El Mustachio Picks Week.. What Week Is It?
(It’s Week 13 by the way!)
Hope everyone had a fantastic turkey day. I was unable to watch any football on Thanksgiving, which is the first time I’ve failed to do so in my entire life. Fortunately, it appears I didn’t miss very much good football. The Packers, Cowboys, and Broncos rolled their opponents with relative ease.
There were a few picture changing games as well. With Baltimore defeating Pittsburgh, the Steelers are all but out of the playoff picture. The Bengals need a mere 3 games (any combination of wins by the Bengals or losses by the Steelers and Ravens) to clinch the AFC North. The Criminengals not only won the division (I’m calling it now), but they did it by winning in the division. 6-0 against the Ravens, Steelers, and Browns, contributing to 6 of their 8 wins. This means they’re 2-3 outside the division though, so those 3 wins might be harder to come by than it looks. Even so, they hold the tiebreaker in the north.
Indy won again, remaining undefeated and clinching the AFC South. This week they match up against a streaking Titans team (5 straight wins after an 0-6 start). A few weeks ago, prior to their Monday night victory over the Texans, I said the Titans could win the rest of their games, noting that the Colts were the one deadbolt in an otherwise unlocked door to full recovery.
In the AFC West, San Diego marched on to their 6th straight win, while the Broncos finally got back on track defeating the Giants on Thursday night. Denver still has 3 matchups against the Chiefs and Raiders and could finish the season with a 5-1 division record. Don’t count them out in the West as they are only 1 game back of the Chargers.
In the NFC, the Cowboys and Eagles continue to distance themselves from the NFC East pack, as the Giants continue to struggle and it appears Eli Manning may be done for the year.
The Vikings and Saints continue to make it clear who the top dogs to beat are in the NFL. I’d be surprised to see any team other than one of these 2 head to the Super Bowl this year. Yea they’re a combined 21-1, with the only loss coming by Minnesota at the hands of the Steelers in Pittsburgh early in the year. However, it’s not the record so much as the way these teams have one. They’ve won with guts and skill and have flat outclassed and outplayed their opponents. Compare that to the Colts 11-0, and the close battles they’ve had all year where they’ve won in certain situations, despite being outplayed for 58 minutes. I would take either the Saints or the Vikings over Indy in a neutral stadium.
So what does all this mean? Not a heck of a lot yet. There’s still a lot of football to be played, including this weekend!
El Mustachio's star Fantasy player - Ryan Fitzpatrick
NYJ vs. Buffalo +3 (Editor’s note: Sorry, slacker me got this posted AFTER the game but El’s pick is from well before the start of the game!)
Jobs, roles, and responsibilities have been shifted in Buffalo. In 3 weeks, the Bills have replaced their head coach, starting QB, and starting running back. I for one am starting Ryan Fitzpatrick this week in the 4SportBoston fantasy league. That’s right. And why am I doing that? Well… I’ve just got no choice. Too many injuries at QB this season, including my QB Matt Ryan’s have resulted in an absolutely decimated selection at the position. So for the next 30 seconds I’m going to pump up Fitzpatrick and tell you why he and the Bills are going to beat the Jets tonight!
- I hate the Jets. Screw them, they’re terrible
- Fitzpatrick went to Harvard, which as we all know is located in Cambridge, MA
- He was born in Gilbert, AZ a neighboring town to the one I live in currently
- Stupid Jets
In the end, these major factors play a decisive role in tonight’s battle for 3rd place in the AFC East. NYJ 24 BUF 27
Now that Thursday night is out of the way, I’m going to take a nap until Sunday morning when the Colts take on the Titans.
Colts vs. Tennessee +6.5
I wish I could sit here and honestly tell you I truly believe the Titans will win this game, but I can’t do that. They could, I won’t rule it out, which is good for Jeff Fischer since I know he hangs on my every word, but it’s a near impossible matchup to go on the road against an undefeated team. What the Titans have going in their favor is that they FEEL undefeated. They haven’t lost since October 18th in what seem now like a surreal game in the New England storm of snow and scores. That means we’ve got 2 teams feeling pretty f’n good right now. One thinks they can’t be beat, while the other refuses to get beat because they know how badly it hurts. I’m taking the Titans and the points, because even if they don’t win, they’ll give the Colts a run, just like every other good team has done.
IND 20 TEN 17
Other than that, I’m pretty much bored by the matchups this week. Because of that, I’m gonna jump right over to the 4 games this week without a spread.
Oakland vs. Pittsburgh
Really? No spread on this one? Sorry Oakland, Pittsburgh isn’t that bad, even if they can’t beat anyone that matters. There is no way they give up this golden egg at home.
PIT 20 OAK 10
Houston vs. Jacksonville
So this game actually has some merit as a no spread game. Houston is on a downward spiral and can’t seem to beat their division foes. In fact, their only intra-division victory came in week 2 against the Titans, and we all know how they were playing at the time. They will probably bounce back at some point, but after losing to Indy, Tennessee, then Indy again in consecutive weeks, the Texans won’t recover until next week at home against Seattle.
JAX 34 HOU 28
Seattle vs. San Francisco
Oh god I hope this game isn’t on television. Anywhere.
SF 10 SEA 7
Arizona vs. Minnesota
On Sunday night these 2 teams go head to head, which means I don’t have to get stuck watching the Cardinals against, I don’t know… let’s say… the Rams… as the only game available at 2 in the afternoon. So yes, I’m excited. The Grape Ape is gonna run train on the redbirds at 109 mph.
MIN 41 ARI 19
And the Monday Night Mustachio Matchup!
Green Bay vs. Baltimore +3
Mere weeks after I claimed the Packers couldn’t win 2 in a row after the defeat of Dallas, they’ve now strung together 3 straight. Now they’re at home against a Ravens team coming off a big win against Pittsburgh. Let’s be real here though, the Steelers started their backup QB after Roethlisberger selfishly took his shares of the practice snaps all week. Green Bay doesn’t have that problem, and will dispense with the Ravens. Suddenly Green Bay’s defense is among the best in the league, although missing Al Harris and Aaron Kampman for an extended period of time could be problematic. Lambeau in December is what it comes down to though. Take Green Bay on the frozen tundra, just like I’m going to do.
GB 27 BAL 21
On the season, Mustachio is 93-83, making him one of the worst prognosticators on the internet.
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