NFL Week 15 Open Thread

1:00pm

Miami Dolphins (7-6) @ New England Patriots (10-3): CBS

A fine game to kick off a fine weekend slate, and one of three that could lock up a playoff bid by game's end. Tom Brady, like Peyton Manning, is seemingly going to play until he's 50. That's fine by Pats' fans. They're 8-1 over their last nine with the sole loss a 5-point missed opportunity in Green Bay.

Miami might have squandered a solid early start by going 2-3 over their last handful of games. With so many 8-win teams in the AFC, a loss today might squeeze them out of contention.

Green Bay Packers (10-3) @ Buffalo Bills (7-6): FOX

This might be the most interesting game of the day for me for football's sake. Aaron Rodgers is on fire, helping the Pack win five straight since their Week 9 bye.

Buffalo, though, is also playing solid football. Since the snowstorm that pushed the game out of Buffalo ahead of Thanksgiving, they've gone 2-1 with the only loss a touchdown-gap drop in Denver. The big question is if Kyle Orton can improve on his performance from last week and help Buffalo take advantage of the home crowd's support,

Houston Texans (7-6) @ Indianapolis Colts (9-4): CBS

AFC South supremacy on the line. Houston's 3-1 since their bye week bringing them back in the picture. They'll have their hands full with the league's best passing attack by yardage thanks to Andrew Luck.

Cincinnati Bengals (8-4-1) @ Cleveland Browns (7-6): FOX

JOHNNY FOOTBALL! JOHNNY FOOTBALL! If Green Bay-Buffalo is the most interesting on football, this takes the cake for drama and narrative. Yonny Futbol!

Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5) @ Atlanta Falcons (5-8): CBS

Steven Jackson's been running much better the last two months, helping Atlanta to some positivity in 2014 after a 2-6 start.

Pittsburgh might be the weirdest team in the NFL this season along with the Rams. How did they follow a 51-point performance against Indianapolis and a 43-spot on Baltimore? By losing to the Jets and scoring just a single touchdown. The AFC North is up for grabs, so expect them to lost by 40 or something.

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-11) @ Baltimore Ravens (8-5): CBS

Can you imagine if Jacksonville ends up with the 1st pick? Do you bail on Marcus Mariota to stick with Blake Bortles? That's the kind of decision that's too hard to make in the NFL.

Oakland Raiders (2-11) @ Kansas City Chiefs (7-6): CBS

I guess you could say the same for Oakland and Derek Carr, but whatever the wrong decision is, that's what I trust the Raiders to do.

Washington Redskins (3-10) @ NY Giants (4-9): FOX

And yet somehow, Washington's the most toxic team of 2014. Weird. Can you imagine if they cut RGIII outright this offseason? What a horrible, horrible, horrible organization.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-11) @ Carolina Panthers (4-8-1): FOX

I'd love to hear a legitimate reason to watch this. Just one.