Michael Ventre

SATURDAY
Giants at Redskins: If the Giants win, they’ll clinch the NFC East title. If the Redskins win, they’ll keep their boring wild-card chase alive. There’s lot at stake.

Cowboys at Panthers: The Panthers are in a hot battle with the Buccaneers for the NFC South title. So beating the Cowboys is a must-win, assuming the Panthers can stop laughing at what the Patriots did to the Bucs last week.

Falcons at Buccaneers: Michael Vick versus Chris Simms. Vick will be running around, looking for an open man. Simms will be running around, looking for an open stadium exit.

49ers at Rams: Shocking, but the Niners are suddenly in the hunt for Reggie Bush, because the Texans won last week. The 49ers should rest their starters, and the second and third strings, too.

Titans at Dolphins: The Dolphins have won four straight. The Titans are 1-5 on the road. Miami hasn’t been this excited since Stan Van Gundy decided to spend more time with his family.

Lions at Saints: You know things are bad in Detroit when the Lions envy the Saints’ plethora of quality quarterbacks. Also, the “Fire Millen” contingent gets a road trip.

Bills at Bengals: The Bills have lost seven of their past eight. They’re playing a team that has clinched a division title for the first time since 1990. Maybe that will inspire Buffalo to remember what it was like to be good.

Jaguars at Texans: Can the Texans make it two straight? It’s unlikely. The issue here is that, by beating the Cardinals last week for their second victory, they reached their preseason goal.

Steelers at Browns: The Browns are tough at home, but the Steelers are coming off a huge road victory at Minnesota. Rivalry. Snow. Barking Dawgs.  Kinda makes you glad you’ll be watching indoors.

Slide show   Week 15 of NFL action See upsets and upendings in images from this weekend's games.

Chargers at Chiefs: The desperate Chargers ended the Colts’ pursuit of perfection last week.  But they’ll have to be perfect the rest of the way if they want to join the Colts’ postseason party.

Eagles at Cardinals: Which team is the bigger disappointment to its fans? The Eagles certainly had a huge lead in that race, but the Cardinals made up a lot of ground by losing to the Texans.

Colts at Seahawks: Will Tony Dungy rest his starters now that the Colts have home-field advantage throughout? The guess here is no, since they’re already fairly rested from doing nothing last week.

Raiders at Broncos: The Broncos have a playoff berth locked up. Don’t be surprised if Mike Shanahan dances around on the sideline while pointing at Al Davis in the press box and yelling, “We have a playoff berth locked up!”

Sunday
Bears at Packers: The Bears have an excellent team, but no quarterback. The Pack has an excellent quarterback, but little else. This is parity, except for the disparity in records.

Slide show   The Week in Sports Pictures A sky-high dive, a Formula One fire, a catcher catches one on the head and more. more photos

Vikings at Ravens: The Vikings had their winning streak ended at six by the Steelers. This is one of the few games Vikings fans can boast, “Our coach is better than your coach” and get no argument back.

Monday, Dec. 26
Patriots at Jets: Looks like the Pats are revving up toward the postseason. Herm Edwards might have to give one of his “You play to win the game!” speeches, just to jog his players’ memories.

NFL game stories Quick look at Week 4 games STEELERS 23, RAVENS 20, OT: Baltimore loses first game of season REDSKINS 26, COWBOYS 24: Dallas can't contain Portis in 1st loss BEARS 24, EAGLES 20: Goal-line stand boosts Chicago JETS 56, CARDINALS 35: Favre throws career-high 6 TDs BUCS 30, PACKERS 21: Ryan's 3 FGs lift Tampa CHARGERS 28, RAIDERS 18: San Diego tops rival 10th straight time BILLS 31, RAMS 14: Buffalo 4-0 for first time since 1992 CHIEFS 33, BRONCOS 19: Johnson rushes for 198 yards for K.C. BROWNS 20, BENGALS 12: Anderson throws TD TITANS 30, VIKINGS 17: Tennessee 4-0 for first time ever PANTHERS 24, FALCONS 9: Smith honors Lucas after TD JAGUARS 30, TEXANS 27, OT: Scobey kicks game winner SAINTS 31, 49ERS 17: McAlister scores first TD of year