NFL Point Spreads Week 12: Best Picks Against the Spread
Here’s a quick look at all the Week 12 matchups with Sports Interaction NFL odds. Kansas City and the L.A. Rams are on the bye.
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions, Thursday
Possibly the quickest turnaround in modern NFL history for the Bears because they were flexed into the Sunday night game in Week 11 vs. Minnesota (which they won) and now kick off at 12:30 ET on Thursday. That’s rough. The Lions were home Sunday and upset Carolina 20-19. Chicago goes for the season sweep after beating the Lions easily in Week 11, 34-22, behind four total TDs from QB Mitch Trubisky. Here’s our complete preview and prediction for this game.
Pick ATS: Chicago
Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys, Thursday
Per usual, the Cowboys host the 4:30 p.m. ET Thanksgiving game. Washington plays on Thanksgiving for the third straight season, a franchise first. The Skins lost 31-26 in Dallas in 2016 and hosted the night game last year and beat the Giants 20-10. Washington tries for the season sweep here as it beat the Cowboys 20-17 in Week 7. Two Dallas turnovers were the difference. The Skins had starting QB Alex Smith then. They don’t now after he suffered a Joe Theismann-like gruesome broken leg in Sunday’s loss to Houston. Click here for Sports Interaction’s full analysis and prediction for this game.
Pick ATS: Dallas
Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints, Thursday
Usually entertaining when these NFC South rivals collide. It’s Atlanta’s third all-time appearance on the holiday and the Saints’ second. New Orleans won a thriller in Atlanta in Week 3, 43-37 in overtime. Drew Brees scored the winning TD in OT on a 1-yard run. That game was back-and-forth all day. The Saints enter this on a league-best nine-game winning streak look nothing short of Super. Here’s the full preview and prediction for this Thanksgiving matchup.
Pick ATS: Atlanta
Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills
Hard to believe both these teams made the playoffs last year as both have fallen on their faces in 2018. Almost a miracle the Bills, off their bye, have three wins with their pathetic offence. Rookie Josh Allen may return from injury to start under centre for Buffalo. Jacksonville gagged away a 16-0 third-quarter lead at home to Pittsburgh on Sunday and lost 20-16.
Pick ATS: Buffalo
Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals
This game wouldn’t be all that interesting outside of Ohio except that the Bengals last week hired recently fired Browns head coach Hue Jackson as a special assistant to the head coach. Not often a head coach is given a shot to beat the team that fired him the same season – and Jackson can do it twice. He only won three games in his entire Browns tenure. Cleveland is off a bye week.
Pick ATS: Cincinnati
New England Patriots at New York Jets
New England’s bye week perhaps was at a good time because the Patriots are banged up and their six-game winning streak was snapped in a big way in a Week 10 thumping at Tennessee. The Jets also come off a bye and an embarrassing 41-10 loss to Buffalo, New York’s fourth straight defeat. Many are shocked Coach Todd Bowles still has a job. He won’t about five minutes after the regular season ends. Click here for a full preview of this matchup.
Pick ATS: New York
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles have a very tough schedule remaining, so they better beat the sorry Giants to keep any slim playoff hopes alive. Philadelphia didn’t look playoff worthy in getting destroyed Sunday in New Orleans. Philly won at the Giants on Thursday in Week 6, 34-13. Carson Wentz threw for three scores. Saquon Barkley was brilliant for New York with 130 yards and a TD rushing and nine catches for 99 yards.
Pick ATS: Philadelphia
San Francisco 49ers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Nothing whatsoever at stake here other than a long trip for the 49ers and a 10 a.m. Pacific time start. San Francisco is off its bye week at 2-8. Nick Mullens will remain the team’s starting QB after two solid efforts in place of C.J. Beathard. Tampa lost its fourth straight Sunday, 38-35 at the Giants, and changed quarterbacks again. Jameis Winston should start here. Get a closer look at this game with our full betting preview.
Pick ATS: Tampa Bay
Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers
Seattle on extra rest after rallying for a 27-24 home win over Green Bay last Thursday to keep the Seahawks’ wild-card hopes alive (the Rams are winning the NFC West). Russell Wilson threw the game-winning TD pass with 5:08 left and then the defence did its job. Seattle was 1-8 in its previous nine games decided by one score. Carolina coach Ron Rivera opted to go for a 2-point conversion and a win late in Sunday’s game at Detroit, but a Cam Newton pass was incomplete. Here’s our complete preview of the Seahawks-Panthers game.
Pick ATS: Carolina
Oakland Raiders at Baltimore Ravens
Oakland snapped a five-game skid with Sunday’s 23-21 win in Arizona. Daniel Carlson hit a 35-yard field goal as time expired. Coach Jon Gruden and QB Derek Carr could be seen having a heated exchange at one point on the sideline. Is the Lamar Jackson era upon us in Baltimore? With Joe Flacco out injured, Jackson, the former Heisman winner, got his first start threw for 150 yards but even more shocking rushed it a whopping 27 times for 117 yards. For our full preview and score prediction for Ravens vs. Raiders, click here.
Pick ATS: Oakland
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Chargers
The Cardinals helped their chances of getting the top pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by losing at home to a bad Oakland team 23-21. Arizona rookie Josh Rosen threw for three touchdowns, two to Larry Fitzgerald, but his two picks led to Raiders TDs. The biggest surprise Sunday was the Chargers having their six-game winning streak snapped in a 23-22 home loss to Denver. Philip Rivers did become only the sixth quarterback in league history to throw at least two touchdown passes in each of his team’s first 10 games to start a season.
Pick ATS: Arizona
Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos
Pittsburgh won its sixth in a row Sunday, rallying from a 16-0 third-quarter deficit and stunning Jacksonville on Ben Roethlisberger’s 1-yard TD run with five seconds to go. Big Ben was picked off three times to help create that hole. The Broncos shocked the Chargers 23-22 on Brandon McManus’ 34-yard field goal as time expired.
Pick ATS: Denver
Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts
Miami comes off its bye week. The Fins could see the return of starting QB Ryan Tannehill from a shoulder injury. He hasn’t played since Oct. 7. The Colts were 1-5 but are now 5-5 following Sunday’s impressive 38-10 win over Tennessee. Andrew Luck threw three touchdown passes, two to T.Y. Hilton. Luck has to be the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. He tied Dan Marino for the third-longest streak of consecutive games with three or more TD passes (seven) in league history.
Pick ATS: Miami
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
Second straight prime-time game for both. Last Thursday, the Packers lost 27-24 in Seattle to fall to 0-5 on the road. Another loss here all but kills Green Bay’s playoff hopes. On Sunday night, Minnesota lost 25-20 in Chicago as the offence was largely shut down. The winner of this game, presuming there is one, would take the season series because the clubs tied 29-29 at Lambeau Field in Week 2. Both teams had golden chances to win but blew it. Click here for our full preview and prediction for the Packers vs. Vikings game.
Pick ATS: Minnesota
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans, Monday
Potentially important game in the AFC South race with the Titans looking for the season sweep. They beat Houston 20-17 in Week 2 on a Ryan Succop field goal with one minute to go. Tennessee did so despite starting QB Marcus Mariota missing the game and backup Blaine Gabbert throwing for just 117 yards. Mariota might miss this one, too, as he left Sunday’s loss to the Colts with an elbow injury. Houston won its seventh straight Sunday, 23-21 at Washington.
Point spread: Texans -6
Pick ATS: Houston