I hope each and every one of you had a Merry Christmas. I know I certainly did.
This week, we will shift our attention away from one holiday and turn to the next, as this weekend, we say goodbye to 2023 and welcome 2024 into our lives, hoping it brings us what we are looking for. Before we turn the page to next year, how about a trip down memory lane for 2023.
Last year, I did a sort of award show type of column dedicated to some funny and great moments from 2022. I will not be doing that this year, rather highlighting some of my favorite (and not so much) moments, things and people that this past year brought into our lives.
We start with Missouri football.
Seriously, could I start anywhere else? I came into this campaign with hesitant expectations for the Tigers. I figured they could be solid, but didn’t know just how special this season was going to be. I’m not going to lie, I had my doubts early on after a close win over Middle Tennessee, but Mizzou only got better from there, winning 10 games and making its first New Year's Six bowl against my good buddy Chip Davenport’s Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday night. Regardless of what happens there, this has been a joy to watch this year, and the Tigers have easily been my favorite of all the teams I root for.
On the opposite side of that spectrum, we have the Chicago White Sox.
I haven’t mentioned the Sox too often this year, and for good reason. I was worried that this season was not going to go very well after last year’s disappointment was followed by a lackluster free agency. I did not expect them to lose 100 games. It’s only a matter of time until the few quality players that are left are traded away for scraps and the team loses 110 games next year. I grew up playing baseball all my life. Through the ups and many, MANY downs, I’ve never given up on the Sox. This past year was the closest I’ve ever come. Sell the team, Jerry.
This year, I finally had a return to form in fantasy football.
Before my first draft of the year, I looked through the league history for each of the three leagues I’m a part of. I was appalled to see I had not won or even made a championship game in four years, mortified really. “Do I not know ball?” was a question that kept going through my head. I vowed this week would be different. This weekend, I will be competing in two championship games with pride and a nice cash prize on the line. The job’s not finished, and I’m surely not satisfied, but it is nice to be here.
Perhaps my favorite part of the year, the amount of amazing movies we got.
I know I’ve spent so much time talking about movies in this column already, but I have to once more. With less than a week to go in the year, I went to the theater 19 times and saw 34 films that were released this year. My top three have been the same for most of the year, with Oppenheimer leading the back and belong followed by John Wick 4. The third film was a late entry and a complete surprise, but it is the Godzilla: Minus One movie I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I’m hoping to rewatch some of my favorites this week to see if those rankings change, and I also want to go see The Iron Claw to make it an even 20 theater trips. Wish me luck, and remember, a movie is always, ALWAYS better on the silver screen.
There are so many more things I want to talk about, but I don’t want this to run too long and I don’t want to mention some things and leave out others. So to all of the wonderful video games, LEGO sets and everything else to bring me happiness this season, I say thank you.
Last weekend gave us some really good games as well as some stinkers, but that’s to be expected when half of the league is fighting to make the playoffs and the other half doesn’t have much to play for at all. I was able to weather the storm and secured yet another week with 10 wins, making my dream of an above .500 season all the more obtainable. We aren’t done yet though, let’s finish this strong.
THURSDAY NIGHT
New York Jets at Cleveland Browns (-7.5)
Even with all of the injuries, including kicker Dustin Hopkins this week, the Browns still find ways to win week in and week out. Joe Flacco has been lighting it up since taking over the starting job and Cleveland looks like a scary team to play right about now. The Jets beat the Commanders last week but didn’t look fantastic doing it, almost blowing a big lead in the final minutes. One of these teams is playing for something, the other, not so much. New York has a lot of decisions to make this offseason, that’s all they’re focused on.
The Pick: Browns -7.5
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ON SATURDAY)
Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys (-6)
You read that subtitle correctly, there is no Monday Night Football on Monday this week, I would assume because of the College Football Playoff semifinals taking place on the same evening. Instead, ESPN’s game will be played on Saturday, and what a doozy it is. Detroit is coming off winning its first division title in 30 years while the Cowboys lost yet another road game against a good team in Miami. I was originally going to pick the Boys due to this one being in Dallas, but I think this line is just a little too high. I know the Cowboys have been crushing teams at home, but Detroit is not your average team this year. Give me the Lions.
The Pick: Lions +6
1 O’CLOCK SUNDAY
Las Vegas Raiders at Indianapolis Colts (-3.5)
What a few weeks it’s been for Vegas. A week after scoring 63 points against the Chargers, the Raiders beat the Chiefs while not completing a pass after the first quarter. Seriously, they didn’t. It was crazy. The Colts stumbled in their trip to Atlanta and fell to the Falcons. I like Indy at home here. Both of these teams have a shot at the playoffs but the Colts have looked much better at their peaks this year. I like Gardner Minshew to right the ship and give his team a big home win to get them into January.
The Pick: Colts -3.5
Atlanta Falcons at Chicago Bears (-3)
The Falcons needed last week’s aforementioned win badly, while the Bears got back on track against the Cardinals at home. The fact of the matter is that Atlanta is a much different team at home than they are on the road, and this is not the type of road environment they will be looking forward to. The Bears are a completely different team in the first half than they are in the second, struggling once again to close last week. I don’t know which way to lean here, so I’ll be a homer. Bear down.
The Pick: Bears -3
Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Ravens (-3.5)
For the second straight week, the Ravens are taking part in what is the game of the week. If it goes as well as last week’s did, look out. Baltimore absolutely destroyed the 49ers on Christmas night, something I admittedly did not see coming. The Dolphins also got a huge win last weekend, beating their first team above .500, the Cowboys. After seeing what happened last week, I have a hard time seeing anything but a Baltimore blowout here, but I’m sure that’s what Vegas wants us to believe. That being said, I can’t pick against them after last week? This is square behavior.
The Pick: Ravens -3.5
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills (-13.5)
While New England still possesses one of the worst records in the league, the Patriots have looked better in recent weeks, most recently defeating the Broncos on Sunday night. The Bills struggled mightily to put away the Chargers on Saturday, needing a last second field goal to earn the win. Josh Allen has owned the Patriots throughout his career, but lost his last time out. While I do think he gets a win this time around, Buffalo has struggled at the worst possible times this year.
The Pick: Patriots +13.5
San Francisco 49ers (-12.5) at Washington Commanders
The Niners ran into a buzzsaw in the form of the Ravens last week, but when it comes to the cream of the crop in the NFC, I do still believe San Fran is at the top of that list. They’ll have a big opportunity to get back on track here, going up against a Washington side that has clearly given up on this season. I think they take care of business with a massive win in this one as Ron Rivera’s time as head coach approaches its end.
The Pick: 49ers -12.5
Los Angeles Rams (-4.5) at New York Giants
The dream is dead for Italians, as Tommy DeVito was benched in favor of Tyrod Taylor on Christmas. Anti-Italian discrimination at its finest. Tyrod did look good when he came in, helping the G-Men get a cover in the process. On the other side though, the Rams are quickly becoming one of the scarier teams in the NFC as the playoffs approach. Matthew Stafford is playing some great ball and the offense is firing on all cylinders. New York is going to have a tough time slowing these guys down.
The Pick: Rams -4.5
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans (-4.5)
Both teams suffered losses last week, but despite this, the Texans are still in the hunt for the final playoff spot with two games to go. I would assume CJ Stroud is going to come back for this one after missing the last two games with a concussion, but head injuries are tricky to judge. As I write this on Wednesday morning, it’s looking like he’s trending in the right direction, so I’m going to go with Houston here. It’s been a tough year for the Titans, and Tennessee is much worse on the road than they are at home.
The Pick: Texans -4.5
Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars (-6.5)
Believe it or not, the Panthers have more wins in the month of December than the Jaguars do. It’s been an awful month for the Jags, specifically Trevor Lawrence, who has suffered more than a couple of injuries during this down stretch. Most recently, it was a shoulder injury on Sunday, and he’s questionable for this one. He probably will play, but I’m not sure that’s the right choice. Carolina has been figuring some things out in recent weeks and has been getting closer to putting some wins together. The Jags are too big of a mess right now to be this heavy of favorites, even against the worst team in the league.
The Pick: Panthers +6.5
Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles (-10.5)
The Eagles finally got back in the win column against the Giants on Christmas, but they were not able to cover the lopsided spread, as I was able to predict. I’m not sure they’re able to do it this week either. The Cardinals have an offense that is able to move the ball well and they rarely turn the ball over, something the Eagles’ defense might struggle with. There are a ton of problems with Philly if this team wants to win a Super Bowl, but winning cures all. The Birds do get a second straight win here, but it’s in another one-possession game.
The Pick: Cardinals +11.5
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3)
Similar to the Rams, the Bucs are a team that is playing its best football at the best possible time, having won a few games in a row to take over first place in the NFC South. The Saints are still a longshot to make it into the playoffs as well, but a loss here would effectively end those hopes. Tampa was able to take care of business when these two teams played in New Orleans, and I think they keep the good times rolling with another one here. Baker Mayfield has sneakily been one of the best quarterbacks in the league over the last month.
The Pick: Buccaneers -3
LATE AFTERNOON SLATE
Pittsburgh Steelers at Seattle Seahawks (-3.5)
Both teams are coming off of a win, with Seattle currently sitting in the final NFC playoff spot while the Steelers are on the outside looking in. This is a long road trip for Pittsburgh, and the Steelers are going back to Mason Rudolph with Kenny Pickett still hurt. Even after Drew Lock beat the Eagles two Mondays ago, the Seahawks went back to Geno Smith last week, and I’d assume he remains the starter. Playing in Seattle is never an easy task to accomplish, so I like the ‘Hawks to get it done here.
The Pick: Seahawks -3.5
Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs (-7)
Both of these teams lost games that they probably should have won last week, specifically the Chiefs, who lost to a Raiders team that, as I already mentioned, did not complete a pass after the first quarter. Things are starting to look bleak in Kansas City, as the Chiefs seem to be getting worse when everyone, including myself, assumed the switch would be flipped weeks ago now. The Bengals had been playing great with Jake Browning before losing to the Steelers last week. I keep thinking the Chiefs are going to turn it on only to be disappointed by the result, so I’m going to go against them this week. Hope I don’t regret it.
The Pick: Bengals +7
Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos (-3.5)
The Broncos made an interesting decision this week, opting to bench Russell Wilson for the remaining two games, despite not officially being eliminated from the playoffs. Jared Stidham will take over as the new QB. The Chargers looked better in their first game after firing Brandon Staley, but still lost to the Bills. I don’t think the Broncos should be favorites by over a field goal, especially with a backup QB combined with how they’ve looked the past few weeks. I think the Chargers pull off the upset.
The Pick: Chargers +3.5
WAITIN’ ALL DAY FOR A SUNDAY NIGHT
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings (-2)
The final football game of 2023 will take place in Minneapolis and will be an NFC North Showdown. Despite Nick Mullens turning the ball over far too many times last week, the Vikings were nearly able to take down the Lions at home. The Packers got off to a strong start but almost blew their game to the lowly Panthers. I like the Minnesota defense a lot more than Green Bay’s and I think that proves to be the difference in this one. What better way to bring in the New Year than watching the Packers lose?
The Pick: Vikings -2
Well, there we have it. Every NFL game in 2023 has been picked, and sadly, we have just one more week of the regular season following this one. The playoffs are right around the corner, and before we know it, we’ll be preparing for the Super Bowl. Enjoy it while it lasts, and have a Happy New Year. See you all in 2024.
Cheers.
Last Week’s Record: 10-6
Season Record: 123-109-8