There is no greater time to try to get into this competition than right now, as every week you beat me gives you another opportunity at that big cash prize at the end of the year. Let's get started right now with my Week 15 picks…

Kansas City Chiefs (-2) @ St. Louis Rams – Call me a sucker. Call me a contrarian. Call me whatever you want. The Chiefs are just a better team in this game, and I tend to think that the oddsmakers are trying to trap you by giving you a sexy looking line on a St. Louis team that, on paper, feels like it should be favored in this one. QB Matt Cassel will hopefully suit up, but whether he does or not, I tend to think that RB Jamaal Charles and RB Thomas Jones are going to be in for big time days. I'm just not a believer that the Rams are actually getting into the playoffs. Thus, give me Kansas City -2.

Houston Texans (+1) @ Tennessee Titans – Haven't we seen this script for the Texans before? Like, every single season? The team gets down to the point that it basically can't make the playoffs, and then it flips the season, finishes with a .500 record, and saves Head Coach Gary Kubiak's job. Good news for Houston fans, though. Even if he does finish 8-8, unless he happens to win the AFC South with that record (good luck), Kubiak is toast regardless. Still, the rest of the script is probably going to remain exactly the same. Houston +1

Jacksonville Jaguars (+5) @ Indianapolis Colts – Will it be 100% of you mere mortals that are backing the Colts, or just the mass majority of you? Think for just one second, if you would, if the quarterback in this game were Drew Brees, not Peyton Manning. Same guy in terms of on field talent, right? We'd look at this game and say, "Wow, Jacksonville is just so much of a better team than Indy is," and love jumping all over this five point spread. However, we don't say that. We say, "Wow, there's no way that Peyton Freaking Manning isn't making the playoffs!" I beg to differ. Manning is past the point in his career and doesn't have the pieces to the puzzle around him to really make that much of a difference. Jacksonville is winning this game and winning it outright. Gimme the Jags +5.

Arizona Cardinals @ Carolina Panthers (-2.5) – Skelton! Clausen! It's the NFL on Fox!!! Really, if the oddsmakers have the balls to make a 1-12 team a favorite in any situation, I just have to roll with the punches. Either I look like a genius, or I come back to myself next week, laugh at why I laid 2.5 points with a 1-12 team, and move on. It's too funny not to do, so I'll take Carolina -2.5.

Cleveland Browns @ Cincinnati Bengals (-1.5) – Haha. Same situation. Same exact situation. Just replace 1-12 with 2-11 and 2.5 points to 1.5 points. Why the hell not? Cincinnati -1.5

Buffalo Bills (+5.5) @ Miami Dolphins – Miami's going to find a way to blow this, right? I mean really, can I lay 5.5 points with a team that has exactly two offensive touchdowns in its last two games combined? Really? The Bills have only been beaten once by more than three points in the last two months, and I tend to think that that's going to continue. However, if I had my guess, I won't be needing the 5.5 points. Something tells me that the Dolphins are hitting the self-destruct button just as they did last year against the Houston Texans in a very similar spot. Buffalo +5.5

Philadelphia Eagles (+2.5) @ New York Giants – Is it just me, or should this game have been played in primetime this week? The Eagles are good enough to come on the road and win a game like this one, and I could really see it happening. If QB Michael Vick thinks that he is an MVP this year, he can come on the road and take out a New York team that has been known to struggle at times when faced with stiff challenges. Without WR Steve Smith in the lineup, we could be due for another one of these games for QB Eli Manning in which he throws for 340 yards and three scores, but gets picked off three times as well. In what should be the de facto NFC East title game, gimme Philadelphia +2.5.

Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys (-6) – Remember when this series used to mean something every single year? Not this year. Dallas remembers the beginning of the season when the Redskins smacked it around thanks to that holding penalty at the end of the game. Memories like that just don't go away, and when you've got two teams that have already been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, you look for any motivation you can find. Dallas is 5-0 ATS under Head Coach Jason Garrett. Make it 6-0 and take Dallas -6 on Sunday.

Detroit Lions @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-5.5) – The Bucs are limping towards staying in the race in the NFC playoffs, but they keep finding teams like this one to put on the schedule. They had no business beating a very similar Washington Redskins crew last week, and now they must be very, very careful. I know that the Lions played well last week against the Green Bay Packers, but in the end, this is still a team that has lost 25 consecutive games on the road. Though it would be poetic justice if the team that streak ended with was the team with the longest losing streak all time in this league (Tampa Bay once had 26 straight losses), it just isn't happening. I'll take Tampa Bay -5.5.

New Orleans Saints (+1) @ Baltimore Ravens – Toughest call on the entire board. If you're a fan of super teasers, I've got the streak for you! The Ravens haven't been beaten by more than eight points at home in a game since 2007… or basically, since they've been good in the post-Trent Dilfer era. That being said, I just can't do it. There's something screaming to me about this New Orleans team, as the Saints have won six in a row. They know that they are going to have to play on the road in the playoffs, and they know that they have the biggest game of the year next week against the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome. Even if 13-3 doesn't turn out to be good enough to win the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, that would send a huge message to everyone else in the league. The defending champs are back to try to regain the Lombardi Trophy again. Take New Orleans +1.

Atlanta Falcons @ Seattle Seahawks (+7) – One of these days, I'm going to learn that betting against the Falcons and betting on the Seahawks (or any team from the NFC West for that matter) are both very, very bad ideas. But for whatever reason, I chose not to learn for this one. Going with Seattle +7.

New York Jets @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-6) – Aren't the Jets due to make us really think that they're done? I mean really, that's what happened last year when Head Coach Rex Ryan thought that his team was eliminated from the playoffs, and then when they got in, he promptly said that his team should be favored to win the Super Bowl. Damn if he wasn't nearly right about it, too! Still, Pittsburgh is just too tough of a town to play ball in, especially when you're a playoff contending team. The Steelers just live for games like this, and they'll find a way to win by two scores. Pittsburgh -6

Denver Broncos (+6.5) @ Oakland Raiders – Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Mr. Tim Tebow. It sure sounds like the legendary Florida Gator is going to try his best to make winners out of a miserable team on Sunday, but if there is one man that has the inspirational tools to do just that, this is the guy. Oh yeah, it's not going to help Oakland that it ran up the score and dropped 59 on the Broncos in Mile High. Gotta take the points in this one and go with Denver +6.5 even though the Broncos don't have any pulse whatsoever right now.

Green Bay Packers (OTB) @ New England Patriots – Remember to make your tiebreaker picks in this game!!! No picks on this game, as we don't know whether QB Aaron Rodgers is going to be healthy enough to give it a whirl or not after suffering his second concussion of the year. Do remember to make your tiebreaker total picks, but there's no action on this game.

There is no greater time to try to get into this competition than right now, as every week you beat me gives you another opportunity at that big cash prize at the end of the year. Let's get started right now with my Week 14 picks…

Oakland Raiders @ Jacksonville Jaguars (-3.5) – There's something about the way that the Jags are playing right now that I like. They're running the ball well, they're playing the stoutest defense that they have played in quite some time, and they just feel like a winning team. They're really going to win the AFC South, something that even myself, the smartest of NFL pundits, never would have thought at the start of the year. This is a tough, tough test for Oakland to come all the way to the East Coast in an early start time game, and I just don't see it being able to hang for the full 60 minutes. Take Jacksonville -3.5.

Cincinnati Bengals (+9) @ Pittsburgh Steelers – This is a horrifying letdown spot for the Steelers this week at home, and the oddsmakers have put us into a perfect trap because of it. The Bengals really don't have many games left to get up for this season, and though they have lost about 174 games in a row, this is one that they are going to want to use their best in. They can throw the ball all over the field with QB Carson Palmer, and that is the one chance to win this one against the iffy Pittsburgh secondary. If Palmer gets some time, this one could be remotely interesting, especially with the Steelers in a bad scheduling spot after the SNF win over the Ravens. Cincinnati +9

New England Patriots @ Chicago Bears (+3) – Here we go again. The Bears are getting disrespected at home against a team that it might be better than. I'm sorry, the Pats aren't nearly this good. Perception is high as a kite on them because of that ridiculous 45-3 beat down that was issued to the New York Jets last Monday Night Football. This is a brutal road game and a test that will not easily be passed. Chicago just keeps finding ways to win games, whether by hook or by crook. It might have to be by crook in this one, but the Bears get it done again. Chicago +3

Cleveland Browns (+1) @ Buffalo Bills – Let me just get my snooze button out for this one, and hopefully I'll sleep for the whole three hours that it is on TV… Actually, this game is remotely intriguing to me, because these two teams, in spite of the fact that they stink, play some entertaining football at times. RB Peyton Hillis is the difference maker in this one. The Bills have not fared well against power running games all season long, and if that remains the case, they aren't going to survive for their third victory of the season against a Cleveland team that has already nailed down a few really big road wins on the year, including last week against the Miami Dolphins. I'm taking Cleveland +1.

New York Giants @ Minnesota Vikings (+2.5) – Sometimes, you just have to let sleeping dogs lie, and perhaps I should be doing just that with the Giants on Sunday, but I just love this spot for the Vikes. They're back at home once again, and QB Brett Favre (whom you absolutely know is not sitting this one out) wants to make one last charge to see if he can really get his team to claw all the way back from a 3-7 start to the season to at least finish .500. I'm also not all that convinced that the G-Men are all that good this year, as they really haven't beaten any tremendous teams with consistency. It's a rough road trip. I wish I was getting the full field goal, but I'll have to settle for taking Minnesota +2.5 instead.

Green Bay Packers (-6.5) @ Detroit Lions – Ugh, I am so sick and tired of these damn Lions! These guys feel like they are blowing me up each and every week, and now they're going it with guys like RB Maurice Morris and QB Drew Stanton. That's right. Drew Freaking Stanton. Hopefully, Mr. Clay Matthews introduces himself to Stanton a few times on the afternoon in this one. The Green Bay defense has played too well on the road this year to be toppled like this, and as long as things don't fall apart at the seam offensively, there is no reason to think that the 'O' can't put together a 400+ yard performance with at least 28 on the board against the Lions. I'll stick with Green Bay -6.5.

Atlanta Falcons @ Carolina Panthers (+7.5) – Call me crazy (go ahead…. "You're crazy!"), but I kinda think the Panthers can win this game… outright… I don't know why. I just do. This is probably the last stand for Head Coach John Fox, as this is the last truly meaningful game on the slate in all likelihood for the Panthers, and he would love nothing more than to at least make a case for his future job somewhere else if he can take this one down and give his team in black and blue something to be happy about. If all else fails, at least I have 7.5 points on my side… Carolina +7.5

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Washington Redskins (+2) – For my money, this is the toughest call on the board all week long. The Bucs really, really need this game, while Washington is finished, but there is something about the way that Tampa Bay finished that game last week against the Atlanta Falcons that is disturbing to me. I just don't think that it has a great comeback to get into the playoffs in it. Head Coach Raheem Morris should be proud of his men for sticking around in the race this long, but the Bucs are finished. Take Washington +2.

St. Louis Rams (+9) @ New Orleans Saints – Preseason football doesn't mean much to me, but the most vivid memory I have of the 2010 preseason was seeing QB Sam Bradford with his head held high in Gillette Stadium as his Rams beat the New England Patriots in the third game of the preseason, the one that the starters usually play at least three quarters of. Bradford and this St. Louis team are special and deserve to get into the playoffs this year. New Orleans is going to find a way to squeak this one out, but its home struggles are going to come back to rear their ugly head once again, as St. Louis +9 proves to be the right play.

Seattle Seahawks (+5.5) @ San Francisco 49ers – Hey oddsmakers, give me a break, will ya? It's absolutely ridiculous, with the season on the line or not, that the 49ers are laying 5.5 points against anyone in the NFL, even the Seahawks, who are about as effective on the road as the Arizona Cardinals have been anywhere this year. QB Matt Hasselbeck and company were booed off the field at halftime against the Carolina Panthers, but then they stormed to 31 unanswered points to put the worst team in the NFL away. Now, they'll use that momentum to help put the biggest disappointment in the NFL away as well. Seattle +5.5

Miami Dolphins (+5.5) @ New York Jets – This one just seems to be a close game waiting to happen. The Dolphins have been a stingy team all season long, particularly on the road, and especially against really good teams like New York. The Jets think that they have moved on from that 45-3 debacle against the New England Patriots, but I'm not totally sure that they can win this one by a TD. New York will come away with a victory I think, but the play for me is on the Dolphins +5.5, as they really know that a loss in this one ends their season.

Denver Broncos @ Arizona Cardinals (+5.5) – What. Ever. Hopefully the Broncos continue to get what they deserve for hiring HC Josh McDaniels in the first place. About the only intrigue right now in Denver is the fact that Florida Gators HC Urban Meyer quit just two days after McDaniels was canned. Does anyone aside from me see the parallels here? Oh, the game? C'mon, do you REALLY care? Arizona +5.5.

Kansas City Chiefs (+7) @ San Diego Chargers – Is there going to be a squarer team on the schedule this week than the Chargers? I mean, really. San Diego has its entire season on the line, knowing that it will be mathematically eliminated from the postseason with a defeat, while Kansas City is starting to crumble just a bit and had its quarterback in the emergency room getting his appendix removed on Wednesday night. KC is winning this game, and it is finding a way to win it outright by shoving the ball right down the Chargers' throats, just like the Oakland Raiders did last week. I don't need the points, but I'll take Kansas City +7 anyway.

Philadelphia Eagles (-3.5) @ Dallas Cowboys – Remember to make your tiebreaker picks in this game!!! The Eagles are laying 3.5 points against a team that has looked absolutely unstoppable since interim Head Coach Jason Garrett took over, but we tend to believe that it is justified. QB Michael Vick threw a second INT last week against the Houston Texans, but that was a game that was really in control for the most part from start to finish with just one hiccup in the middle in the third quarter. Philly has everything rolling right now, and as long as its defense doesn't totally collapse under the pressure of playing on MNF in "Big D," the Eagles are going to fly high and pull out a big time win. Philadelphia -3.5

There is no greater time to try to get into this competition than right now, as every week you beat me gives you another opportunity at that big cash prize at the end of the year. Let's get started right now with my Week 13 picks…

Buffalo Bills @ Minnesota Vikings (-5.5) – I know that the Vikes might be playing this one without RB Adrian Peterson, but how can I back a team that is allowing the most rushing yards in the NFL on the road against a great ground game? RB Toby Gerhart has all of the tools to be a special back in this league, and he'll make good on his start if he gets the opportunity. I know that the Bills haven't lost a game by more than three points in a month and a half, but all of that is going to change on Sunday, as the Leslie Frazier led Vikes are going to be able to take this one by two scores at home to at least keep a false sense of hope alive for a playoff bid. Rock and roll with Minnesota -5.5.

Cleveland Browns (+4.5) @ Miami Dolphins – I'm not so sure why I'm taking Cleveland +4.5 in this one, but I'll call it a gut shot. The Browns are a gritty, gritty team, and though they haven't been able to figure out how to string many wins (or covers, for that matter) together, they can certainly play on the road and win this game outright. I tend to get the feeling that QB Chad Henne is going to do just enough to win this game, and if that's the case, perhaps the Dolphins are going to win by exactly three points. You heard it here first.

Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs (-9) – I hate laying this many points with a Kansas City team that I'm not so convinced is all that good, but I am convinced that this is that bad of a matchup for the Broncos. This was a different scenario a few weeks ago when these two teams met at the Mile High Stadium, as there was a big heaping of revenge that needed to be served up for Denver on the Chiefs. Now, it's payback for the payback. Having already seen this passing game once, Kansas City probably won't be all that fooled, and as long as RB Jamaal Charles and RB Thomas Jones can keep the ball moving on the ground, there is no reason why QB Kyle Orton and company are on the field long enough to do that much damage. Lay the points and go with KC -9.

Washington Redskins (+7) @ New York Giants – Can someone please explain to me why on earth the Giants are in a position where they are always laying a TD at home against a reasonable team? I mean really, let's think this one out logically here. There are just too many injuries for New York to contend with right now, and it was very, very lucky to have beaten the Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend at home when it was, you guessed it, a seven point favorite. Now, I have a stingy Washington team that has proven it can win games in division, even on the road. Yep, I'll take the points and go with Washington +7 in a heartbeat.

San Francisco 49ers (+9.5) @ Green Bay Packers – The Packers are coming off of a fairly awful game against the Atlanta Falcons in which they just couldn't seal the deal. Now, they're coming home in a game that legitimately could be a postseason preview. The 49ers are still probably the best team in the NFC West, and they badly need to take a game like this to get some momentum going for the rest of the year to get to the head of the class. Green Bay isn't going to lose this one, but to win it by double digits seems like an awfully large task. Take the points and back San Fran +9.5.

New Orleans Saints (-7) @ Cincinnati Bengals – I can already hear your whining now. "But Gridiron Great," how are you going to lay seven points on the road with a team that hasn't played that well on the road against a team that really usually plays well at home?" Easy. Watch me. QB Drew Brees is going to rip this Cincinnati defense apart, and covering a TD is going to be as easy as holding the Bungals to about 20 points or so. No problemo. New Orleans -7

Atlanta Falcons (-3) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – I know that the Bucs have shown some fight in recent weeks, and I know that they really had a chance to win this fixture up in the Georgia Dome. And yes, I even know that the season is on the line for Tampa Bay and that it is probably going to be an incredibly sharp play. But here's what else I see. I see an Atlanta team that usually gets beaten by passing games, not running games, and I see a Bucs team that really just wants to use that short passing attack to avoid making mistakes. You're not going to beat QB Matt Ryan by just trying to avoid mistakes. There really are no other options here for me but to lay the points and go with Atlanta -3.

Oakland Raiders @ San Diego Chargers (-13) – Simply put, I'm not so sure that there is any team in the NFL right now that would be derailing the train that is that of the San Diego Chargers. This is just a well tuned machine that just continues to rip apart everything in its path. The Raiders could compete in this one, but I just don't see it happening. Somehow, QB Philip Rivers will find a way to throw for 300+ yards, and if that happens, RB Mike Tolbert will get his yards as well, and there's no way that Oakland is sticking within two TDs of a team that is coming up with 400 yards.

Carolina Panthers (+6) @ Seattle Seahawks – Gag me with a spoon, please… This the biggest dog game of the day, and it is one that is surely going to stink up the joint… especially if what I think is going to happen comes true. The first team to six in this game wins… and it might just be the Panthers! Go with Carolina +6.

Dallas Cowboys @ Indianapolis Colts (-5.5) – My gut feeling suggests that the carriage for the Cowboys is about to turn into a pumpkin and that the pumpkin for Colts is about to turn back into a carriage again. I don't care what form either team is in right now. QB Peyton Manning is only laying 5.5 points at home against QB Jon Kitna. Someone please tell me what I'm missing here… Indianapolis -5.5.

St. Louis Rams (-3.5) @ Arizona Cardinals – Only in the NFC West can you have one team go on the road and be laying points at the start of the season, cover the spread, and then come back home without any notable injuries three months later to be a 3.5 point underdog… Yet somehow, I have this strange trust in the Rams that we cannot ignore. QB Sam Bradford impresses me quite a bit, as I think the kid should be a Pro Bowler for the way that he has played in the second half of the season. Hey Derek Anderson, this is no laughing matter. Your team is going to get its butt kicked again. St. Louis -3.5.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens (-3) – Remember to make your tiebreaker picks in this game!!! This is a tough game that is going to be very difficult to make a call on. I'm just happy that I don't have to publically make a pick for the New England Patriots/New York Jets game (though for the record, I'd go with New York +3.5)… These two AFC North rivals are really just matched up dead evenly, just as they are seemingly each and every campaign. The confidence has to be brimming from the Ravens though, as they already have that last second win in Pittsburgh to bank on. Sure, QB Ben Roethlisberger is playing in this one and he was out of that one, but this game isn't in the Steel City either. Baltimore -3.