Well, it only took until week 15, but I finally racked up the old 3-0 record last week. (For those of you who are math whizzes like me, I took a few scattered weeks off during the season!) That’s the good news.

The bad news is, we are now in week 16, which, along with weeks 1, 2 and 17, is nearly impossible to be perfect at when prognosticating winners and losers. But what the heck. It’s Christmas week, after all. Let’s grab another egg nog and see what we come up with!

This week’s Lock of the Week (11-1).

N.Y. Jets at New England.

If ever there was a game that was gift-wrapped for this category, it is this one. New England is not about to sit their stars, since they will need victories in the final two weeks to ensure the #1 seed and home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

As far as the Jets go, is there another team in the league as discombobulated as they are right now? (I said team, so the Browns and 49ers are not being considered here!) Not only do they still have a quarterback controversy, but now their locker room appears to be hanging by a thread.

So, let’s invite our most hated rival, who just happens to be the best team in the league, over for Christmas dinner. That should fix things. Yeah, yeah, that’s it. That’s the ticket!

This will be an ugly game for all football fans, except the die-hard Patriot fans. The Pats should jump out to an early lead, and then just pound the ball down the Jets’ throats for the rest of the game, eating up the clock and keeping the inept New York offense off the field.

Bring a few extra brewskies with you to this one, just to keep it entertaining!

Final score – New England 31, N.Y. Jets 13.

This week’s Upset of the Week (6-6).

Cincinnati at Houston.

I was actually surprised to find that this was being considered an upset by the experts. I mean, have they been watching this Texans team lately?   Sure, I know, we’re talking about the Bengals coming to town and stealing the Houston Christmas candy, but don’t write them off on this game.

The Bengals are one of those few teams that fall into the category of “they’re better than their record says”. Yes, they will be absent in this year’s playoff party, but even when they are invited, they’re usually no-shows, so who’s going to miss them. But this week, in Houston, they will be the better team.

Houston, while in the thick of the battle for the division title, has decided to bench their season-long starting quarterback for, what’s his name? Oh yeah, Tom Savage. That should work out just fine. And it should pay off in the long run. Just think of how many Christmas cards they should be getting from Tennessee fans this year!

Let’s face it, Houston’s problems run deeper than their over-paid QB, and the Bengals will expose some of them this week. This will be an ugly game, with plenty of sacks and turnovers to go around. In the end, the Grinch will pay a visit to Houston, and he’ll be wearing a Bengals uniform!

Final Score – Cincinnati 20, Houston 16.

This week’s Game of the Week (8-3-1).

Indianapolis at Oakland.

There were a lot of games to choose from, like Minnesota at Green Bay, Denver at Kansas City at Denver and Detroit at Dallas. All of those have playoff implications for both teams involved, but none will be as entertaining to the football fan as this one.

Indianapolis, written off by most fans only a few weeks ago, has suddenly discovered how to score points, which has allowed them to stay in the race for the AFC South. Granted, they will need to win out and still get some help, but they are not out of the race and seem to have found a belief in themselves that was lacking for the majority of the season.

Meanwhile, the Raiders, my preseason pick to win the AFC West, after stumbling for a couple of weeks, appear to have regained their winning form and are poised to put their division away. They will need to win out and get a helping hand next week in order to grab the #1 spot, but the #2 spot is in their control, and that should be motivation enough to show up in a big way this week.

Neither team is known for their stellar defense, but there is plenty of talent and firepower to go around on offense. This may resemble an Arena League game, with the team that punts the fewest times walking away with the W!

I’m looking for the home team to move one step closer to that division title.

Final Score – Oakland 34, Indianapolis 27.

It’s a bit strange watching the majority of the games being played on a Saturday this week, but there will still be two great games Sunday and one on Monday, which should make this holiday weekend entertaining for all. Be sure to set your DVRs.

Have a safe and Merry Christmas and go enjoy some great football!