The Los Angeles Rams closed Week 11 with an epic shootout win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night. The Rams are on the bye in Week 12 (as are the Chiefs), but they still could be big winners again as the first team to clinch a division title in 2018. Los Angeles will do so if the Seattle Seahawks lose at the Carolina Panthers, who are 3-point favorites. The Panthers are on a 10-game home winning streak and have covered in eight of those.
One of the hottest teams in the AFC is the Indianapolis Colts, who have gone from 1-5 to 5-5 behind quarterback Andrew Luck. The Colts are 8-point favorites against the visiting Miami Dolphins, who are off their bye week and welcome back starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill. He hasn’t played since Week 5 due to a shoulder injury. Miami has covered seven of its past eight at the Colts.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl hangover has lasted much longer than anyone expected. The Eagles were slaughtered 48-7 in New Orleans last week, the largest margin of defeat ever for a defending Super Bowl champion, to fall to 4-6. Philadelphia can likely forget about any shot at the playoffs Sunday should it lose as a 6-point home favorite against a last-place New York Giants team. Big Blue has covered four straight road games, however.
The Cleveland Browns fired head coach Hue Jackson a couple of weeks ago, and Jackson already has landed with one of his other former teams, the Cincinnati Bengals, as an assistant. Reportedly the Browns players are fired up to face their former coach, who likely was hired simply to help Cincinnati beat Cleveland twice this year. The Bengals are -3 and have won the past seven against their Ohio neighbors by an average of more than 21 points.
And the Pittsburgh Steelers had one of the best regular-season comebacks in team history last week, rallying from down 16-0 in Jacksonville to win their sixth game in a row. How much will the Steelers have left in the tank Sunday at the Denver Broncos? Pittsburgh is -3 but has won just two of its past nine in the Mile High City.
