NFL 2015: Week 12 Picks
The best day of the year is upon us, Thanksgiving.
Sitting around all day, eating unbelievable amounts of food while watching football is my idea of heaven.
Thanksgiving kickoffs Week 12 in the NFL with three games set for Turkey Day and all three are important games.
The Eagles need a win against the Lions to have any chance of staying alive in the NFC East race. The Panthers are looking to remain perfect as they travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys. While on Thanksgiving night, the Packers need a win against the rival Bears to keep pace with the Vikings in the division.
All of last year's Thanksgiving games were blowouts, so hopefully we'll get some better football this Thanksgiving.
Each team has played 10 games and with it being Thanksgiving week, what do all 32 NFL teams have to be thankful for this holiday season, you ask? Well...
New England is thankful for Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the chance of potentially winning the Super Bowl and having Roger Goodell hand them the Lombardi Trophy. Part of me wants to see the Patriots win it all just to see that, sure to be, awkward trophy ceremony.
Carolina is thankful for a rushing attack and defense that has them undefeated.
Denver is thankful that Brock Osweiler may be better than Peyton Manning at this point in Peyton's career.
Cincinnati is thankful for winning in the regular season. All that's missing is a playoff win. Maybe that'll be a late Christmas present.
Pittsburgh is thankful that Ben Roethlisberger is back from injury.
Kansas City and Oakland are thankful for still being in the race this late in November.
Buffalo and the New York Jets are thankful for each other as both continue in their struggles to beat New England.
Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Houston and Tennessee are thankful they play in the AFC South.
Dallas is thankful for Tony Romo, who they cannot win without. MVP?
New York Giants, Philadelphia and Washington are thankful that they play in the NFC East. Chip Kelly should be thankful he still has a job; he may not have one at the end of the season. Back to college to coach USC, perhaps?
Minnesota is thankful for Mike Zimmer. He has turned that team around into one of the best defensive teams in the league and having watched him coach the Bengals defense for several years, I'm extremely happy for him.
Green Bay is thankful for Aaron Rodgers, obviously.
Chicago is thankful for...I got nothing.
Atlanta is thankful for one of the best QB/WR duos in the league in Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. How in the world do they have four losses to the Buccaneers, Saints, Colts and 49ers though?
New Orleans is thankful that their defense could not possibly get any worse this season.
Tampa Bay is thankful that QB Jameis Winston may turn out to be a good quarterback in this league.
Arizona is thankful for QB Carson Palmer and head coach Bruce Arians. Don't be surprised if Arizona gets to the Super Bowl.
Seattle is thankful they're still in the hunt after playing taking a gigantic step back from the previous two years where they went to the Super Bowl.
St. Louis is thankful that WR Stedman Bailey survived two gunshots wounds to the head in Miami earlier this week.
Cleveland has nothing to be thankful for. Ugly uniforms, poor management and another mistake at drafting a quarterback (Johnny Manziel) and they'll probably fire Mike Pettine and their GM and start over yet again. Worst franchise in professional sports if you ask me.
Baltimore, San Diego, San Francisco, Detroit and Miami are thankful the 2015 season is almost over.
Now for my Week 12 predictions.
Week 12 Picks (Home team in CAPS)
Philadelphia over DETROIT (Thursday, 12:30 p.m. ET, FOX): With the way the Eagles played last week, giving up 45-points and 521 yards to the Buccaneers, it's hard to pick them to win on Thanksgiving against the Lions. Detroit has won two straight against good teams in Green Bay and Oakland and I would not be surprised at all if the Lions won. However, Detroit is just 35-38-2 on Thanksgiving and Philadelphia is 6-0. A teams' history of playing on Thanksgiving has nothing to do with the outcome of Thursday's game, but I like the Eagles to remain unbeaten on Turkey Day.
Carolina over DALLAS (Thursday, 4:30 p.m. ET, CBS): By just looking at the records, Carolina at 10-0 and the Cowboys at 3-7, one would think that the Panthers should win easily, but don't be too sure. Dallas is 3-0 with Tony Romo at quarterback this season and they got off a seven-game losing streak last week with a win in Miami as Romo returned from a shoulder injury. The Cowboys are 29-17-1 on Thanksgiving and I think they'll will keep it close. In the end though, I expect Carolina to remain unbeaten. Also, it's another Color Rush game. Prepare your eyes accordingly.
GREEN BAY over Chicago (Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC): Brett Favre will finally return to Lambeau Field on Thursday night. The future Hall of Famer will get his #4 jersey retired by the Packers. Favre and the Packers have had a rocky relationship since he left after the 2007 season, but have since mended it and Favre will be back at Lambeau as a Packer -- he visited a few times with the Vikings after his stint in Green Bay and New York. The Packers played much better last week and I think they'll carry that momentum into Thursday night against the Bears.
Minnesota over ATLANTA (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): Things started off very well for Atlanta, but the Falcons have lost four of their last five and have not looked good. I know Minnesota is coming off a home loss to Green Bay, but I like Vikings. The matchup to watch will be RB Adrian Peterson against the Falcons number one ranked rush defense and if Peterson can find success running the ball, the Vikings will win easily.
KANSAS CITY over Buffalo (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): Two teams going in different directions. The Chiefs have won five straight while the Bills have lost three of their last five. With five teams at 5-5 for the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC, this could be a season defining game. The winner keeps their playoff hopes alive, while the loser may be done. The Chiefs have looked like a different team over the past month and I think they'll win at home.
CINCINNATI over St. Louis (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): Bengals may have lost two straight, but the losing will end on Sunday. Cincinnati laid an egg against Houston, but played much better last Monday against Arizona -- on offense anyways. The Bengals could not stop Carson Palmer down the stretch and lost on a field goal with two seconds left. The Rams have been losing quite a bit recently too. St. Louis has lost three straight and the switch to QB Case Keenum over Nick Foles still baffles my mind. Keenum suffered a concussion last week against Baltimore, so I doubt he'll play. The Bengals will right the ship and expect them to play well on Sunday and beat the Rams.
Oakland over TENNESSEE (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): As I'll mention later with Jacksonville, Oakland is about a year away from competing. The Raiders have improved a lot, but they've hit a skid with a three game losing streak. Good thing for the Raiders is that they play the 2-8 Titans on Sunday. Raiders end the skid.
INDIANAPOLIS over Tampa Bay (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): I thought about taking the Bucs here, but when Matt Hasselbeck starts at quarterback for Indianapolis, the Colts win. With Andrew Luck out with several injuries this season, Hasselbeck has had to step in three different times and the Colts have won all three games. They play better with Hasselbeck for whatever reason and they need a win against Tampa Bay as their tied with Houston for the division lead. I expect the Colts to win a close one under the leadership of Hasselbeck.
NY JETS over Miami (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): The Jets have lost four of their last five and now find themselves in traffic jam with teams trying to get to that final playoff spot in the AFC. Good news for the Jets is that the Dolphins are coming to town. Miami has lost three of four and has looked awful in their three losses. I like the Jets to rebound with a win.
HOUSTON over New Orleans (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): Here's how the Texans and Saints defenses compare over the last three games. Houston has given up 29 points and 734 yards of offense and won all three games. New Orleans on the other hand, has given up 130 points and 1,409 yards of offense, going 1-2. Yikes! No wonder defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was fired over the bye week. Saints may go down with the worst defense in the history of the league and that's why I'm taking the Texans in this one, who will be over .500 for the first time all season with a win.
NY Giants over WASHINGTON (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): Washington may be 4-1 at home and QB Kirk Cousins is a 112.8 passer at home as opposed to a 69.8 passer on the road, but I like the Giants here. The Giants are in the driver seat in the NFC East and they're coming off a bye. New York almost beat the undefeated Patriots two weeks ago and there's no question they're the best team in the East, they just have to play like they're capable of for 60 minutes. Giants in a close one.
JACKSONVILLE over San Diego (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): I don't think Jacksonville will be able to win the AFC South, but they are only a year away from being a really good team. Head coach Gus Bradley has made some major improvements to this team and if Blake Bortles continues to get better, the Jaguars could be a dark horse to make the playoffs in 2016. As for 2015, a win against the Chargers will keep their playoff hopes alive. As for the Chargers, head coach Mike McCoy is on the hot seat with San Diego having a disappointing season at 2-8.
Arizona over SAN FRANCISCO (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX): I was super impressed watching the Cardinals last Sunday night against the Bengals. QB Carson Palmer is having an MVP caliber season and leads the league with 27 TD passes and a QB Rating of 108.6 as Arizona leads the NFL with 33.6 PPG. The 49ers are a mess and I expect Arizona to put up at least 35 in the win.
SEATTLE over Pittsburgh (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS): The Steelers are 4-2 in games with QB Ben Roethlisberger and Big Ben will be back as the starter on Sunday after coming off the bench two weeks ago against Cleveland. The Steelers have themselves in good position for the playoffs, but there are a lot of teams still in the race in the AFC. Speaking of teams still in the race, the Seahawks are right there too. Seattle has won three of its last four, albeit two of those wins were against San Francisco, but look for them to go on a run. Steelers have had two weeks to prepare, but I don't like their chances out in Seattle.
New England over DENVER (Sunday, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC): Tom Brady vs. Brock Osweiler. Not a statement I thought I would ever say. With Peyton Manning out at least another two weeks, Osweiler will get to face Brady and the Patriots on Sunday. Osweiler threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns against the Bears last week and looked good doing it. If he can play well and not turn the ball over, the Denver defense is capable of holding the Patriots offense in check. With WR Julian Edelman out and WR Danny Amendola suffering a sprained knee, besides Gronk, Brady is out of weapons. I have a feeling though that New England will find a way to get other guys involved and stay undefeated.
Baltimore over CLEVELAND (Monday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): With Johnny Manziel's latest screw-up -- he was caught partying and drinking all night while on the team's bye week after undergoing rehab earlier this year -- he has been benched. Things aren't going well for the Ravens either. WR Steve Smith, out for the year. RB Justin Forsett, out for the year. QB Joe Flacco, out for the year. Both Flacco and Forsett suffered season-ending injuries last week, a broken arm for Forsett and a torn ACL for Flacco, and the season could not get any worse for the Ravens. Cleveland is the worst team in football and whoever suits up for Baltimore will defeat the Browns.
Last Week: 8-6
Overall: 94-66 (.588)
Sitting around all day, eating unbelievable amounts of food while watching football is my idea of heaven.
Thanksgiving kickoffs Week 12 in the NFL with three games set for Turkey Day and all three are important games.
The Eagles need a win against the Lions to have any chance of staying alive in the NFC East race. The Panthers are looking to remain perfect as they travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys. While on Thanksgiving night, the Packers need a win against the rival Bears to keep pace with the Vikings in the division.
All of last year's Thanksgiving games were blowouts, so hopefully we'll get some better football this Thanksgiving.
Each team has played 10 games and with it being Thanksgiving week, what do all 32 NFL teams have to be thankful for this holiday season, you ask? Well...
New England is thankful for Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the chance of potentially winning the Super Bowl and having Roger Goodell hand them the Lombardi Trophy. Part of me wants to see the Patriots win it all just to see that, sure to be, awkward trophy ceremony.
Carolina is thankful for a rushing attack and defense that has them undefeated.
Denver is thankful that Brock Osweiler may be better than Peyton Manning at this point in Peyton's career.
Cincinnati is thankful for winning in the regular season. All that's missing is a playoff win. Maybe that'll be a late Christmas present.
Pittsburgh is thankful that Ben Roethlisberger is back from injury.
Kansas City and Oakland are thankful for still being in the race this late in November.
Buffalo and the New York Jets are thankful for each other as both continue in their struggles to beat New England.
Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Houston and Tennessee are thankful they play in the AFC South.
Dallas is thankful for Tony Romo, who they cannot win without. MVP?
New York Giants, Philadelphia and Washington are thankful that they play in the NFC East. Chip Kelly should be thankful he still has a job; he may not have one at the end of the season. Back to college to coach USC, perhaps?
Minnesota is thankful for Mike Zimmer. He has turned that team around into one of the best defensive teams in the league and having watched him coach the Bengals defense for several years, I'm extremely happy for him.
Green Bay is thankful for Aaron Rodgers, obviously.
Chicago is thankful for...I got nothing.
Atlanta is thankful for one of the best QB/WR duos in the league in Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. How in the world do they have four losses to the Buccaneers, Saints, Colts and 49ers though?
New Orleans is thankful that their defense could not possibly get any worse this season.
Tampa Bay is thankful that QB Jameis Winston may turn out to be a good quarterback in this league.
Arizona is thankful for QB Carson Palmer and head coach Bruce Arians. Don't be surprised if Arizona gets to the Super Bowl.
Seattle is thankful they're still in the hunt after playing taking a gigantic step back from the previous two years where they went to the Super Bowl.
St. Louis is thankful that WR Stedman Bailey survived two gunshots wounds to the head in Miami earlier this week.
Cleveland has nothing to be thankful for. Ugly uniforms, poor management and another mistake at drafting a quarterback (Johnny Manziel) and they'll probably fire Mike Pettine and their GM and start over yet again. Worst franchise in professional sports if you ask me.
Baltimore, San Diego, San Francisco, Detroit and Miami are thankful the 2015 season is almost over.
Now for my Week 12 predictions.
Week 12 Picks (Home team in CAPS)
Philadelphia over DETROIT (Thursday, 12:30 p.m. ET, FOX): With the way the Eagles played last week, giving up 45-points and 521 yards to the Buccaneers, it's hard to pick them to win on Thanksgiving against the Lions. Detroit has won two straight against good teams in Green Bay and Oakland and I would not be surprised at all if the Lions won. However, Detroit is just 35-38-2 on Thanksgiving and Philadelphia is 6-0. A teams' history of playing on Thanksgiving has nothing to do with the outcome of Thursday's game, but I like the Eagles to remain unbeaten on Turkey Day.
Carolina over DALLAS (Thursday, 4:30 p.m. ET, CBS): By just looking at the records, Carolina at 10-0 and the Cowboys at 3-7, one would think that the Panthers should win easily, but don't be too sure. Dallas is 3-0 with Tony Romo at quarterback this season and they got off a seven-game losing streak last week with a win in Miami as Romo returned from a shoulder injury. The Cowboys are 29-17-1 on Thanksgiving and I think they'll will keep it close. In the end though, I expect Carolina to remain unbeaten. Also, it's another Color Rush game. Prepare your eyes accordingly.
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| Brett Favre will have is #4 officially retired Thanksgiving night at Lambeau Field against the rival Chicago Bears. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) |
Minnesota over ATLANTA (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): Things started off very well for Atlanta, but the Falcons have lost four of their last five and have not looked good. I know Minnesota is coming off a home loss to Green Bay, but I like Vikings. The matchup to watch will be RB Adrian Peterson against the Falcons number one ranked rush defense and if Peterson can find success running the ball, the Vikings will win easily.
KANSAS CITY over Buffalo (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): Two teams going in different directions. The Chiefs have won five straight while the Bills have lost three of their last five. With five teams at 5-5 for the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC, this could be a season defining game. The winner keeps their playoff hopes alive, while the loser may be done. The Chiefs have looked like a different team over the past month and I think they'll win at home.
CINCINNATI over St. Louis (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): Bengals may have lost two straight, but the losing will end on Sunday. Cincinnati laid an egg against Houston, but played much better last Monday against Arizona -- on offense anyways. The Bengals could not stop Carson Palmer down the stretch and lost on a field goal with two seconds left. The Rams have been losing quite a bit recently too. St. Louis has lost three straight and the switch to QB Case Keenum over Nick Foles still baffles my mind. Keenum suffered a concussion last week against Baltimore, so I doubt he'll play. The Bengals will right the ship and expect them to play well on Sunday and beat the Rams.
Oakland over TENNESSEE (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): As I'll mention later with Jacksonville, Oakland is about a year away from competing. The Raiders have improved a lot, but they've hit a skid with a three game losing streak. Good thing for the Raiders is that they play the 2-8 Titans on Sunday. Raiders end the skid.
INDIANAPOLIS over Tampa Bay (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): I thought about taking the Bucs here, but when Matt Hasselbeck starts at quarterback for Indianapolis, the Colts win. With Andrew Luck out with several injuries this season, Hasselbeck has had to step in three different times and the Colts have won all three games. They play better with Hasselbeck for whatever reason and they need a win against Tampa Bay as their tied with Houston for the division lead. I expect the Colts to win a close one under the leadership of Hasselbeck.
NY JETS over Miami (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): The Jets have lost four of their last five and now find themselves in traffic jam with teams trying to get to that final playoff spot in the AFC. Good news for the Jets is that the Dolphins are coming to town. Miami has lost three of four and has looked awful in their three losses. I like the Jets to rebound with a win.
HOUSTON over New Orleans (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): Here's how the Texans and Saints defenses compare over the last three games. Houston has given up 29 points and 734 yards of offense and won all three games. New Orleans on the other hand, has given up 130 points and 1,409 yards of offense, going 1-2. Yikes! No wonder defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was fired over the bye week. Saints may go down with the worst defense in the history of the league and that's why I'm taking the Texans in this one, who will be over .500 for the first time all season with a win.
NY Giants over WASHINGTON (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): Washington may be 4-1 at home and QB Kirk Cousins is a 112.8 passer at home as opposed to a 69.8 passer on the road, but I like the Giants here. The Giants are in the driver seat in the NFC East and they're coming off a bye. New York almost beat the undefeated Patriots two weeks ago and there's no question they're the best team in the East, they just have to play like they're capable of for 60 minutes. Giants in a close one.
JACKSONVILLE over San Diego (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): I don't think Jacksonville will be able to win the AFC South, but they are only a year away from being a really good team. Head coach Gus Bradley has made some major improvements to this team and if Blake Bortles continues to get better, the Jaguars could be a dark horse to make the playoffs in 2016. As for 2015, a win against the Chargers will keep their playoff hopes alive. As for the Chargers, head coach Mike McCoy is on the hot seat with San Diego having a disappointing season at 2-8.
Arizona over SAN FRANCISCO (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX): I was super impressed watching the Cardinals last Sunday night against the Bengals. QB Carson Palmer is having an MVP caliber season and leads the league with 27 TD passes and a QB Rating of 108.6 as Arizona leads the NFL with 33.6 PPG. The 49ers are a mess and I expect Arizona to put up at least 35 in the win.
SEATTLE over Pittsburgh (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS): The Steelers are 4-2 in games with QB Ben Roethlisberger and Big Ben will be back as the starter on Sunday after coming off the bench two weeks ago against Cleveland. The Steelers have themselves in good position for the playoffs, but there are a lot of teams still in the race in the AFC. Speaking of teams still in the race, the Seahawks are right there too. Seattle has won three of its last four, albeit two of those wins were against San Francisco, but look for them to go on a run. Steelers have had two weeks to prepare, but I don't like their chances out in Seattle.
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| QB Brock Osweiler will lead the Broncos up against Tom Brady and the undefeated Patriots on Sunday night. (David Banks/Getty Images) |
Baltimore over CLEVELAND (Monday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): With Johnny Manziel's latest screw-up -- he was caught partying and drinking all night while on the team's bye week after undergoing rehab earlier this year -- he has been benched. Things aren't going well for the Ravens either. WR Steve Smith, out for the year. RB Justin Forsett, out for the year. QB Joe Flacco, out for the year. Both Flacco and Forsett suffered season-ending injuries last week, a broken arm for Forsett and a torn ACL for Flacco, and the season could not get any worse for the Ravens. Cleveland is the worst team in football and whoever suits up for Baltimore will defeat the Browns.
Last Week: 8-6
Overall: 94-66 (.588)
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