Washington (plus 6½) at Jacksonville — Jaguars can’t afford another loss or their playoff hopes will disappear. They will welcome Rex Grossman back to the Sunshine State by raining down sacks. ... BEST BET: JAGUARS 24-13

N.Y. Jets (plus 1½) at Chicago — Despite all the road favorites this week, we’ll go with a road underdog that showed lots of moxie in Pittsburgh last weekend and now faces a team already in the playoffs. ... UPSET SPECIAL: JETS, 14-13

Dallas (minus 6½) at Arizona (Saturday night) — Two defending division winners now mired near the bottom of the standings. Their gift for disappointing seasons: a Christmas night game. ... COWBOYS, 27-16

New Orleans (plus 2) at Atlanta (Monday night) — Saving the best for last, the top two teams in the NFC get the Monday night spotlight. Atlanta clinches the division and a bye with a close win. ... FALCONS, 23-20

Tennessee (plus 4½) at Kansas City — Chiefs need to keep winning because Chargers don’t figure to slip in the AFC West. Titans have slipped to also-ran status, even with last week’s win. ... CHIEFS, 19-13

San Diego (minus 7) at Cincinnati — Bengals blew a good chance for the top overall draft pick with last Sunday’s victory over Cleveland. They’ll make sure they stay in the running until the bitter end ... CHARGERS, 24-10

Indianapolis (minus 2½) at Oakland — This is going to be tougher than many folks think. If Colts can’t stop the run, they’ll be in trouble. ...COLTS, 21-20

San Francisco (plus 2) at St. Louis — A Niners win and a Seattle loss ensures a losing record for the division winner. NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! ... RAMS, 20-17

Seattle (plus 6) at Tampa Bay — A Niners win and a Seattle loss ... you already know the rest. ... BUCCANEERS, 24-14

New England (minus 8) at Buffalo — Seems like the last time the Bills won a game in this series was in the old AFL. ... PATRIOTS, 28-16

Baltimore (minus 3) at Cleveland —  A playoff spot awaits Baltimore with a victory. Was last week’s win over New Orleans a look at the real Ravens? RAVENS, 24-13...

Houston (minus 3) at Denver — Who cares, Part I? ... TEXANS, 33-31

Detroit (plus 4) at Miami — Who cares, Part II? ... DOLPHINS, 17-14

Minnesota (OFF) at Philadelphia — Eagles take the NFC East and stay in running for bye with a victory. ... EAGLES, 30-10

N.Y. Giants (OFF) at Green Bay — If Aaron Rodgers plays, Packers have serious chance to win and steal wild card from Giants. But that debacle at Meadowlands against Philly will be a strong motivator for New York. ... GIANTS, 23-20

Editor’s note: Wilner chose Pittsburgh to beat Carolina in Thursday night’s game. ...STEELERS, 17-7

RECORD: Versus spread, 6-7-3 (overall 115-89-13); Straight up, 8-8 (overall 147-76)

BEST BET: 8-7 against spread, 10-5 straight up.

UPSET SPECIAL: 8-7 against spread, 8-7 straight up.