It is Week 16 in the NFL, and we've already seen one NFC team be eliminated from the playoffs. Just last week, people thought the Minnesota Vikings' defense could lead them to the sixth playoff spot, but after losing two games in four days, they've been eliminated. Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers, the team I correctly picked to win over the Vikings on Thursday, have a legitimate shot at the postseason if the Giants lose out.

There's still plenty of action this week though, with every game except for one having playoff implications. If the right scenarios play out, all of the games next week could actually get even tighter. Just imagine what would happen if the Giants, Broncos, and Eagles lose, while teams like the Panthers, Falcons, Steelers, and Jets win. Let's get to this week's games of the week...

UPSET OF THE WEEK

San Diego Chargers vs. Seattle Seahawks. There is no doubt that the San Diego Chargers have played the best football in the National Football League during their long winning streak, with a lot of that having to do with LaDainian Tomlinson. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have played poorly in recent weeks, losing two games to the 49ers and one to the Cardinals. Matt Hasselbeck has only been "ok" since his return from injury, and the same goes for Shaun Alexander. The Seahawks could very well be the team waiting to explode in the NFC, because they have a ton of talent on their team and have yet to kick it into playoff mode yet. The Chargers can basically forget about thinking of ways to stop Tomlinson, because it's pretty clear that it won't be happening. However, if you look at what the Chiefs did to Phillip Rivers last week, the Seahawks will try to mask a similar scheme. I see Rivers having a better game this week, but still, the Seahawks will have a better chance of winning with stopping the pass, not the run.

That means that the Seahawks offense will have to force a shootout. That's easier said than done, especially when you consider how good talented San Diego's defense can be. I just have a feeling that this will be a game that catches many people by surprise. The Seahawks have had extra time to prepare for this game and will try to be aggressive, knowing that the 49ers can still catch them for the division. I'm taking the Seahawks to win after playing one of their best games of the season, despite another great effort by Tomlinson and the Chargers. Seahawks 31, Chargers 28

CHRISTMAS DAY MASSACRE

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys. When NBC called for this game on Christmas before the season started, they envisioned a tight divisional race at the end of the season, with the Terrell Owens vs. Donovan McNabb saga mixed in. Then, when McNabb was placed on the injured reserve several weeks ago du to injury, NBC probably figured that their game would lack the publicity come Christmas. Instead, things may be more heated than they envisioned. Jeff Garcia has been tremendous in getting the Eagles back into the playoff race, and if they win this week, they will hold the division lead. On top of that, NBC still gets their Owens vs. quarterback controversy, because we all know Garcia's "longer" history with Owens.

Garcia deserves a lot of credit for what he's done since starting, but don't forget about everyone else on the team. Brian Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter have run the football well, and the defense has progressively gotten better week by week. After a little quiet spurt for Tony Romo, he was back on fire last week with several touchdown passes, including two of them to Terrell Owens. Owens was unable to get revenge on the Eagles earlier this season under Drew Bledsoe. The Cowboys offense has been much better off under Romo, and that will be the extra ingredient they need to topple the Eagles and clinch a division title. Cowboys 23, Eagles 21.

PUTTING UP A FIGHT

Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers. When these two teams locked up a few weeks ago, I correctly chose the Ravens to walk away with the victory. However, like many other people around the league, I didn't expect the Ravens to hand it to Pittsburgh as bad as they did. The Steelers are now coming off of a three game winning streak though, and although their competition hasn't been the greatest, you can't argue that they are clearly playing outstanding football. It's a fact that teams do have easy stretches in their schedule, but rarely are teams able to actually execute and dominate those opponents. That's what the Steelers did, and they are ready for their revenge at home.

The Ravens were able to defeat the Browns last week with Kyle Boller playing most of the game. Steve McNair should be back this week, and Baltimore's defense won't let Willie Parker have the same success that he's had in his past several games. Pittsburgh has improved their pass blocking scheme, and there's almost no way the Ravens will be able to duplicate the amount of sacks that they were able to attain last time. I would expect both defenses to be on the top of their games in this one, with Pittsburgh pulling off the somewhat surprising victory. Steelers 16, Ravens 12.

REST OF THE WEEK

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders. The Chiefs have really hurt their chances at making the playoffs with several straight tough losses, but there's no reason they shouldn't be able to get back on their feet against Oakland this week. The Raiders defense is good, so Herman Edwards will run the offense conservative for the most part and let the Raiders continue making the stupid mistakes as they always do. It doesn't seem to matter who they're facing - Oakland is bound to always fumble the ball or throw costly interceptions whenever they are looking somewhat good offensively. Andrew Walter will get the start, even though Aaron Brooks gives them a better chance at winning. Chiefs 20, Raiders 10.

Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons. How crazy would it be if the Giants win out, but the Falcons still make the playoffs? That could happen if the Eagles finish in a three-way tie with both of those teams. I had hopes that the Panthers could make one last playoff run under Jake Delhomme, but it looks as if Chris Weinke will get the start once again. The Panthers are simply a beaten football team - they have no spark under Weinke (great winning percentage he has now), and their defense isn't playing with any fire. The Panthers have played Michael Vick well in their last couple of meetings, but without Delhomme, I don't think they'll be able to muster enough offensively to get it done. Falcons 24, Panthers 14.

Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions. I almost feel like saying "no contest" and leaving it at that. Yes, the Bears have given up a lot of points in their past two games. Chicago already has their playoff seed locked up, but they won't complete pack it in until the playoffs just yet. Grossman still is on a short leash if he screws up royally, and I wouldn't expect any more regular season disappointments from him. The Lions offense, which wasn't too bad earlier this season, has been next to nothing the past couple of weeks. Besides the Cleveland/Buccaneers game later on, this is the other matchup that really doesn't mean much of anything. Bears 30, Lions 7.

Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans. The Colts defense finally took a step forward against the Bengals this past Monday, and are in position to maintain their first-round bye with another win over the Texans. The Colts have lost a game to everyone in their division except the Texans this year, and are looking to prevent the hat trick. Houston is back to being a mess, as David Carr threw a career high four interceptions last week. The Texans don't have a running game to even threaten the Colts with, and Peyton Manning will try to keep his team on the field as much as he did last week. The Texans may score some garbage points at the end of the game. Colts 35, Texans 20.

New England Patriots vs. Jacksonville Jaguars. Based on what happens, the Jaguars could be all but mathematically eliminated with a loss against the Patriots. That will put a ton of pressure on quarterback David Garrard, something he's not necessarily used to handling. It doesn't help matters that he's coming off a game in which the Titans were able to score three defensive touchdowns. The Patriots got back to basics last week with properly utilizing their backfield, despite not having Laurence Maroney. Tom Brady will need to bring his veteran skills to the table to continue to help his thin group of receivers, as they still have a chance to improve their playoff position. Patriots 17, Jaguars 13.

New Orleans Saints vs. New York Giants. The Saints have to be concerned with the fact that they haven't given a strong effort in a couple of games this season, including last week against the Washington Redskins. The Saints lacked the offensive firepower they usually have, although credit does need to be given to the Redskins defense. The Saints will be prepared to take down a team they may have to face in the first round of the playoffs if they lose. The Giants will get a huge boost defensively with the return of Michael Strahan, but you never know if he'll be back to 100%. His presence on the field should cut down on some of the defensive mistakes, but the Saints will hit the secondary with too many big plays. Saints 27, Giants 20.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Cleveland Browns. Unless you're a fan of either one of these teams, this is the game that you don't want to see this week, simply because it'll only have impact on draft position. I always have the belief that teams should play to win though, so I don't think either of these teams will intentionally lose. The Buccaneers received a surprise spark from veteran quarterback Tim Rattay last week, but when you look back at what he did, it was simply a few broken coverages down the field. The Buccaneers hadn't scored a touchdown since Thanksgiving before that, and that tells that they're not a good offensive team. The Browns offense has started to play better under Derek Anderson, and they'll look to go 2-0 in December at home with an offensive outburst. Browns 35, Buccaneers 6.

Tennessee Titans vs. Buffalo Bills. This is actually the most intriguing game of the week due to how similar both teams have been. At the halfway point of the season, everyone counted the Titans and the Bills out. Now, both of them are still alive in the playoff race after an amazing streak in the second half of the year. The Titans have just a truly unbelievable stretch, and if they make the playoffs, they'll certainly deserve it. Like the Bills, the Titans use big plays from their special teams and defense to either score points or set their offenses up for scores. It's almost too tough to pick this game, so I'm simply sticking with the hot streak of the Titans, despite being on the road. Titans 24, Bills 21 in Overtime.

Washington Redskins vs. St. Louis Rams. It was "only" the Raiders last week, but the Rams were able to pitch a shutout. The Rams utilized Steven Jackson better than they had all season, and I'd like to see more of that against Washington this Sunday. The Redskins are no walkover team under Jason Campbell, as he has been able to throw a beautiful deep ball for a touchdown at least once a game. The Rams still have slim playoff hopes, as do most teams in the league. The Rams offense has responded fairly well since Bulger's outburst, and I expect that success to continue at home. Rams 20, Redskins 17.

Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers. I hope that I'm not underestimating the loss of Antonio Bryant for the 49ers. He has been able to make some plays down the field for the young Alex Smith this season, but he hasn't been the sole reason they are in the position that they're currently in. The 49ers know that this is a very winnable game, and that if the Seahawks lose a tough game against the Chargers, the division will be on the line in Week 17. San Francisco plays well at home for the most part, and Mike Nolan knows how to get his team to respond in pressure situations. 49ers 23, Cardinals 20.

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Denver Broncos. I can't believe that the Broncos can basically clinch a wildcard spot with a win this week. That's what they get for having such a good conference record in the AFC. The Bengals offense was finally cooled down in a rather disappointing effort against the Colts on Monday. It seemed like the Bengals didn't know what they should do against the Colts, the result of an indecisive gameplan. They will be more aggressive against the Broncos defense, and will throw the ball often to whoever Champ Bailey isn't covering. Jay Cutler picked up a victory last week, but the Bengals defense has forced turnovers at opportune times lately (discounting last week). Bengals 27, Broncos 17.

New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins. Joey Harrington was awful last week, but this may be a trap game for the Jets. You know what I mean - the same 21-0 trap that the Patriots fell in two weeks ago. With the Jets having something to play for, I feel inclined to pick them. I'm worried that I'm making this pick simply based on that fact, because there's no doubt that there is no quit in Jason Taylor and the Dolphins' defense. Jets 13, Dolphins 9.

My Vikings over the Jets survivor pick failed last week. It doesn't matter anymore, but still, I'll just take the Falcons over the Panthers for my survivor pick.

Predictions Record to Date: 141-84(I may have my best picks season yet.)
This Week: 1-0(Won the Thursday game.)
Last Week: 12-4(I hope for similar success this week.)
Survivor Streak: Lost 1 (Phi over Hou, Bal over Oak, Was over Hou, Cle over Oak, NO over TB, Dal over Hou, Jac over Hou, Pit over Oak, Chi over Mia, Den over Oak, KC over Oak, Car over Was, SD over Buf, Sea over Ari, Min over NYJ.)

Here's hoping that too many playoff spots aren't secured after the week is over - we want the excitement for Week 17 too.

-Chris Pokorny