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With the Bills and Jets being overtaken by snow and moved to Monday night, NFL fans will be blessed with their first Monday Night Football double header since opening night. The Bills and Jets will get things kicked off at 7:00 pm Eastern, with the initial MNF contest between the Saints and Ravens getting going at 8:35 pm Eastern.
New York is basically out of the playoff race, but the Bills are clinging to slim hopes and the Saints and Ravens both have a real chance of making the post-season tourney still. Let’s break down the key things to watch in tonight’s games:
Home Sweet Home?
The New Orleans Saints get their third straight game at the Superdome this week, and they’ll oddly be trying to make sure it’s not their third straight loss on their own turf. Normally studly indoors and especially at home, the Saints lost a close game to the 49ers two weeks ago and got slapped around by the visiting Bengals last week, as well. The Ravens are no cakewalk, but the Saints will definitely need to perform better if they’re going to end a nasty home skid that just isn’t like them.
Vintage Drew Brees?
Brees hasn’t been quite himself lately, or really all year long. He seems to be taking less chances down the field, not as comfortable in the pocket and much more turnover prone. An aggressive Ravens defense and the loss of weapon Brandin Cooks won’t do him any favors, but he’ll need to really bring it in this one. In fact, a vintage performance may be flat out necessary for the Saints to take the win in week 12.
No Snow Game
The Bills and Jets got snowed out, so instead of playing on Sunday we get a double header with their game kicking off before the Saints/Ravens game. It’s relocated in Detroit and will be broadcast on CBS, so a dark situation got a little lighter and should make for a fun Monday night of football.
NFC Sorry South
The Saints lead the league’s worst division with a record of 4-6 and even if they lost their third home game of the year and drop to 4-7 tonight, they’d still sit atop the division, tied with the equally sorry Carolina Panthers. If that happens, we could be on our way to seeing as bad as a 6-10 team make the playoffs this year. Let’s hope the Saints nip that thinking in the bud with a big home win on MNF.
The Picks
New Orleans and Baltimore both badly need to win to keep pace in their divisions, but the odds have to fall in the Saints’ favor. They’re just too explosive to drop three straight home games, while the Ravens have struggled on the road for a while now. Look for the Saints to edge them out just barely in a potential shootout, 27-24.
Buffalo is still hoping they can have a shot at the playoffs, but they probably need to win out at this point to do so. Having their week 12 game relocated took away practice time and won’t make it easier, but they have one of the more balanced defenses in the league and still should be able to beat the Jets. We’ll take the Bills by the score of 20-17.
