trying to raze the fortress that is the Georgia Dome. The Falcons will win by more than a touchdown.

Other Games and predicted winners:

Carolina Panthers (2-12) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4) – Steelers

Dallas Cowboys (5-9) @ Arizona Cardinals (4-10) – Cowboys

New York Jets (10-4) @ Chicago Bears (10-4) – Bears

Baltimore Ravens (10-4) @ Cleveland Browns (5-9) – Ravens

Washington Redskins (5-9) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (8-6) – Jaguars

Tennessee Titans (6-8) @ Kansas City Chiefs (9-5) – Titans

Detroit Lions (4-10) @ Miami Dolphins (7-7) – Lions

San Francisco 49ers (5-9) @ St Louis Rams (6-8) – Rams

San Diego Chargers (8-6) @ Cincinnati Bengals (3-11) – Chargers

Houston Texans (5-9) @ Denver Broncos (3-11) – Broncos

New York Giants (9-4) @ Green Bay Packers (8-6) – Packers

Seattle Seahawks (6-7) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) – Buccaneers

Minnesota Vikings (5-9) @ Philadelphia Eagles (10-4) – Eagles

• While an accumulator on the above could net you over €4,048 on a €1 bet, I’m personally going for the ‘underdog bet’ this weekend with the Raiders, Titans, Bills and Broncos to win at 56/1. Not that we encourage gambling.

Steven O’Rourke is the offensive coordinator of Tullamore Phoenix American Football Club. When not obsessing with football he can be found at 4fortyfour.