Games of the Week: 4 Games You Don’t Wanna Miss!

Week 12 is upon us and we have some good matchups and one spectacular one! As two teams that could easily represent their Conferences in the SuperBowl do battle under the bright lights of Monday Night! This week showcases some teams desperate for a win, some teams that could surprise you, two teams that really don’t like each other and two teams that can flat out score points! Without further ado, let’s look at the matchups…

Denver Broncos vs New York Giants
We had to pick a Turkey Day game and we felt this was the best of the bunch. The Giants are coming off a big win against the Falcons last week in a game that they absolutely had to have. They started the year off fast going 5-0 than lost a bunch in a row until last week’s dramatic win. The Giants need to regain their momentum in order to make the playoffs and it starts with the running game and the secondary. The GMen have proven that they can’t win shootouts, the loss of Kenny Phillips in the secondary was huge and games against great passing teams the Giants secondary has struggled. The formula for success in New York is to grind clock with the two headed monster of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. Eli Manning has the offensive weapons especially at WR were Mario Manningham and Steve Smith have been a pleasant surprise. For the Broncos, losers of 4 straight, things couldn’t be much worse. The offense is sputtering and the blowout loss to the Chargers last week was demoralizing. It will be interesting to see how they respond. Tempers on the Bronco sideline flared last weekend after Rookie Knowshon Moreno fumbled at the goal line and then a shoving match ensued between him and Brandon Marshall. They say it was a heat of the battle moment but as the losses pile up so does the frustration. The key to this game is going to be in the trenches. The Broncos simply must find a way to give Kyle Orton and his banged up ankle time to throw and help open some running lanes for Moreno and Correll Buckhalter. If the Giants D-Line gets it going and starts applying the pressure that they are very capable of -it’s 5 straight losses for Denver. This one is a toss up but we like Denver to finally end the losing the streak with the home town crowd getting them fired up!

Indianapolis Colts vs Houston Texans
This is a very interesting matchup for fans of explosive offenses. The Colts haven’t really been playing well and yet still find ways to win. They escaped a hungry Baltimore team after Joe Flacco threw a late Red Zone interception and then Ed Reed had an ill advised lateral to seal the deal. The usually potent Colts offense hasn’t been exactly lighting it up but has done enough to win. The Texans meanwhile pose a threat with their potent passing game. Matt Schaub to Andre Johnson is one of the better tandems in the NFL and if they can get it clicking they can put points up on anyone. Houston has a chance to play spoiler here but needs to get Steve Slaton involved in the offense after fumbling issues have reduced his playing time. He is very explosive and offers big play potential. It would be crazy to pick against the Colts in this one and we aren’t going to but it wouldn’t surprise us one bit if the Texans put the first L in the Colts loss column.

Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh Steelers
This game was covered in detail by our Contributing Author, Michelle Jarvis. She points out how long this rivalry has been going on and how heated it really is. This week is no exception as both teams need a win to stay alive in the Wildcard race now that Cincy has a firm hold on the AFC North. The Steelers enter the game a little banged up. All Pro Safety Troy Polumola will probably not play and QB Ben Roethlisberger will play but might be a little groggy coming off his 4th concussion. The Ravens meanwhile will be without Terrell Suggs and Cornerback Fabian Washington who was lost for the year after tearing his ACL against the Colts. The key to this game is going to be stopping the run. Both teams like to pound the ball and neither team has a clear advantage in the that department. The issue with the Ravens is you never really know what team is going to show up. Their inconsistencies have plagued them so far in 2009. The advantage heading in goes to the Steelers who have a better passing attack than the Ravens do pass defense. A rookie CB going against Santonio Holmes or Hines Ward isn’t a favorable matchup and Dominique Foxworth isn’t exactly a shutdown corner. We like the Steelers to keep pace with the Bengals for the North title while the Ravens take a big blow to their playoff aspirations.

New England Patriots vs New Orleans Saints
This is easily the game of the week! The Saints are the best team in the NFL right now with scoring weapons on both sides of the ball. Their offense has a potent running game, with the 3 headed monster of Thomas, Bell and Bush and the passing attack led by Drew Brees. The Defense is ball hawking led by Darren Sharper who just doesn’t appear to age. The Saints are a very well rounded team and play exceptionally well at home. The Patriots meanwhile would love to end the unbeaten streak of the Saints as they were the last team to go undefeated in the regular season in the 2007 campaign that saw the run the table at 16-0! The Pats are coming off a win against the Jets in a game that was hard fought. The passing attack for the Patriots is dynamic as Wes Welker proved last week, it isn’t just Randy Moss that can beat you. This should be a good one right from the get go and if there was only one game that you had to see this week this would be it. In toss up games that could go either way we like to stick with the home team who have the small advantage. The Saints win a close one after Bill Belichick goes for 4th and 2 from the 28 yard line giving the Saints one more change to beat them… sorry, just had to throw that in there!