Odds-makers will have a tougher time picking a favorite in this holy war than they will the point-spread, but this worn & tired NFL15 prognosticator, one that advises against making any wager beyond the friendliest sort, is tabbing the Bengals (11-3) to pull-off the win over the Broncos (10-4).
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Todd Bowles: We’ve grown some since first Patriots game
There were also drive-killing penalties, and Randy Bullock missed a field goal and an extra point. -PASSING OFFENSE: A. The Pittsburgh Steelers were victorious in Week 15, as they handed the Denver Broncos their 4th loss of the season.
Despite their 9-5 record, the Jets do not control their own destiny.
Cam Newton stars for Carolina Panthers against New York Giants
No other quarterback has three five-touchdown games this year, and only Russell Wilson has two. That won’t be easy to accomplish, but at this point, it’s hard to bet against Cam Newton.
Denver joins Pittsburgh and Kansas City as a Wild Card competitor.
Second walkout against police crimes planned for Chicago
A second protest is planned to be held outside the courthouse where Van Dyke is scheduled to make his appearance Friday. When Van Dyke, who is out on bond stepped out of the courtroom, a woman said in a booming voice, “He’s a f– murderer”.
The situation remains fluid however, as the division champions in the North, South, and West are to be determined.
Steelers-Patriots looks destined to go full circle by late January, as Pittsburgh has already taken care of the AFC forces not located in Foxborough. Pittsburgh needs a win and Jets loss to secure its invitation. If the Broncos get up by 17 at home in a playoff game they’re going to find a way to win that game.
We all remember when the New York Jets beat the Patriots in the playoffs, and after the game Bart Scott (the leader of the defense spiritually), proclaimed “Can’t Wait!” for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Jets have struggled offensively at times during the past four weeks, needing quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to engineer comebacks in two-of-the-past three weeks.
Sure seemed that way after their whirling, Terrible Towel-twirling, and possibly unnerving (for AFC contenders) 34-27 win over the Denver Broncos at Heinz Field.
Since the implementation of the 16-game season in 1978, only two teams – the 2008 Patriots and 1985 Broncos – have won 11 games and missed the playoffs. But quarterback Tom Brady still is upright, and he is having another MVP-worthy season, with 35 TD passes and only six interceptions.
“They’re a division rival”, Bowles said.
“All I can worry about is us”. “We can’t hang from the rafters right now because of a little win streak”. The Jets surrendered just 195 passing yards on 33 attempts, but Revis and CB Antonio Cromartie looked bad on the final two plays of the Cowboys’ lone touchdown drive. It’s a subject coach Bill Belichick has spent much time thinking about. The team laid an egg in that game, over excited not focused enough on the upcoming matchup. “We’re on our way just getting better each week”. I think each part of your question requires some thought and every decision impacts other things as well, so you just can’t act independently when one thing happens when there is a residual effect to it one way or another as part of the conversation. That’s a great teaching lesson for us, and we’ll just try to learn from this. We have to give ourselves a chance. We’ll have to work our way through all that.
“I hope we are”, he said.
With Julian Edelman returning soon, the Patriots offense is set to heat up down the stretch.
-SPECIAL TEAMS: C-minus. K Randy Bullock redeemed himself by hitting the game-winning 40-yard field goal with 36 seconds left, but the Jets wouldn’t have been in that position if he hadn’t missed an extra point in the first quarter and if an illegal shift didn’t negate Bullock’s 40-yard field goal in the final minute of the first half.
Safety Patrick Chung also suffered a hip injury in the 33-16 win over the Titans. The running game never really got going with the Jets held to 73 yards overall and Chris Ivory, the AFC’s leading rusher coming in, had just 37 on 13 carries. He had no rooting interest. Put simply, the Jets have beaten one team-the 6-8 Giants-who have scored more points this season than they have allowed.
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-COACHING: B-minus. The Jets came out flat and sloppy against a sub-standard opponent, but credit to head coach Todd Bowles for figuring out a way to reverse the trend at halftime.
