We’re Picking Winners For Every Week 12 Game Of The NFL Season


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It’s Week 12 of the 2017 NFL season, which means we are heading down home stretch, one without bye weeks. It’s also the time of the year where fantasy football owners are trying to hold onto a playoff spot or fight their way into the playoffs over the next couple of weeks. Hey Ravens defense, keep pitching those shutouts, please!

Before I get to this week’s picks, I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all of the Americans out there. I’m Canadian, so our Thanksgiving in the second Monday in October (Columbus Day in the U.S.) and there’s nothing to celebrate for us. However, I’ve always celebrated American Thanksgiving in the sense that I’ve done my best to take school or work off my entire life so I can stay home and watch football. Thanks for that, America.

Last Week’s Results:

8-6 Straight Up (101-59 Season, .631)

6-8 Point Spread (78-81-1 Season, .497)

Note: The point spreads I use come from VegasInsider. All times listed are in the Eastern Time zone.

Minnesota (8-2) -3 @ Detroit (6-4) [12:30pm THU]

It’s the best of the three Thanksgiving games and also the biggest game of the Lions season. They trail the Vikings by two in the NFC North, so a win here puts them in a great spot to possibly win the division and get into the playoffs. If the Lions lose, that may be it for them. Both teams are playing well with the Vikings winning six straight and the Lions winning three straight. It’s one of the better games this week.

The Lions are likely going to throw a lot because they struggle to run the ball and the Vikings are second in rushing defense, so look for QB Matthew Stafford to try to air it out. Then again, the Rams didn’t have much success last week passing the ball, nor do most teams against the Vikings’ amazing defense. On the other side of the ball, Vikings WR Adam Thielen is having a monster year with 916 yards (second only to Antonio Brown) and the Lions may have a tough time slowing him down. I’m going with the Lions just because they will play with more desperation and I feel like their good group of WRs will find a way to score.

The Pick: Detroit 23-20

LA Chargers (4-6) @ Dallas (5-5) -0.5 [4:30pm THU]

The combination of injuries to key players like LT Tyron Smith (who is playing this week) and LB Sean Lee, along with the suspension of star RB Ezekiel Elliott have really hurt the Cowboys. They went from a likely playoff team to a squad that probably needs to end the year on fire to get into the playoffs. I don’t see it happening. With Dallas dealing with o-line injuries and the Chargers having great pass rushers in Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, I’m going with the Chargers here. I also think QB Philip Rivers is throwing the ball well, especially when targeting WR Keenan Allen. This feels like a high scoring, fun game to watch between two non-playoff teams.

The Pick: San Diego 27-24

NY Giants (2-8) @ Washington (4-6) -7 [8:30pm THU]

The Giants beat the Chiefs 12-9 last week because it was so windy that neither team could throw the ball well. If it’s not too windy here, it should be a different story. The Giants are 29th against the pass (giving up 264 yards per game) while Washington is seventh in passing (257 yards per game), so I think Washington will play to its strengths and QB Kirk Cousins will throw it all night long. Neither team is a playoff team, but if Washington wins out, maybe it can do it. They need this win.

The Pick: Washington 24-13

Tampa Bay (4-6) @ Atlanta (6-4) -9.5 [1:00pm SUN]

Atlanta’s offense is firing on all cylinders again after some early season struggles. They scored 27 and 34 the last two weeks while beating decent teams in the Cowboys and Seahawks. Can the Ryan Fitzpatrick-led Bucs beat them on the road? I doubt it. The Falcons are probably going to be a playoff team and nobody is going to want to face them because of how dangerous they are yet again.

The Pick: Atlanta 31-17

Cleveland (0-10) @ Cincinnati (4-6) -8.5 [1:00pm SUN]

Sorry Browns fans, no win this week. The Bengals aren’t that good, but they’re decent enough to beat the Browns at home. This game should be rough to watch.

The Pick: Cincinnati 27-16

Tennessee (6-4) -3.5 @ Indianapolis (3-7) [1:00pm SUN]

When these teams met earlier in the year, the Titans won 36-22 with two late TDs that broke the game open. The Titans got 168 yards of rushing at an impressive clip of 4.9 yards per carry while QB Marcus Mariota threw for 306 yards. In other words, the Colts couldn’t really stop them. I don’t have any reason to believe the Colts can stop Tennessee this time, either, after they’ve lost four of their last five. The Titans should run the ball a lot and dominate this game.

The Pick: Tennessee 34-23

Miami (4-6) @ New England (8-2) -16.5 [1:00pm SUN]

The Patriots are back to looking like the best team in the AFC. The Dolphins have lost four straight — it’s hard to recall them being 4-2 this year — and are -97 in point differential, which means they have been blown out a lot. This should be a blowout and I’d be shocked if it isn’t.

The Pick: New England 43-17

Buffalo (5-5) @ Kansas City (6-4) -10 [1:00pm SUN]

This is such a weird game. The two teams are only one game apart and the Chiefs have lost four of their last five, yet they are 10-point favorites because of how bad the Bills played last week. Their rookie QB Nathan Peterman threw five INTs and completed only six passes in a game the Bills lost 54-24. He was replaced at halftime by Tyrod Taylor, who will start this week. Bills head coach Sean McDermott should be heavily criticized for his QB choice last week and I’m not sure if the team will be able to bounce back. I’ll go with the Chiefs for the win, but they aren’t playing well enough for me to pick them to cover a double-digit spread.

The Pick: Kansas City 24-17

Carolina (7-3) -4.5 @ NY Jets (4-6) [1:00pm SUN]

It felt like a game where you pick the Panthers easily and move on, but the Jets boast a 3-2 mark at home. Then I look at the Panthers, which are on a three-game winning streak while QB Cam Newton is looking great and I really think Carolina will win on Sunday. The Panthers’ defense has only given up 11 points per game in the last four, which shows they are rounding in their 2015 form. Closer game than people might think, but I’m still going with the Panthers.

The Pick: Carolina 24-20

Chicago (3-7) @ Philadelphia (9-1) -13.5 [1:00pm SUN]

This will be a blowout. The Eagles’ offense is getting a lot of the attention because they’ve scored over 26 points in all nine of their victories, but the defense has been impressive, too. They completely shut down the Cowboys last week in a 37-9 road win. Can the lowly Bears passing game (31st in the NFL) do anything against them? Nope. They won’t. Look for Eagles QB Carson Wentz to continue his quest for the league MVP award with a big game as the Eagles dominate from start to finish.

The Pick: Philadelphia 37-13

Seattle (6-4) -7 @ San Francisco (1-9) [4:05pm SUN]

Russell Wilson is playing as well as any quarterback in the league right now, but the Seahawks may not even be a playoff team because of the lack of a running game and a suddenly average defense. The losses of CB Richard Sherman and S Kam Chancellor led to a tough loss on Monday night when Matt Ryan and the Falcons picked on their backups. Luckily for the Seahawks, the 1-9 Niners can’t score much at all and it could be a monster game for Wilson again.

The Pick: Seattle 27-13

Denver (3-7) @ Oakland (4-6) -5 [4:25pm SUN]

Two bad teams going nowhere. It’s smart for the Broncos to start QB Paxton Lynch to see what they can get out of him, but they have too many problems for him to turn their season around even if he plays well. The Raiders are probably mysecond-biggest disappointment this year after the Giants. Since I feel the need to go with some more upsets this week, I’ll go with the Broncos because they match up well.

The Pick: Denver 23-17

New Orleans (8-2) @ LA Rams (7-3) -2.5 [4:25pm SUN]

Game of the week right here. My Rams got shut down by the Vikings defense, which held them to just seven points. The Saints have won eight games in a row and the Rams don’t have much of a home field advantage, so it’s not like New Orleans is walking into a tough environment. The big stat that jumps out is that the Saints are third in rushing (144 yards per game) while the Rams are 28th in rush defense (123 yards per game), which means the Rams better be able to stop the run to have a chance to win. Last week, the Vikings rushed for 171 yards in their win over the Rams and the Saints will likely do what they can to copy that. I expect the Rams to try to key on the run, but if they do that, then obviously Saints QB Drew Brees can beat them.

There’s not a lot of weakness on the Saints right now compared to the past when they used to have a terrible defense. I just have this feeling that RB Todd Gurley is going to have a monster game because the Saints run defense is 20th in the league and getting Gurley going should open up the passing game. The Rams will miss WR Robert Woods, too, so that’s concerning. I can’t pick against my team at home in a big game like this, especially when Washington scored 31 on the Saints in a loss last week. The Rams can do that too. I’m not sure if I believe it, but the Rams are going to win.

The Pick: LA Rams 31-27

Jacksonville (7-3) -4.5 @ Arizona (4-6) [4:25pm SUN]

The Blaine Gabbert Bowl! Thrilling, huh? The Jaguars’ pass defense ranks first in the NFL, giving up only 162 yards per game. That’s an incredibly low number in today’s NFL where teams rely on the pass so much. Gabbert is starting for the Cardinals after they lost to the lowly Texans. I don’t see how the Cardinals can score a lot in this game. Look for the Jags defense to dominate like usual, they are a very impressive group.

The Pick: Jacksonville 27-13

Green Bay (5-5) @ Pittsburgh (8-2) -14 [8:30pm SUN]

The Steelers are streaking with five wins in a row, while the Packers have lost four of five and scored zero at home against the Ravens last week. All QB Brett Hundley is doing for the Packers is making people miss Aaron Rodgers that much more. It’s not hard to pick a winner here with the Steelers favored by two TDs at home. Can anybody stop Steelers WR Antonio Brown? Not really. The Packers certainly can’t do it. I’d be shocked if this was a close game.

The Pick: Pittsburgh 31-7

Houston (4-6) @ Baltimore (5-5) -7 [8:30pm MON]

It’s hard to figure out the Ravens from week to week. They are 2-2 at home and 3-3 on the road. Their last two wins were impressive because they were shutouts, yet they’ve also given up 27 to the Bears and 44 to the Jaguars. Lucky for the Ravens, they play another rough offense led by QB Tom Savage. Ravens QB Joe Flacco is having a bad year, but their defense will keep them afloat, especially when some other teams have worse QB situations.

The Pick: Baltimore 24-10

My Fave Five Bets Of The Week

Last week: 2-3 (Season 27-27-1)

Here are my five favorite bets for this week.

@ Philadelphia -13.5 Chicago
@ Baltimore -7 Houston
NY Giants @ Washington UNDER 44.5
Tennessee -3.5 @ Indianapolis
Denver +5 @ Oakland

That’s all for this week. I’ll be back for more next week. Enjoy the games.

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