He was too old to be retained by the Indianapolis Colts. After all, he had undergone four operations on his neck and at age 37 there were questions about his recovery and whether or not he could perform at the level to which the team was accustomed.

So, the Colts turned him loose and the Denver Broncos pounced on the opportunity and grabbed him. They had a young team with great potential and all they needed was a veteran quarterback with the necessary skills to mould them into contenders. Peyton Manning was the man for the job, and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Year and put him on the front page of their magazine. In week 16 he surpassed Tom Brady’s single season record of 50 touchdown passes by going one better. Interestingly, when Brady set that 50 TD mark back in 2007, he did so by breaking Manning’s previous record of 49 set with the Colts in 2004. With the Chiefs losing in week 16, the Broncos ended atop the AFC West and thus secured a first-round bye in the play-offs. Denver play Oakland this week and if, or should I say when, they win that contest, they will be the number one overall seed in the AFC. Not bad for a team led by an old guy who some said had seen better days.

It turned out to be the biggest upset of the week, the Arizona Cardinals’ 17-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks at Century Link Field in Seattle, which is known to have the biggest home field advantage in the NFL.

The Cardinals snapped the Seahawks’ 14-game home winning streak and dealt Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson his first ever home loss. Maybe this defeat at the hands of the Cardinals was a blessing in disguise — it being a lesson in taking one’s opponent too lightly. Seattle can still wrap up the number one seed in the NFC if they can take care of the St Louis Rams on Sunday. My guess is that they will.

The win also kept alive the Cardinals’ hope of making the play-offs, but they may just miss out, and it will be a shame. The Cardinals may finish as high as 11-5 and miss out on the play-offs because of the strength of their division, the NFC South.

The blowout of the week had to be the beating that the Philadelphia Eagles put on the Chicago Bears, a convincing 54-11 defeat on Sunday Night Football. Coach Chip Kelly’s Eagles are on a roll under the guidance of quarterback Nick Foles, who I predicted on a few occasions in past seasons, would turn out to be a good player. Since the start of November, the Eagles have played four NFC play-off teams and have won all of those games.

The Bears looked listless and blew their chance, at least for now, to win the NFC North. Now they have to win at Green Bay in a winner-takes-all division match-up to close the season. The winner goes to the play-offs, the loser goes home.

A similar scenario will play out on Sunday night as the Eagles will take on the Cowboys in another winner-takes-all divisional match-up, this as a result of the much maligned Tony Romo rallying the Cowboys for a come-from-behind 24-23 win over the Washington Redskins. Celebration was short-lived for Dallas, however, with news that Romo could miss the rest of the season with a back injury, hitting the players and fans like a ton of bricks.

Monday Night Football saw the San Francisco 49ers play their last game in Candlestick Park as they took on the

13.5-point underdogs, the Atlanta Falcons, and beat them 34-24, as a result of some last-minute heroics by 49ers linebacker Navarro Bowman. He intercepted a Matt Ryan pass and returned it 89 yards for a touchdown that sealed the fate of the fiesty Falcons. This was the final regular season game in Candlestick Park, home of the 49ers for the last 42 years. It was good to see some of the faces from yesteryear like the magical wide receiver Jerry Rice and quarterback now turned analyst Steve Young, among many others. Lisa Salters of the ESPN crew managed to get an interview with baseball great Willie Mays who was also in attendance. Candlestick Park was also the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball.

Well, Christmas has come and gone and I do hope you had a wonderful time with relatives and friends and are all set for this week’s final set of regular season games. I was looking forward to the upcoming Eagles-Cowboys game on Sunday Night, but with Tony Romo likely out, it should be no contest for the Eagles who are looking too good. At the time of writing, there was still uncertainty as to whether Packers QB Aaron Rodgers (recovering from a broken collarbone) would start for the Packers against the Bears — a decision that will certainly affect everyone’s picks and their bets with JustBet.

Speaking of picks, Andre Hutchinson again leading the way in making picks against the JustBet point spread last week, posting his second straight 11-5 mark to extend his overall season record to 126-114. Everyone else was pretty pathetic; yours truly, Peter Lindo and Andrei Roper all going 6-10. Ouch.

The following teams have already punched their tickets to the NFL post-season: In the AFC, the Broncos, Patriots, Bengals, Colts and Chiefs, and in the NFC, the Seahawks, Panthers and 49ers. By Sunday night all the playoff matchups will be set and we’ll know which teams will have moved a step closer to Super Bowl XLVIII.

Enjoy the final week of the regular season, folks, and remember to place your NFL bets with JustBet, Jamaica’s number one sports betting game. Also, remember to give us a listen on HITZ 92FM at 6:05pm this and every Friday, for the NFL Gameday Forecast. Have a Happy New year and remember, “Just Win baby, Just Win”.

To find a JustBet location near you, visit: www.supremeventures.com/justbetlocations. To find out more about JustBet, and how to bet on the NFL and other sports, visit www.supremeventures.com/justbet, www.facebook.com/justbet, www.twitter.com/justbet_ja , or call 1-888-429-5785 (toll-free).Sunday December 29EXPERTS’ PICKS AGAINST THE SPREAD IN (BOLD)v PANTHERSv RAVENS JAGUARSDOLPHINS v JETSVIKINGS v LIONSGIANTS v REDSKINSv BROWNS TEXANS v 49ERS v BILLSv BUCCANEERS v BRONCOSCHARGERS v CHIEFSSEAHAWKS v RAMSCOWBOYS v EAGLESFALCONS v PANTHERSv RAVENSCOLTS v JAGUARSDOLPHINS v JETSLIONS v REDSKINSSTEELERS v BROWNSTITANS v TEXANS49ERSPATRIOTS v BILLSSAINTS v BUCCANEERSBRONCOSCHIEFS SEAHAWKS v RAMS EAGLESFALCONS v PANTHERSv RAVENS v JAGUARSDOLPHINS v JETSv REDSKINSv BROWNSv TEXANSv 49ERSv BILLS BUCCANEERSRAIDERS v BRONCOSCHARGERS v CHIEFSv RAMS EAGLES PANTHERSv RAVENSv JETSVIKINGS v LIONSv REDSKINSv BROWNSv TEXANSCARDINALS v 49ERSv BILLSSAINTS v BUCCANEERSRAIDERS v BRONCOSCHARGERS v CHIEFSv RAMS EAGLES

NFL WEEK 17 SCHEDULE & JUSTBET HANDICAPS

(*JustBet Handicaps for each game in bracket, Under/Over for each game listed)

ATL FALCONS (+ 6.5) v CAR PANTHERS, U/O 45.5

CIN BENGALS v BAL RAVENS (+ 5.5), U/O 44.5

IND COL_S v JAC JAGUARS (+ 10.5), U/O 44.5

MIA DOLPHINS v NY JETS (+ 7.5), U/O 41.5

MIN VIKINGS v DET LIONS (+ 4.5), U/O 52.5

NY GIANTS v WAS REDSKINS (+ 3.5), U/O 45.5

PIT STEELERS v CLE BROWNS (+ 6.5), U/O 43.5

TEN TITANS v HOU TEXANS (+ 7.5), U/O 44.5

ARI CARDINALS (+ 2.5) v SF 49ERS, U/O 42.5

CHI BEARS v GB PACKERS (ODDS UNAVAILABLE AT TIME OF WRITING)

NE PATRIOTS v BUF BILLS (+ 8.5), U/O 47.5

NO SAINTS v TB BUCCANEERS (+ 12.5), U/O 47.5

OAK RAIDERS (+ 12.5) v DEN BRONCOS, U/O 53.5

SD CHARGERS v KC CHIEFS (+ 8.5), U/O 44.5

SEA SEAHAWKS v STL RAMS (+ 10.5), U/O 42.5

DAL COWBOYS (+ 5.5) v PHI EAGLES, U/O 52.5

Andre Hutchinson’s Week 17 Picks

FALCONS

BENGALS

COLTS v

STEELERS

TITANS v

CARDINALS

BEARS v PACKERS (N/A)

PATRIOTS

SAINTS

RAIDERS

Last week’s record: 11-5

Season record: 126-114

Tony Scott’s Week 17 Picks

BENGALS

VIKINGS v

GIANTS

CARDINALS v

BEARS v PACKERS (N/A)

RAIDERS v

CHARGERS v

COWBOYS v

Last week’s record: 6-10

Season record: 120-120

Peter Lindo’s Week 17 Picks

BENGALS

COLTS

VIKINGS v LIONS

GIANTS

STEELERS

TITANS

CARDINALS

BEARS v PACKERS (N/A)

PATRIOTS

SAINTS v

SEAHAWKS

COWBOYS v

Last week’s record: 6-10

Season record: 118-122

Andrei Roper’s Week 17 Picks

FALCONS v

BENGALS

COLTS v JAGUARS

DOLPHINS

GIANTS

STEELERS

TITANS

BEARS v PACKERS (N/A)

PATRIOTS

SEAHAWKS

COWBOYS v

Last week’s record: 6-10

Season record: 109-131