TV GAMES All times Central Patriots at Dolphins Noon, CBS LINE - Patriots by 1LAST MEETING New England beat Miami 27-17 on Oct. 27 LAST WEEK Miami beat Pittsburgh 34-28; New England beat Cleveland 27-26 RANKINGS Patriots: offense (8), defense (24); Dolphins: offense (24), defense (16) NOTES New England has beaten Miami seven consecutive times, including three victories in Miami. Only eight current Miami players have beaten New England while wearing Dolphins uniform. … QB Tom Brady is only 6-5 in Miami, although his passer rating there is 95.9. … With a victory, Patriots clinch fifth consecutive AFC East title. … Brady seeks 11th division title, most of any quarterback in NFL history. … Despite winning record, Miami has been outgained by 310 yards. … QB Ryan Tannehill has been sacked 47 times, NFL high and Dolphins record.
Packers at Cowboys 3:25 p.m., Fox
LINE - Cowboys by 6½LAST MEETING Green Bay beat Dallas 45-7 on Nov. 7, 2010 LAST WEEK Green Bay beat Atlanta 22-21; Dallas lost to Chicago 45-28 RANKINGS Packers: offense (5), defense (21); Cowboys: offense (22), defense (32) NOTES Green Bay is a half-game behind Chicago and Detroit in NFC North. Dallas is a game behind Philadelphia in NFC East. … QB Aaron Rodgers (broken left collarbone) will not play. … Packers haven’t beaten Cowboys on road since 1989. Packers lost last nine games at Texas Stadium, including seven consecutive in 1993-1996. Three of those were playoff games. … With five games of at least 490 yards allowed, Dallas has tied the 1965 Houston Oilers and 1950 Baltimore Colts for most since 1950. … Cowboys have just one sack past two games.
Eagles at Vikings Noon, Fox
LINE - Eagles by 5½LAST MEETING Minnesota beat Philadelphia 24-14 on Dec. 28, 2010 LAST WEEK Philadelphia beat Detroit 34-20; Minnesota lost to Baltimore 29-26 RANKINGS Eagles: offense (3), defense (30); Vikings: offense (14), defense (31) NOTES Philadelphia has won five of past six vs. Minnesota, losing only at home in 2010 when Joe Webb started at QB for Vikings. Webb is now No. 5 WR, with Matt Cassel starting at QB for second consecutive week. … Eagles have won five consecutive games, hold one-game lead over Cowboys in NFC North. Teams play in Dallas in Week 17. … QB Nick Foles threw first interception last week vs. Detroit but has 20 TD passes. … Minnesota WR Cordarrelle Patterson coming off career-high 141-yard game. Has five TDs, including two in past two weeks.
Bengals at Steelers 7:30 p.m., NBC
LINE - Bengals by 2LAST MEETING Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh 20-10 on Sept. 16 LAST WEEK Cincinnati beat Indianapolis 42-28; Pittsburgh lost to Miami 34-28 RANKINGS Bengals: offense (10), defense (8); Steelers: offense (16), defense (12) NOTES Cincinnati has won past two meetings. Pittsburgh hasn’t dropped three consecutive to Bengals since losing six in row (1988-1990). … Cincinnati can clinch AFC North with a victory and a Baltimore loss. Bengals earn third consecutive playoff berth with a victory and a Miami loss. … Pittsburgh has lost two consecutive. Steelers would be eliminated from playoff contention with loss and win by either Miami or Baltimore. … WR Antonio Brown is second player in team history with 90 receptions in season. Hines Ward did it four times.
OTHER GAMESSeahawks at Giants Noon
LINE - Seahawks by 7LAST MEETING Seattle beat New York 36-25 on Oct. 9, 2011 LAST WEEK Seattle lost to San Francisco 19-17; New York lost to San Diego 37-14 RANKINGS Seahawks: offense (12), defense (1); Giants: offense (25), defense (10) NOTES Seattle has a chance to clinch NFC West and No. 1 seed for postseason with victory and losses by San Francisco and New Orleans. … QB Russell Wilson needs one touchdown pass to become third quarterback in NFL history with 50-plus TDs passing in first two seasons. … Seattle has NFL’s No. 1 defense. Its 28 takeaways is tied for second most. … New York QB Eli Manning has been sacked career-high 32 times. His 20 interceptions are tied for league lead with Jets’ Geno Smith. … WR Hakeem Nicks has not caught TD this season.
49ers at Buccaneers Noon LINE - 49ers by 5LAST MEETING San Francisco beat Tampa Bay 48-3 on Oct. 9, 2011 LAST WEEK San Francisco beat Seattle 19-17; Tampa Bay beat Buffalo 27-6 RANKINGS 49ers: offense (28), defense (4); Buccaneers: offense (31), defense (13) NOTES San Francisco has won 16 of 20 regular-season meetings. Tampa Bay won only playoff matchup in 2002 en route to winning their only Super Bowl title. … 49ers have won three consecutive following two-game skid dropping defending NFC champions to 6-4. … RB Frank Gore needs 61 yards rushing to reach 1,000 for seventh time. … Tampa Bay has won four of five following 0-8 start. … Rookie QB Mike Glennon threw for 90 yards, 2 TDs, 1 interception in rout of struggling Buffalo last week.
Texans at Colts Noon LINE - Colts by 5½LAST MEETING Indianapolis beat Houston 27-24 on Nov. 3 LAST WEEK Houston lost to Jacksonville 27-20; Indianapolis lost to Cincinnati 42-28 RANKINGS Texans: offense (11), defense (3); Colts: offense (19), defense (23) NOTES Houston defensive coordinator Wade Phillips returns to interim role for first time since coach Gary Kubiak was fired. … Texans have lost 11 consecutive overall, are 0-11 all-time in Indianapolis and have lost past two in series. … Houston’s last six losses have come by combined 28 points. … Indianapolis has gone 28 consecutive games without back-to-back losses. … LB Robert Mathis leads NFL with 15½ sacks. He needs one to surpass Dwight Freeney (16 in 2004) for single-season club record and one to tie Freeney’s career franchise record (107½).
Bears at Browns Noon
LINE - Bears by 1LAST MEETING Chicago beat Cleveland 30-6 on Nov. 1, 2009 LAST WEEK Chicago beat Dallas 45-28; Cleveland lost to New England 27-26 RANKINGS Bears: offense (7), defense (27); Browns: offense (15), defense (7) NOTES After two-game slide, Chicago is back in contention in NFC North. Detroit leads division and own tiebreaker with two victories over Bears. … Bears QB Jay Cutler to start after missing past four games with ankle sprain. … With Cutler out, QB Josh McCown threw 13 TD passes with just one interception. … Cleveland has dropped four in a row. … Browns WR Josh Gordon on historic run. His 774 yards receiving in past four games are best for four-game stretch in league history. Gordon leads NFL with 1,400 yards and he’s done it in 11 games after serving two-game suspension.Redskins at Falcons Noon LINE - Falcons by 6LAST MEETING Atlanta beat Washington 24-17 on Oct. 27, 2012 LAST WEEK Washington lost to Kansas City 45-10; Atlanta lost to Green Bay 22-21 RANKINGS Redskins: offense (9), defense (22); Falcons: offense (13), defense (25) NOTES Teams tied for NFC’s worst record after winning divisions in 2012. … Washington has allowed most points (407) in NFL. Atlanta is 29th (362). … Redskins QB Kirk Cousins making first start of season and second of career. … Atlanta QB Matt Ryan is 2-0 against Washington. Ryan passed for 345 yards and two TDs in last year’s victory.
Bills at Jaguars Noon
LINE - Bills by 2LAST MEETING Buffalo beat Jacksonville 34-18 on Dec. 2, 2012 LAST WEEK Buffalo lost to Tampa Bay 27-6; Jacksonville beat Houston 27-20 RANKINGS Bills: offense (23), defense (15); Jaguars: offense (32), defense (29) NOTES Buffalo has lost five of past six games, including worst loss of season last week at Tampa Bay. … Rookie QB EJ Manuel is winless in four road starts. .. Jacksonville have won four of past five, including three in a row.
Chiefs at Raiders 3:05 p.m.
LINE - Chiefs by 4½LAST MEETING Kansas City beat Oakland 24-7 on Oct. 13 LAST WEEK Kansas City beat Washington 45-10; Oakland lost to New York Jets 37-27 RANKINGS Chiefs: offense (17), defense (20); Raiders: offense (20), defense (18) NOTES With a victory, Kansas City will be fourth team to make playoffs a year after losing at least 14 games. … Kansas City had six sacks last week after just two in previous five games. … Oakland first team with four 100-yard rushers in a game (Terrelle Pryor, Darren McFadden, Rashad Jennings, Marcel Reece) since Kansas City had five in 1978. … Raiders started seven undrafted players on offense last week. Last NFL team to do that was Washington in 2002.
Jets at Panthers 3:05 p.m.
LINE - Panthers by 11LAST MEETING New York Jets beat Carolina 17-6, Nov. 29, 2009 LAST WEEK New York Jets beat Oakland 37-27; Carolina lost to New Orleans 31-13 RANKINGS Jets: offense (30), defense (11); Panthers: offense (26), defense (2) NOTES New York is 3-0 against NFC South. … QB Geno Smith set Jets franchise rookie record for yards passing in season with 2,475. … Jets are 4-0 when Smith has QB rating of 80 or better. … K Nick Folk is 28 of 29 on field goal attempts. … Jets are 1-5 away from home. … Jets are 4-0 when scoring on first possession. … Carolina QB Cam Newton is only player in NFL history with 10,000 yards passing, 50 touchdowns passing, 1,000 yards rushing, and 25 touchdowns rushing in first three seasons. … Panthers have 26 takeaways, fourth most in NFL.
Saints at Rams 3:25 p.m.
LINE -Saints by 6LAST MEETING St. Louis beat New Orleans 31-21 on Oct. 31, 2011 LAST WEEK New Orleans beat Carolina 31-13; St. Louis lost to Arizona 30-10 RANKINGS Saints: offense (6), defense (6); Rams: offense (27), defense (19) NOTES New Orleans has a one-game lead in NFC South and clinch playoff berth with a victory. … QB Drew Brees became fastest to 50,000 yards passing last week, doing it in 183rd game, bettering Peyton Manning’s 191. Brees has passed for 4,000 yards eight consecutive seasons and at least 33 TDs six consecutive seasons. … TE Jimmy Graham leads NFL with 14 TDs. … St. Louis Coach Jeff Fisher is 4-0 vs. Saints. … In last meeting, Rams were 0-6 and two-TD underdogs before upsetting Saints at home and holding Brees to one TD pass.
Cardinals at Titans 3:25 p.m.
LINE - Cardinals by 2½LAST MEETING Tennessee beat Arizona 20-10 on Nov. 29, 2009 LAST WEEK Arizona beat St. Louis 30-10; Tennessee lost to Denver 51-28 RANKINGS Cardinals: offense (18), defense (5); Titans: offense (21), defense (14) NOTES Arizona has won five of six. … QB Carson Palmer threw for 272 yards and two TDs in last start at Tennessee. … RB Rashard Mendenhall has run for a TD in three of past four games. … WR Larry Fitzgerald has five TDs in past four games. He now has his fifth season with 10 TD catches or more, one of nine players in NFL history. … Tennessee can match last year’s victory total with victory. … Titans QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is 1-0 as starter vs. Arizona, on Oct. 14, 2012, with Bills. … Fitzpatrick has passer rating of 100 or higher in three of past four games
Sports, Pages 33 on 12/15/2013