2015 Nfl Season:

In both conferences the race for the number five seed is nearly as meaningful as getting a first round bye. Both of the number five seeds will most likely be playing against a team with a .500 (or losing record). On the other hand the number six seed will have to go on the road against a ten or eleven-win club.

The X-Factor this week in the passing game is White; he’s been coming into his own in recent weeks in replacing Dion Lewis

Mariota is completing 62.4 percent of his passes and has thrown for 2786 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a 91.9 passer rating. All very respectable numbers especially for a rookie

Tennessee just gave up 183 rushing yards (while gaining just 24 yards on the ground themselves), so normally you would think that New England’s game plan would be to just run, run and run some more. Problem for the Patriots is that they are running out of running backs, so that may not be feasible.

So wait, Thursday Night Football will be on Saturday after the season already opened with Sunday Night Football on Thursday?

Both Denver and Cincinnati lost Sunday afternoon and the Patriots’ win vaulted them right back to the top seed in the AFC at 11-2.

There are plenty of pivotal games to the NFL playoff picture this week, starting with New England at Houston on Sunday night. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati should not only be a very entertaining game to watch, it will play a critical role in the Bengals’ quest for a first round bye, and whether or not the Steelers make the playoffs. Other important games include Oakland at Denver, Dallas at Green Bay, Buffalo at Philadelphia, Washington at Chicago and Indianapolis at Jacksonville.

the big news was the return to the Patriots practice this week of both Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. They were both filmed (not so coincidentally), beside each other during warmups with a smiling Belichick behind them.

Brady has to go back to what the Patriots do best, move the chains and not take so many deep shots down the field with players that aren’t suited for that role.

The 10-2 New England Patriots seek to avoid their first three-game losing streak since 2002 when they travel to Houston to face the 6-6 Texans on Sunday. The Patriots need a win to keep even with Denver and Cincinnati in the race for a first round bye in the AFC, while Houston looks to overtake Indianapolis for the lead in the AFC South.

Will Josh McDaniels stay patient enough to allow the running game to get going on Sunday night?

NFL Week 14 has one of the best Thursday night matchups of the season, as the 8-4 Minnesota Vikings travel west to face the 10-2 Arizona Cardinals.

Hoyer on the year has completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 2202 yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions for a 94.4 passer rating.

For the ninth time this season when the Cowboys play, they are the one and only NFL game on any television station – and that does not include near-exclusive late afternoon broadcast distribution in week five.

With the winter weather beginning to creep back in, the time is coming when the passing offenses begin to slow down and an effective running game becomes essential.