Tag: precap

What should I watch during Week 8 of the 2015 NFL season?

Every week, we rank the NFL games based on a number of factors to come up with a proprietary, totally un-trademarked Watchability Rating and publish them on our NFL forecast page. This post takes the quantitative and marries it to my qualitative thoughts about each game. To help you figure out what games you get in your area, check out 506 Sports NFL. If you need help figuring out how to make sense out of what you see there, use my explanation of how to use 506 Sports NFL here.

Big Screen

5.09 – Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. ET on CBS

For decades, the Steelers have ruled their division with an iron steel fist. That’s meant that no matter how good the Bengals have gotten, they’ve always had to deal with the Steelers being a little bit better — a little bit more successful. This year, the Bengals are undefeated and the Steelers, thanks in part to an injury to starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, are only 4-3. Roethlisberger is back for this game, so the Steelers will be at full strength for their attempt to knock the Bengals off their pedestal.

5.03 – Green Bay Packers vs. Denver Broncos, 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC

Sometimes fortune smiles on the people who scheduled all the NFL games months ago. They couldn’t have known, when they put these two teams in a prime-time, nationally televised game, that they’d both be undefeated entering the game. It’s a rare treat to have a matchup of two undefeated teams as late as the eighth week of the season. Both teams have overcome challenges to get this far without losing. The Denver Broncos have been winning despite once legendary quarterback Peyton Manning’s predictable but still shocking poor play. At 39, it looks like age and injury have finally caught up with him. Luckily, the team’s defense has been good enough to cover for him, so far. On the Green Bay side, quarterback Aaron Rodgers is still in the prime of his career, but he’s been playing all year without his favorite target, wide receiver Jordy Nelson, who is out for the season with a knee injury.

4.29 – San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams, 1 p.m. ET on Fox

There’s a big jump between the interest of the top two games, both over 5 on our watchability scale, and the next group which starts with this game. The first two games basically don’t have any flaws. This one has a big flaw in the form of the 49ers. The 49ers aren’t completely collapsing this year, but they are stumbling around like a drunk person who seems about to fall at any moment. What lifts this game is the opportunity for the Rams to continue their push toward the playoffs. It’s almost too early to start talking about playoffs, but the Rams look like a team with a shot of making it as a wild card. If they don’t want that image to become a mirage, like it has in so many recent years for the Rams, they need to win the games they should win, like this one.

4.29 – Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans, 1 p.m. ET on CBS

There’s a severe power outage in this game. The Titans are 1-5 on the year. The Texans 2-5. But believe it or not, if the Texans win this game and the Indianapolis Colts lose theirs, they would be in a tie for the division lead. The AFC South division is so bad this year, that the Titans are probably not out of it either. Setting that aside, there are very few rational reasons to watch this game. It’s probably a signal that I should raise the impact of “combined power” on the watchability rating and lower the impact of the “in division” and “rivalry” factors.

4.29 – New York Giants vs. New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. ET on Fox

Both of these teams started the year out horribly, the Giants with two losses and the Saints with three. Both have righted the ship to some extent. The Giants are 4-3 and in first place in their division. The Saints are coming off two straight wins against the Falcons and Colts. Fans of both teams are starting to believe again. One set of fans will be sorely disappointed after this game. As a tiny extra added piece of local interest, Giants quarterback Eli Manning’s father was the starting quarterback of the Saints while Eli was a child.

4.05 – Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. ET on Fox

 

This game is like a miniature version of the Bengals vs. Steelers game from above. The Bears and Vikings are long-time divisional opponents and rivals. The Bears usually have the upper hand but the Vikings have the better record this year. The Vikings should win this game, but it’s possible that the Bears have enough muscle memory left from having dominated the Vikings for so long, that they’ll be able to keep this game close and maybe even win it.

Medium Screen

3.99 – Indianapolis Colts vs. Carolina Panthers, Monday, November 2, 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN

It’s hard to believe this game didn’t make it to a Big Screen rating. Blame the poor play of the Colts so far this year for missing that hundredth of a rating point. Football fans, fantasy players especially, keep waiting for Colts quarterback Andrew Luck to turn things around and start playing up to his potential this year. At a certain point though, it may be time to admit that the players around him are simply not good enough to let him shine. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has no such problem. His mostly unheralded teammates have all been playing above their expected level this year — a big part of why the team is undefeated.

3.85 – New York Jets vs. Oakland Raiders, 4 p.m. ET on CBS

I’m actually surprised this game did not get a higher ranking. I suspect that it will outperform it’s ranking. Certainly in the late-afternoon time slot, when there are so many fewer options, it’s worthy of consideration. The Jets were 4-12 last year, the Raiders, 3-13 but after only six games so far this year, both teams have already equalled their wins totals from last year. The Jets are 4-2 and the Raiders are 3-3. I’m interested to see how the Raiders young, talented offense plays against the Jets veteran and loaded defense.

3.47 – Seattle Seahawks vs. Dallas Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox

Alas, virtually the whole football-watching country will be watching this game in the late afternoon. It’s not without its attractions, but most of them have to do with the suspense generated by a team wildly disappointing its fans.

3.38 – Detroit Lions vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 9:30 a.m. ET on Fox

This is the last London game of the season and, like most of the others, it features two under .500 teams. It’s hard to say which team has been more disappointing this year, the Chiefs, who were 11-5 two years ago or the Lions who were 11-5 last year. I guess the Lions. Either way, this is not a game worth waking up early for.

3.30 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. ET on Fox

It’s actually somewhat hysterical that a divisional game involving one team (the Falcons) with only a single loss on the year could be so low in our rankings. It’s a measure of how little people believe in the Falcons as an actually good team, as opposed to a decent team with a good record, and how little the general public cares about the Buccaneers.

3.12 – San Diego Chargers vs. Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. ET on CBS

Looking at the landscape of the NFL over the past decade, it’s almost incomprehensible that a game between these two teams could be the second worst game of the day. The Chargers and Ravens have both been perennial championship contenders but they now find themselves scrambling around just to win a game. It’s a sad fall from grace for both franchises. At least the Ravens will still be in Baltimore next year. The Chargers may very well be in Los Angeles.

3.05 – Arizona Cardinals vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET on Fox

It’s not impossible to make a case for watching this game — this week’s slate of games is remarkably strong, without a single game in the small or no screen categories — but it just doesn’t match up to the competition. The Cardinals are very good, the Browns are not.

Pitch that game: NFL Week 5, 2015

Hello everyone and welcome to America’s favorite game show that… has never actually happened before and no one has heard of it… it’s Pitch That Game!

Here’s how it works. As your host, I have one minute to pitch a sporting event to someone who is not a sports fan. If, after my pitch, they’re interested in watching, I get a point! That’s it! Why would we play such a game? Well, it’s a good way to quickly learn about a set of games to see if you’re interested in following any of them. It’s also a great way for me to learn from you about what may or may not make a sport interesting to a layperson.

In this episode, I pitch you, the listener, all 14 of the NFL games this weekend, on Sunday October 4 and Monday October 5. If you want to know which games will be available on your TV this weekend, check out 506 Sports NFL. If you need help figuring out how to make sense out of what you see there, use my explanation of how to use 506 Sports NFL here.

Enjoy the show!

Sunday, October 11, 2015 1 p.m. ET

Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Titans

Back in the good old days on the NFL, quarterbacks were expected to spend several years on the bench, learning from coaches and more established quarterbacks before getting their chance to start. In the past fifteen years, that practice has broken down in favor of high-profile college quarterbacks who come straight out of college and start from their first professional game. This game offers a chance to compare models. The Titans quarterback, Marcus Mariota, is one of those highly regarded rookies starting right away. The Bills quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, is a rare modern example of a quarterback who spent his first four years in the league as a backup and is only now getting a chance to start. Both players have played very well this year and I expect that to continue today.

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens

If you’ve followed the NFL even casually over the last fifteen years, you probably think of the Cleveland Browns franchise as the epitome of ineptitude and the Ravens as a model franchise. What you might not know is that the Ravens came into existence in 1996 when the then owner of the Cleveland Browns decided to move his team to Baltimore. As part of a settlement with the league, the city of Cleveland got to keep the Browns name and was promised a new expansion team to take the old Browns place within a few years. The Browns returned to Cleveland in 1999 but have seemed star-crossed ever since. It’s no wonder that fans of the new Browns love to hate the Ravens.

Chicago Bears at Kansas City Chiefs

This game features a pair of tragic figures at the quarterback position. The Chiefs quarterback, Alex Smith, has football figured out. He knows where and when to throw the ball and who to, but he often doesn’t have the arm strength to deliver the ball the way it needs to be delivered. The Bears quarterback, Jay Cutler, is the exact opposite. He once claimed to have the strongest arm in NFL history. He might, but it’s paired with a lack of awareness, both about football and his own ability, that leads him to make costly mistakes all too often.

Seattle Seahawks at Cincinnati Bengals

It’s sometimes said that the NFL stands for “not for long.” This clever backronym describes how difficult it is to maintain consistent excellence. The Seahawks have been to the last two Super Bowls and made the playoffs in all but three of the last dozen seasons. That’s an almost unprecedented stretch of success. It looks like it may finally have caught up to them this year. They’re fighting the drop-off though. After starting 0-2, they won two close games to even their record at two wins and two losses. They’ll face a tough battle in this game against the undefeated Bengals who look as unbeatable as their record would suggest.

St. Louis Rams at Green Bay Packers

The Rams traveled to Arizona last weekend and gave the then undefeated Arizona Cardinals their first loss of the year. They’ll be trying to do the same thing to the Packers in this game. The Packers are 4-0 and seemingly invincible, thanks to the quarterbacking mastery of Aaron Rodgers. The best way to neutralize a great quarterback like Rodgers is to get in his face from the very start of the game, something the Rams may be able to do thanks to their excellent defensive linemen, and to keep him off the field. The way to keep him off the field is to run the ball effectively on offense, another thing the Rams may be able to do. Todd Gurley, a rookie running back on the Rams, made his season debut last weekend and looked, no joke, like the best running back to enter the league since Adrian Peterson in 2007.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Jaguars had a giant opportunity last weekend to announce themselves to the world as a respectable team by beating the Indianapolis Colts but they couldn’t do it. Now they’re 1-3 for the year and stuck in a swampy South Florida game against the Buccaneers, also 1-3 and going nowhere. That said, this could be a high scoring game – both teams are much stronger at wide receiver then they are at defensive back – the people assigned to keep the wide receivers from catching the ball. I expect both teams to be able to move the ball down the field in big, thrilling chunks.

New Orleans Saints at Philadelphia Eagles

These have been two of the most exciting offensive teams for years. They both base their play around frequent safe but crafty short passes which get athletic skilled wide receivers and running backs the ball with space to run around and make defenders look silly. It’s a good strategy but it hasn’t been working so far this year. Both teams have only won one game out of the four they’ve each played. A 2-3 record in the first five games isn’t the end of the world but 1-4 is. Therefore, the fate of the world, for both of these teams, rests on this game and this game alone.

Washington Redskins at Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are 4-0 so far this year, so you think everyone on the team would be thrilled. Not so. Veteran wide receiver Roddy White went public with his profanity-laced frustration about having a reduced role this year. It sounds unsporting to be upset when your team is winning, but I can understand how he feels. Imagine you spent 10 years at a job and finally, just when the company start really succeeding -maybe it’s going to go public or something – your boss decides you’re not good enough anymore and starts phasing you out. Yikes. Often, after a player goes to the media with his frustration, his team will make sure he gets the ball a bunch in the next game. If that doesn’t happen, White should think about editing his resume and brushing up on his LinkedIN game.

Sunday, October 11, 2015 4:05 or 4:25 p.m. ET

Arizona Cardinals at Detroit Lions

It’s hard to sell a matchup between a 3-1 team, the Arizona Cardinals, and a 0-4 team, the Detroit Lions, as likely to be an even or close game. What I can sell you on is that there’s a good reason to root for both of these teams. The Cardinals are a lovable group — with their coach, who wears a kangol hat and speaks more honestly about his team to the press than virtually any other coach in the league and their quarterback whose excellent career has been sidetracked by injury every time it seems like it’s about to peak. The Lions, on the other hand, are coming off one of the more brutal losses this season. Their best player had the ball and was lunging into the end-zone when an opposing defender knocked it out of his hands. That’s bad luck and a good play by the defender, but the controversy started when another defender seemed to intentionally bat the ball out of play. That’s not allowed and the Lions should have had another chance to score, but the referees seemed to momentarily forget the rules and the Lions lost the game.

New England Patriots at Dallas Cowboys

If you’re a Patriots fan, you’re either from New England, or you enjoy watching one team thoroughly out-smart another. The Patriots are coming off their bye week which means they’ve had an extra week to think of devious ways to win and, as a bonus, make the Cowboys look stupid. I can’t wait to see what they’ve cooked up.

Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders

This was once the most hotly contested rivalry in the NFL. Then the Raiders sank into a twenty year-long slump and it lost a little of its luster. This year, for the first time in memory, the Raiders look like they may have improved enough to bring interest back to the game. On the field, the Raiders will have a tough time surviving the Broncos aggressive defense who sacked their opposition’s quarterback seven times last week.

Sunday, October 4, 2015 8:30 p.m. ET

San Francisco 49ers at New York Giants

No one expects the San Francisco 49ers to win this game on national television. They’re widely considered one of the worst teams in the league, their once promising quarterback is struggling, and their defense is missing most of its best players. They haven’t won a game since the very first weekend of the season when they were… hey, wait a minute… they were on national television, they were considered one of the worst teams in the league, their quarterback was struggling, and their defense was missing most of its best players. Hmm. Maybe this game will be closer than we think.

Monday, October 12, 2015 8:30 p.m. ET

Pittsburgh Steelers at San Diego Chargers

Football is an extremely complex game. Every player on the field is responsible for knowing and reacting to a slightly different set of data. Only the best players truly master their own positions. That’s why it’s so extraordinary for a player to have a command of their position and their teammates and act on it. That’s what Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was doing last week. So many of his offensive linemen were injured and missing, that he was doing the seeing and reacting for the replacements. Before every play, Rivers would put himself in the lineman’s position, see what an experienced player in that position would see, and shout out the reaction they would have. Then he had to do the calculations for his own position and start the play. It was a virtuoso performance and one that had a lot to do with his team winning their game. Watch for him to do the same in this game.

NFL Week 15 Good Cop, Bad Cop Precaps

The NFL season has started but how do you know which games to watch and which to skip? Ask our favorite police duo with their good cop, bad cop precaps of all the matchups in the National Football League this weekend. To see which games will be televised in your area, check out 506sports.com’s essential NFL maps.

Week 15

Sunday, December 14, at 1:00 p.m. ET

Green Bay Packers at Buffalo Bills

Good cop: The Buffalo fans are consistently among the best in the league! They’re going to find a way to help their team in this must-win game against the mighty Packers!

Bad cop: How? What if one of them transformed the world into a cartoon and then the other 71,856 threw banana peels at Aaron Rodgers? That might work. Maybe.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Baltimore Ravens

Good cop: What luck for the Ravens who are fighting for a playoff spot and their division lead! They play the woeful Jaguars while the Browns and Bengals play each other and the Steelers play the dangerous Falcons!

Bad cop: The “dangerous falcons?” You must be mistaken — the Steelers are playing the Atlanta Falcons football team, not a flock of predatory birds. The football team is not dangerous.

Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals

Good cop: Finally! Finally, we’ll get to see the most talked about rookie quarterback, Johnny Manziel, start a game for the Cleveland Browns!

Bad cop: Yes… Manziel is so exciting that his coaches waited until their team was basically eliminated from playoff contention to start him. Exciting like a rusty roller coaster is exciting.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers

Good cop: With their quarterback sidelined after a scary looking car accident that luckily ended with only a couple small broken bones in his back, the Panthers turn to journeyman Derek Anderson who beat the Buccaneers earlier this year! Even at 4-8-1, the Panthers’ playoff hopes are still alive!

Bad cop: The only small broken bones are ones other people have. The only hope the Panthers have for the playoffs are mathematical.

Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts

Good cop: The Texans are only game out of a wild card spot and I think this is the week they finally break through their division rivals, Indianapolis Colts! If anyone can outsmart and outbeard Andrew Luck, it’s the Texans erudite wildman Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick!

Bad cop: I don’t care about all that. When it’s December and cold, windy, and snowing across larger parts of the United States, the last thing I want to watch is a mediocre football game inside a dome. I want weather.

Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs

Good cop: Just a month ago, the Chiefs were 7-3 and looked like they could stroll into the playoffs this year! Then they played the winless Raiders on Thursday, lost, lost their next two games, and are on the outside looking in! That Raiders loss really derailed their season and I’m interested to see them get their revenge!

Bad cop: “My name is Alex Smith, you defeated my football team, prepare to lose.” Not exactly the thing legends are made of.

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots

Good cop: It’s another divisional revenge game! The Patriots don’t really need to win this game, but that’s never stopped Brady and Bellichick for looking to destroy a team that beat them the last time they played!

Bad cop: Brady, Bellichick, Brady, Bellichick. I’m getting bored with those two. Can we swap them out for the characters from True Detective? Then you’d have an interesting football team — okay Gronkowski, on this play I want you to run a flat circle and then I’ll throw you the ball…

Washington Redskins at New York Giants

Good cop: HEY! After this game, we’ll only have to se– I mean get to see these teams two more times!

Bad cop: [quietly nods]

Pittsburgh Steelers at Atlanta Falcons

Good cop: Ben Roethlisberger has thrown for six touchdowns in two games this year! I expect he’ll come close to that again this Sunday against the Falcons “pass defense!”

Bad cop: [quietly nods proudly]

SUNDAY, December 14, AT 4:05 and 4:25 P.M. ET

Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers

Good cop: Doesn’t it seem like the Broncos always have to go through the Chargers on their way through the playoffs?!!

Bad cop: Yep — and they always beat them, every time, so where’s the drama?

New York Jets at Tennessee Titans

Good cop: It’s the only head to head matchup this week among the five teams tied at the bottom of the schedule at 2-11! Whoever wins this game gets bragging rights!

Bad cop: And loses an important chance to grab the first overall draft pick next year.

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions

Good cop: Don’t sleep on the Vikings! They’ve won their last two games and are sneaking closer and closer to .500! Not bad for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s first year!

Bad cop: I would never sleep on a Viking. Too spiky.

San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks

Good cop: A rematch of the Thanksgiving night game! A rematch of last year’s NFC Championship!

Bad cop: Since last year’s NFC Championship, the 49ers are 7-6. Since Thanksgiving, they’ve lost to the Raiders. Not interested.

SUNDAY, December 14, AT 8:30 P.M. ET

Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles

Good cop: I’m basically speechless! A division rivalry! Both teams are 9-4! Drama! Action!

Bad cop: Expectations lead to disappointment.

MONDAY, December 15, AT 8:30 P.M. ET

New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears

Good cop: It’s a matchup between two of the most surprising teams of the season!

Bad cop: Yep — even I have been surprised at how terrible these teams are.

NFL Week 14 Good Cop, Bad Cop Precaps

The NFL season has started but how do you know which games to watch and which to skip? Ask our favorite police duo with their good cop, bad cop precaps of all the matchups in the National Football League this weekend. To see which games will be televised in your area, check out 506sports.com’s essential NFL maps.

Week 14

Sunday, December 7, at 1:00 p.m. ET

Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins

Good cop: This is basically a playoff game! Win and you have an inside track to the playoffs! Lose and you’re on a fast track to vacation!

Bad cop: “Inside track?” “Fast track?” You lose some money at the race track this weekend?

Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns

Good cop: All week, the story has been about whether the Browns would give the starting quarterback job back to Brian Hoyer or move on to rookie Johnny Manziel!! People are missing the real story which is that the Browns are in the perfect situation to win this game and get back into the playoff race!

Bad cop: Nope. The real story is that the Browns are reverting back to classic, losing Cleveland Browns fashion with two bad losses in the last three games.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals

Good cop: Nothing is settled in the AFC North playoff race because the Steelers haven’t played the Browns yet! Their two games against each other in the final four weeks of the season will decide who wins the division!

Bad cop: You’re forgetting that after this week, the Ravens play the Jaguars, Texans, and Browns. That’s three easy wins and a playoff spot for them.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions

Good cop: It’s been a week and a half since the Lions won on Thanksgiving! Don’t forget about them! They’re 8-4 and one game behind the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North title!

Bad cop: No one is sleeping on the Lions. You don’t sleep around Lions unless you want to be sleeping with the fishes.

Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars

Good cop: The Texans need to win this game to stay alive for a playoff spot but I have to say, after the Jaguars beat the Giants last week, I think they trip up the Texans too!

Bad cop: It doesn’t matter — the Texans are a mediocre team that’s only beat bad teams (the Titans, Browns, and the Titans again) lately. Lucky for them, they have the Jaguars twice in their last four games. They’ll end the year 8-8 and just miss the playoffs.

New York Jets at Minnesota Vikings

Good cop: Jets wide receiver, Percy Harvin, returns to Minnesota to play against his old team!

Bad cop: And still, he doesn’t have a quarterback that can get him the ball reliably. The more things change… 

New York Giants at Tennessee Titans

Good cop: Did you see Giants receiver, Odell Beckham’s catch last week?! If that guy’s playing, I’m watching!

Bad cop: You wrote that last week. Get some new… oh, I just watched the video again. Okay, this is a terrible game, but I’m in.

St. Louis Rams at Washington Redskins

Good cop: Washington’s tour of referendum, that started last week against the Colts, continues against the Rams, the team they traded so many draft picks to in order to select Robert Griffin III a few years ago! Who won the trade?!

Bad cop: No one did. The Rams still stink and RGIII has probably played his last game for Washington. Both teams lost.

 

SUNDAY, December 7, AT 4:05 and 4:25 P.M. ET

Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos

Good cop: If any visiting team can handle the Denver weather, it’s Buffalo!!

Bad cop: Weather? Denver is the sunniest city in the country. It snows all the time in Buffalo. You’re just trying to distract our readers from the travesty of beat-down that will be this game. Broncos win by 36 points.

Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals

Good cop: Let’s see if the Cardinals can stanch the bleeding and save their season against the Chiefs! After starting 9-1, the Cardinals have lost two in a row! They need to win this game!

Bad cop: But they’re not going to. It’s sad, I like the Cardinals but their season is over.

San Francisco 49ers at Oakland Raiders

Good cop: Time for the 49ers to right the ship in Oakland!

Bad cop: Seems like if there’s a scenario in which Raiders would thrive, it would be keeping someone from righting a ship. Alas, they do not thrive in a football setting.

Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles

Good cop: This could be an NFC Championship preview! It’s the perfect contrast of style and skill: the Eagles offense against the Seahawks defense!

Bad cop: This game is not totally unwatchable, I suppose.

SUNDAY, December 7, AT 8:30 P.M. ET

New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers

Good cop: This is a literal rematch of the 2007-2008 AFC Championship which Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers played with a torn ACL! That’s tough!

Bad cop: As Chico said in Monkey Business, “You pay us too much, we’re too much tough.”

MONDAY, December 8, AT 8:30 P.M. ET

Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers

Good cop: As good as the last two months has been for the Packers, they only have a one game lead over the Detroit Lions for their division lead! They need to win this game!

Bad cop: They will. Remember that prime time game earlier this year when Atlanta went out to something like a 50-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? That’s how bad this game is going to be but reversed.