Week 16 capsules

— TV GAMES - All times CentralSaints at Cowboys Noon, FOX 1 LINE - Cowboys by 2 /2LAST MEETING New Orleans beat Dallas 30-27, Nov. 24, 2010 LAST WEEK New Orleans beat Tampa Bay 41-0; Dallas beat Pittsburgh 27-24 OT RANKINGS Saints: offense (3), defense (32); Cowboys: offense (8), defense (tied 14th) NOTES New Orleans has won 6 of last 7 games in series. Eleven of 24 games in series decided by at least 2 touchdowns, though 10 of last 14 by less than 10 points. Series has been played at Cotton Bowl, Tulane Stadium, Superdome, Texas Stadium and Cowboys Stadium. Despite having NFL’s worst overall defense, Saints coming off first shutout victory in 17 years. ... Dallas has won 5 of 6 games, and 3 in row. Victory would give them 34th winning season. With 2 games left, Cowboys QB Tony Romo has already set single-season team records with 379 completions and 568 attempts.

Bengals at Steelers Noon, CBS 1

LINE - Steelers by 3 /2LAST MEETING Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati 24-17, Oct. 21 LAST WEEK Cincinnati beat Philadelphia 34-13; Pittsburgh lost to Dallas 27-24 OT RANKINGS Bengals: offense (18), defense (6); Steelers: offense (19), defense (1) NOTES Cincinnati won 5 of 6 and can clinch second consecutive playoff berth with victory. Bengals haven’t made playoffs in consecutive years since 1981-1982. ... WR A.J. Green has touchdowns in each of his 3 games against Pittsburgh. ... Pittsburgh needs to win each of final 2 games to make third consecutive playoff appearance. Steelers have won 5 consecutive and 10 of past 12 against Bengals. QB Ben Roethlisberger 34-9 against AFC North opponents, including 14-4 against Bengals. TE Heath Miller needs one more touchdown reception to become fifth Steelers receiver to reach 40 career touchdown catches.

Giants at Ravens 3:25 p.m., FOX 1

LINE - Giants by 2 /2LAST MEETING New York beat Baltimore 30-10, Nov. 16, 2008 LAST WEEK New York lost to Atlanta 34-0; Baltimore lost to Denver 34-17 RANKINGS Giants: offense (10), defense (28); Ravens: offense (21), defense (26) NOTES Only third meeting between teams since Baltimore’s 34-7 victory in Super Bowl on Jan. 28, 2001. New York has dropped 4 of 6 to fall into tie atop NFC East. QB Eli Manning has won 8 of past 10 starts against AFC foes, including Super Bowl. Giants 4-1 after loss. ... Baltimore has lost 3 consecutive, matching longest skid under Coach John Harbaugh. It’s the Ravens’ worst slide since nine-game run under Brian Billick in 2007. Slump includes 2 consecutive home defeats following 15-game win streak at home. Ravens can clinch second consecutive AFC North title with victory.

49ers at Seahawks 7:20 p.m., NBC LINE - Pick ’emLAST MEETING San Francisco beat Seattle 13-6, Oct. 18 LAST WEEK San Francisco beat New England 41-34; Seattle beat Buffalo 50-17 RANKINGS 49ers: offense (11), defense (2); Seahawks: offense (16), defense (3) NOTES Game flexed into prime time by NFL. Will be sixth prime-time game this season for San Francisco and second for Seattle. ... 49ers clinch second consecutive NFC West title with victory. Seahawks clinch at least wild-card berth with victory and keep alive hopes of division title. 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh 3-0 against Seattle Coach Pete Carroll in NFL. RB Frank Gore has not reached 100-yard mark since victory over Seattle when he had 131 yards. RB Marshawn Lynch has 241 yards rushing on 21 carries past two gamesd. Seattle’s offense ranked 30th in league after losing to 49ers in Week 7. Has risen to 16th this week.

Titans at Packers Noon 1 LINE - Packers by 12 /2LAST MEETING Tennessee beat Green Bay 19-16 OT, Nov. 2, 2008 LAST WEEK Tennessee beat New York 14-10; Green Bay beat Chicago 21-13 RANKINGS Titans: offense (23) defense (23); Packers: offense (17), defense (tied 14th) NOTES Tennessee has won 3 consecutive against Green Bay and 4 of past 6. RB Chris Johnson ran for 122 yards in last week’s victory over New York Jets, including franchise-record 94-yard touchdown run. He has five 100-yard games this season, and 6 career touchdown runs of 80 yards or longer are most in NFL history. ... Green Bay have won 19 of past 20 home games at Lambeau Field, 25 of last 27. Packers have clinched second consecutive NFC North title.

Colts at Chiefs Noon

LINE - Colts by 7LAST MEETING Kansas City beat Indianapolis 28-24, Oct. 31, 2011 LAST WEEK Indianapolis lost to Houston 29-17; Kansas City lost to Oakland 15-0 RANKINGS Colts: offense (9), defense (21); Chiefs: offense (25), defense (18) NOTES Indianapolis can clinch playoff spot with victory or tie, or loss or tie by Pittsburgh. The Colts can also become only the second team in NFL history to win 10 games one year after losing 14 or more. QB Andrew Luck has rallied team to victory six times in fourth quarter, a rookie record. ... Kansas City RB Jamaal Charles second in the AFC with 1,230 yards rushing, despite gaining 10 yards on 9 carries last week against Oakland.

Vikings at Texans Noon

LINE - Texans by 8LAST MEETING Minnesota beat Houston 28-21, Nov. 2, 2008 LAST WEEK Minnesota beat St. Louis 36-22; Houston beat Indianapolis 29-17 RANKINGS Vikings: offense (24), defense (20); Texans: offense (6), defense (7) NOTES With victory, Houston secures both first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs. Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson needs 188 yards rushing to become seventh NFL player to rush for 2,000 yards in season. He needs 294 yards rushing to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season NFL rushing record of 2,105 set in 1984. Peterson’s 1,313 yards rushing in last 8 games most in eight-game span in single season in NFL history. ... Texans DE J.J. Watt needs 3 1/2 sacks to break Michael 1 Strahan’s NFL record of 22 /2. RB Arian Foster leads NFL with 14 rushing touchdowns. Foster’s 1,313 yards rushing best in AFC.

Redskins at Eagles Noon 1

LINE - Redskins by 6 /2LAST MEETING Washington beat Philadelphia 31-6, Nov. 18 LAST WEEK Washington beat Cleveland 38-21; Philadelphia lost to Cincinnati 34-13 RANKINGS Redskins: offense (4), defense (29); Eagles: offense (15), defense (16) NOTES Washington can clinch first playoff berth since 2007 with victory plus losses by New York Giants, Chicago and Minnesota. Redskins have share of first place in NFC East after 15 weeks for first time since 1999. Coach Mike Shanahan has 173 wins, including postseason. He’s one win shy of tying Mike Holmgren for 11th alltime in NFL history. ... Philadelphia hasn’t intercepted pass in last 8 games. Eagles have 8 sacks in last 2 games after defensive line coach Jim Washburn was fired. They had 20 in first 12. RB LeSean McCoy will start in first game back after missing four with concussion.

Patriots at Jaguars Noon 1

LINE - Patriots by 14 /2LAST MEETING New England beat Jacksonville 35-7, Dec. 27, 2009 LAST WEEK New England lost to San Francisco 41-34; Jacksonville lost to Miami 24-3 RANKINGS Patriots: offense (1), defense (27); Jaguars: offense (31), defense (31) NOTES New England hasn’t lost consecutive games in December since 2002. Team 45-8 under Coach Bill Belichick in December. QB Tom Brady looks to extend streak with at least one touchdown pass to 47 games, which would tie him with Johnny Unitas and leave him seven behind Drew Brees’ NFL record. Brady 3-0 against Jacksonville, with 7 touchdown passes and no interceptions. ... Jacksonville has lost 10 of past 11, including 3 in row. Former Dolphins and current Jaguars QB Chad Henne had at least 300 yards passing in 3 of past 4 games against New England.

Bills at Dolphins Noon 1 LINE - Dolphins by 4 /2LAST MEETING Buffalo beat Miami 19-14, Nov. 15 LAST WEEK Buffalo lost to Seattle, 50-17, in Toronto; Miami beat Jacksonville, 24-3 RANKINGS Bills: offense (20), defense (24); Dolphins: offense (27), defense (17) NOTES With victory, Buffalo would sweep season series against Miami for first time since 2007. Bills will miss playoffs for 13th consecutive season, extending NFL’s longest active drought. ... To stay alive in playoff race for another week, Dolphins must beat Buffalo while Steelers defeat Bengals.

Rams at Buccaneers Noon

LINE - Buccaneers by 3LAST MEETING Tampa Bay beat St. Louis 18-17, Oct. 24, 2010 LAST WEEK St. Louis lost to Minnesota 36-22; Tampa Bay lost to New Orleans 41-0 RANKINGS Rams: offense (22), defense (9); Buccaneers: offense (13), defense (30) NOTES Mathematically, St. Louis remains in contention for playoff berth and can finish with winning record by beating Tampa Bay, then closing with victory over Seattle. Tampa Bay has dropped 4 consecutive and already assured of missing postseason for the fifth year in a row. ... Buccaneers QB Josh Freeman had one of worst games of career in last week’s loss at New Orleans, throwing 4 interceptions and losing fumble. He’s thrown for 3,471 yards and 25 touchdowns while joining Brad Johnson as only players in franchise history with three consecutive 3,000-yard seasons.

Raiders at Panthers Noon

LINE - Panthers by 9LAST MEETING Carolina beat Oakland 17-6, Nov. 9, 2008 LAST WEEK Oakland beat Kansas City 15-0; Carolina beat San Diego 31-7 RANKINGS Raiders: offense (12), defense (25); Panthers: offense (14), defense (10) NOTES Oakland RB Darren McFadden (Pulaski Oak Grove, Arkansas Razorbacks) averaging 89.6 yards rushing per game in past 5 games vs. NFC foes. ... Carolina RB DeAngelo Williams (Wynne) ran for 140 yards and 1 touchdown in last meeting with Raiders.

Browns at Broncos 3:05 p.m.

1

LINE - Broncos by 12 /2LAST MEETING Denver beat Cleveland 27-6, Sept. 20, 2009 LAST WEEK Cleveland lost to Washington 38-21; Denver beat Baltimore 34-17 RANKINGS Browns: offense (26), defense (22); Broncos: offense (5), defense (4) NOTES Cleveland hasn’t beaten Denver since Oct. 8, 1990. ... Broncos have longest active winning streak in NFL, at nine games. RB Knowshon Moreno averaging 121.8 yards from scrimmage over past 4 games. WRs Eric Decker (923) and Demaryius Thomas (1,210) seeking to become first Broncos receiving duo with 1,000-plus yards since Rod Smith and Ashley Lelie in 2004. QB Peyton Manning 5-0 vs. Browns. Manning has most touchdown passes (31) in single season for Broncos.

Chargers at Jets Noon

LINE - Jets by 2LAST MEETING New York beat San Diego 27-21, Oct. 23, 2011 LAST WEEK San Diego lost to Carolina 31-7; New York lost to Tennessee 14-10 RANKINGS Chargers: offense (28), defense (13); Jets: offense (30), defense (8) NOTES San Diego has first losing season since 2003, and missed out on playoffs for three consecutive seasons - team’s longest drought since stretch from 1996-2003. ... New York eliminated from playoff hunt for second consecutive season after consecutive trips to AFC title game in 2009 and 2010. Today’s game marks first start for Jets QB Greg McElroy, selected as starter over Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow.

Bears at Cardinals 3:05 p.m.

1

LINE - Bears by 5 /2LAST MEETING Arizona beat Chicago 41-21, Nov. 8, 2009 LAST WEEK Chicago lost to Green Bay 21-13; Arizona beat Detroit 38-10 RANKINGS Bears: offense (29), defense (5); Cardinals: offense (32), defense (11) NOTES Chicago has lost 6 of 7, Arizona has dropped nine of 10. ... Cardinals 4-3 at home, 1-6 on road. ... Arizona beat Detroit by 28 points last Sunday despite managing fewer than 200 total yards of offense. ... Bears most recent visit to Arizona, on Monday night in 2006, featured then-Cardinals Coach Dennis Green’s “they are who we thought they were” postgame rant.

Sports, Pages 28 on 12/23/2012

Upcoming Events