NFL Week 12 picks: Two turkeys for Thanksgiving
What are we to make of the Thanksgiving Day schedule?
First off, we get a rare meeting of the 3-7 Houston Texans and the 4-6 Detroit Lions. It doesn’t exactly whet the appetite.
Next up is Washington at Dallas, a true epic matchup — decades ago.
But wait, this is a battle for first place in the NFC East. Sure, we know both teams are 3-7 and probably headed for 10 losses. But it’s for first place. OK, you might be better off heading to the dinner table.
As for the nightcap — Baltimore at Pittsburgh — well, that’s special.
Except the Ravens have had COVID-19 issues all week, and the game has been moved to Sunday.
Of course, we’d watch this game whenever it is played, unlike the other two holiday contests.
THURSDAY
No. 23 Houston (minus 2 1⁄2)
at No. 29 Detroit: Pass the indigestion, please.
Pick: Texans, 24-20
No. 28 Washington (plus 3) at No. T25 Dallas: At least this is not the worst NFL presentation on Thanksgiving.
Pick: Cowboys, 26-16
SUNDAY
No. 24 N.Y. Giants (minus 6) at No. 30 Cincinnati: Losing Joe Burrow for the season hurts the Bengals in so many ways. The Giants prosper …
Best bet: Giants, 23-10
No. 13 Arizona (minus 2) at No. 18 New England: A tough week to find a confidence-building upset. We’ll go with the pedestrian Patriots.
Upset special: Patriots, 21-20
No. 19 San Francisco (plus 7) at No. 5 L.A. Rams: We thought about this as our best bet, but this rivalry is bitter and usually means close games. Or not.
Pick: Rams, 26-15
No. 16 Chicago (plus 7 1⁄2)
at No. T6 Green Bay: We thought about this as our best bet, too, but this rivalry is bitter and usually means close games. Or not.
Pick: Packers, 25-10
No. T11 Baltimore (plus 4 1⁄2)
at No. 1 Pittsburgh: Many have pointed to this as the unbeaten Steelers’ strongest chance to lose. Not with what the Ravens are going through right now.
Pick: Steelers, 27-16
No. 15 Miami (minus 7) at No. 32 New York Jets: Tua, Fitz or Ace Ventura at quarterback, we’ll go with the Dolphins against the winless Jets.
Pick: Dolphins, 27-13
No. 22 Los Angeles Chargers (plus 51⁄ 2) at No. 5 Buffalo: This line seems particularly low, even if the Chargers are coming off a victory. The Bills aren’t the Jets, of
course.
Pick: Bills, 30-20
No. T11 Las Vegas (minus 3) at No. 27 Atlanta: Could this be a letdown game for the Raiders? Guessing not.
Pick: Raiders, 30-21
No. 2 Kansas City (minus 3 1⁄2)
at No. 10 Tampa Bay: The week’s feature game, and one of the most intriguing all year with Mahomes taking on Brady.
Pick: Chiefs, 30-27
No. 9 Tennessee (plus 4 1⁄2)
at No. T6 Indianapolis: The winner of this AFC South matchup can pave its path to the playoffs.
Pick: Colts, 23-21
No. 3 New Orleans (minus 6) at No. 21 Denver: The Saints have won seven in a row, while the Broncos have been up and down for the past seven — and beyond.
Pick: Saints, 27-24
No. 14 Cleveland (minus 6 1⁄2)
at No. 31 Jacksonville: Cleveland handles the bad teams, even if it often looks ugly (see Houston, Philadelphia and Dallas wins).
Pick: Browns, 33-16
No. 20 Carolina (plus 4 1⁄2)
at No. 17 Minnesota: Minnesota really stuck itself with those Vikings horns last week.
Pick: Vikings, 28-20
MONDAY
No. T6 Seattle (minus 5) at No. T25 Philadelphia: Never mind what we said about the Eagles having control of the NFC Least.
Pick: Seahawks, 27-23
2020 RECORD
Last Week: Straight up: 7-7. Against spread: 5-6 Season: Straight up: 105-55-1. Against spread: 80-69-4