Eagles @ Seahawks, 8:20PM ET, Thursday
Philadelphia is just the latest example of what usually happens to everyone’s preseason chic pick. Granted, there’s still time for the Eagles to turn things around and if they win out, there’s a chance they could sneak in the back door of the postseason. But I’m not so sure they’ll even win tonight against the Seahawks. Although they lost to Washington last Sunday, Seattle is usually tough to beat at home and the Eagles have been sleepwalking all year. That’s a very undisciplined, unfocused team that Andy Reid is running these days.

Raiders @ Dolphins, 1:00PM ET, Sunday
Just when positive things start to happen in Miami, Brandon Marshall finds himself in handcuffs. Apparently police in Broward County, Florida briefly detained the receiver after he was accused of fleeing a $142 cab fee around 5:00AM on November 14. The rest of the details are fantastic. The cab driver said that Marshall “didn’t know where he wanted to go” and “When I woke him up and told him he had to pay, he said he wasn’t and started arguing for me to take him home.” Get this, Marshall blamed the “misunderstanding” on the cab driver’s “accent,” although it sounds as if he wouldn’t have understood anyone given the condition he was in. How good of shape are you when you’re falling asleep in the back of cabs at 5:00AM?

Broncos @ Vikings, 1:00PM ET, Sunday
Von Miller underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair torn ligaments in his thumb and may not play on Sunday for the Broncos. That’s bad news for a Denver team that has had to rely on its defense and the one-quarter of magic from Tim Tebow every week. Miller is a runaway candidate for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and if he can’t go, the Broncos defense will be down one of its biggest playmakers (if not the biggest playmaker). Of course, if Adrian Peterson doesn’t suit up for Minnesota then Denver only really has to worry about Percy Harvin.

Falcons @ Texans, 1:00PM ET, Sunday
Don’t be surprised if T.J. Yates surprises this Sunday. First and foremost, he played in a pro-style offense under John Shoop and Butch Davis at North Carolina and Atlanta will be down two of its top three corners (Brent Grimes and Kelvin Hayden). Christopher Owens, who will start for Grimes (knee), was the poor lad that was repeatedly torched by Aaron Rodgers in the NFC Divisional Round last January and Dominique Franks (who will start at nickel in place of Hayden), has received very little PT the past two years.

Titans @ Bills, 1:00PM ET, Sunday
While I think the Texans can survive thanks to their running game and defense, this is the time for the Titans to take the governor off and amp things up. Tennessee has a legitimate shot of catching Houston in the AFC South because of T.J. Yates’ inexperience. But the Titans need to win, including this weekend against a struggling Buffalo team. The Bills are without Fred Jackson and Ryan Fitzpatrick is reeling right now. Tennessee has to take advantage.

Bengals @ Steelers, 1:00PM ET, Sunday
It’s put up or shut up time for the Bengals this weekend in Pittsburgh. If they can’t prove that they can beat the Steelers, then nobody is going to consider them legit contenders. On the flip side, if Andy Dalton and Co. pull off the upset then Cincinnati will very much remain in the thick of things in the AFC North. This game could provide a very clear picture of how the rest of the season will play out for the Bengals.

Panthers @ Bucs, 1:00PM ET, Sunday
What a complete role reversal for Tampa Bay. While the Saints and on a smaller scale, the Falcons, improved their rosters this offseason, the Bucs rested on their laurels outside of signing a punter (Michael Koenen). The Tampa front office, which has always been cheap anyway, figured it didn’t need to make any upgrades after the team won 10 games last year and now the Bucs are paying for it. They’re clearly overmatched and lack playmakers to compete with New Orleans and Atlanta in the division. If they lose at home to the upstart Panthers this Sunday, it’ll officially be the lowest point of the season for the Bucs.

Colts @ Patriots, 1:00PM ET, Sunday
There’s really not any point in breaking this game down, right? I mean, not even a little bit. The Colts haven’t played well all season and while a quarterback change may bring a little optimism to Indy’s locker room, the switch is Curtis Painter for Dan Orlovsky. That’s only about a droplet of optimism right there.

Chiefs @ Bears, 1:00PM ET, Sunday
As painful as it may sound to Mike Martz, he’s going to have to design his offense around Matt Forte and then sit back and watch Devin Hester and the Chicago defense win games from here on out. Because Martz obviously can’t run his offense with Caleb Hanie in the same manner as he did with Jay Cutler. Hanie would be okay if Fotre was the focal point of the offense but will be exposed if Martz tries to force the issue through the air. That said, the Bears should eat Tyler Palko alive so as long as Hanie doesn’t throw another four interceptions then Chicago should be fine.

Jets @ Redskins, 1:00PM ET, Sunday
The Jets need to be careful this Sunday. For as inconsistent as Washington’s offense has been this season, its defense will get after the quarterback. Plus, it’s clear that Rex Grossman makes the Redskins a more competitive team than when John Beck is under center, so it probably won’t be a walk in the park for Rex Ryan’s crew this weekend. If Mark Sanchez didn’t find some of his lost confidence last week when he threw four touchdown passes, the Jets could easily lose this Sunday on the road.

Packers @ Giants, 4:15PM ET, Sunday
Normally the Giants play their best football when their backs are against the wall and maybe they will again this Sunday. But what I witnessed on Monday night was an overmatched defense that is really feeling the effects of injuries (which date back to the preseason). Drew Brees and the Saints are explosive but even Sean Payton’s offense pails in comparison to what Aaron Rodgers and Co. bring to the table. It may be another long day for the New York defense.

Cowboys @ Cardinals, 4:15PMET, Sunday
The Cowboys have a golden opportunity to potentially take a two-game lead over the Giants in the NFC East because while they’re playing the 4-7 Cardinals, New York will host the undefeated Packers at the same time on the other side of the country. The Cowboys can’t afford to muck this up, although this is the same team that was nearly beaten by the Redskins and Dolphins, respectively, the past two weeks. With the way Dallas has a tendency to underachieve at times, don’t be surprised if Arizona keeps things close on Sunday.

Ravens @ Browns, 4:05PM ET, Sunday
As they proved last week against the Bengals, the Browns can sneak up on opponents if teams aren’t careful. Cleveland’s offense maxes out at about 17 points but the Browns defense is competitive. With Baltimore coming off a hard-fought win over the 49ers on Thanksgiving night, the Ravens better not get caught sleepwalking this week.

Rams @ 49ers, 4:15PM ET, Sunday
With Jack Del Rio being fired on Monday in Jacksonville, you have to wonder how much longer Steve Spagnuolo has in St. Louis. In defense of Spags, the Rams’ schedule was brutal at the start and injuries have taken their toll in the secondary and along the offensive line. But the team isn’t even watchable right now. Personally, I think Spagnuolo has at least one more year to turn things around in St. Louis but it wouldn’t be a shock if come Monday he were out of a job. I think it would take a blowout loss on Sunday though.

Lions @ Saints, 8:20PM ET, Sunday
Detroit’s playoff hopes could vanish very quickly over these upcoming weeks. The Saints are a solid football team overall but they’ve proven to be unbeatable at home this year. And considering the Lions won’t have Ndamukong Suh (two-game suspension) to rush Drew Brees this weekend, New Orleans may put up 40-plus points again. (Detroit is also down a few players in its secondary, which always bodes well when a team is about to take on the Saints in New Orleans.)

Chargers @ Jaguars, 8:30PM ET, Monday
Somebody had to pay for the complete mismanagement of Blaine Gabbert this season and unfortunately for him, that man was Jack Del Rio. Gabbert should have been holding a clipboard in his first year but instead he’s starting every week despite not being ready. It’s not surprising to see him struggle considering how raw he was as a prospect back in April. As for San Diego, things just keep getting worse and worse for Norv Turner. The Bolts lost left tackle Marcus McNeill to a season-ending back injury earlier this week and had to claim Jared Gaither off waivers from the Chiefs. Now Philip Rivers will have even less time to throw interceptions.

If you liked the cartoon, make sure you check out Bang! Cartoon’s Radio Hour this week, where they tackle topics such as Stephen A. Smith, the dry humbling dance of Rey Mauluga on Erin Andrews and much more.

It’s uncertain at this point how long Orton will be out, but the replays didn’t look good. Rex Grossman took over in the second half and threw for 58 yards and a touchdown while also running for a score as well. He wasn’t overly impressive, but he did rally Chicago from a 10-point deficit and allowed them to avoid embarrassment in losing to a winless Detroit team.

If Orton is out for an extended period of time, it would be a huge blow to the Bears’ postseason hopes. Grossman is a liability every time he drops back to pass and while he has shown signs of being an NFL-caliber quarterback, he’s just way too inconsistent to be counted on to lead Chicago to the playoffs, especially with the amount of injuries this team has on defense.

Speaking of Detroit, if they’re looking for a positive, Dan Orlovsky did throw for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns. Of course he did it against a banged up Bears’ secondary and did throw two costly picks but hey, the Lions have to take good news where they can get it.

“Was there reasonable cause to put me on IR? Yeah, because they said there’s a bulging disk. But the reality is, most guys have bulging disks,” Kitna said in the interview.

“I really feel like I could have played last Sunday at probably above 90 percent health-wise,” he said in the interview. “I played the last two years most of the time probably 75 to 80 percent health-wise with different type of things.”

It’s hard to argue with the Lions for wanting to make a change, especially after they fired GM Matt Millen. They’re trying to figure out what they have on their roster and if either Dan Orlovsky or Drew Stanton can develop at quarterback. It sounds like Kitna understands that, but due to his competitive nature he understandably wants to play.

One had to imagine that Kitna would struggle this year without Mike Martz, which he has. His interceptions in the fourth quarter cost Detroit a chance to make a remarkable comeback against the Packers and that wasn’t the first time he has made terrible mistakes late in games. But he gave that team a true leader and made a lot of the players accountable for their actions. Eventually that’s what the Lions need in a quarterback, but unfortunately for Kitna it looks like his time in Detroit is over.

With no trades in the works, the Lions decided this morning to place quarterback Jon Kitna on injured reserve. The decision should be announced later today.

Kitna suffered a back injury in the first half of the Lions’ 34-7 loss to Chicago two weeks ago. He did not play last week against Minnesota and did not travel with the team.

Kitna, who has muscular damage in his lower back, finishes the season with 758 yards passing, five touchdowns and five interceptions. He never seemed to buy fully into new coordinator Jim Colletto’s offense, and, with one year left on his contract, may have played his last game as a Lion.

Kitna was always a fairly reliable fantasy option, but now that his season is finished, it looks like the beginning of the Dan Orlovsky era…for now. This has to be a slight downgrade for Calvin Johnson and a big downgrade for Roy Williams. Calvin played pretty well against the Vikings, and young QBs have a tendency to lock onto their favorite target and throw to him over and over, which means that Roy may be left out in the cold.

For the record, this isn’t about bashing gamblers because, to be brutally honest, I am one. In fact, anyone that shells out a little coin in office pools or even fantasy football is a gambler to some degree. So as it stands, I’m referring to myself when I write this.

This article is about shining even more light on how unpredictable the NFL is, and how quickly a football game can turn on its head. It has to be easier to predict winning lotto numbers than it is to predict which teams will cover the spread on a consistent basis.

Below are just three examples from Week 6 of how snake-bitten you can be as a gambler of the NFL. And remember, I’m using just three examples from one week of the season. Think about how many times a gambler could get screwed over the course of an entire NFL season and it’s enough to lose your lunch.

Example #1: Bears –3 at Falcons

So you’re ready to make your first wager of the day and you set your sights on the Bears-Falcons matchup. Rookie quarterback against vaunted Bears defense? Chicago is 5-0 in their last five meetings with Atlanta? Kyle Orton vs. a suspect Falcons secondary that was just lit up by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers? Put me down for $50 on the Bears and I don’t mind laying the three points, you say. And you know what? I like the fact that the Falcons have scored 72 points at home this year and that the Bears’ offense is clicking. Put me down for another $50 on the over 43 while we’re at it.

The game starts off rough for both the Bears and the over, but you start to relax when Chicago cuts Atlanta’s slim lead to 12-10 thanks to a Matt Forte 3-yard touchdown run. When the Falcons push their lead to 19-10 early in the fourth, you again feel that your Bears bet is in danger.

But quickly things start to look up when the Bears drive inside Atlanta’s 10-yard line with nine and a half minutes to play. A touchdown here and not only are Da Bears back in business, but the over is, too.

After an incomplete pass, Forte puts Chicago down to the 1-yard line before the Falcons stiffen up on third and goal from the one and stop the Bears cold. You yell, “Take the points Bears! There’s plenty of time!” But your screams fall on deaf ears as Lovie Smith sends his offense back onto the field. Atlanta then stuffs Forte on fourth and one to turn the ball over.

“Hope that doesn’t bite me in the ass later,” you say.

The Bears eventually get a field goal to cut the Falcons’ lead to 19-13 and after a Jerious Norwood 84-yard kickoff return, you realize your bet on the Bears is bunk, but there’s still plenty of promise for the over. If the Falcons kick a field goal, there’s still enough time for two more scores and you don’t care where they come from.

Jason Elam, who hasn’t missed a field goal all season, blows a 33-yard chip shot.

Awesome.

Your hopes are dashed and you’re feeling the sting of a double loss. The Bears march down the field on an incredible 11-play, 77-yard drive led by Orton to punch it in for six, but you don’t care. The Falcons then one-up Chicago with a 48-yard game-winning field goal by that good-for-nothing Jason Elam. “Go to hell, Jason Elam,” you say to yourself on the couch.

Final score: Falcons 22, Bears 20. You check your sheet to see if maybe you made a mistake on the over/under. Nope – you still have 43 written down. A goal line stand and a missed field goal? The over should have covered by a long shot.

Down $100 on the day. No big deal you say, because…

Example #2: Lions at Vikings –13 and Rams at Redskins –14

…you still had the Vikings and Redskins going at the same time! A cover by both of those teams nets me my $100 back easily. Not only were they playing inferior opponents, but they were also playing inferior opponents that hadn’t covered the spread all year. Sure the point spreads were a bit high, but the Rams were in complete turmoil after firing Scott Linehan and the Lions are…well…the Lions. They’ve been an utter mess all season and Dan Orlovsky was making his first career start.

When you check the final scores you had to do a double take: Vikings 12, Lions 10 – Rams 19, Redskins 17.

What the Jim Haslett is going on here? The Redskins have been one of the best teams in the NFC the past four weeks and they were playing the Rams…at home. And while the Vikings don’t have the best offense in the world, Detroit’s defense had been absolutely brutal all season.

“Just awful,” you say. I’m now down $200, but…

Example #3: Cowboys at Cardinals

…you had one more saving grace. It wasn’t going to be a winning day, but a $50 win salvages a little dough with the Cowboys-Cardinals late game. You knew better than to take a Dallas team that almost blew a 17-point lead against the Bengals last week and to bet against Arizona, who has played well at home this year.

So you look at the over/under and see…53 points? I know both of these teams have good offenses and suspect defenses, but 53 points? Easy money – take the under 53.

Game starts and immediately you want to take a bath with an electric toaster because Arizona returns the opening kick for a touchdown. But you hold that thought after the refs take back a Cardinals’ touchdown because of the tuck rule, which at this moment, is the greatest rule in the history of sports. And with the score 7-7 at halftime, you feel incredibly good about your 39 point cushion.

It’s now deep in the second half and you start to feel a little concerned with the number of big plays that are occurring. But with the score 14-14 heading into the forth, you’re still in great shape. The teams would have to score three touchdowns and two field goals in the fourth quarter for the total to go over.

And just your luck, that’s exactly what happens. Well, sort of. What actually happens is that Marion Barber goes 70-yards on a freaking swing pass to cut the Cardinals’ lead to 24-21 with only 2:00 minutes remaining and then Nick Folk kicks an improbable 52-yard field goal in an improbable situation. I say improbable because somehow Dallas marches into field goal range in under a minute and are awarded five extra yards because Arizona is penalized for having an injured player (who can’t get off the field under his own power) line up offsides.

No problem. The game is heading into overtime 24-24, and the only way you lose is if one team scores a touchdown, which rarely happens in a NFL overtime. One team will get into field goal range, kick a game-winner and you can salvage a rough betting day with a nice win…

That is until the Cardinals block a punt on the opening series and return it for a touchdown…first time that’s happened in an NFL game…ever. Only four minutes of game clock ticked away and both teams combined for 20 points. You lose the under bet by one point and you look around at what other kitchen appliances you can fit into a bathtub.

Just like that you’re down a total of $250 on the day. Then you remember that your bookie takes a little extra because of the juice, so your $250 in losings is actually $275.

“Go to hell Jason Elam,” you shout one more time.

And that, my friends, is why you shouldn’t gamble on the NFL. Hey, maybe you went the other way with these plays and won on all of these games. But I guarantee you thousands of people lost because of these exact scenarios. And it’s absolutely crazy to think about how a game can be decided on just a couple of plays. One missed or made field goal or one goal line stand can be the difference in you winning or losing a bet. But that’s gambling, isn’t it?

The Lions outplayed the Vikings for 59 minutes and 51 seconds on Sunday, yet Ryan Longwell’s 26-yard field goal with nine seconds remaining gave Minnesota a 12-10 win and dropped Detroit to 0-5 on the season.

What’s worse for Detroit is that this safety by quarterback Dan Orlovsky (who was making his first career start) proved to be the difference (at least in terms of the final score) of the game:

The sad thing is that Orlovsky was dangerously close to running out of the back of the end zone on the play before the safety.

As if Lion fans needed to be kicked in jewels anymore than they already have.