My bad; I forgot the Thursday game.

You won't find my pick in today's paper for tonight's NFL game between the undefeated Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars because, simply, I forgot all about it.

To be honest, I really despise the regular schedule of Thursday games forced upon the public by the NFL to promote its own cable network. Players and coaches aren't fond of the short week of preparation for these games, either -- especially because, coming as late in the season as they do, many players are banged up and don't get the same healing time that they need after the previous week's game when they're forced to play on Thursday.

Fortunately, the Thursday games don't affect the "Beat Fearless" contest. Still, that's no excuse for me being a bonehead and forgetting to type in the pick (which has to be done at the office because it's specially formatted). So, here it is:

COLTS 24, JAGUARS 21 (at Jacksonville, 8:20 p.m.): The word out of Indianapolis is that the Colts are thinking of resting starters as they've done in the past when they've had the top seed in their back pockets early in December. I wonder if Sheriff Roger Goodell will intervene, citing the sanctity of competition in the quest for an undefeated season, blah blah blah. My thought is that the Colts have come out flat in the playoffs when they've done that before, and given how many close calls they've had lately, one would think they'd want to keep that competitive edge.

Whew. That's more than the two lines I get in those little pick boxes in the print edition.

This week also marks the return of the Saturday games to the schedule, as the league's other undefeated team, the New Orleans Saints, will play host to the Dallas Cowboys (again, on the NFL Network only). I will remember to type in that pick at the office later today.