Macca

'cfh' must be absolutely livid ... a missed chip shot of all things. Hard luck mate. As for the Packers, Washington's secondary might just have played Green Bay back into form ... I wasn't at all confident especially after being down 11-0 (which could easily have been 16-0) Once we got our game going it was always going to be difficult for Washington. Hoping that Arizona come out rusty next week because I believe that's what it's going to take for the Packers to have a chance ... and there always seems to be at least of the the top seeds that does come out rusty. The Packers themselves did it the season after the SB. Anyway, here's the line-up of games for next week ... AEDT Sunday 8.35am Kansas City @ New England Sunday 12.15pm Green Bay @ Arizona Monday 5.05am Seattle @ Carolina Monday 8.40am Pittsburgh @ Denver Leaderboard in the tipping comp (post season) 4 - JV7, Macca 3 - cowboy_from_hell 1 - Georgiou R.R. Martin, Gorgoroth 0 - The usual suspects

Big Ben has a minute to win it for the Steelers ... good comeback by Cinci and McCarron has been decent Edit: And the Bengals implode - twice. Crazy stuff.

The Steelers should have put them away by now ... Cinci's offense is just woeful. One TD either way changes things though, in this low scoring game.

KC go to either New England or Denver next week and who's to say they can't keep winning? ... it's not like the Pats or the Broncos are absolutely dominant at this point of the season. I'm tipping the next game will be of a much better standard ... however, a lot rests with how McCarron performs.

Houston have been awful - KC are decent but they haven't beaten much. Weeden might be coming in but it's academic ... the Chiefs can run the ball from here on in. A quick TD to Houston might change things but it had better happen soon. Edit: another TD to KC ... 27-0 now.

Hoyer makes another giant blunder ... this ain't looking good for the Texans

Hangin' for Sunday ... ideally, a couple of games every Sunday (our time) would be fabulous. All the road teams are favoured but any of the games could go down to the wire ... next week, all the home teams will probably be favourites. If Seattle win they will go to Carolina and if Pittsburgh win they will go to Denver - it's been said before but the NFL playoff system works really well However, there is still a good chance that 2 more teams will be added to the current 12 playoff teams with only the 1 seeds subsequently receiving the bye - I'm not against adding the 2 teams even though I like things as they are now. The new 'point after' distance seems to have been received well too although only Pittsburgh looked to have attempted the 2 point conversion on a regular basis ... will they continue to do so on Sunday? The Steelers & Cinci match-up is probably the game of the weekend and it may well be real bruising affair given the recent history between these 2 teams. The Vikings/Seahawks game could be a must-see too - for all sorts of reasons not the least being the weather forecast for the game ... -3° celsius is forecast for the start of the game rising to a maximum of 1° celsius by the end of the game - plus, winds gusting up to 30km/h are predicted. That's rather chilly! Edit: 7mate are showing all 4 of this weekend's games live - I suppose we can assume that 7mate will be showing all the playoff games.

Kansas City 21 Houston 17 Pittsburgh 27 Cincinnati 24 Seattle 24 Minnesota 22 Green Bay 27 Washington 21 ... have to pick the Packers

Vikings far too good and are fully deserved division winners ... Packers were terrible though and it was a miracle that we were still in the game at the finish. So, the Vikes now host Seattle and Green Bay go to Washington ... in the end, a Vikings win means they face a hot Seattle and the Packers would probably rather face Washington more so than Minnesota (even though the Washington game is on the road) I'd be surprised if we could defeat Washington all the same ... as JV7 mentioned above, we are a shadow of our former selves. There's is no real continuity to our game mainly because our wide receivers and tight ends can't create separation even on a semi-consistent basis. It's been an issue all season which hasn't got any better. Rodgers is more often than not out of the pocket looking for someone to throw it to (often to no avail) Still, we're in the playoffs and as we've seen on a number of times previously, anything can happen in January in the NFL. In other news the Jets blew their playoff chances whilst the Steelers could cause some damage in the AFC. The Pats drop to the 2 seed with an untimely loss whilst Denver may well have dropped to the 3 seed (without a week off) but now find themselves in the 1 seed position with home field all the way through to and including the AFC Championship game (if they make it that far) Next week's playoff games (AEDT) Sunday 8.20am - Kansas City @ Houston Sunday 12.15pm - Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati Monday 5.00am - Seattle @ Minnesota Monday 8.40am - Green Bay @ Washington

And we have a winner in the tipping comp! Congratulations Gorgoroth and well played ... in the end, you needed your own team to lose in order for you to win (go figure) ... that Rams/49ers game going to O/T to decide things added to the drama! ... 'cfh' was that close Anyway, well played to all the participants ... any of the notables could have won in the last week. If we get enough takers, we can do another post-season comp as well ... "traditionally" we've added the potential scorelines in the post season - a tradition initiated by 'pantaloons'. The post season comp gives 1 point to any winner (home or away) with 3 points on the line for the Super Bowl. Final Tally (notables only) 10 - Gorgoroth 9 - cowboy_from_ hell, JV7, Georgiou R.R. Martin 7 - Macca Regular Season Tipping Competition Year Winner Runners up 3rd place 2013 cowboy_from_hell/ pantaloons/ Gorgoroth Strafford Macca ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 Dappa Dan Georgiou R.R. Martin Gorgoroth ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 Gorgoroth cowboy_from_hell, Macca JV7, Georgiou R.R. Martin ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post Season Tipping Competition Year Winner Runners up 3rd place 2013 titan_uranus DemonDave cowboy_from_hell/ Macca ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2014 JV7/ pantaloons Gorgoroth/ Go the Biff Macca -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I can't remember ever picking Jacksonville anytime in anything A drowning man will clutch at a serpent

Hammers defeat Liverpool (again) ... getting a few players back (including Payet) and our schedule isn't all that tough. Bilić is doing a fine job but without Sakho fit and firing a top 4 finish will probably be out of reach - but who knows? The other 3 big guns all recorded wins last night whilst Leicester slipped up - Spurs need to win at Everton tonight if they're to be a real threat for the title.

Pittsburgh Detroit Jacksonville

Yeah, the good news is you will win gold or silver so ... at least you won't win another bronze Looking at the week, there's any number of potential road winners but none that could be called absolute certainties. A number of teams could rest their starters too - week 17 always throws up some surprises. It's probably the most interesting week 17 for quite a while in terms of how the playoff seedings could change (especially the 1 & 2 seeds in both conferences)

Didn't help that the Giants had nothing to play for and Beckham was out ... all the same, the Vikings probably would have won anyway. Bridgewater was very good and for most of the year they've been a very honest, consistently good team. Next week at Lambeau is an interesting scenario considering the loser possibly gets the easier wild-card game (at Washington) Seattle could rest a few starters against Arizona as a win for them would be hard fought and not entirely necessary. They might have already decided that the 6 seed will suffice. Leaderboard in the comp (notables only) 10 - Gorgoroth 9 - cowboy_from_ hell, JV7, Georgiou R.R. Martin 7 - Macca Week 17 games ... all to play for this week with 3 points on offer. Finding 3 obvious road winners in week 17 could be a little difficult. You'd reckon that the teams that have to win, will win but ... all the games are divisional games so there's sure to be some close finishes. Anyway, good luck to all.

Week 17 holds a lot of interest after today's results ... any number of the seedings can change. Pittsburgh are the big losers out of today's games and they will now need the Bills to defeat the Jets as well as win their own game against Cleveland (to make the playoffs) I've already had numerous goes at the ESPN Playoff Machine but it will be interesting to see how Seattle approach next week's game @ Arizona. They've already clinched a playoff berth and will either play @ Washington or at Minnesota or Green Bay. Meanwhile, the Vikes need to win today to clinch a playoff spot (and therefore eliminate Atlanta) Currently leading 10 - 0. As for the Packers - the good news is we can't play any worse and at least we're in the playoffs ... with Rodgers at the helm we're always a chance but right now, we'd be doing well to win 1 playoff game.

These 2 won't get a better chance to cash in ... an opportunity to boost the aggregate and average with a big score. Hard to believe that the Windies haven't played a test in Melbourne for 15 years. Still, their batsmen might get amongst them on this track ... then again, they may not.

Carolina Pittsburgh New England

Your game against the Giants has been flexed to SNF but if Washington defeat Philadelphia (@ the Eagles) on Saturday night the Giants will be out of the playoffs already (think that's right) MNF is Cinci @ Denver whilst the the early game on Monday (our time) on 7mate is the Patriots @ Jets followed by the late game of Packers @ Arizona ... not a bad line-up of TV games all up ... week 16 games At least we'll be able to watch the games next Monday (save for anyone who has to work) Edit: Odell Beckham Jr. suspended for a week but he's sure to appeal ... could be reduced to a heavy fine if his appeal is successful.

Yep JV7, 2 points to the top 5 in the comp this week Leaderboard (notables only) 10 - Gorgoroth 9 - cowboy_from_ hell, JV7, Georgiou R.R. Martin 7 - Macca Some observations ... The Jets just won't go away and we might have an 11-5 team miss out on the playoffs in the AFC (or at least a 10-6 team) The Colts might miss out completely Arizona are a good team and could win it all The jockeying for seedings in the NFC is on - certain match-ups aren't ideal for certain teams. The loser of next weeks Cinci & Denver game could well end up with some unwanted pressure The Giants will be kicking themselves if they miss out - so many winnable games that they've lost. The Panthers are still on track for a perfect season The Vikes win easily and that week 17 game at Lambeau will almost certainly be "live" for both teams .. the Seahawks can only get a wild card now (which is theirs for the taking) As JV7 mentioned, the Falcons can still make it Washington's destiny is in their own hands and they can't be counted out from at least winning 1 playoff game (their 1st playoff game would be at their home field) KC & the Steelers keep winning and winning well (the wild-card weekend could see both wild-card teams win in the AFC)

Keep safe Gorgo

Don't forget there's a game on tomorrow at 12.30pm (Jets @ Dallas) ... unfortunately only on cable but the game holds great interest because of the wild-card race in the AFC. I wasn't prepared to tip the Jets but they can win and if they do they might start getting talked about as a genuine playoff contender.

KC Packers Panthers

The following track by Black Sabbath featured as the intro to the final episode of Fargo (season 2) ... from their 'Paranoid' album of 1970 ...

Week 15 games (2 points) As an added bonus we've got a couple of Saturday night games (this week and next week) ... Jets @ Dallas this week. As usual, finding 3 road winners will be tricky but this time of year there's sure to be a banker or 2 (maybe ) note; scroll up a couple for the leaderboard.