Oh, boy. The Thanksgiving games in the NFL may have been fruitful for some people, but man, if there ever was a way to get pasted, going 0-3 on my picks definitely qualifies as one. The day actually started great for me when the Chicago Bears went up 14-3 against the Detroit Lions. Then things went sideways from there. The Lions came back and ended up romping the Bears, 34-17. Things didn’t get any better when the Philadelphia Eagles trashed the Dallas Cowboys, 33-10. Then the Seattle Seahawks piled on in my misery by shutting down the San Francisco 49ers. All three weren’t even close and yet I was on the losing side for all of them.
But now’s not the time to get disheartened. I still have five more games to pick for Week 13 so let’s get that started.
Redskins at Colts
Indianapolis opened as -9 favorites and while I expected it to move up half-a-point, the quarterback change to Colt McCoy has actually shot that number up to -10.5 for some books. I haven’t loved the Redskins to do anything this year, and while I like them a little better with McCoy under center over RGIII, this game isn’t the time to be jumping all over the Washington bandwagon. -10.5 may be a little steep for a Colts team that has struggled offensively the past few weeks, but if there was ever time for Indy to get its offense on track, it would be this game.
Prediction: Colts 38, Redskins 17
Browns at Bills
Here’s the good news: the game will be played at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Here’s the bad news: the weather report says that there’s a chance of rain or snow to fall during the game. The line opened with Buffalo as the -2 favorite. That number has since been bet up to -2.5, probably because the Bills are officially playing a home game this weekend. I like Cleveland in this spot, even though they’ve been skirting a precarious line over the past few weeks. Brian Hoyer’s been good on some games and he’s been bad on others. I think good Hoyer shows up this week and he throws 5 million yards to Josh Gordon. Ok, I’ll settle for 150 and two touchdowns.
Prediction: Browns 27, Bills 21
Giants at Jaguars
This game should be a layup, right? Right?! Right?! If the New York Giants are anywhere near half competent, they should have no problems disposing the Jacksonville Jaguars, even if the game is being played in sunny Florida. The G-Men opened as -2 road favorites, but the action on Big Blue has bumped that number up to a full field goal. It doesn’t matter. I like the Giants to win and cover here, handily I might add.
Prediction: Giants 26, Jaguars 13
Chiefs at Broncos
A huge game that now seems inconsequential after hearing about Chiefs safety Eric Berry’s condition. I’m throwing away every analysis I had on this game and will go with the Chiefs to win this one as +2.5 underdogs for their guy.
Prediction: Chiefs 24, Broncos 23
Patriots at Packers
Could this be a preview of SuperBowl 49? I know I picked the Patriots and the New Orleans Saints to play in Arizona this February, but Green Bay wouldn’t be a bad alternative to that. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. I’m already getting excited about this game but in no way did my excitement have any effect in me picking the Packers to win this game in a close one. Give me Green Bay to win and cover the -3 spread.
Prediction: Packers 31, Patriots 27
Week 13 (so far): 0-3
YTD: 47-49-1
