New York Jets 17, Indianapolis Colts 30 (predicted: New York Jets 17, Indianapolis Colts 27)

The Colts weren’t looking very impressive in the first 28 minutes of the game before a momentum-shifting drive to end the first half swung the balance firmly in favor of the Colts. With stars Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark held to 55 and 35 yards, Peyton Manning made short work of the Jets No. 1 ranked defense with rookie Austin Collie (7 catches, 123 yards, 1 TD) and second-year veteran Pierre Garcon (11 catches, 151 yards, 1 TD).

The Colts defense stepped up and pitched a second-half shutout, frustrating Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. Jets running backs combined for 86 yards after leading the AFC in rushing during the regular season.

Minnesota Vikings 28, New Orleans Saints 31 (predicted: Minnesota Vikings 35, New Orleans Saints 31)

In one of the most rollercoaster playoff games in recent memory the Saints knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs on a 40-yard field goal in overtime. In a game with nine fumbles (6 by Minnesota, 3 by New Orleans), nothing seemed certain as the two teams seemed like their own worst enemy, especially Minnesota. Twice in the red zone their chance was fumbled away, ultimately costing them a trip to the Super Bowl.

In what’s becoming a running theme, Brett Favre ended his third straight season with a bad interception, this time throwing across his body in an attempt to reach Sidney Rice to end the fourth quarter and a promising Vikings drive. He never got the ball back as the Saints won the toss and got the win.

1-1 in the Championship round, 3-10 overall.

New York Jets 17, Indianapolis Colts 27

A lot of noise has been made in the buildup to the AFC Championship about the Jets and Rex Ryan’s schedule planned out all the way to the Super Bowl. For some reason they’re the trendy pick even though the Colts are 8-point favorites. I don’t put much weight behind Vegas odds (see: 2007 Super Bowl), but this outpouring of Jets support seems more due to everyone loving the underdog than any real expectation of making it to the Super Bowl.

Peyton Manning and the Colts rolled over for the Jets in week 16, and although the Jets can cling to the “We gave the Colts their first loss!” mantra, it’s time for a serious reality check. The Colts have been playing great defense and are managing the clock with effective short passes and disguised runs. The Jets have been getting by on a decent running game and by underachievement of opponents. Which do you think will prevail in Indianapolis?

Minnesota Vikings 35, New Orleans Saints 31

This one is a virtual toss-up. Both teams have offenses capable of scoring from anywhere on the field at any time during the game. I’m giving this one to the Vikings mostly because the Saints are due for another huge letdown after their victory over the Cardinals. The Vikings defense is more than capable of making enough plays to maintain a slight lead.

Arizona Cardinals 14, New Orleans Saints 45 (predicted: Arizona Cardinals 17, New Orleans Saints 24)

So much for a close game. Although the Cardinals scored a touchdown on their opening drive the Saints didn’t let up on the gas the rest of the evening. The Cardinals didn’t even look like they left Arizona for most of the game. To cap it off, Kurt Warner had to go to the locker room before the half after a massive block when Warner tried to make a tackle. It’s a disappointing end for Arizona, who had visions of repeating last year’s improbable run to the Super Bowl.

Baltimore Ravens 3, Indianapolis Colts 20 (predicted: Baltimore Ravens 17, Indianapolis Colts 20)

Baltimore could not get anything going against a surprisingly resilient Indianapolis defense. The Colts’ playoff debut in 2010 is reminiscent of their Super Bowl season in 2006, when their defense was mediocre in the regular season but tightened up in the playoffs (well, not counting the epic Championship game against New England). The Ravens could not get to Peyton Manning, who got more than a little lucky when an Ed Reed interception was stripped by Pierre Garcon and recovered by the Colts.

Dallas Cowboys 3, Minnesota Vikings 34 (predicted: Dallas Cowboys 28, Minnesota Vikings 27)

I guess baby steps are good for the Cowboys. They won their wildcard game to get out of the media doghouse, but then promptly got stomped in Minnesota. Seriously… the Cowboys were never a threat after Tony Romo’s fumble early in the first quarter. Better luck next year.

New York Jets 17, San Diego Chargers 14 (predicted: New York Jets 14, San Diego Chargers 31)

Another pathetic playoff exit from the Chargers, this time the blame is on the high-flying offense on which the Chargers’ hopes rested. Specifically Nate Kaeding, who has the “crucial playoff field goal miss” down pat at this point. The Jets advance to Indianapolis on a running game and a stingy defense.

Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking when I made my predictions. Oh well. 2-2 for the divisional round, 2-8 overall. Ouch.

As always one should take caution when donating to a charity, but I don’t think there’s much to worry about with this one. While there are a number of developers and software companies I haven’t heard of, there are plenty of reputable and well-established ones to match. Delicious Monster and PostBox, Inc. are just a few examples.

The sale is for one day only, January 20th 2010. If you’ve been on the fence about one of the pieces of software being offered, consider buying it and supporting a worthy cause.

Arizona Cardinals 17, New Orleans Saints 24

I don’t think this is going to be as high-scoring as most people are predicting. Both the Saints and Cardinals have defenses that are competent, and a lower score would only make this matchup more intense as both offenses are capable of exploding at any moment.

Baltimore Ravens 17, Indianapolis Colts 20

Peyton Manning is 7-2 lifetime against the Ravens, but unfortunately has also made a career out of early postseason exits. The Ravens knocked out the Patriots in Foxboro in convincing fashion, and now get to play a team not known for its prowess stopping the run. The Colts defense will be the unit under the most scrutiny in this game, as its no secret that keeping the ball away from the Colts offense should be Baltimore’s priority.

Dallas Cowboys 28, Minnesota Vikings 27

I’m just hoping the Vikings lose so we can say goodbye to Brett Favre for good. The Cowboys head to Minnesota looking like the most complete team in the playoffs; their defense is playing better than it has all season (and arguably in years) and the offense isn’t turning the ball over. Favre and the Vikings have had a week to rest after they bludgeoned the Giants 44-7 in week 17, but looked vulnerable in the weeks prior.

New York Jets 14, San Diego Chargers 31

The Chargers don’t seem to get as much attention as the other teams remaining in the playoffs even though they’re probably the class of the AFC. They’ve knocked the Colts out of the playoffs twice in two years, and finished the season on an 11-game winning streak. They should be able to outplay the low-scoring Jets at home despite New York’s defensive skill.

In some ways I’m not really surprised the Jets won, mainly because they were playing the perenially underachieving Bengals. Nobody can quite figure out what Carson Palmer was thinking on his attempt to Chad Ochocinco that was intercepted by Darrele Revis, but with all of 85’s talk leading up to the game it wouldn’t surprise me if he was trying to force the ball on “someone’s” urging. Both Palmer and Ochocinco are going to retire without a playoff victory. Why is Marvin Lewis still the head coach in Cincinnati? Based on this year’s performance they should get him out and promote Mike Zimmer. Or at least find someone that has some idea of what to do on offense.

Philadelphia Eagles 14, Dallas Cowboys 34 (predicted: Philadelphia Eagles 42, Dallas Cowboys 38)

Dallas put on a pretty convincing show against Philadelphia for the second straight week. Wade Phillips probably saved his job and Tony Romo can finally begin to shake the stigma of “The Hold.” The Cowboys now travel to New Orleans for a rematch with the Saints, and look like they’re the NFC’s hottest team.

Baltimore Ravens 33, New England Patriots 14 (predicted: Baltimore Ravens 17, New England Patriots 23)

Literally from the first play of the game the Ravens dominated the Patriots in almost every way imaginable. Ray Rice opened the contest with an 83-yard touchdown run. On the Patriots’ first possession Terrell Suggs stripped the ball from Tom Brady, a turnover on which Baltimore scored another touchdown. Baltimore was so dominant that Joe Flacco attempted 10 passes, completed four, and the Ravens still won by three scores. Anyone who had doubts about New England during the season had no idea it would be this bad, as playoff success has been the hallmark of the Brady/Belichick era. The Patriots enter the offseason with pressing questions throughout the entire organization.

Green Bay Packers 45, Arizona Cardinals 51 (predicted: Green Bay Packers 35, Arizona Cardinals 31)

Give credit to Aaron Rodgers for coming back from a 14-0 deficit and forcing the game to overtime. Unfortunately it was also Rodgers’ turnovers at either end of the game that resulted in the Packers’ loss. Final-play facemask or not, getting stripped in overtime is almost as inexcusable as the defense allowing a season-high 51 points. Rodgers, meanwhile, seems to be the new (pre-playoff victory) Tony Romo.

Not a good start for me. 0-4 in playoff predictions so far.

Meaningless game for both teams as Fred Jackson gets to pad his stats with 212 rushing yards.

New Orleans Saints 10, Carolina Panthers 23 (predicted: New Orleans Saints 17, Carolina Panthers 23)

The Saints rest starters as the number one seed in the NFC.

Atlanta Falcons 20, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10 (predicted: Atlanta Falcons 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28)

The Falcons end the season on a positive note, finishing with consecutive winning seasons for the first time in franchise history.

San Francisco 49ers 28, St. Louis Rams 6 (predicted: San Francisco 49ers 31, St. Louis Rams 16)

San Francisco pulls to an 8-8 record while the Rams finish 1-15.

Pittsburgh Steelers 30, Miami Dolphins 24 (predicted: Pittsburgh Steelers 23, Miami Dolphins 21)

The Steelers won to keep their playoffs hopes alive for a few hours until the Ravens beat Oakland to claim the last wildcard slot.

New York Giants 7, Minnesota Vikings 44 (predicted: New York Giants 28, Minnesota Vikings 24)

Meaningless game or not, this was a pretty sad performance by the Giants.

New England Patriots 27, Houston Texans 34 (predicted: New England Patriots 20, Houston Texans 27)

An entertaining shootout in Houston results in Houston’s first winning record in franchise history.

Chicago Bears 37, Detroit Lions 23 (predicted: Chicago Bears 31, Detroit Lions 14)

Chicago finishes at 7-9, the Lions as 2-14.

Jacksonville Jaguars 17, Cleveland Browns 23 (predicted: Jacksonville Jaguars 18, Cleveland Browns 20)

Cleveland ends a dismal season with four straight wins.

Philadelphia Eagles 0, Dallas Cowboys 24 (predicted: Philadelphia Eagles 34, Dallas Cowboys 28)

The Cowboys defense makes a strong statement shutting out the high-powered Eagles, clinching the NFC East.

Kansas City Chiefs 44, Denver Broncos 24 (predicted: Kansas City Chiefs 21, Denver Broncos 18)

Kansas City completes yet another late-season collapse for Denver.

Baltimore Ravens 21, Oakland Raiders 13 (predicted: Baltimore Ravens 28, Oakland Raiders 10)

The Ravens clinch the last AFC wildcard spot with a victory in Oakland.

Washington Redskins 20, San Diego Chargers 23 (predicted: Washington Redskins 24, San Diego Chargers 31)

San Diego closes their season much like the 2008 Colts and coasts to a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Tennessee Titans 17, Seattle Seahawks 13 (predicted: Tennessee Titans 46, Seattle Seahawks 14)

Chris Johnson reaches the 2000 yard mark in the final game of the year.

Green Bay Packers 33, Arizona Cardinals 7 (predicted: Green Bay Packers 28, Arizona Cardinals 31)

The Cardinals didn’t reveal much in anticipation of next week’s matchup against Green Bay in the wild card round.

Cincinnati Bengals 0, New York Jets 37 (predicted: Cincinnati Bengals 17, New York Jets 21)

Cincinnati rests starters as the Jets sneak into the playoffs with week 16’s false victory over the Colts.

12-4 in week 17, bringing my final tally to 174-82 for the season, or a “correct” percentage of 68%.

New York Jets 16, Cincinnati Bengals 24

Nobody really understands how the Jets got into the playoffs in the first place, but Carson Palmer and the Bengals should be able to put together enough offense to force New York into an early vacation. Rex Ryan’s tears should freeze on his face.

Philadelphia Eagles 42, Dallas Cowboys 38

The Cowboys shut out the Eagles to win the division and force this game to Dallas. However, the Eagles have traditionally done well against the Cowboys late in the season and Tony Romo’s late-season woes are well documented. The Cowboys are due for a shootout.

Baltimore Ravens 17, New England Patriots 23

New England hasn’t lost a playoff game at home in the Tom Brady era. Don’t expect that trend to buck against a streaky Baltimore team. Wes Welker’s season-ending injury hurts, but the Patriots will figure out how to make use of their available personnel just like they have been for years. New England’s bigger worry should be who they play next; on the road to San Diego or Indianapolis will be a tough game for a team who has performed poorly on the road this season.

Green Bay Packers 35, Arizona Cardinals 31

The Packers are firing on all cylinders and stumbled upon an unexpectedly stingy defense when they switched to the 3-4 in the offseason. Aaron Rodgers has improved on his shortcomings in close games and has Green Bay in a winnable situation against a Cardinals team they’ve beaten before.

Phishing is the practice of conning an unsuspecting victim into giving away sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and banking details usually via fake e-mails. Phishing has gotten so bad that Robert Mueller, former head of the FBI, was nearly phished himself. The problem with phishing is that with a cursory glance the message and links provided look perfectly legitimate, which is exactly what the attacker relies on.

The headaches come from trying to sort out the legitimate messages from the fraudulent ones, and as Capital One’s email alert system demonstrates it’s not as easy as it looks. I received this notice [presumably] from Capital One yesterday evening, and while it’s not the first time I’ve gotten one of these from them it is the first time I’ve taken serious issue with it. The image below is the original with some personal details blurred out.

At first this looks pretty innocuous. Until, that is, you look at Capital One’s own guidelines for detecting a phishing scam. When you compare their own mailing to their guidelines, the message is fraught with problems.

Going through the characteristics of a phishing scam listed on the website, it becomes apparent that Capital One is not only hypocritical, but encouraging their customers to trust emails without a second thought. From Capital One’s website:

1. Sender’s e-mail address. To give you a false sense of security, the “From” line may include an official-looking e-mail address that may actually be copied from a genuine one. E-mail addresses can easily be spoofed, so just because it looks like it’s from someone you trust, you can’t always be sure.

At face value this is helpful information. In practice it is absolutely useless. Zero information is provided as to what a valid e-mail address from Capital One looks like. Is capitalone@email.capitalone.com a valid e-mail address, or is it from a phisher? How is anyone supposed to know? To compound the issue the reply-to address is a comically long string of characters followed by the same domain. Do you feel more comfortable e-mailing an address that looks like this:

uhfughga8968632jbbadbfjakjgy@email.capitalone.com

or this?

abuse@capitalone.com

My guess is most people would opt for the latter.

2. Attachments. Similar to fake links, attachments can be used in fraudulent e-mails. Never click on or open an attachment. It could cause you to download spyware or a virus. Capital One will never e-mail you an attachment or a software update to install on your computer. In general, never open unexpected attachments from anyone.

I viewed the mailing using Mac OS X’s built-in Mail client which is capable of showing HTML messages. However, some clients either do not have the capability or the user has them turned off, conditions under which the HTML would appear as an attachment. In addition to this, sending out an HTML-encoded e-mail seems unnecessary. If your goal is to simply inform me that my online statement is ready, you don’t need HTML or any other markup to get the message across.

3. Generic greeting. A typical fraudulent e-mail will have a generic greeting, such as “Dear Account Holder.”

The message did include a personalized greeting with my name and even the last four digits of my account number in the body of the e-mail. I’d give them credit for not violating #3 on their list, except that names are fairly easy to come by these days. My name is literally in more databases on the web than I can count, and the last four digits of the account number? At first glance I didn’t even notice it, and even if I had it would have taken me a second to verify if it was correct or not. How many people think to themselves, “Oh good- my account indeed ends in 8371 so this e-mail must be real.” when they probably have multiple credit cards, bank accounts, or other personal identification numbers to remember as well?

The generic subject line is suspect also, although this one I’m not as annoyed about because it’s hard to personalize a subject line informing someone their statement is ready to view. “Your statement is ready” is hardly any better than the following selection from my GMail spam box:

Immediate payment notification
Specialized account Offer
Pending Payment Authorization
Your input requested

4. False sense of urgency. Most fraudulent e-mails threaten to close your account or assess some penalty if you don’t respond right away. An e-mail that urgently requests you to supply sensitive personal information is typically fraudulent.

5. Typos and grammatical mistakes. Such mistakes are a dead giveaway in fake e-mails.

#4 and #5 are not evident in the message, thankfully. These indeed are common ways that phishers try to trick you.

6. Fake links. Many fraudulent e-mails have a link that looks valid, but sends you to a fake site that may or may not have an URL different from the link. Always check where a link is going before you click. Move your mouse over the URL in the e-mail and look at the URL in the browser. As always, if it looks suspicious, don’t click it. Open a new browser window, and type http://www.capitalone.com.

This is, in my opinion, the worst offender of them all. The e-mail includes a direct link to a site where you can provide your login credentials, presumably out of convenience. Too bad that’s exactly what a phisher would do also, and how many people would really notice whether or not you are connecting to an http: (common) or https: (secure) website?

To make things worse, even if you did want to check if it’s a valid web address you need to take an extra step (if your browser displays HTML) to see where the HTML-marked-up hyperlinks are leading to. How many people know how to actually do this? How many of those will actually do it?

Assuming a user gets as far as viewing the message as plain text, all of the addresses are formatted much like the reply-to email; for example

http://email.capitalone.com/123a9795elayfiusubezmygaaaaaabtxm5tkanfsnhiyaaaaa

We’re left with the same problem we had back up at #1- how do we tell if email.capitalone.com/abunchofrandomcharacters is legitimate or fraudulent? Why even bother masking the true destination this address points to in the first place other than to make your message seem less legitimate than it actually is?

I realize that Capital One and probably many other banks only mean well by providing a convenient means to access one’s account when they have an existing balance, but this is just ridiculous. While I believe the above email is real (and yes, I’ve e-mailed abuse@capitalone.com with a more direct version of this post), the scary thing is that phishing scams look real as well. Sadly even those consumers trying to protect their account information by actually following up on security guidelines are stonewalled by corporate hypocrisy.

If you take anything away from this post, use caution when asked for login or account information online, no matter how legitimate the source might seem.

I’m curious if any other credit cards or major banks send similar notices with similar problems. If you have a glaring example (or even a minor one), feel free to leave a comment. If you want to have an example posted here, send me an e-mail and we can work out the details. Also if you receive an email with similar problems from your bank, I’d urge you to contact their fraud department and cite the issues above.

Indianapolis Colts 13, Buffalo Bills 16
New Orleans Saints 17, Carolina Panthers 23
Atlanta Falcons 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28
San Francisco 49ers 31, St. Louis Rams 16
Pittsburgh Steelers 23, Miami Dolphins 21
New York Giants 28, Minnesota Vikings 24
New England Patriots 20, Houston Texans 27
Chicago Bears 31, Detroit Lions 14
Jacksonville Jaguars 18, Cleveland Browns 20
Philadelphia Eagles 34, Dallas Cowboys 28
Kansas City Chiefs 21, Denver Broncos 18
Baltimore Ravens 28, Oakland Raiders 10
Washington Redskins 24, San Diego Chargers 31
Tennessee Titans 46, Seattle Seahawks 14
Green Bay Packers 28, Arizona Cardinals 31
Cincinnati Bengals 17, New York Jets 21

San Diego Chargers 42, Tennessee Titans 17 (predicted: San Diego Chargers 27, Tennessee Titans 24)

The Chargers locked up the #2 seed in the AFC bludgeoning the Titans in Tennessee. The Titans will just be playing for Chris Johnson to break 2000 yards next week as they’re officially out of the race.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20, New Orleans Saints 17 (predicted: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13, New Orleans Saints 37)

The Saints looked like they couldn’t lose the first 14 weeks of the season, but straight losses to the Cowboys and the lowly Buccaneers have them trending in the wrong direction heading into the playoffs.

Houston Texans 27, Miami Dolphins 20 (predicted: Houston Texans 16, Miami Dolphins 20)

The Dolphins dimmed their playoff hopes by letting the Texans jump ahead early. Chad Henne has mounted a few impressive comebacks in the past, but wasn’t able to finish the job in Land Shark Stadium.

Seattle Seahawks 10, Green Bay Packers 48 (predicted: Seattle Seahawks 10, Green Bay Packers 34)

The Packers poured it onto the Seahawks and clinched a wildcard spot in the postseason. The Seahawks were apparently trying to improve their draft position.

Carolina Panthers 41, New York Giants 9 (predicted: Carolina Panthers 21, New York Giants 30)

Carolina ran all over a once-feared Giants defense in the final game at Giants Stadium. With the loss to already-eliminated Carolina and Dallas’ victory over the Redskins, the Giants will be watching the playoffs from home.

Oakland Raiders 9, Cleveland Browns 23 (predicted: Oakland Raiders 17, Cleveland Browns 16)

Cleveland goes on a 3-game winning streak for the first time in years with the announcement of adding Mike Holmgren to the front office.

Jacksonville Jaguars 7, New England Patriots 35 (predicted: Jacksonville Jaguars 23, New England Patriots 27)

The Patriots clinched the AFC East title with an offensive show against the Jaguars. Tom Brady was firing on all cylinders as New England dominated all phases of the game.

Kansas City Chiefs 10, Cincinnati Bengals 17 (predicted: Kansas City Chiefs 12, Cincinnati Bengals 23)

Kansas City actually kept this one competitive for most of the game. A late touchdown drive capped with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Chad Ochocinco just before the 2-minute warning in the fourth quarter turned out to be the game winner. One is still left wondering how the Bengals’ offense is going to be able to win against an offense-oriented AFC playoff field.

Baltimore Ravens 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 23 (predicted: Baltimore Ravens 28, Pittsburgh Steelers 27)

Pittsburgh hangs on by a thread to their postseason hopes winning against the Ravens. Ironically the Ravens are in better shape than the Steelers even with the loss due to tiebreaker rules.

Buffalo Bills 3, Atlanta Falcons 31 (predicted: Buffalo Bills 17, Atlanta Falcons 20)

Meaningless game for both teams, but the Falcons set themselves back further in the draft with the win.

St. Louis Rams 10, Arizona Cardinals 31 (predicted: St. Louis Rams 13, Arizona Cardinals 32)

The Rams continue their quest to draft first overall in 2010. The Cardinals reach 10 wins for the first time since 1976, and have a shot at the #2 seed in the NFC due to the Vikings loss.

Detroit Lions 6, San Francisco 49ers 20 (predicted: Detroit Lions 19, San Francisco 49ers 27)

Neither team is in playoff contention (surprise!) but Frank Gore achieved his fourth consecutive 1000-yard season and Drew Stanton got his first NFL start.

Denver Broncos 27, Philadelphia Eagles 30 (predicted: Denver Broncos 17, Philadelphia Eagles 35)

The Eagles withstood a late rally to hang on in Brian Dawkins’ return to Philadelphia. After Denver scored 10 unanswered points to tie the game in the fourth quarter, David Akers kicked a field goal with 4 seconds remaining to win it.

New York Jets 29, Indianapolis Colts 15 (predicted: New York Jets 13, Indianapolis Colts 24)

In an otherwise meaningless game for the Colts, Jim Caldwell started pulling starters in the third quarter. Curtis Painter reminded everyone why he was undrafted as the Jets defense took over the game, handing the Colts their first loss and keeping the Jets in the AFC wildcard hunt.

Dallas Cowboys 17, Washington Redskins 0 (predicted: Dallas Cowboys 28, Washington Redskins 24)

Dallas is one of the league’s hot teams going into January, and the NFC East title hangs on their regular season finale against Philadelphia.

Minnesota Vikings 30, Chicago Bears 36 (predicted: Minnesota Vikings 17, Chicago Bears 21)

Speaking of trending downward, the Vikings appear to be in even worse shape than the Saints at the top of the NFC. Jay Cutler threw 4 touchdowns against just 1 interception against the Vikings, whose pass rush was fairly ineffective. Yet another lost fumble by Adrian Peterson gave the ball back to the Bears in overtime which was followed by the game-winning touchdown pass to Devin Aromashadu.

10-6 again this week, 162-78 on the season.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Indianapolis Colts 35, Jacksonville Jaguars 31 (predicted: Indianapolis Colts 20, Jacksonville Jaguars 27)

I thought the Colts would be resting starters by now, I guess Jim Caldwell had other ideas. The Colts played their starters the entire game, avoided major injuries, and severely dampened the Jaguars’ playoff hopes.

Dallas Cowboys 24, New Orleans Saints 17 (predicted: Dallas Cowboys 21, New Orleans Saints 28)

The Saints fail miserably at home against the Cowboys. Apparently Sean Payton forgot that he actually does have a running game, and called 45 pass plays compared to 13 rushes. Not the worst idea with Drew Brees and co., but it made the Saints predictable.

Cleveland Browns 41, Kansas City Chiefs 34 (predicted: Cleveland Browns 17, Kansas City Chiefs 13)

Why is it that sometimes the most meaningless games turn out to be some of the most entertaining? Browns running back Jerome Harrison set a team record with 286 rushing yards, moving him into third place on the all-time game-highs for rushing behind Adrian Peterson and Jamal Lewis. Joshua Cribbs set a record with two 100+ yard kickoff return touchdowns as the Browns get their third win of the season.

Houston Texans 16, St. Louis Rams 13 (predicted: Houston Texans 38, St. Louis Rams 10)

St. Louis did an admirable job limiting Houston’s once-potent offense to just 16 points. One can’t help but wonder if Steve Spagnuolo is really just after the first pick in the draft so he can work with Ndamukong Suh.

New England Patriots 17, Buffalo Bills 10 (predicted: New England Patriots 24, Buffalo Bills 17)

The Patriots are a win away from clinching the AFC East, but this team is full of gaping holes. For an offense that set records in 2007 and went 11-5 in 2008 with an unknown backup starting 15 games, 17 points against one of the worst teams in the league would seemingly translate to a one-and-done in the playoffs.

Miami Dolphins 24, Tennessee Titans 27 (predicted: Miami Dolphins 14, Tennessee Titans 20)

Once again Chad Henne is showing that he’s a viable starter, leading the Dolphins back from a big deficit to force overtime. Unfortunately, Chad Henne also reminded us that he’s not elite yet, throwing an interception on the first possession that allowed the Titans to kick the golden field goal.

San Francisco 49ers 13, Philadelphia Eagles 27 (predicted: San Francisco 49ers 23, Philadelphia Eagles 44)

The Eagles earned a spot in the playoffs again, this time as the NFC East division winner. They probably won’t be able to catch the Vikings to earn a first-round bye, unless Brett Favre collapses late in the season again.

Arizona Cardinals 31, Detroit Lions 24 (predicted: Arizona Cardinals 28, Detroit Lions 10)

One of those games that was a lot closer than it should have been, the Lions put up a fight and made the Cardinals earn the AFC West title in Detroit.

Chicago Bears 7, Baltimore Ravens 31 (predicted: Chicago Bears 18, Baltimore Ravens 31)

After the snow delay the Bears probably wished the game was either cancelled or they could have forfeited instead of suffering through the 31-7 embarrassment in Baltimore. The good news for the NFC North and Chicago’s 2010 opponents is that they’ll be fielding the same team next year due to lack of draft picks!

Atlanta Falcons 10, New York Jets 7 (predicted: Atlanta Falcons 21, New York Jets 23)

The Jets lost the second-most boring game of the season to the Falcons at home, all but eliminating the tearful Rex Ryan from the postseason. What I don’t really understand is why everyone expects the Jets to be good in the first place. Mark Sanchez sucks.

Oakland Raiders 20, Denver Broncos 19 (predicted: Oakland Raiders 13, Denver Broncos 42)

Perhaps most embarrassing for the Broncos (and agonizing for the Raiders organization) is that JaMarcus Russell was the one who orchestrated the winning touchdown drive, capped off with a 10-yard pass to Chaz Schillens.

Cincinnati Bengals 24, San Diego Chargers 27 (predicted: Cincinnati Bengals 13, San Diego Chargers 35)

Cincinnati played well, but couldn’t put the game away for a Charger team undefeated in December in the Philip Rivers era. The Chargers clinch the AFC West.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24, Seattle Seahawks 7 (predicted: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21, Seattle Seahawks 17)

I don’t know why the Bucs victory has everyone thinking Raheem Morris deserves another year in Tampa Bay because he clearly does not. Every aspect of the Bucs on both sides of the ball (with the possible exception of quarterback) is a huge mess, in large part due to Morris’ offseason bumbling.

Green Bay Packers 36, Pittsburgh Steelers 37 (predicted: Green Bay Packers 28, Pittsburgh Steelers 24)

Pittsburgh hangs on by a thread beating Green Bay on a tightly threaded touchdown pass to Mike Wallace.

Minnesota Vikings 7, Carolina Panthers 26 (predicted: Minnesota Vikings 34, Carolina Panthers 16)

Apparently Brad Childress tried to pull Brett Favre when the Vikings were up 7-6. Does this sound like a coach who’s confident in his quarterback situation?

New York Giants 45, Washington Redskins 12 (predicted: New York Giants 24, Washington Redskins 21)

I hope Redskins GM Bruce Allen enjoyed watching his new team get bludgeoned by Eli Manning at home. It’s almost as if the Redskins didn’t even bother. Oh wait… that’s nearly every game for them.

10-6 this week, 152-72 total.

Dallas Cowboys 21, New Orleans Saints 28

Cleveland Browns 17, Kansas City Chiefs 13

Houston Texans 38, St. Louis Rams 10

New England Patriots 24, Buffalo Bills 17

Miami Dolphins 14, Tennessee Titans 20

San Francisco 49ers 23, Philadelphia Eagles 44

Arizona Cardinals 28, Detroit Lions 10

Chicago Bears 18, Baltimore Ravens 31

Atlanta Falcons 21, New York Jets 23

Oakland Raiders 13, Denver Broncos 42

Cincinnati Bengals 13, San Diego Chargers 35

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21, Seattle Seahawks 17

Green Bay Packers 28, Pittsburgh Steelers 24

Minnesota Vikings 34, Carolina Panthers 16

New York Giants 24, Washington Redskins 21

Well I got the Browns’ score correct, but I don’t think anyone was expecting that level of incompetence from the Steelers’ offense. Looks like there won’t be any Steel Curtain in the playoffs this year.

New Orleans Saints 26, Atlanta Falcons 23 (predicted: New Orleans Saints 38, Atlanta Falcons 17)

Credit to the Falcons for making it competitive without 5 starters, including Matt Ryan. The Saints have to be a little alarmed that they’re having to win close games against fairly weak competition (Miami, Washington, Atlanta).

Denver Broncos 16, Indianapolis Colts 28 (predicted: Denver Broncos 23, Indianapolis Colts 31)

Brandon Marshall caught 21 passes in an otherwise ugly loss to the Colts, who secured the top seed in the AFC and won for the first time when Peyton Manning threw 3 interceptions. Time for the Colts’ starters to sit out the last three weeks of the season so they can lose in their first playoff game.

Seattle Seahawks 7, Houston Texans 34 (predicted: Seattle Seahawks 10, Houston Texans 24)

Year to year it seems like Seattle just uses injury as an excuse. Last year it was the wide receiving corps that was decimated, this year it’s the offensive line and the quarterback. If Bruce Gradkowski can beat the Steelers, Matt Hasselbeck can put up more than 7 points against the Texans.

Buffalo Bills 16, Kansas City Chiefs 10 (predicted: Buffalo Bills 16, Kansas City Chiefs 19)

Buffalo clearly has its aspirations set mediocre as they aim for a fourth consecutive 7-9 season.

Detroit Lions 3, Baltimore Ravens 48 (predicted: Detroit Lions 17, Baltimore Ravens 41)

Sometimes I think after week 5 or so the Lions just show up to games so the NFL can give legitimacy to whoever inevitably beats them.

Miami Dolphins 14, Jacksonville Jaguars 10 (predicted: Miami Dolphins 24, Jacksonville Jaguars 23)

The Dolphins stay alive in the AFC East race winning an ugly one on the road in front of the 5 Jacksonville fans that showed up to the game.

New York Jets 26, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 (predicted: New York Jets 31, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14)

The Jets still have the league’s No. 1 ranked defense, but they’re still on the brink of missing the playoffs.

Cincinnati Bengals 10, Minnesota Vikings 30 (predicted: Cincinnati Bengals 14, Minnesota Vikings 28)

The Bengals are seemingly incapable of competing in high-scoring games, and their loss to the Vikings didn’t do anything to change that perception.

Green Bay Packers 21, Chicago Bears 14 (predicted: Green Bay Packers 28, Chicago Bears 26)

Jay Cutler has tossed more completions to the other team than JaMarcus Russell has to his own. That’s not entirely true, but you believed it for a second.

Carolina Panthers 10, New England Patriots 20 (predicted: Carolina Panthers 20, New England Patriots 33)

We already know the Patriots can win at home. Show us something we haven’t seen before, Bill!

Washington Redskins 34, Oakland Raiders 13 (predicted: Washington Redskins 18, Oakland Raiders 15)

Surprisingly competent show of offense from the usually dormant Redskins. I thought it was funny how soon after Bruce Gradkowski got hurt the Raiders’ offense actually got worse.

St. Louis Rams 7, Tennessee Titans 47 (predicted: St. Louis Rams 13, Tennessee Titans 37)

I thought Steve Spagnuolo was the guy that limited the record-breaking 2007 Patriots to 14 points in the Super Bowl? Isn’t he the Rams’ head coach now?

San Diego Chargers 20, Dallas Cowboys 17 (predicted: San Diego Chargers 31, Dallas Cowboys 27)

The Cowboys’ December woes continue as they lose at home to a surging Chargers team. This is bad news for Indianapolis, who seems to have trouble beating the Chargers both at home and on the road.

Philadelphia Eagles 45, New York Giants 38 (predicted: Philadelphia Eagles 24, New York Giants 27)

Once again the Eagles are showing what a dangerous team they are when their stars are healthy. DeSean Jackson ran circles around the Giants as the Eagles look like they’re on their way to an NFC East title.

Arizona Cardinals 9, San Francisco 49ers 24 (predicted: Arizona Cardinals 21, San Francisco 49ers 28)

6 turnovers does not a victory make. Unbelievably sloppy game for Arizona…but we were saying the same thing after last year’s week 16 47-7 blowout against New England. With the next two games at Detroit and home against St. Louis, the Cardinals should have fairly easy chances to rebound.

13-3 this week, 142-66 total.