WEEK SIXTEEN CRYSTAL BALL - THURSDAY: A Giant Mistake
Published continually since 1994
My friends, THE GURU’s Crystal Ball has been opaque for much of 2025 but I’m fired up for the stretch run as pretenders are exposed, contenders move to the fore and half of the league’s head coaches speed Google “best realtor in suburban Phoenix.”
Many of this week’s games have significant playoff implications but this Sunday’s outing at MetLife Stadium does not fit the bill as the Vikings (6-8, 4-4 away) and Giants (2-12, 2-4 home) meet at 1 pm. New York is toast - rye, I’m guessing - and Minnesota is on the football version of life support.
Instead, when these clubs meet, I’m always reminded of the craziness of the NFL. Give me a moment.
First, in 1967, Minnesota traded future Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton to the Giants for a boatload of draft picks, helping the Vikings to build the core of their “Purple People Eaters” defense that dominated the league in the 1970s and took Minny to four Super Bowls in eight seasons.
Then, five years later, New York inexplicably returned Fran to his former employer for three gentlemen who fell short of the HOF: QB Norm Snead, wide receiver Bob Grim, and running back Vince Clements. The final dagger: while Minnesota head coach Bud Grant & Co. ran roughshod over the NFC for a decade, the hapless Jints skipped the postseason from 1964-80.
And you wonder why BROTHER BLUENIK went gray in his teens?
This time around, the Vikings and Giants play under a gray New Jersey sky Sunday on Fox as the two squads ride the youthful right arms of J.J. McCarthy and Jaxson Dart, respectively. New York has specialized in finding ways to lose this season but, for an afternoon, I expect them to capitalize on their opportunity. New York by three.
LE GURU hasn’t seized the day often this season but last week’s 10-6 (.625) mark wasn’t terrible, pushing the 2025 record to 120-91 (.569). On to tonight…
…I like the Rams (11-3, 5-2 away) at Seattle (11-3, 5-2 home) in a contest that’ll be tighter than WESTPORT DAN’s yoga pants. This one likely comes down to a last-second field goal as Sean McVay and Mike Macdonald match wits, a scrumptious harbinger of things to come in this rivalry.
Vegetable-hater Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, and Kaylee Hartung have the call at 8:15 pm on Prime Video. Enjoy it and, hey, throw Bezos a bone while you’re at it.
That’s all for today, folks. Enjoy the game and God bless!