One piece of good news for NFL bettors regarding Week 12 as it’s the last week this regular season where all 32 teams aren’t in action. The teams on the final bye week of 2019 are the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
Many in the New York media were surprised that the Giants didn’t fire embattled coach Pat Shurmur during the team’s Week 11 bye after they were embarrassed the previous Sunday in a loss at the equally-struggling New York Jets. Shurmur almost surely will not be back in 2020 but apparently will be allowed to coach the rest of this season with only six games remaining – if the team didn’t fire him with a week off, there’s no point doing it until the season is over now. The Giants visit the disappointing Chicago Bears, whose playoff hopes are essentially over at 4-6 following last Sunday night’s 17-7 loss at the Los Angeles Rams. Chicago is a 6-point favorite for this one at betting sites but has covered just one of its past six overall.
Are you one of those NFL fans who likes low-scoring defensive battles? Then Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills should be right up your alley with a total of only 37. Two teams that rarely score 20 points but also are very good on defense and led by head coaches who were former top-flight defensive coordinators in Denver’s Vic Fangio and Buffalo’s Sean McDermott. While the Broncos are playing out the string, the Bills are in playoff contention. They are -4 and have won 10 of their past 12 games as home favorites.
The Cincinnati Bengals remain the NFL’s only winless team and that’s likely to continue Sunday against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers, who are 7-point favorites. The Steelers are on extra rest after their four-game winning streak ended last Thursday night in a defeat in Cleveland, and Pittsburgh already easily handled the Bengals 27-3 in Week 4. Cincy QB Andy Dalton was sacked eight times, but he has since been replaced by rookie Ryan Finley. He hasn’t been good in two starts. Pittsburgh has covered 12 of its past 16 at Cincinnati.
It’s a potential NFC playoff preview when the Seattle Seahawks visit the Philadelphia Eagles, who are -1 despite three fewer wins than Seattle. The Seahawks upset the previously unbeaten San Francisco 49ers in Week 10 before going on the bye. Russell Wilson continues to be a leading MVP candidate. Philadelphia was a home loser to New England last Sunday. Seattle has covered its past nine as an underdog.
