Football fans, we have come to the final quarter turn in a quick sprint to the conclusion of the National Football League regular season and our pro football contest here at The Westfield News and Reminder Publications in 2020.
The New England Patriots were all but eliminated from playoff contention with Thursday night’s dreadful 24-3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The Pats essentially needed to win out over the season’s final four games to secure a spot in the postseason.
For the Rams, it was sweet revenge for two losses to New England on the big stage (Super Bowl XXVI, LII), one of which kickstarted Patriots dynasty and the other which capped off the Brady-Belichick era.
The Thursday Night Football game’s final results were a stark contrast to the previous week when the Patriots dismantled LA’s other team, the Chargers, 45-0.
One of last week’s biggest stories involved the lowly Washington Redskins, who knocked off the previously unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers, allowing the 1972 Miami Dolphins to breathe a sigh of relief.
Pittsburgh entered the game with a 11-0 record, but exited the contest with deflated after Washington exposed several weaknesses.
Kudos to “Beat The Putz” winner Richard Borgatti, of West Springfield for being one of our contest’s lone entrants to correctly pick the Redskins upset of the Steelers in Week 13.
Borgatti’s only blemish of the week was his selection of the Chargers over the Patriots, keeping him from an unbeaten week. Still, his 11-1 record was good enough to win our weekly prize, a $25 gift certificate to Delaney’s Market.
Over the last nine weeks, six top contestants – – Norma Coogan, Nancy Skowyra, Ken Martin, Tim Tracy, Nelson West, and Borgatti – – have posted 11-1 records.
Greg Masciadrelli remains our lone “perfect” entrant, having compiled a 14-0 mark way back in Week 2.
Despite having their unbeaten campaign derailed by the Redskins, Pittsburgh looks to regain their edge when it retakes the field this week in Buffalo. The Bills (9-3) are currently first in the AFC East and would be the conference’s No. 3 seed, behind Kansas City (11-1) and Pittsburgh (11-1) if the season ended today.
The week’s other marquee game features the 8-4 Indianapolis Colts traveling to Las Vegas to take on the 7-5 Raiders. Both teams are in the thick of the playoff chase.
Although time to qualify for our contest’s grand prize are dwindling, there are still four weeks remaining. As a reminder, all 17 weekly winners will be entered into a grand prize drawing at season’s end.
The grand prize winner will receive a Super Bowl party at Shortstop Bar & Grill ($500 value). Second place is a $250 gift card to Michael Szwed Jewelers. Third place is a $100 gift card to Delaney’s Market.
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Beat The Putz Week 14 Picks:
Chicago
Tennessee
Denver
Dallas
Kansas City
Arizona
Tampa Bay
Indianapolis
Seattle
Green Bay
LA Chargers
New Orleans
Washington
Pittsburgh
Congratulations to our Week 13 winner Richard Borgatti of West Springfield, who went 11-1 to claim our weekly prize, a $25 gift certificate to Delaney Market.
Borgatti joins Week 1 winner Doug LaMont (10-3), Week 2 winner Greg Masciadrelli (14-0), Week 3 winner Doug LaMont (11-2), Week 4 winner Lisa Dee (11-2), Week 5 winner Norma Coogan (11-1), Week 6 winner Lorna Farrington (8-2), Week 7 winner Nancy Skowyra (11-1), Week 8 winner Mike Thomas (10-2), Week 9 winner Ken Martin (11-1), Week 10 winner Tim Tracy (11-1), Week 11 winner Michael Gossman (9-3), and Week 12 winner Nelson West (11-1).
