PA Pigskin Picks: Week 16 Published Dec. 22, 2009 By "The Football Czar" Public Affairs DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. -- Congratulations to Steve McKinnis, 94th Finance IMA Travel, the Pigskin Expert of Week 15. Steve was the lone winner with only three missed games. He even predicted the Cowboys would beat the Saints. This is his second win since Week 7. Great showing! Top Ten Things We Learned During Week 15 10. It doesn't matter how you start, but how you finish. After starting the season 0-6, the Titans have gone 7-1 since Vince Young was named the starter. Maybe he should have been the starter all along. 9. Even though your team hasn't been playing its best, it doesn't mean you can't squeeze out a phenomenal game. Just ask the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger,who threw more than 500 yards and three touchdowns, including a game winner as time expired to beat the Packers. 8. You can't have a complete team without a consistent kicker. Both the Titans and the Chargers won their games off field goals and they have been playing great football in the second half of the season. 7. Oakland loves upsets. Sundays win was the third time the Raiders beat a good team. First it was the Eagles, then it was the Bengals and Sunday it was the Broncos. But apparently they don't love winning seasons since they are only 5-9. 6. Pride matters. The Falcons' playoff hopes were crushed by the Cowboys win on Saturday. But they still played their hardest to win on the road against the Jets. 5. It's a great year to be a Johnson. Both Andre Johnson and Chris Johnson are on pace to break records set in receiving and rushing. Andre is trying to become the second receiver to lead the league in receiving yards during back-to-back seasons. Chris is less than 300 yards away from breaking the record set by Marshall Faulk for most yards from scrimmage in a season. Chris is also 375 yards shy of Eric Dickerson's record for most rushing yards in a season. 4. Every now and then a team needs a reality check en route to the playoffs. The Vikings reality check came in the form of the Panthers using an effective running and passing game to beat them 26-7. 3. Where there's a will, there's a way ... unless Peyton Manning is in the picture. The Jaguars desperately needed to beat the Colts to control their playoff fate. They exchanged multiple touchdowns, and for a second it looked like the Jags would serve the Colts their first loss of the year and seal their playoff chances. But Peyton Manning wasn't having any of that, and the Colts continued their perfect record. 2. Speaking of records, they are made to be broken. The Cowboys broke their December curse by upsetting the Saints ... who broke their record of perfection this season, losing for the first time. 1. But perfect records don't matter, championships do. During the 2008 Superbowl, the Patriots came into the game with an 18-0 record, while the Giants were only 12-6. The Giants pulled off a major upset and even though the Patriots finished with the best record in the NFL that year, they weren't champions. The Colts and Saints have the best records this season, but will one be crowned a champion? Only time will tell ... Don't forget to turn in your picks by Friday, Dec. 25 at 4:30 p.m. Happy Holidays!
