Welcome to my NFL Week 12 Picks. I went 10-4 last week, placing my overall record at 88-72. How will I do in this week’s slate of games? Read below and comment with your thoughts. This week could start factoring into the playoff chances of all 32 teams. Who will lock up a spot? Who will be eliminated from contention?
To see my picks for the Thanksgiving Day games this week, click here.
Note: In the images, the team on the top is the road team, and the team on the bottom is the home team.
Lock of the Week
Emerging as a top QB in the league, Carson Wentz has led the Eagles offense to become one of the best offenses in the league. The Bears will be their next victim as the Eagles blow them out. The Eagles offense is as good as it gets. They have 3-4 strong running backs, who will dominate against a weak Bears defensive front. They have a trio of great receivers and a top 5 tight end in Zach Ertz, who will just be too much for the young Bears secondary.
The Bears will struggle to strike back as young QB Mitch Trubisky is under too much pressure, and the Bears’ own RB duo is shut down by Philly’s strong run defense. The Eagles will end up winning by one of the largest deficits seen this season.
Upset of the Week
RB Devonta Freeman is out for the second straight week, and that will cause the Falcons offense to struggle this time around. They were able to survive without him last week, but this week Atlanta will start to miss him. The Bucs defense will take advantage of that fact and will shut down the weakened Falcons offense. For the Bucs, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick will continue to do well in the place of QB Jameis Winston, leading the Bucs to victory with the help of his receivers as well as RB Doug Martin.
Sunday’s Games
QB Tom Brady and the Pats offense will thrive against their divisional rivals, even without key receivers Chris Hogan and Martellus Bennett. The Dolphins secondary will struggle to cover their powerful receivers like Brandin Cooks and Rob Gronkowski. The Dolphins will also struggle offensively, as their run game looks hopeless without Jay Ajayi. QB Matt Moore will also struggle to find his receivers and be picked off frequently by a stingy Pats secondary. Pats win easily.
The Chiefs will struggle to bring life to their offense, but they will dominate defensively in this game. The Chiefs will overpressure whoever is at QB for the Bills. The QB problems will cost them as the Chiefs defense dominates against Buffalo’s troubled offense.
The Panthers young guns will help lead Carolina to victory, even without WR Kelvin Benjamin and TE Greg Olsen. The Jets will keep it close with a strong offensive game, as the Panthers secondary struggles to cover the Jets receivers. But the Panthers defensive front will shut down the Jets run game. The Panthers will win after the younger players step it up, including RB Christian McCaffrey and WR Curtis Samuel.
The Bengals offense will continue to come up big against the struggling Browns defense. TE Tyler Kroft will continue to make a big impact for them in the role of the injured TE Tyler Eifert. The Bengals D will also thrive in this game, shutting down the strong Browns run game. They will pressure QB DeShone Kizer, causing him to struggle regressively. The Bengals will win after dominating in all three aspects of the game.
The Titans will win as their balanced attack dominates against a struggling Colts defense. QB Marcus Mariota will throw for 300+ yards and toss 2 TDs to his group of versatile receivers. In addition, the Titans RB duo of DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry will rush for 150+ combined yards and one TD each. Colts QB Jacoby Brissett will also lead his offense to a big game, but it won’t be enough as the Titans outscore them in an offensive shootout.
QB C.J. Beathard will lead the 49ers offense to another strong game, but this time, their injuries, as well as the Seahawks relentless defense, will have a big impact on slowing them down. For the Seahawks, the offense will continue to thrive, even without new RB Mike Davis playing against his former team. The 49ers troubled defense will fail to slow them down significantly, and the Seahawks will win.
The Jaguars will win after their defense dominates, shutting down Cardinals RB Adrian Peterson as well as Cardinals new starting QB Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert will struggle to find his receivers under so much pressure, especially with WR John Brown out. The Cardinals defense will also hold up QB Blake Bortles and the Jags offense, but the Jags will still win after their amazing defensive performance.
The Broncos beat the Raiders in Denver, but that was without QB Derek Carr. This time, Carr will lead the Raiders offense to thrive against the tough Broncos defense His versatile receivers will be too much for the No Fly Zone, scoring 3 TD on them. Broncos QB Brock Osweiler will try to lead the Denver offense to rebound, but it won’t be enough to outplay the strong Raiders offense.
The Rams will beat the flaming New Orleans Saints, led by RB Todd Gurley’s huge game. QB Jared Goff will also rebound from a rough against another strong team, the Vikings, last week. Despite the fact that one of their best receivers, Robert Woods, is out, the big games out of Goff and Gurley will help lead the Rams to victory. The Saints RB duo will struggle against the tough Rams run defense, and that will cost the Saints.
SNF
The banged-up Steelers offense may come in unprepared, but they will still do well against the Packers defense, especially with Clay Matthews hurt. For the Packers, QB Brett Hundley will struggle to find his receivers, as the Packers offense fails against the Steelers without their top two RBs. The Steelers will win as the Packers continue to fall apart without QB Aaron Rodgers.
MNF
The Ravens will win as the Texans continued to struggle without QB Deshaun Watson. With WR Will Fuller out, QB Tom Savage and the Texans will struggle to produce offense against the tough Ravens D, despite the fact that three of their best defensive players are banged-up. For the Ravens offense, QB Joe Flacco will thrive against a Texans D that’s also depleted by injuries. Baltimore will win despite several injuries of their own.
That’s all for my Week 12 Picks. Feel free to comment with your thoughts.
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