Friday, December 19, 2025

Benster and D Pick Your Games -- What In The Actual? Edition

Now this is a family blog post, so I can't really say what I want to say about the third quarter in Denver last week, but all of a sudden the Packers went from looking like they were going to have one of their most impressive road wins to losing Micah Parsons and seeing their Super Bowl chances go from a strong favorite to a flawed borderline contender in the span of about half an hour. 

Life comes at you fast.

I can't remember a more terrible quarter the Packers have had in my lifetime, and that might have been worse then the Seattle NFC title game meltdown. It was that bad. Life goes on, and the Packers just need to get in the playoffs. 

They have multiple ways of doing it, but it starts on Saturday in Chicago.

I am feeling the HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE! and ready to pick some games. Watch me work. 

Glorious Green Bay Packers (+1.5) vs. Bear Down Chicago Da Bearz Still Suck In Gary So the Packers are going into Chicago to face off against a Bears team that has a chance at revenge and saw their rivals suffer through a nightmare game, traveling cross country on a short week. The Bears and Packers are going to be banged up, but Micah Parsons and Josh Jacobs are much bigger losses than what the Bears have. The good news for the Packers is that Brenton Cox looks like he is coming back. Micah he is not, but at least would add some beef on the interior. What the Packers need to do now is get someone on defense to decide that they are going to get after Caleb and force him into a mistake. The hardest thing the Packers have is that they beat the Bears once, and it was pretty close. But the good news is that I sense this team is mentally tough and LaFleur is going to bust out something early to win. Just get into the playoffs and see what happens, guys. Packers 33, Bears Still Suck 28. 

I recognize that score. That would be a good score. The Bears are banged up and will be going into the game without two deep threats on offense. The Bears had good success last time by using play action, which bought enough time for Caleb Williams to see the field better and allow his receivers to get open. I don't know if that same scenario will take place this time. If I were to guess, I think the Bears will try to run the ball down the throat of the Packers. If they can do that, they will win. If the Packers can be stout at the point of attack, it will be an easier thing. I also believe Jordan Love will play well - the Bears have some talent on defense, but the Packers have a lot of weapons and it does appear that Christian Watson will play. So if the game is a shootout, advantage Green Bay. Packers 35, Bears 31.

Minnesota Vikings (-2.5) vs. New York Giants The Vikings were able to get a nice win over the Cowboys and their awful defense last week down in Texas, and that should give them some positivity in what has been frankly a tough season for the Purple. With the Vikings eliminated from the playoffs, I asked Mrs. D aka Mom what she is going to be watching down the stretch. She indicated that she wants to see that JJ McCarthy makes it through the rest of the year healthy. I think that the Vikings have a lot to play for because guys are going to be playing for jobs and I do think that there is going to be a lot of deserved criticism towards the Vikings front office, especially because it looks like Sam Darnold has the Seahawks getting home field in the NFC after the epic Thursday Night Football victory yesterday evening. The Giants aren't great, but they play hard and are a team that makes everything difficult. The Vikings could use a nice and comfortable win, and I think they will get it by pulling away in the second half. Vikings 34, Giants 17.

The Vikings have one big problem that I see, which is that their pass rushers are depleted. Losing Jonathan Greenard is huge, as the other edge rushers really relied on Greenard drawing additional attention. The Giants do play tough, but they are a mess and while the Vikings haven't proved much this season, I can see the outlines of a more successful year next year if they stay the course. Vikings 27, Giants 20.

Enjoy your football this weekend and hope you have a Merry Christmas! Ben out.

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