NFL Week 12 Picks – Who Ya Got?

Another Thanksgiving Day is upon us, bringing with it abundant amounts of food as well as football. We have a muted but traditional meal happening in my home, since it’s just 2 of us. There will be turkey sandwiches consumed throughout the weekend though. There are a number of compelling matchups on the field as well. Let’s commence to eat!

Chicago at Detroit – Rumors are rampant that Matt Nagy is getting axed as soon as his family finishes their turkey and sandwiches this weekend. That shouldn’t be – his offensive line is garbage, which is why his QBs keep getting hurt. As usual, Detroit will fight very hard, but it’s hard to see them finishing with any other record than 0-16-1. bear cubs 19, lion cubs 13

Las Vegas at Dallas – Just when you think you have Dallas figured out, they throw up a stinker like last week. Vegas is a little easier to figure out – they have not won a game since WR Henry Ruggs killed someone doing his Mario Andretti impersonation. Their offense has struggled since then. Cowboys 33, Raiders 14

Buffalo at New Orleans – This may be a matchup of teams that peaked too early. The main question is whether the Buffalo defense can get back to its regular self and stifle the 2^nd-string QB. It will be iffy, but I think they do so behind their defensive wizard of a head coach. Buffalo, NC 24, Aints 21

Atlanta at Jacksonville – If you suffer from insomnia, you might want to DVR this game. Next time you can’t sleep, fire it up. You’re likely to be unconscious in no time. Falcons 16, Jags 10

NY Jets at Houston – The only people who predicted last week’s Houston win were blood relatives of anyone who receives a Texans paycheck. Now they get a team on their 9^th-string QB that has to be struggling to stay motivated. Warning to Houston fans – all 7 of you – that this is no real winning streak. Beat the high-flying Colts next week and we’ll talk. Texans 20, j-e-t-s jets jets jets jets jets jets jets jets jets jets jets 7

Philadelphia at NY Giants – See Jets at Texans above, except that Philly has no genuine opponent waiting to test them next week. Eagles 34, little people 10

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati – Are the Steelers seething, waiting to exact revenge for the loss to Cincy at home? Possibly, but they have enough injuries on defense that the anger isn’t enough to compensate. Bengals 30, Steelers 27

Tampa Bay at Indianapolis – Must be careful here. My heart wants the Indy scoring machine to keep rolling, my head says Tampa has more horses on defense, which will prevent Taylor from racking up 63 fantasy points again. I think they will slow them down a bit, but not enough to prevent a win. Colts 26, Bucs 21

Tennessee at New England – So was last week a Tennessee outlier or preview of things to come. I’m blaming everything on the monsoon they were playing in. That being said, no one is on more of a roll than New England, and that should continue. Patriots 23, Titans 17

LA Chargers at Denver – LA showed they can rack up the offensive stats against an injured defense. How about a rebuilding defense? Depends on which Denver D shows up. I think the good one, the one that shut down Dallas, will show up and steal a win. Donkeys 24, Clippers 23

LA Rams at Green Bay – My fantasy team is glad to see Cooper Kupp back from the bye, giving me at least a sliver of hope for a playoff spot. My guess is that the off week allowed them to fix whatever broke against the 49ers, enough to get a tough road win. Rams 27, Packers 24

Minnesota at San Francisco – One of the big questions of the week on Rich Eisen’s show this week was, “Who the hell are the Vikings?” They have been so up-and-down that it’s infuriating, especially for the fans. You’d think they are riding high off the big win over Green Bay. Given the pattern, that’s the perfect reason to pick against them. 49ers 28, Norwegians 21 (probably on a TD on the game’s last play)

Cleveland at Baltimore – There is a ton of talk that the Browns should move on from Mayfield. I say, move on to what? To trading Myles Garrett for a top 5 pick so you can be assured of getting Matt Corral, the only possible franchise QB in the 2022 draft? I’ve got a better idea: Let your offensive line and RBs get completely healthy, design your game plan to ensure Mayfield is in good position, and let the defense win what should be an epic defensive battle. That probably doesn’t work this week but does work when these teams play again in 2 weeks. Ravens 13, Browns 9

Seattle at Washington – Seattle is a hot mess. Washington just beat 2 playoff contenders. People are wondering if it’s time to move on from Pete Carroll. I doubt they get any more comfortable after this game. The Team Formerly Known As Redskins 26, Seahawks 13

Carolina at Miami – My squad is almost as impossible to figure out as Minnesota. What I do know is that we have way too many season ticket holders that are using their tickets as a wealth-building tool instead of being a football fan, cheering on the home team. Hence, we’re terrible at home and fairly good on the road. So this week we will use our road field advantage to get back on track. PANTHERS 27, Fish 20

Last week’s record: 7-8

Season: 97-68

Bye: Arizona, Kansas City