Welcome back for another round of picks! Week 12 is a big one as Thanksgiving is upon us. That means a triple-header of NFL action all day Thursday. The day gets going with the Detroit Lions hosting the Philadelphia Eagles at 9:30 a.m. PT on FOX. The Dallas Cowboys host the Carolina Panthers at 1:30 p.m. on CBS. The day wraps up with the Green Bay Packers hosting the Chicago Bears at 5:30 p.m. on NBC.
I'll be posting my full picks against the spread on Saturday, but for today, I have posted my straight up picks down below, as well as my ATS pick for Thanksgiving. You can view the NN pick 'em contest results over here. I was 11-5 in Week 12, which brings me to 97-65 for the season.
The San Francisco 49ers are at home this weekend facing the Arizona Cardinals. The 49ers are a ten point underdog, with some sportsbooks going as high as 11.5-points. The 49ers have not been a double-digit underdog at home since 2006. They have not been a double digit underdog to the Cardinals since 2009. All in all, things are not pretty. The 49ers fell behind the eight ball quickly in Week 3 against Arizona due to a pair of early pick-sixes. If the 49ers can avoid the turnovers, can they hang around in this one?
All three home teams are favored on Thanksgiving. The Lions opened as a 1.5-point underdog, but the line quickly swung thanks to their two-game win streak. They are now a 2.5-point favorite. Early money is on the Eagles, and it might be swinging a bit too fast. The Eagles are a mess right now, but I think they can go into Detroit and spring the upset. I'm taking the Eagles against the spread.
The 3-7 Cowboys are a one-point favorite at home against the unbeaten Panthers. The last time a 10-0 team was an underdog was in 1985 when the Chicago Bears played the Cowboys. The Bears won that game 44-0. The Panthers are a good team, facing Tony Romo coming in on a short week in only his second start back from injury. But I'm rolling the dice on the Cowboys in this one.
The evening wraps up with the Green Bay Packers as a heavy favorite at home against the Chicago Bears. The Packers opened as a touchdown favorite, and the line has climbed as high as ten points. The Packers are 9-1 ATS in their last ten games against the Bears, and 5-2 ATS in the last seven home games against Chicago. I'm sticking with the Packers.
Here are my Week 12 picks for our pick 'em contest.
Eagles @ Lions: Eagles
Panthers @ Cowboys: Cowboys
Bears @ Packers: Packers
Raiders @ Titans: Titans
Bills @ Chiefs: Chiefs
Buccaneers @ Colts: Bucs
Giants @ Washington: Washington
Saints @ Texans: Texans
Vikings @ Falcons: Vikings
Rams @ Bengals: Bengals
Chargers @ Jaguars: Jaguars
Dolphins @ Jets: Jets
Cardinals @ 49ers: Cardinals
Steelers @ Seahawks: Steelers
Patriots @ Broncos: Patriots
Ravens @ Browns: Browns
Titans @ Jaguars: Jaguars
Colts @ Falcons: Colts
Broncos @ Bears: Broncos
Raiders @ Lions: Lions
Cowboys @ Dolphins: Dolphins
Bucs @ Eagles: Eagles
Washington @ Panthers: Panthers
Rams @ Ravens: Ravens
Jets @ Texans: Jets
Chiefs @ Chargers: Chiefs
Packers @ Vikings: Packers
49ers @ Seahawks: 49ers
Bengals @ Cardinals: Cardinals
Bills @ Patriots: Patriots