College Football Top Ten

Heftyinfo College Football Top Ten              (Week ending November 27)         

1.  Alabama (12-0)
2.  Ohio State (11-1)
3.  Clemson (11-1)
4.  Washington (11-1)
5.  Michigan (10-2)
6.  Wisconsin (10-2)
7.  Oklahoma (9-2)
8.  Penn State (10-2)
9.  Colorado (10-2)
10.  Oklahoma State (9-2)

NFL - Week Twelve Preview

It's Thanksgiving and that means one thing beside family gatherings and turkey and pumpkin pie.
FOOTBALL !
The Detroit Lions will be playing in the annual Thanksgiving Day game at home against the Minnesota Vikings this year. It's a big game because both teams are currently 6-4 and share first place in the NFC North division.
The Lions edged the Vikings 22-16 in overtime three weeks ago up in Minnesota as the Vikings blew a late lead. Lions kicker Matt Prater nailed a 58-yard field goal as time expired to force the OT and the Lions drove right down the field and won on a touchdown pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford to wide receiver Golden Tate.
This game should be a good one with the Vikings looking to make amends for their miscues at the end of the game in Minneapolis.
The middle game of the three being played will feature the Dallas Cowboys hosting the Washington Redskins. Dallas has won nine in a row and owns the NFL's best record at 9-1, which is good for first place in the NFC East division.
The Redskins (6-3-1) have also been rolling lately, coming off a 42-24 blowout win on national TV Sunday night against Green Bay. Dallas won a 27-23 squeaker in D.C. back in Week Two, but look for the 'Pokes to roll the 'Skins this time around.
The night game will have the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-5) facing the Indianapolis Colts (5-5) in Indy.
But the Colts will be without starting QB Andrew Luck (concussion) for this one. Scott Tolzien (former back up to Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay) will get the call for the game and the Steelers beleaguered defense will be looking to make the most of their chance to prove their critics wrong.
It should be a great Turkey Day for the NFL with these three games, along with the rest of the action taking place on Sunday and Monday night.

For a look at all of the games, the following offers a capsule style preview and of course, the predictions for the games.

Minnesota Vikings (6-4) at Detroit Lions (6-4) - This game could be another OT thriller.

Washington Redskins (6-3-1) at Dallas Cowboys (9-1) - Cowboys cannot be stopped.

Pittsburgh Steelers (5-5) at Indianapolis Colts (5-5) - Colts will likely struggle without starting QB Andrew Luck . . . Take the Steelers.

Tennessee Titans (5-6) at Chicago Bears (2-8) - The stinker game of the week.

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8) at Buffalo Bills (5-5) - Bills should win this one.

Cincinnati Bengals (3-6-1) at Baltimore Ravens (5-5) - What has happened to the Bengals this season?

Arizona Cardinals (4-5-1) at Atlanta Falcons (6-4) - The Falcons soar at home against a struggling Arizona team.

New York Giants (7-3) at Cleveland Browns (0-11) - The Giants are going for six wins a row.

Los Angeles Rams (4-6) at New Orleans Saints (4-6) - Drew Brees and company need this one. The Rams have a winning record on the road this season.

San Francisco 49ers (1-9) at Miami Dolphins (6-4) - The Dolphins are one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now.

San Diego Chargers (4-6) at Houston Texans (6-4) - The Chargers continue to find ways to lose games, especially in the fourth quarter.

Seattle Seahawks (7-2-1) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-5) - The Seahawks better be ready or the Bucs will sting them.

Carolina Panthers (4-6) at Oakland Raiders (8-2) - The Raiders have won three straight games and QB Derek Carr is now in league MVP talk.

New England Patriots (8-2) at New York Jets (3-7) - This game was "flexed" out of the Sunday night prime time slot. Good reason for that . . . Patriots roll !

Kansas City Chiefs (7-3) at Denver Broncos (7-3) - The winner of this one will be in a very good spot going forward as far as playoff contention is concerned.

Green Bay Packers (4-6) at Philadelphia Eagles (5-5) - The loser of this Monday night game will likely not make the playoffs.

The Heftyinfo picks for Week Twelve . . . . .  (Home teams are listed in bold;  Lock of the Week is listed in BOLD CAPS)

Detroit over Minnesota
Dallas over Washington
Pittsburgh over Indianapolis
Chicago over Tennessee
Buffalo over Jacksonville
Baltimore over Cincinnati
Atlanta over Arizona
NY Giants over Cleveland
New Orleans over Los Angeles
MIAMI over San Francisco
Houston over San Diego
Seattle over Tampa Bay
Oakland over Carolina
New England over NY Jets
Denver over Kansas City
Green Bay over Philadelphia 


Last Week's Record:  10-4

SEASON RECORD:  102-57-2

Lock of the Week Record:  11-0

NFL - Week Eleven Review

The Dallas Cowboys just keep on rolling along, winning at home, 27-17 against the Baltimore Ravens as quarterback Dak Prescott had three touchdown passes, including two to wide receiver Dez Bryant. It was Dallas' ninth consecutive win.
The Seattle Seahawks blasted the Philadelphia Eagles, 26-15 as QB Russell Wilson passed for 272 yards and a touchdown and also caught a touchdown pass to go with a 72-yard TD run by C.J. Prosise. The Seattle defense intercepted Eagles QB Carson Wentz twice in the win.
The New England Patriots handed the host San Francisco 49ers their ninth straight loss in a 30-17

Xavier Rhodes had a huge game in Vikings win

contest as Pats QB Tom Brady had four TD passes.
The Minnesota Vikings (6-4) snapped a four-game losing streak thanks to two huge plays in a 30-24 win against Arizona.
Cordarrelle Patterson took the second half kickoff back 104 yards for a touchdown and Xavier Rhodes, the Heftyinfo NFL Player of the Week, had two interceptions, including a game changing 100-yard touchdown return of a pick. The Vikings defense rose to the occasion and also had four QB sacks to go with the two interceptions.

                                       
                                                                            Around the NFL . . . . . .

The Buffalo Bills snapped a three-game losing streak with a 16-12 road win at Cincinnati as kicker Dan Carpenter made three field goals to provide the difference . . .   The New York Giants outlasted the visiting Chicago Bears, 22-16 for their fifth consecutive victory. Giants QB Eli Manning hit WR Sterling Shepard on a 15-yard scoring pass late in the third quarter to provide the winning margin . . .   The Detroit Lions won a thriller over the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars, 26-19 as Andre Roberts took a punt back 55 yards for a score and Eric Ebron's one-yard scoring run made the difference . . .  The Pittsburgh Steelers won at Cleveland, 24-9 to snap a four-game losing streak. Le'Veon Bell scored a touchdown and rushed for 146 yards to lead the way . . .   The Indianapolis Colts nearly squandered a 21-0 lead but held off the visiting Tennessee Titans, 24-17 as QB Andrew Luck had two TD passes . . .   Miami QB Ryan Tannehill threw two TD passes and the Dolphins rallied in the fourth quarter to squeak out a 14-10 win at Los Angeles to spoil the debut of Rams rookie QB Jared Goff . . .  Tampa Bay beat the host Kansas City Chiefs, 19-17 behind four field goals by kicker Roberto Aguayo and a stellar defense that limited the Chiefs to just 82 yards on the ground and also forcing two turnovers . . .   Last Thursday night, the host Carolina Panthers built a 20-point lead and then  held on for a 23-20 win against the New Orleans Saints. Kicker Graham Gano made three field goals and RB Jonathan Stewart scored a rushing touchdown to offset two TD passes from QB Drew Brees . . .  The Washington Redskins squashed the visiting Green Bay Packers, 42-24 in the Sunday night game as QB Kirk Cousins had 375 passing yards and three touchdown passes to go with Robert Kelley's three rushing touchdowns and 137 yards on the ground. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers threw for 351 yards and three scores in the loss . . .  The Oakland Raiders (8-2) defeated the Houston Texans, 27-20 in come-from-behind fashion in the Monday night game as QB Derek Carr had three touchdown passes, including the game winning 35-yard TD pass to wide receiver Amari Cooper late in the fourth quarter.

WEEK ELEVEN SCORES
Carolina 23, New Orleans 20
NY Giants 22, Chicago 16
Tampa Bay 19, Kansas City 17
Dallas 27, Baltimore 17
Pittsburgh 24, Cleveland 9
Buffalo 16, Cincinnati 12
Detroit 26, Jacksonville 19
Indianapolis 24, Tennessee 17
Minnesota 30, Arizona 24
New England 30, San Francisco 17
Seattle 26, Philadelphia 15
Miami 14, Los Angeles 10
Washington 42, Green Bay 24
Oakland 27, Houston 20

College Football Top Ten

Heftyinfo College Football Top Ten              (Week ending November 20)    

1.  Alabama (11-0)
2.  Ohio State (10-1)
3.  Clemson (10-1)
4.  Michigan (10-1)
5.  Wisconsin (9-2)
6.  Oklahoma (9-2)
7.  Penn State (9-2)
8.  Washington (10-1)
9.  Louisville (9-2)
10.  Colorado (9-2)

NFL - Week Eleven Preview

The NFL season is getting into crunch time as far as teams going for the playoffs are concerned.

Three of the bigger games this weekend include Philadelphia playing at Seattle, Green Bay at Washington in the Sunday night game and the Houston Texans facing the Oakland Raiders in Mexico City on Monday Night Football.
Both the Texans (6-3) and Raiders (7-2) are in first place in their divisions, so this game has big meaning as teams head toward the home stretch of the 2016 season.
The Redskins (5-3-1) are in the thick of the NFC wild card race while the Packers are struggling at 4-5, but are just one game back of the NFC North lead.
The Seahawks (6-2-1) have been getting it going again, including a huge road win against New England last week as the defense rose to the occasion as the game ended with a goal line stand. Philadelphia (5-4) is in last place in the strong NFC East division, but they know with a win this weekend, they could leap frog the Redskins and match the New York Giants for second place.

The other game this weekend are on tap below, with the capsule previews and followed by the predictions for the outcome.

Pittsburgh (4-5) at Cleveland (0-10) -  The Steelers have to get things going, right?

Baltimore (5-4) at Dallas (8-1) -  Will the Cowboys ever lose a game again?

Jacksonville (2-7) at Detroit (5-4) - The Lions have been playing good football . . . Jacksonville, not so much.

Tennessee (5-5) at Indianapolis (4-5) - This is a big game in the AFC South as both teams are chasing Houston.

Tampa Bay (4-5) at Kansas City (7-2) - Chiefs have won five straight games . . . The Bucs have been very erratic this year.

Buffalo (4-5) at Cincinnati (3-5-1) - The Bills have been reeling while the Bengals haven't been doing much better. Flip a coin in this one.

Chicago (2-7) at New York Giants (6-3) - The Bears have been awful while the Giants have won four in a row.

Arizona (4-4-1) at Minnesota (5-4) - The Vikings have lost four in a row and the Cardinals seem to be back on track after a terrible start.

Miami (5-4) at Los Angeles (4-5) - Rams rookie QB Jared Goff makes his debut this week against a red hot Miami Dolphins squad.

New England (7-2) at San Francisco (1-8) - The Patriots will be very angry after losing at home last week. The 49ers have lost eight straight games.

Philadelphia (5-4) at Seattle (6-2-1) - Take the Seahawks.

Green Bay (4-5) at Washington (5-3-1) - The Redskins can really knock the Packers down with a home victory in "prime time."

Houston (6-3) at Oakland (7-2) - Two first place teams going at it down in Mexico. Go figure.


The Heftyinfo picks for Week Eleven  . . . . . . .    (Home teams are listed in bold; Lock of the Week is listed in BOLD CAPS)

Carolina over New Orleans
Pittsburgh over Cleveland
Dallas over Baltimore
Detroit over Jacksonville
Indianapolis over Tennessee
Kansas City over Tampa Bay
Cincinnati over Buffalo
NY Giants over Chicago
Arizona over Minnesota
Miami over Los Angeles
NEW ENGLAND over San Francisco
Seattle over Philadelphia
Green Bay over Washington
Oakland over Houston  (in Mexico City, Mexico)


Last Week's Record:  6-8
 
SEASON RECORD:  92-53-2

Lock of the Week Record:  10-0

NFL - Week Ten Review

It was a weekend of fantastic and strange finishes around the NFL as several games came down to the wire, including the Dallas Cowboys stunning 35-30 finish against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
There were three touchdowns scored in the final two minutes of the game. The game had five lead changes and the Cowboys finally won it when running back Ezekiel Elliott (114 rush yards, 95 yards receiving) romped untouched for a 32-yard TD run (his third of the game) with just nine seconds remaining.
The Steelers had gone back in front when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (408 yards and three TD passes) threw a 15-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Antonio Brown with 42 seconds remaining.
But Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (319 passing yards and two TD) led the drive down the field that led to the winning score. The win was the eighth in a row for the Cowboys.
The Sunday night game was equally exciting as the Seattle Seahawks got a huge road win at New England, beating the Patriots, 31-24 as QB Russell Wilson led the way with three TD passes along with 348 passing yards. The game saw seven lead changes and the Seahawks scored with 4:08 left on Wilson's third TD pass to WR Doug Baldwin.

From there, the Patriots drove to the Seattle two-yard line, where the Seattle defense rose up and made a goal line stand to win the game. Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor, the Heftyinfo NFL Player of the Week, made the play against tight end Rob Gronkowski to end the drama. Chancellor (pictured left) made eight tackles in the game and also forced a fumble.
Pats' RB LeGarrette Blount scored three rushing touchdowns in the loss.
The Denver Broncos outlasted the host New Orleans Saints, 25-23 thanks to a blocked PAT kick that was returned for two points by Will Parks in the final minute of play.
Broncos QB Trevor Siemian had two TD passes in the win while Saints QB Drew Brees passed for 303 yards with three TD strikes and two interceptions.
The Kansas City Chiefs overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the host Carolina Panthers, 20-17 as kicker Carlos Santos made a 37-yard field goal as time expired. It was the fourth field goal for Santos. Chiefs defensive back Eric Berry took an interception back 42 yards for the only touchdown for Kansas City.
A strange fourth quarter in San Diego saw Chargers QB Philip Rivers intercepted FOUR times as the Miami Dolphins rallied back from an early deficit to beat the host Chargers, 31-24. Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso took a pick back 60 yards to the house to make the difference with just a minute to play in the game.


                                                               Around the NFL . . . . . .

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers smashed the Chicago Bears, 36-10 as the defense forced four turnovers, including a "pick six" interception by safety Chris Conte and also scored a safety to lead the way . . .  The Houston Texans held off the host Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-21 as QB Brock Osweiler threw two TD passes and Kareem Jackson took an interception back 42 yards for a score . . .  The Washington Redskins handed the Minnesota Vikings their fourth consecutive loss with a 26-20 home win. 'Skins QB Kirk Cousins had a pair of TD passes to offset Vikings QB Sam Bradford's two scoring passes. Redskins kicker Dustin Hopkins made four field goals in the second half to provide the difference in the outcome . . .  The Los Angeles Rams rode three field goals by kicker Steve Zuerlein to beat the New York Jets, 9-6 . . .   Philadelphia got a home win against the Atlanta Falcons, 24-15 as RB Ryan Mathews scored a pair of rushing touchdowns . . .  The Tennessee Titans had a 47-25 rout of the visiting Green Bay Packers as QB Marcus Mariota threw four touchdown passes and RB DeMarco Murray (123 yards) scored on a 75-yard run to lead the way. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers had two TD passes (and two INT) and a rushing TD in the loss  . . .   The Arizona Cardinals held off the stubborn San Francisco 49ers, 23-20 as kicker Chandler Catanzaro  drilled a 34-yard field goal as time ran out to send the 49ers to their eighth consecutive defeat . . .  The Baltimore Ravens rolled the visiting Cleveland Browns, 28-7 last Thursday night as the defense limited the Browns (0-10) to a paltry 144 total yards in offense. Meanwhile, Baltimore QB Joe Flacco had three TD passes to pace the easy win . . .  Eli Manning threw for three touchdowns and the New York Giants used a balanced offensive attack to beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 21-20 on Monday Night Football.

Week Ten Scores
Baltimore 28, Cleveland 7
Washington 26, Minnesota 20
Tampa Bay 36, Chicago 10
Kansas City 20, Carolina 17
Los Angeles 9, NY Jets 6
Philadelphia 24, Atlanta 15
Houston 24, Jacksonville 21
Tennessee 47, Green Bay 25
Denver 25, New Orleans 23
Dallas 35, Pittsburgh 30
Arizona 23, San Francisco 20
Miami 31, San Diego 24
Seattle 31, New England 24
NY Giants 21, Cincinnati 20




                                           

College Football Top Ten

Heftyinfo College Football Top Ten                  (Week ending November 13)     

1.  Alabama (10-0)
2.  Ohio State (9-1)
3.  Clemson (9-1)
4.  Michigan (9-1)
5.  Louisville (9-1)
6.  Wisconsin (8-2)
7.  Oklahoma (8-2)
8.  Penn State (8-2)
9.  Washington (9-1)
10.  Utah (8-2)