Chargers (9-3) at Cowboys (8-4)
Sunday, 4:15 p.m.
Line: Cowboys by 3

The Cowboys don’t want to hear about their 15-27 record in December over the past decade. They’ve been interrogated in news conferences and on talk radio. They’ve been criticized by everyone from their own stars of yesteryear — some of whom raised off-field distractions to an art form — to citizen bloggers who equate December toughness with reaching Christmas without changing wireless-mouse batteries. “We don’t care about December talk,” Tony Romo said last week, for once blameless after a typically sloppy late-season loss. “We’re not talking about two years ago; we’re not talking about last year,” linebacker Keith Brooking added during a contentious radio appearance.

The Cowboys vow to buck the trend this season, but winter slumps are often the result of summer corner-cutting. A half-hearted July weight session becomes a December pulled hamstring. A lazy special teams practice in preseason becomes a 79-yard punt return touchdown against the Giants. Players and coaches must develop discipline six months before they start talking about it, a timetable neither the Cowboys nor Chargers seem to understand. As disciplinarian commanding officers go, Wade Phillips and Norv Turner are Henry Blake and Colonel Klink, which is why trips to Las Vegas and Champagne toasts in November go unaddressed in Dallas and San Diego.

The Chargers are 14-0 in December games since 2006, but Turner teams of the past were notorious for starting their holiday shopping early. This game is as close as either team will get to the Super Bowl.

Broncos (8-4) at Colts (12-0)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Colts by 7

Another year, another dozen wins. The Colts’ consistency is shocking when you look closely at how they’ve survived this season. The All-Pro safety Bob Sanders has played only two games. The rookies Jacob Lacey and Jerraud Powers start at cornerback. The unknown receivers Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie have caught 90 passes. The Colts even had to change kickers. Despite all the injuries, the Colts are enjoying their usual December luxury of deciding when to rest their starters.

Those starters won’t rest this week — a win clinches home-field advantage for the playoffs — but a loss could benefit the Colts in the long run. The Colts’ nemesis is the Chargers, who beat them in the 2007 and 2008 playoffs and in the 2007 regular season. The Chargers have not won the A.F.C. West yet and are always one mistake from a minislump; the Broncos have the Raiders and Chiefs on their schedule (as well as the Eagles) and could retake the division with a hot streak.

So if the Colts win, they host the playoffs. If they lose, they could help the Broncos win the division, and force the Chargers to travel someplace like New England or Cincinnati for a first-round playoff game. No wonder Peyton Manning seems so relaxed.

Eagles (8-4) at Giants (7-5)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m.
Line: Giants by 1

Andy Reid’s tenure with the Eagles has been like a sturdy, unfulfilling marriage, so Philadelphia fans responded to news of Reid’s contract extension with a Robert James Waller heroine sigh and a brief fling with Allen Iverson. Philly fans don’t want dependable 10-win seasons and nail-biting victories against the Redskins and Bears. They want fireworks, and Reid’s Eagles never deliver.

A three-game winning streak has masked the Eagles’ persistent problems. Their offensive line is always an injury from disaster, and Reid treats the simple arithmetic of goal-line offense (One Leonard Weaver + One Handoff = Touchdown) like differential calculus. Problems aside, the Eagles crushed the Giants in Week 8, and both Brian Westbrook and DeSean Jackson could return from concussions on Sunday night. A sweep of the Giants won’t erase a decade of unrequited passion, but it will bring back a little of the old spark.

Bengals (9-3) at Vikings (10-2)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Vikings by 6 1/2

The Vikings’ secondary is their weakness: their defensive backs have only six interceptions, and opposing receivers have scored 18 touchdowns. The Vikings protect their secondary in many ways — their pass rush keeps quarterbacks on the run, and their ball-control offense keeps opponents off the field — but the Cardinals were able to attack the corners once they controlled the pass rush and foiled Adrian Peterson in the backfield.

The Bengals can follow the Cardinals’ template. They have a solid run defense (allowing 981 total yards and 3.8 yards per carry), good pass protection (giving up 22 sacks in the same division as the Steelers and Ravens), and a wide receiver who lives to exploit overmatched cornerbacks. With so much to play for, Chad Ochocinco will shake off his latest distractions: $50,000 in celebration fines that are more a dare than a deterrent, and accusations that he defaulted on an auto loan, though it appears that he was just the co-signer. If banks have confidence in a guy named Ochocinco, we must really be on the road to economic recovery.

Saints (12-0) at Falcons (6-6)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Saints by 10 1/2

Drew Brees, like Tom Waits, is an unappreciated American master. He’s as good as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, the Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen of contemporary quarterbacks. (Brett Favre is Woody Guthrie, Brady Quinn is John Mayer, Jake Delhomme sings about credit reports.) Brees is finally getting recognition after several seasons as the least-heralded 4,000-yard passer in N.F.L. history. Brees is good enough to carry the Saints when their run defense is ineffective and their secondary is manned by McCornerbacks: extra-value veterans acquired off the waiver wire (Chris McAlister, just released in favor of Marcus McCauley) and the season-ticket list (Mike McKenzie).

With Matt Ryan still battling turf toe, Chris Redman may get another start. Redman sold insurance for two years after the Ravens released him, and he looked last Sunday like a man more comfortable with a premium table than a playbook. This week, he brings kerosene from the castle while the Saints sail for Singapore.

Dolphins (6-6) at Jaguars (7-5)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Jaguars by 2 1/2

The inexplicable Jaguars have scored only six passing touchdowns, recorded 10 sacks, been outscored, 122-88, in the second half of the season, fumbled 21 times and missed seven field goals from 40 yards out. Yet they have a 7-5 record and a legitimate shot at a wild-card berth. Even the rough patches in their schedule are smoothing — if the Colts clinch home-field advantage with a win against the Broncos, the Jaguars will face Curtis Painter’s Barnstorming Nobodies instead of Peyton Manning and company in Week 15.

All of the good fortune has the Jaguars believing that fate has played a hand. “Yeah, it does feel like a year of destiny,” David Garrard said this week. Destiny is even manifest on at least one player’s body: the rookie lineman Eben Britton has “sacrifice for destiny” tattooed in Latin on his arm. (That’s not unusual in Jacksonville; Byron Leftwich had Tardus un Vindico on his wrist). Destiny works in strange ways, like 23-20 overtime wins against the Rams. Garrard also called 2007 a year of destiny, though he doesn’t appear on any Giants roster we could find. With the owner Wayne Weaver saying he will consider drafting Tim Tebow, Garrard’s real destiny may lie elsewhere.

Bills (4-8) at Chiefs (3-9)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: even

The Bills have started 10 different offensive linemen this season; the 11th, if forced to play, wins a coupon redeemable for a turkey breast or a ham on Dec. 23. The Bills have used seven different line combinations; they will go for eight if Kirk Chambers (one of four starting right tackles this season) is replaced by Jamon Meredith. The Chiefs have only 17 sacks despite a blitz-happy 3-4 defense, but a visit from the Bills will add ballast to their season stats. Fashionistas take note: despite the presence of two A.F.L. teams, this is not an official legacy game, and the Bills will no longer wear their throwback uniforms. Ralph Wilson has already put that helmet image of a bison back in the Lascaux cave where he found it.

Lions (2-10) at Ravens (6-6)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Ravens by 13

The Ravens are one of seven A.F.C. teams between 5-7 and 6-6 and hoping for a holiday miracle, but the schedule looks promising: wins against the Lions, Bears and either the Steelers or Raiders will give them a shot at the postseason. The Lions won’t determine Matthew Stafford’s status until kickoff. The Ravens can be hard on both opposing quarterbacks and people with shoulder injuries: two referees strained their rotator cuffs while throwing 23 penalty flags on Monday night.

Jets (6-6) at Buccaneers (1-11)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Jets by 3

The Jets unveiled some seven-man offensive line packages when Mark Sanchez injured his ankle last Thursday night. With Kellen Clemens starting, the Jets may want to unveil the final evolution of extra-lineman schemes: Thomas Jones in the Wildcat, with 10 blockers in front of him. Wayne Hunter and Robert Turner can play tight end, with Dustin Keller and Ben Hartsock at wing back and Tony Richardson at fullback. The Jets would need only three plays — left, right and middle — there would be no more Clemens flutterballs or Braylon Edwards Frisbee-dog impersonations, and Rex Ryan can stop pretending and devote all of his time and affection to the defense. As a long-term strategy, this Fat Cat formation has a few shortcomings, but it would provide ample offense to beat the Buccaneers.

Packers (8-4) at Bears (5-7)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Packers by 3

The Packers took an important step on Monday night. They played one of their sloppy, 11-penalty, 175-penalty-yard, three-turnover games against a good opponent, but they still won. The Packers are on a par with the Eagles, Giants and Cowboys, flawed teams hoping to make the N.F.C. playoff undercard, but their late schedule is difficult xQue Trimmingsexystrippedmomanddaughter Handling Super Heroine De Esmer Kizlar Sexporno7 Handling Super Heroine Week 14 N.F.L. Matchups - NYTimes.coml x Heroine 1 Handling Super Heroine zQue Trimmingsexystrippedmomanddaughter Handling Super Heroine De Esmer Kizlar Sexporno7 Handling Super Heroine Week 14 N.F.L. Matchups - NYTimes.comk 1 Babe