History sides with the Chiefs here as they are 17-1 vs DEN in the month of December. Reality sides with DEN who have the #18 & #5 units (+2 TO’s) vs KC’s #30 & #30 units (+1). DEN comes in with extra rest after their big win vs a weary & rushing challenged Giants team. In their 4 game losing streak they gave up 169 ypg (4.6) but held the Giants to 57 yds (3.6). KC is pretty beat up at RB right now as they only have 1 healthy RB (Jamaal Charles 406 yds 5.2) & their WR’s are some of the slowest in the NFL. DEN has a very savvy secondary & DEN has the advantage in the trenches (#7 sacks allowed, #4 sacks by vs KC #31 & #30). Division games are dangerous late in the season as bad teams like KC are rapidly growing into their programs but DEN has what it takes to get a win & stay in the playoff hunt.

Texans owner Bob McNair has called this game “the most critical point in the franchise history” as with a loss, HOU’s playoff hopes are basically over. McNair likes & really wants to retain Gary Kubiak but 3 straight losses have HOU’s division record at 1-4. Schaub has avg’d 340 ypg (70%) with an 11-6 ratio after a loss but the Texans haven’t won since TE Owen Daniels (40 rec 13.0) landed on the IR. JAX is a very young team with a bad pass defense (#26 19-9) & Del Rio will only have 3 healthy DE’s here (#32 sacks by). With all the talent on the HOU DL they are only 31^st with 15 sacks earned TY & both QB’s could post nice numbers here. JAX has a good ball control setup behind Jones-Drew & despite Schaub’s success the Texans are pretty 1 dimensional right now on offense & this should be a close game.

The Falcons could be without 5 offensive starters here & Ryan (turf toe) was confirmed out on Mon. Chris Redman (243 yds 56%) will start here & he did a nice job with 2 TD’s LW including the game winner with 23 sec left. PHI has its own injury issues especially on defense but they have always drafted for depth & won’t change much. One area that is a concern is that DeSean Jackson (concussion) will miss & I am interested in seeing if RB McCoy (528 yds 4.3) will get the offense placed on his shoulders vs the #27 defense. PHI is familiar with ATL’s schemes as they beat them 27-14 LY & the key is if the depleted OL (LT Baker very ??) will be able to handle the Eagles exotic blitzes. Reid admitted he got cute starting the WAS game off with an onside kick which WAS turned into 7 pts & gave them the momentum. The Eagles coaching staff is usually very good at bringing a sound gameplan & McNabb should fare well vs the #26 pass def that allowed 250 yds (69%) 2-0 to a rookie QB in his 4th start.

This is a letdown spot for NO who are off a huge MNF game vs NE, travel to ATL next followed up by hosting DAL. The defense will be fired up here as this marks DC Gregg Williams 1^st matchup vs the Redskins since he was let go after being passed over for their HC job when Joe Gibbs retired. WAS has played over their talent level the L3W upsetting DEN & almost beating DAL & PHI without Haynesworth. NO has to travel on a short week into colder weather (mid-40s) vs a stout defense that has nothing to lose here. I think the Saints will win but the hangover & mounting media pressure after the very impressive MNF win will be a factor.

Both teams are very beat up & the Rams may not have Steven Jackson here as his back injury may not mix with the cold (mid-30’s) here. CHI will be without LT Pace which will shuffle 2 spots on the OL, WLB Briggs (knee) is out & Lovie Smith will start his 19^th different FS in 92 games in his tenure. Boller was ok LW (282 yds 61%) considering he was without 5 offensive starters but the 2 Ints were crippling. Cutler is much better at home (228 yds 62% 8-3) than on the road (255 ypg 63% 8-17) with CHI. STL is very 1 dimensional & while they have been playing very hard since the bye week, Cutler should play well vs the #22 pass defense (15-8) on a newly sodded surface.

The 49ers will be a totally different team than the one that beat SEA 23-10 with Gore rushing for 207 yds (12.9). They are now moving to a spread offense that maximizes the abilities of Alex Smith, Michael Crabtree & Vernon Davis. While Gore’s numbers have fallen off I think that once Smith shows he can push the ball on a consistent basis that he’ll start tearing thru defenses as they’ll have to back out of the box. SEA has a good homefield reputation at Qwest Field but the truth is that they are only 4-7 at home the L2Y. They do get RB Jones back to balance out the offense & Hasselbeck has passed for 304 ypg (74%) vs 2 losing teams at home. I am torn on on this game as Singletary has his team evolving into its talent but I’ll side with SEA by a FG here as they have the QB edge.

DAL comes into this game with the momentum as they have 6 of their L7 while the Giants have lost 5 of their L6. DAL will approach this game carefully as this is the 4^th straight year they come into December atop the NFC East & they have faded 3 straight years. They are only 19-39 in Dec/Jan games since 1997 but over the L9 games they have held foes to 128 points with no more than 21 points in any game. The Giants are beat up at RB with Jacobs (no 100 yd rush games TY) being the only healthy starter in the stable. Coughlin made some surprise moves on the DL to get some intensity including benching Umenyiora & will have him rotating in on passing downs. DAL is steamed that Manning autographed the visiting lockerroom with the score of the 1^st game of their new stadium & get payback here.