Tag: Thanksgiving

NFL Week 12 Predictions: Leftovers Look Better Edition

~ Scott ~ 1 Comment

Thanks to the NFL shilling for Amazon with a Black Friday game, we’ve already had a 4-game start to Week 12. They were all division games, and they all kind of sucked. The only time any of the games got within one score in the 4th quarter was after Detroit went for a 2-point conversion with 41 seconds left in their 29-22 loss to give the underdogs one big win so far.

But oddly enough, every game so far this week had a spread of 7 or higher. Of the 12 games left this week, Chiefs at Raiders (+10) is the only one with a spread larger than 3.5. There are four games with a spread of 1.5, so expect things to be much tighter this weekend. Hopefully better too as I am looking forward to Bills-Eagles. It’s not an island game so the offenses might actually score several touchdowns.

This Week’s Articles

NFL Week 12 Predictions

My early results were all over the map, but I did at least pick the 49ers and Dolphins to crush the Seahawks and Jets. I could have did without that last Raheem Mostert TD though. Cost me a +86000 win that would have probably been my best longshot win ever.

I’m not sure what to do with some of these games. NE-NYG? Under. TB-IND? Over. ATL-NO? Flip a coin or just avoid it. One of the close games I do like a clear pick in is CLE-DEN. I think DTR struggles more against Denver’s secondary and the Broncos pull that one out to continue this playoff push. No, I still don’t believe they’re a good team, but these turnovers better not dry up against a turnover-prone Cleveland offense that is missing its QB1 and RB1.

If you read my links above, I’m all over the Steelers having their best offensive game in a while in Cincy. That doesn’t mean great numbers for other QBs, but for Kenny Pickett, throwing for 200 yards, a TD (hell maybe 2), and leading the Steelers to 20+ is big time for him. I wouldn’t have picked this if they didn’t fire Matt Canada this week, so we’ll see what happens there. It just seems too fitting that Cincy is literally the only team Pickett has scored 30 against, and his 265 yards last year were his 2nd most in a game. Granted, no Joe Burrow, Jake Browning is a wild card, and it could be another 13-10 AFC North game for that reason. But I think it’s more of an offensive game than expected and like the overs.

CAR-TEN? Damned if I know, but the Panthers are 1-7-2 ATS this year. They just haven’t played well at all under Frank Reich.

I have the Texans as my upset pick, but I’m just hoping the game is watchable since most Jacksonville games aren’t. Let’s hope for both teams to score 20+ and the game to be played within a one-score window the whole time.

LAR-ARI? I’ll pass. Maybe James Conner returns to the end zone this week. But largely avoiding that one.

KC-LV: My favorite research bit this week was finding out the Chiefs are No. 1 out of 1,577 teams since 1970 in the largest split between 1st half and 2nd half scoring through 10 games.

No points after halftime in 3 straight games for the Chiefs, the first time that’s happened in franchise history. I think the scoreless drought ends this week, but I still love the under 13.5 2H points for KC in that game. The Raiders held Miami to 6 points in Miami after halftime last week. Maybe Maxx Crosby has a monster game after wearing out that “You woke up the wrong motherfucker!” clip from Mahomes from the Quarterback show. But I do think the Chiefs get the win. It just won’t be pretty.

BUF-PHI: Love the timing of this game. Get to see if the Bills are still contenders and ready for a run, or if the Eagles win another one over a so-called contender this year. We know the Bills usually have 2 modes: close loss or blowout win, so I’m not feeling their chances to pull it off this week. Probably a game that comes down to turnovers. But I hope it’s a good one.

BAL-LAC: Potential is definitely there for a great game with the way these teams blow leads, but it also could be a Baltimore rout. But I’m thinking it ends up being one of the best island games all year (low bar).

CHI-MIN: Isn’t this why we started using flex scheduling on Monday night? Eh, might play a Dobbs TD again because he’s getting automatic with that, and his highlight reel on them is way more interesting than Jalen Hurts’ reel.

I’ll share my spreadsheet of picks on Twitter tomorrow night as I mentioned last week. I’ve been on a hot streak this week with parlays, already hitting +27000, +22000, +12800, +10000 (a few times), +5400, +4100, +3000, etc.

Let’s keep it going.

NFL Week 12 Predictions: The Leftovers Edition

~ Scott ~ 3 Comments

The NFL did a really good job of loading up the Thanksgiving schedule this year. The games were far from spectacular, but it wasn’t a bad day of football. I already covered Detroit’s historic seventh fourth-quarter comeback win of the season on Friday, and if this team is an all-time fluke or not (short answer: not).

As for the rest of Week 12’s leftovers, I’m not seeing a whole lot of quality, so it’s just going to be a few short thoughts on some select games this week.

Arizona at Atlanta – like to see if Matt Ryan can perform well against a good defense at home to help restore some order in this most unusual MVP race. Seriously, a rookie QB and a suspended QB are very much in the mix for MVP, while Ryan needs to make sure the Falcons still win double-digit games to get proper credit as the most consistently great QB this season. David Johnson could have a huge game too for Arizona, so this might be high scoring again.

Giants at Cleveland – can the Browns pull off some 2008 magic when they took out the defending champion Giants with a stunning 35-14 win? Giants started 11-1 that year with the only loss to the lowly Browns. They’re running out of opportunities for a win this season, and a home game with a New York team that has played almost everyone tight might be one of the best shots yet. Of course, it will take an Eli Manning pick parade to happen.

Titans at Chicago – Tennessee is a sorry sack of shit if it can’t beat a Bears team missing Jay Cutler, Alshon Jeffery and both guards. The no-name defense is even more no-namier with Jerrell Freeman’s suspension. I only bring this one up because the Titans have lost to some real garbage teams over the years, including the 0-13 Colts of 2011.

Seattle at Tampa Bay – no Earl Thomas is a break for Jameis Winston, but the late kickoff time should help Seattle on a long trip here. Would be one of the more interesting upsets of the season, but I still like Seattle to win.

Kansas City at Denver – it’s just not the same without Peyton Manning in Denver. It’s a big game in the standings, obviously, but are you really thrilled to watch Alex Smith and Trevor Siemian try to engineer drives against two of the most talented defenses? I like Denver at home off a bye just because I expect the playmakers around Siemian to do more for him while the defense gets after Smith. Of course, every Denver game for the rest of the year is prefaced with “The single biggest worry is Siemian turning the ball over to put the defense on short fields.” If he doesn’t do that, Denver should win.

Green Bay at Philadelphia – honestly tired of watching the Packers in prime time this season. It’s just not a fun offense anymore, because the efficiency is lost with Aaron Rodgers. I don’t think the Eagles defense is as good as the numbers suggest, but they certainly have done their job against teams like Atlanta and Pittsburgh at home this season. Green Bay should struggle again, but I don’t think the defense will be as pathetic as it’s been recently, just given the limited nature of the Eagles offense and it’s subpar rookie quarterback. Could be a night for Wendell Smallwood to make a name for himself thanks to injuries.

2016 Week 12 Predictions

The hope for a perfect 16-0 week is alive after getting the Thanksgiving games right.

Winners in bold:

  • Cardinals at Falcons
  • Bengals at Ravens
  • Giants at Browns
  • 49ers at Dolphins
  • Titans at Bears
  • Chargers at Texans
  • Rams at Saints
  • Jaguars at Bills
  • Seahawks at Buccaneers
  • Patriots at Jets
  • Panthers at Raiders
  • Chiefs at Broncos
  • Packers at Eagles

Had my best week of the season last week. Feel a little confident in this week’s picks too.

  • Week 1: 7-9
  • Week 2: 10-6
  • Week 3: 8-8
  • Week 4: 8-7
  • Week 5: 7-7
  • Week 6: 12-3
  • Week 7: 10-5
  • Week 8: 7-6
  • Week 9: 8-5
  • Week 10: 7-7
  • Week 11: 12-2
  • Season: 96-65

NFL Week 12 Predictions, Obscure QB Records and Writing Recap

~ Scott ~ Leave a comment

Three games down, 13 to go with no more bye weeks. All three road teams won on Thanksgiving Thursday, which has never happened before. But this 2012 season has been full of things happening for the first time, so it fits.

If it looks like I’m running out of steam for these intros, it’s because I am after usually writing 15,000-20,000 words on the NFL during the week. There’s only so much more you can say.

This Week’s Articles

Captain Comeback Week 11: Houston Texans Lead Overtime Drama – Cold, Hard Football Facts

After no comebacks or game-winning drives in Week 10, we had five this week, including three overtime games. Matt Schaub and the Houston Texans had one of the most prolific offensive performances in NFL history, and that is the Drive of the Week. Also: a bizarre comeback with six turnovers by the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay’s wild comeback in Carolina, Tony Romo ties Roger Staubach in Dallas, and even the Packers do something they have never done before under Mike McCarthy: win a game after trailing after each of the first three quarters.

Tony Romo: Reality vs. Perception Check For Dallas Cowboys’ Quarterback – Bleacher Report

Updating the Tony Romo saga. With a 15-23 (.395) record at fourth-quarter comeback opportunities, Romo now has the same record as Roger Staubach did. But why such the huge difference in clutch perception? Find that out, plus more, including a comparison of Romo’s comebacks to Staubach’s.

Why Are the Lions Always Turkeys on Thanksgiving? – NBC Sports

A look at Thursday and Thanksgiving football in the NFL. The home team was 7-3 on Thursday this season heading into the week, but went a record-first 0-3. Detroit faced the team with the best record in football for the fourth time in the last five years. I saw CBS steal the graphic I used in the table for this article. Thanks, CBS.

Following a Legend: Andrew Luck Week 11 at New England Patriots – Colts Authority

It was a rough four-turnover day for Luck in New England, but not all was bad as he threw for over 300 yards for the record-setting 5th time as a rookie.

The Thinking Man’s Guide: NFL Week 12 Predictions – Bleacher Report

This week we take a detailed look at the three Thanksgiving games, Cleveland’s Super Bowl, Colin Kaepernick going from one extreme to another in terms of defense, and picks for all Week 12 games.

Tom Brady and Other Quarterbacks on Pace to Break Obscure NFL Records – Cold, Hard Football Facts

You know about the record streaks for counting stats like consecutive games with a touchdown pass or 300-yards passing, but what about the pass efficiency streaks for roughly league-average marks like 60.0 percent completions, 7.00 yards per attempt and a 90.0 passer rating? You will be surprised to learn no one has been able to do any of those things for all 16 games in a season. Find out if anyone is on pace this season, and who has come the closest in the past.

2012 NFL Week 12 Predictions

I had Houston, Dallas and New England on Thursday, so I start the week 2-1. A lot of road picks this week.

Winners in bold:

  • Bills at Colts
  • Broncos at Chiefs
  • Falcons at Buccaneers
  • Raiders at Bengals
  • Seahawks at Dolphins
  • Steelers at Browns
  • Titans at Jaguars
  • Vikings at Bears
  • Ravens at Chargers
  • 49ers at Saints
  • Rams at Cardinals
  • Packers at Giants
  • Panthers at Eagles

Season results:

  • Week 1: 12-4
  • Week 2: 11-5
  • Week 3: 4-12
  • Week 4: 10-5
  • Week 5: 10-4
  • Week 6: 5-9
  • Week 7: 12-1
  • Week 8: 10-4
  • Week 9: 11-3
  • Week 10: 9-4-1
  • Week 11: 11-3
  • Season: 105-54-1 (.659)