Week 12 Game Picks

Week 12

Jack’s record: (99-62) (6-8 last week)
Josh’s Record: (110-51) - (8-6 Last week)

Kansas City Chiefs (7-3) at Oakland Raiders (0-10) 8:25 pm Thursday

Jacks pick: Chiefs

Chiefs are coming off an impressive home win over the Seahawks and after starting 2-3 they have won 5 straight games.  Now they will travel to Oakland to face maybe the worst team in the league in the Oakland Raiders who currently are winless.  I think this game will actually be close because the Raiders have actually played some teams quite close, 5 of their 10 losses have been within 1 possession and they played the Chargers really well last week.  However, their 27th ranked run defense is going to be a problem against Jamaal Charles who has been awesome this year.  After this the Raiders are probably going to be 0-11 and they still have to play San Francisco, Kansas city again, Denver, St. Louis, and Buffalo.  I would give them a chance against St. Louis and Buffalo but it looks like this team may be going 0-16.

Josh’s Pick: Chiefs:

This is a relatively easy pick, although it could be a trap game for Kansas City. Khalil Mack could be a problem for Jamaal Charles, but the Chiefs have the defensive assets to null arguably the most lack luster offense in the league, headlined by rookie quarterback Derek Carr. I believe the Chiefs steal the road game and win with defense.

Cleveland Browns @ Atlanta Falcons

Josh’s Pick: Browns – I don’t like picking against the Falcons at home unless they are playing an established team. The Browns have played well for a majority of the season, but their offense sputtered for their entire outing against the Texans. Brian Hoyer should be due for a bounce back week against a weak Falcons defense, although they do hold two decent young corners in Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford. Another reason to be confident in the Browns; Josh Gordon makes his 2014 season debut this week and looks to add another element to an already statistically efficient offense.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Chicago Bears

Josh’s Pick: Bears - The Bears held their own last week against a middle of the road Vikings team, bringing them their first home win of the season. I look for that streak to continue against the Bucs, who are one of the league’s bottom feeders.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Houston Texans 

Josh’s Pick: Bengals – Last week we saw the Bengals go into New Orleans, one of the tougher road environments, and come out with a rather decisive win, with the final score posted at 27-10. Although Cincy is 28^th in rush defense, Arian Foster will be sitting out injured once again so that weakness will not be as much as in issue in this matchup. Look for the Bengals to keep throwing the ball AJ Green’s way this week as he finally got into season form last week against the Saints.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts

Josh’s Pick: Colts – After the rough home loss to the Patriots last week, I am expecting the Colts to hold their own and bounce back against a much weaker opponent. Colts should win this one without a doubt.

Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings

Josh’s Pick: Packers – The Vikings defense has played very all season with one exception, that exception came when the Packers played them on a Thursday night. I expect Vikes’ Head Coach Mike Zimmer to use his defensive mind to make this one more competitive, but Aaron Rodgers will end up being too consistent to stop or for Teddy Bridgewater and the offense to keep up with.

Detroit Lions @ New England Patriots

Josh’s Pick: Patriots – I really hope the Patriots win this week, as I will be in attendance at Gillete Stadium. On a serious note, my reason for taking the Patriots is because they have shown to win games in multiple ways. The Lions are one of the most defensively stout teams in the league, ranking inside the top five in both pass and rush defense. I see the Patriots getting by this by forcing Matthew Stafford into turnovers, something he does a lot of throughout his career. With short fields to work with, the Patriots can make any defense pay. The Pats also match up favorably on defense against the Lions, as our clear weakness is our rush defense, which is also the weakness of the Detroit offense.

Tennessee Titans @ Philadelphia Eagles

Josh’s Pick: Eagles – The Eagles will definitely bounce back at home after a terrible road loss to the Packers. The Titans looked good Monday night against the Steelers, but aside from Bradley Fletcher (who was torched by Aaron Rodgers), the Eagles are a much better defensive unit than the Steelers. The reason for the Eagles bad defensive performance last week is that they didn’t match up well against the Packer’s speedy wide receivers.

St. Louis Rams @ San Diego Chargers

Josh’s Picks: Chargers – The Rams have come on recently, and looked incredibly good against the Broncos last week. Their pass rush which was often criticized through the first half of the season has been a force the last three weeks. This game should be very close as the Rams are better than their record implies, but Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense is too consistent to bet against at home, especially against slightly inferior competition.

Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks

Josh’s Picks: Seahawks – The Cardinals impressed me last week and beat the Lions, disproving one of my more confident predictions. I am picking against them again because I believe Seattle is only getting better and healthier as the season goes forward, and while Drew Stanton has been able to win games for this club, I believe his stock as a winning quarterback goes down dramatically in a big divisional game on the road in Seattle.

Miami Dolphins @ Denver Broncos

Josh’s Pick: Broncos – If this game was in Miami I would be taking the Dolphins, but even after last week’s road loss I am still hesitant to pick against the Broncos at home. They will be without Julius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, but I am taking the Broncos because of their run defense. The Dolphins pass rush will be able to bother Manning in a similar way that the Rams did, however I believe Peyton will be more comfortable at home and be able to put enough points to beat an inconsistent ‘Fins passing attack. For the Dolphins to come out with a victory, Mike Wallace needs to have as big of a day as Kenny Britt last week.

Washington Redskins @ San Francisco 49ers

Josh’s Pick: 49ers – Despite almost losing a game where they had five interceptions in, they did have five interceptions and their defense played well on the road. Both of these offenses have struggled and have held inconsistencies throughout the season, however the Redskins haven’t had much had a decent defense to rely on. Kaep should have a big day on the ground, since when the Redskins played the Seahawks earlier this season, they failed to contain Russell Wilson. I still look for RG3 to post a decent game, Kaep to run efficiently, and the 49ers are able to edge pass the Redskins.

Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants

Josh’s Pick: Cowboys – The Giants have surrendered a lot of rushing yards to their opponents over the last two games, and I expect Demarco Murray to be in for a big night to lift the ‘Boys over their divisional foes.

New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills 

Josh’s Pick: Bills – The Bills will show their defensive versatility as they bottle up Chris Ivory and the Jets running back committee. Buffalo’s weakness on defense is by their pass defense and I don’t trust Michael Vick enough to exploit that weakness. The Jets pass defense also happens subpar per the leagues standards, and although Kyle Orton isn’t Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, he faces a nice match up with his young wide receivers. I look for the Bills to make the most out of their lost home game at Ford Field and come away with the win.

Baltimore Ravens @ New Orleans Saints

Josh’s Pick: Ravens – Usually I always take New Orleans at home, but after getting man-handled by the Bengals in the Mercedes-Benz Dome last week, I am going to go with the Ravens on the road. Flacco should be in for a big day against a not-so-great Saints pass defense and the Ravens have the defensive assets to contain the Saints explosive offensive. Another random reason to be confident in Flacco; he won the Super Bowl back in 2012 in the Mercedes-Benz Dome.