Still, even if you are a fan of one of those teams you have to be looking forward to the final couple of weeks. Not only are so many playoff spots and positions up in the air, but there are marquee games between marquee teams sprinkled through the final two weeks of the season. Additionally, this is the time of year when we begin to get NFL games on Saturday, which is always nice.

As we always do here at Midwest Sports Fans, we get you ready for the week of NFL action with our preview and viewer guide, complete with tv schedule and announcer lineups; and, if you are into sports betting or just want to know what the experts predict will happen in the games, we bring you the point spreads, and over-under odds.

So here we go. As always, the schedule is provided by NFL.com, the announcer lineups are courtesy of the506.com, and we are switching it up this week and moving away from Danny Sheridan’s point spreads and odds to bring you the points spreads and over-unders from betus.com. (All of the lines are the early ones posted Wednesday morning. Visit their website for the most recent info as it gets closer to kickoff, or if you are looking for some free NFL picks.)

Thursday Night Football

Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars

• Thursday, December 18
• TV Schedule: NFL Network at 8:15 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Bob Papa, Chris Collinsworth, Deion Sanders
• Point Spread: Indianapolis Colts -6 1/2
• Over-Under: 44
• Why You Should Watch: Not for the usual reasons when Indy and Jacksonville play, which is for a highly competitive game with AFC South implications. Jacksonville sucks this year. However, the Colts have been rolling and I believe they could both win homefield advantage in the AFC or be completely out of the playoffs depending on how the last two weeks go. That’s craziness.

Saturday Night Football

Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys

• Saturday, December 20
• TV Schedule: NFL Network at 8:15 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Bob Papa, Chris Collinsworth, Deion Sanders
• Point Spread: Dallas Cowboys -4 1/2
• Over-Under: -39 1/2
• Why You Should Watch: Two very good teams in what should be an exciting, physical game. The playoff hopes of both teams are on the line, and both need victories to maintain their pace in the Wild Card race, as neither will win its division. Both defenses are playing fantastic and there will be lots of star power on the field.

Sunday Early Games

Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns

• Sunday, December 21
• TV Schedule: CBS at 1:00 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon
• Point Spread: Cleveland Browns -3 1/2
• Over-Under: 35
• Why You Should Watch: I was going to say only if you are a Browns or Bengals fan, but would you really even want to watch it then? These two teams have been terrible all season, and if your team does lose, you’re only going to feel worse. Stay away. Stay far away.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Tennessee Titans

• Sunday, December 21
• TV Schedule: CBS at 1:00 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms
• Point Spread: Pittsburgh Steelers -2 1/2
• Over-Under: 34 1/2
• Why You Should Watch: Are you kidding? This is quite possibly an AFC Championship Game preview and will determine homefield advantage. A huge and monumental game featuring two tough, physical defenses. The Steelers have gone through a gauntlet this year and somehow have come out of it with a chance at the #1 seed in the AFC. The Titans have struggled recently, and this is a chance to them to get on track at home.

San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams

• Sunday, December 21
• TV Schedule: FOX at 1:00 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan
• Point Spread: San Francisco 49ers -5 1/2
• Over-Under: 43 1/2
• Why You Should Watch: See my comments for the Browns-Bengals game. Although, in the 49ers defense, they have played much better since Mike Singletary took over and at least returned a small bit of pride to the Bay Area. Watch this game if Frank Gore is on your fantasy team…and plays. Otherwise, stay away.

San Diego Chargers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Sunday, December 21
• TV Schedule: CBS at 1:00 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf
• Point Spread: Tampa Bay Buccaneers -3 1/2
• Over-Under: 42 1/2
• Why You Should Watch: San Diego and Tampa Bay are both still clinging to playoff hopes, but need to win out and get some help (at least I think so, in TB’s case) to make it. The Chargers have been pathetic this year, but the Broncos are certainly capable of throwing up two stinkers to end the season. Lots of talented, albeit old and perhaps over the hill, players will be on the field in this one.

New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions

• Sunday, December 21
• TV Schedule: FOX at 1:00 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Ron Pitts and Tony Boselli
• Point Spread: New Orleans Saints -7 1/2
• Over-Under: 50 1/2
• Why You Should Watch: For fantasy purposes, and to see if the Lions can actually get a W. Something tells me a lot of fantasy championships will include Drew Brees and Calvin Johnson. I know they do in my case, so I will be watching this game closely, even though it means nothing in the grand scheme of the playoffs. Which is exactly why the NFL was brilliant to embrace fantasy football and, at least implicitly, gambling.

Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs

• Sunday, December 21
• TV Schedule: CBS at 1:00 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Dick Enberg, Randy Cross, and Dan Fouts
• Point Spread: Miami Dolphins -4 1/2
• Over-Under: 40
• Why You Should Watch: Anyone else see some similarities between this year’s Dolphins team and last year’s Cleveland Browns? QB comes out of the nowhere to be team leader — check. (Who thought Chad Pennington would be on the Dolphins this offseason??) No expectations coming into the year but just hit a huge roll — check. Fattening up against a pretty weak schedule — check. There are more, but who cares. The Dolphins control their own destiny and need a W to keep pace with the Jets and Patriots.

Arizona Cardinals at New England Patriots

• Sunday, December 21
• TV Schedule: FOX at 1:00 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon
• Point Spread: New England Patriots -7 1/2
• Over-Under: 44
• Why You Should Watch: I am telling you right now to bet the over. There will be a lot of scoring, as Arizona tries to avenge last week’s loss to Minnesota (and Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald win me a fantasy championship). The Patriots offense has been rolling too, with Matt Cassel throwing 4 TDs last week. I smell an exciting, down-to-the-wire shootout. The Pats will win because they are more desperate.

Sunday Afternoon Games

Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos

• Sunday, December 21
• TV Schedule: CBS at 4:05 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots
• Point Spread: Denver Broncos -7 1/2
• Over-Under: 44 1/2
• Why You Should Watch: Buffalo cannot find any consistent play from its QBs, while Denver cannot find any consistency at all in anything, although they sit atop the AFC West. This could be another down-to-the-wire game, and I think Denver ultimately wins. But if they don’t, and if San Diego wins, it sets up a mighty nice matchup for next week.

New York Jets at Seattle Seahawks

• Sunday, December 21
• TV Schedule: CBS at 4:05 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker
• Point Spread: New York Jets -5 1/2
• Over-Under: 44 1/2
• Why You Should Watch: The Jets are terrible when they play on the West Coast — remember the 49ers game? I am not sure the Seahawks have the horses to stay in this race, but I would not be surprised one bit to see the Jets stumble in Seattle, and put a huge dent in their playoff hopes. Regardless, watch this game for one reason and one reason only: Gus Johnson.

Houston Texans at Oakland Raiders

• Sunday, December 21
• TV Schedule: CBS at 4:05 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein
• Point Spread: Houston Texans -7 1/2
• Over-Under: 44
• Why You Should Watch: Because Andre Johnson is amazing, and the Texans have been playing really good football lately. This is the team everyone expected at the start of the year. And the Raiders are pretty much toast, so expect another win for the Texans and another offseason of people predicting them to take that “next step.” We’ll see.

Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings

• Sunday, December 21
• TV Schedule: FOX at 4:15 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Not available as of 12/17
• Point Spread: Minnesota Vikings -3 1/2
• Over-Under: 43 1/2
• Why You Should Watch: Minnesota is trying to hang onto the NFC North lead, while the Falcons cling to their surprising playoff hopes. Any game that features Adrian Peterson and the Matt Ryan-Roddy White combo is worth watching. This should be a really good game, unless it is the one that Joe Buck is announcing.

Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins

• Sunday, December 21
• TV Schedule: FOX at 4:15 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Not available as of 12/17, but probably the turd stew of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
• Point Spread: Philadelphia Eagles -5 1/2
• Over-Under: 39 1/2
• Why You Should Watch: Philadelphia is still clinging to playoff hopes and needs to win out and get help. The Redskins, as they always do, have fallen apart once the games started to mean something. This could be an entertaining game, but won’t be as fun as the Minnesota-Atlanta game.

Sunday Night Football

Carolina Panthers at New York Giants

• Sunday, December 21
• TV Schedule: NBC at 8:15 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Al Michaels and John Madden
• Point Spread: New York Giants -3 1/2
• Over-Under: 39 1/2
• Why You Should Watch: As if you need more reason to watch the Primetime game on Sunday night, this one will determine homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. These have been the two best teams and they will duke it out Sunday night, although the Giants look like a different team without Plaxico Burress and Brandon Jacobs. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart have become a great 1-2 punch.

Monday Night Football

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears

• Monday, December 22
• TV Schedule: ESPN at 8:30 ET
• Announcer Lineup: Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Tony Kornheiser
• Point Spread: Chicago Bears -4 1/2
• Over-Under: 42
• Why You Should Watch: The Bears hold playoff hopes if Minnesota slips up, plus this is a historic rivalry game. If you are a Packers fan, and the game is close in the 4th quarter, you might just want to turn off the TV and save yourself the heartache.

I’ll update the Sunday afternoon Fox games as soon as I find out which announcer team is doing which game. Other than that, have a happy football-watching Sunday, I hope you enjoyed the Week 16 NFL Preview and TV schedules and announcer lineups and point spreads and over-unders and blah, blah, blah — we’ll have some fantasy football content up later this week to help get you ready for the championship week, if Week 16 is the final week in your league.