New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys Sun. Dec. 11, 2011 8:20 p.m. EST

Every single season there is a tough battle being fought in the NFC East division as all four teams usually compete for the division title and shot to make it into the playoffs. This season is much different though as only two teams are in the running for the NFC East title coming into Week 14 despite all the hype surrounding the supposed “Dream Team” and the Washington Redskins thought to be turning things around for Mike Shanahan.

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With the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys being the only teams left in the running for the division title, Week 14’s showdown at Cowboys Stadium will be must-win situation for both storied NFL franchises. The Giants are coming off a very disappointing loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers in which they seriously threatened the perfect season by taking Aaron Rodgers and company the distance.

In Week 14, the Eli Manning and his boys will have a similar challenge in trying to score against a vastly improved Dallas Cowboys defense. Not only will Manning have a tough challenge ahead of him by get the best of Rob Ryan’s defense, but the Giants defense might have an even tougher challenge trying to contain Tony Romo and the potent Cowboys offense.

Even though the Dallas Cowboys have been playing much better since the emergence of running back DeMarco Murray, Jason Garrett’s squad suffered a setback last week with an overtime loss to the lowly Arizona Cardinals. Apparently, Garrett iced rookie kicker Dan Bailey in overtime by calling a timeout before he kicked a field goal that was good and would have won the game. Bailey’s second kick was no good and the Cowboys lost a game they should’ve dominated.

Coming into this game, the Dallas Cowboys are in first place in the NFC East and have the division title to lose, but the New York Giants are in a much different as their playoffs hopes are on the line. With the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons and the Chicago Bears ahead of them in the hunt for the NFC Wild Card, the Giants need to get back on track and win over the arch division rival Cowboys would be a step in the right direction.

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Even though the New York Giants are more than capable of pulling off the upset at Cowboys Stadium over the arch division rival Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo and company will get back to form this weekend with a big win at home. This game will almost certainly be a close game as it always is, but I believe the Cowboys get the win and inch closer to the NFC East division title.

As of right now, the Dallas Cowboys are favored to come out on top in this NFC East division battle with a -3 point spread. This sounds just about right to me as the Cowboys should get the win and cover.

Take the Cowboys at -3.

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Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers Thurs. Dec. 8, 2011 8:20 p.m. EST

The AFC North division title will almost certainly be won by the Baltimore Ravens this season as head coach John Harbaugh has gotten this team firing on all cylinders with some big wins over the arch division rival Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not only have the Ravens gotten the best of all the teams in the AFC North this season and are bound to wrap up the division title, but they also made a statement on Thanksgiving Day by beating the San Francisco 49ers in Baltimore.

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As if the win over his younger brother Jim Harbaugh wasn’t sweet enough, John Harbaugh was able to beat one of the best teams in the league with the 49ers having the second-best record in the NFL. This win turned a lot of heads around the league as many people started to consider the Ravens as a legitimate Super Bowl title contender and perhaps the favorites to come out of the AFC Conference this season.

Steelers runningback Rashard Mendenhall

Despite no longer being in the running for the AFC North division title, the Pittsburgh Steelers still have a great chance of getting back into the playoffs through the AFC Wild Card. With the two spots in the AFC Wild Card up grabs, Big Ben Roethlisberger and company will continue to have something to play for and an opportunity to get some revenge against the red-hot Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs.

In the meantime, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have a relatively easy task at hand in Week 14 as they will host the lowly division rival Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field on Thursday night. This may be a game being played on a short week for Mike Tomlin and his aging football team, but the Steelers won’t have much competition from the Browns who have struggled all season long.

Pro Bowl running back and Madden cover athlete Peyton Hillis may have finally gotten back on the football field for the Cleveland Browns for the last two weeks, but the results have been the same for the Browns as they still can’t figure out a way to win football games. There is a slight chance that the Browns will be able to challenge the Steelers’ defense on Thursday night with some hardnosed football in the ground game, but smart money says this will be just another easy win for the Pittsburgh Steelers who will almost certainly improve their record to 10-3.

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With a 10-3 record, the Pittsburgh Steelers will take one step closer to clinching a playoff spot and the Cleveland Browns will take one step closer to getting a higher draft pick in the 2011 NFL draft.

As of right now, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been heavily favored with a -14 point spread. This spread is fairly high and something that the Steelers will struggle to cover.

Take the Browns at +14.

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Over the past few years or so, the Houston Texans have made some big strides by transforming their struggling NFL franchise from a perennial bottom feeder in the AFC Conference into a team that will be playoff bound this season. With superstar quarterback Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) going down for the season and the Jacksonville Jaguars cutting starting quarterback David Garrard before Week 1, the Texans have been able to take advantage and quickly become the best team in the AFC South division.

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The Tennessee Titans have been much better than anticipated this season as veteran quarterback Matt Hasselback and the new coaching staff has breathed new life in this football team, but they are still pale in comparison to the up-and-coming Houston Texans. With the Texans having one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL with a potent passing game and one of the best running games in the league, Houston has come on strong and is finally a force to be reckoned with.

Houston Texans

Even though everything seems to be going right for the Houston Texans as they are on the verge of making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, injuries continue to ravage this promising young football team on seemingly a weekly basis. The first major blow to the Texans came when arguably their best defensive player went down for the season with Mario Williams suffering a season-ending knee injury. Shortly after that, the Texans best wide receiver in Andre Johnson went down with an injury that kept him on the sidelines for quite some time.

Two weeks though, the Texans suffered perhaps their biggest loss of the season as starting quarterback Matt Schaub went down with a broken foot that would also keep on the sidelines for the rest of the season. As if that weren’t bad enough, a week later backup quarterback Matt Leinart also was lost for the season with a broken collarbone.

With the team’s top two quarterbacks done for the year, the Texans had to turn to T.J. Yates to run the show under center. Yates struggled in place of Leinart last week and might not be able to keep this team winning football games, but there are rumors floating around Houston that the Texans might be able to get the recently released Donovan McNabb off of waivers.

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The only way the Houston Texans have a chance of winning this football game this week against the Atlanta Falcons is if they can somehow bring in McNabb and have him ready for Sunday. That is unlikely and for that reason I believe the Texans will be on the losing side of this Week 13 showdown with the Falcons.

As of right now, the Atlanta Falcons are favored to come out on top with a -3 point spread. Even though Matt Ryan and company will be on the road, I believe the Falcons get the win while covering the spread.

Take the Falcons at -3.

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Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions Thurs. Nov 24, 2011 12:30 p.m. EST

As arguably the most anticipated matchup on Thanksgiving Day, the Detroit Lions will defend their home field against the undefeated division rival Green Bay Packers. With the Packers perfect season on the line, Green Bay has everything to lose and Detroit has everything to win.

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There is no question that the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers are poised to get their 11^th straight win of the season on Thursday as their offensive firepower should be just too much for the up-and-coming Detroit Lions to handle, but anything can happen between division rivals, especially on holiday matchups like this.

Detroit Lions

Coming into this NFC North division showdown, the Green Bay Packers are still licking their wounds somewhat after getting a tough challenge against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11. With Bucs testing the Packers on both sides of the football last week, the Lions will have plenty of game tape to look at and analyze thoroughly.

Fortunately, the defending champs were still able to come out on top against the Bucs last week and keep the perfect season alive, but they were exposed defensively against a Tampa Bay team that hasn’t exactly been all that impressive on that side of the football this season. With that being said, the Packers could be getting set up for their first loss of the season against a very good Detroit Lions’ offense led by promising young quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Last week the Detroit Lions were also unexpectedly challenged against a lesser opponent with rookie phenom Cam Newton giving Ndamukong Suh and company everything they could handle. Despite the Carolina Panthers putting up 35 points against the Detroit Lions’ defense, Matthew Stafford really turned it on in the second half with a season-high five touchdown passes.

Green Bay Packers

Perhaps the most impressive part of the Lions’ 49-35 win over the Panthers in Week 11 was their running game. Ever since starting running back Jahvid Best went down with injury a few weeks ago, the Lions’ running game has been non-existent, but last week Kevin Smith blew up for 140 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Whether or not both Stafford and Smith can have repeat performances on Thanksgiving Day remains to be seen, but it definitely makes this divisional matchup that much more interesting as the Green Bay Packers’ defense could struggle against the potent offense of the Detroit Lions.

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As for the defending Super Bowl champions, the offensive side of the football hasn’t been a problem all season long as superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been firing on all cylinders with three or more touchdown passes every single week. With Rodgers playing like the NFL MVP and the Packers’ defense coming along, this game should be entertaining to say the least.

As of right now, the Green Bay Packers have been given the edge in this matchup with -7 point spread. Honestly, this game could go either way, but taking the Packers is the safe bet.

Take the Packers at -7.

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