Although the Colts crushed the Bengals 27-0 on October 19, the Bengals found a way to make it into the Playoffs as a Wild Card team. Now the Bengals seek to oust the Colts and extract some revenge for that beat-down. I would take the Bengals and the 6-points. The Dallas Cowboys need to beat the Detroit Lions or this season will be considered a failure. Tony Romo had his best year, but his Playoff performances have been disappointing. The 7-point spread may make the Lions attractive, but I’m going to cast my fate with the Cowboys. They are overdue for a big Playoff win. What do you think?

Both of these Playoff games have mystifying aspects. Can Arizona (a 4-point underdog) surprise the suddenly hot Carolina Panthers? If the Steelers’ outstanding running back Le’Veon Bell can’t play because of an injury, will that tip the balance to the Ravens (3-point underdogs)? I would love to see Arizona confound Vegas and win against Cam Newton and the swaggering Panthers. And I would love to see the Ravens, who needed “help” to get into the Playoffs, shock the Steelers. But, my head says take the Panthers and the Steelers and lay the points. What do you think?

“Marshall Jevons” is the pseudonym of two economics professors: William L. Breit (Trinity University) and Kenneth G. Elzinga (University of Virginia). Their amateur sleuth, Henry Spearman, is a Harvard University economics professor (modeled on Milton Friedman). Spearman solves murders by using economic principles. For example, in the first book in the series–Murder at the Margin (1978)–Spearman solves a series of murders (a retired General and a sitting Supreme Court Justice) with a couple economic principles like the Prisoner’s Dilemma. My favorite mystery in this series is The Fatal Equilibrium (1985) where an associate professor at Harvard is murdered because of his attempts at securing an academic promotion. Concepts like “opportunity costs” and “marginal utility maximization” come into play. The Fatal Equilibrium became the first mystery novel to be published by a university press (MIT). The third book in the Henry Spearman series, The Deadly Indifference (1995) involves real estate and academic history.

William Breit died in 2011, but his writing partner just published The Mystery of the Invisible Hand (2014) where Henry Spearman unravels the death of an artist. Yes, these books are a bit gimmicky. But the economics behind the plots is sound and I found them entertaining. You might, too.

The Buffalo Bills ended their slim Playoff chances last Sunday in Oakland. The 26-24 lose to the Raiders eliminated the Bills. It’s been 15 straight years since the Bills made the Playoffs–a sign of the dysfunction of this team. Today’s game against the Patriots is practically a pre-season game. Fans on our local Sports Talk radio station are clamoring for the Bills to start last year’s Number One Draft Pick, E. J. Manuel. Manuel was benched after the fourth game this season in an ugly loss to the Houston Texans. Kyle Orton then became the QB with his usual mix of Good Games and Bad Games. Changes will be made, both coaches and players, in the off-season. Is your favorite NFL team headed for the Playoffs?