When looking at the Vikings rematch, I thought to myself, yeah if we win this game we have a pretty good looking schedule for the rest of the season and could easily end up in the playoffs still. After losing said rematch against the Vikings however, it appears that the season is close to being over. I haven’t gone into December thinking this in years, but after missing the playoffs last season, it seems like there’s a bit of a hangover there and I’m not exactly sure what it is. Our defense has been pretty good this year. Our offense hasn’t done too much though, despite having a decent receiving core and a pretty damn good running back. I don’t get it, outside of the shitty calls that have cost us too many games at this point, but even that is an excuse. Injuries aren’t something new, so I can’t use that excuse, as we’ve made it to playoffs even with Rodgers out with a broken collarbone for weeks, so why can’t we pull shit together now? I can’t remember the time when we couldn’t win a road game. People are calling for McCarthy’s head, but I’m not sure he’s the problem, given his record. Maybe not having a group of superstar receivers is a problem. Maybe we shouldn’t have given up on Jordy Nelson. I’m grasping at straws here. We have the same record as the Cleveland fucking Browns this isn’t possible. Theoretically if we were to win out we’d be like 9-6-1 and I just don’t see it happening, but magic happens in December. I still don’t see the playoffs meaning much besides a one and done if we managed to sneak in, but then it could happen and I’d be a true believer again. It’s a tricky spot that I haven’t been in much as a Packers fan. Let’s get on with the grades:

Bears 27, Lions 21 – Correct
Redskins 28, Cowboys 24
Saints 35, Falcons 21 – Correct
Ravens 30, Raiders 14 – Correct
Jags 21, Bills 10
Panthers 26, Seahawks 23
Bengals 28, Browns 7
Patriots 31, Jets 17 – Correct
Giants 20, Eagles 10
Buccs 24, 49ers 21 – Correct
Chargers 23, Cardinals 13 – Correct
Dolphins 28, Colts 21
Steelers 31, Broncos 30
Packers 27, Vikings 21
Texans 24, Titans 20 – Correct

I went 7-8 this week, and I don’t care. This was a fun way to talk shit about football and see how good I was at the guessing game and with my team floundering I find less enthusiasm for this column. I’m now 99-86 on the season for those of you keeping track. Here are my picks for next week:

Saints 30, Cowboys 20
Ravens 27, Falcons 17
Broncos 21, Bengals 20
Rams 35, Lions 20
Packers 27, Cardinals 13
Texans 28, Browns 21
Colts 24, Jags 14
Dolphins 21, Bills 10
Bears 23, Giants 16
Panthers 24, Buccs 19
Chiefs 40, Raiders 20
Titans 20, Jets 13
Patriots 28, Vikings 20
Seahawks 27, 49ers 14
Steelers 30, Chargers 27
Redskins 24, Eagles 16

All my whining aside, I do look forward to football each week and I’ll still watch the remaining Packers games. We should be able to get a couple more wins on the books at least. See you next week.