For the second straight week, rayonsports.com was at the .500 mark in picking games, going 8-8. The season record is now 144 right and 95 wrong. The goal going into the final week of the regular season is to try to keep the “loss” column out of triple figures, but that’ll be difficult since the last week is always the hardest to predict, with losing teams either running for the bus or rising to the occasion, and winning teams resting players for the playoffs. Here are the week 17 choices:

Buffalo at New York Jets – my gut feeling is the Jets will be playing to not get anybody hurt, and the Bills want to get rid of the bad taste of their turnoverfest against New England last week. Buffalo wins in their first game at the new Meadowlands Stadium.

Carolina at Atlanta – there’s no way the Falcons blow the top seed in the conference against the lowly Panthers at home. They’ll be fired up after losing a game they could’ve won against the Saints last week and will win in a rout.

Cincinnati at Baltimore – to their credit, the Bengals, with their season down the tubes, gave a great effort in upsetting San Diego last week. They won’t do the same on the road in a hostile environment against a team with a lot to play for. The Ravens win this game.

Pittsburgh at Cleveland – the Browns have been giant killers and this game, with a chance to be spoilers against a bitter division rival, will be their Super Bowl. I believe the veteran Steelers will weather the storm and pull out a close win to wrap up the AFC North crown and a playoff bye.

Minnesota at Detroit – the Vikings were very impressive in upsetting Philly on Tuesday night. I say they will win this game also, and continue to build a case for interim coach Leslie Frazier to keep the job full time going into next season.

Oakland at Kansas City – the Chiefs have a lot to play for in this game. A win gives them the #3 seed, and they avoid having to play at New England if they survive the wild card round. The Raiders will put up a fight but I’ll go with KC at home.

Miami at New England – Pats have the top seed wrapped up, but Bill Belichick is the type of coach who will want to keep his team’s momentum high, and Tom Brady is the type of player who will fight being rested in any game. The Patriots win at home.

Tampa Bay at New Orleans – the young Bucs have had a great year, but they haven’t risen to the occasion in games against quality opponents, so I’ll take the Saints at home.

San Diego at Denver –  the Broncos are fighting hard for interim coach Eric Studesville, and the Chargers just don’t strike me as a team that will give it all they have in a meaningless game for coach Norv Turner. Denver wins at home.

Chicago at Green Bay – the Bears are a threat to go all the way to the Super Bowl, but Green Bay needs this game badly and will win at home to secure a playoff spot.

Jacksonville at Houston – the Jags can still get into the playoffs with a win, so they’ll be motivated, and the Texans have apparently already quit on the season, so Jacksonville seems like the choice. But the wild card is that Trent Edwards will most likely start at QB for injured David Garrard, so I’ll pick Houston to win.

Tennessee at Indianapolis – the Titans are another team whose season has fallen apart, and coach Jeff Fisher may have lost the locker room. The Colts need to win and Peyton Manning will make sure they do. Colts win at home to lock up the AFC South crown and a playoff spot.

Dallas at Philadelphia – neither team has anything to play for, and Michael Vick probably won’t play. Still, I like the Eagles to be more motivated and pull out a win, after being embarrassed by the Vikings on Tuesday.

Arizona at San Francisco – two of 2010’s most disappointing teams. The Cardinals are playing better at this point, and will win on the road.

New York Giants at Washington – Giants could still sneak into the playoffs, and I believe they’ll win this game and give themselves a chance.

St. Louis at Seattle – the Mediocrity Bowl, with the winner winning the NFC West title and a playoff spot. I’ll take the Rams to win a big road game, and win the crown with an 8-8 record.

Sunday’s Bills’ game against New England falls into the “burn the films” category of games, as the team handed the Patriots an easy 34-3 win by turning the ball over seven times. It’s unfortunate that they made so many errors, because they showed that they could move the ball offensively against the best team in the AFC early in the game, and did lots of good things in the passing game during the contest, but for this game, the “bad” Ryan Fitzpatrick showed up. Fitz was personally responsible for 5 of the turnovers, with 3 awful interceptions and a pair of fumbles. His QB rating for the day was 37.1. I have no idea how the quarterback rating system in the NFL operates, but I know a 37.1 rating is not good. Still, he managed to throw for 250 yards and spread the ball around well among his undermanned corps of receivers, with Stevie Johnson, Naaman Roosevelt, Donald Jones and C.J. Spiller all making plays. Fred Jackson was running well early in the game and seemed primed for a huge day on the ground (he had 81 yards for the day as it was), but the turnovers put the team in a huge hole and eliminated the running game from the game plan. Spiller showed he still has a long way to go to be an NFL-caliber star player, contributing 2 more fumbles. The Bills’ defense, which had been gradually improving, played one of its’ worst games of the year. Tom Brady & Co. moved the ball at will and took advantage of the turnovers to score 21 easy points. The Pats, who don’t have a dominant running game, became the latest Bills’ opponent to rush for over 200 yards. Brady’s stats weren’t great, but he threw 3 touchdown passes, all to tight ends. All the ghosts that haunted Buffalo’s defense earlier in the year – no pass rush, no run defense, no clue as to how to cover tight ends, poor tackling, etc. – were all on display in this game. It was without a doubt a regression game by the defense, but the fact that the offense put them in bad spots all day also didn’t help. One thing about Fitzpatrick’s play that the coaches can consider when evaluating his future as the team’s starting QB is that as awful as he was, all the mistakes he made are easily correctable.

There were lots of upsets on the NFL’s week 15 schedule, and the Rayonsports prediction total reflected that, with a mediocre 8-8 record for the week. That brings the season totals to 136 correct and 87 wrong. Here are the picks for week 16:

Carolina at Pittsburgh – big win for the Steelers here, as they will take no prisoners after losing to the Jets last week.

Dallas at Arizona – the Cardinals have the worst quarterbacking in the NFL these days, and if they can’t even beat Carolina they won’t beat the Cowboys either. I’ll go with Dallas to win on the road.

New England at Buffalo – the Bills are vastly improved since they gave the Pats a tough game in Foxborough earlier in the year, so the temptation is to pick Buffalo in an upset, but New England is also improved since that game and needs the win more for playoff seeding considerations. I’ll pick New England in a close game.

New York Jets at Chicago – Jets earned a tough road win in Pittsburgh last week, which should boost their confidence, and I believe they’re a better team than the Bears anyway, so I’ll go with New York to grab another road win.

Baltimore at Cleveland – too much at stake for the “old” Browns franchise to slip up against the “new” Browns. Baltimore wins on the road.

San Francisco at St. Louis – somebody has to win the weak NFC West, and the Rams still have a shot, so I’ll pick them at home against a fading 49er team.

Tennessee at Kansas City – at this time of year, the teams with real playoff aspirations seem to find ways to win when they have to, so I’ll go with the Chiefs to win at home.

Detroit at Miami – the Dolphins are really struggling offensively, but despite being eliminated from the playoffs I believe they still have enough left in the tank to beat the Lions, a weak road team.

Washington at Jacksonville – I really admire the job Jack Del Rio has done in reviving the Jaguars this year, and I’m not impressed with what supposed “genius” Mike Shanahan has done to the Redskins’ franchise so far. I’ll pick Jacksonville to win and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Houston at Denver – there’s talk that if the Texans fire Gary Kubiak, he may wind up getting the Denver head coaching position. My question is – why? If Kubiak can’t win with the talent he has in Houston, he won’t do anything to help Denver. I have to go with the Texans in this game based on having a better team, at least on paper.

San Diego at Cincinnati – Phillip Rivers should have a field day here, and when he does the Bengals will pack it in early and San Diego will win easily.

Indianapolis at Oakland – the Colts won’t blow this after grabbing a big win over the Jags last week to take control over their division, although the Raiders are an extremely dangerous opponent. Peyton Manning will make sure his club wins.

Seattle at Tampa Bay – the young Bucs were brought back down to earth by Detroit last week, and I believe their bubble has burst. I’ll go with the Seahawks in a mild upset.

New York Giants at Green Bay – loser of this game probably won’t make the playoffs. The Giants may be reeling from blowing that big game to the Eagles last week, and I’m going with the Packers to win at home.

Minnesota at Philadelphia – this won’t even be close. The Eagles win a game that will be decided by halftime.

New Orleans at Atlanta – biggest Monday Night Football matchup of the year. Atlanta has been great this year, but I’ll pick the Saints because they need it more.