WEEK 14 had its full quota of close games that provided its fair share of excitement, elation in some cases, and letdowns in others. It all depended on which team you supported.

As far as the close games were concerned, the Dallas Cowboys’ defeat of the Cincinnati Bengals by a slim 20-19 margin put the cap on an emotional roller-coaster ride that began on Saturday with the tragic loss of Cowboys defensive player Jerry Brown in an auto accident attributed to the drunk driving of teammate Josh Brent.

The Boys were obviously determined to win one for Brown, and that’s what they did. The Baltimore Ravens-Washington Redskins game was also a close affair that came down to the wire, ending up with Washington prevailing, 31-8. A scary moment in that game was a knee injury to rookie phenom quarterback Robert Griffin III. It looked pretty bad when played back in “slow mo”; however, subsequent MRI indicated just a sprain and not a more serious injury. I guess the entire District of Columbia breathed a collective sigh of relief.

By the way, the rookie who took over from RGIII, Kirk Cousins, also looked pretty good. I thinks the Redskins are in a positive rebuilding mode for next year. Having said that, making the playoffs this year as a wild card is not outside the realm of possibility.

The other two close games were the St Louis Rams beating the Buffalo Bills, 15-12, and the Philadelphia Eagles edging the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23-21.

On the blowout side of the equation, we saw the New York Giants taking it to the New Orleans Saints and beating them soundly, 52-27. What was billed as a close contest between two genuine contenders quarterbacked by two of the elites turned into a romp.

But that was not the nadir of the day; this belonged to the Arizona Cardinals, who got the you-know-what kicked out of them by the Seattle Seahawks, 58-0. I can’t remember ever seeing this in my years of watching the NFL. It was a humiliating defeat for a team that started the season 4-0 then hit the proverbial brick wall and is now on a nine-game losing streak. The looks on the faces of the guys on the Cardinals’ side of the field told the story.

Monday Night Football was the stage for the much anticipated match-up between the Houston Texans and the New England Patriots. We all expected a close contest between these seemingly evenly-matched teams. This was not to be as Mr Brady and his bunch of Patriots put a sound licking on the Texans, 42-14.

All things being considered, this too was a blowout. Brady ended the night with a great stat-line of completing 21 of 35 attempts for 296 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. The win also marks the 10th season he has had at least 10 wins. His performance had the home town crowd chanting “MVP! MVP!” We’ll see.

It seems that events off the field are again dominating this season as the Cowboys suffered a death in the family last week. This, just one week after the murder/suicide drama that affected the Kansas City Chiefs. I hope this is it for the time being and that no more incidents of this will nature occur.

This is my take on these unfortunate events. When you have a volatile mix of talent, testosterone, wealth and young men who think that they are immortal, stuff is going to happen, bad stuff. There’s nothing else the NFL can do to minimise these occurrences.

They have in place limousine services and car pick-up services for guys who have had too much to drink. Getting them to use it is another thing. Maybe they will consider doing so now that yet another tragedy has occurred, and follow the lead of the guys who are turning in their guns as a result of the Jovan Belcher shooting.

Some potentially exciting match-ups to keep an eye on in Week 15: The Houston Texans, still smarting from their embarrassing Monday night loss to the Patriots, take on the surprising Indianapolis Colts in a crucial AFC North battle.

The Baltimore Ravens are at home to the Denver Broncos with Denver currently riding an eight-game winning streak; the Atlanta Falcons, unbeaten at home this season, will host the New York Giants; the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers will do battle in one of the NFL’s oldest rivalries; the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers will go head-to-head as both teams chase a wildcard playoff spot in their respective conferences; and the red hot New England Patriots host one of the NFC’s best, the San Francisco 49ers.

Congrats to Andre Hutchinson for his 9-7 record making his picks against the point spread last week. He has extended his overall season lead by five games over Andrei Roper and yours truly, while Peter Lindo brings up the rear.

That’s it for now folks, enjoy the games, and remember to place your bets on the NFL with JustBet!!!

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NFL WEEK 15 SCHEDULE

*Point Spreads and Under/Over included*

*Point Spreads and Under/Over subject to change without notice, prior to kick-off

Thur Dec 13

PHI EAGLES +4.5 v CIN BENGALS, U/O 44.5

Sun Dec 16

ATL FALCONS v NY GIANTS +1.5, U/O 51.5

BAL RAVENS +2.5 v DEN BRONCOS, U/O 48.5

CHI BEARS +2.5 v GB PACKERS, U/O 43.5

CLE BROWNS +0.5 v WAS REDSKINS, U/O 43.5

HOU TEXANS v IND COL_S +8.5, U/O 48.5

MIA DOLPHINS v JAC JAGUARS +7.5, U/O 37.5

NO SAINTS v TB BUCCANEERS +3.5, U/O 54.5

STL RAMS v MIN VIKINGS +2.5, U/O 38.5

ARI CARDINALS +5.5 v DET LIONS, U/O 44.5

BUF BILLS +4.5 v SEA SEAHAWKS, U/O 42.5

SD CHARGERS v CAR PANTHERS +3.5, U/O 46.5

DAL COWBOYS +2.5 v PIT STEELERS, U/O 44.5

OAK RAIDERS v KC CHIEFS +3.5, U/O 43.5

NE PATRIOTS v SF 49ERS +5.5, U/O 46.5

Mon Dec 17

TEN TITANS v NY JETS +2.5, U/O 42.5

EXPERTS’ PICKS AGAINST THE SPREAD

Andrei Roper’s Week 15 Picks (in bold)

Eagles v Bengals

Falcons v Giants

Ravens v Broncos

Bears v Packers

Browns v Redskins

Texans v Colts

Dolphins v Jaguars

Saints v Buccaneers

Rams v Vikings

Cardinals v Lions

Bills v Seahawks

Chargers v Panthers

Cowboys v Steelers

Raiders v Chiefs

Patriots v 49ers

Titans v Jets

Last week: 7-9

Season to date: 102-106

Andre Hutchinson’s Week 15 Picks (in bold)

Eagles v Bengals

Falcons v Giants

Ravens v Broncos

Bears v Packers

Browns v Redskins

Texans v Colts

Dolphins v Jaguars

Saints v Buccaneers

Rams v Vikings

Cardinals v Lions

Bills v Seahawks

Chargers v Panthers

Cowboys v Steelers

Raiders v Chiefs

Patriots v 49ers

Titans v Jets

Last week: 9-7

Season to date: 107-101

Tony Scott’s Week 10 Picks (in bold)

Eagles v Bengals

Falcons v Giants

Ravens v Broncos

Bears v Packers

Browns v Redskins

Texans v Colts

Dolphins v Jaguars

Saints v Buccaneers

Rams v Vikings

Cardinals v Lions

Bills v Seahawks

Chargers v Panthers

Cowboys v Steelers

Raiders v Chiefs

Patriots v 49ers

Titans v Jets

Last week: 8-8

Season to date: 102-106

Peter Lindo’s Week 10 Picks (in bold)

Eagles v Bengals

Falcons v Giants

Ravens v Broncos

Bears v Packers

Browns v Redskins

Texans v Colts

Dolphins v Jaguars

Saints v Buccaneers

Rams v Vikings

Cardinals v Lions

Bills v Seahawks

Chargers v Panthers

Cowboys v Steelers

Raiders v Chiefs

Patriots v 49ers

Titans v Jets

Last week: 7-9

Season to date: 100-108