NFL 2010: Week 15- The Streak is OVER!

Where were you in September of '92? Bush (the elder) was President; The Simpsons was in its fourth season; there were eleven soap operas on daytime; there were 28 teams in the NFL; 60 Minutes was the # 1 show on television; Sneakers, an action-suspense caper with an all-star cast was # 1 at the box office, and End of the Road by Boyz II Men was the # 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.

It was fitting enough on Monday December 13, 2010 that Brett Favre possibly reached the end of his road. September 20, 1992 was the last time that the 20-year veteran did not start an NFL game prior to Monday. Not even a collapsed roof at the Metrodome and 30-hour postponement of the Vikings game against the Giants could save his shoulder from being miraculously healed.

After 297 regular season games, and if you include the playoffs- 321 games overall, a streak that will probably never be broken in our lifetimes came to an end. 297 football games seems like an eternity to us all. 239 different NFL quarterbacks have started in the National Football League since the streak began in September 1992. Head coaches have come and gone. Legends such as Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Emmitt Smith are now enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And in about five or six years from now, Favre will be enshrined there as well.

It's been a great run, a run that rivals all of the great streaks of sports. Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2,632 game streak, the UCLA Mens Basketball team's 88-game winning streak (from 1971-74), the Los Angeles Lakers 33-game winning streak (in 1971-72), Nebraska's 35-year (1969-2003) and Michigan's 33-year bowl (1975-2007) appearance streaks, and so forth.

Peyton Manning, now holds the longest active starting streak with 205 consecutive starts since the beginning of his rookie season in 1998.

If Favre plays again, he'll get a proper sendoff. If he is placed on injured reserve, then it has been a great run in the NFL for # 4.

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WEEK 15 PICKS
15 down, and two more weeks to go in the 2010 NFL season.

PREMIERE PICK OF THE WEEK:
Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5) at Indianapolis Colts (7-6)- 1PM EST at Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis) on CBS
This is it...the AFC South title. Could Indy's long hold on this division be officially over? This year, the Colts have taken a huge step backward with injury after injury. The Jacksonville Jaguars, whom nobody expected to do well, suddenly has the lead in this division.
Pick: Indianapolis 30-27

THURSDAY NIGHT GAME:
San Francisco 49ers (5-8) at San Diego Chargers (7-6)- 8:20PM EST at Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego) on the NFL Network
Pick: San Diego 38-7

SUNDAY AFTERNOON GAMES:
The Clowns/Bungles Bowl, formerly known as "The Battle of Ohio": Cleveland Clowns (5-8) at Cincinnati Bungles (2-11)- 1PM EST at Paul Brown Stadium (Cincinnati) on CBS
Both of these teams' coaches need this win to save their asses, I mean jobs. The Bengals, losers of ten straight, would like to end this streak against the team that helped begin the streak- the Cleveland Browns. On Tuesday, Bengals wide receiver Terrell Owens said on the T.Ocho Show that the Bengals problems begin "with the management first and then the coaches." The Cincinnati Bengals are the most inconsistent team in the history of the NFL, not just the past 20 years. Can the Bengals get their acts together, or will the Cleveland Browns steamroll to victory in Paul Brown Stadium? Hell has officially frozen over, as the DJBC- a Bengals fan, is picking the Clowns to break a record that the Bungles don't want broken- with an 11th straight Bungles loss. Hopefully Santa will give the Bungles a General Manager (whose first name is NOT Mike and last name is NOT Brown) for Christmas to clean up this mess left on the banks of the Ohio River.
Pick: Clowns 21-14

Kansas City Chiefs (8-5) at St. Louis Rams (6-7)- "The (Missouri) Governor's Cup"- 1PM EST at Edward Jones Dome (St. Louis) on CBS
Every four years, it is tradition that the Show-Me State's two NFL teams fight for a Governor's Cup. This week, the Rams host the Chiefs in a game that has huge playoff implications all around. The Chiefs are coming off a 31-0 blanking in San Diego, where Brodie Croyle fell to 0-10 as an NFL starter. The Rams are coming off a 31-13 loss to the Saints.
Pick: St. Louis 27-7

Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5) at Indianapolis Colts (7-6)- 1PM EST at Lucas Oil Stadium (Indy) on CBS
See Above at Premiere Pick of the Week

New Orleans Saints (10-3) at Baltimore Ravens (9-4)- 1PM EST at M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore) on Fox
The Ravens find ways to win as the Ravens blew a 21-point lead, but managed to escape Houston as the clock struck twelve on the East Coast with a game-winning 12-yard interception return in an overtime win over the Texans on Monday Night Football. I think that the Saints will take advantage of the Ravens, who are fresh off the Monday Night win.
Pick: New Orleans 31-14

Speaking of the Texans...
Houston Texans (5-8) at Tennessee Titans (also 5-8)- 1PM EST at LP Field (Nashville) on CBS
Jeff Fisher is the longest-active tenured head coach in the NFL in his 17th season as head coach of the Oilers/Titans (he began in 1994 as the interim head coach of the Houston Oilers when Jack Pardee was fired in midseason), guiding the Titans to their only Super Bowl appearance in 1999, led by the late, great Steve McNair at quarterback. The honeymoon may be over for Fisher as he and Vince Young (on injured reserve) can't co-exist on the same team. It appears that Titans owner Bud Adams likes the troubled Young. Anywho...the Texans are fresh off an almost-comeback over the Baltimore Brown-- em, Ravens on Monday Night. The Titans don't have a quarterback, so I don't think that Houston will have a Monday Night hangover at all.
Pick: Houston 23-13

Buffalo Bills (3-10) at Miami Dolphins (7-6)- 1PM EST at SunLife Stadium (Miami Gardens, FL) on CBS
Hmmm....can the Bills get another surprise win? No.
Pick: Miami 17-13

Arizona Cardinals (4-9) at Carolina Panthers (1-12)- 1PM EST at Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC) on Fox
The Panthers are bound to win another game, and it might as well be on Sunday, because Arizona doesn't do well on the East Coast at 1PM. John Skelton is starting for the Cardinals, who thumped Eric Studesville in his debut at Denver's interim head coach, 43-13. The only way Carolina loses this game is because they would get the # 1 draft pick.
Pick: Carolina 21-9

Philadelphia Eagles (9-4) at New York Giants (9-4)- 1PM EST at New Meadowlands Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ) on Fox
Is it possible that a 9-4 team misses the playoffs? It is possible, as stranger things have happened in the NFL. The Eagles have the edge, because the Giants have a short week to prepare for the Eagles, as the G-Men were stuck in KC on Saturday, and then beat the Vikings in Detroit.
Pick: Philadelphia 31-24

Detroit Lions (3-10) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-5)- 1PM EST at Raymond James Stadium (Tampa) on Fox
The Bucs escaped our Nation's Capital due to the Redskin's ineffective special teams unit, as the Redskins botched the snap on a game-tying point after attempt with eight seconds left. This week, they host the Lions, who are fresh off an upset over the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers by the paltry score of 7-3.
Pick: Tampa Bay 27-14

Speaking of the Skins...
Washington Redskins (5-8) at Dallas Cowboys (4-9)- 1PM EST at Cowboys Stadium (Arlington, TX) on Fox
The Cowboys hopes of hosting Super Bowl XLV on their own turf are officially over as America's Team has been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Also mathematically eliminated are the Redskins, who lost to Tampa Bay on a botched snap on a game-tying PAT with eight seconds left in the game. The Cowboys are a better team under Jason Garrett than they were during the first eight games of the year.
Pick: Dallas 41-6

LATE AFTERNOON GAMES:
Atlanta Falcons (11-2) at Seattle Seahawks (6-7)- 4:05PM EST at Qwest Field (Seattle) on Fox
Pick: Atlanta 24-13

Denver Broncos (3-10) at Oakland Raiders (6-7)- 4:15PM EST at Oakland Coliseum (Oakland, CA) on CBS
The last time these two played, the Raiders (pronounced REH-dehrs) hung almost 60 on the Broncos. Expect the same, but not 59 points.
Pick: Oakland 45-6

New York Jets (9-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3)- 4:15PM EST at Heinz Field (Pittsburgh) on CBS
The Steelers know when to peak and the Jets have forgotten.
Pick: Pittsburgh 17-10

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:
Green Bay Packers (8-5) at New England Patriots (11-2)- 8:20PM EST at Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, MA) on NBC
Will Aaron Rodgers play? It won't really matter at all as Tom Brady gets his 27th straight win at home as a starter.
Pick: New England 38-0

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:
Chicago Bears (9-4) vs. Minnesota Vikings (5-8)- 8:30PM EST at TCF Bank Stadium (University of Minnesota) (Minneapolis) on ESPN
The last time the Vikings played an outdoor game was in 1981 in nearby Bloomington. The coldest NFL game in terms of wind chill (the AFC Championship game) took place. MTV was an infant (and only played music videos). Rubik's Cubes were the "in" thing. The Vikings host the Bears at the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium (the roof to the Metrodome is still not complete) in their final home game of the season. Brett Favre, whose NFL-record 297 game streak as a starter came to an end (see way at the top), could make one more return. The Bears are coming off a beating at home by the Pats.
Pick: Chicago 20-14