MAKING the transition from college football to the NFL is not easy. Media darling Johnny Manziel of the Cleveland Browns found this out last Sunday in no uncertain terms.

He and the Browns suffered a 30-0 defeat at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals. This was the first regular season start for Manziel in the NFL — he had played a few downs in relief before but this was supposed to be his big debut. Instead it turned out to be a big bust as the young quarterback got battered and bruised, and looked like a bewildered rookie. He completed 10 of 18 passes for just 80 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. I’m always leery of guys and organisations that believe their own hype. The Browns and Manziel fall squarely into this category, and the Bengals’ beat-down proves that he is not yet ready to play with the big boys. Welcome to the NFL, Johnny Football.

The Buffalo Bills did the unexpected in week 15; they stunned the Green Bay Packers 21-13 and in so doing made the elite quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, look bad. From the get-go Rodgers and his receivers were not on the same page. When he was on target they were dropping catches. For their part the Bills’ defence was impressive, hauling in a pair of interceptions and harassing Rodgers all day long. The Packers’ loss puts them in jeopardy of losing home field advantage in the play-offs which is not a good thing for them.

The reigning champs, the Seattle Seahawks, still look like the team to beat in the NFC. Against the San Francisco 49ers they were up to their old tricks, wearing down the defence with the relentless running game spearheaded by ‘The Beast’, Marshawn Lynch. On the other side of the ball, the ‘Legion of Boom’, aka the Seattle defence, racked up six hits and six sacks on 49ers’ quarterback Colin Kaepernick, rendering him almost null and void. The San Francisco loss eliminated them from the post season and gave more fuel to the rumours of a pending head coach change in that organisation.

Another team due for a shake-up is the Chicago Bears, particularly after their performance — or lack thereof — on Monday Night when they got whipped by the New Orleans Saints 31-15. The Saints’ win puts them atop that mediocre NFC South with a 6-8 record. The defeat for the Bears comes at the end of a week full of controversy where their offensive co-ordinator criticised quarterback Jay Cutler in an interview with the NFL Network.

Cutler, as you may well know, has been inconsistent all season and to make matters worse, he had signed a sweet seven-year deal with the Bears earlier this year worth more than US$120 million. Suffice it to say, Cutler has not lived up to that big pay day and in the wake of this, the Bears will reportedly bench Cutler and start back-up QB Jimmy Clausen. A sad state of affairs, indeed.

After another solid week in which he posted a 12-4 mark in making picks against the JustBet point spread, Mark Archer is still our overall leader. Peter Lindo also went 12-4 last week, while Andre Hutchinson and yours truly posted 9-7 marks. Our picks for week 16 are below.

Some key games to watch in week 16: The Saints vs Falcons is a big one as both teams are chasing a division title and an automatic play-off berth; the Steelers vs Chiefs has play-off implications and should also be a good one; the Cowboys will likely be without top running back Demarco Murray (broken hand) when they face the Colts, who have already locked up a play-off spot; the never-say-die Cardinals (who have also clinched a spot in the post season) will face the resurgent Seahawks, and on Monday Night Football, the Bengals will try to upset the Broncos, another team that has already punched their post-season ticket.

So it’s down the stretch we come, as we head towards the play-offs. Enjoy the games and remember to place your NFL bets with JustBet — Jamaica’s number one sports betting provider. And make sure to tune in to the new JustBet sports betting feature, JustBet Before The Whistle, this and every Thursday at 9:30 pm on TVJ.

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NFL WEEK 16 SCHEDULE & JUSTBET POINT SPREADS

* Point Spread (or handicap) — number of points that one team is favoured over another.

* Under/Over — A bet on whether the combined points in a game will be greater or lesser than a particular number

Thursday, Dec 18Saturday, Dec 20Sunday, Dec 21Monday Dec 22

JAC JAGUARS v TEN TITANS + 2.5, U/O 40.5

WAS REDSKINS + 7.5 v PHI EAGLES, U/O 50.5

SF 49ERS v SD CHARGERS + 3.5, U/O 41.5

CAR PANTHERS v CLE BROWNS + 4.5, U/O 39.5

CHI BEARS + 7.5 v DET LIONS, U/O 46.5

HOU TEXANS + 5.5 v BAL RAVENS, U/O 41.5

MIA DOLPHINS v MIN VIKINGS + 6.5, U/O 42.5

NO SAINTS v ATL FALCONS + 6.5, U/O 56.5

NY JETS + 10.5 v NE PATRIOTS, U/O 47.5

PIT STEELERS v KC CHIEFS + 2.5, U/O 46.5

TB BUCCANEERS +10.5 v GB PACKERS, U/O 48.5

STL RAMS v NY GIANTS + 5.5, U/O 44.5

DAL COWBOYS v IND COLTS + 1.5, U/O 55.5

OAK RAIDERS +6.5 v BUF BILLS, U/O 39.5

ARI CARDINALS + 8.5 v SEA SEAHAWKS, U/O 36.5

CIN BENGALS + 3.5 v DEN BRONCOS, U/O 47.5

*Handicaps and Under/Over are subject to change before kick-off

EXPERTS’ PICKS AGAINST THE SPREAD

MARK ARCHER’S Week 16 Picks (in bold) v TITANSEAGLES v CHARGERSBROWNSLIONSRAVENSDOLPHINS v VIKINGSSAINTS v FALCONSPATRIOTSCHIEFSPACKERSRAMS v GIANTSCOWBOYS v COLTSBILLS v SEAHAWKSBRONCOS

JAGUARS

REDSKINS v

49ERS

PANTHERS v

BEARS v

TEXANS v

JETS v

STEELERS v

BUCCANEERS v

RAIDERS v

CARDINALS

BENGALS v

Last week’s record: 12-4

Record to date: 122-102

PETER LINDO’S Week 16 Picks (in bold) v TITANSEAGLES49ERS v CHARGERSPANTHERS v BROWNSLIONSRAVENS v VIKINGSSAINTS v FALCONSPATRIOTS v CHIEFSBUCCANEERS v PACKERSGIANTS v COLTSBILLS v SEAHAWKSBRONCOS

JAGUARS

REDSKINS v

BEARS v

TEXANS v

DOLPHINS

JETS v

STEELERS

RAMS v

COWBOYS

RAIDERS v

CARDINALS

BENGALS v

Last week’s record: 12-4

Record to date: 117-107

ANDRE HUTCHINSON’S Week 16 Picks (in bold) v TITANSREDSKINS v EAGLESCHARGERS v BROWNSLIONSRAVENSVIKINGSFALCONS v PATRIOTSSTEELERS v CHIEFSBUCCANEERS v PACKERS GIANTSCOLTS v BILLSCARDINALS v SEAHAWKSBRONCOS

JAGUARS

49ERS v

PANTHERS

BEARS v

TEXANS v

DOLPHINS v

SAINTS v

JETS

RAMS v

COWBOYS v

RAIDERS

BENGALS v

Last week’s record: 9-7

Record to date: 116-108

TONY SCOTT’S Week 16 Picks (in bold) v TITANSEAGLESCHARGERS v BROWNSLIONS v RAVENSVIKINGSSAINTS v FALCONSPATRIOTS v CHIEFSPACKERSGIANTS v COLTSBILLSSEAHAWKSBRONCOS

JAGUARS

REDSKINS v

49ERS v

PANTHERS

BEARS v

TEXANS

DOLPHINS v

JETS v

STEELERS

BUCCANEERS v

RAMS v

COWBOYS

RAIDERS v

CARDINALS v

BENGALS v

Last week’s record: 9-7

Record to date: 109-115