Can the Vikings get back on track?
Last week we saw the New Orleans Saints finally fall, while the Indianapolis Colts extended their record to 14-0, and now stand as the only undefeated team in the league.
We’re also getting closer to the possibility of Chris Johnson reaching the 2,000-yard plateau, which only adds to the AFC playoff race, as Johnson’s team, the Tennessee Titans, is still vying for a Wild Card spot.
Add the Brett Favre vs. Brad Childress saga, and an already highly-entertaining NFL season just got more interesting.
Read on for the Five Things to Watch For in Week 16:
5. Can the Colts Get to 15-0?
Regardless of what many people think, the New York Jets do have a decent chance at upsetting the Indianapolis Colts this week, especially if the Colts start resting their starters.
However, the Jets will need stellar play from Mark Sanchez, and they’ll have to find early success in the ground game against an average Colts run defense.
The Jets have a good enough defense to keep it close, but in the end, it will likely hang on Mark Sanchez’s ability to make the right reads and limit the mistakes.
In the end, the Jets won’t be able to keep pace with Peyton Manning and co., even if they only see them for just one half.
Colts 27, Jets 17
4. Can Chris Johnson Keep Pace to Reach 2,000?
The stage has been set. Chris Johnson has helped the Tennessee Titans win seven of their last eight games, with their only loss coming by the hands of the undefeated Indianapolis Colts, and throughout this run, he has topped at least 100 yards rushing each time.
The question is, can the Titans keep it up, and on a whole different level, from an individual stand-point, can Johnson?
With nine consecutive 100-yard games, Johnson has put himself within reach of a 2,000-yard season, as he needs (just) 135 rushing yards per game over the next two weeks to reach the milestone.
Much more unlikely, but more importantly, Johnson needs to average 188 yards on the ground per game to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards.
With a decent match-up against a vulnerable San Diego Chargers run defense and a supposedly cakewalk match-up against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17, Johnson still can’t be written off for either milestone. Look for him to at least crack 100 rushing yards for the 10th straight game, and keep the 2,000-yard talk going into next week.
3. Are the Denver Broncos Falling Out of the Playoff Picture?
After starting the season with an unlikely 6-0 run, the Broncos now sit at 8-6. They followed their impressive start to the season by an unsettling 0-4 run, and have since gone 2-2 in their last four games, falling to the still undefeated Indianapolis Colts, and losing a heart-breaker to the Oakland Raiders last week, 20-19.
While the Broncos definitely have the makings of a playoff team when they’re winning, it’s the way they lose their games this season that exposes their youth and inexperience overall.
That, or simply nothing has changed. The Broncos have been a mediocre team for the past three years, so to see them end the season at 9-7 or even drop their final two, well, it wouldn’t be a surprise.
And regardless of your opinion of their effort and talent on either side of the ball, there is no ignoring their shaky ground in the playoff race, as well as their tough match-up with the Philadelphia Eagles this week.
The Eagles are fighting for their division and a potential first round bye, and even though Denver is sketchy in some respects, it’s important to note that Philly dropped two of it’s other three games against AFC West opponents.
Broncos 20, Eagles 16
2. Who Wins Between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens?
It’s a battle of the ages, with the 8-6 Ravens heading to Heinz field to take on their bitter division rivals, the 7-7 Steelers.
Pittsburgh got off the schneid last week by heroic efforts from Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Wallace, as the Steelers topped the Green Bay Packers on the final play of the game, escaping with a 37-36 win in a thriller.
The last time these two teams met, the Ravens stole a victory against a Steelers team that was without their star, Roethlisberger, so the playing field appears to once again be leveled.
Both teams have strong run defenses and horrific pass defense, making this an unlikely shoot-out between Big Ben and Joe Flacco. And considering his tendency for late-game heroics and the ability to carry his team, we’re going with the Steelers prevailing in a barn burner.
Steelers 34, Ravens 31
1. Will Brett Favre and the Vikings Snap out of Their Funk?
If you look a little closer, this “funk” that Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, and the rest of these Minnesota Vikings are in is fairly easy to explain.
The truth is, they’ve become a little enamored with the passing game, after having so much success with it throughout the season, and are now envisioned as a fairly one-dimensional team.
In order to turn things around, Brad Childress and Brett Favre were forced to sit down, accept blame for errors on each side, and come to the conclusion that the type of football they’ve been playing the past three weeks as a whole is not Minnesota Viking football.
If the Vikings can get back to pounding the ball with their workhorse, they can once again establish clock control, aid their defense, and also open up the play-action option for the passing game.
While the team was clearly stuck in some mud in two embarrassing losses in the past three games, it looks like they should be able to get it together and get past a weak Bears defense.
Vikings 34, Bears 17
