The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

rwells@tribunemedia.net

IT IS week 16 in the NFL and that means finals. No, this isn’t like the finals weeks we all remember from college, definitely nothing like that.

Well, at a second glance, maybe it is.

Week 16 marks the season finales of both Thursday and Monday Night Football, pre-empting the eventual end of the football season. I know, it’s truly the worst news ever.

But, back to my finals week comparison. The 2015-2016 season has been the prototypical ‘I didn’t think these classes through so my final grade might suck’ kind of year.

The Cowboys are reminiscent of that math class that you entered revving to dominate and then you ran into the mid-terms ... yes that math class.

The Dolphins could be best described as that Psych class that you thought would be a walk in the park: simple, straightforward and a pleasure to sit through ... then up pops the Sigmund Freud and Schroedinger’s Cat theories. So sorry.

Not to mention that high level Biology class that you couldn’t understand during the semester but you performed well in up to this point ... yes, those Panthers.

Well, it’s finals week and we are all sceptical.

My confusion last week led to a 12-4 record, spinning me into a frenzy at 128-96 on the year.

San Diego Chargers (4-10) @ Oakland Raiders (6-8)

Chargers had fun and looked good last week against the Dolphins - but everyone does that against those guys. Look for the young Raiders to tease what we will see a lot of next season.

RAIDERS

Washington Redskins (7-7) @ Philadelphia Eagles (6-8)

Redskins are looking to lock up a division title. I think they get it done.

REDSKINS

New England Patriots (12-2) @ New York Jets (9-5)

Jets want to keep their playoff hopes alive. Nothing will bring me more joy than seeing the Jets crash and burn this weekend.

PATRIOTS

Houston Texans (7-7) @ Tennessee Titans (3-11)

Titans have sidelined their rookie quarterback for the rest of the year.

TEXANS

Cleveland Browns (3-11) @ Kansas City Chiefs (9-5)

Kansas City are still alive and well in the division race. If the Broncos slip up, guess who wins the AFC West.

Those same Chiefs we wrote off earlier this year (I didn’t know I had a chance to get a B in this class, especially after that second paper).

CHIEFS

Indianapolis Colts (6-8) @ Miami Dolphins (5-9)

Colts are in Miami. That means they have just as much of a chance to win this game as the Dolphins do.

Both teams are horrible right now, but my brother is a huge Colts fan and it is Christmas.

COLTS

Jacksonville Jaguars (5-9) @ New Orleans Saints (5-9)

Drew Brees is out, so this game is up for grabs.

JAGUARS

San Francisco 49ers (4-10) @ Detroit Lions (5-9)

I had a dream once of going to San Francisco to drive the cable cars. I love to dream big don’t I?

49ERS

Dallas Cowboys (4-10) @ Buffalo Bills (6-8)

A lot of talk about Rex’s defence this season! Bills are like that History class you think you are doing well in, until you look at it compared to all your other classes.

It sucks just as much as those other classes do.

Bills

Chicago Bears (5-9) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8)

I want to see Jay Cutler happy.

BEARS

Carolina Panthers (14-0) @ Atlanta Falcons (7-7)

Panthers have to lose at some point. Maybe in the Super Bowl, at some point in the playoffs or even this week.

I think they do lose this week but conventional wisdom says they don’t.

PANTHERS

New York Giants (6-8) @ Minnesota Vikings (9-5)

Adrian is always good in December when he is healthy and smelling the playoffs.

VIKINGS

St Louis Rams (6-8) @ Seattle Seahawks (9-5)

Always that one elective that’s a guaranteed A. Those are these Seahawks.

SEAHAWKS

Green Bay Packers (10-4) @ Arizona Cardinals (12-2)

Playoff preview? NFC Championship preview? We don’t know what the future holds.

Well we do,

CARDINALS

Pittsburgh Steelers (9-5) @ Baltimore Ravens (4-10)

The Steelers are still fighting for a wildcard spot. Job #1 in that scenario has always been to win your game.

STEELERS

Cincinnati Bengals (11-3) @ Denver Broncos (12-4)

Let’s not argue here, both teams are starting to have questions. The Bengals have those straightforward ‘I wonder how good will Dalton be when he returns’ type questions, while the Broncos are littered with those complex ‘If we go back to Peyton how healthy is he because Brock doesn’t guarantee us a win in the playoffs’ kind of questions.

I like simple.

BENGALS