Welcome, everybody, to the Week 17 Christmas Eve edition of the Hump Day NFL Pick'em, with special prizes brought to you each week by our friends at NRG!
Joy of all joys! After weeks of misery, our Redskins finally rewarded us with a satisfying and Philly-crushing win. It was fun to watch, and having a relaxing Sunday the following day made it all the better. That was until, however, we realized we were cruising our way to another five-win week. We finished with a disappointing and not surprising 5-10-1 record, giving us five points to put towards our season total. Would any of our twenty contestants come close to beating that dismal number? Here were the top 10 performers:
Contestant |
Points |
2R1P_HTTR |
9 |
washingtonwin |
9 |
Hahaschadenfreude |
9 |
heman1132 |
8 |
ENsDad27 |
8 |
jicuri |
7 |
HPU2006 |
7 |
Xm Sean |
7 |
travisjh86 |
7 |
SkinsNJ |
6 |
As is apt to happen, we had a three way tie at the top with nine points. After our lovely assistant drew a name out of my favorite Redskins hat, the winner was:
Congrats to Hahaschadenfreude!!!!!! Please email me your address and we will get your prize right out to you.
With our second consecutive five-win week, we now sit at 105-131-4 and have clinched our second consecutive losing season. At least this year it took until the last two weeks of the season to seal our fate, versus last year when we clinched around Week 5. Feeling content with our lot in life and with eggnog firmly in hand, we move on to Week 17!
Here we go!
For those of you who are new to our game, I state the rules:
This is a weekly contest in which I will make my game picks each Wednesday and invite you, the loyal Hogs Haven readers, to make your own picks in the comments section.
I will incorporate the spread as determined by Las Vegas the Tuesday before the games and you can earn 1 point for each correct choice. I will add up the points at the end of each week, and the winner will earn a fabulous prize, courtesy of NRG, that will then be mailed to them. If there are multiple contestants tied for the lead, there will be a drawing to determine the overall winner. There will only be twenty contestants, so the first twenty responses will get in.
Each week the prize will change, and this year (unlike last year), a prize will be given out every single week since you are now only competing against each other and not me. Simple right??
Here are my picks for this week:
Detroit Lions (+7.5) at Green Bay Packers: So I guess this game is kind of exciting. (Fingers crossed that they do at least one more new Aaron Rodgers/Hans and Franz commercial.) Pick: Lions (+7.5)
Jacksonville Jaguars (+7) at Houston Texans: After one week of being a favorite, the Jags are back on familiar turf this week. Pick: Texans (-7)
Cincinnati Bengals (+3) at Pittsburgh Steelers: Well, the Bengals proved me wrong last week and got a big win against the Broncos, which is shocking considering my track record. Pick: Steelers (-3)
Indianapolis Colts (-6.5) at Tennessee Titans: If the Titans can just do their thing and play solid Titan football this week, they should be sitting real pretty on draft day. Pick: Colts (-6.5)
Cleveland Browns (+7) at Baltimore Ravens: For Browns fans, their favorite Manziel memory this season has to be the one where he's resting face down on an inflatable swan while holding a bottle of champagne. If that wasn't worth a first round pick, I don't know what is. Pick: Ravens (-7)
Buffalo Bills (+6.5) at New England Patriots: Who would have thought a season where Kyle Orton took the majority of snaps as your quarterback could have gone so wrong for the Bills? Pick: Patriots (-6.5)
New York Jets (+7) at Miami Dolphins: This should be Michael Vick's last game in green, as shortly after he will begin his lifelong pursuit of playing for the Redskins. It's good to have goals in life. Pick: Dolphins (-7)
Carolina Panthers (Off) at Atlanta Falcons: Two terrible teams go head-to-head with the NFC South division title and a one game stop in the playoffs on the line. Let's get it on!!!! Pick: Falcons (Off)
Chicago Bears (+6.5) at Minnesota Vikings: This game isn't really fair as the Vikings get to play their starting quarterback and the Bears have to play their backup. Pick: Vikings (-6.5)
San Diego Chargers (+3.5) at Kansas City Chiefs: Chiefs players are scrambling for new material after Manti Te'o suggested the "dead fake girlfriend" jokes are getting stale. Pick: Chiefs (-3.5)
Philadelphia Eagles (-3) at New York Giants: The smile on my face after watching the Redskins ruin the Eagles' season last week still hasn't dissipated. Good, good times. Pick: Eagles (-3)
Dallas Cowboys (-8) at Washington Redskins: When I pick the Redskins to win, they lose. When I pick them to lose, they win or cover. So I'm taking one for the team here. You're welcome. Pick: Cowboys (-8)
New Orleans Saints (-4.5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Local Tampa crab leg stores have reportedly already begun beefing up security. Pick: Saints (-4.5)
St. Louis Rams (+10) at Seattle Seahawks: Congrats are in order, as Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has reached his number one season goal of getting to the top spot in the AP poll. People who know that exists know how big of a deal that is. Pick: Rams (+10)
Arizona Cardinals (+4.5) at San Francisco 49ers: The biggest loser in the whole situation with Jim Harbaugh getting fired has to be the bay area Old Navy. Pick: Cardinals (+4.5)
Oakland Raiders (+14.5) at Denver Broncos: That's right! I'm taking the Raiders and I haven't been more certain of anything since the time I knew Herman's Head would have a solid ten year run on TV and win multiple Emmy's. Pick: Raiders (+14.5)
There are my Week 17 picks. The winner this week will have this fabulous prize to look forward to, courtesy of NRG:
That's right-the Desean Jackson jersey you've been wanting but were afraid to ask!!! Be afraid no more....
I will announce this week's winner next Wednesday on the next Hump Day finale.
Happy Holidays to all and good luck!!