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The Harmon Football Forecast is one of the most highly regarded and widely read sports features in the country, published in over 200 newspapers.
| Harmon Stat Pack | |
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Wk 15: 15 picks
Right: 12 Wrong: 3 Pct: .8 |
YTD: 218 picks
Right: 137 Wrong: 81 Pct: .628 |
| Harmon's archive | |
It all began when Bob Harmon began predicting college and NFL games in 1957. He devised a mathematical formula that picked winners correctly between 72 and 78 percent of the time; most seasons getting almost 75 percent of his picks right.
Today, Jim Harmon and his staff are the only forecasters who predict exact scores and chart every college and pro team.
Saturday's games (12/29/2001):
| Baltimore 17, *Tampa Bay 16 |
| A first-time matchup that's almost too close to call, because the Ravens' defense is shaky against the pass and the Buccaneers' offense isn't half bad through the air. Who wants the win more? |
Sunday's games (12/30/2001):
| Arizona 19, *Carolina 14 |
| This is the Cardinals' last pre-realignment chance to fly 2100 miles east to face an NFC West team, and they'll win by letting balls fly, too. Carolina won the only time they've met, in 1995. |
| Chicago 20, *Detroit 17 |
| Four weeks ago the Bears barely survived the Lions, 13-10, as Detroit's Jason Hanson missed three field goals. Speaking of passing, the Lions are good at it and Chicago is helpless against it. |
| *Green Bay 29, Minnesota 14 |
| The Vikings' ground game and defense came alive in a wild 35-13 upset of the Packers in Week Six. The chances of that happening again are about the same as Minnesota's of reaching the playoffs. |
| *Jacksonville 24, Kansas City 15 |
| On stats alone, the Chiefs look superior to the Jaguars, with an actual working offense, but it won't help them on the road this week. Jacksonville is 2-0 against K.C., with wins in '97 and '98. |
| *Miami 26, Atlanta 13 |
| Against the Falcons' struggling defense, the Dolphins' struggling offense should be able to do most of what it wants. Three years ago Atlanta beat Miami for only the second time in eight tries. |
| *New Orleans 27, Washington 16 |
| Their running has improved, but the Redskins' overall offense remains much weaker than their record, while the Saints are well-balanced. Washington has won seven of the last eight in the series. |
| *N.Y. Jets 28, Buffalo 21 |
| In October the Jets racked up their highest score in Buffalo in 14 years, outlasting the Bills 42-36 as Curtis Martin ran for 135 yards and two TDs. N.Y. will need to run again to win again. |
| Oakland 25, *Denver 20 |
| Paced by Rich Gannon's 24-for-35 passing and three TD's, the Raiders ended the Broncos' series winning streak at seven, as we predicted, last month, 38-28. Oakland last swept Denver in '94. |
| *Philadelphia 21, N.Y. Giants 14 |
| On Donovan McNabb's late 18-yard scoring pass to James Thrash, the Eagles ended the Giants' series winning streak at nine -- as we didn't predict -- 10 weeks ago, 10-9. Philly last swept N.Y. in '96. |
| Pittsburgh 24, *Cincinnati 10 |
| Jerome Bettis rumbled for 153 yards -- more than the Bengals' total -- in a 16-7 Pittsburgh victory over Cincy in Week 4. The Bengals are no match for the Steelers on either side of the ball. |
| *St. Louis 34, Indianapolis 17 |
| Here's the potential shootout of the week, but the Rams are also capable of simply shutting down the Colts' passing attack. And can Indy stop St. Louis? Nope. The Colts won last, though, in '95. |
| San Francisco 22, *Dallas 19 |
| Last year then-49ers RB Charlie Garner rushed for a club-record 201 yards to lead S.F. to its fifth win over the Cowboys in their last six games, 41-24. This looks closer and less high-scoring. |
| Seattle 20, *San Diego 18 |
| The Seahawks dealt the Chargers their fifth straight loss a month ago, 13-10, on Rian Lindell's 24-yard field goal in OT. Seattle's fourth sweep of S.D. in five years may turn on another kick. |
| *Tennessee 27, Cleveland 12 |
| Tennessee extended its recent dominance of Cleveland in Week 12, taking its sixth in a row in the series, 31-15, led by Steve McNair's three scoring passes. The Browns don't have enough offense. |
Open date: New England
* Denotes Home Team
* Note: Picks are straight up.
Broadway Joe