Matchup: Seahawks at Panthers (+5)

The pick: Hawks

Breakdown: The NFC’s top two seeds from last year face off. The matchup could be a deciding game in their race to determine who can be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs first. Both teams are coming off performances they would like to forget. The Seahawks lost to the lowly Rams, their special teams giving a WSU-like performance, while the Panthers were dealt a walloping by the Packers.

The Hawks special teams coach didn’t get fired, but the seat must be getting warm. The over/under on how many voicemails Eric Russell has left the Seahawks since last Sunday is currently at eight; the number took a big jump after Earl Thomas criticized the unit early this week. We all remember what happened when Earl played on special teams right? Can you really imagine the Seahawks losing again? The defense had success against the Panthers offense the last year, and (like the Hawks) the Panther pass rush has deteriorated this year. Russell Wilson has time to do his thing, Hawks by a TD.

Matchup: Bills at Jets (-3)

The pick: Bills

Breakdown: People seem to think that with the addition of Percy Harvin and their strong performance last Thursday, the Jets might be OK. However the Jets are still 1-6, Thursday night football is always weird (please get rid of it NFL), and who really thinks that the ten Jet sweeps and bubble screens are making any kind of impact on this offense? The Bills on the other hand are over .500 and have a semi functional quarterback (Kyle Orton).

Harvin complained about not getting the ball enough downfield in Seattle; don’t expect that to improve. While the Hawks may have underutilized that, at least their quarterback has the ability to get the ball downfield. Orton leads the bills on a Tebow-esque game winning drive, and they win by 4.

Matchup: Washington at Cowboys (-7.5)

The pick: Cowboys

Breakdown: Washington’s terrific PR team must have been on some kind of high when FOX repeatedly showed the Navajo president, Ben Shelly, sitting with team owner Dan Snyder in his box. This was all well and good until the national media got a hold of the fact that Shelly was not only disgraced, but soon out of a job. He finished seventh in the August primary elections. That should probably come up on Washington Facts’ Twitter feed soon; or maybe not.

Kirk Cousins has not been this team’s saving grace, as some had predicted. Washington is all but out of the playoff picture, footballoutsiders.com gives them an eight percent chance to make the playoffs. When does RGIII come back? The Cowboys famed offensive line opens up big holes early and often for DeMarco Murray. The game will get out of hand early, so the crowd in the house that Jerry built will get to enjoy football in peace and quiet.